Humberstone Gate, Leicester Saturday 16th August 11am – 10pm Sunday 17th August 11am – 5pm
Programme of Events All programme activities and events are FREE. Please note that there is limited capacity in the Performance Dome, Storytelling Yurt and Nanoplex Gallery. If you want to be certain of seats for a particular Dome or Yurt event, or Nanoplex screening, you can book places by e-mailing nightoffestivals@artreach.biz with your name, phone and e-mail contact, post code and specific ticket requirements. Alternatively please telephone Night of Festivals bookings on 0116 261 6882 (Mon – Friday 9am -5pm)
Saturday 16th August Performance Dome 11:00 Gumboot Workshop
Dance
Join African artists ADC Arts for an interactive, fun packed session of energetic stomping, dancing and clapping. Originating from the South African mines, gumboot (welly boots) dancing brings alive the dances and movements the miners developed to keep themselves motivated, entertained and able to communicate with each other. There are wellies available, but bring your own if you can! Suitable for all ages, including young children, no experience needed! Approx running time: 1 hr
12:30 Sura Susso Virtuoso kora player, percussionist and singer songwriter Sura captivates audiences wherever he goes with his entrancing and infectious music. His debut album Sila Kang, was released in summer 2012 to critical acclaim in the arenas of both classical and world music. Approx running time: 45 mins. Booking Advisable
13:30 & 14:30 Stephen Jon Inspired by the arts of Latin America this children’s theatre installation piece will encompass live action and shadow puppetry to enact the tale of our heroine’s adventures against monsters on land and sea. Suitable for all ages from the youngest upwards Approx running time: 30 mins each show. Booking Advisable
15: 30 Abdelkader Saadoun An accomplished Algerian multi-instrumentalist and singer who specialises in RAI music. RAI originates from traditional Algerian music and also encompasses Pop, Jazz, Funk, Rock, Reggae, Fusion, and Blues. Based on strong rhythms, it is very dynamic and danceable music! Approx running time: 45mins. Booking Advisable
16:15 Beyond the Cities Calling
Sound Installation
ArtReach specially commissioned self-taught blind composer, Electro-Acoustic musician and pianist David Hindmarch for Night of Festivals. Beyond the Cities Calling is an eye-opening sound installation that depicts the differing lives of citizens living in the two distinctive cities of Leicester and Cairo. Approx running time: 2 x 25mins
18.45 Rachael Young
The Way I Wear my Hair
I am a woman. I am black. I am a strong black woman am I? What does it mean to be a strong woman? Rachel takes us on a hilarious satirical journey, weaving a tale of her hair: natural to synthetic, straight to kinky and everywhere in between. Rachael investigates her own hair identity and questions the labels we give ourselves.
19:30 Tongue Fu Prepare for Tongue Fu’s on the spot performance poetry. With the themes of Freedom and Democracy, this raw and unrehearsed spoken word piece is an energetic dive into risk taking. Creator and host Chris Redmond (BBC Radio 4’s Pick of the Week) coaxes performers, band and audience to leap before they look and enjoy the brilliant results of spontaneous poetry performed with the funky sounds of the Tongue Fu band. Approx running time: 1hr 30mins Booking Advisable
Storytelling Yurt Come and listen to magical tales from around the world. Presented by the brilliant folk from The Storytelling Café, there are stories for children of all ages and adults! Each story lasts about 40 minutes.
11:00 The People's Wisdom Folklore belongs to all, and what we learn from our grandparents might just save us from the darkness of the forest – hear the Kenyan tale of Musyimi the Hunter.
12:00 The Underdog Bites Back Stories where the bullied and downtrodden give the powerful a taste of their own medicine – a tale from India The Boatman
13:00 One World, Many Stories One World, Many Stories tells tales with a green tinge. One Tree Hill is an English folk tale from Derbyshire and Miku, a story from Estonia.
14:00 I’m No Damsel in Distress If you believe that stories are all about princesses who need rescuing then think again! Stories of strong and wise women who thought that waiting for Prince Charming was, frankly, ridiculous – from the North American Chippewa tribe, hear the tale of Shingebiss and the North Wind.
16:00 Story Jukebox ... just wait and see!
18:00 Fire and Ice
(Suitable for ages 12+)
Stories to chill the soul and stir the blood, from England, the story of The Asrai.
Sunday 17th August Performance Dome 11:00 Gumboot Workshop
Dance
For a second day, join African artists ADC Arts for an interactive, fun packed session of energetic stomping, dancing and clapping. Originating from the South African mines, gumboot (welly boots) dancing brings alive the dances and movements the miners developed to keep themselves motivated, entertained and able to communicate with each other. There are wellies available, but bring your own if you can! Suitable for all ages, including young children, no experience needed! Approx running time: 1 hr
12:30 & 1:00 VOICE Megaphones for the Unheard
Unique London based a cappella trio Voice explore a repertoire of traditional and contemporary songs and arrangements from around the world. ‘Megaphones for the Unheard’ explores the voice of women through music and poetry. Approx running time: 30 mins. Booking Advisable
14:00 Sandeep Raval – Drum Circle & Performance Tap, Whack and Bang the drum! Join in Sandeep’s lively drum circle and then be treated to a short performance by a musician of many talents. There are plenty of instruments to go round, but feel free to bring your own and get stuck in! Approx running time: 1 hr. Booking Advisable
15:30 Romani Voice Lively four-piece Romani Voice are guaranteed to get your feet moving and pulse racing with their traditional Roma folk music and dance. The ensemble is guided by the Roma Support Group, a registered charity working with East European Roma refugees and migrants, and aim to share Roma Culture. Approx running time: 1 hr. Booking Advisable
Storytelling Yurt Come and listen to magical tales from around the world. Presented by the brilliant folk from The Storytelling CafĂŠ, there are stories for children of all ages and adults! Each story lasts about 40 minutes.
