This week saw the launch of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. You can, of course get all of the programme details from their website www.nnfestival.org.uk but in an easy to read list, here is what's on in simple list form.
There are several world premieres and some really special work. Wolf's Child, set in Felbrigg woods is a real highlight, and on past track record, the Voice Project take us on a tour around the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Their work has recently developed out of pure music into theatre performance and makes full use of the architectural environment around.
The Belgians seem to invading Norwich this year with several quirky bits of outdoor performance art. I am really looking forward to 'Fitting' and CAPE (Computer Automatic Personal Environment) which is a kind of virtual reality world. Forest Fruit for children is
Norfolk & Norwich Festival Box Office 01603 766400. Online: nnfestival.org.uk
Tuesday 5 - Saturday 23 May (except Sundays) 7.45pm, £20 (Previews: Tuesday 5 - Thursday 7 May, £15)
WOLF’S CHILD WildWorks (Theatre) WORLD PREMIERE
Set against the backdrop of Felbrigg Hall, acclaimed theatre makers WildWorks take an immersive journey into the woods for this extraordinary grown-up fairytale set in a world of shape-shifting animals and humans.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Felbrigg Hall, Felbrigg, Norfolk, NR11 8PR
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 May, 10am - 9pm, Sunday 10 May, 10am - 5.30pm, £4
FOREST FRUIT Naomi Kerkhove (Children/Art) UK PREMIERE
Belgian artist’s multi-sensory installation enables children (5+) and parents to untangle their own unique patchwork of stories, following the threads of an intricately woven textile landscape.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Puppet Theatre, Whitefriars, Norfolk, NR3 1TN
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 May, 1pm & 4pm, FREE
BILL AND BOBBY Stopgap Dance (Outdoor/Dance)
Paying playful tribute to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, this two person performance for disabled and non-disabled dancer is a whistle stop tour of a bygone era.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival Outside the Forum, Millennium Plain, NR2 1QZ
Friday 8 - Sunday 10 may, 3.30pm - 8.30pm, FREE
C.a.p.e CREW (Outdoor/Performance)
Computer Automatic Personal Environment is a futuristic system which uses video goggles, trackers and a headset to allow the audience to explore a new reality, another space, another time...
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various spaces in Norwich City Centre
Friday 8 - Sunday 10 May, 6pm, FREE
FITTING Cie. Willi Dorner (Outdoor/Performance)
UK PREMIERE
Choreographer Dorner’s human installation sees performers ‘fitting’ themselves into a multitude of city centre nooks and crannies as they forge new relationships between the city and the body.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various City Centre locations
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm, £12
SARAH WATERS AND SARAH PERRY, Writing Families - The Gothic Imagination (Literature)
Two celebrated writers with a shared passion for the gothic discuss creative inspiration, influence, and the ‘families’ of writers that help great art flourish.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm, £18 - £10
NORWICH CATHEDRAL CHOIR: Mozart, Mendelssohn and Byrchmore (Classical Music)
WORLD PREMIERE
Mendelssohn Sechs Sprüche Op. 79, Purcell Hear my prayer, Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in E minor Op. 35, Ruth Byrchmore Hear my prayer (world premiere), Mendelssohn Hear my prayer, Mozart Requiem
World premiere of new setting of psalm 102 from Ruth Byrchmore co-commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Norwich Cathedral, alongside Mendelssohn’s setting of psalm 55.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Friday 8 May - Sunday 24 May, 9.30am - 4.30pm, FREE
LIQUID GOLD IS THE AIR Rosemary Lee with Roswitha Chesher (Visual Art/Film)
Three-screen video installation with sound inspired by the Cathedral of Trees arboretum in Milton Keynes, planted on the exact footprint of Norwich Cathedral 40 years ago.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Catherine’s Chapel, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, NR1 4EH
Saturday 9 May & Sunday 10, throughout the weekend, FREE
DE-DRIVING CODE XTNT (Outdoor/Performance)
WORLD PREMIERE
Belgian company’s mischievous outdoor experiment into just what is permissible in public spaces.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various City Centre locations
Saturday 9 - Sunday 6 September, 10am - 4.30pm (Sundays 1 - 4.30pm), £6
JEFF KOONS Artist Rooms (Visual Art)
The largest UK exhibition for a decade of work by one of our eras most important and controversial artists.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, NR1 3JU
Saturday 9 May, 1pm, £10
IOSIF PURITS Accordion Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Lorentzen Tears, Prokofiev Satanic Apparition, Piazzolla Ave Maria, Vivaldi Violin Concerto No. 4 in F minor Op. 8 RV297, ‘Winter’, Bartók 6 Romanian Dances, Vladimir Ryabov River of Love, Schedrin Toccata, Scarlatti Sonata in D minor, Mussorgsky Children’s Scherzo, Liszt (arr. Horowitz) Hungarian Rhapsody No.15, Rakoczy March
Intensely expressive accordionist performs classics, as they have never been heard before, darting from Baroque Italy to contemporary Denmark via Russia and Eastern Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich NR2 1RQ
Saturday 9 May, 7.30pm, £16
INGOLF WUNDER Piano (Classical Music)
Beethoven Eroica Variations, Op. 35, ‘Prometheus Variations’, Chopin Nocturne in B major Op. 9 No. 3, Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 55 No. 2, Allegro de Concert Op. 46, Liszt Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Sonata for Piano in B minor S.178t
One of the finest pianists to have emerged in recent years, multi-prize winning Wunder mines the glory of the Romantic repertoire.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Saturday 9 May, 8pm, £15
KIM NOBLE (Live Art/Performance)
BAFTA nominated Perrier Award-winner with an intimate glimpse into the mind of an eccentric genius in this deeply moving, thought provoking comedy which will resonate for months to come (age 18+).
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Saturday 9 May, 8pm, £12
BROMANCE Barely Methodical Troupe (Circus/Performance)
Exceptionally skilled all-male trio take British circus to new heights with an inventive mix of flawlessly-timed acrobatics, shoulder-high balances and a stunning routine inside a spinning metal wheel (age 8+).
