writers had worked on the project for four years. In 2015, Elba had asked them to develop his idea for a musical based on his album Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela, on which Allen-Martin had also collaborated. When Kwei-Armah joined the project in May 2018, he rewrote part of their material. Tree was later billed as "created by Idris Elba and Kwame Kwei-Armah". Allen-Martin and Henley described that their creative input had included research, scriptwriting as well as the play's title, and that they were threatened with legal action if they went public with the story. MIF issued a statement to counter their description of events, describing Tree as a new work based on an original script by Kwei-Armah that was entirely his creation. Factory International Factory International is a £110 million theatre and arts venue to be built on the former site of Granada Studios, in the St John's Quarter of Manchester being developed by Manchester Quays Ltd (MQL), a development partnership between Allied London and Manchester City Council, and is to be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival. Its name comes from Factory Records, the independent record label founded by the late Tony Wilson. The venue, designed by Rem Koolhaas from the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), is due to open in 2023. Additional board members were added in 2017 to strengthen the skill set taking the project forward. During the Manchester International Festival (MIF) in 2021, Factory International was used as a venue for 'Arcadia' an art installation, design by Deborah Warner, even though the construction works were not yet complete. The exhibition included recorded contributions from Simon Russell Beale, RoxXxan, Jane Horrocks, Brian Cox, Lioness, David Thewlis and many others. Opening Programme In September 2023 Factory International announced their opening programme. It includes Free Your Mind, an immersive Matrix films-themed dance, music and visual effects experience directed by Danny Boyle, You Me and the Balloons, the world's biggest ever show by Yayoi Kusama, and The Welcome, a series of special events and performances curated by the people of Greater Manchester. References Notes The original timeline was as follows: May 2016 – planning application submission January 2017 to December 2018 – construction January 2019 to June 2019 – commissioning of facilities and test events July 2019 – opening ceremony Reference to Note 1 point 5.0. Pdf. External links Manchester International Festival official website – including