Unlimited Festival takes over the Royal Festival Hall from Tuesday 6 to Sunday 11 September 2016 with a packed programme of free and ticketed events.
Works will include commissions from the Unlimited programme, a £2.4 million, three-year initiative from Shape Arts and Artsadmin funded by Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland.
The first of two world premières is Assisted Suicide: The Musical, created by disabled activist, actor and comedian Liz Carr, exploring the controversial subject of assisted suicide. The Way You Look (at me) Tonight is a new work from disabled artist Claire Cunningham and choreographer/performer Jess Curtis on how we see each other.
Sheila Hill bases her new Royal Festival Hall show on 20 years of conversations with actor Tim Barlow in Him, a humorous reflection on life at 80.
In other spaces across the Royal Festival Hall, there’s a conversation with playwright Kaite O'Reilly about normalcy and what it is to be human, artist Noëmi Lakmaier is gradually lifted into the air by 33,000 balloons in Cherophobia and Tourettes hero Jess Thom gives her first-ever solo stand-up performance with Sit Down, Stand Up, Roll Over.
Arlene Phillips choreographs a new love duet to a series of pop songs for Candoco Dance Company and there’s a new one-woman show from Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe on love, perception and living with pain.
Poet Lemn Sissay hosts the 2016 Creative Future Literary Awards, the UK’s only national literary competition for writers with disabilities, with readings from all twelve finalists. There are also club nights, cabarets and a Death Café as well as numerous platforms for discussion and debate.