DOUBLE ACT: CQAF & FESTIVAL OF FOOLS | PUBLIC SPACE | HOUSEHOLD ART | WHAT’S ON
QUARTER BEAT Monthly News & Listings for Belfast’s Cultural Quarter
www.thecathedralquarter.com
#4 ISSUE
MAY 2013
DOUBLE ACT Louise Convery looks ahead to Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival & Festival of Fools
The city will spring into life this May, with arts events that are accessible to everyone, as the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and Festival of Fools join forces to create a spectacular series of events. Spontaneous street performances, intimate theatre in renovated offices, large concerts – there is something for everyone, on a scale to suit anyone’s taste and budget. “We try to present the arts in a dynamic and energetic way,” CQAF director Sean Kelly explains. “We use the whole city centre and Cathedral Quarter as a canvas; we try to animate the entire area – the streets, the public spaces, the unused buildings – and give it real character and colour during the eleven days of the festival. “People are often intimidated by the idea of going to regular traditional theatre spaces, but when you move the arts to a pub, for example, where it’s very relaxed and people can have a drink, we find that that breaks down quite a lot of barriers.” Pinpointing highlights is difficult with such a strong programme, but Sean Quarter Beat May 2013, Issue 3 Published by Cathedral Quarter Trust 3-5 Commercial Court, Belfast BT1 2NB 028 9031 4011 | info@cqtrust.org Design by Rinky rinky.org
says the comedy offerings are particularly impressive this year. “We have some of the best comedians from across the UK and Ireland. Having Daniel Kitson, for example, is a real coup; we established a relationship with Daniel thirteen years ago when he appeared in our first festival. He makes very rare appearances these days and tickets are like gold dust.” Other big names include Adam Buxton, Sean Hughes, Mark Thomas, and even the legendary game-show host Roy Walker. Also highly anticipated each year are talks from masters of the spoken and written word. “We like to examine language and debate ideas, and the literature section has a lot of heavy hitters, like Robert Fisk, an absolute authority on the affairs of the Middle East, and Will Self, who is such an incredibly talented novelist,” Sean explains. “The festival does attract mainstream artists with popular appeal, but there’s always a desire on our part to include commentators who question and challenge mainstream ideas and thinking. For me, Supported by:
that sums up the spirit of the festival.” Not to be outdone by the rest is the festival’s music bill, with dance, punk, jazz, soul, indie, pop, bluegrass and dubstep all catered for. The festival sees the return of ’80s’ icons Dexys and Adam Ant, which the festival director tells me was just a happy accident.
“We animate the entire Quarter, the streets, the public spaces, the unused buildings to give it real character and colour” SEAN KELLY, CQAF DIRECTOR “It’s not a case of bands trading on former glories; they are both putting on great performances. They are absolutely at the top of their game and producing new work, so it’s not just a nostalgic night for people. They are still producing valid and vital work,” Sean says. Other highlights in the bumper programme include the Cinemobile, a purpose-built cinema to seat 100, which has
a variety of screenings, including afternoon showings for older audiences. In the visual-art offerings, ‘Belfast/A Method’ will exhibit a 3D map of the city, highlighting all its empty spaces and showing just how much of it is lying unused. And not forgetting the massively popular Glitter and Sparkle Ball; music this year is provided by Karen Underwood, who will be singing Nina Simone songs with a live band. “It will be a celebration of Nina Simone, with everyone dressed up in their finery. There will be magicians, jokers, cabaret – it’s always a winner,” Sean adds. Both the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival and the Festival of Fools get into full swing during the May Bank Holiday weekend, with the celebrations bursting onto the streets in the Festival of Fools. A wide variety of comedy, acrobatics, cabaret and general tomfoolery can be expected, as local and international performers return for its tenth year. “Festival of Fools is open for everyone to enjoy. It’s the most democratic thing that you can come to, because if you like it, you can stay and enjoy the show, and if you don’t, you can go on to the next thing,” says festival coordinator Sarah Kelly. The opening ceremony of Festival of Fools is not to be missed, as Bash Street Theatre embraces the golden days of silent comedy in The Strongman, inspired by Charlie Chaplin. Continued on page 2
GOING PUBLIC
Continued from page 1
Festival of Fools’ Will Chamberlain on public space in the Quarter Fifteen years ago, the idea of a street festival in Belfast would have been seen as wildly optimistic. Not just because the ink was barely dry on the Good Friday Agreement, and ‘lasting peace’ was only just breaking out, but more significantly because there was a dramatic shortage of suitable space to stage such a festival. The best place by far was the Cornmarket, complete with bandstand occupied by a certain class of tippler, or perhaps the City Hall lawns, but they were not available to use for such frippery. Back then, Cathedral Quarter was still something of a ghost town, with just a few pioneering artists and businesses visited by adventurous wanderers. Fast forward to 2013, and it’s a very different story. There has been a massive investment in public space across the city centre, with the Streets Ahead programme costing £28 million and the Cathedral Quarter streetscaping costing a further £8 million, and the landscape has been transformed dramatically. The surfaces of pedestrian areas are much improved and the street lighting is enhanced, but the physical space available to the public has probably decreased due to the sheer volume of street furniture placed every few metres in the middle of each street.