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St George’s Theatre, Kings Street, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2PG
Saturday 9 May, 9pm & 11.30pm, Sunday 10 May, 9pm, £20
THE VOICE PROJECT: THE OBSERVATORY (Music)
WORLD PREMIERE
Music: Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker
The Astronomy Choir (conducted by Sian Croose) with solo voices Sianed Jones, Rebecca Askew, Sian Croose, Jonathan Baker
Instrumentalists BJ Cole pedal steel guitar, Stephen Hiscock percussion
New work from 150-member choir, with soloists and instrumentalists including pedal steel guitar maestro BJ Cole exploring our relationship with space in and around Norman Foster designed gallery.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Sainsbury Centre For Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, NR4 7TJ
Sunday 10 May, 7.30pm, £16
MEKLIT HADERO (Music)
Ethiopian-born Meklit’s elegant and soulful folky/jazzy style encompasses influences ranging from hip-hop and art-rock to soul.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, 42–58 St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Sunday 10 May, 8pm, £15
POLAR BEAR (Music)
Experimental jazz band that disposes with genre restrictions, embracing dub, hip-hop, rock and ambient electronica.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Monday 11 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 1 Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Op. 12, String Quartet No. 4 in E minor Op. 44 No. 2, String Quartet No. 2 in A minor Op. 13
Jonian-Ilias Kadesha, Ricky Gore violin, Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano
First of three intimate concerts celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Tuesday 12 - Saturday 16 May, 7.30pm, £15
A GIRL IS A HALF-FORMED THING The Corn Exchange (Theatre)
UK PREMIERE
UK debut for Dublin sell out hit adaptation of Eimear McBride’s brilliant multi award winning first novel.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Tuesday 12 May, 7.30pm, £12, £10
ARTESIAN QUARTET Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Haydn String Quartet Op.20, No.6, Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Op. 83,Beethoven Op.18 No.6
Kate Suthers violin, Emily Davis violin, Matthew Maguire viola, António Novais cello
One of the leading young ensembles around.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Tuesday 12 & Thursday 14 May 9.30pm, £7
DEBORAH PEARSON (Live Art/Performance)
1950s Hollywood style, work in progress comic performance from Forest Fringe founder.
[Live] Art Club Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 May, 4pm & 7pm, Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May, 12pm & 3pm, £12
MARGARETE Janek Turkowski (Visual Art/Film)
Based on found footage from Eastern Bloc filmmaker Margarete Ruhbe, Turkowski reflects on the recording of memories and the significance of the narratives filmmakers choose to leave behind.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Puppet Theatre, Whitefriars, Norfolk, NR3 1TN
Wednesday 13 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 2 The Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49, Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat Op. 45, Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66, Jonian-Ilias Kadesha violin, Ricky Gore violin Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano and guests
Second of three intimate concerts celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Thursday 14 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 3 The Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Op 87 String Quartet No. 6 in F minor Op. 80, Octet Op. 20, Jonian-Ilias Kadesha violin, Ricky Gore violin Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano and guests
Third and final concert celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Friday 15 May, 1pm, £10, £8
AURORA TRIO Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Bax Elegiac Trio, Ravel (arr. Skaila Kanga) Sonatine, Takemitsu And Then I Knew ’Twas Wind, Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp L137 Emma Halnan flute, Joe Bronstein viola, Heather Wrighton harp
The Aurora Trio has been awarded the Royal Academy of Music’s prestigious chamber music fellowship for the current academic year, having been established at the Academy in 2012.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Friday 15 May, 7.30pm, £37- £7
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Overture ‘The Hebrides’ Op. 26, Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 5, Wagner Siegfried Idyll, Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major Op. 90, ‘Italian’ Jérémie Rhorer conductor, Francesco Piemontesi piano
Mendelssohn’s best-loved masterpiece and his most joyous symphony top and tail this concert by the world-renowned Philharmonia, joined by the superb Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Friday 15 May 8pm, £8
LUKE WRIGHT Stay-at-home Dandy (Poetry/Performance)
Radio 4 poet Wright celebrates ordinary people having extraordinary moments. By turns funny, poignant and political.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 15 - Saturday 23 May (Except Tues 19 May), 7.30pm, Sunday 24 May, 5pm, £20
(Preview: Wednesday 13 May, £15)
CIRCA: WHAT WILL HAVE BEEN (Theatre/ Circus)
WORLD PREMIERE
Extreme acrobatics meet extreme beauty, as one of the world’s greatest contemporary circuses celebrates 10 years as an international touring company with world premiere of spectacular new show.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 15 & Saturday 16 May, 9.30pm, £8
RICHARD DEDOMENICI The Redux Project (Live Art/Film/Performance)
Special Norfolk version of prankster’s series of no-budget cinematic appropriations that subvert Hollywood conventions to recreate sections of popular films in their original locations.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 15 May, 10pm, £14
SONGHOY BLUES (Music)
Malian desert blues and ones to watch in 2015. Debut album Music in Exile was produced by Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Saturday 16 May, 10am - 4pm, £120 (£200 for both Writing Rambles)
MARK COCKER: The Art of Seeing - A Day Course in Wild Writing Writing Rambles Masterclass (Literature)
Day-long writing masterclass from author and naturalist Mark Cocker, at his private marsh Blackwater Carr. Turn encounters into words, whilst enriching and developing the central art of seeing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Blackwater Carr, Postwick with Witton
Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May, 12 - 5pm, FREE
THE GARDEN PARTY (Outdoor/family)
Packed weekend of family fun and extraordinary performances throughout both days.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Chapelfield Gardens and Outside The Forum, NR2 1QZ
Saturday 16 May, 1pm, FREE
LUNCHTIME ORGAN RECITAL: David Dunnett (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Sonata in A major Op. 65 No. 3, J.S. Bach Trio Sonata No. 3 in D minor BWV527, Elgar Sonata in G Op. 28
The Cathedral’s resident organist performs a virtuosic recital, spanning Mendelssohn, Bach and Elgar.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 1.30pm, £10
RAGROOF TEA DANCE: 1940S SWINGTIME SPECIAL (Dance)
Fabulous 40s special tea dance. Come dressed for fun, or come as you are, for Foxtrots, Quicksteps - and of course plenty of Swing, Jive and Lindy Hop.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Saturday 16 May, Day Ticket £30, Sunday 17 May, Day Ticket £37
A LITERARY FESTIVAL IN A WEEKEND (Literature)
