Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2022 Programme by Norfolk & Norwich Festival

THANK YOU Principal Funders

Funders

Adnams Spiegeltent

Free Outdoor Programme Partner

18-25 Membership Scheme Partner

Trusts, Foundations & Grant Giving Organisations The Arts Society Norwich, the Chivers Trust, the Ellerdale Trust, the Fuller Endowment Fund, the Geoffrey Watling Charity, North Norfolk District Council, Norwich Freemen’s Charity, the Music Reprieval Trust, the Paul Bassham Charitable Trust, the Vaughan Williams Charitable Trust Programming Partners City of Literature Weekend is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing presentation, programmed by the National Centre for Writing

Travel Partner

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a partner in Without Walls, working with festivals and artists and bringing fantastic outdoor arts to people in towns and cities across the UK. Find out more withoutwalls.uk.com

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a partner of In Situ, the European platform for artistic creation in public space. Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union

Media Partners

Event Partners

Associate Partners

Corporate Friends Archant

The Forum

Hollinger Print

And thanks to Kettle Foods Ltd Norfolk & Norwich Festival would like to thank its generous supporters: Directors Circle Lynn Biggs, Simon De-Lacy Adams & Robin Norman, Julia Leach & Patrick Smith Producer Supporters Nick & Juliet Collier, Mark & Lesley-Anne Hewett, Ian & Helen McFadyen, Jamie McLeod Ensemble Supporters Steph & Paul Allen, Mr Simon Back, Fanny Berridge, David & Anthea Case, Tony & Juliet Colman, Ben & Jenna Conway, Nicholas & Caroline Dixey, Frank & Di Eliel, Roger & Lesley Everett, Jane & John Hawksley, Richard & Jackie Higham, Dave Plummer & Lesley Whitby, Amanda Sandland-Taylor & Roger Holden, Chris & Sue Williams Cast Supporters Roger & Suzanna Bunting, Justine & Damian Conway, Jonathan Cooper & Daniel Brine, Fred Corbett, Jim Durrant, Ann Ford, Len & Rachel Hobson, John Howkins, Mrs Waltraud A L Jarrold MBE, Caroline Kennedy-Chivers, Alice Liddle, Jonathan & Karen Needham, Stephanie Renouf, Tim Ridgley, Olwyn & Paul Venn, Jim & Sara Webber, Mollie Whitworth And to our Friends and others who wish to remain anonymous Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a registered charity, number 1164424

WELCOME In 1772 the community of Norfolk and Norwich organised an event to raise funds for our hospital. 250 years on and the event has grown to be the Festival we know and love today. For our community to be host to one of the oldest arts festivals in the world is an extraordinary achievement and has been possible because we hold culture dear to our heart. I’m really proud of the Festival we have planned for our Festival 250 celebration and I’m sure you’ll find lots to see and do. We have an exciting programme in The Halls – the spiritual home of the Festival – and will pitch the Adnams Spiegeltent in Festival Gardens. We revisit seminal works premiered at the Festival as well as introduce new commissions. Everyone will find something to explore and enjoy from classical music, through new performance in unusual venues, to free family fun days. The last few years have been challenging for all of us. I congratulate our team – board, staff, freelancers and volunteers – who have kept the Festival going. I thank our funders, supporters and sponsors, who have stuck with us. Our admiration for artists is redoubled as they have made work in difficult circumstances. And I look forward to welcoming you – our audience – as you join us and join each other in coming together to share the Festival Spirit, which has maintained the Festival over 250 years. Daniel Brine Artistic Director and Chief Executive

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Festival Features 250 Years of Celebration The Swedish Nightingale Festival People Every Step is a Different Height Something to Say... All the Fun of The Festival Creative People, Connected Communities Thoroughly Modern Music It’s a Wrap! Support Us

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The Festival Performance City of Literature Weekend Visual Arts, Talks & Trails

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Visiting Festival Daily Diary Booking Info YoungNNF Toward a Greener Festival Festival Team

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4 Smashed2 © Camille Greenwell

Book your tickets Online at nnfestival.org.uk Call us 01603 531800 Or visit us at The Guildhall, Gaol Hill, Norwich, NR2 1JS Full opening hours online Join the conversation #NNF22 NNFestival @NNFest @NNFest Join our email list at nnfestival.org.uk All information correct at time of print

FESTIVAL FEATURES

STORIES FROM THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

250 Years of Celebration To kick-off our 250th year, Norwich-based arts writer, and former Festival Administrator, Tony Cooper offers a pocket history of Norfolk & Norwich Festival. The largest arts festival in the East of England and the fourth largest in the UK, Norfolk & Norwich Festival is also one of the oldest of its kind in the country, tracing its roots back to the late 18th century when, in 1772 (listed as such in the Oxford Dictionary of Music) a number of concerts were held on an ad hoc basis. The current Festival’s immediate predecessor, the Norfolk & Norwich (Triennial) Festival, adopted on the motion of Mr Philip Martineau, a Norwich-based surgeon, came into being in 1824, initially to support financially the work of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. Classical music festivals, however, were sporadically held in the city in the early part of the 19th century. Generally, they comprised a handful of miscellaneous concerts held either in St Andrew’s Hall (the ‘home’ of the Festival since its inception) or at the Theatre Royal. Performances of grand choral works were divided between the church of St Peter Mancroft and Norwich Cathedral. On these occasions the ‘band’ comprised local amateur and professional musicians, led by principal

players from London-based orchestras working under a coterie of conductors. Success befriended the first Triennial meeting of 1824. It proved a winner all the way and over ten thousand people attended. It was a great financial success too, with the sum (after all expenses) of £2399 10s. 10d. being donated to the hospital. Interestingly, the Norwich Triennial shared its Festival on a rotating basis with Birmingham and Leeds, just as the Three Choirs Festival rotates, to this day, between the English cathedral cities of Hereford, Gloucester and Worcester. A handsome time for the Triennial was during the Victorian and Edwardian eras when the Festival developed a strong national identity attracting a host of famous conductors such as Sir Henry Wood, lovingly known as ‘Old Timber’, who enjoyed a good innings from 1908 to 1930. Other prominent conductors lured to Norwich included Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Norman Del Mar and Vernon Handley.

Futuristic and progressive, the Triennial, and indeed the Festival today, has always been at the forefront of commissioning new work. A couple of notable commissions from the 19th century came from the revered German-born composer, Louis Spohr, with his exhilarating oratorios, The Last Judgement (1830) and Calvary (1839). Edward Elgar’s beautiful and serene song-cycle, Sea Pictures, delighted a packed St Andrew’s Hall in 1899, featuring the English-born contralto, Dame Clara Butt, as soloist. Renowned for her physical presence (she was 6’ 2”), she came on stage, while Elgar occupied the rostrum, dressed as a mermaid. I wonder what sailed through his mind! Another revered German composer and conductor, Sir Julius Benedict (a favourite of the current Prince of Wales) was also lured to Norwich, serving the Triennial as Chief Conductor from 1845 to 1878. He wrote the Festival three cantatas: Undine (1860); Richard Cœur de Lion (1863); and on the patron saint of music, The Legend of St Cecilia (1866).

Opposite: Inside St Andrew’s Hall for the Festival, mid-1840s © picturenorfolk.gov.uk

Fathers received its première on 25th September 1936, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring the Swiss-born soprano, Sophie Wyss. An oft-recounted story from this Festival tells of Vaughan Williams’ intervention to stop members of the LPO mocking the 22-year-old Britten’s work. According to Sophie Wyss, “members of the orchestra were not used to Britten’s kind of music and played about disgracefully. When the reference to ‘rats’ came in the score they ran around pretending they were chasing them on the floor.”

Sir Henry Wood, ‘Founder of the Proms’ © Claude Harris, National Portrait Gallery

In 1924, in celebration of the Triennial’s centenary, E J Moeran, whose mother Ada Esther Smeed came from Norfolk and whose father, the Rev. Joseph William Wright Moeran, served the parish of Salhouse - came up with a rewarding and ravishing piece entitled Rhapsody No. 2 based on the well-known Norfolk folksong Polly on the Shore. In 1927, Frank Bridge’s Enter Spring (a concert attended by Benjamin Britten) was heard for the first time, followed at the next Festival in 1930, by Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Job: A Masque for Dancing. The same Festival also included Arthur Bliss’ Morning Heroes while Benjamin Britten’s Our Hunting

1772 The birth of the Festival. Sermons to raise money for the new Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.

1788 First ‘Grand Musical Festival’ at St Peter Mancroft and St Andrew’s Hall.

1824 Larger new Triennial Norfolk and Norwich Festival formed. Conductor was Sir George Smart.

However, Vaughan Williams (whose widow Ursula, attended the Triennial meetings of 1979 and 1982, under the direction of Norman Del Mar) - keeping good company with a gin and tonic and Shirley, Lady Beecham - told the players, in no uncertain terms and referring to the young composer, that they were “in the presence of greatness” and that if they did not want to play Britten’s work they would not play his new work either. The piece in question, Five Tudor Portraits, will be revisited this year to mark the 250th anniversary. The early Festivals focused on orchestral concerts and large-scale choral works - amazingly performed by a Festival Chorus of 300 voices. The urge for change was in the air leading up to the 1988 Triennial, centred around the argument that the Festival ought to be held on an annual basis. Happily, the argument was won and a year later the Festival took its new

1842 World premiere of Festival commission The Fall of Babylon by Louis Spohr.

1866 Festival coincides with visit to Norwich from the Prince and Princess of Wales.

1899 Attended by Samuel Coleridge Taylor and Edward Elgar. The latter premieres his new song cycle Sea Pictures.

yearly position in Norwich’s cultural calendar under the direction of Richard Phillips. Following in his wake came Heather Newill, with Marcus Davey (now director of Camden’s Roundhouse) arriving in 1995. Davey particularly changed the scope and direction of the Festival to cater for a wider, more diverse audience and introduced a broader variety of cultural activity, taking in practically every art form. As part of the widening of the Festival’s agenda, a visual arts initiative was launched in 1994 - the Norfolk & Norwich Festival Visual Arts Week. Such was its success that it evolved into what is now Norfolk Open Studios. Another significant change came in 2002 (2001 being a gap year) with Peter Bolton at the helm. Well remembered for the host of top jazz acts he brought to the city, Bolton also moved the Festival from its traditional October date to the merry month of May. Succeeding him was Jonathan Holloway, later becoming Artistic Director of the Melbourne Festival in Australia. Over the course of his tenure, covering Festivals 2005-2010, the Festival took delivery of the Creative Partnerships programme in Norfolk, forming part of the UK’s flagship creativity programme focusing on youth and education. Coming from Cork’s Midsummer Festival, William Galinsky succeeded Jonathan Holloway. In turn, he was succeeded by current Director,

1905 First appearance of the London Symphony Orchestra.

1908 Sir Henry Wood appointed Festival Director.

1911 Last Festival held as a fundraiser for the hospital.

1924 First postwar Festival, celebrating one hundred years of the Triennial. Visit of Queen Mary.

Australian-born Daniel Brine, who came from his previous post as Director of Cambridge Junction in 2018. The modern Festival is delivered by a team who work year-round on a host of projects - notably a Creative Learning programme and as a ‘Bridge Organisation’, linking schools with cultural opportunities. With support from Arts Council England, Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council, the Festival is a charity and also attracts support from numerous local businesses, individuals and trusts and foundations. Just a pocket history… If you want to uncover more, Rob Mitchell’s wonderful new book Festival for a Fine City reveals the fascinating figures and happenings over 250 years of the Festival. Uncover more of our Festival history. Buy Rob Mitchell’s book, Festival for a Fine City online at nnfestival.org.uk Hear his Festival for a Fine City Talk p38 Visit the Festival Foundations exhibition p30

Top: Royal visit November 1866 © Antiqua Print Gallery/Alamy Above: Princes Elizabeth at City Hall for the 1951 Festival - part of the Festival of Britain © Archant Library, accessed via localrecall.co.uk

1936 World premiere Festival commissions: Britten’s Our Hunting Fathers & Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Portraits.

