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QUARTER BEAT Monthly News & Listings for Belfast’s Cultural Quarter
www.thecathedralquarter.com
# 10 ISSUE
NOV 2013
AN OUTBURST OF ART Emma Blee
The Cathedral Quarter and venues right across Belfast are gearing up for nine days of theatre, film, talks and performance as Outburst, Belfast’s LGBT festival takes centre stage. Celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) creativity, Outburst’s Queer Arts festival, which runs from 1523 November, showcases world class and homegrown talent, with the aim of sharing and exploring LGBT experiences and bringing exciting, entertaining and challenging new work to the Belfast stage. With Festival Director Ruth McCarthy at the helm, a board of seven and an army of dedicated volunteers, the festival has growing from strength to strength since its inception seven years ago. Looking forward to this year’s line up, Ruth explains that while it started off small, the festival has made a big impact in the Cathedral Quarter and right across the City. Quarter Beat November 2013, Issue 10 Published by Cathedral Quarter Trust 3-5 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB 028 9031 4011 | info@cqtrust.org Design by Rinky | rinky.org Illustration by Linda Coulter | lindacoulter.co.uk
“Our first meeting seven years ago was initially people just chatting in the pub. We thought it would be great to have a LGBT arts festival in Belfast but it really was informal at that stage. A couple of people decided to apply for some funding to run as an organisation and we were successful. The first festival was in 2007 and it started off as a very small, connected, community festival. “We began with the mentality of ‘build it and they will come’,” she adds. “We had no idea the first year that so many people would be interested but it created a space for people to perform and create work and gave people ideas to start creating work. There really hadn’t been a dedicated platform there before for this type of work.” While there are many other major festivals taking place annually throughout the City, Ruth doesn’t see this as a challenge to the Outburst. “I see the festival as doing two things: creating space for discussion and looking at how things work around the world, especially performance. Of course it is about excellence Supported by:
in art but it is about creating a space for engagement ultimately. “We have to deal with a lot of politics in Northern Ireland and there is a lot of reaction to LGBT issues so this is more about creating a space for us to look at what we think and do and to invite other people to join that.
“Cathedral Quarter has always been a home for LGBT in Belfast and it has been a big part of us being able to bring world class and international events to the stage.” With a wide range of thoughtprovoking and interesting events, there are many highlights of the Festival. According to Ruth, one of the most poignant is a play called GAY : DAD. Taking place at the Black Box on 17 November at 7pm, the play is an engaging new theatre production from Acting Out, Dublin’s LGBT Community Theatre Company. Interestingly, it includes candid interviews with men of all ages living in Ireland. Ruth explains: “GAY : DAD is all about relationships between gay men and their fathers. It’s fascinating, it explores masculinity and that bonding between father and son and how is that affected if someone is gay. It’s really moving and really interesting.” Another highlight, she says, is “Hang in there”, which takes place on 21st November.
Written by Bronagh Diamond and directed by award-winning actor/director Maggie Cronin especially for Outburst, it is a powerful and sensitive short play exploring the aftermath of suicide, with humanity, unexpected humour and queer twist that is deeply affecting, thoughtful and moving. Following the play, there will be a discussion led by trained counsellors from the Lifeline support service, exploring some of the issues, stories and ideas. Ruth comments: “It is very difficult to talk about suicide in Northern Ireland but watching a play that is actually quite funny in parts, I think it makes it a lot easier for people to talk about. I think arts often opens up things that have never been talked about before are unnamed and never discussed because you are too busy getting on with the rest of your life. It is an opportunity to talk about it with friends or at work.” With Outburst’s base in the Cathedral Quarter, Ruth is looking forward to bringing the area to life during the nine days of the festival. “The Cathedral Quarter is our hub It has always been a really interesting part of the City and we are delighted to still be there. Cathedral Quarter has always been a home for LGBT in Belfast and it has been a big part of us being able to bring world class and international events to the stage.” Outburst Queer Arts Festival runs from 15-23 November. For more information and the full programme visit outburstarts.com