Scotland’s largest rural performing arts festival kicked-off off its 39th year on Thursday evening with a spectacular concert of sublime classical strings of the Scottish Ensemble and two of the best traditional musicians to come out of Scotland:
This concert was preceded by a civic reception, with a speech by Dumfries and Galloway Council leader Elaine Murray, who launched 2018’s exciting programme of 10 days of music, theatre, dance, comedy and children’s shows taking place in venues across the region. This year’s festival takes place between 25 May and 3 June.
Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival has received considerable support from its funders which include Creative Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway Council, the William Grant Foundation and Annandale and Nithsdale Community Benefit Company.
Festival chair, Ken Gouge, said: “We enjoy continued support from the likes of the Open University, The Crichton Trust, Barfil Charitable Trust, The Holywood Trust and DG Unlimited. We are also fortunate enough to receive the generosity of a large number of patrons, members and local sponsors, including The People’s Project, VisitScotland Dumfries & Galloway; The Crichton Trust Easterbrook Hall and Neuro’s Bar, Restaurant and Spa; Dumfries and Galloway College; the University of Glasgow; Hubbub; The Swan at Kingholm Quay; Dumfries Timber Company Group; Casa Mia, Primo Piano; Crawick Multiverse; Ukulele Festival (Scotland); Austin Friars; Holiday Inn Dumfries; The Station Hotel; and Theatre Royal.
“All our supporters recognise the importance of bringing quality live performing arts to venues across the region and their support helps to sustain and improve the delivery of this service.
“This funding has ensured Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival grows bigger, better and bolder year-on-year and allows us to bring exceptional work to a part of Scotland that comprises a large number of remote rural communities and small towns. By supporting us, our funders and advertisers are allowing those communities to experience world-class performing arts on their own doorsteps, without having to travel miles to a big stage, and at a fraction of the price of a city concert.
“This also means we can secure performers of the highest quality and bring them to even the smallest venues throughout the whole of the region. We are also able to experiment with our programme to bring diverse, innovative and ground-breaking events to the south of Scotland, in turn supporting the wealth of local and national performance artists in these times of economic adversity.
“This level of funding recognises the importance of the Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival as a key event on Scotland’s wider cultural map.”
The full 2018 programme is now out and includes events from Scottish Ensemble, The National Theatre of Scotland, some of Scotland’s most respected traditional musicians, five-star theatre, a host of hilarious comedians, and more events from the region’s performing artists than ever before. The event will also include a brand new programme made by young people for young people called Stage iT.
This year’s highlights include concerts by some of the best musicians to come out of Dumfries and Galloway. Gavin Marwick and his Journeyman Project will be performing new work, Impressions of Galloway, with the Scottish Ensemble at the Easterbrook Hall on 27 May.
Blackbird Opera, a new opera company founded by Sanquhar soprano Claudia Wood, will bring Sir Walter Scott in Music and Opera with the Scottish Ensemble at the Theatre Royal on 26 May.
Now living in New York, Dumfries-born Jazz Saxophonist Ben Bryden makes a hugely anticipated return to the region with his Bright Noise concert on 30 May at the Usual Place, Dumfries, and at Colvend Public Hall on 31 May; and award-winning Scots trad singer Robyn Stapleton will be performing again this year with popular folk band Talisk on 1 June at the Ryan Centre, Stranraer.
A new theme of this year’s festival is to showcase strong female voices. There is a range of comedy, performance poetry and theatre covering topics such as Black Lives Matter (Appia Campbell), #Metoo (Jenny Lindsay), Growing up mixed race in Scotland (Hannah Lavery ), Combating Depression with Gaming Strategy (Amy Conway), The end of World War One (Chrys Salt) and stand-up comedians Scotland’s Fern Brady and Norway’s Sofie Hagen.
This year there are seventeen theatre and dance shows to choose from. The range includes Scottish Dance Theatre; Redbridge Arts and Right Lines Production’s Isle of Love,
Karen Dick, Place, Partnerships and Communities at Creative Scotland, said: “This year’s Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival provides an incredibly diverse programme, giving audiences of all ages, the opportunity to delve in and experience art in many different forms.
“Across the 10 days, the festival will welcome the local community and visitors from further afield who will come together, to share, learn, enjoy and be inspired by what they see.”
Councillor Adam Wilson, Events Champion at Dumfries and Galloway Council said: “The launch of the Arts Festival programme each year is always a time of tremendous anticipation.
“Year on year the Festival has become more ambitious in its programming and developed a greater number of partnerships across Dumfries and Galloway to bring superb live music, theatre, comedy and performance to all parts of the region.
“The Arts Festival and the three other cultural signature events funded by the Council’s unique Major Festivals and Events Strategy 2018-2021 are raising the bar for quality developments in the arts in Dumfries and Galloway. Check out online what is going on during the 10-day festival or pick up a brochure – you’ll be amazed at the exciting line-up planned.”
Festival programme director, Peter Renwick, said: “Once again we have a 10-day programme of some of the best performing arts events in the country in venues across the breadth of Dumfries and Galloway.
“Our young promoters group, Stage iT, was launched on Thursday. This is a brand new project delivered by young people for young people over the course of 2018. Our young promoters group has been working very hard over the year to put a fantastic programme together and we are looking forward very much to the project’s premiere event at the festival.”
Attaining major support from Event Scotland and the Holywood Trust, Stage iT will host a number of quality live performances throughout the year, kicking-off with a High Street Takeover on Saturday, 25 May at Dumfries Plainstanes. This event will include Block – a daring spectacle of aero-acrobatics from NoFit State Circus and Motionhouse; remarkable dance theatre from Janis Claxton’s pop-up duets, a showcase from local young musicians; a set from the exciting Tinderbox Orchestra; and a few treats from this year’s festival.
Tickets from the Midsteeple Box office on 01387 253383. Printed programmes are available from outlets across the region or online in digital format from www.dgartsfestival.org.uk