consistent surfacing. It is about what happens in these locations, who inhabits them, and how people feel about these spaces. Take Custom House Square. On the apron, it has that great water feature which has spawned more fabulous photos of drenched children having fun than any other place that isn’t by the seaside. On the main square, we can watch fantastic concerts by such legends as Tom Jones and Paul Weller, while thousands of people have the time of their lives. Yet for 90 per cent of the time the main square is like a wasteland, with not even a soul walking across it, and the fountains lie idle and neglected for about 60 per cent of the year. As a public space, Custom House Square only really works when something is happening. Purely in terms of a space, there is nothing to encourage people to hang out there. That’s one of the things about public space: it doesn’t really work if it’s all space and no public, or all public and no space. There is no live frontage to make it worth the journey from one side of the square to the other – no café kiosk in the centre to encourage that long walk into empty space. It’s a crying shame. In almost any other European city, the glorious Custom House would be a museum or an art gallery that would frame this civic space.
In the Cathedral Quarter, it is a somewhat different story; we are almost spoilt for choice, with the intimacy of Cotton Court, a converted bonded warehouse, as a backdrop and a view across the road of The Merchant Hotel, converted from the opulent Ulster Bank headquarters; the vast open sweep of Custom House Square, flanked by the lavish old Custom House and new apartments, and the grandiose piazza-style Saint Anne’s Square, surrounded by mockGeorgian edifice and Tuscan columns. Even the old square in front of the Cathedral has been completely transformed into Writers’ Square, with swish Sardinian stone engraved with the wisdom of Irish writers. So you might be forgiven for thinking that the Cathedral Quarter has it all when it comes to public space – expensive surfacing, significant investment in urban design, and lots of square metres. Whilst it’s true that the area has the highest density of public space in the city centre, there is more to it than that. ‘Nice’ public space might be defined by the quality of materials used in its construction, but ‘great’ public space, for me, is about much more than having
“Great public space, is about what happens in these locations, who inhabits them, and how people feel about these spaces.” Again, with Writers’ Square, there is a large expanse of high-quality material underfoot, but nothing surrounding it. Admittedly, the inscriptions on the stone itself reward the curious in nature, and the Cathedral across the road is open and welcomes the public, but the square is still dead on three sides and does nothing to encourage the pedestrian to venture across. In fact, the gates into one end are locked at weekends and evenings, as if to tell you that it is only a part-time space anyway. It will be interesting to see how this dynamic will
HOUSEHOLD AT CQAF
Household’s Eoin Dara, Ciara Hickey and Kim McAleese prepare one of three vacant spaces
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“A lot of the acts are comedy-based, and laughter is an international language. Many people look forward to it, but then there are the people who just happen to be in town, who are thinking, ‘What is this?’ It takes over the streets.” And if spectators have missed any of the performers, they are offered an opportunity to see a round-up of the day’s acts at Saint Anne’s Square at 6pm. The only ticketed event is Hip Cirq Europ’, a mix of circus skills and hip hop
dancing performed by ten artists from across the continent, in T13, the Titanic Quarter’s urban sports venue. Oh, and look out for the Festival of Fools poster boy, Travelling Obo, a small, curious character who has plenty of charm. For a teaser, check out the festival trailer, which documents his journey to Belfast for what is sure to be a wonder-filled weekend.
