FESTIVAL READY STEADY GO!
EDITION 02
WELCOME
Henri Matisse said ‘creativity takes courage’. During the past year we have all, at one time or another, had to call on our personal courage to enable us to cope with the global pandemic in our own creative ways. Our outstanding creative Festival staff team has worked to deliver what I’m sure you will agree is an impressive programme. Our funders, partners, sponsors, and friends have stood alongside us in our intent to showcase the best, across a range of genres, that we can in the strange times we are living through. I would like to thank all of them for holding the faith and for having the courage to stick with us. As we look forward to an entertaining and enlightening Festival it is good to be able to invite you to join us. Some of you reading this will have been attending Festival events for many years while for others this may be the first time. You are all equally welcome to come and share with us a broad range of performances and experiences. I would particularly recommend our now famous Garden Party weekend which is always huge fun. Just what we all need right now. Einstein said ‘creativity is contagious – pass it on’ and that is exactly what we aim to do. So do come and share in the excitement and energy that is the Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2021. I look forward to seeing you there. Brenda Arthur Chair of Norfolk & Norwich Festival Board
THANK YOU Principal Funders
Programming Partner
Funders
Principal Programme Partner
Programming Partner
18-25 Membership Scheme Partner
Norfolk & Norwich Festival thanks our generous supporters:
Trust and Foundations Our thanks to the following Trust & Foundations who have supported our work with communities at the Festival and throughout the year: The Arts Society Norwich, The Paul Bassham Charitable Trust, The Ellerdale Trust, The Fuller Endowment, The Norwich Freemen’s Charity, The Red Socks Charitable Trust, The Geoffrey Watling Charity Associate Travel Partner
Media Partners
Box Office Partner
Event Partners
Associate Partners
And thanks to Asda, Kettle Foods Ltd, Marks and Spencer and Mike, Debs and Sons Fruit and Veg.
Corporate Friends Brewin Dolphin, The Forum, Hollinger Print, Jarrold
Director’s Circle Lynn Biggs Producer Supporters Nick & Juliet Collier, Mark & Lesley-Anne Hewett, Ian & Helen McFadyen, Julia Leach & Patrick Smith Ensemble Supporters Paul & Steph Allen, Simon Back, Fanny Berridge, David & Anthea Case, Tony & Juliet Colman, Nicholas & Caroline Dixey, Frank & Di Eliel, Roger & Lesley Everett, Jane & John Hawksley, Jackie & Richard Higham, Jamie McLeod, Dave Plummer & Lesley Whitby, Amanda Sandland-Taylor & Roger Holden, Chris & Sue Williams Cast Supporters Roger & Suzanna Bunting, Jonathan Cooper & Daniel Brine, Alex Darbyshire, John Howkins, Mrs Waltraud A L Jarrold MBE, Caroline Kennedy-Chivers, Alice Liddle, Jonathan & Karen Needham, Stephanie Renouf, Tim Ridgley, Jim & Sara Webber, Mollie Whitworth And to our Friends and others who wish to remain anonymous
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YOUR SAFETY This will be a special Festival for 2021. We look forward to welcoming you all back safely. Norfolk & Norwich Festival is following National Guidelines on Covid-19 to ensure that the 2021 Festival is delivered safely. We have been planning a Festival for Covid-times for the last year. Some events have been created specifically with Covid in mind, some have been adapted to enable us to deliver them in a socially distanced manner.
Staggered arrival and departure times for many events
Socially distanced indoor seating layouts and plenty of space allocated at outdoor events
Limited capacity at all events
Signage and staff to remind everyone what is required
Advance booking only so that we can better control numbers of people attending an event
Contactless ticketing and payments
One-way systems where possible
NHS Track and Trace using the QR code or by speaking to a member of our team
Require face coverings for audience and staff inside of venues
Hand sanitising stations
We are working hard to create a safe environment at all events throughout the Festival and guidance on how they will be operated will be updated online. Please check back for the latest information. We will also email you in advance of the event you have booked for, to remind you of guidance and any changes to how the event will operate. Find out more at nnfestival.org.uk/ covid-safety-information
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garden party
Saturday 22—Sunday 23 May, 11am—5pm Festival Gardens, Chapelfield & Outside The Forum
Roll Play
The Garden Party returns and we’re delighted. Two days of beautiful, magical outdoor arts in the park for all the family. To make things safe this year, we’ll be asking you to pre-book free tickets to see the shows. There’ll be four stages, each with two shows happening twice a day. You can pick and mix the sets of shows you’d like to see, one set in the morning and one in the afternoon. You won’t be able to see everything in one day, but all the shows are repeated on Saturday and Sunday.
MEarth MOthers
You can also book your tickets for our Festival Gardens bar alongside the shows – that way you can really make a day of it!