Two days of talks, discussions and readings from writers who fight hard for their beliefs, battle against astounding odds and equip others to stand their ground. Including the third Harriet Martineau Lecture given by author and activist Masha Gessen.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 3.30pm, £8
JOHN LANCHESTER: How to Speak Money part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Best selling author of Capital and Whoops! decodes our global language to challenge the power that this knowledge gives to the economic elite.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 5pm, £8
TIM CLARE: The Honours part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Norwich author Clare launches his new young adult/adult crossover book The Honours set in a world of darkness and humour.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 6.30pm, £10
THE TOOTH & CLAW DEBATE: RAPTORS chaired by Mark Cocker part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
A Question Time for nature lovers discussing the predators of the avian world and the conflict between conservation and land management.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 8pm, £10
THE HARRIET MARTINEAU LECTURE: Masha Gessen part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Pussy Riot activist, journalist and author Masha Gessen honours Martineau, Norwich’s 19th century radical thinker, in a lecture about freedom of expression and investigative journalism through a feminist lens.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 12.15pm, £8
SJ WATSON: Second Life part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Master of suspense introduces his latest novel Second Life, an intricately plotted psychological thriller.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 2pm, £8
CAROLINE CRIADO-PEREZ: Do it Like a Woman…and Change the World part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
The woman who took on the Bank of England, Twitter and the criminal justice system reads from her book Do it Like a Woman.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 3.30pm, £8
HUGH ALDERSEY-WILLIAMS: The Thomas Browne Affair part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Author of The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century shares stories of Norwich’s renowned doctor, scientist, botanist, naturalist and theologist.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 5.45pm, £10
ROSE TREMAIN & NEEL MUKHERJEE: Writing Families part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Internationally renowned author Tremain and 2014 Booker Prize shortlisted Mukherjee explore writer relationships and the delicate art of writing the family.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 7.30pm, £10
THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION: AMAZON & THE CIVIL WAR FOR BOOKS With Erica Wagner, Andrew O’Hagan, Isabelle Grey And Elijah Wakatama Allfrey part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Writers discuss and debate the raging civil war in literature and the role of Amazon in our changing literary landscape.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 6pm – 11pm, Sunday 17 May, 5pm - 10pm, FREE
JUNGLE Stuff and Things (Outdoor)
The Concrete Jungle uncovers a hidden menagerie, as soundscape artists Stuff and Things invite you to take a sonic safari, and embark upon an audio-adventure to where the wild things are.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Haymarket/Gentlemans Walk NR2
Saturday 16 May, 5 - 10pm, FREE
MUSEUMS AT NIGHT (Art/Family)
An evening of delights suitable for all ages in and around the Jeff Koons Artists Rooms exhibition with live music. Frolic in the ‘Koonsbury Festival Garden’, snap a self-portrait in the ‘Kitschbooth’, join a torch lit bear hunt and more.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, NR1 3JU
Saturday 16 May, 8pm, £8
ODD COMIC (Live Art/ Performance)
WORLD PREMIERE
Odd Comic interpret the familiar yet absurd commitment between a pet, its owner and sometimes the neighbour in a grotesque, nostalgic, humorous and frank interaction ahead of London run.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Saturday 16 May, 10pm, £14
HOUSE GOSPEL CHOIR (Music)
Uplifting gospel choir take on anthems from the house sound of Chicago. Live keyboards and percussion combine with the choir to create an electric house-meets-gospel sound.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Sunday 17 May, 10am - 4pm, £120 (£200 for both Writing Rambles)
PATRICK BARKHAM: Lines in the Sand - A Day Course in Nature Writing by the Sea Writing Rambles Masterclass (Literature)
Explore ways of finding your own voice, describe what you see and harness moments of inspiration with the practical business of getting words onto the page in this day-long course with Patrick Barkham.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Holkham Sands, Holkham
Sunday 17 May, 1.30pm, £10
RAGROOF TEA DANCE: STRICTLY BALLROOM (Dance)
Romantic Rumbas, Love is in the Air Sambas - and of course a fabulous grand finale Paso Doble! The glitter ball awaits.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Sunday 17 May, 8pm, £37 - £7
BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA with FESTIVAL CHORUS (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Elijah David Parry conductor, Sir John Tomlinson bass, Robert Murray tenor, Catherine Wyn-Rogers mezzo-soprano, Jeni Bern soprano
A glorious array of vocal talent led by the country’s leading bass, Sir John Tomlinson, for one of the great masterworks of the 19th-century repertoire. Pre-show talk at with David Parry and Roger Rowe at 7pm.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Sunday 17 May, 8pm, £10
MAMMAL HANDS (Music)
Piano/drums/sax trio drawing on influences from Steve Reich to Bonobo and Pharoah Sanders to Cinematic Orchestra.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
unday 17 May, 8pm, £25 - £7
TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS + Oliver Coates (Music)
Riotous virtuosic Romanian folk from the world’s greatest gypsy group. Taraf de Haidouks translates literally as ‘Band of Outlaws’.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Sunday 17 May, 10pm, £14
FLAVIA COELHO (Music)
Young Brazilian singer drawing on the traditions of samba, bossa nova, and Brazilian melodies with a pinch of ragga and hip-hop.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Monday 18 May, 1 - 4pm, £3 (includes refreshments)
MEET ME AT THE SPIEGELTENT: THE AFTERNOON SOCIAL (Event)
Daytime Spiegel event looking for the young at heart to gather for a fun afternoon packed with a variety of activities.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Monday 18 May, 7.30pm, £16
CANZONIERE (Music)
Italy’s leading traditional music ensemble reinventing Italy’s Pizzica folk dance. Energy, passion, rhythm and mystery, led by Ludovico Einaudi violinist Mauro Durante.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Monday 18 May, 7.30pm, £8
CAROLINE LUCAS: Parliament, Activism, and Change (Literature)
Reading from her book, Honourable Friends, the Green Party’s only current MP reveals the secret workings of parliamentary life, followed by Q&A.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Monday 18 May, 8pm, £22.50 - £7
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS + Federico Albanese (Music)
Icelandic composer and musician and his full band with their blend of ambient classical electronica including Arnalds score for BAFTA award-winning ITV series Broadchurch and his latest album.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Monday 18 May, 10pm, £14
EMILY PORTMAN & SAM SWEENEY (Music)
Spellbinding BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner Emily Portman and Bellowhead multi-instrumentalist Sam Sweeney come together to create an exciting new collaboration.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 May, 10.30 - 11.30am, FREE
