Nicosia International Festival 2024 programme announced
Source: in-cyprus.com
The Nicosia International Festival team presented on Monday 16 September 2024, at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, the programme of the fifth edition of the festival, a celebration of performing arts for the city of Nicosia, with a series of theatre, music and contemporary dance performances, as well as a rich Parallel Programme.
The official programme of the Nicosia International Festival 2024 starts on October 10 with the opening of the photography exhibition “Face forward …into my home”, which is part of the eponymous programme co-organised by the Festival with the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens, focusing on the stories of people who left their homeland, trying to rebuild their lives in Cyprus.
The exhibition will take place at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre and the opening night will be complemented by an “African Fashion Party”.
This year’s programme highlights the festival’s collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany), Sadler’s Wells Theatre (England) and the Festival d’Avignon (France) who bring to Cyprus the productions “Rite of Spring” choreographed by Pina Bausch and the theatrical performance “Katarina and the beauty of killing fascists”, directed by the artistic director of the Festival d’Avignon, Tiago Rodrigues.
Programme for children and young people
Audience development is a long-standing strategic objective of both the Festival and the European Capital of Culture. That is why the Festival continues to invest in children with educational programmes and performances.
The official programme of the Festival includes three new productions for children. On November 16, 2024, the production “Miav volan j’ enan geron” (Once upon a time) will premiere, a co-production of the Nicosia International Festival and Alpha Cyprus based on ALPHA Podcasts of ALPHA Cyprus and the book “Cypriot Fairy Tales” by researcher Nearchos Clerides published by the Nearchos Clerides Cultural Foundation. The director is Klitos Klitou.
Nicosia International Festival without “Still! A Statue that Turned the World” is not possible so the Festival closes 2024 with one more performance, on December 31, 2024, of the production that 10,000 spectators loved. The creative team of “Still!” also brings to the stage of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre on February 8, 2025, its new production “The Doll of Franz Kafka” directed by Kostas Silvestrou.
Finally, on May 17, 2025, the Festival will host the Cypriot director Marios Kakoullis and the children’s theatre performance “Ba_Boom_” which deals with the conditions of war through the eyes of children.
Programme #Under30
Alongside artists of international renown, the Festival has become a tradition to present Cypriot artists, both established and young. This year the Festival repeats the #UNDER30 Program, which is exclusively addressed to Cypriot artists under 30 years old. This year’s programme includes the presentation of the new recordings of Nama Dama, Alexa Michael and Zina Melekki, while choreographer-dancer Alexandros M. Kyriazis will present his new work “Jimmy & Freddie”.
#ThePoet programme
This year the Festival occupies the Davila Bastion for two nights and organizes two poetry nights around the sculpture “The Poet” by the Greek sculptor Costas Varotsos. On 11 October 2024, the Festival collaborates with the Poetry Moves International Festival and presents a “Tribute to the Poet”, works for poetry, piano and cello with the participation of Costas Varotsos. On October 13, the Festival collaborates with the Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts” and presents the poetry concert “Poetry of invasion and displacement”.
Contemporary dance
The Nicosia Municipal Theatre presents this year’s works by Pina Baucus, many the greatest choreographer and reformer of contemporary dance of the 20th century. In collaboration with the Pina Bausch Foundation (Germany) and Sadler’s Wells Theatre (Great Britain) presents the triptych “Rite of Spring” (choreographed by Pina Bausch)/ “PHILIPS 836 887 DSY” (choreographed by Pina Bausch)/ “Homage to the Ancestors” (choreographed by the mother of contemporary dance in Africa, Germaine Acogny). The major international production that has taken over theatres in New York, and Tokyo is coming to Cyprus on 28 October 2024.
Theatre
The festival is proud to present this year the artistic director of the Festival d’Avignon (France) Tiago Rodrigues (Portugal) who brings to Cyprus the theatrical performance “Catarina and the beauty of killing fascists” on December 10 and 11, 2024. Tiago Rodrigues, director and playwright, addresses the burning issue of the time “What does fascism mean?” and attempts to bring us out of our apathy and get us thinking about creating a better society. It introduces the members of a family in southern Portugal who have the paradoxical tradition, once a year, of giving up their normal lives to kill a fascist.