1947 Kathleen Ferrier and conductor Sir Malcolm Sargent star.

1951 Festival moved to coincide with Festival of Britain celebrations. Princess Elizabeth visits.

1958 Visual arts and theatre included in the Festival for the first time.

1961 Festival re-named Norwich Festival of Music and the Arts. Jazz included.

1989 First of the annual Festivals.

1995 World premiere of Festival commission Let’s Begin Again by John Tavener.

2002 Festival moves to the spring.

2009 Spiegeltent included in the Festival.

2022 250th Anniversary Festival.

Jenny Lind: The Swedish Nightingale The Norfolk & Norwich Hospital and culture have a long, rich relationship dating back to the early years of the Festival. The philanthropy of those early Festival organisers helped sustain the hospital, but it was Jenny Lind, who became the hospital’s bestknown benefactor. The Festival’s Jess Cook discovers more. Jenny Lind was a 19th-century superstar known around the world as ‘the Swedish Nightingale’. Her concerts in Norwich became legendary, as fantastic experiences, but also because Lind donated generously to the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. Lind moved in the celebrity circles of the time, associating with the likes of Chopin and Mendelssohn. Hans Christian Anderson was particularly enamoured of her, writing “no book or personality whatever has exerted a more ennobling influence on me, as a poet, than Jenny Lind.” He was so besotted that he even proposed marriage! More recently Lind came to international attention when she was portrayed – in a fictional history - as the love interest of PT Barnum in The Greatest Showman, singing Never Enough to audiences in America. Born in 1820 in Stockholm, and raised largely by surrogate parents, Lind developed an affinity with good causes, performing many of her concerts for charity. She was invited, at the age of 27, to sing in Norwich by 10

the wife of the then Bishop. On her arrival, the bells of St Peter Mancroft rang out and crowds lined the streets. She performed three concerts at St Andrew’s Hall to a total of more than 5,000 people and gave much of her fee to good causes. She returned two years later to perform again in the city. This time it was decided to establish a children’s hospital with the proceedings and The Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital was named in her honour - only the second hospital of its kind in the country after Great Ormond Street. Over the years, the hospital moved location and now forms part of the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital site at Colney. Since opening in 1854, countless children have benefitted from the expertise and resources of ‘The Jenny.’ “The modern-day Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital provides care and treatment for babies, children, young people and their families from across Norfolk and beyond,” explains John Paul Garside, Charity Director for the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals Charity. “The legacy of Jenny Lind remains strong and everyone there is delighted to continue the good work she began all those years ago.”

1850 portrait of Jenny Lind by Mathew Brady © Everett Collection, Shutterstock

To celebrate the remarkable bond between the Hospital and culture, Norfolk & Norwich Festival presents Fairytales & Nightingales, a night of music celebrating the life of Jenny Lind. In the spirit in which the Festival was established, the concert will be a fundraising event in aid of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals Charity. See Fairytales & Nightingales p44 The N&N Hospital celebrates its 250th anniversary this year. To find out more please visit nnuh.nhs.uk or to get involved with the N&N Hospitals Charity visit nnhospitalscharity.org.uk

The Jenny Lind Hospital © NNUHCT

Festival People The Festival has been a genuine coming together of the people of Norfolk and Norwich for 250 years. Our small team is bolstered by many helping hands each year. Journalist, Alice Saville has been talking to just a few of those that make up the Festival Family.

Jade-Marie Anderson

Lizzie Hall Event Manager at Norfolk & Norwich Festival

Jade-Marie Anderson Local artist and Creative Associate for Lone Twin

How did you get started at the Festival?

How are you involved in this year’s Festival?

At university I went to the careers advisor and said that I wanted to work behind the scenes in the arts. She looked at me like I was crazy. But Norfolk & Norwich Festival introduced me to this whole new world of possibilities: I started as an intern and ended up working as a Production Coordinator. This year, you’re working back at the Festival as an Event Manager. What does that involve? Basically you’re the person on the ground, helping venues run the shows. You make sure the tech’s gone in properly, welcome the artists, and make sure the audience are happy. Sometimes it’s nice and leisurely, other times it can be crazy busy. Do you have any standout memories from previous editions of the Festival? One of my all-time favourite things we did was The People’s Tower in 2014, which was a giant cardboard representation of St Peter Mancroft built by volunteers.

I’m Creative Associate for the artists Lone Twin: they don’t live here, so I’m basically their eyes and ears in Norfolk. We’re doing a project called The Guild of Wayfinders - bringing volunteers together to tell the stories of the Guildhall. Lizzie Hall

Have you learned anything surprising about Guildhall during the project?

Helping build it really brought out the child in me, it was exciting and emotional at the same time. And then when it came down, me and my Mum were the first people to run and jump on it!

Well, the stairs are all different heights, and the myth is that apparently, it was to stop the prisoners from escaping so easily. That’s something we might play around with in the project. It’s all about taking history and bringing it into the now, so we can learn from it.

What makes Norfolk & Norwich Festival special? It’s such a community, and such a group effort: it feels like coming home. It’s also seeing things that wouldn’t happen any other time of year: the most bonkers and brilliant and inspiring work.

What has been your standout experience of the Festival? Last year I created an intervention called ‘I Am…’, where I worked with community groups to create placards reflecting on their identities. Then we walked through the city centre wearing them like human billboards: it was very empowering. 11

How does the Festival support the local community?

How has the Festival changed since you started going?

This is the second year where they’ve made a massive push towards supporting local artists through the Creative Individuals Network – the work they’ve been doing in areas like climate change, or working with hardto-reach people, is so inspiring. I also work at the Young Norfolk Arts Trust, and the young people there get to write reviews of shows that get published in a zine – that, for them, is just amazing.

It used to be more focused on classical music, but now, it feels more inclusive, especially with there being free and Pay What You Want tickets last year. I teach refugees and asylum seekers, and it’s great to be able to tell them about things they can go to, and then see them out at Festival events in Chapelfield Gardens at the weekend.

Margaret Bird

Margaret Bird Audience Member As a loyal attendee, where did your love of the Festival begin? It began with The Voice Project, a very innovative community choir which performed at the Festival for a number of years. In 2012 I was involved in Singing the City - From Dawn to Dusk. We sang at the cathedral at dawn, dressed in the colours of its stones. Luckily, people came out to watch us, even at 5am! Laura Riches

What have been your Festival highlights? Last year was just amazing, being able to go out and do things again after the pandemic. We were lucky enough to get tickets to the opening night cabaret hosted by Bourgeois & Maurice, which was really good fun. Do you think the Festival is a source of local pride? Definitely, Norwich punches above its weight for its size, culturally speaking. The Festival is just such a brilliant way to bring people together.

Brenda Arthur © Hugo Glendinning

Laura Riches MCB Financial Services – Festival Partner What was your first encounter with Norfolk & Norwich Festival? I’ve lived in Norwich all my life. As a child, my parents used to take me to Festival concerts at St Andrew’s Hall, so I have nostalgic Festival memories of sitting on my mum’s lap, falling asleep listening to the music. Why is supporting the Festival important to you? MCB Financial Services are one of the Festival Corporate Partners. We’re a local company, and the majority of work we do is with families in and around Norfolk, from purchasing their first property, all the way through to those later-in-life financial solutions. For those families, the Festival is something that they’ve enjoyed throughout their lives that they can pass on to their children and their grandchildren, and that’s really significant to us. What made last year’s edition of the Festival special? I know that families were really, really happy to be able to attend the Garden Party: it was just a relief for children to be able to do something creative together, after a year where so many events didn’t go ahead.

Is Norfolk & Norwich Festival a source of local pride? Definitely. It’s one of the oldest festivals in the country and it’s something that local businesses see massive value in getting behind. This year we’re sponsoring the Festival 250 corporate breakfast, because being part of the local business community is something that’s really important to us.

Brenda Arthur Chair, Norfolk & Norwich Festival What’s your role at Norfolk & Norwich Festival?

The People’s Tower, 2014 © Chris Taylor

I’m Chair of the board of trustees, which means that with Daniel Brine delivering the artistic component of the Festival, we work alongside to set the strategic direction. That means thinking about what sort of Festival it should be, where the Festival should be going, and making sure it’s relevant to audiences in Norfolk and Norwich.

What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Festival?

What are your standout memories of last year’s Festival? Last year’s Festival was immensely challenging. We weren’t sure whether we’d actually be able to deliver it live, so we planned for a range of scenarios. What was really wonderful was just how delighted everyone was to be there, after so long without live performance. There was a wonderfully resonant and warm connection between audience and artists, which was even more palpable than it is in normal Festival days. I’m always immensely grateful to our volunteer team, but their work in making everyone feel safe and secure at last year’s Festival was truly incredible.

There’s so much going on this year; from the Britten Sinfonia; to a giant domino installation; to circus in the Adnams Spiegeltent; and work from young local talent. We’re harking back to our origins as a classical music event by commissioning a series of oneminute fanfares that’ll be performed around the city. But while we’re literally making a fanfare of the fact it’s our 250th, we’re also showing how our Festival’s going to look in the future – an ever more sustainable, joyful, meaningful and inclusive annual event for the people of Norfolk. Why are the arts so important to you as we come out of the pandemic? The arts help us understand ourselves and each other, and that’s so important as we come out of the pandemic. Something that’s really vital to me is that there are free events in Chapelfield Gardens where people of all backgrounds stand side by side and watch the same performance. It doesn’t matter who you are, the arts bring people together as a community.