MEET ME AT THE SPIEGELTENT: BOUNCE AND RHYME TIME (Childrens)
Special Festival edition of Norwich Millennium Library’s Bookstart Toddler Time with books and fun for children of all ages and a Bounce and Rhyme session for 0-5 year olds.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 & Wednesday 20 May, 7.30pm, £10
AFTER THE FALL: A LITTLE MORALITY PLAY SMITH dancetheatre (Dance)
Inspired by Lucifer’s banishment from Heaven, intergenerational company of professional and local non-professional performers explore modern day angels, demons, outsiders and outcasts through dance.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Tuesday 19 May, 7.30pm, £12
ALEXANDRA VADUVA Piano Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Janáček On an Overgrown Path, Book I, Berg Piano Sonata Op. 1, Schubert Sonata in A minor D537, Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrushka
Romanian-born pianist Alexandra Vaduva has won numerous competitions, including the 2011 Vienna International Piano Competition.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich NR2 1RQ
Tuesday 19 May, 7.30pm, £12
TRACEY THORN Naked at the Albert Hall: The Inside Story of Singing (Literature/Music)
Former Everything But the Girl front woman, presents witty and sharply observed insider’s perspective on the exhilarating joy and occasional heartache of singing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 May, 8pm, £22.50 - £7
THE HOT SARDINES + John Etheridge (Music)
A slice of between-the-wars Paris via New Orleans and New York steeped in hot jazz and gypsy swing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Tuesday 19 May, 10pm, £14
CHASSOL (Music)
FIRST UK SCREENING
French pianist and composer with live adaptation of his Indian influenced jazz funk score to the film Indiamore, which will be screened as he plays.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Wednesday 20 May, 8pm, £27 - £8
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM (Music)
South African pianist and composer celebrating his 80th year with a solo set and a brand new trio.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Wednesday 20 & Thursday 21 May, 9.30pm, £14
PANTI High Heels in Low Places (Performance/Comedy)
Ireland’s High Queen Panti Bliss promises to say the un-sayable, as she invites you in to her stiletto-shaped world, for a comic storytelling tour de force.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Thursday 21 May, 1pm, £10
MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO QUINTET Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical/Jazz)
Matthew Herd alto saxophone, Tom Green trombone, Liam Dunachie piano, Misha Mullov-Abbado double bass, David Ingamells drums
Exciting young quintet perform original pieces and arrangements by Misha Mullov-Abbado. Bach and Brahms jostle alongside swing, funk and other groove-based styles.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich NR2 1TN
Thursday 21 May, 7.30pm, £16
NEIL COWLEY TRIO (Music)
Masters of intoxicating and powerfully moving shows, jazz pianist Cowley performs with long-time partners Evan Jenkins on drums and Rex Horan on bass.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Thursday 21 May, 7.30pm, £25 - £12
THE TALLIS SCHOLARS: Tintinnabuli (Classical Music)
Tallis Loquebantur variis linguis, Taverner Leroy Kyrie, Mouton Nesciens mater, Arvo Pärt The Woman with the Alabaster Box, Tribute to Caesar, Tallis Sancte dues, Sheppard Libera nos, salva nos (I and II), Allegri Miserere, Tallis Miserere, Arvo Pärt Triodion
Mesmerising a capella music by one of our finest vocal ensembles, celebrating the 80th birthday of Arvo Pärt and 500th anniversary of the birth of John Sheppard.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Thursday 21 May, 8pm, £14
JAMES YORKSTON / JON THORNE / SUHAIL YUSUF KHAN (Music)
Largely improvised set based on traditional material from the UK and India from Scottish folk singer James Yorkston, jazz double-bassist Jon Thorn (Lamb) and sarangi player and classical singer Suhail Yusuf Khan.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Thursday 21 May, 8pm, £18 - £7
THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS Sam Green + yMusic (Film)
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green narrates his documentary, loosely based on the Guinness Book of Records, live on stage accompanied by classical ensemble yMusic.
Post show talk free to ticket holders.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Friday 22 & Saturday 23 May, 10am - 3.30pm, Children, £4, Adults £1
SENSACIONAL A Unicorn/Imaginart co-production (Children)
Interactive and immersive digital experience. Toddlers (18 months – 3 years) don white suits and become part of a digital world of colour, sound and light.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 22 May, 7pm, £28 - £7
AURORA ORCHESTRA: Jitterbug (Classical/Jazz)
Rameau Les Indes galantes, Ellington (arr. Iain Farrington) Jubilee Stomp, J.C. Johnson Travellin’ All Alone, Stravinsky Concerto in E-flat, ‘Dumbarton Oaks’, Paganini Caprice No. 5 in A minor, Original Dixieland Jazz Band Tiger Rag, Trad. (arr. Farrington) St James Infirmary, Gershwin (arr. Farrington) Porgy and Bess Fantasy. Man Overboard, Thomas Gould violin, Nicholas Collon conductor
Britain’s most adventurous orchestra pairs up with jazz swing band Man Overboard. Formal French Baroque rubs shoulders with the irresistible syncopation of Ragtime, and the fiendish intricacies of a Paganini Caprice step out with the bluesy insouciance of Porgy and Bess.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Friday 22 May, 7.30pm, £16
STEFANO BOLLANI (Music)
ECM signed pianist and composer who has performed solo and in collaboration with the likes of Enrico Rava and Chick Corea.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Friday 22 May, 7.30pm, £16 - £10
TRIAD Pádraig Rynne / Dónal Lunny /Sylvain Barou (Music)
Celtic acoustic trio bring together three great figures of the Celtic revival, heard to perfection in the glorious acoustic of Norwich Cathedral.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Friday 22 May, 8pm, £10
THE NEUTRINOS with Sal Pittman + BK&DAD (Music)
Throbbing art-punk noise and sexy urgent energy from-art-rock collective on sabbatical from their hit show Klanghaus. Post-rock duo BK + Dad provide fine support.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 22 May, 10pm, £14
BOUBACAR TRAORÉ (Music)
Traoré’s voice blends Nigerian and Mississippi Delta styles with authority and authenticity, exuding the beauty of African blues alongside his unique self-taught guitar technique.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 22 May, 10pm, FREE
451 Periplum & Corn Exchange Newbury (Outdoor/Performance)
Incendiary large-scale, high octane outdoor 360 degree spectacle inspired by Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St James Development Site, Whitefriars, NR3 1SH
Saturday 23 May, 8pm, £20 - £7
POLITICAL MOTHER Hofesh Shechter Company (Dance)
Thunderous live music, ensemble sequences and cinematic editing create a dance experience like no other.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Saturday 23 May, 10pm, £14
CC SMUGGLERS (Music)
Party blend of British blues, Americana and world folk.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
There are several world premieres and some really special work. Wolf's Child, set in Felbrigg woods is a real highlight, and on past track record, the Voice Project take us on a tour around the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. Their work has recently developed out of pure music into theatre performance and makes full use of the architectural environment around.
