Belfast Festival launches packed programme

The Belfast International Arts festival will run for 19 days in October. Credit: Belfast Festival

The Belfast International Arts Festival has revealed its packed 2016 programme, built around three central themes – Shakespeare 400 years on, migration and refuge, and the legacy of the war years.

The festival will be held across the city from Tuesday 11 October to Saturday 29 October.

The central themes of Bending the Bard, World in Motion, and Nineteen Sixteen look set to ensure plenty of colour, history, culture, arts and entertainment.

Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland said: “The importance of staging an international arts festival in Belfast cannot be overestimated.

“As the festival’s principal funder, the Arts Council of NI recognises its enormous contribution to high-quality arts and culture in return for a relatively small amount of public investment.

“We are delighted to support the Belfast International Arts Festival once again and we wish the team every success with this year’s terrific programme.”

Lord Mayor of Belfast Brian Kingston added: “Attracting top international acts helps Belfast secure its place as a city providing a world class range of entertainment.

"Audiences – both local and visiting – will undoubtedly be impressed by the line-up announced today."

Among the highlights showcased at Tuesday’s launch were the hugely anticipated first appearance in Northern Ireland of New York performance artist Taylor Mac.

The actor, playwright, singer and songwriter combines glitzy cabaret with daring political and social commentary and audience participation, and his show will incorporate his own take on Irish history.

Jenny Waldman, Director of 14-18 NOW - a major cultural programme taking place across the UK to mark the centenary of the First World War – said: “One hundred years ago this year, the First World War was entering its darkest days.

“As the conflict entered its third year it must have felt as though the war would last forever, a sensation heightened by the intense brutality of the Battle of the Somme.

“It is important to remember the momentous impact of the First World War in Northern Ireland, as well as mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, and we are delighted to be co-commissioning with Belfast International Arts Festival a new work from Taylor Mac which explores this pivotal moment in history.”

The festival will also feature Run to the Rock, the work of critically acclaimed Irish performance artist Amanda Coogan.

The live art work will involve deaf performers from Northern Ireland and South Africa and is based around the ‘Robben Island Bible’ - a copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare which was smuggled among prisoners on Robben Island during the period of Nelson Mandela’s incarceration.

Run to the Rock has been specially commissioned by the festival with the support of the British Council’s Shakespeare Reworked programme and combines choreographed movements inspired by translations of Shakespeare into British and Irish Sign Language.

Neil Webb, Director of British Council Theatre and Dance,said: “The artistic collaboration in this project between deaf performers from Northern Ireland and South Africa demonstrates how Shakespeare continues to live in all people and all nations.

"I very much look forward to seeing how Amanda’s project continues to grow, as she has placed Shakespeare at the heart of a project that makes live art more accessible to deaf audiences and explores the creative potential of sign language.”

The festival’s opening event, In Dreams Begin Responsibility, weaves together the power of poetry, music, drama and imagery with the works of the likes of Heaney, Muldoon, Longley and Hewitt.

It is described as a celebration of reconciliation on the island of Ireland over the last 100 years and on the 18th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Musical offerings will range from the likes of award-winning English folk singers Martin Carthy and Martin Simpson, US indie rockers Augustines, nu soul sensation Michael Kiwanuka, and Italian classical pianist Emanuele Arciuli.

Meanwhile, female artists feature strongly throughout this year’s festival and no more so than in the talks and literature strand of the programme.

Contributors include feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez, arguably best known for the campaign to put Jane Austen on the £20 note.

And this year’s Amnesty International lecture will be given by Labour MP Yvette Cooper on Fixing the Refugee Crisis.

Free family entertainment will also appear in various parks and venues across the city and will include a spectacular underwater-themed acrobatics and lights show called Mú.

Chief Executive of Tourism NI John McGrillen said: “The Belfast International Arts Festival makes a significant contribution to tourism in the low season months and presents a great opportunity for visitors to stay longer and contribute more to our economy.

“I commend the dedication and hard work of Richard and his team for the creation and delivery of a high quality event.”