More than 20 “electrifying” performances from ten European countries will make up the 2016 BE FESTIVAL, Birmingham’s annual event which “celebrates the best of European theatre”.
BE FESTIVAL “turns the notion of conventional theatre upside down; it crosses borders, creative disciplines and blurs the boundary between audience and artist”.
The week-long festival in June will showcase work from countries including Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany and Slovenia. It will take place in Birmingham REP’s construction workshops and other locations in the city.
Each night will feature four short performances and an interval dinner at which audiences and artists can mingle and eat together.
Highlights of the main evening theatre programme include the “hypnotic and tribalistic” In Girum Imus Nocte (Et Consuminur Igni)—which translates as We Go Around At Night Consumed By Fire—by Italian choreographer Roberto Castello and dance company Aldes and Vacuum by Swiss contemporary dance company Cie Philippe Saire.
Two previous BE FESTIVAL first prize winners return with their latest shows. Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s philosophy on the benefits of failure—fail and then fail better—Teatro Sotterraneo’s show Reload evolves through a series of stage interruptions. TIDA returns with a full-length version of its award-winning show Quintetto alongside a new piece that follows the evolution of a woman, Piccole Donne (Little Women).
In a nod to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Italian company CollettivO CineticO stages a “rollercoaster of drama” with audience members competing to play Hamlet. Collective Loss of Memory by DOT504 from the Czech Republic is a “powerful and brutal show that places five men in a confined space where masculinity is championed”. In contrast, Uncanny Theatre’s You Had To Be There is a “funny and clever attempt” to create a “you had to be there” moment.
New for this year’s festival is Early Ideas—a strand of short theatre pieces and works-in-progress, all of which will be given the chance to be performed at next year’s festival.
Miguel Oyarzun, BE FESTIVAL co-director, said, “BE FESTIVAL is all about giving UK audiences a varied taste of some of the most exciting theatre happening across Europe. It’s really timely that this year’s festival is taking place at the same time as British people vote in the European referendum—we'll be exploring what it means to be a European citizen and we want to encourage audiences to learn from other cultures as well as having a great night out.”
Co-director Isla Aguilar added, “the festival began in 2010 and we were warmly welcomed to the UK. It feels like a second home to us now. Birmingham is such a creative city that embraces art and cultures, whatever their origin. We’re proud to be working with some of the newest and most exciting artists and performers from across Europe. It promises to be a vibrant festival.”
BE FESTIVAL returns to Birmingham from Tuesday 21 until Saturday 25 June. Meanwhile The Best of BE FESTIVAL—highlights from the 2015 festival—is touring the UK from 6 April until 6 May.