The Belgians seem to invading Norwich this year with several quirky bits of outdoor performance art. I am really looking forward to 'Fitting' and CAPE (Computer Automatic Personal Environment) which is a kind of virtual reality world. Forest Fruit for children is
Norfolk & Norwich Festival Box Office 01603 766400. Online: nnfestival.org.uk
Tuesday 5 - Saturday 23 May (except Sundays) 7.45pm, £20 (Previews: Tuesday 5 - Thursday 7 May, £15)
WOLF’S CHILD WildWorks (Theatre) WORLD PREMIERE
Set against the backdrop of Felbrigg Hall, acclaimed theatre makers WildWorks take an immersive journey into the woods for this extraordinary grown-up fairytale set in a world of shape-shifting animals and humans.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Felbrigg Hall, Felbrigg, Norfolk, NR11 8PR
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 May, 10am - 9pm, Sunday 10 May, 10am - 5.30pm, £4
FOREST FRUIT Naomi Kerkhove (Children/Art) UK PREMIERE
Belgian artist’s multi-sensory installation enables children (5+) and parents to untangle their own unique patchwork of stories, following the threads of an intricately woven textile landscape.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Puppet Theatre, Whitefriars, Norfolk, NR3 1TN
Friday 8 & Saturday 9 May, 1pm & 4pm, FREE
BILL AND BOBBY Stopgap Dance (Outdoor/Dance)
Paying playful tribute to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, this two person performance for disabled and non-disabled dancer is a whistle stop tour of a bygone era.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival Outside the Forum, Millennium Plain, NR2 1QZ
Friday 8 - Sunday 10 may, 3.30pm - 8.30pm, FREE
C.a.p.e CREW (Outdoor/Performance)
Computer Automatic Personal Environment is a futuristic system which uses video goggles, trackers and a headset to allow the audience to explore a new reality, another space, another time...
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various spaces in Norwich City Centre
Friday 8 - Sunday 10 May, 6pm, FREE
FITTING Cie. Willi Dorner (Outdoor/Performance)
UK PREMIERE
Choreographer Dorner’s human installation sees performers ‘fitting’ themselves into a multitude of city centre nooks and crannies as they forge new relationships between the city and the body.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various City Centre locations
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm, £12
SARAH WATERS AND SARAH PERRY, Writing Families - The Gothic Imagination (Literature)
Two celebrated writers with a shared passion for the gothic discuss creative inspiration, influence, and the ‘families’ of writers that help great art flourish.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Friday 8 May, 7.30pm, £18 - £10
NORWICH CATHEDRAL CHOIR: Mozart, Mendelssohn and Byrchmore (Classical Music)
WORLD PREMIERE
Mendelssohn Sechs Sprüche Op. 79, Purcell Hear my prayer, Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in E minor Op. 35, Ruth Byrchmore Hear my prayer (world premiere), Mendelssohn Hear my prayer, Mozart Requiem
World premiere of new setting of psalm 102 from Ruth Byrchmore co-commissioned by Norfolk & Norwich Festival and Norwich Cathedral, alongside Mendelssohn’s setting of psalm 55.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Friday 8 May - Sunday 24 May, 9.30am - 4.30pm, FREE
LIQUID GOLD IS THE AIR Rosemary Lee with Roswitha Chesher (Visual Art/Film)
Three-screen video installation with sound inspired by the Cathedral of Trees arboretum in Milton Keynes, planted on the exact footprint of Norwich Cathedral 40 years ago.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Catherine’s Chapel, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, NR1 4EH
Saturday 9 May & Sunday 10, throughout the weekend, FREE
DE-DRIVING CODE XTNT (Outdoor/Performance)
WORLD PREMIERE
Belgian company’s mischievous outdoor experiment into just what is permissible in public spaces.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at various City Centre locations
Saturday 9 - Sunday 6 September, 10am - 4.30pm (Sundays 1 - 4.30pm), £6
JEFF KOONS Artist Rooms (Visual Art)
The largest UK exhibition for a decade of work by one of our eras most important and controversial artists.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, NR1 3JU
Saturday 9 May, 1pm, £10
IOSIF PURITS Accordion Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Lorentzen Tears, Prokofiev Satanic Apparition, Piazzolla Ave Maria, Vivaldi Violin Concerto No. 4 in F minor Op. 8 RV297, ‘Winter’, Bartók 6 Romanian Dances, Vladimir Ryabov River of Love, Schedrin Toccata, Scarlatti Sonata in D minor, Mussorgsky Children’s Scherzo, Liszt (arr. Horowitz) Hungarian Rhapsody No.15, Rakoczy March
Intensely expressive accordionist performs classics, as they have never been heard before, darting from Baroque Italy to contemporary Denmark via Russia and Eastern Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich NR2 1RQ
Saturday 9 May, 7.30pm, £16
INGOLF WUNDER Piano (Classical Music)
Beethoven Eroica Variations, Op. 35, ‘Prometheus Variations’, Chopin Nocturne in B major Op. 9 No. 3, Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 55 No. 2, Allegro de Concert Op. 46, Liszt Sonetto 104 del Petrarca, Sonata for Piano in B minor S.178t
One of the finest pianists to have emerged in recent years, multi-prize winning Wunder mines the glory of the Romantic repertoire.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Saturday 9 May, 8pm, £15
KIM NOBLE (Live Art/Performance)
BAFTA nominated Perrier Award-winner with an intimate glimpse into the mind of an eccentric genius in this deeply moving, thought provoking comedy which will resonate for months to come (age 18+).
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Saturday 9 May, 8pm, £12
BROMANCE Barely Methodical Troupe (Circus/Performance)
Exceptionally skilled all-male trio take British circus to new heights with an inventive mix of flawlessly-timed acrobatics, shoulder-high balances and a stunning routine inside a spinning metal wheel (age 8+).
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St George’s Theatre, Kings Street, Great Yarmouth, NR30 2PG
Saturday 9 May, 9pm & 11.30pm, Sunday 10 May, 9pm, £20
THE VOICE PROJECT: THE OBSERVATORY (Music)
WORLD PREMIERE
Music: Orlando Gough, Karen Wimhurst, Jonathan Baker
The Astronomy Choir (conducted by Sian Croose) with solo voices Sianed Jones, Rebecca Askew, Sian Croose, Jonathan Baker
Instrumentalists BJ Cole pedal steel guitar, Stephen Hiscock percussion
New work from 150-member choir, with soloists and instrumentalists including pedal steel guitar maestro BJ Cole exploring our relationship with space in and around Norman Foster designed gallery.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Sainsbury Centre For Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, NR4 7TJ
Sunday 10 May, 7.30pm, £16
MEKLIT HADERO (Music)
Ethiopian-born Meklit’s elegant and soulful folky/jazzy style encompasses influences ranging from hip-hop and art-rock to soul.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, 42–58 St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Sunday 10 May, 8pm, £15
POLAR BEAR (Music)
Experimental jazz band that disposes with genre restrictions, embracing dub, hip-hop, rock and ambient electronica.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Monday 11 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 1 Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Op. 12, String Quartet No. 4 in E minor Op. 44 No. 2, String Quartet No. 2 in A minor Op. 13
Jonian-Ilias Kadesha, Ricky Gore violin, Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano
First of three intimate concerts celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Tuesday 12 - Saturday 16 May, 7.30pm, £15
A GIRL IS A HALF-FORMED THING The Corn Exchange (Theatre)
UK PREMIERE
UK debut for Dublin sell out hit adaptation of Eimear McBride’s brilliant multi award winning first novel.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St George’s Street, NR3 1AB
Tuesday 12 May, 7.30pm, £12, £10
ARTESIAN QUARTET Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Haydn String Quartet Op.20, No.6, Shostakovich String Quartet No. 4 in D Major, Op. 83,Beethoven Op.18 No.6
Kate Suthers violin, Emily Davis violin, Matthew Maguire viola, António Novais cello
One of the leading young ensembles around.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Tuesday 12 & Thursday 14 May 9.30pm, £7
DEBORAH PEARSON (Live Art/Performance)
1950s Hollywood style, work in progress comic performance from Forest Fringe founder.