Sir Timothy Colman

Sir Timothy Colman, 1929-2021 In September 2021, Sir Timothy Colman passed away at 91. Born in Norfolk, he was often described as one of the county’s ‘favourite sons’. As Chair and Patron, Sir Timothy was involved with the Festival for more than 30 years. A passionate champion of our community work, he truly believed the arts were for everyone. He will be sorely missed.

The Guild of Wayfinders: Every Step is a Different Height The Festival’s Rachael Putland, reveals how we will be uncovering the history of both the Festival and Norwich Guildhall.

It is a privilege for Norfolk & Norwich Festival to be the main tenant in The Guildhall, one of Norwich’s architectural treasures. Providing our office, we also plan to share its spaces with our cultural and heritage peers and are keen to find interesting ways to open its doors to all.

group of volunteers with an interest in how we explore and share a place and time.

Built between 1407 and 1413, The Norwich Guildhall is a striking piece of medieval architecture housing two courtrooms, a council chamber, the sheriff’s office, prison cells, a crypt and many more rooms all joined together by 16 uneven staircases. We’ve made one or two changes (to make it more accessible) and given it a fresh lick of paint, but its history and significance in the county’s identity can be felt the moment you step through the door.

The Guild of Wayfinders’ first project will be Every Step Is A Different Height, a tour of the Guildhall. Lone Twin’s Gregg Whelan and Gary Winters direct the project and will work with Creative Associate, Jade-Marie Anderson and the Guild members to weave stories of the history of the Festival together with a tour of the building. “We’re seeking to take visitors on a tour through the Guildhall and the storied past of Norfolk & Norwich Festival,” explained Gregg. “With the two now formally connected, art and heritage can come together as one. Our guides are Festival volunteers, who will walk audiences through the unique spaces of the hall and 250 years of Festivals past.”

The Festival invited artists Lone Twin to create a 250 project which not only responds to the architecture and civic role of this great building but also teases out the Festival’s long history and connection with the people of the city. Lone Twin’s response has been to initiate The Guild of Wayfinders, a

The Festival approached Lone Twin because of their unique track-record of activating communities of people in the creation of extraordinary artworks. Past projects include The Boat Project for the Cultural Olympiad in 2012, in which more than 1,200 people donated wooden objects which were then

used to build a seaworthy yacht. In Norwich, Lone Twin were interested in extending this community engagement and proposed the idea of a ‘guild’ for Norwich. The result is The Guild of Wayfinders, a like-minded community in pursuit of a collective goal. The Festival is not possible without volunteers. We work with over 100 every year and in some years – like this year – we are supported by double that. We know from experience, that the volunteers are not only vital as stewards and guides but that they hold an immense amount of Festival history. If you want to know about past Festivals the best place to start is often with a longstanding volunteer. With this in mind, The Guild of Wayfinders set out to reinvigorate what it means to be a volunteer in the 21st century. “Volunteers are at the heart of this project.” Gregg explains, “They’ll be front and centre, cocreating the project with Lone Twin. They’ll offer their experiences and stories and they’ll guide audiences on a unique tour through time and place.”

The first members of The Guild of Wayfinders © Malachy Luckie

Through all our interactions with audiences, we know that Norfolk & Norwich Festival belongs to the entire community – the people who turn up to every event, programme in hand; those who stumble across a pop-up happening on their walk home; those who provide time or money to help us bring these experiences to Norfolk. Volunteering remains an extra special way to feel connected to the Festival, something one of our volunteers describes as being “part of something important to the city, surrounded by arts and culture, exploring new artists and making friends along the way”. Over the Festival, and for the first time in many years, we will open the doors of the Guildhall to the public. With the help of our Wayfinders, take a trip back in time and explore hundreds of years of the Festival and this fine old civic building. Book a tour with The Guild of Wayfinders p30 Want to volunteer with the Festival? Visit nnfestival.org.uk The Guild of Wayfinders has been supported by the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund through Arts Council England.

Something to say... The Festival’s Poppy Hanton explores how we have been supporting artists to work with communities in Norfolk. The pandemic has hit the arts hard and freelance creatives are among some of the most affected. In 2020, in response, we launched Creative Individuals Norfolk to support local creatives working in, and with Norfolk communities. This year we have continued and expanded the initiative under the banner of Posters, Pamphlets and Other Paraphernalia, our focus on artists working with communities to amplify voices which are not always heard. We’ve been inspired by the ways print media were used in Georgian times to share personal views and community aspirations. Pamphleteering has been described as the social media of its day and is credited with widening and democratising public dialogue and debate. Relatively easy to produce and distribute, pamphlets enabled people to put forward new ideas and we’ve built on this spirit to encourage people in our communities to have their say. The project’s lead artists are Hester Chillingworth and Salome Wagaine, both of whom explore print’s role in public discourse in new commissions for the Festival. Hester creates new street signs which are playful and interventionist, and Salome, a writer,

draws on the traditions of writing about and critiquing cooking and food. Hester and Salome have been mentor to four artists who are developing projects in partnership with different communities – from disabled artists to trans drag queens – shining a light on some of the issues these communities face and giving voice to their oftenunheard narratives. “In my mentoring with the artists,” says Hester, “I’ve been helping them to think about what it is to ‘speak to the street’ - which I use to mean creating and sharing work outside of a formal artistic frame - and to let it bang into and get jumbled up with people’s daily lives. How do we create artistic offers that have the potential to open doorways for passers-by and offer momentary and unexpected new lenses on the world, but which do not demand that people drop what they’re doing to engage?” This type of intervention into daily life is at the heart of the work of Ingrid Banerjee Marvin of Babeworld. She has taken a closer look at football culture, which is often thought of as the ‘people’s game’ and asks who is marginalised in this culture? She has worked with football fans who may

feel excluded, creating an accessible space to watch and enjoy games. And recognising there is a subculture of zines and collectors amongst the football ‘tribe’, Ingrid has worked with her participants to create a series of pieces, inspired by vintage football paraphernalia and which rewrites their inclusion. “Those who do not have a safe space to watch football with other people are totally excluded from that memorymaking and collecting of material things around experiencing football,” she explains. “Posters, Pamphlets and Other Paraphernalia was perfect for shaping our intention around how we take this a step further and explore a world in which those memories can be made… We want to create a space for people to talk, share experiences, and contribute towards a blueprint of more accessible football culture in Norwich.”

Posters Pamphlets and Other Paraphernalia Babeworld Let’s be (genuinely) ‘Avin You Playing with the aesthetic of football paraphernalia to create badges and ticket stubs inspired by 1970s-1990s Norwich City FC designs. Ian Brownlie Ownership of the Zines of Production. (Mobile Stationery) Individuals experiencing mental health challenges create zines around landscape, culture and creativity, important for all our wellbeing. Oozing Gloop The End Times A magazine created with trans drag queens & ogres to provide a survival guide to living on a dying planet.

Babeworld

Oozing Gloop

Ellena Woolf Magical Mysteries of The System: Lights and Shadows of Disabled Life Artists who identify as disabled, create a Penny Dreadful - a type of Victorian adventure comic, taking the notoriously intransigent welfare scheme as its theme. See their work at the Posters, Pamphlets & Other Paraphernalia showcase, p34 Discover HESTER CHILLINGWORTH & SALOME WAGAINE’S work, p61 And the Ad/dressing the City project, p61 Posters, Pamphlets & Other Paraphernalia was made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Ellena Woolf

Ian Brownlie

All the Fun of the Festival The Festival’s Darren Cross explores how the Festival is really just an excuse for a bit of fun! At Norfolk & Norwich Festival, we often talk about our ‘Festival Spirit’ – an approach woven through all that we do. It’s the buzz created between audience and performer; it’s the special joy we bring to audiences through celebration, creativity and curiosity – the sheer infectious pleasure, and emotional release a Festival can bring. Depending on who we’re talking to, we might describe it as ‘wellbeing’, we might (occasionally) carve out hyperbolic prose to describe it, but to you dear reader, it’s quite simply the unadulterated fun of the Festival! Just letting your hair hang down, opening up your sensibilities and grinning from ear to ear. If you’re of the ‘hair hang down’ persuasion, the Adnams Spiegeltent is ground zero, hosting an intoxicating mix of cabaret, circus and music within its darkly sumptuous walls. Nine-piece jazztronic behemoth, dat Brass (p51) fill one of the Adnams Spiegeltent late slots - a festival favourite due to their turbo-charged set list and their smile inducing shows.

“The performance, for us is about the breathless energy and improvisation we bring,” says dat Brass’ Michael. “In turn, we get that bounced back at us in spades by the audience. There’s always an exuberance at our gigs that makes each one so unique and special.” Fun enables you to ask difficult questions too. Cloaked in absurdity the subject matter sheds much of its taboo. ThisEgg bring a barrel-load of silliness to the painfully awkward subject of the birds and the bees in The Family Sex Show at The Garage (p43). “Sometimes, a bit of lightness around a complicated subject can help open it up,” explains ThisEgg’s Josie Dale-Jones. “If we can laugh about it, we can talk about it. The shame hopefully becomes smaller when asking questions, silliness and humour are encouraged. After all, sex and relationships are supposed to be fun and full of joy!” At a festival, you’re guaranteed to come across something you don’t expect. Something that messes with your sensibilities… that discombobulates you. This May, you might stumble across a robotic textile forest or a popup musical fanfare. You might

also come across a shipping container, spewing out party goers at 11.30am on a mid-week morning. The latter is all part of 10 Minute Dance Parties (p48), a special festival experience created by Melbourne’s Joseph O’Farrell (JOF). The show proudly claims to bring you the ‘best 10 minutes of your lives’. “It is all about that brief moment in time – a finite 10 minutes,” explains JOF. “To me, that’s what makes it special, what keeps me going. I get to live those 10 minutes over and over again – like the movie Groundhog Day… but instead of Bill Murray, it’s me, JOF!” There’s something about a moment in time, the coming together of likeminded souls – a cathartic release from the pomposity or everyday drudge. It is joyous and unifying. Fun can be relaxing too. Kicking back with a good book is the simplest of pleasures. “The Book Hive have given us a brilliant chance to escape the everyday through Page Against The Machine,” says the National Centre for Writing’s Flo Reynolds. “It’s a simple concept: allow yourself some ‘me time’, grab a good book, and settle down in The Plantation Garden – one of Norwich’s hidden treasures!”

