The UK film director Danny Boyle was called a “national hero” for organising the eccentric opening ceremony for the London Olympic games in 2012 (the show featured NHS dancing nurses and heroes of the Industrial Revolution). The Slumdog Millionaire director is taking on another large-scale public project, overseeing a “funfair-themed” celebration marking the launch of Home, Manchester’s new centre for international contemporary art, theatre and film, on 21 May. So how will Danny match his Olympics behemoth? Boyle will present “a climactic volley of percussive ‘mascletà’ pyrotechnics that will ring the building”, say the organisers. Home was, meanwhile, formed by merging two of Manchester’s most prestigious arts organisations: Cornerhouse and the Library Theatre Company. The inaugural show, "The heart is deceitful above all things" (22 May-26 July), will include new work from artists including Jeremy Bailey, Declan Clarke, and Basim Magdy. “This new group exhibition explores heartache, breaking up, disenchantment and the dark side of the funfair,” the organisers say, linking neatly to Boyle’s opening extravaganza.
