www.cqaf.com

The 9th Belfast Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival jumps back into action on Thursday, May 1st with an ever more ambitious programme transforming the city centre once again with art, literature, music, comedy and theatre. Over twenty venues in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter will come alive with arts activity during the festival which will feature 140 acts from all around the world.

As always this year’s music programme is eclectic and features everyone from Liam Clancy, the man hailed by Bob Dylan as “the best ballad singer I ever heard in my life”, to the maverick genius of Mark E Smith and his band, The Fall.

Other musical thrills come in the form of Beatlegras who revisit the Beatles songbook Bluegrass style, American icon, Jonathan Richman, accordion virtuoso, Sharon Shannon, legendary singer-songwriter, Luka Bloom and Canadian Roots superstars, The Wailin’ Jennys. If comedy is your thing, performing this year are Jerry Sadowitz, Simon Munnery, Andrew Maxwell, Brendon Burns and Andy Parsons.
A wide-ranging programme of theatre includes a unique presentation of Spokesong and Pentecost by Stewart Parker in the old Northern Bank Building and the Edinburgh Fringe hit ‘Wish I had a Sylvia Plath’. The story of imprisoned Burmese leader, Aung San Suu Kyi is told in ‘The Lady of Burma’, and the play ‘Woody Sez’ celebrates the life of Woody Guthrie.

A strong literature line-up includes the feminist icon, Germaine Greer, Booker Award nominee, Colm Tóibín and poet rapper, Lemn Sissay. Add in an entire weekend of Circus and Street Theatre, Visual Art, Sound and Vision and a fantastic closing event featuring the Ulster Orchestra and a the soaring talent of Sinead O’Connor and Belfast is poised to enjoy a truly world class festival of arts and culture.
The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival runs from May 1st-11th, 2008. The full programme will be available from April 4th on www.cqaf.com. Contact: Tel: 028 90246609.
For more information please contact:
Anna Burns, Press Officer, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival,
Email: press@cqaf.com or Tel: 028 9023 2403