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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Forest Fest 2025: Daily line-ups, stage times, ticket information, weather and more
Forest Fest , a boutique independent music and arts festival, returns to the village of Emo in Co Laois this weekend for its third year. The event was established in 2022 by solicitor and indie-rock fan, Philip Meagher, when he envisaged a festival primarily targeted towards a more mature audience. The three-day festival has several music stages, a funfair with rides for all ages, circus shows, workshops, various art installations and a host of street entertainers. With about 20,000 people expected to attend the festival, a bit of planning can do no harm. Here is everything you need to know. READ MORE When and where is it on? The festival runs from Friday to Sunday in the village of Emo, Co Laois. Early entry for campers is available on Thursday. Are there any tickets left? At the time of writing, whole weekend, individual day admissions and camping tickets were still available. These can be purchased through the Forest Fest website . Buy tickets from accredited sources only and add yours to your phone's wallet before you leave home to keep it handy. Who is performing and when? Festivalgoers are spoiled for choice with a variety of acts scheduled to perform over the weekend. Headliners for this year include Franz Ferdinand , Manic Street Preachers , Orbital and The Stranglers . A host of Irish music acts are lined up across the other stages, including Pillow Queens , Ryan Sheridan, Dylan Flynn & The Dead Poets and Motionsickness. A number of tribute bands will feature too if you fancy a sing-a-long, with Live Forever Oasis, Qween, Daft Punk Tribute and The Complete Stone Roses all set to play. Check out the full line-up below. Friday, July 25th Franz Ferdinand's angular guitar music still wows crowds Main Stage Something Happens – 5pm-6pm Tom Meighan – 6.40pm-7.40pm Franz Ferdinand – 8.20pm-9.50pm The Dandy Warhols – 10.30pm-11.30pm Live Forever Oasis – midnight-1am The Village Stage Harvest – 5.30pm-6.30pm Cry Before Dawn – 7pm-8pm The 4 of Us – 8.30pm-9.30pm The Farm – 10pm-11pm Alabama 3 – 11.30pm-12.45am Daft Punk Tribute – 1am-2am The Perfect Day Stage The Jury – 4.40pm-5.25pm Shark School – 5.45pm-6.30pm The Jobseekerz – 6.50pm-7.35pm Intercom Heights – 7.55pm-8.40pm Seattle Grunge Experience – 9pm-9.45pm The Luna Boys – 10.05pm-10.50pm Risky Business – 11.10pm-11.55pm The Deadlians – 12.15am-1am Thin As Lizzy – 01.15am-2am Fleadh Stage Madra Salach – 4.20pm-5pm Meadhbh Hayes – 5.20pm-6pm Alltacht – 6.20pm-7.10pm CUA – 7.30pm-8.20pm Laura Jo – 8.40pm-9.30pm Moxie – 9.50pm-10.40pm Stocktons Wing – 11pm-midnight Ibiza Stage Lauren (Saxophone) – 4pm-2am Danny Kay Ibiza – 4pm-5pm Alan Professor – 5pm-6pm Gee Moore – 6pm-8pm Terry Farley – 8pm-10pm X-EXPRESS-2 – 10pm-midnight Gee Moore – midnight-2am Saturday, July 26th Sean Moore, Nicky Wire and James Dean Bradfield of the Manic Street Preachers. Photograph: Alex Lake Main Stage Thumper – 12.40pm-1.40pm Aoife Destruction & The Nilz – 2.20pm-2.50pm Therapy? – 3.20pm-4.20pm Peter Hook & The Light – 5pm-6pm The Stranglers – 6.40pm-7.40pm Kula Shaker – 8.20pm-9.20pm Manic Street Preachers – 10pm-11.30pm Orbital – 12.15am-1.45am The Village Stage Dylan Flynn and The Dead Poets – 12.15pm-1pm The Coathanger Solution – 1.20pm-2.05pm These Charming Men – 2.30pm-3.30pm Dirty Blonde – 4pm-5pm Coach Party – 5.30pm-6.30pm Pillow Queens – 7pm-8pm Kerbdog – 8.30pm-9.30pm Reef – 10pm-11pm Teenage Fanclub – 11.30pm-12.40am The Riptide Movement – 1am-2am The Perfect Day Stage Houston Death Ray – 12.20pm-1.05pm Southern Freud – 1.25pm-2.10pm The Magic Mod – 2.30pm-3pm Kiera Dignam – 3.20pm-4.05pm Dopamine – 4.25pm-5.05pm Fake Friends – 5.25pm-6.05pm The Classic Beatles – 6.25pm-7.25pm Apollo Junction – 7.45pm-8.25pm The Manatees – 8.45pm-9.30pm Dutch Criminal Record – 9.50pm-10.35pm Post-Party – 10.55pm-11.40pm Walk