be changed with the 2013 Festival of Fools, which will be bringing street shows, Trades Union rallies, outdoor art exhibitions, and mobile movie houses together over the Bank Holiday weekend. Leaving out Buoys’ Park beside the Cathedral (which is precisely what everyone else has been doing in terms of urban planning and improvements over the past twenty years!), we come to the latest addition to the Cathedral Quarter’s outdoor portfolio, Saint Anne’s Square. Finally, we have a square that works almost perfectly, with a size that lends itself to intimacy, but is big enough for some decent-sized shows; an acoustic which is superb for vocal projection, and, perhaps most importantly, a square which has life and variety on all
sides. On the face of it, a combination of hotel, restaurants, car park, arts centre and gymnasium may sound slightly curious, but it seems to work brilliantly in attracting a wide range of people to and through the square, while maintaining the integrity of the space itself. Ironically, the best public space in Belfast is actually privately owned, but the square was conceived in terms of the life that the publicly funded MAC would bring to it, a fact that perhaps points to a future model for urban space, where public and private development work together to achieve a harmonious success story.
Following the success of the Household Contemporary Art Festival in domestic spaces in August 2012, HOUSEHOLD (Sighle Bhreathnach-Cashell, Eoin Dara, Ciara Hickey, Alissa Kleist and Kim McAleese) have been invited to curate a visual arts programme for this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. Integral to the ethos of the collective is working outside of established institutions, and in alternative spaces in a site-specific manner, with exciting artists and creative practitioners. Cathedral Quarter area is teeming with unoccupied and slack spaces, and with the co-operation of local landlords, Household were able to acquire 3 very distinct and exciting spaces for artists to make work in; a 1970s office building on North Street, a former ‘Mr Pound’ shop on High Street, and the former premises of Todd Architects on Hill Street. The collective have invited sevem of Belfast’s most exciting and inspiring artists and an experimental theatre group to make newly commissioned work in the spaces. At 7 North Street, Belfast-based theatre group Skinnybone have reanimated the
space with their unique brand of surreal, immersive theatre and performance. On the second floor artist Tonya McMullan has created interventions in the space that expand her performative and participatory practice, encouraging members of the public to visit and interact with the work. At an architect’s former office at 41 - 43 Hill Street, artist Liam Crichton will present a new monumental installation incorporating the whole of this impressive space and reacting to it’s architecture. Over at 18 High Street, five very different artists will complete a fast-paced, 10-day visual art ‘Exquisite Corpse’. Given a total of two days each, artists Laura McMorrow, Martin Boyle, Brian Morrison, Catherine Devlin and Colm Clarke will create work in response to that of their predecessors without knowing beforehand what they will encounter or what the final outcome will be!
For full line-ups and booking information visit cqaf.com and foolsfestival.com
See opposite page for a map of public space and locations for Festival of Fools.
Visit householdbelfast.co.uk for full programme information, or join the collective on Saturday 11th May at 1pm for a curators tour of all three spaces.
industrial reputation was built by the rope makers, haberdashers, leather merchants, and umbrella and trunk makers; where the streets carried wildly evocative names: PotHouse Lane, Sugar Cane Entry, Goose Lane… It wasn’t all Victorian puritanism and industry, however. Prostitutes consorted with sailors down narrow streets and in bars like DuBarry’s, and the city’s gay population found refuge in particular pubs in the locale. The ideals of the French Revolution burned through these streets. From the steps of the Custom House, Jim Larkin urged workers to rise up. Later still, the Transport House was built, providing a focal point for the Trade Union Movement. Off Donegall Street, the Communist Party invoked the spirit of Marx and Engels, and Giros Musicians Collective kept the anarchist flame alive. In the ’70s, folkies found a home in The Sunflower Folk Club; the spit and sawdust of The Harp Bar became the unofficial headquarters of Belfast punk, and The Undertones cut the seminal ‘Teenage Kicks’ in a studio in Commercial Court. The sectarian frenzy that gripped other parts of the city somehow had less of a grip here. Sometime towards the end of the ’90s, with the old industries long gone, new activities began to emerge. Organisations such as Northern Visions, the Community Arts Forum, the Creative Writers’ Network and Catalyst Arts had sprung up. These would be joined by Belfast Community Circus, Belfast Exposed, Belfast Film Festival, Young at Art, and many others. A recent survey uncovered over sixty creative organisations in the area. Alongside this growing creative activity, a burgeoning service and hospitality industry slowly started to develop. The well-established Nick’s Warehouse and the Duke of York have been joined by the egalitarian and arts-friendly ethos of The John Hewitt. Elsewhere, The Spaniard, The Northern Whig, Printers, Made in Belfast, The Dark Horse, and The Potted Hen all offer nourishment for the body, and, occasionally, the mind.
