Claire Cunningham, who is performing at Dadafest 2008 _220
DANCE, comedy, visual art, drama, music, debate, burlesque, punk and more take centre stage with a twist this weekend for the eighth annual DadaFest.
The event, staged by the North West Disability Arts Forum, has been condensed into a long weekend of action, rather than the usual few weeks, but organisers say it has given them a chance to get more international artists involved and give people more of a taste of the talent on offer from disabled artists and performers in both individual shows and late night collectives.
This year they include comedian Laurence Clarke; Claire Cunning-ham, acclaimed for her aerial dance pieces performed on crutch-es; a chance to see the challenging work of internationally renowned artist Ju Gosling at A Foundation; and new work Beauty and the Beast sees Dada regular Matt Fraser team up with “exotic performance artist” Julie Atlas Muz.
Denise Leigh, winner of Channel 4’s Operatunity, will be presenting her new recital work, Horizontal Heroines, with Ukrainian musical virtuoso Stefan Andrusyschyn at St George’s Hall on Friday evening.
Performance poet, playwright and producer Julie McNamara presents a new piece, Crossings, a composite of stories gathered from Merseyside and from the walls of museums in Liverpool and New Zealand, from the Treasure House Theatre in The World Museum on Friday afternoon.
Most of the weekend’s activities are taking place at the A Foundation, on Greenland Street.
Other events, like Saturday night’s DadaLesque and DadaRave take place at the Bluecoat and the Picket respectively.
Festival director Garry Robson said: “It’s a big one this year and it’s very exciting for us. This year we’ve commissioned new work and created 19 new pieces that wouldn’t have existed without Dadafest.
“One of the other big changes is that there are a lot more international artists and there are over 50 artists performing over the course of the long weekend.”
“Also this year is that we have targeted a wide-ranging audience, not just deaf and disabled people.”
A FESTIVAL pass is available for just £55 (£27.50 concs) to give ticket-holders access to all four days; or passes can be bought for single days or for individual events.
For tickets and more information, contact the Bluecoat box office on 0151 702 5324 and keep checking www.nwdaf.co.uk
vickyanderson
