Media Release
For release 30 October 2008

SPOOKTACULAR EVENTS AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL

There are lots of spooktacular events at this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.  Theatre productions abound with ghouls and ghosts in ‘Heavenly Bodies’ to menacing pucks and fairies in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to dark and sinister stories in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’. 

“We have a number of different productions that are a little bit dark and sinister in nature,” said Festival Director Graeme Farrow, “and bookings are very healthy for these events.  I’m not sure what that says about audiences here, but it will certainly make for a memorable Halloween.”

A carnivalesque production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the ideal Shakespeare comedy for Footsbarn, with its magical world of the not so innocent Fairies, the farcical scenes of the lovers and the Artisan clowns.  We are taken on a journey accompanied by live music, rich costumes, masks and pure comedy.  It portrays the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with the Duke and Duchess of Athens, Theseus and Hippolyta, and with the fairies who inhabit a moonlit forest.

Tennessee Williams’ dark tale of voracious greed, seamy passions and devastating truths reaches boiling point in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  The classic American play is transported from Mississippi to Munster – think Desperate Housewives meets rural Ireland with a dynamic and dark side!

Appearing at Stranmillis College Theatre from Tuesday to Saturday of this week, acclaimed Dublin based theatre company Corn Exchange present this electrifying Pulitzer-winning classic in their inimitable bold style which is contemporary and slick but echoes the 1950’s.  The stilettoed ‘Bree Hodge’ wives are desperate because they are living through their husbands’ lives, waiting to strike it rich.

It’s Big Daddy’s birthday and he’s dying.  The heat is rising for his family as they square off to take-over his enormous estate.  His favoured son, Brick, has turned to the bottle to drown out the hypocrisy surrounding him, the truth he can’t suppress, and the incessant clawing of his desperately frustrated wife, Maggie the Cat.

Director Annie Ryan explains:  “I’d been playing around with what this version of Cat would be like, and one day I was passing a billboard in town advertising Desperate Housewives, and I said, ‘Oh that’s what it is.  It’s like Irish Desperate Housewives.’  And everywhere I looked, I just saw them in their 4x4s, and designer sunglasses.  The more I looked at it, the more I thought ‘It’s such an Irish play!’  It’s been compared to Synge before:  the alcoholism, the sexual repression... and there’s the mammy/favourite son relationship, and the father/son thing:  they never speak and in the play, the one time they try to have a conversation, they just talk in circles, it’s so Irish!

The Corn Exchange is renowned as one of Ireland’s most innovative theatre companies.  Its award winning productions include Dublin by Lamplight, Mud, Lolita, Car Show and Foley.  The company has toured productions internationally to the UK, USA, Netherlands, France and Australia.

The ghost of the real-life clown who was beaten to death by his audience – meets the author of The Vampire and hundreds of other melodramas. Surely the most unusual haunting this Halloween is Stewart Parker’s play Heavenly Bodies which is written about the two most famous historical figures of the 19th century stage:  Dion Boucicault and Johnny Patterson.

The ghost of Johnny Patterson appears to haunt the dying moments of Dion Boucicault – both men recall and re-enact his remarkable life and career before Boucicault is forced to make his final stage exit into eternity

This extraordinary play about two fascinating figures is an hilarious story performed by a star studded cast: (Dan Gordon, Nuala McKeever (Hole in the Wall Gang), Frankie McCafferty (Ballykissangel), Alan McKee (Grimes & McKee), Richard Dormer, Kathy Clarke, Gemma  Halligan, Richard Orr and directed by Tim Loane

This event is taking place as part of week long series of events (play readings, film screenings, book launches, and a major international conference) designed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Belfast playwright of Stewart Parker’s death.  Be spooked on Friday 31 October in the Drama and Film Centre. 

For immediate release
Wednesday 29.10.08

BAD BOY OF BRITISH BALLET ARRIVES IN BELFAST

The man who rocked the establishment by putting punk into dance has arrived in Belfast to oversee rehearsals for his new show Mmm... as part of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.
Michael Clark is a legendary figure who became very much the bad boy of British ballet when collaborating with new wave group The Fall in the 1980s.
In the Grand Opera House on Thursday night his amazing company will dance to heart pumping music by Wire, The Sex Pistols and Barbra Streisand, but the real highlight will be the choreography to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, performed in a rare live version for two grand pianos.
“It’s one of the most influential pieces in the history of music and everybody should hear it at least once in their lifetime,” said Festival Director Graeme Farrow.
Mmm... is a brutal and highly physical affirmation of life born out of Clark’s response to The Rite of Spring in which he explores the themes of birth, life, death and renewal in a relentless and sexually charged choreography.
It’s an inspired, some would say bizarre, choice for Clark who has made his name through shocking and provoking the audience and, with its flashes of nudity, Mmm... is not for the faint hearted.
Michael Clark is one the most significant dancers and choreographers to have emerged in the last 20 years.  His legendary collaborations with renowned bands, fashion designers and visual artists ensure that his impact is felt widely across many art forms.  The show also features original costumes by the avant-garde performance artist Leigh Bowery.
Mmm... is at the Grand Opera House on Thursday 30 October at 8.00pm.  Tickets available from       (028) 9024 1919       or online at www.goh.co.uk.

