Stories from the Shankill, dance in public spaces, international collaborations and 400 years of Belfast’s history – this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s will shine a light on the wealth of world-class local talent.
Sharing the billing with key international performers from Thursday 17th October – Sunday 27th October, home-grown artists will engage and entertain audiences in venues across the city. Launching the local element of this year’s Festival was Damian Smyth , Head of Literature and Drama for Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast theatre company Kabosh whose performance Belfast by Moonlight will run throughout festival in St George’s Church in Belfast.
Commenting on the importance of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s for our local arts scene, Damian stated, “Northern Ireland has produced some of the most outstanding and artistically accomplished local acts of world-class standard. The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s provides a platform for these theatrical talents to showcase their impressive work alongside that of renowned international performers. Kabosh’s world premiere of Carlo Gébler’s new play, Belfast by Moonlight, with original music by Neil Martin, will enchant audiences, reinforcing the message of the world-class theatre we have in Northern Ireland.”
From Friday 18th October in the stunning surrounds of St George’s Church, Kabosh Theatre Company will chart the 400 year history of this ever changing city in the new play Belfast by Moonlight written by Carlo Gébler with original music by Northern Irish composer Neil Martin. This ritualistic drama commences in 1613 when the town charter is granted and gives a voice to the forgotten celebrating personal endurance and presenting a refrain for Béal Feirste.
Martin’s music features again within the spectacular theatrical and music event The Conquest of Happiness at T13 in the Titanic Quarter– an international collaboration between Belfast theatre company Prime Cut, East West Centre in Sarajevo and the Mladinsko Theatre in Slovenia. Inspired by British philosopher Bertrand Russell, directed by acclaimed Bosnian artist Haris Pasovic and performed by an international cast this piece takes us on a journey through some of the most dramatic events in the world’s recent history.
Another journey through history – only this time it is the Shankill Road that provides the focus and the venue as community actors work alongside professional actors to present Crimea Square at the Spectrum Centre. The amazing story of the Shankill Road from 1912 to the present day is populated by some of the Shankill’s greatest characters and covers major events from the signing of the Ulster Covenant up to and beyond the Shankill Road bombing. Using a unique combination of especially commissioned sound scape and film, the era of the cinema will be brought back to the Spectrum Centre (old Stadium Cinema) through the use of large screens recalling the Shankill of old.
From film to dance with Maiden Voyage at The MAC and the Ulster Museum – a newly commissioned premiere from Northern Irish dance company Dance Exposed which will take dance into public spaces to ask questions about the relationship between bodies and buildings as a way of understanding the link between individuals and the structures that shape their experience. Choreographer Fearghus Ó Conchúir will create a performance in and around The MAC and Ulster Museum that maps the relationships between dancer and audience, between the performance and the space it inhabits, and between the traces of what has been and of what is to come.
The scale and diversity of this annual Festival programme would not be possible without the continuing support of our various public and private sponsors, including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Ulster Bank, Belfast City Council, Northern Ireland Tourist Board, the EU and the British Council. Plus, the many venues, performers and partner organisations whose commitment and passion bring the arts to life for all to enjoy.
The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s runs from 17th – 27th October at venues all over the city. To find out more and book tickets visit www.belfastfestival.com or call box office on 02890 971197. ⧣BelFest