Richard Wakely has vast experience of theatre and the arts and after 18 years in London and 15 years in Dublin the former Queen's University student has returned to Belfast as director of the Belfast Festival, which opens today.
He talks to Brian Campbell
WHEN Richard Wakely finished school and enrolled at Queen's University Belfast to study geography, never did he think about one day being director of the prestigious Belfast Festival at Queen's.
While he worked in London as a producer in drama, dance and film - overseeing 18 transfers to the West End and Broadway - Wakely now lives in Dublin with his wife and children.
Having been managing director of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, it might seem surprising that he left roles in London and then Dublin to take up the reins of the Belfast Festival.
The festival gets underway today and Wakely admits he's had a busy few months since starting into his job in April. "We had eight weeks to programme a festival that usually takes 12 to 18 months; that's the truth. We've all been working every night and long weekends since April."
He explains how he ended up in the job, following on from Shan McAnena who was director of the 50th festival last year [McAnena replaced Mark Prescott, who stepped down after a short spell as director]. "I've been in Dublin for 15 years and in the latter part of that time I was working very happily as a freelance, with most of my work being outside the island," says Wakely. "I just thought I needed a new challenge. I didn't want to become overly comfortable in what I was doing. "And this might sound rather idealistic, but having been educated here and then living in Dublin, I felt that we all have a responsibility to give something to the peace process. So I thought maybe I could do some good along the way by doing this. There was a personal and a professional aspect to it. So it was advertised and I applied."
The festival kicks off today with two events - Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada's 11-acre land portrait Wish (in the Titanic Quarter) and a concert by tenor Jose Carreras in the Waterfront Hall.
Other names on the festival bill over the next 11 days include James Galway, Eric Bibb, Bernard MacLaverty, Gary Younge and Portuguese singer Carminho, as well as a host of music, dance, drama, poetry, literature and visual arts events.
Continuing on his theme of building bridges, Wakely says he's happy to have teamed up with Feile and the East Belfast Arts Festival to present the family event Damn the Circus in Falls Park in west Belfast and Belmont Park in east Belfast.
He sees the festival as "a gift to all the people of our city". "The festival is owned by the entire city, so we don't want to just stay in the centre of town. We're trying to reintroduce the city to the residents and also the visitors here. We're all about opening up the city."
And while he says tickets for 95 per cent of events are "£16 or under", the prices for tonight's Jose Carreras concert range from £75 to £130. "He's a one-off. Jose Carreras is being delivered by commercial management so we have no control over ticket prices," says the festival director. "But we're very happy to work with Wonderland Productions to bring an artist of that stature to the festival and, frankly, to add a bit of glamour. So we're jointly promoting it. "I've done 18 West End productions so I like a bit of glamour. I've worked with people like John Malkovich and Zoe Wanamaker. Artists of that calibre - and he's one of the three great tenors in the world - don't come cheaply and we've chosen not to put subsidy into it."
Wakely is certainly excited about the festival programme and is so looking forward to the gigs by Carminho and American band Hem that he dashes over to his computer while we're talking and plays songs from both acts. "We've got over 70 events with artists from 24 countries. Many of the artists - like the great Carminho - have never been here before. I want to bring work here that's not been seen in Belfast before."
He's also visibly excited about theatre shows Bullet Catch and Pending Vote.
One thing that jumps out when scanning the programme, however, is that there is no comedy on the bill. "That's not necessarily intentional. There just wasn't anything that fitted in within what we were doing. I am interested in comedians who are doing something different," Wakely says.