Belfast Festival Marketing Officer Job Opportunity CLOSES Thursday 23rd July at 5pm

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.

Job Opportunities at Belfast Festival (Closing 17 July at 5pm)

Belfast Festival

Programme and Operations Administrator

Finance Officer (part time)

Office Administrator (part time)

Deadline: 17 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 several posts to start as soon as possible and to help deliver our 2015 edition, which opens on 9^th October.

Post Title: Programme and Operations Administrator (temporary to January 2016)

Hours: 37.5 hours (some unsociable working hours will also be required)

Salary: £25,000 to £27,000 per annum, subject to experience

Role details

The Programme and Operations Administrator role forms part of the new Festival team and is primarily responsible for providing guidance and support to festival artists, projects and events from home and abroad and across a range of artistic disciplines. In addition, the post holder will undertake a variety of associated administrative tasks including the management of event staff and volunteers, assisting the Technical Director with the delivery of events and projects and contributing to internal and external reports.

Post Title: Finance Officer (part time)

Hours: circa 21 hours per week

Salary: £25,000 to £27,000 per annum and pro-rata, subject to experience

Role details

The Finance Officer is responsible for the day to day operation, accuracy and integrity of the financial accounting systems within the Festival. S/he is responsible for managing a modest payroll, producing monthly accounts, stakeholder reporting and setting up and implementing financial systems and controls. The successful applicant will be highly self motivated with the ability to work with a range of staff across all departments, have excellent organizational skills and hands on experience as well as a formal accounting qualification such as AAT or ACCA/CIMA.

Post Title: Office Administrator (part time)

Hours: circa 21 hours per week (flexible with some unsociable working hours in the run up to and during the Festival)

Salary: £22,000 per annum (pro-rata)

Role details

The Office Administrator is responsible for the day to day management of a small but busy office. The role is focused on secretarial and reception duties and providing support to CEO/Artistic Director but also involves assisting the marketing department with a range of tasks including managing stakeholder events, updating databases and maintaining online publicity and website entries together with basic bookkeeping, minute taking at board meetings and general office administration.

For further details on all the above posts please contact us at enquiriesbelfest@gmail.com

Deadline for completed applications is 5pm on 17 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.

Competition: Win £1000 for your artistic skills at #BelFest

The Project

Love treasure hunts?  Like surprises? We’re leaving lots of artworks around Belfast City Centre and other areas for you to find.  Follow our clues on social media and see if you can spot a prize. Don’t forget to let us know that you’ve found it via Facebook or Twitter. Be creative with your thank you for a chance to win a bigger prize.We will also be leaving a piano for you to play at various locations including Culture Night, so bring your best music, your fancy fingers and your toe tapping rhythms. Why? Because we believe in the power of art and we want to embrace you with music and give back some love.Follow #BelFest for clues

What we need

We are sending out 200,000 postcards to advertise the Free Festival Friday campaign. In addition we will need labels, transfers and a design to brand the piano.

Artist brief

Can you come up with an artistic design to encourage people to engage with the project? We’re thinking fun, quirky, energetic, musical and embracing.We want everyone to get involved in the art treasure hunt - adults, kids, young people, parents and older people. Can you create a design that will encourage all of them to take part?   We want the piano to be engaging – can you make your design so enticing that members of the public will be compelled to sit down and play?Your design will also be applied to the overall branding online and on social media channels.

Format

You can supply your artwork in any visual medium preferably A3 size. Our designers will work with the winning artist reproduce the image as best they can for different formats.    

Brief Terms and Conditions

To enter the competition, your design must meet the following brief criteria - The design must be family friendly e.g. no nudity, swearing or adult themes.The design must be submitted in an appropriate format.Prize will be £1000. The winning design will be used as part of the Free Festival Friday campaign across the print, online and social media channels.Artist must be available to take part in a photo call on Friday 5th September and to accept their prize.Any submissions made by artists for the Free Festival Friday Prize, must be open to their work being accessible and promoted as part of the #FFF14 campaign and for Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s in the future, and utilised for social media and further promotions.

Click here for more information

Enquirer at Belfast Festival

My last theatre event of Belfast Festival was Enquirer by the National Theatre of Scotland. Despite my disinterest in journalism, my hack friends had been telling me how brilliant the show was, and so off I went to an unused office in Fountain Street, to see what the fuss was about. We were ushered in and told to have a look around.  The office was set up as real newspaper office complete with overflowing bins, newspaper bundles and a lifesize cardboard cutout of a blonde to throw darts at. There was a conference room, an editor's office and a particularly novel room inside a filing cabinet. Actors read articles on their computers, counted money and ambled around the room mumbling to themselves.