Continuing its collaboration with Onassis Cultural Centre, the Festival presents this year the director Dimitris Babilis and his production “Babybird Babybird” on November 19, 2024. It is a documentary theatre performance, exploring the concepts and issues of “under-birth”, motherhood as a conscious personal choice, termination of pregnancy, prenatal check-ups, state welfare policies, sperm banks and dating apps.
The Cyprus programme of the Festival hosts for the first time Leandro Taliotis and his timely personal reading of Shakespeare’s Richard II on 18 December 2024. Taliotis is preparing a raw, aggressive and contemporary performance that deals with the human arrogance that accompanies the administration of power.
Music
Following the successful return of the award-winning Cuban band Septeto Santiaguero (2022), this year the Festival presents the explosive Maykel Blanco and his band Maykel Blanco Y Su Salsa Mayor on 23 October at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre. Blanco belongs to the generation of Cuban musicians who have chosen to defend the values of Cuban traditional music, but renewing it with contemporary sounds, exciting his audience.
On 5 November 2024, the internationally acclaimed Greek composer Stavros Gasparatos presents his new work “Expanded Piano II”. Gasparatos expands the possibilities of interpretation and use of the piano in the context of an experimental process of sound and compositional tools. Based on new sensory media, he introduces a “hybrid” instrument that gives the performer exceptional musical flexibility. Additional elements added to the new work are visual projections of light and image that interact with the sound environment and transform it into a multifaceted and complex experience.
The piano has its place of honour at this year’s Festival, as alongside the work of Stavros Gasparatos, the Festival presents the Avantgarde Cultural Organisation and the Cypriot-born pianist Elena Xydia. With the use of technology and the stage direction of Paschalis Mantis, a piano and a pianist are reproduced holographically and appear in duplicate.
The Festival will also present the first recording of Eleonora Roussos’ first album “Joy” on January 26, 2025. On February 11, 2025, the newly formed band Nabu Pera and their concert entitled “Echotopia of Nicosia” will take place. The band consists of the musicians Natasha Hadjiandreou (percussion), Dimitris Giasemidis (flute, trombone, electronics) and Savvas Thomas (percussion, voice).
Parallel Programme: Art exhibitions
The photography exhibition entitled “Face forward …into my home” by Giannis Kourtoglou (foyer of Nicosia Municipal Theatre, 10 October – 31 December 2024) is part of the programme of the same name that the 5th Nicosia International Festival 2024 co-organises with the National Museum of Contemporary Art of Athens. The program includes experiential workshops, a photography exhibition and an educational programme for primary school students. It focuses on stories of people who were forced to leave their homeland, trying to rebuild their lives in Cyprus.
Wanting to present reflections on the democratic constitution and whether it is fragile or flexible and resilient, the Festival collaborates this year with the European Parliament and hosts the art exhibition “Art in Democracy”, which has been organised in Brussels and Strasbourg, at the Municipal Hall of Eleftheria Square next November. The exact opening date and duration of the exhibition and related educational programmes will be announced shortly.
Finally, the Festival presents the public art action “OTHONI”. A series of video artworks parade from “Smart Nicosia” screens in central points of avenues and streets of the city, from 16 November to 22 December 2024, placing art in a public goddess, in a public space accessible to all, occupying the space, time and attention of the viewer.
Parallel programme
The Parallel Programme of the fifth edition of the Nicosia International Festival explores two more pillars of Nicosia’s bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2030:
– Pillar of Tradition. The Antama Festival group is a youth group that seeks to revive our island culture through a festival that aims to bring citizens back to the roots and traditions that tend to be slowly forgotten (Saturday 28 September 2024, from 16:00 to 00:00 at the Nicosia Municipal Garden).
– Pillar of Tradition: The Festival presents the short film series of the Press and Information Office “Myths of Cyprus” with legends and traditions from Cyprus. An exciting journey that unites past and present and will take place on 13 October 2024.
– Pillar Co-creation with children: This year the Festival is developing the theatre co-creation workshop “Exploring Theatre”, with the support of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia. The next five-day workshop will start on 12 April 2025. The children, aged 9-12 years old, will discover the history of Nicosia and “experience” their city through the exhibits of the Leventis Nicosia Municipal Museum. Surrounded by these rich historical collections, they will write their own play inspired by the history of their city, which they will then direct, light and perform on the stage of the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.
Tickets: www.soldoutticketbox.com, Stephanis stores and the Nicosia Municipal Theatre box office (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00).
Information: +357 22 797979 (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00)
The original article: belongs to in-cyprus.com .