[Live] Art Club Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Wednesday 13 - Friday 15 May, 4pm & 7pm, Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May, 12pm & 3pm, £12
MARGARETE Janek Turkowski (Visual Art/Film)
Based on found footage from Eastern Bloc filmmaker Margarete Ruhbe, Turkowski reflects on the recording of memories and the significance of the narratives filmmakers choose to leave behind.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Puppet Theatre, Whitefriars, Norfolk, NR3 1TN
Wednesday 13 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 2 The Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Op. 49, Cello Sonata No. 1 in B-flat Op. 45, Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor Op. 66, Jonian-Ilias Kadesha violin, Ricky Gore violin Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano and guests
Second of three intimate concerts celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Thursday 14 May, 7.30pm, £16, £13 or £42, £32 for all three Northern Chords Ensemble concerts
MENDELSSOHN: CHAMBER WORKS, Concert 3 The Northern Chords Ensemble (Classical Music)
String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat Op 87 String Quartet No. 6 in F minor Op. 80, Octet Op. 20, Jonian-Ilias Kadesha violin, Ricky Gore violin Liisa Randalu viola, Tetsuumi Nagata viola Jonathan Bloxham cello, Martin Klett piano and guests
Third and final concert celebrating the chamber music of Mendelssohn. Gateshead’s Northern Chords Ensemble includes some of the most exciting emerging classical musicians from across Europe.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Friday 15 May, 1pm, £10, £8
AURORA TRIO Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Bax Elegiac Trio, Ravel (arr. Skaila Kanga) Sonatine, Takemitsu And Then I Knew ’Twas Wind, Debussy Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp L137 Emma Halnan flute, Joe Bronstein viola, Heather Wrighton harp
The Aurora Trio has been awarded the Royal Academy of Music’s prestigious chamber music fellowship for the current academic year, having been established at the Academy in 2012.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Octagon Chapel, Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BN
Friday 15 May, 7.30pm, £37- £7
PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Overture ‘The Hebrides’ Op. 26, Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 5, Wagner Siegfried Idyll, Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 in A major Op. 90, ‘Italian’ Jérémie Rhorer conductor, Francesco Piemontesi piano
Mendelssohn’s best-loved masterpiece and his most joyous symphony top and tail this concert by the world-renowned Philharmonia, joined by the superb Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Friday 15 May 8pm, £8
LUKE WRIGHT Stay-at-home Dandy (Poetry/Performance)
Radio 4 poet Wright celebrates ordinary people having extraordinary moments. By turns funny, poignant and political.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 15 - Saturday 23 May (Except Tues 19 May), 7.30pm, Sunday 24 May, 5pm, £20
(Preview: Wednesday 13 May, £15)
CIRCA: WHAT WILL HAVE BEEN (Theatre/ Circus)
WORLD PREMIERE
Extreme acrobatics meet extreme beauty, as one of the world’s greatest contemporary circuses celebrates 10 years as an international touring company with world premiere of spectacular new show.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 15 & Saturday 16 May, 9.30pm, £8
RICHARD DEDOMENICI The Redux Project (Live Art/Film/Performance)
Special Norfolk version of prankster’s series of no-budget cinematic appropriations that subvert Hollywood conventions to recreate sections of popular films in their original locations.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 15 May, 10pm, £14
SONGHOY BLUES (Music)
Malian desert blues and ones to watch in 2015. Debut album Music in Exile was produced by Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Saturday 16 May, 10am - 4pm, £120 (£200 for both Writing Rambles)
MARK COCKER: The Art of Seeing - A Day Course in Wild Writing Writing Rambles Masterclass (Literature)
Day-long writing masterclass from author and naturalist Mark Cocker, at his private marsh Blackwater Carr. Turn encounters into words, whilst enriching and developing the central art of seeing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Blackwater Carr, Postwick with Witton
Saturday 16 & Sunday 17 May, 12 - 5pm, FREE
THE GARDEN PARTY (Outdoor/family)
Packed weekend of family fun and extraordinary performances throughout both days.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Chapelfield Gardens and Outside The Forum, NR2 1QZ
Saturday 16 May, 1pm, FREE
LUNCHTIME ORGAN RECITAL: David Dunnett (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Sonata in A major Op. 65 No. 3, J.S. Bach Trio Sonata No. 3 in D minor BWV527, Elgar Sonata in G Op. 28
The Cathedral’s resident organist performs a virtuosic recital, spanning Mendelssohn, Bach and Elgar.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 1.30pm, £10
RAGROOF TEA DANCE: 1940S SWINGTIME SPECIAL (Dance)
Fabulous 40s special tea dance. Come dressed for fun, or come as you are, for Foxtrots, Quicksteps - and of course plenty of Swing, Jive and Lindy Hop.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Saturday 16 May, Day Ticket £30, Sunday 17 May, Day Ticket £37
A LITERARY FESTIVAL IN A WEEKEND (Literature)
Two days of talks, discussions and readings from writers who fight hard for their beliefs, battle against astounding odds and equip others to stand their ground. Including the third Harriet Martineau Lecture given by author and activist Masha Gessen.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 3.30pm, £8
JOHN LANCHESTER: How to Speak Money part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Best selling author of Capital and Whoops! decodes our global language to challenge the power that this knowledge gives to the economic elite.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 5pm, £8
TIM CLARE: The Honours part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Norwich author Clare launches his new young adult/adult crossover book The Honours set in a world of darkness and humour.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 6.30pm, £10
THE TOOTH & CLAW DEBATE: RAPTORS chaired by Mark Cocker part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
A Question Time for nature lovers discussing the predators of the avian world and the conflict between conservation and land management.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 8pm, £10
THE HARRIET MARTINEAU LECTURE: Masha Gessen part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Pussy Riot activist, journalist and author Masha Gessen honours Martineau, Norwich’s 19th century radical thinker, in a lecture about freedom of expression and investigative journalism through a feminist lens.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 12.15pm, £8