When the time came to begin, we surrounded the actors as they began their story. As a promenade piece the set and direction worked well.  As a small person, it is always relatively difficult to get into a spot at the front where I can see, especially if you are continually moving around.  However the strategic placement of newspaper bundles at different heights allowed some audience members to sit at times, and the placing of actors sitting on top of filing cabinets and desks and moving through the audience meant that even the shorter people were able to follow what was happening.

Prompted by the recent phone hacking scandals and set against the background of the Leveson inquiry, the show focuses on the morality of the newspaper world. The script is based on interviews with a number of journalists, some of whom were very honest about the failings of the industry and others who claimed innocence. This contradiction is one which is obvious throughout.  While one editor denies all knowledge of any married editor even having an affair, another admits to having a book in which all payments to sources were written down.

The play also highlights the public passion for reading fluffy news. Editors will not prioritise really important news pieces such as the massacre in East Timor if it's 'a big news day' in London, such as a Royal wedding.  This piece is really the only time in the show that I actually felt anything for one of the characters. The rest of the time I spent wondering how these neurotic, caffeine fueled, coarse people managed to get away with being so horrible.  Even as a poor journalist recounted a persisting  nightmare in which she viciously murdered Bryan Ferry, I couldn't help but think she probably deserved the nightmares.        

But morality is not the only focus for this play, there is also the belief that online news is a real threat to printed newspapers and I thought the final image of all 6 actors buried in shredded newspaper was particularly strong.  One journalist pointed out that she had more followers on Twitter reading her writing than she had reading her column in the newspaper.  It certainly gave me the impression that where the phone hacking scandals had caused arguments and regret, they only changed a long accepted way of working; it is actually the digital age that will cause the end of the industry altogether.

All in all I enjoyed the play, but I was not blown away by it as others were. I thought the setting was perfect, the promenade nature of the performance suited the subject and the acting was strong.  The lighting suited the piece well and stage management deserve a gold star for moving around so much shredded paper. However, I did not feel any connection with the characters. I had very little sympathy for them or even understanding of them and still have no interest in journalism.  




      


    

Minsk 2011 at the Lyric Belfast

Minsk 2011, a reply to Kathy Acker by Belarus Free Theatre almost wasn't part of the Belfast Festival. As this article explains, the Belarusian authorities attempted to derange the company's production in Northern Ireland.  I, for one, am pleased that the event was able to continue as planned.

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. 

   

    

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.

Belfast Festival, Ulster Museum and Frankenweenie

This weekend we decided to lay off events and just try to complete more Take Back Belfast challenges as part of Belfast Festival.  One of challenges was at the Dickens exhibition at the Ulster Museum so off we set to see what we could find.




First stop though was the Black Bear Cafe on Stranmillis for breakfast which
was lovely.  We had pancakes with scrambled eggs, bacon and mixed berries. Nom.




                                                                       

Then we crossed the road over to the Ulster Museum where we had a look round the Art exhibitions.  My son and I love to wander around the museum and by far the exhibition we most enjoyed is the Royal Ulster Academy Exhibition.  There is such a broad mix of artworks, from craft to portraits, sculpture to paintings both traditional and contemporary.

This rat lady was a favourite of my sons but I found her a little disturbing.  My own favourite item was the sculpture which oozes love, comfort and the safety of partnerships. Of course, the nudity ensured my son avoided it.






   

We also enjoyed the nautical Kenneth Shoesmith Exhibition and a gallery of beautiful old Italian paintings of which the Carrickfergus Madonna (pictured) was one.  These paintings are simply stunning and need to be seen to be believed.  Some of them look like they were painted yesterday.










The Ulster Covenant exhibition was interesting but there wasn't a lot for Dylan to look at so he got bored very quickly. I did however particularly enjoy this Ulster propaganda.

After watching a Brazilian dancer in the foyer, we set off to find the Dickens exhibition , since this was the reason we were there.

We were disappointed in the Dickens exhibition.  There was lots of information but none of it was child friendly.  We could not see the original materials from the Charles Dickens Museum in London as there were trestle tables seemingly abandoned in front of the cabinets.  We found the answer to our Take Back Belfast challenge and left.

Next stop was the amazing Magpie Collective in the Naughton Gallery at Queen's which opened on Thursday night.  It is a beautiful exhibition consisting of a blanket of flowers made from plastic bottles held up by magpies.  Dylan was allowed to take a flower home, an is determined to make a blanket for himself.