E TH
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Bonded
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to the forum
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ALLEYNE DANCE
A PE I LF
ZONE 3
BEADY EYE
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FI EL
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JASON SINGH
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ZONE 1 ZONE 2
GRAVITY & LEVITY
SIMPLE CYPHER DAMAE DANCE
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The Invisible Man
LASTHEATRE
GOOD YOUTES WALK
The Stages Festival Gardens, Chapelfield ZONE 1
ZONE 2
ZONE 3
Saturday & Sunday 11.15am–1.10pm 2.15pm–4.10pm
Saturday & Sunday 12.15am–1.40pm 3pm–4.25pm
Saturday & Sunday 12.45pm–2.30pm 3.30pm–5.15pm
GRAVITY & LEVITY WHY?
DAMAEDANCE IRMÖSISTER
Why? is both tender and exhilarating. An aerial duet exploring themes of life, loss, surrender and acceptance. Accompanied by a powerfully haunting commissioned sound score and woven together by spoken word.
IRMÃ-sister is an exciting, cuttingedge exploration of the beauty and challenges of our relationships with one another. An intricate journey of conflict and vulnerability, tenderness and anger, misunderstanding and support. A powerful yet attentive dance duet, which focuses attention on the way women’s bodies and emotions are displayed on stage.
World Premiere BEADY EYE MEARTH MOTHERS
World Premiere LASTHEATRE THE RASCALLY DINER Everybody clap your pans – it’s time for The Rascally Diner! Cook up a stink as part of Rufus Skumskins O’Parsleys’ kitchen crew or bring a pot to bang and ward off evil cakes in this fun-filled, messy performance about food.
outside the forum Saturday & Sunday 12pm–12.45pm 2.45pm–3.15pm World Premiere FAR FROM THE NORM GOOD YOUTES WALK Good Youtes Walk unravels how the youth of today are reclaiming their future and want to address the nation’s divide, transcending race, class, gender and geography. “We are divided by our experiences and our values but, change is coming.”
SIMPLE CYPHER ROLL PLAY Prepare to be amazed by the explosive tricks and artful dexterity of Simple Cypher as three performers blur the boundaries between hip hop and circus through a series of playful interactions challenging identity, status and societal roles.
MEarth MOthers are a trio of climate clowns in extraordinary costumes. Why are we wrecking the world? What are we going to do about it? The MOthers have a physical, fungal response through comedy, music, dance and shamanic ritual.
World Premiere ALLENYE DANCE BONDED Bonded, explores the construct of human dependency – especially that of siblings – and how time and external conditions can affect the synergetic connection. Performed by twin sisters, Kristina and Sadé, the work takes the audience through a transitional journey of interand-independency.
You can also explore this interactive installation in Festival Gardens throughout the weekend, or catch the walkabout act The Invisible Man
JASON SIGNH THE HIDDEN MUSIC OF TREES The Hidden Music of Trees is an augmented reality outdoor installation by sound artist Jason Singh. Audiences can experience music that has been generated entirely by trees through the interface of mobile phones and a free downloadable app called Artivive.
World Premiere ALTERED STATES/ MARC PARRY THE INVISIBLE MAN The man who isn’t there! A living, breathing science experiment gone wrong. Witness the scientific marvel, learn how he came to (not!) be as he explores his new powers, be warned you may see more (or less) than you bargained for!
The Hidden Music of Trees
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. See withoutwalls.uk.com for full details.
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In with the new – commissions for the classical programme Festival Music Programmer James Hardie is excited to share the new work that we’ve commissioned in this year’s classical music programme.
“Our Festival’s heritage of new music is something to be immensely proud of, and something we will celebrate and build on in the years to come.” Commissioning new work is vital for an organisation like Norfolk & Norwich Festival. We have a duty to encourage artists in the pushing, even breaching, of boundaries. Benjamin Britten’s Our Hunting Fathers was (in)famously premiered here in Norwich. Both orchestra and audience, to put it mildly, weren’t quite sure what to make of it. But that’s part of the beauty and the challenge of the new and the unknown. It raises questions, reinterprets, makes you think, and almost always needs a second listen. This year’s Festival offers just that: new questions and answers for the unknown times we live in. I Fagiolini will perform three new works in Re-Wilding The Waste Land, prompting us to really question how we re-build in the midst of political, social, and ecological turmoil. Taking inspiration from T.S. Eliot’s seminal poem (written following the seismic disruptions of WWI and Spanish Flu), composers Joanna Marsh,
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Shruthi Rajasekar and Ben Rowarth offer a musical world in which to contemplate, process, and hope. New music quests, delves, and can give a glimpse of things to come. Laurence Osborn portrays a miniature mechanical world in Coin Op Automata, which will be conjured to life by Manchester Collective and Mahan Esfahani. Josephine Stephenson has been commissioned to write a new arrangement of the folksong Rosemary Lane for Lotte Betts-Dean and Joseph Havlat, the latest contribution to the rich and unwieldy history of a song passed mouth to mouth across the world.
