Happy Festival - Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May - at Bury Art Museum and The Met

Tickets are now on sale for the Happy Festival, celebrating the life and work of Bury‘s most famous daughter Victoria Wood.

Taking place on what would have been Victoria’s 70^thbirthday, the festival runs over Friday 19 and Saturday 20 May at Bury Art Museum and The Met arts centre.

It features a programme of events inspired by Victoria’s talent - from comedy, music and performances to Q&As, an exhibition, a new short film commission, and two new productions at The Met.

The programme:

Saturday 20 May – at Bury Art Museum:

Daytime - a packed day of events begins at 11am – book your FREE tickets at happyfestival.org

• Call the Midwife director and actor Noreen Kershawtalks about her career and experience in television and Coronation Street Casting Director Joanne Mosschats about those famous cobbles with former BBC Radio Lancashire presenter Sally Naden.
• Jasper Rees, author of Let’s Do It, the best-selling biography of Victoria Wood, talks to Bury Art Museum curator Susan Lord about working with the treasures of the Victoria Wood archive. Jasper will be signing books after the talk.
• Acting for Camera, a three-hour workshop with Peter Carroll (tickets £10)
• Watch a new short film commission for Happy. The J.O.B by director Paul Blinkhorn and writer Abdul Rahman Chunaraconfronts modern day office politics over tea and sandwiches in a work staffroom. Followed by a Q&A with Paul and Abdul.
• Did I Sing?: an exhibition of portraits of Victoria Wood fans at the Happy Festival 2021, taken by photographer to the comedy stars Andy Hollingworth. From 13^thMay to 15^th July. No ticket required.

Evening – from 5pm to 8.30pm. Tickets are £5 – book at happyfestival.org

• The Victoria Wood ultimate fan quiz hosted by actor and Call the Midwifedirector Noreen Kershaw. Who’s the biggest Victoria fan!? Test your knowledge!
• Bolton-based award-winning actor Pegeen Murphyperforms To Have and To Hold, a new comedy. Ange and Barry have been ballroom dance partners since school…
• Ladies that Monologue, featuring Llaria Passeri and 11 women between 40 and 75, with their brilliant, heartfelt monologues of life, love and more.
• Comedy set from the hilarious Leicester Mercury comedian of the year Nina Gilligan.

Friday 19 May – two events at The Met inspired by Victoria’s comedy:

• Valley Radio – Happy Half-Hour by Steve Cooper. Actor and writer Steve Cooper’s hilarious new comedy where the audience supply the sound effects! Join Tina, as she navigates deftly through traffic and travel, random callers, mystery guests, oh, and the end of the world…Valley Radiois nimbly performed by a cast of three, ably assisted and accompanied by the live studio audience who provide the sound effects! The play will be recorded live for transmission as a podcast following the evening’s performance. Tickets £12 (7-8pm), bookable via The Met
• 50 and Nifty by Beverley Green (8.45-9.25pm; tickets £9, bookable via The Met). A coming-of-age comedy with a difference. Marjorie Pardoe, the self-appointed town matriarch runs a self-help group for the over-50s, but the help she gives is a matter of opinion, and the only opinion that matters to Marjorie is her own.