The Line – midnight-1.30am Fleadh Stage Music Generation Laois Trad Orchestra – noon-12.45pm Chris Comhaill – 1.15pm-2pm Cormac Looby – 2.15pm-3pm The Oars – 3.15pm-4pm Kevin Coniff and The Dublin Trio – 4.15pm-5pm Buille – 5.15pm-6pm Eric De Buitléir – 6.15pm-7pm Mary Coughlan – 7.30pm-8.30pm The Sharon Shannon Trio – 9pm-10pm Beoga – 10.30pm-11.30pm KAN – midnight-1am VIP Stage The Magic Mud – 7pm-7.30pm The Legendary Drama Kings – 7.45pm-8.30pm Ibiza Stage Lauren (Saxophone) – noon-2am David H (Percussion) – noon-2am Danny Kay Ibiza – noon-1pm Nick Coles (Live Keys Hybrid Set) – 1pm-2pm Alan Prosser (12 Inch Thumpers) – 2pm-3pm Gee Moore – 3pm-5pm Mr C – 5pm-7pm Gee Moore – 7pm-9pm Jam El Mar (Jar and Spoon Classics) – 9pm-11pm DJ Pippi – 11pm-1am Gee Moore – 1am-2am Sunday, July 27th Main Stage Travis. Photograph: Steve Gullick Rattle and Hum – noon-1pm Nick Lowe – 1.30pm-2.30pm Bad Manners – 3.10pm-4.10pm Jack L – 4.50pm-5.50pm Tony Hadley – 6.30pm-7.50pm Travis – 8.30pm-10pm Qween – 11pm-midnight The Village Stage Ryan Sheridan – 12.15pm-1.05pm Paddy Casey – 1.35pm-2.25pm B–ngo Loco – 2.55pm-4.25pm Andrew Strong – 4.55pm-5.45pm Robert Finley – 6.15pm-7.15pm Hermitage Green – 7.45pm-8.45pm Billy Bragg – 9.15pm-10.30pm The Magic Numbers – 11pm-midnight The Perfect Day Stage MOA – 12.15pm-12.45pm Fizzy Orange – 1.05pm-1.45pm Thanks Mom – 2.05pm-2.45pm Strength in Numbers – 3.05pm-3.45pm Basht – 4.05pm-4.45pm Glasshouse Performs: The Velvet Underground – 5.05pm-5.50pm The Youth Play – 6.10pm-6.55pm Motionsickness – 7.15pm-8pm Pogueology – 8.20pm-9.05pm Grooveline – 9.25pm-10.10pm Sack – 10.30pm-11.20pm The Drive – 11.40pm-12.20am Fleadh Stage Set Dancing W Maureen Culleton & Irish Dancing from Scoil Rince Ni Anglais – noon-12.40pm Eva Coyle and Band – 1pm-2pm Sean Lyons and Eva Carroll – 2.30pm-3.15pm Frankie Gavin and De Dannan – 3.45pm-4.45pm Buioch – 5pm-5.45pm Niall McCabe – 6pm-7pm Freddie White – 7.30pm-8.30pm Hunger of the Skin: Brian Finnegan – 9pm-10pm The Complete Stone Roses – 10.20pm-11.30pm Ibiza Stage David H (Percussion) – noon-midnight Danny Kay Ibiza – noon-1pm Alan Prosser (12 Inch Thumpers) – 1pm-3pm DJ Sean – 3pm-3.40pm Nick Coles (Live Keys Hybrid Set) – 3.40pm-4.40pm Lange and The Morrighan – 4.40pm-6pm Gee Moore – 6pm-7pm Mr C (The Shamen) DJ Set and Live PA with David H – 7pm-10pm Gee Moore – 10pm-midnight What else is there to see and do? Apart from live music, Forest Fest has a variety of experiences on offer. Festivalgoers will have access to a drop-in circus workshop for children, a replica archeological dig site, food vendors offering cuisines from around the world, stands selling crafted goods and other items and shows by street performers. There will also be art installations from global artists. What time should I arrive? Early access for those camping and glamping will open on Thursday at 2pm. General camping opens at noon on Friday. For Friday day ticket holders the gates will open at 4pm. For Saturday and Sunday ticket holders the gates will open at noon. The festival arena will remain open until 1am each night. How do I get there? As with many festivals held in remote rural locations, it takes some planning to get there. By bus: Day return buses to Forest Fest will run from Dublin, Tullamore (via Geashill), Mountmellick/Portarlington, Kilkenny (via Carlow, Athy and Stradbally), Portlaoise and Cashel (via Horse and Jockey, Thurles, Urlingford, Cullahill, Durrow, Abbeyleix). You can buy a ticket on any of these day return buses from Forest Fest's website . By car: Forest Fest is easily accessible by car as it is only 5km away from the M7. Take Exit 15 and then follow signs for Emo and Mountmellick. There will be a free car park for all patrons of the festival. The walk from the car park to the venue is approximately 15-20 minutes. The organisers have said that there will be a shuttle bus from the car park to the venue available for patrons with mobility or accessibility needs. By train: There are