People’s Chorus. Meanwhile Norfolk-based trumpeter Chris Dowding has worked with children from Thetford to create a new multimedia piece, Critical Time. Our Festival’s heritage of new music is something to be immensely proud of, and something we will celebrate and build on in the years to come. Keep an eye out later in 2021 for a further fix of new work, with two special projects in the run-up to our 250th anniversary. In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you at this year’s premieres. Bring your thinking hats.
Luke Styles and Jessica Walker reinterpret 1930s protest for 2020s Norfolk in The People’s Cabaret. Five new songs will be the starting point for a year-long collaborative writing process with audiences around the county, culminating with a second tranche of new songs in 2022 to be performed with a Manchester Collective Photo: Vic Frankowski
Thank you to Lynn Biggs whose generous Director’s Circle support has enabled us to commission new music for I Fagiolini.
Finding Common Ground – connecting young people with their local heritage Georgia Rees-Lang, Common Ground Communications Assistant shares plans to celebrate our 250 project Common Ground at this year’s Festival. While all the decisions made have been their own, the group hasn’t been left without help. The Leaders have enjoyed a series of Common Ground masterclasses from a range of expert guest speakers, guiding and informing their decision-making process. From How Heritage Inspires Creativity with Katie Green, co-director of The Imagination Museum, to Writing An Artist Brief with The National Trust’s Grace Davies, at every stage of planning the Leaders have been able to learn directly from experts from across the arts and heritage sectors. “[The process] is allowing me to gain a greater understanding of what goes into the organising and planning of festival events,” says Elizabeth. “Having this opportunity […] is really exciting and is helping me to expand on my own practice.” This year, one of our Festival events has been organised by a group of local 18-25 year olds. These young people, members of Common Ground Leaders, have designed an installation that explores personal relationships with the environment across Norfolk.
The process began with the Common Ground team presenting a design challenge. As a Festival project, the event needed to represent Common Ground well at the Festival, while also embodying their ethos of youth leadership, and the creative talents of young people.
Common Ground is one of a number of projects which celebrates the Festival’s 250 anniversary next year, and is doing yearround work to connect young people with their local heritage. The project is youth-led, meaning young people get to be in the driving seat, showing heritage in new and creative ways.
So, what will it look like? From 24–29 May, the Leaders will take over The Undercroft in Norwich, transforming the space into an art installation… with a difference. The exhibition will explore personal relationships with the environment across Norfolk, both past and present, with the aim of encouraging visitors to connect with the stories that arise as a result. “I think the public will find insight and inspiration from the event and leave with a better connection to the cultural and natural histories that exist in our surroundings”, muses Elizabeth, one of the Common Ground Leaders.
The Leaders have had to design the event from the ground-up. From commissioning artists, to curating the content, to liaising with the Festival production team, to marketing the event, they have overseen every single aspect of the project.
If this all sounds like something you’d like to be involved in, then the good news is you still can! This is one of many Common Ground projects happening year-round, so if you’re a young person aged 13-25, or you know someone who is then visit nnfcommonground.org.uk/ to find out how you can get involved.
Living Landscapes by Beeny Harwood-Purkiss, Julian Fennell, Laura Moseley, Joella Gardner and Maddie Exton takes place at The Undercroft, Norwich, 24–29 May. Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund
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What is Creative Learning?
Our Creative Learning Manager Sarah Witcomb took some time to think about why we run our year-round arts education programme. Creative Learning at Norfolk & Norwich Festival is about harnessing the fun, curious and creative nature of arts and culture, that can transform a place or people, and providing an opportunity to participate and engage with them alongside artists. More than ever, we all need arts and culture to help us make sense of the world around us – escapism, exploration, creativity, fun – to communicate how we feel, when it’s so hard to articulate how we all feel right now. We responded to the changing world by building a Creative Learning programme that reflected these needs, with a belief that meeting and working hands-on with professional artists is one way to create those intangible yet life-defining memories for people of all ages. We have been developing place making creative projects, focused on developing connections in communities and offering opportunities to consider the place people live in a different way. We hope to celebrate the unique character of our county by injecting creativity through the
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arts and work with Festival artists. We have spent the past 12 months developing partnerships with schools, on An Artist at my Place, a project that is about allowing space for children in schools to explore their creativity hands on with artists in residence, in a co-created project between, artist, the school and us. The artists are all due to go back into schools this summer term and we can’t wait to see the outcome. We send massive thanks to our partnership schools for collaborating and hope to continue to work with in the future; Norwich Primary Academy, West Earlham Infant and Nursery School, West Earlham Junior School and City Academy Norwich. Another project we will release during the May Festival is called Meet the Artists; a series of video interviews with Festival artists, each setting a creative challenge for audiences to respond to. We hope to see young people making and creating their own art, writing responses to artists work, moving, dancing and performing, just like the artists in the videos. The project will Bookbounce Photo: Paul Harrison
target schools and children of all ages, with two versions of the videos for Primary and Secondary schools. The latter will provide an insight into creative careers of our Festival artists. These videos will also sit perfectly alongside our Garden Party offer, profiling the performers and offering families an activity to compliment the outdoor programme. All this will provide the opportunity to gain an Arts Award Discover. We may have had projects delayed or postponed, but we will continue to have artists waiting in the wings ready to work with schools and communities, to continue to provide joy, to inspire and share experiences with.
