Event type: Performance

Asian Poets Corner

Join the group for an evening celebrating the beauty of Asian poetry! A performance evening with poets Jennifer Lee Tsai and Kit Fan. They will read selected work followed by a discussion of their work. The chair, Dr Sarah MacIennan of Liverpool John Moores’ Creative Writing programme, will then discuss with Jennifer and Kit Fan about their work, career and pathways to writing.

Kit Fan, born in Hong Kong in 1979 and now based in the UK, is an acclaimed poet, novelist, and critic. His debut poetry collection, Paper Scissors Stone (2011), won the Hong Kong University International Poetry Prize, while his subsequent collections, including The Ink Cloud Reader (2023), have earned significant accolades such as nominations for the Forward and T.S. Eliot Prizes. His novel Diamond Hill (2021) explores 1980s Hong Kong and has been widely praised. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Fan’s work examines themes of identity, history, and transformation.

Jennifer Lee Tsai is a British-Chinese poet, editor, and critic whose work explores memory, migration, and identity. A fellow of The Complete Works and Ledbury Poetry Critics programs, her poetry has appeared in leading journals and anthologies like Poetry London and Ten: Poets of the New Generation (2017). Her pamphlets include Kismet (2019) and La Mystérique (2022).

DDFI40: Storytime with Natalie Denny

Join deaf author Natalie Denny for a special DaDaFest International 40 Storytime where Natalie will share her much loved ‘Keisha Jones’ series, telling the story of a young girl finding her activist voice.

This family event will inspire listeners young and young at heart to spot and speak out against injustice, finding that ‘quiet riot’ our festival theme alludes to.

About DDFI40

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

DDFI40: Eat Me

DaDa is excited to collaborate with Liverpool’s original Drag Dinner Cabaret and Club Night Collective ‘Eat Me and Preach’, who will be inviting disabled, Deaf and Neurodivergent artists to be part of a raucous evening of ‘Not Safe For Work’ performance and protest that gives ‘more than a nod’ to the long-standing intersections of queer and crip identities, offers a safe space for shared grief, rage and healing and offers joy and community in dark times.

Access: there will be BSL interpretation and Audio Description.

Age Guidance: 18+ Adult themes, strong language throughout and nudity highly likely

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

DDFI40: Would You Like A Seat?

Want to Join the Elite? The National Bureau For Sitting is Assessing You!

Head to the Bluecoat and be assessed by Sitting Experts the National Bureau For Sitting (NBFS)

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to join the NBFS? Now’s your chance to find out!

The National Bureau For Sitting (NBFS) is coming to the Bluecoat to assess your sitting prowess. Join the ranks of esteemed members like Prince Andrew, Jacob Rees Mogg, and Maggie Thatcher.

Experience:

Expert Assessment: Be evaluated by professional seat-sitting assessors.

Luxurious Comfort: Indulge in the unparalleled comfort of a Chesterfield chair.

Exclusive Club: Potentially gain entry into the elite club of exceptional sitters.

Let’s Regulate Sitting, One Cheek at a Time!

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

DDFI40: Rage Reactor

‘Rage Reactor’ sees artist Zack Mennell working with their archive of NHS and DWP letters in (para)site, working more with the estranged archive of collective family photos.

The performance will entangle poetic explorations of personal childhood trauma with the trauma that the civil nuclear industry enacts on the land – considering lineage and generational cycles of trauma. Asking broad questions such as: What does this leave us with? Where does this leave us? Where can we go from here? The installation will be altered after each activation. Audiences are invited to move around the installation, stay a while, leave and return freely during the installation and activations.

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

DDFI40: Pop up Poetry with Amina Atiq

Join local poet Amina Atiq for performances of her work, developed especially for DaDaFest International 40 reflecting on the theme of ‘Rage’, along with some of her existing poems.

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time we are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

The Meat Rack

The Meat Rack is a dark gritty drama set in 50’s London. It’s about ambition, identity, and denial.