11.00 The Voice Undimmed Listen to tales of freedom, the main story is a traditional tale from Thailand - The Freedom Bird.
12.00 Palabras Latinas Latin American stories, where injustice and inequality are challenged by both ordinary people and animals – hear the Cuban tale The Letter of Emancipation.
13:00 Lords of Misrule Stories of arrogant rulers, who are forced to change, flee or face a worse fate - this main tale is taken from The Ten Fools, a Persian Akbar tale.
14:00 Fortune's Fools Stories of men and women who try to break away from the lives they have been given; will the road lead to success or disaster? The main story is an English tale from Norfolk, The Peddlar of Swaffham
15:00 Tales of Tails The beasts strike back! Hear a French tale, Where is my luck?
16:00 The Singing Bones
(Suitable for ages 12+)
Those mistreated in life seek justice after death! The last stories of the day take a deathly journey into the afterlife. The Storytelling Cafe tells a strong story from Switzerland called The Little Bone.
The ArtReach Nanoplex We gave an old touring caravan an unexpected second life as a surround sound moving image gallery! Watch a series of short and intriguing moving image pieces to open your eyes to new experiences and cultures.
Say hello to one of our Nanoplex Ushers and they will help you choose from one of 5 screens:
Screen 1: Night of Festivals Documentaries (ArtReach) See an exclusive screening of ArtReach’s documentary of Night of Festivals 2010 & 2012. Run time: Various (up to ten mins)
Screen 2: Welcoming the World In 2012 Night of Festivals featured in the Cultural Olympiad programme, and set its sights on Welcoming the World to Britain. A selection of exciting and inspiring moving image pieces from artists in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia, North America and South America. Run Time: Various
Screen 3: Journeys to Leicester (ArtReach) A short moving image piece that explores the physically and emotionally challenging journeys five Refugees have taken to get to the UK. First presented at Journeys Festival, Leicester. 2013 Run Time: 18 mins 26 secs
Screen 4: Michael Nyman A showcase of two of, celebrated composer and film maker, Michael Nyman’s works. Nyman has an established repertoire, composing for The Piano, Man on Wire, and The End of The Affair amongst others. Cine Opera Shot in 2010 at the Teatro Cine Opera in the centre of Mexico City, the piece is concerned with recording the passage of time and the qualities of public space. It lyrically documents Nyman’s visual take on a cinema built in the 1940s, but now in a state of almost total disrepair. Run Time: 20 mins Witnesses Inspired by the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca and his play Blood Wedding - Both Lorca’s life story and the events of the play are hugely relevant to the themes of Night of Festivals. Run Time: 18 mins 22 secs
Screen 5: Dambudzo (Ery Nazaramba) Created by Rwandan Refugee Ery Nazaramba, this short piece is a parody of Dambudzo Marechera (Zimbabwean novelist and poet) receiving the Guardian Fiction Award in November 1979. Run Time: 6 mins 30 seconds
Carnival Interventions Vibrant slices of Carnival will pop up around Humberstone Gate as the incredibly colourful Mandinga Arts, Rhythms of the City and Paraiso Samba join us to ignite a little South American spice into Night of Festivals.
Paraiso Samba
School
of
The only samba troupe in the UK whose artistic direction comes from artists who grew up in the Rio de Janeiro samba community. Experience the most vibrant performance of samba you will see outside of Brazil! With performances from local Leicester participations who have been training with Paraiso in the run up to Night of Festivals. You can find Paraiso in the city centre.
Mandinga Arts With new, spectacular carnival interventions themed to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, meet costumed sections (including many local participants) performing in site specific locations around the Festival. Watch out for giant birds, Napoleon’s pigs, sexy cows, bulls, and cats and mice! Mandinga Arts also continues to celebrate the anniversary of Latin American independence with extraordinary Day of the Dead carnival puppets including the giant Mexican Skeleton!
Rhythms of the City Roving musicians Rhythms of the City can be found wheeling around the festival, bringing a slice of carnival wherever they go!
But wait! There’s more.… Queen Erzulie Atis Rezistans Queen Erzulie has travelled all the way from Haiti to be at Night of Festivals. Created by two members of the Haitian Atis Rezistans Company, Eugène and Celeur, Queen Erzulie was lovingly made from recycled materials in Atis Rezistans’s makeshift car repair/graveyard in Port-auPrince, Haiti.
Freedom Square Alinah Azadeh The piece has been specially commissioned for Night of Festivals Touring. Freedom Square is a textile project comprised of 1,200 multicoloured flags installed against the white canvas of the Performance Dome. ‘Freedom Square’ references the use of cloth to mark freedom and democracy celebrations in the Middle-East, in particular through the Green Movement in Iran, plus the age-old use of Prayer / Peace flags en masse in India and Tibet. In advance of the Festival there was an opportunity for local people to participate in workshops and to make their own contribution to this exhibition!
Silkscape Ali Pretty Kinetika Artistic Director Ali Pretty has been working with Leicester based artist participants to paint a 40m piece of silk live at Night of Festivals. The piece responds to the theme of ‘celebrating freedom & democracy through the arts’, and aims to reflect the diversity of communities within Leicester. A must-see piece!
Night of Festivals Touring is made possible by:
Supported using funds from the Joyce Carr Doughty Charitable Trust