You’ll get your boost of the ‘cerebral’ and a healthy dose of the ‘laudable’ at a festival, but you’ll also (assuming the recipe’s right), get your necessary five a day of the silly and surreal. Speaking of fruit, Figs in Wigs (p45), with their deadpan expressions and synchronised dance routines have become high priestesses of the bizarre. “We devise our shows so most of our scripts come from improvisation and messing around during rehearsals,” says the Figs’ Rachael “... seriously, we are serious about being silly, we take it very seriously.” What does this all mean? Well, it kind of means that art doesn’t have to mean anything. It can just be strange and silly, the momentary connection or sensation. Just inhabiting that other world for a few minutes, whether it’s a world you fully comprehend or not, can provide a little shelter from all the mundane rhythms and the grim reality of the contemporary world. Go on… give it a go!

Top: The Adnams Spiegeltent © Chris Taylor Middle: Page Against the Machine © Joanna Millington Bottom: Figs in Wigs © Jemima Yong

Creative People, Connected Communities Away from the bright lights and glamour of the Festival, we work year-round to bring creative opportunities to the people of Norfolk and the wider region. The Festival’s Isabel Morgan talks to some of those involved. At the Festival we believe in the importance of creativity for everyone, every day – no matter their background. Through a number of projects and initiatives, Norfolk & Norwich Festival instigates, nurtures and delivers creative opportunities to communities, schools and artists. The pressures facing our schools system means that even with huge efforts made by teachers and leaders there are fewer opportunities. While some academic subjects, like maths and the sciences help us understand the fabric of the material world, the arts help us investigate and interrogate our responses to it. Festival Bridge works across the region to connect young people with great art and culture, supporting and developing networks of teachers and creative practitioners. “We start by listening to those who are working with and for the children and young people,” explains Head of Festival Bridge, Michael Corley. “We look to identify the gaps but recognise that these are local needs, with unique solutions in each location – there’s no single blueprint.” Jane Ryder is a Culture and Arts Leader in Schools and Academies (CALSA) – a programme developed by Festival Bridge. A teacher at Sidegate Primary School in Ipswich, she is Director for Arts and Culture 20

for the Active Learning Trust, spanning 21 schools in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Jane has built a longstanding relationship with Festival Bridge through a range of initiatives. “Festival Bridge is what it says on the label,” says Jane. “They are a bridge between us as educators, and arts and culture organisations. Right from the word go, I had that support from colleagues at the Bridge, helping Sidegate strengthen relationships with local arts organisations such as DanceEast and the New Wolsey Theatre. We have become an arts-rich school.” During the pandemic, Festival Bridge recognised that teachers were among those hardest hit and initiated Native Creatives – an online forum to support and encourage teacher’s own creative practices. “There is an essence to Native Creatives,” says Jane, “that is supporting the teacher in their own wellbeing… recharging, reenergising, refocusing and reminding ourselves of why we do what we do.” Alongside schools, Festival Bridge also supports arts practitioners like Sophie Fox. As part of Magic Acorns, an early years development organisation, they strive to co-create ground-breaking work with, and for, our very youngest children. “Festival Bridge is instrumental in developing us as an organisation.

Michael especially has shown care and understanding about the work we are doing. He can really see the value. By supporting us to develop the Acorn Network, it has raised our profile so that connections and relationships can be made.” While Festival Bridge provides support across a number of sectors, the Festival Creative Learning team’s emphasis is delivery, much of which is through our Take Part: Schools programme. Over the pandemic, Take Part: Schools trialled a place-based approach, delivering work with West Earlham schools, from early-years to secondary. Sophie Fox was one of the practitioners who helped deliver this work. “We’re taking much more of a Placemaking approach, responding to the needs of a community,” explains Creative Learning Manager, Ginny Scholey. “The teachers recognised that creativity, and even just creative play had been severely hindered during lock-downs and Sophie helped create artist-led play sessions using movement, drawings and most importantly, their imaginations.” People, place and the transformative power of culture is something the Festival has long championed, and more and more, we seek to present the voices of those communities we work with, and the places they inhabit. Common Ground is one of our 250 projects, supported by the National

Lottery Heritage Fund. It connects young people with their local heritage. Jordan Hunnisett is a young artist and participant in the project. He is one of around 60 like-minded 18-25 yearolds - the ‘Common Ground Leaders’. They collaborate on projects, gain industry insight and experience, and bring their own perspective to heritage, environmental and community issues. He explains “Even before I left the weald-lands of East Sussex to study English Literature and Creative Writing in Norwich, I was fascinated by the arts and the environment. Common Ground offered the opportunity to engage in activities that both appealed to my interests and taught essential skills for my desired career.” Among a number of events in the programme, Jordan and other Common Ground Leaders curated and presented an exhibition, Living Landscapes, as part of 2021’s Festival programme. “The joy of Common Ground,” explains Michael Corley, “is that young people are being given the opportunity to define, develop and articulate what they want to about their local heritage. They are investigating the world around them and being given a platform to tell their own valuable stories. This is just one of the reasons why the arts are so important.” Find out more about this work at nnfestival.org.uk Support NNF creative learning projects, see p26 Festival Bridge is a Bridge Organisation, working with Arts Council England to connect young people with great art and culture.

Top: The Festival brings creative activities to schools © Charlotte Reeve Middle: Common Ground Leader, Jordan Hunnisett © Kerry Bensley Bottom: Common Ground’s Living Landscapes exhibition © Georgia Rees-Lang

Thoroughly Modern Music As we celebrate our own 250th anniversary, we also commemorate the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ birth by revisiting a special Norfolk & Norwich Festival commission. James Hardie, our Music Programmer explores Five Tudor Portraits’ reception and the future direction of the Festival’s music commissioning. Norfolk & Norwich Festival has always been a prolific commissioner of new music. For the 1936 Festival, Ralph Vaughan Williams was asked to write a new work for chorus and orchestra. “I think they thought they’d get ‘O Praise the Lord,” the composer noted, “but I sent them the Five Tudor Portraits.” Rather than choosing a religious text as was customary for large choral works, Vaughan Williams set words by the Tudor poet John Skelton (once tutor to Henry VIII). Skelton’s racy, unbuttoned verses shocked audience members, who perhaps were not expecting to bear witness to The Tunning of Elinor Rumming or the excoriating parody Epitaph on John Jayberd of Diss. The newspapers, however, were fulsome in their praise, with one reviewer commenting that he had never seen an audience “so relieved of concert-room inhibitions”. Despite critical success, Five Tudor Portraits (p52) is rarely performed, and so it is fitting that we revive this landmark work in this, our celebratory year. Norwich Philharmonic Chorus, a collection of around 100 dedicated amateur singers gathered from around Norfolk, will join forces with Britten

Sinfonia, to celebrate both the Festival and composer’s anniversaries. That concert in 1936 would be unrecognisable to us today, and not only because it featured another three monumental works, making for a running time of over three hours (and I suspect the seats then were no match for St Andrew’s Hall’s plush new set). Our Hunting Fathers by Lowestoft-born Benjamin Britten, then just 22 years old, was also premiered that day, meaning half the programme was never-before-heard music. That would be quite a risk for a major festival today, tempting audiences into the unknown. But it’s one that we as a festival, and you as audiences, should never shy away from. New work can raise questions and offer answers. It can delight and dismay, and it can always entertain. All the art you love, that you find comforting, funny, beautiful or strangely grotesque, was once a new work. Someone took the risk in going to witness it, and it was born. Looking to the future, we’ll further focus our efforts on what has always made Norfolk & Norwich Festival special: commissioning outstanding

talent to create work that pushes artistic boundaries; celebrating the wonderful places and spaces we possess around the county; and making work that communities can enjoy and engage with, both as audiences, but also as participants. We revive another Festival tradition this year - fanfares, first introduced by Henry Wood, which heralded audiences, royalty, and newborns throughout the 20th century. Our 250 Fanfares (p30) are a clarion call for things to come. Across the opening weekend (13-15 May), we’ll present nine brand new fanfares, all commissioned from exciting emerging voices from the UK music scene. Short, sharp bursts of music will ring out from locations across the city, heralding Festival 250 to shoppers and diners, joggers and loiterers. We’ve set the composers the challenge of writing no more than 60 seconds of music, but from this brief window you can expect to hear everything from the warning blast of trumpets, jazz and Indian influenced vignettes to music inspired by prehistoric Norfolk. Opposite: Ralph Vaughan Williams © Getty Images, Bettmann Collection

It’s a Wrap! The Festival’s Ginny Scholey talks to artist and Forest Fringe Co-Director, Andy Field about our 250 project, Lost & Found Films of Norfolk – what he hopes the participants learnt, and what we stand to learn from those children. Andy’s challenge for our Festival 250 celebrations was to conceive and coordinate a project to spark creativity in ten to fourteen year-olds, and to get them thinking about the past, present and future of Norfolk. Andy’s response was to devise the Lost & Found Films of Norfolk - eleven collaborations between adventurous artists and school groups, creating films for a real and imagined archive of Norfolk. The project saw schools working with artists from across artforms, but all with an interest in creative experimentation. Visual artist Abigail Conway and theatre-maker and musician Christopher Brett Bailey were among the artists to take part. Andy was keen to challenge artists and participants: “I have always found working with young people to be an incredibly rewarding, funny, and creatively thrilling experience. It’s at its best when bringing together unlikely combinations. For Christopher Brett Bailey, for example, it was completely new to work in this way, and he was excited by what he and the children achieved.”

Lost & Found Films of Norfolk was designed to give children unique creative opportunities, which they wouldn’t normally experience in the classroom or community. Film-making provided the perfect medium because all children could get involved, either in front of the camera, as performers, or behind the scenes in a range of roles as scriptwriters and camera operators. Working with an artist and being regarded as a peer by them was an invaluable experience to the children. “One of the great things the artists have done,” Andy explained “is treat their collaborators, whatever their age, with respect and trust. It’s thrilling to see those children be given the same degree of agency that any other collaborator would be given.” Not only did the children work with artists as peers, but their films will be presented alongside a host of international artists as part of this year’s Festival. “I think it’s to the benefit of young people to know as soon as possible that art can be whatever they choose, and that they have the power and capacity to think in outrageous and audacious ways

about what culture is. It’s important the project gives voice to young people, enabling them to tell their story on an international platform. Norfolk & Norwich Festival does this so well, taking work and connecting it with broader audiences.” Norfolk, with its low-lying land and big skies, is a county steeped in storytelling and myths. Lost & Found Films celebrates this with the voices and imaginations of young people. “I hope viewing the films will be a distinctive way for people to see what Norfolk looks and feels like through the eyes of some of its youngest inhabitants. Sometimes it can be difficult to understand quite how children see and understand the place they live. Hopefully this project will be a means of doing this - a unique snapshot of Norfolk, preserved forever.” See Lost & Found Films of Norfolk p41 Support Festival Projects like this p26

Lost & Found Films of Norfolk was supported by The Norwich Freemen’s Charity, The Arts Society Norwich, The Ellerdale Trust, The Fuller Endowment Fund, The Geoffrey Watling Charity and North Norfolk District Council

Lost & Found Films of Norfolk will feature work from Keisha Thompson & Norwich Primary Academy, Abigail Conway & Mile Cross Primary School, Chris Brett Bailey & North Walsham Junior School, Dan Canham & Ormiston Victory Academy, Tim Spooner & Locksley Short Stay School, Rachael Clerke & St Nicholas Priory Primary and Figs in Wigs & Hewett Academy… plus many more!