An Artist at my Place supported by The Ellerdale Trust and The Red Socks Charitable Trust
the festival We have been overwhelmed by the reception to this year’s Festival – thank you all for supporting us! Over the page is the full Festival line up of what’s going on, you can find out further details online, shows are operating at a reduced capacity so there’s only a handful of tickets available. At the beginning of the newspaper you can read about the ways we’re keeping you safe. You can also find more details about that online at nnfestival.org.uk/ covid-safety-information We’ve also added some exciting new additions to the programme.
new
The Other Way Works A Moment of Madness Photo: Graeme Braidwood
The Other Way Works A Moment of Madness Tuesday 25, Wednesday 26 & Thursday 27 May, Various times, Digital Thrust into the heart of a spy thriller, you’ll navigate the political scandal of the decade. A Moment of Madness fuses compelling drama with real-time gameplay to create a visceral new live experience. Pay What You Want
new
new
Photo: Benjamin Ealovega
Don’t Touch Duckie. Image: Simon Casson
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Haydn and Mozart Concertos
Don’t Touch Duckie A Socially Distanced Launch for Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2021
Sunday 23 May, 7pm, St Andrew’s Hall
Monday 17, 7.30pm, Zoom
Returns only.
Join us for the livestream of this sold out event.
Pay What You Want
Pay What You Want A Norfolk & Norwich Festival Commission Sponsored by 9
the festival at a glance Monday 17 –friday 21 Don’t Touch Duckie A Socially Distanced Launch for Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2021 Mon 17, 7.30pm, Zoom Join us for the livestream of this sold out event. Pay What You Want A Norfolk & Norwich Festival Commission Sponsored by
Emergency Exit Arts, Robert Montgomery & Deanna Rodger Recovery Poems Mon 17–Sun 23 May, Across Norfolk Inspiring light poem travels across Norfolk. Free
Kaleider Robot Selfie Mon 17–Sun 23 May, Norwich City Centre A robot draws a giant mural of faces. Free
600 Highwaymen A Thousand Ways (Part One): A Phone Call Mon 17–Sat 22 May, Various times, Over the phone Pick up the phone. Someone is on the line. Pay What You Want
CREATIVE NORFOLK JMCAnderson I Am… Workshop 6.30pm, Tue 18 May, The Garage Creative workshop open to all. Free
Britten Sinfonia presents Surround Sound: Norwich Playlist Tue 18, 6.30pm & 9pm, Norwich Cathedral Returns only. Pay What You Want 10
Luke Styles and Jessica Walker The People’s Cabaret Tue 18, 7.30pm, Diss Corn Hall Protest songs old and new. Pay What You Want
Abel Selaocoe Wed 19, 6pm, St Andrew’s Hall Returns only. Pay What You Want
Nabihah Iqbal Wed 19, 9pm, St Andrew’s Hall Inky new wave synths and impressive emotional heft.
The Javaad Alipoor Company Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran Thu 20 & Fri 21 May, 7.30pm, Youtube and Instagram Darkly comedic new theatre. Pay What You Want
Manchester Collective and Mahan Esfahani Fri 21, 8pm, St Andrew’s Hall Returns only. Pay What You Want Presented In Partnership with In Between Time
Future and Form: Imogen Hermes Gower and Mutiny Eleanor Fri 21–Sun 30 May, Starts at Norwich Castle Virtual reality whodunnit walk. Free
Luke Styles and Jessica Walker The People’s Cabaret Wed 19, 7.30pm, Sheringham Little Theatre
Future and Form: James McDermott and Guildhall Live Events Senseless Fri 21–Sun 30 May, Digital Digital love story combining VR and theatre.
Pay What You Want
Free
Sarathy Korwar Thu 20, 6pm, St Andrew’s Hall Jazz, electronics and traditional Indian folk.
Future and Form: Mona Arshi and Mutiny Shifting Lines Fri 21–Sun 30 May, Various times, Norfolk Wildlife Trust Cley and Salthouse Marshes Multimedia poetry collection.
Pay What You Want
Pay What You Want
Hatis Noit Thu 20, 9pm, St Andrew’s Hall Avant garde Japanese vocalist. Pay What You Want
Creative Norfolk Creative Individuals Norfolk Making in a Time of Mayhem Thu 20, 5pm, YouTube Norfolk artists talk about their work with communities. Pay What You Want
Requardt & Rosenberg Future Cargo Thu 20, 6pm & 8pm, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Returns only. Pay What You Want Sponsored by
Free, but you must pre-book
Future and Form: Mitch Johnson and Guildhall Live Events The Living Book Fri 21–Sun 30 May, Digital Schoolchildren explore climate change in VR. Free
Future and Form: Ayobámi Adébáyo and Mutiny Provenance Fri 21–Sun 30 May, Various times, National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall Immersive multiscreen installation. Free, but you must pre-book
Saturday 22 & SUNDAY 23
Monday 24 –friday 28
Garden Party Sat 22 & Sun 23 May, 11am–5pm, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield and Outside The Forum Outdoor arts for all the family in the park.