IRISH DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES A SURE FIRE DRAW

It’s Tennessee Williams, but not as you know him.  The theatrical highlight of the final week of this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s sees the classic American play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof transported from Mississippi to Munster – think Desperate Housewives meets rural Ireland!

Appearing at Stranmillis College Theatre from Tuesday to Saturday of this week, acclaimed Dublin based theatre company Corn Exchange present this electrifying Pulitzer-winning classic in their inimitable bold style which is contemporary and slick but echoes the 1950’s.  The stilettoed ‘Bree Hodge’ wives are desperate because they are living through their husbands’ lives, waiting to strike it rich.

It’s Big Daddy’s birthday and he’s dying.  The heat is rising for his family as they square off to take-over his enormous estate.  His favoured son, Brick, has turned to the bottle to drown out the hypocrisy surrounding him, the truth he can’t suppress, and the incessant clawing of his desperately frustrated wife, Maggie the Cat.

Voracious greed, seamy passions and devastating truths reach boiling pitch in Tennessee Williams’ scorching portrait of a stinking-rich family on the brink of implosion.

Director Annie Ryan explains:  “I’d been playing around with what this version of Cat would be like, and one day I was passing a billboard in town advertising Desperate Housewives, and I said, ‘Oh that’s what it is.  It’s like Irish Desperate Housewives.’  And everywhere I looked, I just saw them in their 4x4s, and designer sunglasses.  In going back to the play, I started reading it to myself in a bad Cork accent, and it got to the stage where I couldn’t even hear it in its American version.  The more I looked at it, the more I thought ‘It’s such an Irish play!’  It’s been compared to Synge before:  the alcoholism, the sexual repression... and there’s the mammy/favourite son relationship, and the father/son thing:  they never speak and in the play, the one time they try to have a conversation, they just talk in circles, it’s so Irish!

“We put it on the floor and played around with accents and I thought, ‘This is mad, to put it into Munster’, but it works because the language is so rich and so stylized, in a similar way, again, to Synge’s language.  To put it in a regional American accent that none of us really know distances the meaning of the play for me, whereas if it’s definitely in Munster, it means that Brick is a GAA player, and I thought ‘What would it mean for Brick to be a big GAA footballer from here and to really have a bling bling WAG wife...?’”

Audiences watching Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are bound to remember the late, great, Paul Newman.  One of the roles which launched Newman to stardom was that of Brick in the 1958 film version alongside Elizabeth Taylor.  It gained him his first of many Oscar nominations. 

“I’m sure his is as definitive as a role can get,” said Annie Ryan.  “As Brick's wife Maggie says, he is “cool, so cool, so enviably cool.”  In my opinion, he is by far the best thing about the film.  Any actor coming to that role couldn’t help but draw from his performance, as does our Brick, Rory Nolan.  Our production quotes the film a tiny bit in terms of design, but really, is a big departure from the classic version.”

The Corn Exchange is renowned as one of Ireland’s most innovative theatre companies.  Its award winning productions include Dublin by Lamplight, Mud, Lolita, Car Show and Foley.  The company has toured productions internationally to the UK, USA, Netherlands, France and Australia.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is presented through special arrangement with The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, and is one of a number of festival events funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s is supported by Queen’s University, Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.

Tickets are available by phoning     (028) 9097 1197    or online at www.belfastfestival.com.

For Immediate Release
27 October 2008

Jorge brings the Río carnival to Belfast

Once famously described as “the coolest man on the planet” Seu Jorge arrives in Belfast on Wednesday 29 October to perform as part of this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.  The singer, songwriter and film star makes his Belfast debut for an evening of intense urban samba and big-band Brazilian funk.  He will perform at the Mandela Hall at 9pm 

Seu Jorge was the subject of a recent ITV South Bank Show which told his extraordinary story from favella street kid to starring roles in the internationally acclaimed City of God and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou for which Jorge famously put a bossa nova spin on the David Bowie songbook.

A welcome return to the silver screen in Brit-flick crime caper The Escapist coincides with a brand-new Seu Jorge album América Brasil, an infectious mix of blues-tinged bossa and exuberant samba funk.  Jorge explains:  “Brazilian people, they want to hear carnival music, they want 'jumps and bumps'.  So I made this album, a jumps and bumps album, for Brazilian people to dance to, to party to.”

“América Brasil charms, refreshes and enthrals. A delight.”  The Independent

Jorge’s shows are a communal celebration and with his three UK released solo albums to draw on he has a formidable repertoire at his fingertips.  Jorge’s intense urban sambas will induce collective hip swaying across the land. 