Top: Filming Lost & Found Films © Abigail Conway Middle: Andy Field © Briony Campbell Bottom: Pupils creating their film © Robbie Maloney

WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN MAKE THIS WORK You’ve read about some of the things we do, not just at the Festival each May, but all year-round. Some of these we’ve been doing for 250 years. Help us continue to make this work happen so we can be here for all our audiences and communities for another 250 years! FESTIVAL FUTURES Make a donation to support the Festival’s work with schools and young people. You can make a donation when you buy a ticket, at the Festival, or online. Friends & Supporters Enjoy a range of benefits, bringing you closer to the work of the Festival. Our Supporters Scheme starts from just £15 per month. Business We offer corporate partnerships for businesses of all sizes, providing excellent brand association, corporate entertainment and association with our artistic, community and environmental initiatives. Leave a Legacy Remembering Norfolk & Norwich Festival in your will can leave a lasting legacy and help us build our work nurturing artists and supporting communities across Norfolk. Donate ...or find out more at nnfestival.org.uk/support-us …or Volunteer Each year we recruit around 140 volunteers to support the running of the Festival. Explore a wide range of volunteering opportunities at nnfestival.org.uk Principal Funders

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a registered charity, number 1164424

THE FESTIVAL 250 years of celebration

STATION HOUSE OPERA AN ARTSADMIN PROJECT DOMINOES Friday 13 May, 6pm Norwich City Centre, starting Anglia Square Imagine an artwork that brings the city to life. Dominoes, by Station House Opera, takes as its starting point the simplest of ideas… a line of dominoes. Traversing the city, thousands of breezeblocks are used to create a moving sculpture which unfolds over the course of one magical day… the very beginning of Festival 250! Explore the route during the afternoon and find your favourite spot to watch the topple. Further information and the full route will be available online from Friday 29 April. Free FREE OUTDOOR

WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS? Dominoes is a mass participation event and we need more than 200 volunteers to help build the route. Interested? Email volunteers@nnfestival.org.uk or visit nnfestival.org.uk Sponsored by

Free Outdoor Programme partner

Supported by the Paul Bassham Charitable Trust

FURTHER INFO nnfestival.org.uk 28

Dominoes © Tom Arran

FESTIVAL FOUNDATIONS EXHIBITION Friday 13–Saturday 28 May Museum open Tuesday–Saturday 10am–4.30pm Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell 250 years ago, the good people of Norwich came together to raise much-needed funds for the new Norfolk & Norwich Hospital by staging sermons and then concerts. As part of a new National Lottery Heritage Funded project, in an exhibition curated by volunteers, we’re revealing the origins of Norfolk & Norwich Festival. During the Festival (13-28 May), entry to museum is free EXHIBITION Norfolk & Norwich Hospital © Wellcome Collection

250 FANFARES Friday 13–Sunday 15 May Pop-up, around Norwich city centre With a long history of fanfares at the Festival, we celebrate the opening weekend with specially commissioned pop-up world premieres, performed by musicians from the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Nine composers were commissioned to create these pieces: James Batty, Cameron Biles-Liddell, Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, Nneka Cummins, Misha Mullov-Abbado, Laurence Osborn, Alexander Paxton, Shruthi Rajasekar, Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Free MUSIC

250 Fanfares © Kat Mager

With thanks to Cast Supporters, Rachel and Len Hobson

LONE TWIN & THE GUILD OF WAYFINDERS EVERY STEP IS a different height Saturday 14–Sunday 29 May (Not Tue 17 May) Mon–Wed & Fri–4pm & 6pm, Thu 8.30pm Weekends 11.30am & 1.30pm Norwich Guildhall Take a tour through the history of the Guildhall and the storied past of the Festival. Your guides for this journey will be the newly formed Guild of Wayfinders, as they walk you through the unique spaces of the medieval building and 250 years of Festivals past. Tickets Pay What You Want tour Supported by the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund through Arts Council England

The Guild of Wayfinders © Malachy Luckie

Festival Gardens This year, we occupy Chapelfield for the full 17 days of the Festival, cheekily transforming this historic city park into the ‘Festival Gardens’ where you can chill-out at the bar, discover enchanting, interactive gentle giants or soak-up the Garden Party. The Adnams Spiegeltent returns with highlights including Le Gateau Chocolat & Jonny Woo, Cirque Alfonse and Grace Petrie. Enjoy all the fun of the Festival in the most delightful of locations. For the full opening times, accessibility details and guide to what to find in the gardens, head to nnfestival.org.uk

The Bandstand © Malachy Luckie

THE BAND STAND IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BBC MUSIC INTRODUCING IN NORFOLK Friday 13–Tuesday 17 May, 7.30pm & 9.30pm daily Festival Gardens, Chapelfield We begin our 17 day residency in the gardens with the return of the Festival Bar and five evenings of alfresco tunes at The Band Stand. Enjoy a varied programme of music each night as some incredible young music-makers bring you beats to sink your beer to. Full line-up to be announced at nnfestival.org.uk Free MUSIC Above: Adnams Spiegeltent © JMA Photography Right: Festival Bar © JMA Photography

The Adnams Spiegeltent is generously sponsored by

Free Outdoor Programme partner

With thanks to Epos Now for their support with the Festival Bar

HERMETO PASCOAL & THE NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA Friday 13 May, 7.30pm, St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich Join us on opening night with a music legend. In a career spanning six decades, Brazilian Hermeto Pascoal has won worldwide fame as a virtuoso composer and multi-instrumentalist. Hermeto and his band join the ever-inventive National Youth Jazz Orchestra in new commissions and old favourites. Tickets £30, £26, £20, £15, £10 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50] MUSIC

Heremto Pascoal © Gabriel Quintão

AIR GIANTS UNFURL Saturday 14–Sunday 15 May, 2pm–5pm & 6pm–9pm Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Unfurl is a garden like no other. Nature, art and technology have combined to create something enchanting and spectacular. A dreamscape of interactive gentle giants made from fabric and air, full of light, colour and sound. Free places limited INSTALLATION Sponsored by

Unfurl © Air Giants

Unfurl has been supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Norfolk and Norwich Festival and Timber Festival

GANDINI JUGGLING SMASHED2 Saturday 14 & Sunday 15 May, 7.30pm St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich 80 oranges, 7 watermelons, 9 performers… Inspired by the great choreographer, Pina Bausch, Smashed2 is Gandini Juggling’s follow-up to the seminal Smashed. Using explosive fruit and slowmotion comedy to explore the strained relations between women and men. Funny inventive and darkly absurdist. Tickets £15 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50] Ages 8+ PERFORMANCE Smashed2 © Camille Greenwell

Sponsored by

With thanks to Director’s Circle Supporters, Julia Leach & Patrick Smith

Right: St Andrew’s Hall, 1896 © picturenorfolk.gov.uk

city of literature weekend

Flo Reynolds, Programme Manager at the National Centre for Writing tells us what to expect from this year’s literary programme.

FRIDAY 27—SUNDAY 29 MAY Page Against the Machine © Joanna Millington

City of Literature Weekend is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing presentation, programmed by National Centre for Writing.

You might have seen it on the ‘Welcome to Norwich’ sign a thousand times, but did you know that Norwich is a UNESCO City of Literature, known around the world for its storytelling and writing culture? 2022 marks ten years since Norwich became part of the global network of world-class creative cities. So what better time is there to celebrate the stories and creativity that make Norwich and Norfolk an inspiring place to write, think and dream? In this year’s City of Literature Weekend, you can discover exciting stories in person around the streets, gardens and historic buildings of Norwich. There are plenty of ways for you to get involved and bring your stories to life, and we’ve got amazing authors coming to share their brilliant books, too. However you want to celebrate, we hope you’ll join in and help us explore, imagine, read and write the many stories that keep the creative heart of this city beating.

In a prelude to the weekend, begin your literary adventure with a pair of exciting Festival experiences...

WANDERING WORDS: A walking tour of Norwich UNESCO City of Literature Friday 13–Sunday 29 May A literary walk created to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Norwich becoming England’s first UNESCO City of Literature. Discover Norwich of the past, present and future through newly commissioned poems from brilliant writers with ties to the city. Presented as print and audio installations. Free Pick-up a walking trail map from the Festival Box Office

Deception Island © Adam Barnes

Special performances with pop-up readings (90 mins):

LEWIS BUXTON WORKOUT!

STORY MACHINE DECEPTION ISLAND

Monday 16 May, 7.30pm Norwich Arts Centre

Wednesday 25-Saturday 28 May, on the hour, every hour between 12noon-9pm Festival Gardens, Chapelfield

City Centre Friday 27 May, 2pm Saturday 28 May, 3pm Sunday 29 May, 3pm

Step inside an exact replica of an Antarctic hut and be transported to Deception Island, a tiny caldera and outpost of scientific exploration in the Antarctic Ocean. Prepare to embark on an immersive poetry, sound and film expedition like nothing you have been on before. Workout!

A funny, inventive and heart-wrenching poetry-theatre show about exercise and anxiety. From sit ups in his bedroom… to being hungover in changing rooms… to trying to find calm through yoga with Adriene, Lewis Buxton brings an audience into his confidence, undresses his anxieties, and works through them, finding the questions, despair and joy in exercise.