We took a few more photos of Belfast Festival Anthology plaques, wrote some haikus and then decided we'd had enough.  We were cold and wet and it didn't seem like the rain was going to stop so we decided to go to see Frankenweenie instead.  It's a lovely wee film, full of nostalgia and creepiness.  I loved that it was shot in black and white, though Dylan did express the opinion that 'it would have been better coloured in'.  A homage to Frankenstein, there are many other horror films alluded to such as Dracula, Wickerman and Gremlins.  Some of the characters are modeled on classic horror actors Boris Karloff and Vincent Price.
The dog is gorgeous and has some really lovely moments, such as when it drinks water and it spurts out from his sewn up skin.  I don't think the film is perfect, but we enjoyed it on a stormy Saturday afternoon.

If you are reading my blog, why don't you sign up to follow me on Bloglovin, by email or using Google Friend Connect?

Karen

http://twitter.com/classygenes

      

Macbeth at the Lyric Theatre

Everyone knows elements of Macbeth, whether it's Macbeth's famous words "Is this a dagger which I see before me?" or the weird sisters' mantra "Double, double toil and trouble". 


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.

BOOK HERE

The Falling Song at The MAC Belfast

So this review is going to be difficult, mostly because I am a wee bit scared of contemporary dance, even if it is termed 'dance theatre'.  I find it beautiful to watch but I'm always on the hunt for a story, a reason, a point.  Tonight's show was at the MAC Belfast as part of Belfast Festival at Queen's.

The Falling Song seemed to be about, well, falling.  A child who climbs a high tree and falls, a couple falling in love and falling out of love again, apples falling from a tree, catching people who are falling over, an ice dancer who needs the support of his bar to stop him falling and ambitious Icarus falling from the clouds.  Despite the childlike excitement of some of the scenes and moments of real humour, I felt there was an undertone to the proceedings that always hinted at suicide - falling off a cliff or having to be protected from a fall. The setting of  ropes around trees made me think of gallows, or suicide by hanging. Perhaps this is based on awareness of my own mental heath issues but I always felt the falling into depression undertone, no matter how lighthearted the performance got. 

Ballyholme Primary School choir were excellent.  Well organised and rehearsed, they added a child-like simplicity to proceedings. I enjoyed the live music which was at times loud, brash and pumping, reflecting the emotion of the characters but also uncomplicated and transparent when the characters were reflective and supportive. The piece flowed really well, the scenes just the right length and the dancers were lithe and beautiful (with particular mention for Jesse Kovarsky who stole the show for Matthew and me...).  

The end for me was a puzzle. I'm not sure if the characters realised they had a choice whether to let themselves fall; that having each other while falling was better than having no-one; or if they all actually killed themselves.  

Needless to say, I'm glad I found a story line and I'm delighted that I'm now a little less scared of contemporary dance.

Karen

http://twitter.com/classygenes   

The Elephant Angel

The Elephant Angel is billed as a heart-warming new opera for audiences of all ages.  It was written by composer Gareth Williams and novelist Bernard MacLaverty.  It is based on a true story, and tells the tale of a lady zookeeper who takes a baby elephant home with her each night during the Belfast Blitz, looking after it and keeping it safe with the help of the children who live near by.

Despite my love of epic stories, loud music and fantastic costumes, I'm not an opera fan.  I generally can't hear the singers because the music is too loud and I hate not understanding the story.  So this opera suited me down to the ground.  It is for kids so it's less than an hour long, it's sung in English and best of all I already knew the story.

The story of the real Elephant Angel, North Belfast's Denise Austin is here for anyone who wants to read it.

I was pleasantly surprised by the performance.  The set was simple which meant that Sheila the elephant stood out.  She was put together beautifully and I thought the person playing her moved her limbs well.  The fiery lighting in the scene directly after the Air raid was gorgeous, and I loved the orange tinted glow of the children's faces.

Armagh composer, Gareth Williams' music is simple, well suited to the age group and with many lovely moments.  I particularly liked a scene in the school playground where the music was able to be at the forefront of the sound.  Strong characters, a sad story and a lovely setting meant that my 13th Belfast Festival event was not unlucky at all.

Looking forward to Festival event number 14 tomorrow - the Falling Song at The MAC Belfast.