SJ WATSON: Second Life part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Master of suspense introduces his latest novel Second Life, an intricately plotted psychological thriller.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 2pm, £8
CAROLINE CRIADO-PEREZ: Do it Like a Woman…and Change the World part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
The woman who took on the Bank of England, Twitter and the criminal justice system reads from her book Do it Like a Woman.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 3.30pm, £8
HUGH ALDERSEY-WILLIAMS: The Thomas Browne Affair part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Author of The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century shares stories of Norwich’s renowned doctor, scientist, botanist, naturalist and theologist.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 5.45pm, £10
ROSE TREMAIN & NEEL MUKHERJEE: Writing Families part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Internationally renowned author Tremain and 2014 Booker Prize shortlisted Mukherjee explore writer relationships and the delicate art of writing the family.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Sunday 17 May, 7.30pm, £10
THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION: AMAZON & THE CIVIL WAR FOR BOOKS With Erica Wagner, Andrew O’Hagan, Isabelle Grey And Elijah Wakatama Allfrey part of A Literary Festival In A Weekend (Literature)
Writers discuss and debate the raging civil war in literature and the role of Amazon in our changing literary landscape.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Hostry, Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Saturday 16 May, 6pm – 11pm, Sunday 17 May, 5pm - 10pm, FREE
JUNGLE Stuff and Things (Outdoor)
The Concrete Jungle uncovers a hidden menagerie, as soundscape artists Stuff and Things invite you to take a sonic safari, and embark upon an audio-adventure to where the wild things are.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Haymarket/Gentlemans Walk NR2
Saturday 16 May, 5 - 10pm, FREE
MUSEUMS AT NIGHT (Art/Family)
An evening of delights suitable for all ages in and around the Jeff Koons Artists Rooms exhibition with live music. Frolic in the ‘Koonsbury Festival Garden’, snap a self-portrait in the ‘Kitschbooth’, join a torch lit bear hunt and more.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Castle Hill, NR1 3JU
Saturday 16 May, 8pm, £8
ODD COMIC (Live Art/ Performance)
WORLD PREMIERE
Odd Comic interpret the familiar yet absurd commitment between a pet, its owner and sometimes the neighbour in a grotesque, nostalgic, humorous and frank interaction ahead of London run.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Saturday 16 May, 10pm, £14
HOUSE GOSPEL CHOIR (Music)
Uplifting gospel choir take on anthems from the house sound of Chicago. Live keyboards and percussion combine with the choir to create an electric house-meets-gospel sound.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Sunday 17 May, 10am - 4pm, £120 (£200 for both Writing Rambles)
PATRICK BARKHAM: Lines in the Sand - A Day Course in Nature Writing by the Sea Writing Rambles Masterclass (Literature)
Explore ways of finding your own voice, describe what you see and harness moments of inspiration with the practical business of getting words onto the page in this day-long course with Patrick Barkham.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Holkham Sands, Holkham
Sunday 17 May, 1.30pm, £10
RAGROOF TEA DANCE: STRICTLY BALLROOM (Dance)
Romantic Rumbas, Love is in the Air Sambas - and of course a fabulous grand finale Paso Doble! The glitter ball awaits.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Sunday 17 May, 8pm, £37 - £7
BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA with FESTIVAL CHORUS (Classical Music)
Mendelssohn Elijah David Parry conductor, Sir John Tomlinson bass, Robert Murray tenor, Catherine Wyn-Rogers mezzo-soprano, Jeni Bern soprano
A glorious array of vocal talent led by the country’s leading bass, Sir John Tomlinson, for one of the great masterworks of the 19th-century repertoire. Pre-show talk at with David Parry and Roger Rowe at 7pm.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Sunday 17 May, 8pm, £10
MAMMAL HANDS (Music)
Piano/drums/sax trio drawing on influences from Steve Reich to Bonobo and Pharoah Sanders to Cinematic Orchestra.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
unday 17 May, 8pm, £25 - £7
TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS + Oliver Coates (Music)
Riotous virtuosic Romanian folk from the world’s greatest gypsy group. Taraf de Haidouks translates literally as ‘Band of Outlaws’.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Sunday 17 May, 10pm, £14
FLAVIA COELHO (Music)
Young Brazilian singer drawing on the traditions of samba, bossa nova, and Brazilian melodies with a pinch of ragga and hip-hop.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Monday 18 May, 1 - 4pm, £3 (includes refreshments)
MEET ME AT THE SPIEGELTENT: THE AFTERNOON SOCIAL (Event)
Daytime Spiegel event looking for the young at heart to gather for a fun afternoon packed with a variety of activities.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Monday 18 May, 7.30pm, £16
CANZONIERE (Music)
Italy’s leading traditional music ensemble reinventing Italy’s Pizzica folk dance. Energy, passion, rhythm and mystery, led by Ludovico Einaudi violinist Mauro Durante.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Monday 18 May, 7.30pm, £8
CAROLINE LUCAS: Parliament, Activism, and Change (Literature)
Reading from her book, Honourable Friends, the Green Party’s only current MP reveals the secret workings of parliamentary life, followed by Q&A.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Monday 18 May, 8pm, £22.50 - £7
ÓLAFUR ARNALDS + Federico Albanese (Music)
Icelandic composer and musician and his full band with their blend of ambient classical electronica including Arnalds score for BAFTA award-winning ITV series Broadchurch and his latest album.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Monday 18 May, 10pm, £14
EMILY PORTMAN & SAM SWEENEY (Music)
Spellbinding BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winner Emily Portman and Bellowhead multi-instrumentalist Sam Sweeney come together to create an exciting new collaboration.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 May, 10.30 - 11.30am, FREE
MEET ME AT THE SPIEGELTENT: BOUNCE AND RHYME TIME (Childrens)
Special Festival edition of Norwich Millennium Library’s Bookstart Toddler Time with books and fun for children of all ages and a Bounce and Rhyme session for 0-5 year olds.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 & Wednesday 20 May, 7.30pm, £10
AFTER THE FALL: A LITTLE MORALITY PLAY SMITH dancetheatre (Dance)
Inspired by Lucifer’s banishment from Heaven, intergenerational company of professional and local non-professional performers explore modern day angels, demons, outsiders and outcasts through dance.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Tuesday 19 May, 7.30pm, £12