Tickets £5 A collaboration with Elizabeth Lewis Williams

Tickets £5. Booking essential. Arrival instructions in booking confirmation

FRIDAY 27 MAY

NCW BOOK CLUB THE MANNINGTREE WITCHES 6pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Join us for a discussion of A.K. Blakemore’s ‘riveting, unsettling’ debut novel The Manningtree Witches, winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize 2021. Meet like-minded readers and discuss the themes, characters and structure of this powerful work of historical fiction. Free Booking required

Tickets Pay What You Want Co-commissioned by National Centre for Writing, Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Norwich Arts Centre Supported by the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund through Arts Council England

MELISSA FU & AYANNA LLOYD BANWO ANCESTral ties

saturday 28 MAY

Mieko Kawakami All the Lovers in the Night

4pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall

10am, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Internationally bestselling author Mieko Kawakami returns to Norwich to discuss her pulsing, poetic and shocking third novel, All the Lovers in the Night. Mieko is one of an exciting new generation of Japanese authors and her novels Breasts and Eggs and Heaven were both cult hits. Tickets £10 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50]

RICHARD MAINWARING EVERYBODY HERTZ 11.30am, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield From communicating where the next meal is, to drumming out a courtship dance, the impact of frequencies on humans and animals is staggering. Join musician, composer, TV presenter and educator Richard Mainwaring for an exploration of how vibrations good and bad govern everything around us. Tickets £10 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50]

Ancestry, heritage, grief and new beginnings are explored in two brilliant debut books by UEA alumni Melissa Fu and Ayanna Lloyd Banwo. Hear them discuss the common themes of their novels and the process of weaving powerful, personal stories which span continents and generations. Mieko Kawakami © Reiko Koyama

PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 12noon, The Plantation Garden Pick a book, bring a cool drink and turn off your phone for a welldeserved detox read in the beautiful surroundings of the Plantation Garden – or join in from home; from the dining room window, tucked up in bed, or in a deck chair in the garden! Free (£2 donation made to The Plantation Garden on arrival) In partnership with The Book Hive

Tickets £8 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50]

A.K. BLAKEMORE & GUINEVERE GLASFURD BANISHED HISTORIES 6pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Meet the new stars of historical fiction, uncovering the hidden stories of our past and using them to shed light on today’s world. A. K. Blakemore and Guinevere Glasfurd explore repressive regimes and the women surviving within them — from the 17th-century witch trials of England, to state censorship in Enlightenment France.

KIT DE WAAL HARRIET MARTINEAU LECTURE

Tickets £8 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50]

1.30pm, Adnams Spiegeltent, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield

SMALL BUT MIGHTY: 10 YEARS OF GALLEY BEGGAR PRESS

The Harriet Martineau Lecture celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman by inviting globally-renowned radical speakers to respond to her life and work. This year’s lecture will be delivered by bestselling novelist, memoirist and literary activist Kit de Waal.

8pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall

Tickets £10 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50] Supported by The Martineau Sociaty

Kit de Waal © Sarah M Lee

Join Sam Jordison and Eloise Millar, co-founders of ‘revolutionary’ (Telegraph) independent publisher Galley Beggar Press, for a celebration marking ten years of publishing daring, innovative works of fiction and non-fiction. Catch a glimpse behind the curtain of how small presses work and find out why Galley Beggar has taken the literary awards by storm. Then stick around for the afterparty! Tickets £8 [U18/YoungNNF £7.50]

Book 3+ events on Saturday and get 10% off

sunday 29 MAY

City of Literature publishing fair 10am–4pm, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Drop in and celebrate the vibrant independent publishing culture of the East of England. Meet the publishers, browse and purchase their work, and take part in a series of lightning talks throughout the day. The perfect Sunday event for writers, readers, editors and creators of all kinds. Free no booking required

WORKSHOPS

Finding the Words Poetry Workshop with Ko Ko Thett Friday 27 May 10am–12noon & 2–4pm National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Ko Ko Thett delivers a poetry workshop for beginner writers. Through practical exercises and group discussion you will explore how poetry can be used to discuss memory, personal experiences and the issues you feel passionately about. Bring a pen and paper and prepare to feel inspired! Tickets £35, £25 Ages 18+

Adventures in Fiction Workshop with Yan Ge Friday 27 May 10am–12noon & 2–4pm National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall

Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

Join award-winning novelist and short story writer Yan Ge for a friendly fiction workshop suitable for writers of all levels. Known for her sharply observed yet dreamlike stories that delight in the strangeness of human relationships, Yan is an expert in sharing techniques that will help you to hone your stories and surprise your readers.

Build a Book © Rose Feather

BUILD A BOOK FAMILYFRIENDLY WORKSHOP Sunday 29 May 11am–12.30pm & 2–3.30pm National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Draw, stick and fold your own unique story book inspired by the families living in Dragon Hall 180 years ago. A workshop for children aged 5-11 years and their accompanying grown-ups, led by artist Rose Feather. Tickets £5 per adult, children free FAMILY

Tickets £35, £25 Ages 18+

Hear more from National Centre for Writing by signing up to their newsletter at nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk

A.K. Blakemore © Sophie Davidson

VISUAL ARTS, TRAILS & TALKS

EXHIBITIONS

RYAN GANDER THE GIFT Tuesday 3 May–Saturday 2 July East Gallery, Norwich University of the Arts Working from his father’s often repeated phrase ‘Time is your greatest asset’, internationally renowned conceptual artist Ryan Gander, presents an exhibition examining the currency of time. Multiple new works centre around Everything is Broken Down, 2022, from which each visitor is offered a free gift. Free Supported by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Norwich University of the Arts

Gander and East Gallery are pleased to collaborate with Houghton Hall, where More really shiny things that don’t mean anything, 2012 (pictured) will be displayed in the landscape. Entrance with Houghton Hall admission fee. Left: More really shiny things that don’t mean anything, 2012 © Ryan Gander; courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery, photograph by Ken Adlard

Usagi Kannon. Photo: Andy Crouch © Leiko Ikemura and VG Bild-Kunst 2022

EXHIBITIONS

CONNOR COULSTON THOUGHTS FROM A SLEEPLESS NIGHT

YELENA POPOVA ODE TO A FLINT Saturday 12 March– Sunday 10 July Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery Inspired by a flint found on the beach near Sizewell in Suffolk, artist Yelena Popova’s major new body of work explores the deep connections between the UK nuclear industry, landscape and the passage of time.

Friday 13 May– Saturday 28 May Crypt Gallery at Norwich School

Ode to a Flint © The Holden Gallery

The ceramic sculpture of Connor Coulston is an ongoing conversation between the artist’s self-deprecating sense of humour, his wild imagination and the materiality of clay.

With support from East Anglia Art Fund and Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre

Thoughts from a sleepless night explores Coulston’s night time ramblings, from his love of the Spice Girls to dealing with existential dread.

RICHARD SLEE SWANS

Free

Sunday 13 March– Sunday 14 August Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

HAPTIC/TACIT FIELDWORK

Free with Castle admission ticket

This new work from acclaimed ceramic artist Richard Slee makes its UK debut. As fourteen majestic swans glide across the tranquil surface of their museum plinths, Slee uses the subversive power of humour to interpret and reframe familiar objects, with a mischievous nod to the traditions of historic porcelain manufactories.

Thoughts From a Sleepless Night © Jenny Harper

Seeking and investigating; searching and finding; assembling and combining; wrapping and binding. These are some of the activities undertaken by artist group haptic/tacit. FieldWork describes their process of active research, analytical and methodical, exploring and learning, out and about in their surroundings.

Free

LEIKO IKEMURA USAGI KANNON Until late 2024 Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

Friday 25 March– Saturday 25 June Groundwork Gallery, King’s Lynn

Swans 2019. Photo: Annik Wetter © Richard Slee

haptic/tacit: Jane Cairns, Nicky Hirst, Kim Norton, Annie Woodford, Grant Aston and Robert Cooper Free

Located in the Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park, Usagi Kannon is a towering bronze figure with rabbit ears and a human face. Usagi Kannon offers shelter through their bell-shaped skirt, acting as a protective shrine. Once inside, the small holes shed star-like rays of light creating an encompassing universe around the viewer. Free Fieldwork

EXHIBITIONS

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN: ART AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT Saturday 21 May– Sunday 4 September Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery Today, over half the world’s population lives in an urban environment. Featuring important works from the Arts Council Collection, The World We Live In explores the many facets of city life which have been a rich source of inspiration to artists. Free with Castle admission ticket With support from the East Anglia Art Fund

Skyspace Evenings

JOHN VIRTUE NORTH SEE PAINTINGS

JAMES TURRELL SKYSPACE EVENINGS Friday 13 & Saturday 14 May Houghton Hall

Sunday 1 May– Sunday 25 September. Selected days– see website for more info Houghton Hall

An amazing evening, experiencing the effect of the change of light from day to night in James Turrell’s tranquil Skyspace. Through an aperture in the ceiling, you are offered a heightened vision of the sky in a place of contemplation and revelation, harnessing the changing light of the Norfolk sky.

Over a career spanning more than forty years, John Virtue has established an international reputation as one of Britain’s leading artists. Landscape forms the central focus of his work, and his acknowledged antecedents in this tradition include John Constable, JMW Turner and Jacob van Ruisdael.

Visit houghtonhall.com for more info

North See Paintings © John Virtue

Tickets include access to Houghton Hall, Sculpture Park and Walled Gardens £20 (Students £10, free for Under 18s) Visit houghtonhall.com for more info

Right: The World We Live In Olivia Bax, Grille (landscape), 2020. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London © the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Standpoint Gallery, London. Photo: Tim Bowditch.

POSTERS PAMPHLETS & OTHER PARAPHERNALIA As part of our Festival 250, we’ve been exploring the historic role of print in public discourse in a project called Posters Pamphlets & Other Paraphernalia (p16). Led by two artists, Hester Chillingworth and Salome Wagaine, we present some of the project’s outputs as part of the Festival 250 programme.

AD/DRESSING THE CITY Sunday 1–Tuesday 31 May City centre In the early days of the Festival, city shopkeepers would dress their windows to celebrate the Festival’s return. This year, we revive that tradition! We have commissioned 10 Norfolk artists to create a window display for independent businesses in Norwich for May 2022, celebrating Norwich’s creativity and creating a Festival buzz across the city. Free visit nnfestival.org.uk for more info

TRAILS

HESTER CHILLINGWORTH THIS IS THE SIGN YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR Saturday 14–Sunday 29 May City centre Creating a collection of playful new signs for Norwich which suggest alternative interpretations of traditional signage, Hester’s work elevates the everyday with its playful and interventionist nature. Free

Keeping it Regal

SALOME WAGAINE TAKEAWAYS

NORWICH CASTLE MUSEUM PRESENTS KEEPING IT REGAL

Friday 13–Sunday 29 May Collect a copy from the Festival Box Office Explore the past and present of Norwich’s casual dining scene, as writer Salome creates a series of menus on the city’s cultural history, presented as the takeaways to whom they are paying homage. Free

Friday 13 May–Thursday 30 June City-wide trail, Norwich As Norwich Castle celebrates 900 years, join a city-wide journey of discovery. Grab your phone and follow the QR codes on this fascinating cross-city trail. Uncover the Castle’s history and find out what the people of this fine city think being regal is all about. Free visit nnfestival.org.uk for more info A Castle 900 project. Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Norwich BID

KLANGHAUS NEUTRINOS & COLLUSION MANIFESTO Saturday 14–Tuesday 31 May, Across King’s Lynn This extraordinary townwide exhibition will celebrate and share the outcomes of a newly created youth-led climate change manifesto for King’s Lynn, including interactive installations, large-scale projections and audio trails. Open to all and free to attend. Free visit nnfestival.org.uk for more info

Manifesto © Karen Frances Eng

TRAILS

TALKS & WORKSHOPS

JOHN ROGERS EDGELANDS – EXPLORING URBAN LANDSCAPES FROM LONDON TO KING’S LYNN

YARMONICS YARMONICS SOUND MAP Digital Yarmonics is a festival of sound and new music celebrating the sounds, people and places of Great Yarmouth. The Yarmonics Sound Map hosts a growing collection of recordings from performances for you to explore and experience.