“Glorious funked up samba anthems and sultry bossa nova.”  Daily Telegraph on América Brasil

Seu Jorge combined his singing and acting roles with the release of The Life Aquatic Sessions CD.  Its reinvention of the David Bowie songbook in sensuous samba form earned Jorge the praise of Bowie himself: “had Seu Jorge not recorded my songs acoustically in Portuguese I would never have heard this new level of beauty which he has imbued them with.”

For Immediate Release

22 October 2008

Shakespeare pitches his tent in Ormeau Park

Welcome to the world of Footsbarn.  The caravans have arrived in Ormeau Park and their magical tent is up.  Make merry and be part of a special carnival atmosphere for Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy. The alternative travelling theatre company will entrance and entertain us with a riotous ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ which runs from Thursday 23 October to Saturday 1 November. 

Footsbarn Travelling Theatre is one of the world's leading touring companies, transcending the barrier of language with a unique blend of visual theatre, masks, dance, puppets, magic and circus.

Founded by Oliver Foot and Jean Paul Cook in Cornwall in 1971, the first rehearsals took place in a barn owned by the Foot family, hence the name ‘Footsbarn’. 

In 35 years Footsbarn has produced nearly 60 plays, travelling the world over and is truly a multi-national group.  The actors possess a multiplicity of talents and theatrical techniques, all of which inhabit and enrich every performance. For the last 20 years Footsbarn’s home and base has been in the centre of France in the Auvergne but they are almost permanently on the road. Footsbarn will not only brighten up dull autumn evenings in Belfast but give a tantalising taste of a unique nomadic lifestyle.

Welcoming Footsbarn to Northern Ireland and to Festival, Noirín McKinney, Director of Arts Development with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said “The Arts Council is delighted to welcome the internationally renowned Footsbarn Travelling Theatre to Northern Ireland and the Ormeau Park.   This production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is one of a number of events funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, and promises to be an exciting adaptation of the Shakespearian classic.   This is a wonderful occasion to experience and enjoy a world class, accessible, magical arts performance in the unusual setting of a tent in Ormeau Park, so I would encourage local people and families to take advantage of this rare opportunity and attend what promises to be a magnificent event”.

The production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is kindly sponsored by P&O Irish Sea. Tracy Robb, Marketing Manager commented: “We are delighted to be involved again this year with the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s and in particular with bringing Footsbarn travelling theatre across on our Liverpool - Dublin and Cairnryan - Larne routes. This event is one for the whole family to enjoy and it’s unique atmosphere and surroundings, along with its multicultural cast is sure to make it a show to remember.”

It’s the ideal Shakespeare comedy for Footsbarn, with its magical world of the not-so-innocent Fairies, the farcical scenes of the lovers and the Artisan clowns.  We are taken on a journey accompanied by live music, rich costumes, masks and pure comedy.

“This international company that boasts actors from seven countries seems to have taken the very essence of Shakespeare's play and bottled it.  From the moment you step inside the tent you are in a parallel universe...  The entire show is like a beautifully textured painting set to music by a live band.”   Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

“... a wonderfully eclectic mixture of styles and influences, of nationalities and cultures, all melded into a seamlessly fluid torrent of pure theatre.  East and West, North and South meet in this production, which makes use of circus clowning, carnival processions, tribal dances, Kabuki, commedia dell'arte, farce and surrealism to create its sense of wonder, its pleasure and magic.”   Fintan O’Toole - The Irish Times

“At one point Bottom looks round at the audience and cries, "We're surrounded, Peter!  Who are they?  They must be fairies!"  Well, we weren't.  We were fans."  Dorothy McMillan, Glasgow Herald

This is a family friendly event and audiences are strongly advised to wrap up warm.

Festival number crunching its way to success

This year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s is predicting record sales which organisers say is all the more satisfying given the present economic climate.

“Despite any initial fears that the credit crunch would keep audiences away, this festival has eclipsed all previous box office records and is on course for ticket sales of £700,000 by the time the 16 day festival ends on 1st November,” said Festival Director Graeme Farrow.

“Our theatre programme in particular has been a runaway success with Footsbarn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Prime Cut’s Antigone among the biggest selling theatre shows we’ve ever had. But they’ll be given a run for their money this week with the arrival of Dublin based company Corn Exchange. Its production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, with its ‘Desperate Housewives meets rural Ireland’ spin, is bound to be a big box office draw.”

Other popular sellers have included the Magners Comedy events such as Ed Byrne, Russell Howard and Tim Minchin.

Mock the Week regular Michael McIntyre is so popular the Festival keeps upgrading him to bigger venues. He sold out the Elmwood Hall within days, was moved to the Whitla Hall and now fans will be able to get their hands on more tickets released today as he switches venue yet again. Broadway legend Barbara Cook has postponed until next year her concert scheduled for the Belfast Waterfront on 31st October and so Michael McIntyre moves into that venue, giving many more fans the chance to see him in action.