           

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

  

           






 

Belfast Festival First weekend

Belfast Festival is here again and as usual I have booked far too much and spent a fortune.  The festival opened on Friday and our first event was Fifty Fanfares at Victoria Square.  The trumpet, cornet and trombone players were strategically located at the various levels of Victoria Square and played a newly composed piece of music by Michael Alcorn.  To be honest this should have been right up my street. As a brass band lover and an ex horn player I loved the idea behind this.  However it just didn't work.  It didn't start on time, it wasn't well rehearsed, there were hardly any fanfares and it was far too 'modern' for my parents who I had brought with me.  Because it didn't start at the time advertised we missed the end to get to our dinner reservation, so maybe it got better.  We were all really disappointed.   

After dinner in Frankie and Benny's (not good), we went to hear the Ulster Orchestra's Opening concert at the Waterfront Hall.  Entitled Planetary Motions this was something I'd been looking forward to for a while.  The programme began with John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine which was stunning.  It's a piece I've always loved and the Ulster Orchestra played it beautifully. Joann Falletta is a mesmerizing Maestro, perfectly turned out and clearly enjoying her control of the music.  Next up was Michael McHale playing Gershwin's Piano Concerto.  I'm not a fan of Gershwin or the piano, but this local boy sure does know how to play.  On that note, this story is the reason I hate pianos: Sparky and the Magic Piano

After the interval it was time for Holst's The Planets Suite, one of my favourite pieces of classical music and this was the first time I heard it live. The visuals by D-Fuse were nice but I think the lights should have been dimmed a little more to give the full effect.  I enjoyed the concert a lot and I'll definitely be back for some non-piano based music :-) 

On Saturday we decided to find free stuff to do, so we downloaded the Take Back Belfast app and set off to see what there was to see.  We popped into the Naughton Gallery at Queen's to have a look at Tom Binns Design.  His work is beautiful with some really amazing necklaces, though they look too heavy to actually wear. Dylan was delighted with the shark teeth necklace and also by one made of weapons. While looking at the necklaces an artist from the Magpie Collective asked us to come in to see what they were putting together.  They were making a blanket of flowers out of plastic bottles and asked us to help.  I am so looking forward to seeing the installation when it's complete on Thursday.

For Take Back Belfast we have to complete various challenges.  So we were on the lookout for the Belfast Festival Anthology red plaques.  Dylan wanted to find all 50 but we do have 2 weeks to complete it.  We had a quick look into the White Room but the next show wasn't for a while so we moved on to the Crescent Arts Centre for a coffee and to have a look at the Nina Panagopoulou exhibition. We also swapped a book at the Pass it On bookshelf.

After lunch our next stop was The First Presbyterian Church on Rosemary street were Néle Azevedo had a single ice sculpture set up in front of the pulpit.  This was stunning.  As the ice melted from the man, the puddle below him grew.  The puddle was microphoned so every drip echoed around the church.  It's possibly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.  And also very sad to see and hear the man crying real tears as he disappeared.  Dylan was allowed to help to put a new sculpture up when he finally melted completely.  I love the shape of this church and the windows are stunning.  Many important Belfast families worshipped here and it's great to see walking tours being brought inside.  It was lovely to meet local Belfast historian Raymond O'Regan and chat about the church's beautiful stained glass windows.

After this is was time to go home to get ready for dinner at Salt in St Anne's Square with my sister. We ordered from the pre-theatre menu and then went off to the MAC to see Huzzies by Tinderbox.  The show is about a girl from Belfast who wants to escape from her dysfunctional family and forms a band. There were some really beautiful moments in it, and Katie's (of Katie and the Carnival) songs were fab though I think there could have been more.  We finished off the night with a few glasses (bottles...) of wine at the MAC and then the Duke of York.

Our First Festival weekend continued on Sunday, though slowly, due to a pounding headache.  We decided to take it easy, and headed down to Custom House Square for the highlight of Néle Azevedo's installation.  She asked volunteers to place 1517 ice sculptures on the steps of the Custom House, each commemorating each life lost in the Titanic disaster.  We placed a few sculptures then stood back to watch them melt.  Knowing that each one of these crying melting disappearing figures represented a life lost, added an extra dimension to the solitary figure from the day before.     

After coffee Dylan and I took my parents to the MAC to have a look at the exhibitions as they hadn't been before.  My Dad loved the Red Cross exhibition and I the Roxy Walsh one.  Everyone had a go in the 15 second film Festival booth and then we went upstairs for a look at Joanna Billing's installations.  On the way home we stopped at the Old Museum building to take a photo of the red plaque for our Take Back Belfast challenge.

Over the next couple of days, I'm seeing Fishamble's production of Silent in the Waterfront Hall, Elephant Angel in the Grand Opera House, The Falling Song at the MAC and Macbeth at the Lyric.

Karen

http://twitter.com/classygenes