RADICAL ROOTS CQAF Director Sean Kelly reflects on the origins of the festival As we limber up for the 14th Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, it seems timely to reflect upon the progress of the festival, and the area, since our humble beginnings, back in May 2000. The Cathedral Quarter then was far from the social hub it has become, and our first festival was a modest affair, supported by a couple of thousand hardy souls in search of arts and music that stepped outside the mainstream. The newly opened John Hewitt provided a welcoming environment for our poetry readings and plays; we put comedy upstairs in the Duke of York, and even folk music on a boat on the river. The MAC and The Black Box were then just ideas waiting to be formed, and so a dearth of venues meant necessity was often the mother of invention. The area might now be coming down
with bearded hipsters with MacBooks, but back then we’d barely heard of the internet, we’d no mobile phones, no social media, and our main means of promotion were a few posters in windows and a quaint 42page programme, then, as now, designed by Keith Connolly of Tonic Design. Fast forward 14 years, and the festival enjoys a hard-won reputation as one of the most vibrant and dynamic on these islands, with tens of thousands taking part every year. But what does the festival actually represent these days? Is it still relevant and, importantly, still rooted in the quarter from which it takes its name? We firmly believe the festival remains inspired and informed by the unique ethos of the area. This, the oldest part of Belfast, where sea voyages were planned and revolutions plotted; where the city’s
In keeping with the radical ethos of the area, the festival continues to embrace innovation and alternative ideas. This year Robert Fisk will examine the impact of the Arab Spring, Daniel Kitson will scrutinise the very notion of stand-up comedy, movies will be screened in a mobile cinema on Writers’ Square, Crumlin Road Gaol will host a comedy gig, and The Fall will challenge and perplex in a marquee on Custom House Square. The festival has resisted the allure of corporate sponsorship (okay, we’ve been pretty poor in attracting it), and still tries to offer new sights and sounds to those with an open mind. Belfast is now, famously, a city of seven quarters, but for us, none resonates so strongly of the past, and holds a template for the future, as the Cathedral Quarter.
FOR THE LATEST CQ NEWS AND EVENTS:
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MY CQ: PUBLIC SPACE & FESTIVAL VENUES FESTIVAL OF FOOLS / PUBLIC SPACE 1 Writer’s Square 2 Saint Anne’s Square 3 Cotton Court 4 Custom House Square 5 Buoys Park
HOUSEHOLD 1 7 North St. 2 41-43 Hill St. 3 18 High St.
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WHAT’S ON APRIL EXHIBITIONS
WEDNESDAY 1 MAY
Late Night Art: 2 May Galleries open until 9pm
MUSIC Graeme Clark - Wet Wet Wet Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £11, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Belfast / A Method 2 May - 16 June Golden Thread Gallery, 84-94 Great Patrick Street BT1 2LU goldenthreadgallery.co.uk Better Out Than In 6 May - 1 June, The John Hewitt 15 Donegall St., BT1 2FH thejohnhewitt.com Bulgarian Printmaking 2 May - 2 June Belfast Print Workshop Gallery Cotton Court BT1 2ED, bpw.org.uk Gerry Gleason - Tribute to Picasso 2 - 19 May, Red Barn Gallery, 43b Rosemary Street BT1 1QB, redbarngallery.co.uk Household: Tonya McMullan 2 - 11 May, 7 North Street, BT1 1NI householdbelfast.co.uk Household: Liam Crichton 2 - 11 May, 41 – 43 Hill Street, BT1 2PB householdbelfast.co.uk Household: Exquisite Corpse 2 - 11 May ,18 High Street, BT1 2BS householdbelfast.co.uk The Illustrated Beatles 2 - 23 May, Oh Yeah Music Centre 15-21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG ohyeahbelfast.com Lock Your Soul in the Brain of My World… 2 - 31 May, Black Box, 18-21 Hill Street BT1 2LA, blackboxbelfast.com Northern Ireland - 30 Years of Photography 10 May - 7 June The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, themaclive.com Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF, belfastexposed.org Plaaang Diddley! 3 - 30 May, Arts & Disability Forum 109 - 113 Royal Ave., BT1 1FF, adf.ie Wartime Fashion : A Male Perspective 2 - 10 May, War Memorial Gallery 21 Talbot St., BT1 2LD
