PRESS RELEASE
FOR RELEASE: 19 JUN 2017
Circus, sleepwalkers and suitcases as Hijinx Unity Festival arrives in North Wales next week
Watch out for the pink suitcases popping up around Caernarfon next week as the town is taken over by a surprisingly different arts festival
In 10 days' time, spectacular circus, theatre, dance and music acts will fill Caernarfon Castle, Victoria Dock, the Town Square and Galeri Arts Centre as Hijinx Unity Festival returns for another five days packed with performances. Hosted for the first time this year in Caernarfon in partnership with Galeri, the Festival will showcase outstanding inclusive and disability arts performances from Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and across the UK.
The Festival is distinctively different in that all of the companies performing at Hijinx Unity Festival feature artists who have physical or learning disabilities. The Festival was created by Welsh theatre company, Hijinx, to raise the profile of disabled and non-disabled artists working together as equals, and to surprise and delight audiences with truly remarkable performances.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights of the 2017 line up include aweekend of free performancesin and around Galeri (Sat 1 July) and on The Maes (Sun 2 July) in the centre of Caernarfon. Areas of the town will be transformed into eye-catching performance spaces, with more pop up venues on The Promenâd and in Palas Print bookshop.
Headlining the weekend are dare-devil French circus artistsCirque Inextremistewith a breath-taking balancing act on The Promenâd.Elsewhere in town, they will be joined by German theatre companyBlaumeier-Atelier, Seville-based dance companyDanza Mobile, andHijinx'sown pop-up theatre shows ‘The Pods',to name but a few acts. Pioneers of accessible theatre for children,Taking Flight Theatre Companywill bring a nautical feel to Shakespeare's The Tempest which will be performed all around Victoria Dock.
JoinUnity @ Castell CaernarfononFri 30 Junefor four jam-packed hours of inclusive street theatre, flamenco and contemporary dance from Germany, Spain and Great Britain.
The Festival also offers aticketed programmeof performances at Galeri from 28 June - 1 July, including: a dystopian musical misadventure produced byHijinx and Theatr Clwyd; raw and un-tamed physical theatre from Belgian companyTheater Stap;and a stunning flamenco double-bill fromSeville-companyDanza Mobile.
HIJINX AND FRANTIC ASSEMBLY COLLABORATION
Another highlight of the free performance programme is physical theatre show, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, produced by Hijinx in collaboration with Frantic Assembly (performances 30 June & 1 July in Galeri). Frantic Assembly are the renowned Movement Directors of the Broadway and West End hit show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. The 20 minute performance features a 20 strong cast of disabled and non-disabled actors, and will be the culmination of a two-week training residency under the tutelage of Frantic Assembly.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Through a high quality programme of performing arts, the Festival promotes positive images of disability and social inclusion to audiences. Since its creation in Cardiff in 2008, it has grown to attract over 20,000 visitors a time from across Wales, the UK and Europe.
15 learning disabled actors from across North Wales, who are trained by Hijinx at their academy in Prestatyn, will be at the centre of a number of Festival performances. They will be joined by fellow Hijinx Academy actors from South and West Wales, for a celebration of inclusion that takes place in Caernarfon for the first time this year.
Welsh Government, Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said:"As we celebrate the Year of Legends in Wales this year, the Unity Festival promises to be a legendary event for north Wales - bringing the past to life at some of our iconic historical sites and giving people the platform to create their own legend during 2017. I'm delighted that the Welsh Government has been able to support the growth of this event."
Ben Pettitt-Wade, Hijinx's Artistic Director, commented:"We are thrilled to be taking the Festival to Caernarfon this summer. The overwhelmingly positive reaction of the public, local community groups and schools to the Festival over the past nine years in Cardiff has been an inspiration and a catalyst for moving it north. We can't wait to introduce the work of outstanding disabled performers to audiences in North Wales, and above all, provoke thought and discussion about the ability and potential of people who live with a disability."
PARTNER VENUE
The award winning creative enterprise centre, Galeri in Caernarfon is the official venue partner of the Festival.
Steffan Thomas, Marketing Director at Galeri, commented: "Galeri is delighted to be welcoming Unity Festival, one of Europe's largest inclusive festivals, and the only one of its kind in Wales - to Caernarfon! What a great opportunity to promote positive images of disabilities whilst encouraging inclusivity within the arts, bringing international innovative artistic events to Galeri and the streets of Caernarfon!"
FUNDERS
Thanks to funding from Welsh Government's Major Events Unit, the Arts Council of Wales, Cadw, Caernarfon Town Council and Gwyn & Mary Owen, Unity Festival is able to relocate to North Wales for the first time. The new location opens up opportunities to bring Hijinx's inclusive ethos to new audiences, school communities and artistic collaborators in North West and North Wales and the North of England.
IMAGES
Photos –
unless stated otherwise in the file title - are credited to
Jonathan Dunn.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/abe8gv5akayp1w9/AADrXbYYxmVwqKdmWKy3kXAna?dl=0
Further information
The Festival programme can be downloaded at www.hijinxunity.org.uk. Tickets are available at www.galericaernarfon.com.
For future updates on Hijinx Unity Festival 2017 programme, visit the event website at hijinxunity.org.uk, follow @HijinxTheatre on Twitter or onwww.facebook.com/hijinxtheatre.
[ENDS]
FURTHER PRESS INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM
Jo Quinney, QMPR jo@qmpr.co.uk 07748 155 116
Vanessa Morse, Hijinx vanessa.morse@hijinx.org.uk 07971 986 134
EDITOR'S NOTES:
Hijinx Unity Festival trailer:https://youtu.be/KA6ywdxPzgo
Hijinx Unity Festivalis an international arts festival celebrating the best inclusive and disability arts from the UK, Europe and around the world. It was created in 2008 by Welsh theatre company Hijinx.
HijinxFounded in 1981 by Gaynor Lougher and Richard Berry, Hijinxare an inclusive theatre company based in Cardiff who also train actors with learning disabilities across Wales.The company's mission is to produce, pioneer and promote stunning inclusive performance locally, nationally and internationally.
Hijinx Academiesare vocational training courses in performance skills for talented actors with learning disabilities. Hijinx run five Academies: two in Cardiff, one in Carmarthen, one in Prestatyn and one in Aberystwyth.
Galeri, Caernarfonis a creative enterprise centre located on Victoria Dock, Caernarfon. The venue comprises of a 394 seat theatre/cinema, work units for companies working within the creative industries, art space, café bar, rehearsal studios and meeting rooms.
The centre is run and managed by Galeri Caernarfon Cyf (formerly known as Cwmni Tref Caernarfon) a social enterprise set-up in 1992 to improve the image of Caernarfon. The company began its mission by purchasing derelict buildings (shops / offices / housing) within the walled towns. To date, over 20 previously vacant and run-down properties have been purchased, refurbished and are now let to local companies and individuals.
Since 2000, the company has been running a successful Arts Project called Sbarc Galeri. The project provides a range of classes in performance (drama) and rock school for children and young people during term time - where the members will be working towards performances at Galeri. There are also taster sessions, workshops and intensive projects throughout the year in a variety of art forms from rock music, dance, photography and writing.
The opening of Galeri in 2005 has been the largest and most ambitious development to date. The opening of the £7.5m centre marked a significant development for the arts and creative industries in North Wales. In 2017, work will begin on a new 2 screen cinema extension on site (to open in 2018).