Belfast Festival
Marketing Officer
Deadline: Thursday 23 July 2015 at 5pm
The Belfast Festival (formerly the Belfast Festival at Queen’s) is Ireland’s leading festival of contemporary and international arts and ideas and takes place across the city every October. We are currently recruiting for a Marketing Officer to start as soon as possible and to help deliver our 2015 edition, which opens on 9th October.
Post Title: Marketing Officer (temporary to December 2015)
Hours: 37.5 hours (some unsociable working hours will also be required)
Salary: £21,000 to £23,000 per annum, subject to experience
Role details
In general the post holder will assist the Marketing Manager to secure existing audiences, develop new audiences and maximise box office income through efficient and cost-effective promotion, administration, and integrated marketing campaigns, activities, and events. Within this, the Marketing Officer will have direct responsibility for certain key tasks and initiatives including developing and maintaining the Festival website and social media channels.
Download further details by clicking here
Deadline for completed applications is 5pm on Thursday 23rd July 2015
The Belfast Festival is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, British Council and Tourism NI and is committed to bring an equal opportunities employer.
Showing posts with label Arts NI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arts NI. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 July 2015
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
The Gloaming at the Empire
Another new experience for me this week, courtesy of Moving On Music The Gloaming is described as a "newly minted collective of five remarkable musicians poised to become a vital force in Irish music. Navigating between the contemporary and traditional genres, their creativity trumps predictability – with music that is haunting and beautiful in equal measure".
I can count on one hand the amount of times I have heard live traditional Irish music. Twice after a funeral, once in Madden's where I was drinking not listening and once in a theatre show. Other experiences include Riverdance on Eurovision and the token working class Irish dance in Titanic with Kate Winslett. I'm not a big fan of uilleann pipes (they sound like stylophones) and my experience of tin whistles is kids murdering Greensleeves. As you can probably tell, I'm not the best person to review the event in any intelligent or knowledgeable way.
However unlikely it may seem, I'm delighted to say I enjoyed the gig. Not only did I enjoy it but I am going to buy The Gloaming's CD when it is released in a couple of months. I won't say I'm now a fan of Irish music because that would not be true, but there was enough in the Gloaming's music to redefine my perceptions of what Irish music is. No tin whistles, but a Grand piano, guitar, 2 fiddles and a shruti box. The music sounded ancient and enduring but Thomas Bartlett's piano, in particular added a contemporary edge.
The ebb and flow of the music is something I really liked. I guess I'm used to one tune finishing before another is played, but the seamless transition from songs focusing on Ó Lionáird's haunting vocals to the catchy rhythm of Martin Hayes' fiddle playing ensured a depth I never knew existed in Irish music.
From beautiful melancholy songs sang in Irish to fiddle-dee-dee reels, the colour of the music energised the room and provided real interest even to new attenders like me.
I particularly enjoyed the effect the music had on the audience. One older man standing in front of me swayed and bounced to every single beat the band played. His bobbing about like the floor was on fire seemed funny, but in this context it was my not bobbing about that was unusual. The foot tapping on the floor started out very quietly until eventually the whole room was vibrating to the beat of hundreds of feet.
It was how the music made me feel that I didn't expect. This was not a room full of people listening to a band play music, this was a community of friends joined in listening to the the history of the music, the stories being told and feeling the emotions being played.
Next time, I might just join in with the bobbing about...
Sunday, 2 December 2012
The Magic Flute at the Grand Opera House
Last night I ventured out into the freezing cold night to attend my first ever opera for adults. I have been to two childrens' operas this year - NI Opera's Noye's Fludde and Scottish Opera's Elephant Angel. You can read what I thought about them here: Noye's Fludde and here: The Elephant Angel.
I thought it was about time I tried an adult opera. I chose The Magic Flute for a few reasons. It was produced by Scottish Opera whose last production I had seen, it was sung in English and it had dialogue as well as singing (I now know this to be Singspiel style). I also noted an 'Opera Unwrapped' event the night before which made the production even more accessible to me.
Opera Unwrapped is a great tactic for bringing in new attenders. Opera is an artform that is stereotyped as foreign, elitist and for the wealthy. Given this stereotype, it can be intimidating attending an opera for the first time. This informal event is a great idea and it really added to my understanding and enjoyment of the full production.