WEEKLY EVENTS MONDAYS Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Open Mic at The John Hewitt Free, 9.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Monopollie @ Ollie’s Nightclub £3, 10pm, olliesclub.com TUESDAYS Brogue at The John Hewitt Free, 8pm, thejohnhewitt.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com WEDNESDAYS Traditional Session @ McHughs Free, 7pm, mchughsbar.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com THURSDAYS Ollie’s Rocks @ Ollie’s Nightclub £5, 9pm, olliesclub.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Sweet Trev & The Blue Notes @ The John Hewitt Free, 9.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com FRIDAYS Das Vibic @ Black Box Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com Feelgood Fridays @ 21 Social Free, 4pm, 21social.co.uk Traditional Session @ Whites Tavern Free, 7pm, whitestavern.co.uk Panama Jazz Band @ The John Hewitt Free, 8.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com The Golden Years @ The Duke of York, £5, 9pm Lipstick @ Ollie’s Nightclub £5, 10pm, olliesclub.com Famous Fridays Free/£5, 10pm, myntbelfast.com SATURDAYS The BIG John Hewitt Early Session Free, 5.30pm, thejohnhewitt.com Dana Masters Jazz Sextet @ McHughs Free, 5.30 − 7.30pm, mchughsbar.com Trad Session @ Whites Tavern Free, 8pm, whitestavern.co.uk Bert’s After Hours @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 9pm, themerchanthotel.com Secret Society @ Ollie’s Nightclub £10, 9pm, olliesclub.com Club Eclectic @ The Duke of York £5, 9pm Radio K @ McHughs £5, 10pm, mchughsbar.com Rewind Saturdays Free/£5, 10pm, myntbelfast.com SUNDAYS Social Sundays @ 21 Social Free, 5pm, 21social.co.uk Live Jazz @ Bert’s Jazz Bar Free, 12pm & 9pm themerchanthotel.com
THEATRE The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West £9.50 - £22, 7.45pm, themaclive.com
THURSDAY 2 MAY FESTIVAL OF FOOLS Festival of Fools Opening Ceremony: The Strongman Saint Anne’s Square Free, 6pm, foolsfestival.com CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com John Grant Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £14, 8pm, cqaf.com Diane Spencer The Dark Horse, Commercial Court BT1 2LB, £5, 8pm, cqaf.com Neil Cowley Trio Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 8pm, cqaf.com Getting to Know… SOAK Oh Yeah, 15 − 21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG, Free, 8pm, cqaf.com Low Leaf McHughs Basement, 29-31 Queens Sq. BT1 3FG £5, 9pm, cqaf.com VISUAL ART Real Sketchy Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 9pm, blackboxbelfast.com WORDS & IDEAS Poetry in Motion 2013 Launch with Longfella Golden Thread Gallery, Great Patrick St. BT1 2LU Free, 8.30pm, comartspartner.org
The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com
Angel Olsen Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £6, 8pm, cqaf.com
Lucy Caldwell: Creative Writing for Beginners The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 12pm, cqaf.com Valerie June Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 2pm, cqaf.com Hidden Belfast Tour Leaves St. Anne’s Cathedral £5, 2pm, cqaf.com
Bronagh Gallagher Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £12, 3pm, cqaf.com
Richard Herring Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
Skinnybone Theatre 7 North Street, BT1 1NI 7.30pm, cqaf.com Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience The Northern Whig, Bridge St. £39, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
Alana Henderson Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, cqaf.com
Trad Night for Brid Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £15, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
Cedric Watson Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
YOGA Tiffany Criukshank Flow Yoga Studio, 52a Hill St. BT1 2LB, flowstudiobelfast.com
Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
Julie Fowlis Festival Marquee, Custom House Square, £12, 8pm, cqaf.com
Amadou & Mariam Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £12, 8pm, cqaf.com
MUSIC Stick It On Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £3, 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Daniel Kitson The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
Skinnybone Theatre 7 North Street, BT1 1NI 2.30pm, cqaf.com
TUESDAY 7 MAY
Sylvia’s Quest The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £7, 3pm & 6pm, cqaf.com
CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com
QUBE Myth-Science Arkestra: The Music of Sun Ra The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £6, 9pm, cqaf.com
Martin Mor The Dark Horse, Commercial Court BT1 2LB, £5, 8pm, cqaf.com
Young@Heart Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 12pm, cqaf.com
Adam Ant Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £20, 8pm, cqaf.com
MUSIC Scorpion Jack Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
