Event type: Comedy

Discover your play!

Join Hawkseed Theatre for a 2.5-hour intensive workshop aimed at performers wanting to connect with their sense of play and the radical joy of performing. This sell out workshop will be led by Artistic Directors of Hawkseed Theatre, Anna Berentzen and Hannah Donelon, on the tail of their tour of A Very Odd Birthday Party.

As Hawskeed say: “A radical space to challenge yourself; trust your instincts and explore techniques to find that sense-of-play when approaching performance. Alongside practical exercises, we’ll share exclusive extracts of the new play A Very Odd Birthday Party, offering you a chance to ask us questions about Hawkseed and our work as a theatre company and, importantly, providing a space for you to connect and network with other artists in the space. We want to form a community of artists who can inspire, challenge and support one another. Join us to be part of this!

“This workshop is for over 18s. We have a budget to support participant access requirements, so please get in touch with us at hawkseedtheatre@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding this. Additionally, we have 5 ‘Pay What You Decide’ tickets available. These are aimed at people for whom finance is a barrier. Please only book one of these tickets if finance would prevent you from booking a £5 ticket. It will be kept confidential who has booked which kind of ticket”.

This event contributes to the Festivals In:Visibsle Women and Nook and Crany Spaces work strands.

What did Shakespeare think of the Irish?

How did he include them in his plays? What does this say about views of Irishness today?

Explore the context for and interpretations of the Bard’s inclusions and explore what tropes, prevailing politics and characteristics he adopted to include Irish people in his stories.

Part seminar, part workshop; participants will hear from Catherine Harvey (actor, writer and broadcaster) -Visiting Professor of Shakespeare Studies at The University of Niagara- and will workshop mixed-heritage approaches with Ashleigh Nugent (author, performer and creative Director of RiseUp CIC).

This event is held in partnership with Shakespeare North Playhouse.
Format

Context and examples; othering and characters
Iambic pentameter and sonnets
Representation participation
Playback
Survey.

Speakers
Catherine Harvey:
Catherine Harvey is an actor, writer and broadcaster.  She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 3, 4 and The World Service on arts programmes such as Poetry Please and Words and Music, as well as drama, comedy and documentaries. Her documentaries frequently draw on her North West and Irish roots – such as Colomendy: A Rite of Passage, exploring the cultural impact of the North Wales camp on generations of Liverpool schoolchildren; Witness: The Last Keeper of the Light, about the last lighthouse keeper on Skellig Michael in Co. Kerry; and five series of Tongue and Talk: the Dialect Poets, investigating the language and poetry of areas including Lancashire, the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, and most recently Liverpool.

Catherine has written for and performed at theatres around the country, including the National Theatre, Soho Theatre, The Bush, Theatre Clwyd and Bolton Octagon. Her TV and film credits range from Emmerdale, Holby and Casualty, to Agatha Christie’s Partners in Crime, Oscar and Lucinda and Red Dwarf. She most recently appeared on TV in Coronation Street, has just finished working on Ridley Scott’s next film, Napoleon, and is currently filming the 6-part series The Burning Girls for Paramount. She is Artistic Director of the poetry performance group Rhyme & Reason, and a Visiting Professor of Shakespeare Studies at The University of Niagara.
Ashleigh Nugent:
Ashleigh Nugent is an author, performer and creative director at RiseUp CiC. He was nominated Artist of the Year in the Liverpool City Region Culture and Creativity Awards 2021. Ashleigh’s debut novel, LOCKS, will be published by Picador/Pan Macmillan in June 2023. LOCKS won the 2013 Commonword Memoir Competition and received an Honorable Mention in the 2021 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.

Ashleigh’s other publishing credits include poetry anthologies, academic journals and magazines. He has also written, performed and curated for theatres including Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre, Live Theatre in Newcastle and the Shakespeare North Playhouse, where he is now a special advisor on the Learning and Engagement Committee.

Ashleigh’s company, RiseUp CiC, delivers a programme that empowers prisoners to turn their lives around by taking control of their own thoughts, feelings and actions. The RiseUp programme has produced life changing impact in prisons throughout the UK since 2015.

This event is copromoted with Black History Month.

Author Caelainn Hogan discusses her book The Republic of Shame, centred on the Mother and Baby and County Institutions of Ireland, with Dr Maev McDaid.

Until alarmingly recently, the Catholic Church -acting in concert with the Irish state- operated a network of institutions for the concealment, punishment and exploitation of ‘fallen women’. In the Magdalene laundries, girls and women were incarcerated and condemned to servitude. And in the mother-and-baby institutions, women who had become pregnant out of wedlock were hidden from view and -in most cases- their babies were adopted – sometimes illegally.

