Hundreds of tickets for this year’s Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s are being made available to the public as part of two initiatives from the event’s title sponsor.
Ulster Bank’s Community Ticket and Festival Nights schemes will, respectively, make 400 tickets available to community groups across Northern Ireland and 200 tickets available to the general public.
Ulster Bank’s Head of Northern Ireland, Ellvena Graham, says: “We’ve been a proud supporter of the Festival for many years and over that time it has grown and developed to become a truly world-class event. We want as many people as possible to experience the fantastic international acts coming to Belfast - that's why we're running our Community Ticket and Festival Nights initiatives. Access to the arts and inclusivity are at the core of the Festival, so we would strongly encourage community groups and the general public to take advantage of the opportunity to see what promise to be some exciting and inspiring performances.”
Richard Wakely, Director of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s, added, “These schemes really are a passport to the arts for many people across the city in accessing the wonderful, world-class performances on offer at this year’s Festival. With accessibility at the very core of the Festival, we applaud our Title Sponsor, Ulster Bank, in providing such fantastic schemes which bring the arts to peoples’ doorsteps and recognise the arts as a powerful tool for personal and community development which entertain, delight, inspire and transform.”
The initiatives will see tickets made available for four events across five nights;
Schaubuhne Berlin at the Grand Opera House (23rd October): An Enemy of the People; Europe's arguably leading theatre director, Thomas Ostermeier, turns the Grand Opera House into a political referendum in this radical reading of Ibsen's classic brought to Belfast by Schaubühne Berlin. Schaubühne’s potent adaptation catapults Ibsen into a modern world of environmental and financial crises, becoming a mirror for our times. Truly captivating!
Hey Harley & Emily Barker (FEST: Lizanne Knott and Bill Reveles) at the Elmwood Hall (29th October): An evening of folk, country and popular music from across the world with award-winning singer-songwriters Lizanne Knott and Emily Barker in ta night that promises to stun audiences.
Camille A Brown at The MAC (24th and 25th October): Camille A. Brown and Company bring their performance of Mr.Tol.E.RA ncE to the MAC - the European debut of recently Bessie nominated and critically acclaimed New York City based dance company. The performance is a dynamic, at times funny and frequently touching interpretation of how much black performers have had to tolerate in the history of performance. Audiences can also enjoy a post-show talk Camille and her dancers on Friday 24-25 October as part of this year’s EMBRACE programme.
Tamikrest at the Elmwood Hall (30th October): The sounds of the Sahara on their journey to the Mississippi Delta as performed by the amazing Tamikrest from Mali – an Irish Premiere. Winner of the Songlines Music Awards 2014 for ‘Best Group’, Tamikrest are one of the best known bands in the Saharan desert blues idiom. If you enjoyed Tinariwen at the Cathedral Quarter arts Festival, then this is for you.
Community Groups and individuals can apply for tickets under the scheme by entering their details at: www.belfastfestival.com under the relevant scheme.
Full details are available at www.belfastfestival.com
