A video dinner party with an alcohol-infused butler, a tender look at Alzheimer’s and family relationships, a frank and funny sex comedy, non-dancers dancing, an exploration of religion’s attitude to disability, and a mass participatory signing and dance to Pharrell Williams’s Happy are all part of the extensive programme at Southbank Centre’s second Unlimited Festival.
Following the outstanding success of Southbank Centre’s first Unlimited Festival, one of the highlights of the Cultural Olympiad in September 2012, the second festival will continue to celebrate the artistic vision and originality of disabled artists with an ambitious mix of theatre, dance, music, literature, comedy and visual arts.
For the first week in September, Southbank Centre will showcase the work of over 100 international disabled dancers, choreographers, theatre makers, cabaret stars, stand-ups, puppeteers, musicians, poets, filmmakers, visual artists, activists and thinkers.
The festival includes over 20 performances, 11 exhibitions and installations and a wide ranging programme of talks, debates workshops and free outdoor and indoor activities. Works presented will include nine commissions from the Unlimited programme, an unprecedented £2.4million, three-year initiative funded by Arts Council England, Spirit of 2012 and Creative Scotland, which funds disabled artists to produce work which aims to transform our perception of the world.
Unlimited Festival takes place throughout Southbank Centre, including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and spaces inside and outside Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. The Queen Elizabeth Hall is being transformed into a blackbox theatre with all members of the public using the entrance normally used only by disabled members of the audience.