CREATIVE NORFOLK Common Ground Leaders Living Landscapes Mon 24–Sat 29 May, 12–6pm, The Undercroft, Norwich Youth-curated vision for the future.
Free, but you must pre-book
Free
City of Literature: Tombland Sat 22, 11am, Digital A digital soundscape.
Creative Norfolk Why Biennials? Mon 24, 7.30pm, Zoom Panelists discuss a major visual arts project for Norfolk.
Free, register in advance to receive a link to the website when it launches
Creative Norfolk Hunt and Darton The Mum Show Sat 22, 4pm, Future Radio Radio show by new mums. Free
Creative Norfolk Genevieve Rudd, in partnership with original projects; Yarmouth Springs Eternal Conference Sat 22, 12pm, PRIMEyarc, Great Yarmouth Explore the natural world through arts. Free, but you must pre-book
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Haydn and Mozart Concertos Sun 23, 7pm, St Andrew’s Hall Returns only. Pay What You Want
Free
I Fagiolini Re-Wilding The Waste Land Mon 24, 8pm, Cathedral of St John the Baptist Concert inspired by T S Eliot. Pay What You Want
City of Literature: Weather With You Mon 24–Thu 27 May, Digital Three writers take stock of the year. Free, register in advance to receive links to all content as it is release
Lotte Betts-Dean & Joseph Havlat From Norfolk to Newfoundland: Folk Songs of the World Tue 25, 1pm, St Andrew’s Hall Returns only. Pay What You Want
Holding Hands / Article XI Double Bill Tue 25, 8pm The Garage, Norwich Returns only. Pay What You Want
The Other Way Works A Moment of Madness Tue 25–Thu 27 May, Various times, Digital Interactive spy thriller theatre. Pay What You Want
Samson Tsoy Wed 26, 1pm, St Andrew’s Hall Returns only. Pay What You Want
Rider Spoke. Photo: Blast Theory
Ray Lee Ring Out Wed 26–Fri 28 May, Throughout the day, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Giant sound installation. Free, but you must pre-book Sponsored by
Tim Spooner with Matthew Robins Weak Transmission Wed 26–Sat 29 May, Throughout the day, The Guildhall Cells, Norwich Returns only. Pay What You Want
Blast Theory Rider Spoke Thu 27–Sat 29 May, Throughout the evening, meet at Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Last few tickets remaining. Pay What You Want Event partner
City of Literature: Looking, Large and Small Fri 28, 1pm, Digital A pack to explore nature. Free, register in advance for access to the resources when they go live
City of Literature: The Group Fri 28–Sun 30 May, 9pm, Digital A new play for WhatsApp. Free, register in advance to receive instructions
Compline by Candlelight Fri 28 May, 9pm Norwich Cathedral Returns only. Free, but you must pre-book
Ring Out. Photo: Lee Price
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the festival at a glance Saturday 29 & SUNDAY 30 Garden Sessions In Collaboration with Wild Paths Sat 29–Sun 30 May, 1–5pm, Festival Gardens, Chapelfield Returns only. Pay What You Want Sponsored by
City of Literature: Page Against the Machine Sat 29, 12pm, Plantation Garden, Norwich Returns only. Free
Creative Norfolk Holly Bodmer Peregrinations Sat 29, 2pm, Norwich Cathedral Cloisters Returns only. Pay What You Want
Norwich Chamber Music present Elias String Quartet Sat 29, 3pm & 6pm, John Innes Centre Returns only. Pay What You Want
City of Literature: Harriet Martineau Lecture – Ellah P. Wakatama Sun 30, 7pm, Digital Talk from literary critic and editor.
Throughout the Festival Andy Field & Beckie Darlington A Rain Walk Order online to be delivered. Pay What You Want
Sheila Ghelani Rambles with Nature Order online to be delivered. Pay What You Want
Noëmi Lakmaier Going Somewhere Order online to be delivered. Pay What You Want
Frozen Light Something for your Shelter Order online to be delivered.
Noëmi Lakmaier, Going Somewhere
A Passion for Landscape: Rediscovering John Crome Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Pay What You Want
Free with museum admission
Yara + Davina Arrivals + Departures The Forum, Norwich Installation marking moments of arrivals and departures in our lives.