It examines themes of Homosexuality and the lengths people will go to in order to keep their secrets.

There is an additional performance at The Hope Street Theatre on 30th April.

DDFI40: Shooting From Below by Midgitt...

‘Not all people without dwarfism are under the presumption that people with dwarfism are there for entertainment as pets, toys, fetishes, dream sequences, musical numbers… just most.’

Midgitte Bardot, the alias of solo artist Tamm Reynolds, presents a work-in-progress sharing of their new show where they explore who is really dwarfing who.

Performance has been written into dwarf bones against their will. They’re a local celebrity with little power wherever they go, from the mines, courts, cabarets, and big screen to performing arts institutions.

Join Bardot as she questions: why is it violence she seeks? What happens when a dwarf has power? Are the non-dwarfs on their knees? What does a land look like when it’s designed and ruled by Midgittes?

Supported by Arts Council England and the Southbank Centre, Marlborough Arts, Battersea Arts Centre, and almost definitely et al.

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

DDFI40: Not F**kin’ Sorry

The Not Your Circus Dog collective return after their sold-out runs in 2019 and 2022 for more shameless sexy punk crip cabaret. With luscious lip syncs, sweaty dances and verbatim stories, have your preconceptions rattled as they take you to the edge.

Welcome to their space. You are a guest, and they are not f**king sorry.

‘THESE FOUR PERFORMERS ARE SOME OF THE BRAVEST, BOLDEST, MOST CANDID AND RISK-TAKING ON THE CONTEMPORARY LONDON THEATRE SCENE.’

Disability Arts Online

‘An incredibly life-affirming event’

★★★★★ Broadway World

‘Perfectly deliver the message that learning disabled and neurodivergent performers…are a true force to be reckoned with.’

★★★★ North West End

Not F**kin’ Sorry by Not Your Circus Dog, Co-Produced by The Hale and Access All Areas

About DDFI40:

DaDaFest International returns 8th-31st March 2025 to celebrate DaDa’s 40th Anniversary and this time they are coming with ‘RAGE: A Quiet Riot’.

Event

DDFI40 will showcase work by disabled artists that captures all shapes and sides of rage. From the internal quiet frustrations and righteous rage, to overt injustice and activism, DDFI40 will explore disability rights, disability arts, access, ableism and ‘Rage’ in an explosion of creativity.

Unity Scratch Night

This is the perfect opportunity to catch snippets of brand new work in development by fantastic local artists.

The Lineup
Hosted by RAWD

Taxi Tales | one night on the town

The taxi driver, a witness to countless dramas, has seen it all unfold on the backseat of their cab. Therapist, confidant – passengers bare their souls under the flickering city lights.

The subsequent journey throws up recurring themes resulting in a rich human comedy – a mosaic of life’s absurdities, built piece by piece across one night.  We are testing the work in advance of its debut in April at LiF 2025.

Wing It Impro and Stories on behalf of Liverpool Improvisation Festival.

Bember | Winnie Southgate

Bember  is a dark-comedy set in the therapy room. Winnie is a writer/actor/director who likes to focus on stories that use surreal elements or magical-realism to address important topics.

Ushiku Crisafulli | Unmasked

Ushiku’s most ambitious project so far, Unmasked uses film, live performance, music, and visual art to challenge the language around autistic authenticity and autistic enjoyment whilst championing accessible practice. Ushiku is a chef, published writer, multi-disciplinary artist and founder of the OpenMind Collective.

Legions of Doom

Join Liverpool’s most unhinged/ only sketch comedy posse… as they’re dragged from their beds blinking into 2025 and thrown into a stark black box by The Unity Theatre’s secret police… Eli Randle’s reign of terror continues with some brand spanking new material and reworked classics from The LoD!

Do you want to get involved or perform? 

These nights are open for artists to come and test out new material on a live audience. See what works and what doesn’t as we develop together.

If you are interested in performing, it can be any genre, any stage of development or length. Please register your interest via the link provided here.