-One of Belfast’s most innovative and thought-provoking festival returns this week
The Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics kicks off this week (20th – 26th March) and will explore the theme, ‘Brain Food: A Feast of Ideas for A Better World’ with a programme of film, humour, talks, music, poetry, theatre, exhibitions, tours, discussion and workshops.
Now in its ninth year, the week-long festival has over 130 in-person and online events. Most events are free and will take place online and in venues across the city. Keynote speakers include the world-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky; American political scientist Francis Fukuyama; British environmentalist Jonathon Porritt; Belfast poet Medbh McGuckian; campaigner George Monbiot; visual artist Colin Davidson: journalist Sally Hayden and satirist Oliver Callan.
Commenting on this year’s programme, Festival director and founder, Peter O’Neill said: “This year’s programme is jam-packed with a diverse range of events that will cater to a variety of tastes. Our events will nourish the mind and provide food for thought in this volatile world. We aim to put the fun into politics with lots of humour, performance and discussion, so please join us for this feast of ideas and view the events at https://imaginebelfast.com/.”
There are many notable events in the programme including a politics quiz, a poetry and politics pub tour, and a special ‘Poetry and Politics’ performance, hosted by William Crawley, where local politicians will talk about their favourite poems. Owen McCafferty’s new play, ‘Agreement’ premieres at the Lyric Theatre and examines this landmark moment in the history of Northern Ireland. Other new productions include Five Days – a new play by Joe Nawaz, and the premiere of Reunion by Julie Dutkiewicz and Kabosh Theatre.
Musicians include legendary performer, John Otway; alternative punks, Wood Burning Savages; the acclaimed Australian song writer, Robert Forster; and a talk by Paul Gorman on the rise and fall of the music press. Comedy is well represented with Tiff Stevenson and Fin Taylor alongside poets such as Henry Normal, Luke Wright, and Clare Pollard taking to the stage.
Tickets and further info are available from: https://imaginebelfast.com