Brighton Dome: Rest of the Fest
From wartime drama to hip-hop dance battles, Brighton Festival 2014 still has plenty to offer this Mayhttp://thelatest.co.uk/
It’s been described by its Guest Director Hofesh Shechter as ‘genre-defying’, by the national press as ‘visionary’, and by audiences as ‘amazing’, ‘fascinating’ and ‘inspiring’ and as Brighton Festival 2014 heads into its final 10 days, there’s still plenty to come for lovers of quality performance, art and discussion.
Heading to Theatre Royal Brighton this week, Northern Stage presents Catch-22 (13-17 May) – Joseph Heller’s wartime satire. Directed by two-time Obie Award-winning and Drama Desk nominated director Rachel Chavkin from a stage adaptation by Heller himself, the play – set in the closing months of World War II – follows a bombardier named Yossarian who is trapped in the strange world of an inescapable war. Frantic and furious as thousands of people he has never met try to kill him, Yossarian is stalked and thwarted by the merciless catch-22 (from which, as many will know, the famous phrase originated).
From the absurdity of war and bureaucracy to a world of sublime acrobatics, Brussels-based performance company Circus Feria Musica continues its foray into contemporary circus arts with new creative production Sinué (21 & 22 May) at Brighton Dome Concert Hall; loosely based on Petit Jules, an illustrated tale by Anne Ducamp. Featuring stunning and skilled movement set to electro-acoustic hurdy-gurdy and bursts of percussion, the multi-leveled set is an urban playground for the five skilled artists to explore and promises to be a family-friendly treat for all.
Author, biographer and journalist Edmund White (25 May) heads to the city for a special event in which he discusses his latest work Inside A Pearl with writer and broadcaster Simon Fanshawe. Famed for his biographies of Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and Arthur Rimbaud; White’s latest work looks at his own time spent in Paris during the 1980s. Upon his arrival, he spoke no French and knew just two people in the entire city, but soon discovered the anxieties and pleasures of mastering a new culture. With the extraordinary cast of characters including Yves St Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Susan Sontag, Julian Barnes, Martin Amis and Kristin Scott-Thomas, White will mix anecdotes, serious artistic and historical concerns with the soap opera of urban life in this lively and entertaining event.
Brighton Festival’s closing weekend features two very special performances. From jazz-tinged sophistication to profound spirituality, the renowned Philharmonia Orchestra (24 May) returns to Brighton Dome Concert Hall in rousing form with a range of 20th century masterpieces.
Conductor John Wilson, one of the most engaging communicators in music today, makes his Festival debut with a programme that combines verve and veneration via Bernstein’s ‘Symphonic Suite’ from On the Waterfront, Ravel’s Piano Concerto In G and Stravinsky’s Symphony Of Psalms. In Brighton Dome Corn Exchange – and with tongue firmly planted in cheek – Belgian dance collective close the Festival with their show Opening Night (25 May). Made up of five close friends who follow a company directive that ‘the dancer can do everything he wishes within the frame of dance’, the performance promises to be a joyous, creative and ultimately charming affair with plenty of improvisation and humour – no show is ever the same!
And don’t forget, the critically acclaimed international festival of hip hop dance theatre Breakin’ Convention (27 & 28 May) is back in Brighton as part of Festival Extra. With high energy performances from UK and international companies alongside local Sussex-based crews, this hugely popular Sadler’s Wells Production – now in its 11th year – is hosted and curated by eminent UK hip-hop theatre artist Jonzi D. The 2014 line-up includes Olivier Award-nominated ILL-Abilities, an international group of B-boys who have overcome extraordinary challenges to redefine society’s view of disability, London’s Ukweli Roach, who presents an ensemble performance about temptation and vice, and France’s award-winning Wanted Posse.
Brighton Festival runs until 25 May. brightonfestival.org / 01273 709709