The story is about a young prince who is asked to rescue the Queen of the Night's daughter who has been abducted. Other themes are also clear; religion, the path to enlightenment, masonic ritual and the number 3, but I engaged most with the magical love story.
I have to say the fabulous set and costumes blew me away. Opera really does do it bigger, better, brasher and bolder. The beautiful industrial serpent was stunning. When I think of how long it must have taken to make him, I only wish he could have been kept on stage longer. The set itself was in Victoriana steampunk style. Industrial looking with wheels and cogs, you'd be forgiven for thinking the whole tale took place inside a watch. I loved the scientific feel of the set, the dual levels of the set allowing bearded men in the gallery to look down on the action below, just like the old operating theatres where students looked down on the surgeon at work. The chorus included nurses, and men with top hats with head lamps in them, reminiscent of both coal miners and scientists.
As a non opera goer and a terrible singer I can't say anything technical about the singing except to say that it all sounded perfect to me. Acting wise however, I did have my favourites. Papageno, clearly the star of the show gave an assured performance, his character driving the energy of a lot of the scenes. His timing was impeccable and I really enjoyed the ever present twinkle in his eye. The three Ladies were very entertaining, given playful direction for some of the wittiest scenes. The Queen of the Night's costume was stunning. I thought Mari Moriya really lived up to the drama of the character using her costume and body shape to accent the meaning of her words. Of course a special mention must go to the orchestra, their beautiful understated accompaniment accentuating the larger than life characters on the stage.
As a mix of pantomime, theatre, opera and musical theatre this production really caught my attention. As a lover of epic fiction, ancient mythology, science fiction and fantasy, fairytales and polished production values, this opera really spoke to my love of fantastical adventures.
It may have been the last night of the tour for this production, but for me it's the start of a long and epic romance with opera.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Penny Arcade at Outburst Arts Festival
Described
by Outburst Queer Arts Festival as a 'one woman queer revolution' and
a 'bona fide cultural icon', Penny Arcade had a lot to live up to.
As a specially devised show for Outburst, 'The Woman who Knew Too Much' samples work from Arcade's past performances.
After
a glowing introduction by Cian Smyth, Arcade bounded into the room
through the audience, her personality shining as she danced her way
to the stage. She proceeded what was to be a whirlwind introduction
to her world. Her crazy existence was replicated on the Black Box stage, her
performance chaotic from the outset. Despite the disarray, which
made me nervous at times, she settled into what would become a
beautiful and charming performance.
She
told stories of her own life, interspersed with monologues of people
such as her aunt in Soho, a homeless girl suffering from Aids and
drag queen Dame Margo Howard Howard. These characters were at times
amusing, at times heartbreaking and acted as an illustration of the
times Arcade lived through; times of gay liberation, the cultural Renaissance of the sixties and the NEA Culture Wars of the nineties.
Associations with cultural icons such as Quentin Crisp and Andy
Warhol are discussed in the rundown of her rollercoaster life, as are
her dealings with prostitution, rape and drugs.
Peppered
with references to Northern Ireland, Arcade grounded herself well to
the locality. In particular a reference to veteran gay rights
campaigner P.A. Mag Lochlainn who died last week was met with a loud
cheer from the audience. She thanked all the barmen and technicans
by name which was a lovely touch.
Penny Arcade was courageous,
honest and enlightening, nostalgic and enchanting. She believes that
if you tell the truth in Ireland and are funny then it's hard to go
wrong. And she was right.
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Minsk 2011 at the Lyric Belfast
I don't purport to be a political animal and I know next to nothing about Belarusian politics. It was interesting to discover then that Belarus is Europe's last dictatorship and that Belarus Free Theatre is banned within it's own country, and has been forced underground.
The show begins with people stepping forward to a microphone, but before they are able to speak, they are pulled away by a group of thugs. Eventually they don't even go to the microphone, just look at it. One is accosted for simply looking at his watch, another for clapping. These episodes, representing Belarusian censorship, set the scene for the stories which are to follow, highlighting the distrustful secretive atmosphere which exists for the people living in Minsk.
We are thrown into a variety of scenes which focus on attitudes to sexuality in Minsk. The show itself is frantic and filled with important messages, themes of violence, repression, despair and abuse sitting alongside messages of hope, a sense of home, family and the need for freedom.
