May 23, 2008

Festival breaks new ground with many voices at Ted Hughes Theatre

Exciting range of events in Mytholmroyd

A festival favourite – The Electric Voice Theatre – brings a groundbreaking ensemble piece to an exciting new venue on Friday June 27th. Baghdad Lullabies uses cutting edge technology, live processing and surround sound space manipulation to take the vocal agility of the soloist to a new level. This electrifying and eclectic evening is a fitting launch for the 2008 festival, which marks the Year of Language with the theme of Many Voices.

When Scottish poet Robert Burns began writing a series of Epitaphs, he could not have foreseen their insertion into a setting of the Requiem Mass by a Brazilian composer. This stunningly beautiful work echoes with the sounds of lost voices and leads us to a series of lullabies inspired by the words and music of women from distant corners of the globe. As events in Iraq continue to dominate the headlines, these voices in turn bring us to the Middle East and the centre of a conflict as portrayed through a woman’s eyes and the infamous words of Bush, Blair and co.

Hebden Bridge Arts Festival presents this spellbinding performance in the surroundings of the wonderful new theatre at Calder High School, which opened last December. As well as being a superb asset to the school, the theatre is a fantastic resource for the local community.

Other events in Mytholmroyd include Kidsfest Children's Art Festival, organised by Hebden Royd Town Council , which takes place at St Michael’s Church on Saturday 5 July and two literary lunches at the Dusty Miller – a first for the festival. Mother and daughter Adèle Geras and Sophie Hannah are the hosts on Sunday July 6th, whilst the winners of the Orange Prize and the National Jewish Book Award respectively, American writers Suzanne Berne and Marjorie Sandor, will be the hosts on Sunday July 13th.

Postal booking for the 40-plus performances and workshops is now open. The box office on Albert Street opens on June 14.

The 2008 Festival runs from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 13.

If you’d like to be kept in touch with what’s planned, e-mail hbfestival@gmail.com or visit www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/festival.