The Over The Hill Collective: The Jam Jar Sessions Cinemobile, Writer’s Square Free, 2pm, cqaf.com
MUSIC Black Moon - a night for and by adults with learning disabilities Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Lucy Rose Oh Yeah Music Centre, 15-21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG ohyeahbelfast.com £12, 7pm, openhousefestival.com
WEDNESDAY 15 MAY
Nathan Fake Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 9pm, cqaf.com Necessary Mayhem Showcase Oh Yeah Music Centre, 15 − 21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG £8, 9pm, cqaf.com
Full Circle Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £2, 6 & 7pm, cqaf.com Dervla Murphy Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
Constellations II The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 10pm, cqaf.com
Songs of Nick Cave by David Noone Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 8pm, cqaf.com
MUSIC Anne Malone Flow Yoga Studio, 52a Hill St. BT1 2LB, flowstudiobelfast.com
Andrew Maxwell Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
THEATRE The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £9.50 - £22, 5pm & 8.30pm, themaclive.com
SUNDAY 5 MAY
Hiss Golden Messenger & William Tyler McHughs Basement, 29-31 Queens Sq. BT1 3FG £8, 8pm, cqaf.com YOGA Tiffany Criukshank Flow Yoga Studio, 52a Hill St. BT1 2LB, flowstudiobelfast.com
FRIDAY 10 MAY CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com Harvey Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 12pm, cqaf.com Skinnybone Theatre 7 North Street, BT1 1NI 7.30pm, cqaf.com Edwyn Collins Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £12, 8pm, cqaf.com DJ Yoda (Full AV show) Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £12, 9pm, cqaf.com MUSIC Spring Swing & Hop Titanic Pub & Kitchen, 2-14 Little Donegall St., BT1 2JD £7, 8pm
TUESDAY 14 MAY
MUSIC The Kennedys Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £13, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com DAMCE Wendy Houston’s 50 Acts The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £12, 8pm, themaclive.com
THURSDAY 16 MAY MUSIC Farmer’s Folk Thursdays Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
FRIDAY 17 MAY COMEDY FNT Live Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £TBC, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SATURDAY 18 MAY
THEATRE The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £9.50 - £22, 7.45pm, themaclive.com
FESTIVAL OF FOOLS Festival of Fools Performances Rosemary St., Free, 1 - 5pm Writer’s Square, Free, 1 - 5pm Cotton Court, Free, 1 - 5pm Saint Anne’s Square, Free, 1 - 6pm foolsfestival.com
FRIDAY 3 MAY FESTIVAL OF FOOLS Miss Behave Cotton Court Free, 5pm, foolsfestival.com
CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL Belfast Exposed 30th Anniversary Workshops Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF 10am, £40, belfastexposed.org
The Strongman Saint Anne’s Square Free, 6pm, foolsfestival.com
The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com
CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com
Big Global Market Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £3, 12pm, cqaf.com
Up: Grandparents & Toddlers Screening Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 12pm, cqaf.com
Rachel Sermanni Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £8, 2pm, cqaf.com
Endless Life Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 6pm, cqaf.com
Hidden Belfast Tour Leaves St. Anne’s Cathedral £5, 2pm, cqaf.com
THURSDAY 23 MAY
Sylvia’s Quest The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £7, 3pm & 6pm, cqaf.com
Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience The Northern Whig, Bridge St. £39, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
Nick Drake: An Illustrated Lecture Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £4, 2pm, cqaf.com
MUSIC David Kitt Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £15, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
The Fall Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £12, 8pm, cqaf.com
Gavin Esler The Dark Horse, Commercial Court BT1 2LB £5, 8pm, cqaf.com
VISUAL ART Jamie Harper - Live Art Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
The Stay Golden: An Evening Curated by ASIWYFA Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £10, 8pm, cqaf.com
FRIDAY 24 MAY
Skinnybone Theatre 7 North Street, BT1 1NI 7.30pm, cqaf.com Will Self Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £6, 6pm, cqaf.com Dexys Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £15, 8pm, cqaf.com Abie Philbin Bowman The Dark Horse, Commercial Court BT1 2LB, £5, 8pm, cqaf.com Chuck Prophet Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £10, 9pm, cqaf.com Constellations II The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 10pm, cqaf.com