Audiences now looking for an official closing event to the festival can let their hair down on Saturday 1st November with the prestigious and world famous Kilfenora Ceili Band at The Big Dance in the Whitla Hall. Formed in 1909 and now celebrating 100 years of bringing people to the dance floor, the Kilfenora Ceili Band brings the atmosphere and excitement of the ceili to new generations and seasoned dancers. Get ready to dance the night away!

Tickets are now on sale at the Festival Box office at www.belfastfestival.com or by telephoning  028 9097 1197  - open Monday to Friday, 8.30am-5.30pm, Saturday 10am-2pm.  You can also book in person at the Belfast Welcome Centre, 47 Donegall Place from 10am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday and 11am-3pm Saturday. 

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s is supported by Queen’s University, Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.

ENDS                                 

For further information, please contact:
Catharina Hendrick:  +44 (0)28 9097 1356  or e-mail c.hendrick@qub.ac.uk

News Release
For Immediate Release

MUSIC FANS GET READY TO ROCK THE HOUSE!

Music fans are getting ready to rock the house - the Grand Opera House, that is. Four big acts from the world of rock music, all of them fresh from Glastonbury, have been lined up as part of this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.

“These shows promise to be something special,” said Graeme Farrow, Director of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s.  “It’s rare to see rock shows in the Grand Opera House and the venue will provide a unique atmosphere that will add something extra to the concerts.  The artists were attracted by this prospect and the ornate but intimate setting is perfectly suited to the talents of Elbow, Seasick Steve, Martha Wainwright and The Swell Season.”

In March of this year, Elbow (26 October) returned with their fourth studio album, The Seldom Seen Kid, the follow up to 2005’s universally acclaimed Leaders of the Free World.  The summer saw Elbow headline the Royal Festival Hall in London as part of Massive Attack’s Meltdown and they took Glastonbury by storm.  This concert is sure to be another highlight.

Steve Wold, more commonly known as Seasick Steve (27 October), is an American bluesman, although he rather would be called "a song and dance man".  When asked about his nickname, Steve said: "because it's just true: I always get seasick."
 
Seasick Steve's music is so out of it and old-fashioned that it somehow arrives at modern.  His audiences have mainly been the younger crowd, listening to the Fat Possum sounds of R.L. Burnside et al and bands like The White Stripes and Black Diamond Heavies.  Seasick Steve’s star has rocketed on these shores ever since his first celebrated appearance on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny in 2006 and this summer he appeared on Glastonbury’s main Pyramid stage.

With a hugely expressive voice and an arsenal of powerful songs, Martha Wainwright (31 October) is a beguiling entertainer.  The Guardian described her performances, delivered in her expressive voice, as “full of incredible songs, old and new, that come straight from the big dark heart of American songwriting”.  Undoubtedly her own person, with her own sense of style, Martha’s second full length album, I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too, was released earlier this year.  

The Swell Season (1 November) will continue the soundtrack theme established by Ennio Morricone’s historic visit as this year’s Ulster Bank Opening Concert (17-18 October).

Glen Hansard of the Irish band, The Frames, and Marketa Irglova, first happened upon one another when The Frames were touring the Czech Republic.  In 2005 they recorded an album together in Prague, The Swell Season.  It was to prove partly inspirational for John Carney’s Once, a low budget indie film that was one of the most successful independent features of 2007.  The pair not only wrote the songs for the movie, but they both starred in it as well.

Since the release of the film, Glen and Marketa have toured extensively as The Swell Season and appeared on a number of high profile US TV shows including Letterman and Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Their success story was rounded off in February by winning an Academy Award for Falling Slowly in the Best Original Song category.

Tickets priced from £19.50 to £25.50 are now on sale for all of these concerts from the Grand Opera House Ticket Shop on  (028) 9024 1919  or www.goh.co.uk.

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s is supported by Queen’s University, Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council.

News Release – 22 September 2008

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s gets jazzed up
Friday 17 October – Saturday 1 November 2008
Now in its 46th year, the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's is the largest festival of its kind in Ireland and celebrates the best of international art and Northern Ireland's rich and vibrant cultural scene.
Film legend Ennio Morricone will take to the stage of the Waterfront Hall at the Ulster Bank Opening Concert  on 17 and 18 October.  The Italian maestro behind some of the most instantly recognisable film music of the last forty years, including Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables, the intimate Cinema Paradiso and the enormously popular score for The Mission, will perform his only UK and Ireland engagement this year at the Festival.  This is a rare live appearance by the Oscar winning film legend - undoubtedly one of the most skilled, prolific and influential film composers in history. 

Other highlights include Broadway diva Barbara Cook who will delight audiences at the Waterfront Hall on Friday 31 October.  Her purity of tone and warm presence have enchanted audiences around the world for more than 50 years.  Considered “Broadway’s favourite ingénue” during the heyday of the Broadway musical, she made her debut in 1951 and has played just about every leading lady role including Ado Annie (Oklahoma!), Anna (The King and I) and Magnolia (Showboat).  Ms. Cook has given concerts such as Barbara Cook’s Broadway and Barbara Cook in Mostly Sondheim to sold out audiences and rave reviews from Carnegie Hall to the Albert Hall.  Book early to avoid disappointment. 

