Northern Ireland

New Frank McGuinness play to have UK premiere at Belfast International Arts Festival

(L-R) Jackie McCoy, Chairman of Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF), William Leathem, Vice-Chair of Arts Council Northern Ireland, Councillor Christina Black, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Richard Wakley, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of BIAF and Siobhan McGuigan, Events Development Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland with violinist Joanne Quigley McParland and pianist Ruth McGinley at Ulster Museum
(L-R) Jackie McCoy, Chairman of Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF), William Leathem, Vice-Chair of Arts Council Northern Ireland, Councillor Christina Black, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Richard Wakley, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of BIAF and (L-R) Jackie McCoy, Chairman of Belfast International Arts Festival (BIAF), William Leathem, Vice-Chair of Arts Council Northern Ireland, Councillor Christina Black, Lord Mayor of Belfast, Richard Wakley, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of BIAF and Siobhan McGuigan, Events Development Manager at Tourism Northern Ireland with violinist Joanne Quigley McParland and pianist Ruth McGinley at Ulster Museum
By Claire Simpson

A NEW play by renowned Irish writer Frank McGuinness is to have its UK premiere at this year's Belfast International Arts Festival.

The festival, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, will host more than 320 events between October 5 and November 6.

McGuinness's new play, Dinner With Groucho, will open the festival. Produced by b*spoke theatre company, the play imagines a fictional dinner date between comedian Groucho Marx and writer T.S. Eliot.

McGuinness (69), from Buncrana in Co Donegal, is known for his work including Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me and The Factory Girls.

On October 25, one of the world's most celebrated fiddlers, Martin Hayes, will bring his latest project, The Common Ground Ensemble, to Belfast's Grand Opera House.

English novelist Jonathan Coe will read from and discuss his new novel Bournville at an event at the Black Box on November 1.

This year's festival has a special focus on Canada and the Middle East and North Africa.

Canadian events include Vivek Shraya’s How to Fail as a Popstar; the European premiere of The Queen and Me, a new opera from Teiya Kasahara, and the critically acclaimed Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools.

Contemporary works from the Middle East and North Africa include Another Lover’s Discourse, from Palestinian interdisciplinary artist Riham Isaac, plus new stage works from Egyptian choreographer Shaymaa Shoukry and Moroccan live performance and visual artist Youness Atbane, as well as a concert featuring recently arrived refugees from across the Middle East.

Belfast International Arts Festival's chief executive and artistic director, Richard Wakely, said the festival has evolved hugely over the last six decades.

"From homegrown talent and platforms such as our artist in residence and new featured artist programmes to significant bodies of work from Canada, Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, our festival this year reflects the vital role we play in the very fabric of Belfast and its contribution to the city’s growing status and appeal as a major cultural capital," he said.

For more information about BIAF22, including ticket deals, visit belfastinternationalartsfestival.com.