Somewhere Unexpected Norwich Castle Open Art Show Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
Free
CREATIVE NORFOLK Re/Collect 250 Chantry Place Box Office, Norwich Share your Festival memories. Free
Japan Water GroundWork Gallery, King’s Lynn Free
Free, register in advance to receive a link
Free with museum admission
Katie Spragg Plants, Porcelain, People St Peter Hungate Church, Norwich Free, but tickets must be pre-booked
Grayson Perry The Vanity of Small Differences East Gallery, Norwich University of the Arts Free
Tony Cragg at Houghton Hall Houghton Hall, Norfolk Tickets available from Houghton Hall Cristina Iglesias Sainsbury Centre Sculpture Park, Norwich Free
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A Rain Walk. Photo: Jemima Yong
MORE HIGHLIGHTS
FESTIVAL BAR AT The Band Stand Thursday 20–Saturday 29 May Festival Gardens
Our Festival bar is working a little differently this year in light of Covid restrictions. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t got something a little bit special for you! We open on the evening of Thursday 20 May alongside Requardt & Rosenberg’s Future Cargo and have daytime bar for The Garden Party (Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 May) or Garden Sessions (Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 May). Then, from Friday 21 May, we’ve shapedup nine nights of alfresco bar offering, with amazing beers and spirits from our friends at Adnams and some sensational musical beats on the Band Stand, carefully curated with a little help from BBC Introducing.
Head along to enjoy a pint, a pizza, and some sensational sounds from a line-up of great local talent. Just book a free table session in the bar for either the early or the late session. Simple! Visit the website to check out opening times, Band Stand line-ups and to book your table session (max 6 per table).
WE NEED YOU! There’s a few shows at the Festival this year where we need you! Watching the Don’t Touch Duckie livestream on Monday 17 May? Send them a picture of your gorgeous mug and they’ll create a cardboard version of you in the audience. mugs@duckie.co.uk
Or send us a selfie to be drawn by a giant robot! Join the people of Norwich in a giant mural in Festival Gardens with Kaleider’s Robot Selfie. Send your snaps to Robot Selfie from 16 May. nnfestival.org.uk/robot-selfie We’d also love you to get involved with Arrivals + Departures from Yara + Davina at The Forum. These boards form a public artwork celebrating and commemorating births and deaths. From 17 May you can contribute a name to the boards at arrivalsanddepartures.net
Thanks to Principal Programme Partner Garden Party 2018 Photo: JMA Photography
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Festival People It takes many hands to deliver our Festival. Journalist Alice Saville has been learning a bit more about some of the miraculous, generous and creative people who make it happen.
Debbie Thompson
Debbie Thompson Sheringham Little Theatre Director How are you involved in this year’s Festival?
Jonathan Denby Head of Corporate Affairs at Greater Anglia Festival Partner
How has your theatre responded to the pandemic?
So what’s the connection between Greater Anglia and Norfolk & Norwich Festival?
Obviously, financially, it’s been very stressful, even though we have been very fortunate to receive a Cultural Recovery Fund Grant. But from an artistic point of view, it’s actually been very liberating. The pandemic has given us the luxury of time to stop and think outside the box. We’ve produced an online project called Rewriting Rural Racism, which included a live performance, an amazing animated film showing there have always been migrants coming to Norfolk, and workshops on antiracism for young people. And we’ve done outdoor promenade performance for the first time with James McDermott’s Ghosted, which you listen to on headphones out on the seafront.
It started back in 1990, when we were part of British Rail, and a locomotive used to pull trains between Norwich and London was named after the festival. Then in 1991, we sponsored a concert, and since then we have been sponsors on a continuous basis, even though we’ve evolved over that time from being known as Intercity Railways to Anglia Railways to National Express, and now Greater Anglia. The railway is part of the fabric of the region, it’s core to how the region runs and operates and develops sustainably. For us, sponsoring the festival is another way of playing our part in the region we serve.
We’re the Little Theatre – the clues in the title! – so social distancing is a genuine problem for us. Normally, we have 160 seats, but with social distancing in place we only have 40 seats. Financially, it’s not really viable for us to put events on, which is why we’re so thankful for the festival bringing this show to us.
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What we’ve proved is that we’re really resilient, and that we’ve got a great network in Norwich of venues and artists that all support each other. I hope that connection just keeps getting stronger.
When our theatre reopens, our very first show will be an NNF show, The People’s Cabaret. It’s an event I feel emotional about, because it’ll get the theatre back in action. And I feel honoured to open back up with it, because Norfolk and Norwich Festival has done so much to support us during lockdown, helping us move our work online.
What’s it been like, trying to reimagine the space in keeping with government guidelines?
Jonathan Denby
What lessons will you take from this time as we move out of lockdown?
