Highlights of the 2015 BE FESTIVAL—“one of the UK’s most exciting European theatre festivals”—is to go on a UK tour, stopping off at three venues in the West Midlands.
Three solo performers from Spain, Italy and Ireland form The Best of BE FESTIVAL tour. Festival co-director Miguel Oyarzun said, “these three shows were a real hit with last year’s festival crowd and we’re thrilled to be bringing them to three venues across the Midlands. The productions range from the physical to the dramatic and are humorous and incredibly engaging.”
Carlota Gaviño of Grumelot, Madrid will present a stripped-back, new take on Romeo and Juliet in #sobrejulieta, a “humorous and honest one-woman show about love, chemistry and excess”. It will be performed in English and some Spanish.
Italian company TIDA needs to stage a dance production but is bereft of cast and crew because of a financial crisis. The show must go on, so willing audience members are recruited to take on various duties. Quintetto won the first prize at the 2015 BE FESTIVAL.
In The Whistle, Irish performer Darragh McLoughlin invites audiences to determine what they watch, prompting their eyes to open and close during a multitude of rapid scene changes.
The Best of BE FESTIVAL stops off at the Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton on Tuesday 19 April, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry on Tuesday 3 May and The Bramall at the University of Birmingham on Thursday 5 May. The tour will also visit Canterbury, London, Bury St Edmunds, Brecon, Reading, Oxford, Barnsley, Leeds, Huddersfield, Harrogate, Northumbria and Bristol.
BE FESTIVAL focuses on work which transcends cultural, linguistic and artistic boundaries. It supports artists in finding innovative ways to engage with audiences.