2024 Belfast International Arts Festival – some theatre, dance, circus and literature treats from the 39 day programme #biaf24

The Belfast International Arts Festival is upon us, with a bumper 39 days of events, artistic experiences and exhibitions. Here are just a few of the theatre, dance and literature events from the full festival programme

The Tragedy of Richard III // Wed 16 Oct–Sun 10 Nov // Lyric Theatre // The very hotly anticipated tragic adaption of Shakespeare’s history play opens the festival. Adapted by talented duo Oisín Kearney (who also directs) and Michael Patrick (who stars as Richard III in some shows), it explores the hunger for power of the disabled brother of the King even in the face of certain death. With a lead actor who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year playing the lead role and manoeuvring around the stage in a series of ever more elaborate wheelchairs, and Deaf actor Paula Clarke playing the chief villain Tyrell communicating with Richard through sign language and gesture, it’s an ambitious production that takes an old story and promises to give it purpose for modern times with a vivid staging. You can catch an interview with Oisín and Michael on last Friday’s The Ticket (starts 29’16) that will whet your appetite.

Yerma // Thu 17 Oct–Sun 3 Nov // Lyric Theatre // A few feet away from Richard III you can find Tinderbox Theatre Company’s adaptation of Spanish poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca’s Yerma in the Lyric’s studio space. The story about a childless woman living in rural Spain has been shifted to rural Ireland. The set is novel, the characterisaton is tight, This imaginative reset of the story is rich and intriguing. However, the runtime exceeds some audience members’ bladders, triggering disruptive coming and going in the stalls. (Maybe not an artistic priority, but still a practical one that is worth considering.) The set with its crazy entrances and exits is novel, the reset story is compelling, and the casting – particularly Caoimhe Farren in the titular role – is excellent. [reviewed]

The Piece with the Drums // Fri 18–Sat 19 Oct // The MAC // One of the festival’s annual gifts to the city is bringing over artists and concepts that wouldn’t normally have a following or a ready audience. This production from David Bolger and CoisCéim Dance Theatre treats us to a visual and aural conversation between a dancer and percussion. Toes tapping, limbs flapping, and drums beating.

David Park // Wed 23 Oct // The Linen Hall // Novelist David Park in conversation with Hugh Odling-Smee.

Aurora: A Modern Myth // Thu 24 Oct–Sat 2 Nov // The MAC // Another highly anticipated theatre production from Prime Cut with Dominic Montague’s tale opf environmental concern and activism merging gaming technology, animation and live theatre to create a magical experience. Directed by Emma Jordan and starring Meghan Tyler, Maria Connolly, Conor O Donnell, Thomas Finnegan … and a tree.

North Star // Thu 24–Fri 25 Oct // The Telegraph Building // An immersive night of live music inspired by a speech given by abolitionist Frederick Douglassin Belfast in 1845. Features performances by Kaidi Tatham, Nandi Jola, Leo Miyagee, Winnie Ama, Hannah Peel, Colin Salmon, and nearly 100 pupils from four Belfast schools. Part of Belfast 2024.

Losing It & In Between // Fri 25–Sat 26 Oct // The MAC // In this double bill, Losing It explores the lingering trauma of war through movement and sound with Palestinian dancer and choreographer Samaa Wakim. How does growing up in a war zone and inheriting the pain of previous generations manifest itself in your body and your movement. And to open the show, in In Between circus performer Esam Sultan “depicts an innocent Palestinian born into a life of struggle”, dreaming of a better life, but battling against alienation and loneliness.

WILD // Sat 26 Oct at 13:00 and 15:15 // CS Lewis Square // Free // In recent years, the festival has brought circus into the fold and Motionhouse’s latest production places its performers on a forest made of tall scaffolding poles and platforms high up in the canopy. Described as “gravity-defying dance-circus”, head over to east Belfast to get a glimpse of the acclaimed acrobatic outdoor show.

The Vanishing Elephant // Thu 31 Oct–Sat 2 Nov // Grand Opera House // Cahoots is a theatre company with an incredible still in telling stories suitable for young and old that captivate through their sense of closeness or intimacy, fine gestures, elaborate puppets and magic. The shows are curated in a theatre environment which has an incredible control of sound and light. This latest tale from long-time collaborate Charles Way follows the paths of a boy born in Bengal who befriends an Asian elephant. Years later as an old man he hears that Houdini will vanish an elephant live on stage in New York. Expect gasps, magic and maybe even tears.

Granny’s Jackson’s Dead // Thu 31 Oct–Sun 2 Nov // 47 Malone Road // Big Telly Theatre Company’s favourite grandmother is getting another wake. Step into her home and pay your respects alongside her family as they remember this larger-than-life character who lives on the hearts of so many. Immersive, subversive and thought-provoking. The show premiered earlier this year in NI Science Festival and alongside the overtly theatrical elements, it gently explores our attitudes, tolerances and reaction to death, grief tech, and the ethics of loss.

Austin Duffy & Phil Harrison // Tue 5 Nov // No Alibis Bookshop // two Irish authors in discussion about their latest works, the turning points of the Troubles, and the legacy of masculinity.

Michael Longley // Wed 6 Nov // Seamus Heaney Centre // Recording and live-streaming events, I witness all kinds of performers, lecturers and events hunched behind a sound mixer and a preview screen of video feeds. One of the most memorable this year was doing sound for an academic conference in a subdued Ulster Museum art gallery as poet Michael Longley read from a selection of his work and threw in wry comments on their context. It was captivating … and I say that as someone who rarely ‘gets’ or looks forward to poetry. Longley is back, this time in conversation about his new selected poems collection Ash Keys with poet and novelist Nick Laird.

Impasse // Wed 6 Nov // The MAC // Two performers confront the biased narratives etched onto Black bodies throughout history. Considering cultural imperialism, racial projections, autonomy and self-determination. The first presentation of work in Northern Ireland by Luail, Ireland’s (new) National Dance Company.

Chicken // Wed 6–Sun 10 Nov // Lyric Theatre // A Kerry Cock shares his feathery story of getting a big break in the world of acting, winning awards, and sliding into ketamine addiction. A one woman show like no other. Expect chicken suits and clucking in this biographical tale and absurdist satire.

Lots more treats in the online festival programme.