Best of BE FESTIVAL 2016 UK Tour Confirmed

Highlights of the 2015 BE FESTIVAL - one of the UK's most exciting European theatre festivals - embarks on a UK tour this spring, introducing three of Europe's most daring solo performers from Spain, Italy and Ireland to UK audiences. The Best of BE FESTIVAL tour opens at the Gulbenkian, Canterbury on April 6 and includes four nights at The Barbican, London from Wed 13 - Sat 16 April (Press Night: Wed 13 April, 7.45pm).

The Best of BE FESTIVAL tour will also visit: Bury St Edmunds, Brecon, Wolverhampton, Reading, Oxford, Barnsley, Leeds, Huddersfield, Harrogate, Northumbria, Coventry, Birmingham and Bristol.

The annual BE FESTIVAL of European theatre, dance, circus and visual arts will take place at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from 21 - 25 June offering a programme of theatre, dance, circus, live music, visual arts, talks, participatory events and a communal interval dinner like no other served on the theatre's main stage.

The Best of BE FESTIVAL tour features a humorous and honest one-woman show about love, chemistry and excess. #sobrejulieta sees Carlota Gaviño of Grumelot, Madrid try to win our hearts in a stripped-back new take on Romeo and Juliet.

Italian company TIDA needs to stage a dance production but is bereft of cast and crew thanks to the financial crisis. Still, the show must go on, so willing audience members are recruited to take on various duties with hilarious results. A razor-sharp comedy, Quintetto was BE FESTIVAL's 2015 first prize award-winner.

Irish performer Darragh McLoughlin invites spectators to determine what they watch, prompting their eyes to open and close during a multitude of rapid scene changes. Packed with deft circus skills and underpinned by a hidden narrative, The Whistle is genius in its simplicity.

All performances throughout the tour will conclude with post-show discussions and at certain venues audiences have the opportunity to enjoy an informal chat with the artists over dinner after the show.

Miguel Oyarzun, BE FESTIVAL co-director said:
"These three shows were a real hit with last year's festival crowd and we're thrilled to be taking them on tour. The productions span a range of physical and dramatic genres and the tour continues our commitment to encouraging connections between artists and audiences from different backgrounds".

Co-Director, Isla Aguilar also adds: "This is our fifth UK tour and this year we're particularly excited to be presenting a refreshing one-woman's take on Romeo and Juliet in the year that marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death."

BE FESTIVAL champions emerging theatre, dance and circus artists from across Europe with an annual programme presented in Birmingham. Conceived in 2010 by Mike Tweddle, Miguel Oyarzun and Isla Aguilar, BE FESTIVAL brings together the most daring and unforgettable new performances from Europe for the festival and also UK tour. BE FESTIVAL has a particular focus on work which transcends cultural, linguistic and artistic boundaries and supports artists in finding new and innovative ways to engage with audiences and was voted among the UK's top 50 festivals by the Sunday Times in 2014.

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