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Bernadette Morris The John Hewitt, 51 Donegall St. BT1 2FH, £5, 7pm, cqaf.com Glitter & Sparkle Festival Ball Festival Marquee, Custom House Sq. £10, 7.30pm, cqaf.com Thee Oh Sees + David Holmes Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £8, 8pm, cqaf.com MUSIC Darren Cullen Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
MUSIC Anne Malone Flow Yoga Studio, 52a Hill St. BT1 2LB, flowstudiobelfast.com
Anne Malone Flow Yoga Studio, 52a Hill St. BT1 2LB, flowstudiobelfast.com
THEATRE The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £9.50 - £22, 5pm & 8.30pm, themaclive.com
MONDAY 6 MAY
SATURDAY 4 MAY FESTIVAL OF FOOLS Festival of Fools Performances Rosemary St., Free, 12 - 5pm Writer’s Square, Free, 1 - 5pm Cotton Court, Free, 12 - 5pm Saint Anne’s Square, Free, 12 - 6pm foolsfestival.com CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL Belfast Exposed 30th Anniversary Workshops Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF 10am, £40, belfastexposed.org
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FESTIVAL OF FOOLS Festival of Fools Performances Rosemary St., Free, 12 - 4pm Writer’s Square, Free, 12 - 5pm Cotton Court, Free, 12 - 5pm Saint Anne’s Square, Free, 12 - 6pm foolsfestival.com CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com Silent Cinema Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 12pm, cqaf.com The Room Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £2, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
WEDNESDAY 8 MAY CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL Belfast Exposed 30th Anniversary Workshops Belfast Exposed, 23 Donegall Street BT1 2FF 10am, £40, belfastexposed.org
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The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com Hidden Belfast Tour Leaves St. Anne’s Cathedral £5, 11am, cqaf.com
British Sea Power Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £12.50, 8pm, cqaf.com Sean Hughes The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £10, 8pm, cqaf.com Sparkplug The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £8, 8pm, cqaf.com Ha Ha Tonka & Dave Gunning McHughs Basement, 29-31 Queens Sq. BT1 3FG £5, 8pm, cqaf.com MAGIC Midweek Magic Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £4, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 9 MAY CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com The Golden Age of Belfast Cinema Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 12pm, cqaf.com My Father & The Man In Black Cinemobile, Writer’s Square £3, 7.30pm, cqaf.com
THEATRE The Factory Girls The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £9.50 - £22, 8pm, themaclive.com
SATURDAY 11 MAY
MUSIC Flamenco Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SUNDAY 19 MAY MUSIC Beatlemania Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £17.50, 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com
The Katona Twins The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ £15, 8pm themaclive.com
Household: Curator’s Tour 41 − 43 Hill St. Free, 1pm, cqaf.com
COMEDY My Favourite Waste of Time Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA 7pm, blackboxbelfast.com
Distillation #2 Oh Yeah Music Centre, 15 − 21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG £7, 9pm, cqaf.com The Gramaphone Disco Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £8, 9pm, cqaf.com FAMILY/WORKSHOPS Photo Finish The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £5, 2pm, themaclive.com THEATRE The Factory Girls The MAC, 10 Exchange St. West BT1 2NJ, £9.50 - £22, 8pm, themaclive.com
SUNDAY 12 MAY CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS FESTIVAL The Open Source 25 Lower Donegall St. Free, 12-7pm, opensourceni.com The Belfast Folk Session The John Hewitt, 51 Donegall St. BT1 2FH, £6, 3pm, cqaf.com
COMEDY I Told You I Was Funny Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £4, 7.30pm, blackboxbelfast.com
SATURDAY 25 MAY MUSIC Indigo Prime Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA £5, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com FAMILY/WORKSHOPS World Zone: Australia Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 2pm, blackboxbelfast.com
THURSDAY 30 MAY MUSIC Chicks With Picks Black Box, 18-22 Hill St. BT1 2LA Free, 8pm, blackboxbelfast.com
FRIDAY 31 MAY MUSIC Upload 2 Oh Yeah Music Centre, 15 − 21 Gordon St. BT1 2LG £8/10, 7pm, ohyeahbelfast.com