CQAF2025 - Saturday 10 May Archives

Dressed For Space

Posted on 14th March 20251st April 2025 by site_admin

(Rooftop Outdoor performance)

Written & Performed by Patrick J O’Reilly

Award-winning Belfast writer and performer Patrick J O’Reilly brings his captivating new play, Dressed for Space, to a Belfast audience for the first time.

Simon has never felt at home on Earth—because Simon is an alien in disguise. Now, he’s arranged for his extraterrestrial family to pick him up from a Belfast rooftop, and he’s inviting you to his farewell party. A deeply personal and uplifting story of belonging, difference, and the search for home, Dressed for Space blends humour, heart, and sci-fi wonder in a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.

Originally developed during an artistic residency at Rotterdam Rooftop Festival, the play has toured across Europe but makes its Belfast debut under the open sky.

“To perform on a rooftop is a beautiful experience. Having the sky as a backdrop creates a sense of awe—and I think we should be in awe every day.” – Patrick J O’Reilly

Limited capacity— As this is an outdoor event please dress warm and weather-appropriate.

Accessible entry via CastleCourt.

How to Find the Event at Castle Court

Location: Level 6 Rooftop, Castle Court Shopping Centre, Royal Ave, Belfast BT1 1DD

From the Main Entrance:

Enter Castle Court Shopping Centre through the main doors.
Take the escalators or stairs up to Level 1.
Locate the main lifts near the food court. (Near Argos)
Take the lift to Level 6.

From the Car Park:

Park in the Castle Court multi-storey car park.
Follow signs to the lifts.
Take the lift directly to Level 6.

Once on Level 6:

Follow event signage to the rooftop entrance.
Staff in blue t-shirts will be on hand to guide you.

If you need assistance, please ask a staff member or security. See you there!

Andy Irvine

Posted on 7th March 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

This will be special. Andy Irvine is one of the great Irish singers, his voice one of a handful of truly great ones that gets to the very soul of Ireland. He has been hailed as “a tradition in himself”.

Musician, singer, songwriter, Andy has maintained his highly individual performing skills throughout his over 50-year career.

Andy has been at the helm of legendary bands like Sweeney’s Men in the mid 60s, to the enormous success of Planxtyin the 70s, and then Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and recently Quilty. Andy has been a world music pioneer and an icon for traditional music and musicians.

As a soloist, Andy fills the role of the archetypal troubadour with a show and a travelling lifestyle that reflect his lifelong influence, Woody Guthrie.

To quote the Irish Times, “Often copied, never equaled”, his repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs, dexterous Balkan dance tunes and a compelling cannon of his own self-penned songs.

Between the achievements of his solo, group work and collaborations, he is a highly revered troubadour of the Irish music world. Andy never fails to deliver a pulsating, heartfelt performance.

‘Andy Irvine’s solo stage show is a musical travelogue through time and space. His right hand dexterity on bouzouki was nothing short of amazing.’ – FRETS MAGAZINE

‘His artistry is quite simply unique.’ – THE INDEPENDENT

In Conversation with Tariq Ali: You Can’t Please All

Posted on 14th March 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

Join us for an afternoon of sharp wit, radical history, and political insight as Tariq Ali discusses his latest memoir, You Can’t Please All: Memoirs 1980-2024. Spanning over four decades of activism, journalism, and cultural commentary, Ali’s book is a sweeping reflection on his encounters with revolutionaries, intellectuals, and political upheavals across the globe.

From his days as a Trotskyist firebrand to shaping leftist discourse in the pages of New Left Review, Ali remains an unrelenting critic of power. Expect anecdotes that range from the humorous—like his theatrical intervention at Private Eye—to the harrowing, including his firsthand account of police brutality at the 1979 Southall protests. He will also revisit his collaborations with the late Darcus Howe on The Bandung File, his dialogues with Hugo Chávez, and his take on today’s global crises, including Gaza.

Ali’s memoir is engaging—equal parts score-settling and brilliant political analysis. In conversation with Joe Nawaz, he will unpack the ideas, controversies, and contradictions that have shaped his life and work, and we’ll find out if The Rolling Stones’ political anthem ‘Street Fighting Man’ was written about him.

Books for sale following the event.

Theresa Lola – ‘Ceremony for the Nameless’

Posted on 28th February 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

CQAF and Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s welcomes Theresa Lola to Belfast to read from and talk about her latest collection.

In Yoruba culture, newborn babies are welcomed into the world, and ushered into the social fabric, through naming ceremonies filled with songs of praise. The names bestowed are communicative both of where the baby has come from – the circumstances of its birth, the atmosphere in the home – and of where its future will take it. Both are forms of destiny.