How have things changed for you since the pandemic? We’re now in a really good position to welcome people back to the railway as restrictions lift, because we’ve brought in a whole new fleet of trains. In Norfolk, all the local lines now have brand new longer trains with more capacity.
our financial model to make tickets Pay What You Want. It should be a really interesting opportunity for people who’ve not experienced the Festival before to come along and try something. Do you have any standout memories from previous editions of the Festival? I love to lurk in corners and listen to comments from the audience, and feel the energy you get from the performers. You get to see things from a unique viewpoint: like being on the roof of Jarrold Department Store with a high wire walker moments before they step onto the wire we’ve strung across the city centre. What have you got in store for the future? Mark Denbigh
Do you have any standout memories from previous editions of the Festival? In 2010 there was an artwork as part of the Festival that was called RedBall Project by Kurt Perschke, which was this huge inflatable red ball that appeared at different places around the city, including at the railway station. It was such a simple idea, and yet it was just fantastic. It just really captured everybody’s imagination. What are you most looking forward to about this year’s edition of the Festival? The event I’m most looking forward to is the Britten Sinfonia with Abel Selaocoe and the Norwich Cathedral Choir: the cathedral choir always sound superb and the cathedral is such a special venue to enjoy events like this one.
Mark Denbigh Head of Production and Programme at Norfolk & Norwich Festival What’s your role in this year’s Festival? I’m the head of Production and Programme, so I head up the team that thinks right across the spectrum to organise everything we need to be able to deliver the Festival, safely, working with artists, collaborating with partners, budgeting and thinking about environmental sustainability.
It’s been a difficult year. But behind the scenes, we’ve been looking at environmental sustainability, and thinking about changes we can make that are rooted in our values. We’ve worked on reducing single use plastic, and we’re also looking at how we’re powering our events – for example, working with Norwich City Council to bring mains power to Chapelfield Gardens so we don’t have to bring generators in. I’m also working with production managers across the country to think about waste, power, transport and circularity. We want to share the knowledge we’ve built up at NNF to inspire other organisations to do the same.
What’s been tough about planning this year’s Festival? The impact of changing Covid-19 restrictions meant that we had to find a way to pull the Festival together amidst so many unknowns. There were question marks around travel, so we decided to stick with UK-based artists this year. And because we can’t expect the box office income we’d get in a normal year, we’ve adjusted
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Festival news More Creative Individuals in Norfolk Good news! Norfolk & Norwich Festival has been awarded public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England for a second round of Creative Individuals Norfolk. Artists and other creative people are invited to propose community engagement projects around the theme of Posters Pamphlets and Other Paraphernalia. The Festival will award five £5,000 commissions to support projects for the 2022 Festival which ‘give voice’ to the community.
Remembering one of the Festival Family
Norfolk Open Studios returns
Late last year, at the age 95, Vice Patron of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Bryan Read passed away. Bryan was involved with the Festival for over 35 years.
We can’t wait to welcome you back to artist’s studios and spaces across the county from 25 September–10 October.
In the 1980s Bryan was chair of the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial Festival committee, a large and varied group of people representing the arts in Norfolk. At the time, the Festival’s programme was largely classical music and, as the title implies, held only every three years. Bryan worked closely with Norfolk business and local authorities to support and develop the Festival and he worked alongside several Artistic Directors including Richard Phillips, Heather Newell and Marcus Davey as the Festival evolved into a modern, annual multi-artform event. Bryan devoted a huge amount of time to a number of causes around the county and we dearly thank him for championing the Festival in the cultural landscape of Norwich and Norfolk.
Ros Dixon, Norfolk Open Studios administrator said: “We were delighted to still be able to celebrate some of our amazing artists by hosting Norfolk Opens Studios 2020 online last May, but can’t wait to be back in the studios, smelling the paint and kilns, getting to ask those questions we’ve always wanted to know from the artists themselves. And the chance to buy art direct from the artist is very special” Norfolk Open Studios brings thousands of people together to participate in, and be inspired by the wonderful creativity available across the county. We are hoping during the last year many people will have discovered or rediscovered their creativity and we welcome new participants to the scheme. Find out more norfolkstudios.org.uk
With thanks to Roger Rowe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2018 Wayfaring © Original art works by ‘And Now’ Photograph: Nick Read
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Hester Chillingworth and Salome Wagaine will be lead artists, creating their own work, advising the Festival team, and offering guidance to the creative individuals and communities. Daniel Brine, The Festival Director, said: ‘Norfolk & Norwich Festival has a long history of celebration of community identity and aspiration. Our first festival was a fundraising event for the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital. It’s amazing to think about 1772 when members of the public were discussing and actively campaigning for big ideas to benefit the whole community. We are interested in this public discourse and the role pamphlets played in distributing the new ideas. Posters Pamphlets and Other Paraphernalia is our response and a chance to reinterpret community spirit in the twenty-first century.’ Details on how to apply for Creative Individuals Norfolk #2 are available online at nnfestival.org.uk
Creative Norfolk – celebrating a county at the artistic edge This year we’re getting to grips with the creative talents that Norfolk has to offer, Communications Assistant Robbie Maloney tell us more.