The Ennio Morricone and Barbara Cook concerts are supported by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. 

The Festival will also be jazzed up with the Bobo Stenson Trio, Billy Cobham and Asere, Manu Katché, Liane Carroll and Sugar Blue. 

The Rough Guide describe Bobo Stenson as “a mellifluously elegant player, with a keen jazz mind, Stenson has done as much as anyone to put European jazz on the map.” Sweden’s Bobo Stenson has been one of Europe’s most highly regarded pianists since he first hit the scene in the sixties.  Early in his career he accompanied some of the world’s finest musicians, including Stan Getz, Don Cherry, Gary Burton and Sonny Rollins, before beginning a longstanding association with the iconic ECM label and playing with musicians such as Jan Garbarek, Tomasz Stanko and Charles Lloyd.

It is with his own trio however, that Stenson has most completely established his own voice and his music has found a new dimension.  During the trio’s highly successful debut UK tour in 2006, audience members had the opportunity to marvel at the artistry of this subtly distinctive pianist playing.  This majestic trio is made up of Stenson’s long time friend and double bass maestro Anders Jormin and dynamic drummer Jon Falt who has been making waves on the music scene despite being still in his twenties.  Catch them on Saturday 18 October.

When jazz drumming icon and musical legend Billy Cobham first teamed up with the innovative and stylish young Cuban group Asere in 2002, no one could quite have anticipated where their union would end up.  Six years on, the result is a stunning collaborative debut album ‘De Cuba y De Panama’.  The warmth of the relationship that has developed between these two powerhouses radiates loud and clear through their music as they bring the full Cuban experience to the stage on Saturday 25 October.

A hugely influential musician, Billy has put the pulse into everything from funk to soul to jazz and has played with a who’s who of modern music, including Miles Davis, George Benson, Oscar Peterson, Jack Bruce, and Herbie Hancock. 

Groundbreaking and contemporary, Asere recreate the passion and feeling of the music they heard around them growing up in Havana.  Their superb interpretation of Cuba’s musical traditions has produced a creative, pioneering repertoire, deeply respectful of their predecessors, yet with an exciting contemporary edge, blessed with inventive song writing and a soulful groove.

French/African drumming sensation Emmanuel ‘Manu’ Katché has worked with some of the biggest names in music, including Sting and Peter Gabriel.  His agile rhythms build patterns, frameworks of pulses that nudge and lift the horn players, or lock into deep grooves with piano and bass.

He has often said that his style is essentially an amalgam of African rhythm concepts and classical drumming, illuminated by the in-the-moment interaction of jazz.  Katché’s rip roaring band, which features a confederacy of young players, is energized by his hard driving drums and by his compositions which invite spirited solos.  Together, the quintet - whose strong frontline features Mathias Eick and Trygve Seim - makes exciting, zestful music.  They will perform on Saturday 1 November.

A stalwart of the British jazz scene for many years, Liane Carroll is now considered to be one of the UK's top jazz vocalists who can count Sir Michael Parkinson, HRH Prince Charles and Kevin Spacey among her growing list of fans!  Having recorded and toured with Gerry Rafferty, Long John Baldrey, Gerry Donahue and Sir Paul McCartney, Liane started to break out as a force in her own right in 2003 with her first solo release, 'Billy No Mates', a haunting and intimate collection of jazz standards and originals that won her two BBC Jazz Awards.  She was the first musician to pick up two of these awards in the same year, a record that she still holds.

In 2005 Liane released ‘Standard Issue’, winning the Marston Pedigree Jazz Award, and in 2007 the highly acclaimed ‘Slow Down’.  2007 also saw Liane pick up the 'Best female jazz vocalist' gong at the inaugural Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Awards and take the stage at Glastonbury for a headlining performance with her trio.  Liane Carroll will be on top form on Thursday 23 October.

Influenced by jazz greats such as Dexter Gordon and Lester Young, Sugar Blue began his career as a street musician before making his first recordings in 1975 with legendary blues figures Brownie McGhee and Roosevelt Sykes.  The following year, he contributed to recordings by Victoria Spivey and Johnny Shines before moving to Paris on the advice of pioneer blues pianist Memphis Slim.

While in France, Blue hooked up with members of The Rolling Stones, who instantly fell in love with his sound.  The Stones invited Blue to join them in the studio where he worked on their Some Girls album and is perhaps best known for his signature riff and solo on their hit Miss You.  In addition to the Rolling Stones, Blue has played and recorded with some of the world’s most renowned musicians including Ray Charles, Willie Dixon, Stan Getz, Frank Zappa, Johnny Shines, Muddy Waters, BB King, Bob Dylan and Prince.  He won a Grammy Award in 1985 for his work on the Atlantic album ‘Blues Explosion’.