“At least in The Handmaid’s Tale they value babies, mostly. Not so in the true stories here”, Margaret Atwood responding to Republic of Shame.

More then 100,000 people are thought to have been directly affected by Mother and Baby and County Institutions in Ireland. Many of these men and women moved to England. Join Caelainn Hogan (author, Republic of Shame) and Liverpool-based researcher and survivor-advocate, Dr Maev McDaid, in a panel chaired by the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.

This is a partnership event delivered between the Festival and the Institute of Irish Studies at University of Liverpool.

This event contributes to the Festival’s In:Visible Women, Family and Heritage work strands.

A Festival-staple and must-see; we invite you to pop-in (or spend the day) with us at the Museum of Liverpool (Pier Head).

We’ll have all manner of family activities to entertain and engage kids of all ages (sometimes with a spooky, Samhain twist).

Inimitable mummers, The Armagh Rhymers treat us to a 2022 Liver Bird story exclusive, whilst the George Ferguson and Bolger-Cunningham schools for Irish dance run exciting demonstrations in the Atrium, where there’s something new to see on-the-hour, every hour (last act at 4pm), including music and performances. More detail will follow as we approach the day.

We’ll have Samhain cross (11am-2pm) and Samhain mask (11am-1pm, 2p-4pm) workshops running in the Museum’s education spaces. At 2.30pm there’s a fascinating talk on the Festival’s new project -and book- Liverpool Irish Famine Trail: Revive, delivered by the Festival’s History Research Group. Revealing the deep research undertaken to revive the 1990s Trail, they share how they have uncovered stories and heritage, during the last year of this National Lottery Heritage Funded project.

The day puts the Irish of Liverpool at the heart of everything – the programme, the museum building and the city. You can also link up with the Pride of Sefton dock tours; go on the self-guided Irish trail (around the Museum) or simply sit and watch as the fun unfolds in the Atrium.

Atrium schedule:
11:00 Bolger Cunningham Dance School
12:00 The Armagh Rhymers
13:00 Melody Makers
14:00 The Armagh Rhymers
15:00 George Ferguson Dance School
16:00 The Armagh Rhymers
The Family Day is sponsored by Tourism Ireland and held in partnership with National Museums Liverpool. As part of the Family programme, you might also like the Samhain Céilí (Sun 30 Oct).

Interested in more on Ireland?  Watch this short film!

 

*SOLD OUT*

An impressive tour of Liverpool’s waterfront and docks on a rare wide-beam canal boat, The Pride of Sefton.

With four tours per day, over two days, sailors will join the vessel at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm or 3.30pm on Fri 28 or Sat 29 Oct. Each trip lasts between 45-60mins depending on the currents. The Pride of Sefton will be moored and accessible from the Royal Albert Dock. Take the ramp down to the jetty in front of Tate Liverpool to meet the crew. Each trip can only take a small number of people, so booking is essential.

Passengers start their tour in the Royal Albert Dock, sailing to Canning Dock, Salthouse Dock, Duke’s Dock, Wapping Dock, Queens Dock, Coburg Dock and Brunswick Dock before returning to the mooring. Lasting almost an hour, passengers will hear about the birth of the docks, their history and the people that made them, transforming a sleepy fishing village in to a City of Empire.

Children must be supervised by those who bring them.

It is worth noting that sailing can be affected by weather. In the event of bad weather we will do all we can to contact you let you know if the boat will sail.

Please note: the mooring location/meeting point for The Pride of Sefton has changed from the original listings. All bookers have been emailed with details (as of 25 Oct 2022).

These tours contribute to the Festival’s Family, Nook and Cranny Spaces and Heritage work strands. ❤️??

Liverpool is famous for the birds on the magnificent Liver Building (the first ever skyscraper in the UK), but there are over 100 Liver Birds in the City.

Join ArtsGroupie for a lively, fun two-hour walking tour ‘safari’ around the City Centre. The walk starts at Bluecoat, talking participants on a Liver Bird-spotting mission, learning about the history of Liverpool along the way. The tour finishes near the waterfront.

Bookers are asked to wear comfortable shoes, ensuring you visited restrooms before the tour commences. You are also advised to bring an umbrella or a waterproof, if rain is forecast (sun cream in the unlikely event of glorious weather in Oct!). Binoculars are a bonus (to see the birds up close and in intricate detail)!

This tour is suitable for any one with a good enough attention span -and mobility (or mobility support) to stay on the move for 2 hours.

Meet at the School Lane entrance of Bluecoat, in the courtyard.

Image © Suzi Dorey.

This tour contributes to the Festival’s Family, Nook and Cranny Spaces and Heritage work strands. ❤️??