The audience is assaulted by the frankness of the language, spat out with such force that at times you don't actually need to read the English subtitles to understand what the actors meant. The audience is shocked by the treatment of women, of gay men, of people meeting in groups of more than 3 people. The audience is saddened at the scene of a bomb in a station where blood is soaked up by sugar, and by the cheap alcohol which neuters the public against the regime.
The production ends positively, with a Belarusian song and stories of how much each actor loves their home, how they have children and parents there, how they are still attached to their homeland. We are reminded that it is not the country that is at fault, but it's dictator.
This play has sharp teeth, it's anger is palpable. It fights to be understood and deserves a place to be heard. I'm glad that the company made it to the Lyric Theatre as part of Belfast Festival. On reading about the harassment and arrests these young actors have gone through just to be part of Belarus Free Theatre, we're lucky to have had them here at all.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Tron Theatre's Ulysses
Joyce's Ulysses mimics Homer's Odyssey, and this play is based on Joyce's Ulysses. I could have read Ulysses, or looked up Wikipedia to see what Joyce's story was about, but I decided not to. I thought it might be much more interesting to watch a play which is effectively the reception of a reception of the famed epic.
With zero knowledge of Joyce's Ulysses, and given it's 'I started it but I couldn't finish it' reputation, I knew this was going to make for an interesting experience. Actually the only thing I did know about Ulysses is that Dervla Kirwin's Jewish ancestor is in it! (Who Do You Think You Are?)
Ulysses has 18 chapters which correspond, often oddly, to episodes in Homer's Odyssey. To say that I followed every parallel would be a lie, but I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to relate a lot of the scenes back to the original. I particularly enjoyed the scenes relating to the Lotus Eaters (Martha's letters), Nausicaa (Gerty's immodesty) and Circe (Bella's Brothel), though there were many gasps to be heard from the audience in the latter scene...
The set conjured up the many different settings of Bloom's Odyssey around Dublin and the lighting beautifully accented it. The actors were all strong playing over 80 characters and I thought all in all this was a well put together production, particularly for such a complex story. I did feel at times that some of the audience was a little lost, but I guess that was to be expected. I freely admit to having been a little lost at times too.
Thursday, 1 November 2012
Ghosts of Drumglass
On Monday I went to see Ghosts of Drumglass by Kabosh, a site specific theatrical experience in Drumglass Park, known to most as Cranmore Park. Given that I often walk through Cranmore Park on my way home and my kids play there, I was looking forward to seeing what scariness Kabosh would come up with.
So the story goes that the Musgrave family died with the passing of the last remaining child, Henry. From a family of 11, no descendants were produced to carry on the blood line. In the darkness of the park, the ghosts of the past threaten to fragment the peace of the present that eludes them. The ancient trees of Drumglass surrender the secrets of the Musgrave family to those who trace the steps of the dead.
When we first arrived we were split into two groups and led into the toilets, first the ladies then the gents. With hidden performers banging inside the cubicles, blood dripping from doors, incense and sinks filled with horrible things, we knew we were in for an interesting experience. We were led around the park by Jimmy Doran, playing Mr Musgrave and by some volunteer guides. The soundscape was excellent, particularly in the playground scenes. Children's voices and strange shrieking poured from the play area, while swings swung of their own accord, toy animals moved and roundabouts spun. I think this was the most effective part of the play and it was suitably spooky. The start of the play seemed to take a while to get going. I found it a little difficult to follow Musgrave's setting of the scene, possibly because it was quite long-winded. More likely it was because I was a bit nervous that a hand was going to grab me from the plughole of the sink I was standing against...
Ghosts of Drumglass was a really nice, accessible fun way way to spend a Monday night. Jimmy Doran and Michael Liebmann were great as the main characters and the supporting cast were suitably creepy. It's a show that doesn't take itself too seriously and the image of Jimmy having a conversation with a talking teddy bear will stay with me for a long time.
I don't know how they were doing 4 shows a night. It was absolutely freezing - if anyone has earned a stiff drink or five, it's this cast and crew.
Saturday, 27 October 2012
Macbeth at the Lyric Theatre
Any production team on Macbeth must feel the weight of theatre history on their shoulders. With so many different productions there is a need to be distinct, to add something to the Reception of the Macbeth story.