The unique hand made Spiegeltent (tent of mirrors) is one of the world’s most decadent travelling cabaret and music salons and makes a welcome return to Custom House Square following last year’s smash hit visit.  The venue will play host to a wide variety of events, including hip-hop, theatre, jazz, folk, cabaret and, of course, the Spiegeltent Festival Party!   Catch it all from Friday 17 October to Saturday 1 November. 

Tickets can be booked online at www.belfastfestival.com or by telephoning the Box Office on  +44 (0)28 9097 1197  .

For further information on travel and accommodation, contact the Belfast Welcome Centre on  +44 (0)28 9024 6609  or visit www.gotobelfast.com. 

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s is supported by Queen’s University, Belfast, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Belfast City Council. 

For Immediate Release
15 September 2008

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's strikes the right note!

Held over 16 days, the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s will offer the very best of classical music and opera which takes place from 17 October to 1 November.

Film legend Ennio Morricone will open this year's Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's on 17 October.  Other highlights include Cherie Blair and Broadway diva Barbara Cook, Footsbarn Theatre with a riotous A Midsummer Night's Dream, 70s superstar Gilbert O’Sullivan, brilliant reworkings of Antigone by Owen McCafferty for Prime Cut and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by The Corn Exchange, premiere visits by choreographers Michael Clark and Wayne McGregor, top class classical music, jazz, comedy, literature, folk and everything in-between!

Opening this year’s festival is Ennio Morricone with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and Belfast Philharmonic Choir.  The Italian maestro behind some of the most instantly recognisable film music of the last forty years (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables), will perform his only UK and Ireland engagements this year at the Opening Concert of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 October at the Waterfront Hall.

Opera

Intrigue, obsession and fatal attraction conspire with dramatic results in Debussy’s compelling opera Pelléas and Mélisande, presented by the Opera Theatre Company.  Opera Theatre Company is the national touring company of Ireland, bringing professional opera to venues of all sizes in cities, towns and villages throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Set in the atmospheric Great Hall in Queen’s University, this French masterpiece is a work of striking originality.  Sparks will fly on Friday 24-Sunday 26 October.
 

Classical

What do Herrmann’s ‘Music from Hitchcock’s Psycho’, Scott Walker’s ‘It’s Raining Today and Rosemary’ and Greenwood’s ‘There Will Be Blood’ have in common?  They will all be performed by the Ulster Orchestra in a concert featuring excerpts from Jonny Greenwood’s acclaimed score alongside other musical selections from composers that have had an influence on his work.  The Clonard Concert will take place on Wednesday 22 October in Clonard Monastery. 

Two great Russian pianists, Dmitri Alexeev and Nikolai Demidenko, will be performing Medtner, Schubert/Prokofiev, Shostakovitch/Alexeev and Gershwin/Alexeev  on Wednesday 29 October. 

Other great classical concerts to watch out for include:  the Škampa String Quartet (Saturday 25 October), one of today’s most exciting young string quartets, pianist Lukáš Vondrácek (Sunday 26 October), cellist and pianist Paul and Huw Watkins (Friday 31 October), and the Cepicky, Rosefield, Dussek Trio on Saturday 1 November with works by Martinu and Novak. 

New York-based Irish pianist Isabelle O’Connell presents two world premieres by Northern Irish composers Brian Irvine and Peter Rosser in Dead Body at the Meter House.  Chamber music and interior design meet elegantly on Friday 24 October at the Meter House, The Gasworks. 

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s and BBC Radio Ulster present Young Musicians from Northern Ireland on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October.  David Sloan (cello), Eimear McGeown (flute), Sam Law (piano) and Eimear Collins (soprano) will be given a unique platform on an international stage.  Not to be missed. 

Festival serves up a fabulous feast of folk

The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s will be hosting a feast of folk over 16 days - from 17 October to 1 November - with Sean Keane, Capercaillie, Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson with Le Vent du Nord, Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, the Ian McMillan Orchestra and Alasdair Roberts, Arty McGlynn, Nollaig Casey, Máire Ní Chathasaigh and Chris Newman and the ‘kings of Ceili’ Big Dance. 

Renowned Irish folk singer Sean Keane leads a cast of some of the finest dancers, musicians and singers Ireland has to offer at the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s on Saturday 18 October at the Whitla Hall.  Keane released his new DVD and CD The Irish Scattering in September 2008.  An epic tale conceived and produced by the legendary Galway traditional singer and musician celebrates the stories and songs of the millions of people who have left Irish shores since the Middle Ages and ‘Scattered’ to every corner of the world.  The Irish Scattering is Keane’s way of honouring and celebrating those Irish men and women who forged lives far away from home.   The idea for The Irish Scattering had been around for a long time, as Keane says “it came mostly from meeting so many Irish abroad who are extremely aware of their background and culture.  Each group which left the country is treated, along with their destinations and the music is meant to reflect the going and the arriving”.  