ALEXANDRA VADUVA Piano Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical Music)
Janáček On an Overgrown Path, Book I, Berg Piano Sonata Op. 1, Schubert Sonata in A minor D537, Stravinsky Three Movements from Petrushka
Romanian-born pianist Alexandra Vaduva has won numerous competitions, including the 2011 Vienna International Piano Competition.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich NR2 1RQ
Tuesday 19 May, 7.30pm, £12
TRACEY THORN Naked at the Albert Hall: The Inside Story of Singing (Literature/Music)
Former Everything But the Girl front woman, presents witty and sharply observed insider’s perspective on the exhilarating joy and occasional heartache of singing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Tuesday 19 May, 8pm, £22.50 - £7
THE HOT SARDINES + John Etheridge (Music)
A slice of between-the-wars Paris via New Orleans and New York steeped in hot jazz and gypsy swing.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Tuesday 19 May, 10pm, £14
CHASSOL (Music)
FIRST UK SCREENING
French pianist and composer with live adaptation of his Indian influenced jazz funk score to the film Indiamore, which will be screened as he plays.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Wednesday 20 May, 8pm, £27 - £8
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM (Music)
South African pianist and composer celebrating his 80th year with a solo set and a brand new trio.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Wednesday 20 & Thursday 21 May, 9.30pm, £14
PANTI High Heels in Low Places (Performance/Comedy)
Ireland’s High Queen Panti Bliss promises to say the un-sayable, as she invites you in to her stiletto-shaped world, for a comic storytelling tour de force.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Thursday 21 May, 1pm, £10
MISHA MULLOV-ABBADO QUINTET Royal Academy of Music Concert Series (Classical/Jazz)
Matthew Herd alto saxophone, Tom Green trombone, Liam Dunachie piano, Misha Mullov-Abbado double bass, David Ingamells drums
Exciting young quintet perform original pieces and arrangements by Misha Mullov-Abbado. Bach and Brahms jostle alongside swing, funk and other groove-based styles.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich NR2 1TN
Thursday 21 May, 7.30pm, £16
NEIL COWLEY TRIO (Music)
Masters of intoxicating and powerfully moving shows, jazz pianist Cowley performs with long-time partners Evan Jenkins on drums and Rex Horan on bass.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Thursday 21 May, 7.30pm, £25 - £12
THE TALLIS SCHOLARS: Tintinnabuli (Classical Music)
Tallis Loquebantur variis linguis, Taverner Leroy Kyrie, Mouton Nesciens mater, Arvo Pärt The Woman with the Alabaster Box, Tribute to Caesar, Tallis Sancte dues, Sheppard Libera nos, salva nos (I and II), Allegri Miserere, Tallis Miserere, Arvo Pärt Triodion
Mesmerising a capella music by one of our finest vocal ensembles, celebrating the 80th birthday of Arvo Pärt and 500th anniversary of the birth of John Sheppard.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Thursday 21 May, 8pm, £14
JAMES YORKSTON / JON THORNE / SUHAIL YUSUF KHAN (Music)
Largely improvised set based on traditional material from the UK and India from Scottish folk singer James Yorkston, jazz double-bassist Jon Thorn (Lamb) and sarangi player and classical singer Suhail Yusuf Khan.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Thursday 21 May, 8pm, £18 - £7
THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS Sam Green + yMusic (Film)
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Green narrates his documentary, loosely based on the Guinness Book of Records, live on stage accompanied by classical ensemble yMusic.
Post show talk free to ticket holders.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Friday 22 & Saturday 23 May, 10am - 3.30pm, Children, £4, Adults £1
SENSACIONAL A Unicorn/Imaginart co-production (Children)
Interactive and immersive digital experience. Toddlers (18 months – 3 years) don white suits and become part of a digital world of colour, sound and light.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 22 May, 7pm, £28 - £7
AURORA ORCHESTRA: Jitterbug (Classical/Jazz)
Rameau Les Indes galantes, Ellington (arr. Iain Farrington) Jubilee Stomp, J.C. Johnson Travellin’ All Alone, Stravinsky Concerto in E-flat, ‘Dumbarton Oaks’, Paganini Caprice No. 5 in A minor, Original Dixieland Jazz Band Tiger Rag, Trad. (arr. Farrington) St James Infirmary, Gershwin (arr. Farrington) Porgy and Bess Fantasy. Man Overboard, Thomas Gould violin, Nicholas Collon conductor
Britain’s most adventurous orchestra pairs up with jazz swing band Man Overboard. Formal French Baroque rubs shoulders with the irresistible syncopation of Ragtime, and the fiendish intricacies of a Paganini Caprice step out with the bluesy insouciance of Porgy and Bess.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrews Street, Norwich NR3 1AU
Friday 22 May, 7.30pm, £16
STEFANO BOLLANI (Music)
ECM signed pianist and composer who has performed solo and in collaboration with the likes of Enrico Rava and Chick Corea.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Playhouse, St Georges Street, NR3 1AB
Friday 22 May, 7.30pm, £16 - £10
TRIAD Pádraig Rynne / Dónal Lunny /Sylvain Barou (Music)
Celtic acoustic trio bring together three great figures of the Celtic revival, heard to perfection in the glorious acoustic of Norwich Cathedral.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Cathedral, The Close, Norwich NR1 4EH
Friday 22 May, 8pm, £10
THE NEUTRINOS with Sal Pittman + BK&DAD (Music)
Throbbing art-punk noise and sexy urgent energy from-art-rock collective on sabbatical from their hit show Klanghaus. Post-rock duo BK + Dad provide fine support.
[Live] Art Club. Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Arts Centre, St Benedict’s Street, NR2 4PG
Friday 22 May, 10pm, £14
BOUBACAR TRAORÉ (Music)
Traoré’s voice blends Nigerian and Mississippi Delta styles with authority and authenticity, exuding the beauty of African blues alongside his unique self-taught guitar technique.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
Friday 22 May, 10pm, FREE
451 Periplum & Corn Exchange Newbury (Outdoor/Performance)
Incendiary large-scale, high octane outdoor 360 degree spectacle inspired by Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at St James Development Site, Whitefriars, NR3 1SH
Saturday 23 May, 8pm, £20 - £7
POLITICAL MOTHER Hofesh Shechter Company (Dance)
Thunderous live music, ensemble sequences and cinematic editing create a dance experience like no other.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at Norwich Theatre Royal, Theatre Street, NR2 1RL
Saturday 23 May, 10pm, £14
CC SMUGGLERS (Music)
Party blend of British blues, Americana and world folk.
Norfolk & Norwich Festival at The Adnams Spiegeltent, Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich, NR2 1TN
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