The 2009 edition of the Manchester International Festival (MIF), an event that claims to be the world's first international festival of original, new work and special events will include on its program an original play based on a Bingo theme.

The play will be called “Everybody Loves a Winner” and it is planned to be on next year from July 1st until 18th at the Royal Exchange Theatre. It is about "a well-loved but overlooked pastime - bingo" and will involve elements of audience participation.

“Everybody Loves a Winner “is a story created by director Neil Bartlett with Simon Deacon and Struan Leslie. For this representation, the Royal Exchange Theatre will become a Bingo hall, both familiar but strange. The show will include music, dancing and possibly a chance to win some cash as the play unfolds.

Other commissions for the 2009 edition of the festival include: “J S Bach/Zaha Hadid Architects”, a play where Zaha Hadid Architects create a unique environment within Manchester Art Gallery for Bach’s solo works for piano, violin and cello; and “Prima Donna”, Rufus Wainwright’s debut opera, a portrait of a fading opera singer set in Paris and sung in French.