Norfolk has a history of embracing artistry and inspiring creativity: a county at both the geographic edge and cultural fore. Norfolk audiences were early champions of the 18th Century modern circus artform, and later of Victorian seaside entertainments. The legacies continue to this day by the likes of Great Yarmouth’s Out There Arts and Cromer Pier, which boasts the last full season end of pier show in the world. The county’s once exclusive stately homes now regularly welcome visitors to see worldclass visual arts, while every year over 400 Norfolk artists open up their spaces and garden sheds as part of Norfolk Open Studios. Crossing broads, fenland, dunes and coastline, with romantic market towns and bustling centres of industry, our large and varied county has, for generations, sparked inspiration. The past year has devastated artists and audiences alike, none more so than for the freelance practitioners who form the backbone of our sector. Creative Norfolk is a new strand to this year’s programme
that is the culmination of a year’s work supporting and collaborating with brilliant emerging talent. Through a series of new commissions, workshops, discussions, and our Creative Individuals Norfolk programme, it celebrates the artists continuing these rich traditions of creating, through even the most challenging of times. And with opportunities to get hands-on this May, Creative Norfolk also offers audiences the chance to take new steps on their own creative journeys. JMCAnderson’s I AM… workshops invite you to draw inspiration from the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s to reflect on what makes you, you. Hunt & Darton are forming a ‘Mum Army’ to break down the taboos of motherhood, while Lewis Buxton’s Bo(d)y Talk encourages men to explore sports and exercise through new perspectives. Living Landscapes, a youth-curated exhibition from the Common Ground Leaders, sets out a vision for the future of heritage in a world of social injustice and climate emergency.
Creative Norfolk Image: Robbie Maloney
Community Artist Genevieve Rudd has been working with those who have experienced homelessness or migration to create new works which will be presented alongside artists as part of the Yarmouth Springs Eternal exhibition. Fai-Ar’s Create in Public Space course guides you through the processes of putting on your own outdoor work, while we invite you to reflect on your own experience of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival with Re/Collect 250, an oral history led by students from the University of East Anglia. We’ve been stuck inside for the past year. This is a call to arms to get out there (physically or metaphorically) and to get inspired by the landscapes and people around us. With the chance to sign up, sit back, or get stuck in, where will Creative Norfolk take you? Find out more at nnfestival.org.uk/creative-norfolk
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A HAUNTINGLY GOOD
PALE ALE GHOST SHIP CITRUS PALE ALE
THE WAY OF THE COAST
with your help we can make this work Norfolk & Norwich Festival champions art and artists, but we also strive to support our communities through creativity. We seek to create access to culture where there is none, welcome everyone, regardless of their background and contribute to the future shape of the world by working with young people to equip them with the skills to succeed. Beyond the Festival’s artistic programme each May, we bring year-round creative activities to schools and isolated communities through our Take Part programmes and coordinate a substantial volunteer programme. We also manage Festival Bridge – a regionwide initiative, improving the cultural offer for schoolchildren, and showcase the work of around 400 local artists to 30,000 visitors each year through Norfolk Open Studios. Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a charity. We rely on the generosity of our partners and supporters to deliver the outstanding art you see on the streets and in the venues but to also deliver these amazing opportunities to those most in need.
Please consider supporting us There are many ways you can help make this work happen. Individual Giving Our Friends and Supporters schemes offer a range of benefits, bring you closer to our work and support our artistic and community programming. Our Friends scheme starts at just £40 per year. Alternatively, make a small donation when purchasing tickets. Trusts and Foundations Norfolk & Norwich Festival offers grant-giving organisations the potential to collaborate on a number of projects encompassing education, health and wellbeing, and artist development. Businesses We offer benefit packages for businesses of all sizes. Their support helps us develop and support artists, young people and environmental initiatives. Find out more at nnfestival.org. uk/support-us or contact the Development Team on 01603 877750
Principal Funders
Norfolk & Norwich Festival is a registered charity, number 1164424
how to book Online nnfestival.org.uk By phone 01603 531800 Monday–Friday 10am–5.30pm Saturday 11am–4pm In person Online booking, e-tickets and contactless payment are encouraged this year Chantry Place Shopping Centre, NR1 3SH (Next to Hotel Chocolat) Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays 11am–4pm During the Festival Extended opening times, see website for details. Box Office Partner
SAFETY Audience, staff and artist safety remains paramount. For the latest information, please visit our website. We will contact you by email a few days before the show. During the Festival, please follow instructions provided in advance and on site. Advance booking only To enable safe audience management and to support test and trace, all tickets should be booked in advance. This includes much of the traditionally free outdoor programme. Tickets will remain available online and at the Box Office up until ten minutes before the event. Only ticket holders will be permitted admittance to an event. Unable to attend? If you or anyone in your household feels unwell, please do not attend. If, for any other reason you are unable to attend, please let us know. All tickets are eligible for exchange or return up to three hours in advance of the event at no charge.
Requardt & Rosenberg’s Future Cargo. World premiere in East England. Commissioned by Stomping Ground and Without Walls and produced by The Place. Dance East, Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Out There Arts working in partnership to support the creation of ambitious outdoor contemporary dance in East England.