Sunday 22 May, 2pm Groundwork Gallery

X + Y Biennial Wiki Bus Trail

Tickets £6 Age 8+

Free online via nnfestival.org.uk

X + Y BIENNIAL WIKI WORKING GROUP X + Y BIENNIAL WIKI BUS TRAIL

ASSEMBLY ONLINE: YELENA POPOVA Tuesday 24 May, 7.30pm

Bus connection between Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn Following the public discussion ‘Why Biennials?’ during the 2021 Festival, audiences can now feed the development of a sustainable contemporary art festival which activates the Norfolk bus routes connecting Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn. Immerse yourself and share your findings #xybiennial

Edgelands

Yelena Popova in conversation. This is a free online event that can be accessed via YouTube. This event will coincide with Yelena’s exhibition, Ode to a Flint, at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery. Free online via nnfestival.org.uk Co-presented by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and The Assembly House.

Free visit nnfestival.org.uk for more info

RYAN GANDER LOOSE ASSOCIATIONS (WRETCHED ’20)

HAPTIC/TACIT THE ARTISTIC FORAGER Sunday 15 May, 2pm Starts at Groundwork Gallery

Talk and walk with John Rogers, film maker and writer in connection with GroundWork Gallery’s exhibition FieldWork.

Keepsafe I & II, 2019 © Yelena Popova

Norwich University of the Arts, Duke Street Riverside Building Thursday 26 May, 5.30pm Loose Associations (Wretched ‘20) is the latest lecture in a series written annually since 2000, by the internationally significant artist, Ryan Gander. Performed as a thoughtful, critical, and comedic rumination on cultural events, the artist guides the narrative from subject to subject, with only loose associations.

In connection with GroundWork Gallery’s exhibition FieldWork, an afternoon of talking and walking with artist-collective haptic/tacit. Tickets £6 Age 8+

Free booking required Ages 14+ Ryan Gander: Loose Associations (wretched ‘20)

VISITING

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PLAN YOUR VISIT

FESTIVAL DAILY DIARY For the performance and City of Literature programme, plan your adventure right here. Check out what’s on where and when... Friday 13 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

City Centre

6pm

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

Dominoes (p28)

Festival Gardens

Bandstand (p31)

St Andrew’s Hall

Bandstand (p31)

Hermeto Pascoal & NYJO (p32)

Saturday 14 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

Festival Gardens

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Unfurl (p32)

7pm

8pm

Every Step... (p30)

10pm

Unfurl (p32) Bandstand (p31)

Guildhall

9pm

Bandstand (p31)

Every Step... (p30)

St Andrew’s Hall

Smashed2 (p32)

Sunday 15 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

Festival Gardens

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Unfurl (p32)

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

Unfurl (p32) Bandstand (p31)

St Andrew’s Hall

Bandstand (p31)

Smashed2 (p32)

Guildhall

Every Step... (p30)

John Innes Centre

The Heath Quartet (p33)

Monday 16 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

8pm

Festival Gardens

Bandstand (p31)

Norwich Arts Centre

Workout! (p55) Moor Mother (p33)

St Andrew’s Hall Guildhall

Every Step... (p30)

9pm

10pm

Bandstand (p31)

Tuesday 17 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Festival Gardens

7pm

8pm

9pm

Bandstand (p31)

The Garage

Fire Songs (p34)

Venue TBC

11pm

12pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

10pm

Bandstand (p31)

Fire Songs (p34) Posters, Pamphlets, & Other Paraphernalia (p34) Pioro & Cooper (p34)

St Andrew’s Hall

Wednesday 18 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

7pm

8pm

9pm

Barbu (p36)

The Garage

Fire Songs (p34)

Guildhall Octagon Chapel

Every Step... (p30)

Mystery Sonatas (p35) Peaceophobia (p35) So Percussion & Caroline Shaw (p37)

Every Step... (p30)

Rose Lane Car Park St Andrew’s Hall

Thursday 19 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Adnams Spiegeltent The Garage

7pm

8pm

9pm

... What We Call Musicals (p37)

Barbu (p36) Fire Songs (p34)

Fire Songs (p34)

Octagon Chapel Rose Lane Car Park Guildhall

Peaceophobia (p35)

Mystery Sonatas (p35) Peaceophobia (p35) Every Step... (p30)

All information correct at time of print, but subject to change. Check out nnfestival.org.uk for latest information 65

FESTIVAL DAILY DIARY Friday 20 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

Festival For a Fine City (p38)

Adnams Spiegeltent

Fire Songs (p34)

5pm

6pm

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

... What We Call Musicals (p37)

Barbu (p36) Billy and the Beast (p37)

Blackfriar’s Hall The Garage

4pm

Fire Songs (p34) Mystery Sonatas (p35) Peaceophobia (p35)

Octagon Chapel Rose Lane Car Park Space Studios

Club Culture (p38) (until 2am)

St Andrew’s Hall

Tale of Two Cities (p38)

Guildhall

Every Step... (p30)

Saturday 21 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

4pm

5pm

The Garden Party (p40)

The Forum

Guildhall

3pm

Fire Songs (p34)

8pm

9pm

Barbu (p36) Side by Side (p41)

Every Step... (p30)

Fire Songs (p34) Every Step... (p30) Peaceophobia (p35) Tale of Two Cities (p38)

St Peter Mancroft

All information correct at time of print, but subject to change. Check out nnfestival.org.uk for latest information 66

7pm

Lost and Found Films (p41)

Rose Lane Car Park St Andrew’s Hall

6pm

Ragroof Tea Dance (p41)

Festival Gardens

The Garage

2pm

Peaceophobia (p35) Tale of Two Cities (p38) Canticle of the Sun (p42)

10pm Grace Petrie (p42)

11pm

12pm

Sunday 22 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Ragroof Tea Dance (p41)

Festival Gardens

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

Broadside Hacks (p43)

Barbu (p36)

The Garden Party (p40)

The Forum

Lost and Found Films (p41)

St Andrew’s Hall Guildhall

Exaudi (p43) Every Step...

(p30)

Every Step...

(p30)

Monday 23 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

7pm

8pm

Barbu (p36)

9pm

10pm

Astrology Bingo (p45)

The Family Sex Show (p43)

The Garage St Andrew’s Hall

Fairytales & Nightingales (p44)

Guildhall

Every Step...

(p30)

Tuesday 24 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

9pm

10pm

Astrology Bingo (p45)

The Family Sex Show (p43) Bach Cello Suites No.1 (p46) Between Tiny Cities (p45)

Battle Cry (p46)

St Andrew’s Hall Guildhall

8pm

Peggy Seeger (p45)

The Garage Octagon Chapel

7pm

Every Step...

(p30)

Lost Ships (p46)

Every Step...

(p30)

FESTIVAL DAILY DIARY Wednesday 25 May 10am Adnams Spiegeltent

11am 12noon 1pm Marmalade (p49)

City Centre

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

Marmalade (p49)

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

Sean Shibe (p48)

Barbu (p36) 10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

The Family Sex Show (p43)

The Garage Festival Gardens

Deception Island (p55)

Guildhall

Every Step...

(p30)

Consone Quartet (p46)

Octagon Chapel

Bach Cello Suites No.2 (p46) Between Tiny Cities (p45)

Between Tiny Cities (p45)

St Andrew’s Hall

Thursday 26 May 10am Adnams Spiegeltent

11am 12noon 1pm Marmalade (p49)

City Centre

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

Marmalade (p49)

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

8pm

9pm

10pm Levitation Orchestra (p49)

Barbu (p36) 10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

Festival Gardens

Deception Island (p55) The Family Sex Show (p43)

The Garage St Andrew’s Hall

Steven Osborne (p49)

Guildhall

Every Step...

(p30)

Friday 27 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

Adnams Spiegeltent City Centre Dragon Hall The Garage

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48) Creative Writing Workshops (p57)

Creative Writing Workshops (p57)

Manningtree Witches (p55)

The Family Sex Show (p43) Signal at Dusk (p39) Amjad Ali Khan (p50)

Guildhall

Every Step...

Festival Gardens

Deception Island (p55)

(p30)

10pm Lyra Pramuk (p50)

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

St Andrew’s Hall

9pm

Barbu (p36)

Great Yarmouth, North Beach

Norwich Cathedral

8pm

Every Step...

(p30)

Compline (p51)

Saturday 28 May 10am Adnams Spiegeltent

All the Lovers... (p56)

City Centre

11am 12noon 1pm Everybody Hertz (p56)

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

Martineau Lecture (p56)

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

11pm

12pm

11pm

12pm

dat Brass (p51)

Barbu (p36)

10 Minute Dance Parties (p48)

Dragon Hall

Banished Histories (p56)

Ancestral Ties (p56)

Festival Gardens

Small But Mighty (p56)

Deception Island (p55)

Great Yarmouth, North Beach

Signal at Dusk (p39)

Guildhall

Every Step...

(p30)

Every Step...

(p30)

Page Against The Machine (p56)

Plantation Garden

Anna Meredith (p51)

St Andrew’s Hall

Sunday 29 May 10am

11am 12noon 1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

Adnams Spiegeltent

5pm

7pm

8pm

9pm

10pm

Barbu (p36)

St Andrew’s Hall Dragon Hall

6pm

Five Tudor Portraits (p52) Build a Book (p57)

Build a Book (p57)

City of Literature Publishing Fair (p57)

Guildhall

Every Step...

(p30)

Every Step...

