Admittedly, despite this year’s Manchester International Festival’s wonderfully tempting schedule and Willem Defoe smiling warmly from every poster, I only made it to two of the loudly advertised events. However, I chose well, oh so well. As it happens, both were situated in the same venue, namely Mayfield Depot, which is an abandoned railway station, and now looks like a massive, empty warehouse filled with stone/metal pillars, which could probably do with a little bit of loving care and attention, but actually works really well as it is. An “atmospheric space (…) transformed from a ghostly relic into a temporary venue for new cultural works.”

I could not think of a more suited venue for the ‘Adam Curtis v Massive Attack’ gig, which was actually more of an immersive film screening with live soundtrack from the band. Either way, it was mind-blowing. Almost literally too, because it turns out…