Tracks include a special composition, Saints and Scholars by Mairtin O`Connor, which recalls the travels of Irish monks in the early centuries of Christianity.  From there, the show takes a journey through the centuries – Fare Thee Well Enniskillen honours Irish soldiers from all periods of history.  In celebration of those who have come to Ireland seeking a new life, Sean dedicates two songs, O Siyeza and a new song, The Shipyards and Gdansk.  

Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson first started playing together back in 2003 at the William Kennedy Piping Festival, and have since joined forces to create a pipe sound that pushes the boundaries of what both instruments can achieve together.  Their much anticipated debut album 'Partners in Crime', with fellow 'inmates' such as Paul Meehan, Caomhin Vallely, Ali Hutton and Rick Standley, features many new compositions along with traditional tunes as never heard before.  They will be performing on Tuesday 28 October at the Spiegeltent along with Le Vent du Nord. 

 Since its inception in 2002, Le Vent du Nord has exploded onto the folk music scene.  Their music is both fresh and bound to tradition.   The group’s first recording, Maudite moisson!, was awarded the Juno for traditional album of the year in 2004 in addition to being chosen album of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.  Their show was nominated for an OPUS award and was named Show of the Year by the American radio-concert series Bound for Glory.   Catch them along with Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson on Tuesday 28 October at the Spiegeltent. 

Two of the most important names in Irish music, legendary guitarist Arty McGlynn (ex Van Morrison band, Planxty, Patrick Street, Dé Danann) and virtuoso fiddler Nollaig Casey (ex Planxty and Coolfin), who between them have played with every major Irish artist of the last thirty years, are joined by brilliant, innovative harper Máire Ní Chathasaigh, Irish Traditional Musician of the Year 2001, and Britain’s finest flat-picking guitarist Chris Newman at this year’s festival on Thursday 30 October at the Elmwood Hall.

The Big Dance (An Dhanse Mor) is back featuring the world famous Kilfenora Ceili Band!  Formed in 1909 and now celebrating 100 years of bringing people to the dance floor, some of Ireland’s most formidable musicians have been part of the Kilfenora Ceili Band at one time including founding members John Joe Lynch, Jim Mulqueeney and Michael Slattery, Paddy Byrt, PJ Lynch, Tommy Peoples.  Since 1991 the band has been led by John Lynch (son of JP Lynch and grandson to John Joe Lynch).  The Kilfenora Ceili Band bring an atmosphere and excitement of the ceili to new generations and seasoned dancers.  Get ready to dance the night away on Saturday 1 November at the Whitla Hall.

For Immediate Release
15 September 2008

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's
has a visual feast for the eyes!

Held over 16 days - from 17 October to 1 November - the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s has a visual feast for the eyes.  Festival goers will be offered the best of international art as well as showcasing visual art from Northern Ireland.

Film legend Ennio Morricone will open this year's Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's on 17 October.  Other highlights include Cherie Blair and Broadway diva Barbara Cook, Footsbarn Theatre with a riotous A Midsummer Night's Dream, 70s superstar Gilbert O’Sullivan, brilliant reworkings of Antigone by Owen McCafferty for Prime Cut and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by The Corn Exchange, premiere visits by choreographers Michael Clark and Wayne McGregor, top class classical music, jazz, comedy, literature, folk and everything in-between!

Would you like to own a masterpiece?  Then you could be lucky and pick up an original work of art for £50 at the Naughton Gallery at Queen’s Wish you were here:  postcard from an unknown artist.  The Naughton Gallery, in association with Royal Mail, will hold a secret sale of anonymous artworks from artists.  The exhibition will be previewed on Thursday 16 October and runs to Sunday 26 October. 

Wonderland:  The start of something remarkable is an art and science collaboration between artist/designer Helen Storey (London College of Fashion), scientist Tony Ryan (University of Sheffield) and Trish Belford, and the textile design team from Interface/University of Ulster.  Visualisations will be created to make visitors think about environmental problems common to us all.  The exhibition runs from Tuesday 7 October to Saturday 8 November.  

The Mullan Gallery will be exhibiting forty paintings from Pauline Bewick’s Seven Ages Touring Exhibition.  The exhibition will run from Thursday 16 October (preview) to Saturday 1 November.  

A Shout in the Street:  Collective Histories of Northern Irish Series – an exhibition of contemporary and historical paintings, sculpture, lens based media, a bonfire stack, graphics and broadcast film made about, and in response to, the Northern Ireland context.  Exhibition will preview Saturday 20 September and finish Thursday 6 November. 

Dara McGrath:  Deconstructing the Maze will explore how architects and artists respond to the Maze.  Multi-media sound work and installation by Conor McFeely will be accompanied by Dara’s evocative photographic imagery.  Show runs from Friday 17 October to Sunday 26 October. 