Far-reaching and musical, Theresa Lola’s second collection explores the act of naming and its role in shaping our identities, our aspirations, what we carry and how we belong. Lola conjures and questions the realities of her dual Nigerian-British identity; traces the lineages of names; asks why some deserve to be named while others are treated as though invisible; and explores the ways our journey through life might require us to cast off old expectations – both others’ and our own – just as at other times it can bring us back, strangely and unexpectedly, to where we first began.

In lyrical, joyful and moving poems, Lola breaks down the complexities of the diasporic experience and the way it is woven through family life, history and memory.

The poems in. Ceremony for the Nameless. are suffused with a beautifully intimate energy.that belies an insistent transformative power- always at work in seducing us into seeing the world through a different lens – personal and cultural, fascinating and enriching – Bernardine Evaristo

There is a bold immediacy and striking grace to Lola’s writing, rendering it accessible and memorable… this book assures her place asa trailblazer for a new wave of poets The Guardian

What a joy to see a new sun rising in the poetic sky! We all will enjoy this collection,Ceremony for the Nameless, following the questions and answers with which Theresa Lola struggles. She offers here a wonderful book to add to your collection. – Nikki Giovanni

Whether writing about the British Occupation of Nigeria, Immigration, or her family, Theresa Lola is relentlessly inventive and often stunning.She owns the English language – Ishmael Reed

An immaculate and moving collection about the divisions and vulnerability of identity from a divine writer – Candice Carty-Williams

About Theresa Lola

Theresa Lola is a British Nigerian poet and writer and was appointed the Young People’s Laureate for London in the year 2019-20. In 2018 she was awarded the Brunel International African Poetry Prize. She holds an Mst in Creative Writing from University of Oxford. In 2022 the poem ‘Equilibrium’ from her debut poetry collection,In Search of Equilibrium, was added to OCR’s GCSE English Literature syllabus.

Lisdoon Nirvana

Posted on 28th February 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

Presented by The Mac and CQAF

For anyone who’s ever been young and dreamed of going to a festival and finding Nirvana…

Lisdoon Nirvana is a dramatic monologue with live music, written and performed by Frankie McCafferty and directed by Charlie Bonner.

Based on the last music festival at Lisdoonvarna in July 1983, the piece follows one young guy, Macker, and his friends making the Odyssean trip from Donegal to Clare. Travelling on the pillion of his friend’s two-stroke motorbike, they encounter 80s Ireland and young people from all over making the same pilgrimage.

Laden with camping gear and cheap alcohol smuggled across the border, wearing a converted Garda riot control helmet stuffed with bin bags, and a pair of swimming goggles, our hero undergoes a rite of passage as he ventures out into the big bad beautiful world.

Through his eyes we see the Folk and Rock glory of the Irish Glastonbury – and a country in transition, with a backdrop of recession, church oppression, emigration and Troubles. But right now Macker’s 17. There’s Smithwick’s in the rucksack. And rumour has it that the girls from the North are bringing hash and condoms. So that’s alright Mama…

Written and performed by Frankie McCafferty. Directed by Charlie Bonner

Produced by An Grianán Theatre Productions

Sreang Dhofheicthe: Tionscadal Taylor Swift/Invisible String: The Taylor Swift Project

Posted on 31st January 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

Featuring Róisín Seoighe X IMLÉ & Jessie Dingle

Tá clú agus cáil tuillte ag Taylor Swift ar go leor cúiseanna. Tá bua na cumadóireachta aici, gan amhras, agus í thar a bheith cumasach ag insint scéalta grá: an lúcháir, an briseadh croí agus an meascán mearaí a bhaineann le grá na ndéagóirí; an bhá a bhí aici lena máthair nuair a buaileadh tinn í; amhráin ghreannmhara faoi dhíoltas a bhaint amach ar lucht a cáinte; na fuaimdhreacha áille in folklore agus evermore agus na beathaisnéisí atá fite fuaite ina chéile i mbaile beag Meiriceánach.

Is é atá in SREANG DHOFHEICTHE ná cnuasach speisialta dá cuid amhrán agus iad traschruthaithe i nGaeilge ag Gabriel Rosenstock agus Róisín Seoighe. Is iad Róisín Seoighe X IMLÉ agus Jessie Dingle a chuirfidh i láthair iad. Mar chuid den seó, beidh íomhánna ar scáileán le Margaret Lonergan.

SREANG DHOFHEICTHE is a special weave of songs from Taylor Swift’s critically acclaimed albums, folkore and evermore, with their intertwined narratives of life and love in a small American town.

