New Year…two new seasons
08 December 2009
Music and comedy stars, stage spectaculars and theatre gems are all Belfast-bound as Belfast Waterfront and the Ulster Hall celebrate the New Year in style with bumper new seasons.
Coming up at Belfast Waterfront:
There are several fantastic theatre spectaculars to look out for during the new season and they don`t come any bigger than STOMP (19 - 24 January) STOMP is the West End blockbuster that has become a global phenomenon. Now revamped with spectacular new routines, it`s a unique combination of exhilarating theatre, dance, comedy and percussion as the performers use boots, bins, brooms and everything including the kitchen sink to hammer out explosive feel-good rhythms!
Audiences can waltz back in time to the glittering ballrooms of 19th Century Vienna during the Johann Strauss Gala (29 January) and step out with Anton & Erin (5 February) as Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag - dancing icons from BBC1`s Strictly Come Dancing - bring their ballroom magic to the Waterfront stage.
Some of popular music`s biggest names are taking centre stage. Bryan Adams, JLS and Ronan Keating are already sold out. But music fans can still book tickets for Paul Potts (14 January), Mika (13 February) and Chris Rea (5 April).
Celtic Connections Transatlantic Sessions (4 February) celebrates today`s finest Celtic and Americana musicians - Cara Dillon is just one of the local stars taking part. Liam Reilly & Bagatelle (6 April) and Mike Denver (13 March) are further home-grown stars who are Waterfront-bound.
With a twist of rock, a hint of comedy and packed with great rock anthems, music fans will have a ball at Vampires Rock (6 February) while Talon - The Best of Eagles Hotel California Tour (10 April) sees one of the greatest rock albums of all time recreated track by track.
Country fans will enjoy Dolly - The Show (7 & 8 February) which is packed with the Leading Lady of Country`s hits.
Ulster Orchestra Waterfront showpieces include the New Year Viennese Concerts (8 & 9 January), Bryn Terfel (16 January) and James Bond Film Night (20 February).
Magners Waterfront Comedy Club continues to attract the best stand-up comedians to Belfast. Lee Mack delivers his trademark brand of high energy banter, well crafted gags and sharp one-liners on 27 February. Dave Gorman takes to the stage with his Sit Down, Pedal, Stop and Stand-up Tour (27 March) and back due to overwhelming demand are Jimmy Carr (22 - 25 April) and Dara O Briain (4 - 6 May).
Irish comics Conal Gallen and Brendan Grace will also be good for a laugh on 30 January and 10 March respectively.
Yvette Fielding and the team from Living TV`s Most Haunted (28 January) have explored some of the spookiest and infamous locations in the UK. Now they bring their supernatural thrill fest to the Waterfront. Prepare to be bewildered, baffled and bewitched by Derren Brown - the master of psychological illusion, magic and mind control from 12 - 14 April. Derek Acorah (6 March) - the UK`s No.1 Spirit Medium - demonstrates his hugely entertaining psychic abilities while medium and clairvoyant, Lydia Lyne (19 February) also pays a visit.
There`s a feast of first class theatre in store, courtesy of many of Northern Ireland’s finest theatre production companies. Audiences can look forward to two blockbuster residencies: Green Shoot Productions presents a new adaptation of Sam Thompson`s Over The Bridge by Martin Lynch (16 March - 3 April), while Rathmore Productions stages the UK Première of Marie Jones’s Rock Doves (13 April - 1 May).
standIN`OVATION`s Scary Musical (22 & 23 January) is a twisted tale of terror, true love and teenagers with a nasty habit of bursting into song. Youth Lyric`s innovative adaptation of Roald Dahl`s The Witches (3 - 6 February) promises a fun-filled evening of entertainment, music, dance and storytelling. Bruiser Theatre Company`s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (16 - 18 February) is an alarming and savagely hilarious allegory of Hitler`s rise to power - political theatre at its best. The Haunting of Helena Blunden (14 March) by Big Telly Theatre Company is a thriller, a ghost story and a musical while Centre Stage`s That Woman at Rathard (8 March) is Sam Hanna Bell`s own adaptation of his famous novel, December Bride.
Coming up at the Ulster Hall:
From current chart stars, to rock legends, from Irish favourites to classical showpieces, the Ulster Hall plays host to an amazing variety of music events during the new season.
Brit-nominated acoustic-guitar virtuoso, Newton Faulkner is a ‘must see’ on 28 February. His début album, the Number One million-selling Hand Built By Robots, spent over 10 months in the Top 40. John Digweed`s name easily ranks alongside the world`s all time greatest DJs - see him make his long awaited Belfast début on 6 February.
Joan Armatrading (24 April) is an utterly compelling writer and performer with all-time classics like Love And Affection and Drop The Pilot to her name. ABBAMANIA (27 March) celebrates more legendary music with over 30 years of Abba`s golden hits from Waterloo to Dancing Queen!
One of Ireland`s top entertainers, Tommy Fleming (16 January) has enjoyed a string of best selling albums and turns each song he sings into his own with his unique and powerful voice. From Elvis`s Love Me Tender to Simon & Garfunkel`s Bridge Over Troubled Water, Ireland`s Greatest Voices - The Three Tenors (6 March) will perform some of the world`s most beautiful songs. Tom Baxter & special guests (27 February) celebrate the art of song writing as part of the sixth Belfast Nashville Songwriters Festival.
Big Band music comes to the Ulster Hall courtesy of the massed voices of Sing Live Northern Ireland who perform some of the biggest hits from greats, past and present, in Sing the Music of the Big Bands (9 January).
The Ulster Orchestra celebrate the musical legacy of Chopin on the 200th anniversary of his birth during their Chopin @ 200 festival (selected dates in January and early February) which showcases the magical playing of pianist, Nikolai Demidenko. Concert highlights during a packed Ulster Orchestra programme also include: Russian Symphonies (12 February), Illuminations (5 March), Schumann and Brahms (12 March), Beethoven and Spring (16 April) and Vivaldi`s Four Seasons (23 April).
The Saint George`s Singers and Sinfonia provide another classical treat with Bach`s Saint John Passion - a concert of Easter music - on 30 March.
Eleven different orchestras and bands showcase the work of the City of Belfast School of Music during their February Fanfare Concerts (2 & 3 February.)
A unique event, Base (20 & 21 February) brings street art in from the cold, transforming the Ulster Hall into a mini urban village of live painting, market stalls and music. Base features some of the finest street artists from across Ireland, Britain and Europe.
This is just a selection of the events taking place at Belfast Waterfront and the Ulster Hall from January through to the end of April 2010. Full details of all events are listed in Front Row - the events guide for Belfast Waterfront and the Ulster Hall, now available from all usual outlets and directly from the Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Box Offices. Telephone: 028 9033 4455.
You can also download Front Row. Download the Belfast Waterfront version at www.waterfront.co.uk and the Ulster Hall version at www.ulsterhall.co.uk
Tickets for Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall events are available from both websites, the Waterfront and Ulster Hall Box Offices and by calling 028 9033 4455.
There is a Credit/Debit card handling charge of £1.00 per ticket for bookings made by telephone. Online bookings attract a charge of just £1.50 per transaction. A fee of 50p per booking is payable for tickets forwarded by post.
Tickets for all events at Belfast Waterfront and the Ulster Hall are now also available from selected Xtra-vision stores across Northern Ireland.
Full details are available from box office on 028 9033 4455 and online.
Ends
Press release issued by: Nicholas Sadlier, PR & Advertising Executive, Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall, Belfast BT1 3WH. Tel: 028 9033 4418
Email: sadliern@waterfront.co.uk
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