CQAF2024 Monday 6 May Archives

The Worst Cafe in the World

Posted on 20th March 202422nd March 2024 by site_admin

Book a table at Big Telly’s Worst Café in The World —not a meal in sight, but a menu of theatrical bites to amuse your bouche – music, mystery, magic, masks and mayhem.

From Shakespeare to sci-fi the stories come well-done and rare, but the waiters have a lot on their plate and may meltdown any minute… This may be the Worst Cafe for food but it’s the best for craic, specially created for people who like their theatre fresh.

Tickets: £5.00 per person, for a minimum of 30 minutes of table service.

CRASS: The Sound of Free Speech

Posted on 7th March 202422nd March 2024 by site_admin

Dir. Brandon Spivey | UK | 2023 | 90 mins

Celebratory, shocking and raw, this film is as close to the story of the anarcho-punk band as you’re going to get…

Crass formed in Essex in 1977, and disbanded all too soon in 1984. Their work promoted grass roots activism and a movement of resistance that awakened and appealed to many, inspiring a multitude of bands and artists along the way.

In “The Sound of Free Speech”, director and artist Brandon Sivey revisits the controversies and outrage that surrounded one of the band’s earliest musical and political statements: Reality Asylum. Made with the blessing of Crass members, the film dives into 1970s Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music, politics and ethos, plus its impact on those who were trying to make sense of a brutal hostile society they had no place in.

Spivey also tells a broader story, expanding on the narrative of anarchism and a broken system. Through open-hearted interviews he touches upon subjects such as assault carried out by the church, Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, the biggest war that threatens humanity; class war, and of course what it was like to be a punk band in the 70s and the 80s.

Nadine Shah

Posted on 1st February 202422nd March 2024 by site_admin

Nadine Shah worries that too much time might have elapsed between her last album, 2020’s universally acclaimed Kitchen Sink and its extraordinary successor Filthy Underneath.

Three years might seem like a prolonged absence to some people, but it’s also a period of time in which the apparatus that holds your world in place can be dismantled and reassembled so that you can keep living, keep creating. And the more Nadine tells you about the last three years of her life – losing her mother to cancer at the height of lockdown; the suicide attempt that ended her marriage (not, thankfully, her life); the subsequent period in rehab that slowly endowed her with the tools to outwit the pernicious voices that once overwhelmed her – the more incredible it is that she has returned as soon as she has done.

Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Nadine Shah’s life. And yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming – a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s thirty-seven years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and long-time collaborator and producer Ben Hillier have created around them.

Jack Docherty: David Bowie & Me – Parallel Lives

Posted on 18th January 202422nd March 2024 by site_admin

In his critically-acclaimed show devoted to the Star Man, Jack Docherty, the BAFTA award-winning star of Scot Squad and Absolutely, takes audiences on a journey through topics of first love, hedonism, mortality and why you should always meet your heroes.

Following rave reviews and a sell-out run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jack Docherty, the BAFTA award-winning star of Scot Squad and Absolutely, is taking his critically-acclaimed show David Bowie & Me on tour.

The comic, author, actor and writer uses his time spent with Bowie on The Jack Docherty Show in 1997 as a jumping off point to take audiences through topics from first love, hedonism, mortality and why you should always meet your heroes. From AI to culture wars, families to teenage years, David Bowie and Me – Parallel Lives is a journey of comedy and storytelling, taking fans on a trip through the inner workings of his masterful mind.

“It is simply impossible not to love what he does on a stage’ – The Scotsman

“Extremely enjoyable piece about his connection with late, great starman” – The Evening Standard

“This show truly showcases Jack’s ability as a performer and story-teller, engaging with his audience from start to finish” – Edinburgh Evening News

“Docherty’s mighty presence fills the room… a superbly delivered, autobiographical coming-of-age story” – Three Weeks

“A love letter to creativity, to music and to the teenagers we all once were” – Entertainment Now

Duration – 75 mins no interval

Age Rating – 18

C Duncan

Posted on 28th February 202422nd March 2024 by site_admin

Born and raised in Glasgow by two classical musicians, Chris studied piano and viola before taking up guitar, bass, and drums in his teens, eventually studying music composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. After graduating he began work on his first album, writing and recording everything from home.

His Mercury nominated debut ‘Architect’ was released in 2015 and after a spell of touring the UK and Europe he returned to his home studio and began work on his Twilight Zone inspired second album ‘The Midnight Sun’ which was released in 2016 and shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year.

He supported Elbow on their UK and North American tour which led him to record his third album ‘Health’ at their studio in Salford with Craig Potter, which was released in 2019 and also shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year. Now back in his “new and improved” home studio, Chris recorded and released his fourth album ‘Alluvium’ in May 2022 on Bella Union. He is also a keen artist, and paints all his own album artwork.

Common Groundwork: BBeyond at CQAF

Posted on 21st March 202427th March 2024 by site_admin

Common Groundwork: BBeyond at CQAF, Various Locations, 1-12 May (No Link, image in Dropbox, copy below)

Common Groundwork is an exchange between Guyu Action artists based in Xi’an, including some other Chinese artists and Bbeyond in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The purpose of the exchange is to highlight the Common Groundwork existing between artists from different cultures with the potential to open future dialogues and exchanges.

This common poetic and philosophic groundwork extends from ancient Taoists and Druidic philosophy, where knowledge and wisdom seem to transcend space and time, being and becoming more pertinent for today’s contemporary society.

This common thread of ancient knowledge merges; wisdom with love and respect for all things, with creativity, reflects a model for living and making art, and is even more important in today’s world, addressing the role of art and artists in society.

Performance artists cognisant of living a lived philosophy have the potential to become catalysts for change, something that begins with ourselves. A saying attributed to Gandhi; ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ is conducive for noble spirits and a good place to start.

Artists: Chen Qiuge, Li Mengyuan, Xiang Xishi, Su Baiwei, Wang Pan, Mirror Huang, Pan Chennong, Lyu Desheng, Sandra Johnston, Sinead O’Donnell, Wioletta Ratajczak, Rebecca Strain and Rainer Pagel.

Programme

	Date/Time	Location
Opening Reception + Solo Performances	Wed 1 May, 6-10pm	2 Royal Ave, Belfast
Solo Performance	Thur, 2 May, 6-10pm	Redeemer Central, 101 Donegall St Belfast
Solo Performance	Sat 4 May 6-10pm	Redeemer Central, 101 Donegall St Belfast
Talks/Presentations	7/8 May, times tbc,	Ulster University, York St, Belfast
Group Performance, with BBDB,	10 May, 12noon to 2 pm	Guildhall Square Derry
Group Performance	11 May, 12 noon to 2pm	Queens Quay, Belfast. (opposite BigFish )