It’s not what Peter Wakely had in mind for this year’s edition of the Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF). Then again, the artistic director and CEO of the 58th annual event says, “The festival continued through the very difficult years of The Troubles and that didn’t stop us, so the pandemic wasn’t going to defeat us either!”
Thus instead of a three-week festival (on now and continuing until Nov. 1) of typically innovative and sometimes ground-breaking performances spread across venues in the Northern Irish city, the event has gone online, with what Wakely says is a “wonderful range of events, not just for our audience at home, but through the magic of online and digital, we are reaching out right across the world – from Istanbul to Berlin to Canada.”
Describing himself as a “glass half full” kind of guy, Wakely says festival organizers and performers have embraced the opportunity to reach a wider audience virtually to produce a festival unlike any they have before, yet continuing to feature the best of Northern Irish and international arts, including dance, music, theatre, film, visual arts, and discussion.
To attend, patrons simply go online to book tickets to the event of their choosing, 80 percent of which are free (though donations are encourage).
Among the highlights:
• The premiere of a new online and interactive theatrical production of “Macbeth” by Big Telly, a world leader in live digital theatre. This imaginative reboot of Shakespeare’s timeless, blood-soaked tale will be performed live on Zoom.
• “The University of Wonder & Imagination” by Cahoots NI, a fun-filled, an hour-long interactive digital theatre production for families that allows audiences to effectively direct the performance, based on their interaction with the performers.
• Exclusive recitals and concerts including “Madrigals at the Museum,” showcasing the work of Claudio Monteverdi, and the Belfast Ensemble’s Beethoven reinvention, “Septet (for four).”
• The BIAF20 Talks and Ideas program will feature the best of contemporary fiction writers, including Sebastian Barry, Sarah Moss, Robert Webb, Daisy Johnson and Bryan Washington, who will discuss their latest work.
• Topics as diverse as politics, feminism, race, equality and weight and health issues will be explored by leading voices from the worlds of broadcast journalism, law enforcement and publishing.
• For those who manage to find themselves in Belfast, there are a handful of specially designed public events including exhibitions and performances, compliant with public health measures.
Required this year to similarly depend on digital applications to promote the festival, instead of his annual mission to Toronto and New York, Wakely admits that technology may become part of the Festival’s modus operandi in the future (beaming performances into venues in Belfast instead of in person, for example).
However, he says such opportunities will always take second place to the real thing, stating that a virtual event is “no substitute for the live experience. (Anyone) who has been to Northern Ireland knows how important it is to get out into the streets to see the people and meet us, and also to meet our artists and see our work.”
To that end, he hopes the BIAR will again be a live event in 2021. But in the meantime, he says, “I’m here this year just to remind our friends around the world – particularly in the Canada – what you’re missing and to remind you to come over and see us again very soon.”
Check out the full BIAF20 program HERE.