Continuing IndieCork’s The Power of the Song programme, The Laughing Boy (Dir. Alan Gilsenan, Ireland, 2022, 91mins) is a piece of cultural archaeology.

Tracing the path of the Brendan Behan ballad of the same name – written in memory of Michael Collins – the film follows its extraordinary afterlife as ‘To Yelasto Paidi’, a powerful 1960s Greek left-wing resistance anthem composed by Mikis Theodorakis.

The film takes poet Theo Dorgan on an odyssey of his own, as he uncovers the truth of the story behind the song. It’s a narrative that interweaves the tragic and bloody birth-pangs of both modern Ireland and modern Greece, binding these histories together by something even more profound and transcendent: the power of a song.

This event contributes to the Festival’s Family, Nook and Cranny Spaces and Heritage work strands.  ❤️??

The bodhrán is the heartbeat of Irish music.

In this interactive workshop you’ll learn the fundamentals of playing this awesome instrument, with plenty of emphasis on fun!

Led by award winning internationally-renowned Irish percussionist -Ruairi Glasheen- participants will explore the history of how this dynamic instrument is played, teamed with a range of technical and musical skills, including how to play along to both jigs and reels. No musical experience necessary and bodhráns are provided!

Obsessed by drums and rhythm from an early age, Ruairi made his musical debut on the Irish bodhrán aged 4. Graduating with first-class honours from The Royal College of Music (2013) he was also recipient of the President’s Award. Ruairi leads a diverse career in music, performing with numerous artists and ensembles, collaborating with arts organisations to create high impact and inclusive education projects as well as being in demand as a presenter, workshop leader and facilitator.

Find out more about Ruairi at RuairiGlasheen.net

There are two workshops on this day, one at 10am and one at 12.30pm; both last between 90mins and 2hours. The earlier session will be better for younger learners; the afternoon session for adults. Both are bookable using the ‘Book Now’ button; please be sure to select the session that most suits the particpant.

Please note: The Liverpool Philharmonic are also selling tickets for this event. Due to the nature of the event, spaces are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

This event contributes to the Festival’s Family, Nook and Cranny Spaces and Heritage work strands. ❤️??

Travel in time with poet Carmen Cullen as she explores her childhood through her beautiful video poems.

This wonderful combination of spoken and written word, images and music will transport you to Irish scenes of the 1960s. The lyrical poems of Carmen Cullen are enhanced by the original compositions of Gerry Anderson musician and images of Deirdre Ridgway.

In The Muse and Music Carmen performs her poems live, accompanied (live) by Gerry Anderson. You will also get a chance, through gentle hints, to create a collective poem. This is a unique opportunity to see a perfect combination of images, spoken word and music in a unique presentation by a much-praised writer.

Carmen is the niece of the beloved Delia Murphy (both shown below), a pioneer of the ballad tradition in Ireland, famed for such songs as The Spinning Wheel and Three Lovely Lassies.

People seeking to learn a little more about Carmen’s work can search “Carmen Cullen” on YouTube to see several of her collections.

This event contributes to the Festival’s In:Visible Women, Family and Heritage work strands. ♀️❤️?

This event is held in partnership with Slainte Le Chéile.

“The bands didn’t feel safe, the fans didn’t feel safe. No one felt safe”, Father Brian D’Arcy.
The history in brief
In 1975, the killing of The Miami Showband bandmates -Fran O’Toole, Tony Geraghty and Brian McCoy- sent shock waves across the island of Ireland and devastated live music in the north. When a bomb -secreted on the band’s tour bus at a fake army patrol stop- unexpectedly exploded, Ulster Defence Regiment and Ulster Volunteer Force members (dressed in British Army uniforms) took matters in to their own hands, causing five fatalities.

In 2019, Stephen Travers featured in a critically acclaimed documentary that followed him -a survivor of this event- doggedly pursuing justice; leading him in to the deep politics of the Troubles and High Court action against the British establishment. It is a story of collusion and misdirection, popularity and politics.
Our event
The event consists of an educational screening of the Emmy nominated Netflix-accessible documentary (The Miami Showband Massacre, 71mins), which sets the context for an open Q&A between Stephen and broadcaster and journalist Liam Fogarty. During the Q&A we will explore what’s happened since the film’s release; the 2021 court settlement and Stephen’s work with Truth and Reconciliation Platform (TaRP), taking questions from the audience.

“Even in our darkest hour, music was the magic that brought us together. And the magicians were called Showbands”, Stephen Travers.

This event is delivered with assistance from Gerry Molumby of Triskellion Irish Productions and in partnership with Sefton Park Palm House. This educational screening is supported by FACT Liverpool and their mobile cinema equipment.

This event contributes to the Festival’s Family, Nook and Cranny Spaces and Heritage work strands. ❤️??