The first thing that struck me when I entered the theatre is the magnificent set for this story. Diana Ennis has captured the mood perfectly. The set is steeped in suffocating darkness, the weight of pebbles on the upper layer crushing the signs of normality below. It is dramatic, epic and courageous, a portent of the production to follow.
I loved Lynne Parker's take on the weird sisters. They are completely integrated into the society around them, having domestic lives as well as going mysteriously about their supernatural lives. Their furtive glances and artful ability to slip into the shadows is creepy. The witches are all powerful, always around Macbeth, whether in his mind, putting words into his mouth, within the domestic characters surrounding him or as apparitions.
Stuart Graham as Macbeth is strong, and he is adept at removing his ties to reality bit by bit. His descent into madness is realised with true fear and incomprehension. His partnership with Lady Macbeth never seems quite passionate enough. "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it." says Lady Macbeth. I was a little disappointed in this portrayal which was too subtle a depiction of what I see as a tenacious and manipulative character. Even before her descent into guilt, I never quite believed that she was the powerful woman of ambition that she is written to be.
Paul Mallon makes an interesting McDuff. At first I couldn't understand his seemingly underwhelming response to the news of the massacre of his family. But the stiff way he holds his body and the hang of his head was not unemotional but rather his body was filled with restrained anger. The power and emotion he mustered into in a yell of pure revenge when he killed Macbeth ensured I felt his pain and then some.
Banquo is especially brilliant as a particularly devilish apparition, challenging Macbeth without saying a word, a testament to Michael Condron's skill as an actor.
Two moments jarred with my overall experience. The apparation which appears from a trapdoor on the stage adds misplaced humour which does not fit with the overall sense of hysteria Macbeth is feeling. The modern costumes and use of torches fits well with the production but I felt that the addition of army style radios was a step too far into modernity.
All round I thought this was a fantastic and interesting production and one that adds to the reception of the myth of Macbeth. The production felt particularly rooted in Ireland, and indeed in Northern Ireland. The blackness of the set, crunching of pebbles and strategically distributed haze would not feel out of place on Belfast's Black Mountain. It's not too fantastic to believe that you could meet one of the weird sisters walking through our streets. The retention of the actors' Belfast accents and the simpleness of their dress gives more than just a nod to their Belfast birthplace.
Macbeth runs until 24th November at the Lyric Belfast.
Monday, 22 October 2012
Silent by Fishamble
I wasn't going to write a blog post tonight. I'm tired. I have a show to see every night this week. I thought I'd go to bed early, maybe read a bit, muck around on Twitter and get some rest.
But tonight I went to see a show at the Waterfront as part of Belfast Festival at Queen's. It blew me away. Absolutely amazing. My first thought was how can I put into words what I just witnessed? It's not possible. I feel like I've been through a washing machine of emotion. Silent is the touching and challenging story of homeless McGoldrig, who once had splendid things. But he has lost it all – including his mind. He now dives into the wonderful wounds of this past through the romantic world of Rudolph Valentino.
It's a hard sell - it's a play about depression, heartbreak, marriage breakup, suicide, death, loss, guilt, homelessness and vulnerability. But despite this, Pat Kinevane takes us on a splendid rollercoaster of a journey, full of laughter, friendship and dancing. Speaking directly to individual people in the audience made his performance all the more real. Each person in the audience was made to feel like his only friend, his hope, his confidante. At his lowest ebb, he asked in a tiny voice "Patricia, are you there?" and Patricia from the audience answered in a shaking voice, "Yes". Never before have I been so glad that the audience was there. It felt like we were the only thing keeping him on the stage, like he really needed us to stop him falling off the edge of the world.
When the end came, the audience rose to their feet in a wave of support for this broken man. The spell Kinevane had woven was extinguished and I realised I was sobbing. For this broken man who had disgusted me, made me laugh, made me cry and made me pity him. Most of all though, I wanted to be that small shaking voice who reached out from the audience and answered "Yes, I'm here".
You need to see this show. If you see one show during Festival, it's this one.
I'll babysit for you. Go.
Book here. Now. It's only on until Wednesday.
Karen
http://twitter.com/classygenes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)