In the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Amnesty International has brought together some of the world’s foremost children’s illustrators to interpret the Declaration’s 30 articles.  The results will be published in a beautiful book, We Are All Born Free, featuring the work of, among others, Axel Scheffler of Gruffalo fame.  Show opens Friday 17 October to Sunday 2 November. 

Revisioning Australia is an international printmaking exhibition from Australia.  Curated by Ruth Johnstone, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, who will be artist in residence at the Belfast Print Workshop Gallery and providing an artist talk on the opening night (23 October).  Exhibition ends Saturday 8 November.

The Texaco Children’s Art Competition will inspire and enthral all ages with an impressive display of 161 prize-winning works selected from over 30,000 entries from all over Ireland (Wednesday 22 October - Tuesday 18 November).

15 September 2008
Immediate Release

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's will be the ‘talk of the town’

Held over 16 days, with more than 60 events and 500 participants, the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s will be the ‘talk of the town’ with the very best of talks, conversations and lectures which takes place from 17 October to 1 November.

Speaking at the festival’s programme launch, Graeme Farrow, Festival Director, said “We’re raising our game this year and beyond thanks to welcome increased investment.  We aim to provide the best total arts experience in Ireland.  When you read through the programme ask yourself where else you might find such an incredible array of local, national and international talent.  Edinburgh maybe, but where else?  This festival is an annual arts and entertainment Olympics.  There is so much to enjoy and I would urge audiences to try on something new for size alongside the household names.”

From Irish history, human rights, architecture, broadcasting, religion and being a Prime Minister’s wife, you will be spoilt for choice.  Cherie Blair will be talking about her new book, Speaking for Myself, which paints an intimate portrait of life inside ‘the goldfish bowl’ on Thursday 30 October at 6.30pm in the Whitla Hall. 

Sheila Hancock will be in conversation on Friday 17 October discussing her new book Just Me, about moving on, looking back, and looking anew.  Insightful and wonderfully down to earth, she is a woman seizing the future with wit, gusto and curiosity, on her own. 

Author of five novels, four previous collections of short stories, three novellas and journalistic publications Will Self will be dissecting his new novel Liver:  A Fictional Organ with a Surface Anatomy of Four Lobes on Monday 20 October. 

How universal are human rights?  This is a question which will be discussed by Mary Robinson, the first woman President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Friday 17 October as part of the tenth Amnesty International Annual Lecture. 

Dan Cruickshank is a regular presenter on the BBC, best known for his popular series Adventures in Architecture, Around the World in 80 Treasures and his BBC Omnibus series on Afghanistan which tried to discover what cultural treasures remained after years of civil war.  The adventurer of architecture and world treasures will be talking to us on Monday 20 October.  

On the 350th anniversary of his death, Oliver Cromwell continues to bestride the stage of Irish history like a colossus.  Cromwell and Ireland will be examined by lecturer in History at Trinity College, Dublin, Micheál Ó Siochrú in a new book, God’s Executioner, on Wednesday 29 October.  Micheál will be joined by Sean Connolly, Professor of Irish History at Queen’s. 

A discussion chaired by BBC Northern Ireland’s William Crawley will look at Faith and Freedom, examining issues such as the collapse of religious belief in Ireland, Knock as a microcosm of Ireland and how contemporary society journeys through spiritual and religious adventure.  Food for thought on Monday 27 October. 

What makes great TV?  A regular visitor to Belfast and leading light in the arts in the UK, Sir Jeremy Isaacs, will be talking about his many adventures in the media; about what makes great TV, what keeps the viewing public engaged and where broadcasters today are going wrong.  Broadcasting – the case for diversity will be considered on Sunday 19 October. 

Painter, actress, writer and director, Rebecca Millar will be talking on Friday 24 October.  Millar is author of the short story collection Personal Velocity, and director of The Ballad of Jack and Rose.  Rebecca will be accompanied by Niall Williams, bestseller of Four Letters of Love.  His latest novel, John, will be published in September. 

The forthright commentator, broadcaster and historian, Tim Pat Coogan, will talk about his new book, Tim Pat Coogan:  A Memoir, on Saturday 25 October. 

The well-known writer and presenter, Sir Christopher Frayling, who is a huge admirer of film composer Ennio Morricone, will provide an insight into Morricone’s work during this special talk on Saturday 18 October. 

Every 28 October the John Hewitt Society marks the birthday in 1907 of the celebrated Belfast-born poet, John Hewitt, with a Poetry Reading in the pub named after him.  This year’s special reading features acclaimed poets with Belfast connections – Gerald Dawe (Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing at Trinity College, Dublin), a talented Irish poet, Sinead Morrisey, and one of the newest poetic voices to emerge in Northern Ireland, Miriam Gamble – will be waxing lyrical on Tuesday 28 October. 

The leading authority on creativity and the future of cities, Charles Landry will be discussing how culture and place can invigorate and revitalise the economy.  The latest in current and innovative urban practice will be discussed on Thursday 23 October.