Translated into Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock and Róisín Seoighe, the beautiful aural landscapes of these albums will be recreated live by Róisín Seoighe X IMLÉ. And expect some surprise greatest hits selections too from special guest Jessie Dingle! Lyrics on-screen with beautiful images created by artist Margaret Lonergan.

Léirithe ag IMRAM Féile Litríochta Gaeilge | Produced by IMRAM Irish Language Literature Festival

www.imram.ie

SUPPORTED BY ARTS COUNCIL OF NORTHERN IRELAND

Halla ceolchoirmeacha suite ar an 2ú hurlár. Níl aon ardaitheoir ann. Beir buidéal leat.

2nd floor concert hall, no lift access, no bar, bring your own.

The Bluebells Acoustic Trio

Posted on 30th October 202428th March 2025 by site_admin

With Support from The New Leaves.

The Bluebells enjoyed a whirlwind career spanning the early 1980’s with a recording output including three U.K. hit singles. “I’m Falling”, “Cath” and “Young at Heart” made with a procession of producers including Elvis Costello who became a mentor and teacher to the band.

Guitarist and ex-fanzine publisher Robert Hodgens (aka Bobby Bluebell) wrote instantly memorable classics in collaboration with the two McCluskey Brothers who completed the Bluebells’ essential troika and Kenneth McCluskey sang them in a likably unaffected voice, making every track count.

With the release of their debut album “Sisters” in 1984 on London Records ,the band toured widely in Europe and North America developing their live sound and signing to Seymour Stein’s Sire Records in the U.S.

Robert and the brothers parted company amicably in 1986 with Ken and David forming and releasing records as the McCluskey Brothers while Robert concentrated on song writing duties for various other artists including Texas and the late Sinead O’Connor as well as his own group The Poems.

In 1993 when “Young at Heart” hit the U.K. No 1 spot following its use as a T.V. advert for Volkswagon the chaps met up for some fun Top of the Pops appearances.

The Bluebells are delighted to be playing again having recently received two premier Scottish Music Business Awards including “The Tartan Clef Award for Song Writing” at the star studded Nordoff –Robbins charity annual fund raiser at Glasgow Barrowlands.

Following the re-release of the Classic album repackaged “Sisters” album on the Last Night From Glasgow The Bluebells were encouraged by the label and fans to record new material which has manifested itself in the excellent new album “The Bluebells In The 21st Century” released in April 2023.

Bobby, Ken, and David are currently performing a variety of acoustic gigs as a three piece.

This show is strictly for audiences aged 18 and over.

If you have access needs, feel free to email Aoife at aoife@cqaf.com for more info—we’re happy to help!

The Spitfires

Posted on 9th January 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

The Spitfires are a UK band known for their high-energy performances, sharp melodies, and dynamic sound. Originally formed in 2012, the group quickly gained a reputation for their distinctive style, combining punchy guitar riffs, infectious rhythms, and socially conscious lyrics. Their early releases caught the attention of both critics and fans, earning them a loyal following across the UK, Europe and beyond.

Over the years, The Spitfires released a series of well-received albums – Response (2015), A Thousand Times (2016), Year Zero (2018), Life Worth Living (2020) and Play For Today (2022). The band toured extensively, building a reputation for their electrifying live shows and ability to connect with audiences through their raw, honest music. Their songs have always reflected a deep connection to the themes of personal and social change, often exploring the complexities of modern life.

After a decade of working together, the original line-up announced they were to split up in 2022, bowing out at their final performance at a sold out Electric Ballroom, London in February of that year.

But the band’s story is far from over. In 2025, The Spitfires will be reforming with an exciting new line-up, ready to share fresh material with fans old and new. With a renewed sense of purpose and a bold new direction, the band is poised to make their return with a sound that promises to be just as powerful and relevant as ever.

This show is strictly for audiences aged 18 and over.

If you have access needs, feel free to email Aoife at aoife@cqaf.com for more info—we’re happy to help!

Gabija Jocyte

Posted on 27th March 202528th March 2025 by site_admin

A Bbeyond new commission

Gabija Jocyte (b. 2003) is a Lithuanian and Belfast-based, installation and performance artist. Exploring the relationships that can exist between a viewer and exhibited object, her practice manifests through a hybrid of sculpture, found objects, writing and lens work to delve into these themes within immersive spaces.

With the persistent surveillance we are under, the work aims to invite self-reflection in the questioning of the performative. Building to bring awareness in how and why we look, while examining the methods in which creative practice can bring voyeuristic, emotive or intimate experiences.

See www.bbeyond.live for more information.

Search Results for:

Category: CQAF2025 – Saturday 10 May