(p30)

There are a number of Exhibitions that run across the Festival. Check out the Festival Foundations exhibition (p30), the county-wide Visual Arts programme (p58) and SIGNAL ON SEA (p39). There’s wonderful walks to help you see the world in a different light (p55, p61 & 62), WORKSHOPS (p34, p62) and our pop-up 250 Fanfares (p30). For further information on these, more information on the Garden Party programme and news on Dominoes, visit nnfestival.org.uk or follow us on social media

All information correct at time of print, but subject to change. Check out nnfestival.org.uk for latest information or follow us on social media

NNFestival @NNFest @NNFest

BOOKING Online nnfestival.org.uk By phone 01603 531800 Monday–Friday 10am–5.30pm During the Festival Monday–Sunday 10am–7pm In person Norwich Guildhall, Gaol Hill, Norwich, NR2 1JS Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, 10am–4pm During the Festival Monday–Sunday 10am–7pm From Wednesday 18 May Festival Gardens Box Office Chapelfield Gardens NR2 1RP See website for opening times On the day Any unsold tickets will be available on the door from 30 minutes before an event. Tickets can still be bought online until just before the event starts COVID-19 Up-to-date information on our Covid-19 policies can be found on our website, any changes will be communicated to ticket holders. Our policies will be in line with government guidance or best practice to keep our audiences, artists, volunteers and staff safe.

DISCOUNTS & CONCESSIONS

ACCESS

Your Visit

Concessions are available on most events priced £10 and over, subject to availability. Details on our website or through the Box Office.

We are dedicated to making Festival events accessible for everyone. We have a variety of initiatives in place to remove barriers to attendance and enable more people to enjoy our work, including:

Getting here

YOUNGNNF Join our FREE 18-25 membership scheme and get £7.50 tickets across (almost all) the Festival. Sign up at nnfestival.org.uk/youngNNF YoungNNF is sponsored by Alumno. ESSENTIAL COMPANION TICKETS Audience members requiring an essential carer/companion can get one free ticket. Concessions or 18-25 discount can be applied to the paid ticket.

ree companion tickets F for anyone that requires a carer/companion to facilitate their attendance of an event

1 0% off tickets for jobseekers, full-time students, D/deaf or disabled people, over 60s & Go4Less card holders

7.50 tickets for U18s and £ 18-25, through our free YoungNNF membership

Large print brochure

Audio format brochure

ideos with instructions V of how to get to venues and what to expect when you’re inside

POSTAGE A £1.50 postage charge is made on tickets mailed out. There is no charge for e-tickets or collecting ticket from our box office. REFUNDS & EXCHANGES We do not offer refunds. If an event is cancelled or postponed refunds may be paid at our discretion. Tickets can be exchanged or returned to Festival credit up to 7 days before the event. See nnfestival.org.uk/booking for full details ADDITIONAL EVENT INFORMATION Up-to-date information such as running times, age guidance, content warnings and venue access can be found on the event pages of our website.

60° photos inside venues 3 and venue guides

Festival Access Guide

or further information F and details on accessible performances, visit nnfestival.org.uk/access

By train Greater Anglia trains run to Norwich from London’s Liverpool Street Station every 30 minutes during the day (Journey time: 1 hour 50 minutes). Trains on the hour stop at Colchester, and Ipswich. Trains at half past the hour stop at Stratford, Chelmsford, Colchester, and Ipswich. A direct service also links Cambridge to Norwich (Journey time: 1 hour 20 minutes). By coach National Express coaches travel to Norwich from London and other major cities and airports several times daily. By air Norwich Airport is a short bus ride from the City Centre. For more information about visiting Norwich, see visitnorwich.co.uk, or visiting the Festival go to nnfestival.org.uk/visit

Travel Partner

Contact Us If you have any access queries or feedback please email us access@nnfestival.org.uk or call us on 01603 877750 All of our access resources can be found at nnfestival.org.uk/access

LARGE PRINT BROCHURE To request a large print brochure, audio brochure or Access For All Guide to be sent to you in the post please email access@nnfestival.org.uk or call 01603 877750

l 2

VENUES MAP

Guildhall (Main Box Office) Assistance dogs allowed

Adnams Spiegeltent

l Accessible toilet l R amped approach up to entrance l Assistance dogs allowed 3

Festival Gardens l l l

4 5

Box Office, Festival Gardens St Andrew’s Hall & Blackfriars’ Hall l l l l

Accessible toilet Assistance dogs allowed Level entrance

Accessible toilet Level entrance I nduction loop/ infrared system A ssistance dogs allowed

Norwich Cathedral

l Accessible toilets l R amped approach down to entrance l D esignated parking l I nduction loop/ infrared system l I nternal lift l A ssistance dogs allowed 7

Anglia Square

l Assistance dogs welcome l Level access 8 John Innes Centre l R amped approach

down to entrance l W heelchair access by prior arrangement l A ccessible toilets l I nduction loop/ infrared system l A ssistance dogs allowed 9

Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell

l Assistance dogs allowed l Hearing loop l D esignated parking l I nternal lift l A ccessible toilet 10 North Beach Great Yarmouth

l Assistance dogs allowed l D esignated parking l Ramped access 11

Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery

l Assistance dogs allowed l I nduction loop/ infrared system l I nternal lift l R amped approach up to entrance l A ccessible toilet

Norwich University of the Arts Duke Street Lecture Theatre

l Wheelchair accessible toilet l Level entrance l Internal lift l Assistance dogs allowed l WaveCAST assisted hearing app for smartphones 13

Octagon Chapel

l Accessible toilets l Designated parking l Induction loop/ infrared system l Wheelchair access at rear/side l Wheelchair user with assistance l Assistance dogs allowed 14

Rose Lane Car Park

l Designated parking l Accessible toilet (RADAR key) l Internal lift 15

Space Studios

l Steps up to venue lit with vision strips 16

The Garage

l A ccessible toilets l L evel entrance l I nternal lift l A ssistance dogs allowed 18

The Forum/ Millennium Plain

l A ccessible toilets l D esignated parking l L evel entrance l I nternal lift l R eversible/general parking on site l A ssistance dogs allowed 19

Houghton Hall

l A ccessible toilet l L evel entrance l D esignated parking l A ssistance dogs allowed 20

Crypt Gallery at Norwich School

l Steps down to venue l Assistance dogs allowed 21

GroundWork Gallery, King’s Lynn

East Gallery

l A ccessible toilet Internal lift l W heelchair access at rear/side l A ssistance dogs allowed l

Sainsbury Centre

l A ccessible toilets l L evel entrance l W heelchair access by prior arrangement l D esignated parking l R eversible/general parking on site l A ssistance dogs allowed 24

Dragon Hall

l A ccessible toilet l I nternal lift l D esignated parking available by prior arrangement l R amped entrance at side of building l I nduction loop/ infrared system

l A ccessible toilet l Level entrance

St Peter Mancroft

l Level entrance l Induction loop/ infrared system

G YOUN NNF

Aged 18-25? Save yourself a bundle and pick-up a ticket to most Festival performances for just £7.50 when you sign-up to our free YoungNNF membership. l

ust set-up your account J at nnfestival.org.uk – it’s Free!

Reduced ticket prices

eceive emails about handpicked events R that may be of interest

ave your say in our feedback forum H tell us what you enjoyed and what you’d like to see next year at the Festival

TOWARD A GREENER FESTIVAL Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a sector leader in identifying and implementing improvements to our environmental impact. This year we have registered with Culture Declares Emergency, a growing international movement of individuals and organisations in the cultural sector declaring climate and ecological emergency. We continue to move toward a greener Festival. Join us! Here’s just a few of the things we’ve been working on recently: l Through collaboration with Norwich City Council,

Festival Gardens will be powered by a renewable mains source. No more generators! l We’ve joined Vision: 2025, aiming to reduce Festival

greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2025 l We have compiled ‘Green Trading Standards’ which we use

with all our food stalls. All serve ware is compostable. This year we are meat and fish free l We encourage all our domestic and international artists

to travel by train where possible l We present projects focusing on environmental change.

Check out this year’s Manifesto (p61) and Flood (p40) And here’s how you can help: l

Where possible, walk or use public transport to attend Festival events. If you need to drive, consider sharing

Use recycling facilities at venues, or take waste home with you to recycle

Enjoy a beer at the Festival bar – in our reusable cups

Use our water refill stations in Festival Gardens to save plastic waste

Share your thoughts on environmental issues at #GreenNNF Find out more about our Sustainability Agenda at nnfestival.org.uk 73

From hospital fundraiser to one of the UK’s largest annual multi-arts celebrations, and marking the 250th anniversary of Norfolk & Norwich Festival, researcher, historian and author, Rob Mitchell sheds light on the people, performances and events that shaped the Festival over 250 years. Order your copy at nnfestival.org.uk

ABOUT US

Staff & Board list

Our vision is to use the power of the arts to make our part of the world a truly great place to live, work, learn and play.

Executive & Finance

Creative Engagement

Daniel Brine Artistic Director & Chief Executive

Ginny Scholey Creative Learning Manager

Brenda Seymour General Manager

Ros Dixon Norfolk Open Studios Officer

We collaborate year-round with extraordinary artists – some from the region, some from the other side of the world – and with communities across Norfolk and Norwich to create unmissable experiences that have the potential to change lives. We have been an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation since April 2012 and are one of 10 Bridge Organisations with a mandate to develop arts and cultural opportunities for children and young people in the East of England.

Sue Harvey Head of Finance Imogen Frith Finance Manager Sava Radulovic Office Manager Sophie Marritt Finance Officer Communications & Development Darren Cross Head of Communications & Development Frances Lamb Communications Manager Gemma Hoskins Development Manager Jess Cook Development Manager Rachael Putland Communications & Development Officer Poppy Hanton Communications & Development Officer

Presenting Partners

Daniel Randall Communications & Development Assistant Liam Purshouse Box Office Supervisor

Vikki Nelson Volunteers Officer Becky Reeve Volunteers Coordinator Lizzie Figura-Drane Common Ground Officer Leona Wilson Common Ground Assistant Production & Programme Mark Denbigh Head of Production & Programme Andrew Stock Technical Manager James Hardie Music Programmer Ailsa McKay Production & Programme Officer Malachy Luckie Production & Programme Assistant Laurie Hutcheson Production & Programme Assistant

Festival Bridge

Board

Michael Corley Head of Festival Bridge & Creative Engagement

Malavika Anderson

Stephanie Peachey Senior Manager: Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Fraser Wilson Senior Manager: Norfolk & Suffolk Abi Marrison Education Programme Manager Jen Langeskov Education Programme Manager

Brenda Arthur (Chair) Frances Berridge Lucy Garland John-Paul Garside Marc Jaffrey Karyn Maier Martin Mitchell Corrienne Peasgood Eva Pepper Chris Sargisson Chris Yeates Patrons Caroline Jarrold DL

Laura Algar Festival Bridge Officer

Sir Nicholas Bacon Bt OBE DL

Isabel Morgan Festival Bridge & Common Ground Communications Officer

With special thanks to all our volunteers, without whom the Festival could not happen.

Helen Drumm Kickstart Community Administrator

Thanks

Design David Caines Unlimited Media Bread & Butter PR Print Micropress Printers Ltd

Principal Funders

Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a registered charity, number 1164424