regular hourly train services to Portlaoise and Portarlington railway stations and the festival will be served by local taxi and shuttle bus services. What if I'm camping? Unlike other festivals there does not seem to be an option to rent or buy your camping gear for the weekend, so it is best to come prepared. If you fancy paying more for accommodation you can book to glamp instead of camp and sleep in one of their pre-pitched tents. You can book them here . Toilets are dotted around the festival grounds and the campsite has a number of hot shower blocks. There will also be a designated concrete cooking area at the top of the campsite. This is the only area where stoves are permitted and the festival has a total ban on disposable barbecues. There will be a regular shuttle bus service for all campers to and from the campsite to the festival gate and all general amenities. What's security like? Forest Fest is open to people of all ages and all bags, cars and items are subject to search upon entry. There will be 24/7 security at the festival arena and campsite. Strictly no liquids are allowed into the festival arena, alcohol and other liquids will be confiscated or disposed of at the gate. The organisers have a list online of all items that will be confiscated if found and have said that gardaí will be notified about any illegal items and you may be removed from the festival as a result. Anything else? There will be spaces available to store medications which require refrigeration and there will also be free drinking water available on site, so make sure to bring a reusable bottle There will be phone charging points around the festival site and in the Glamping and VIP areas. How is the weather looking? It is forecast to be a cloudy start to Friday with scattered showers. As the day goes on these showers are expected to become more isolated with sunny spells developing. Highest temperatures of 16-20 degrees with moderate, occasionally fresh, westerly winds. There will be a good deal of dry weather on Saturday with sunny spells and showers. There is a chance of more persistent rain on Sunday, Met Éireann has said.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Sabotage review: Joyously chaotic festival opener has all the fun of the circus
Sabotage Galway International Arts Festival, Nimmo's pier, Claddagh Quay ★★★★☆ The central, delightful contradiction in NoFit State's show is that the aesthetic is raggle-taggle, harum-scarum, scatty, chaotic, anarchic travelling circus, but the reality is that this is a very highly-skilled troupe, performing with precision and perfect timing. And with a lot of heart and fun to boot. The Cardiff-based company of international performers arrive in town with their tent seating 700 in the round, plus snack-bar tent and living quarters, so there's a real sense of circus about proceedings as audiences rock up. This is the opening spectacular for the city's arts festival and it sets a joyous, awe-inspiring tone, triumphing over the temporary November-like conditions outside. Action starts well before showtime, as assorted players gather their wits and their bits about them and engage the audience. The mayor's gold chain in the audience seems like a magnet for several performers, who involve him in 'help' or card tricks. A soldier with a wilting bunch of flowers and a plaintive air waiting for his amour, a tall muscular man with false eyebrows, a frock and lots of charm, a woman with a basket of wigs – all are getting into gear, setting the mood for stage business and busyness. The shambolic vibe is deceptive; this is far from chaotic. It is technically adept in both stagecraft and performance skills. READ MORE Thus it bursts forth, starting with a virtuoso spin by a little person in shades, cool and sexy, all hip swivels and acrobatics using small crutches. Aerial is almost ubiquitous these days, but this is a wow: suspended by long hair, or enfolded in giant skirts composed of multiple smaller ones, or draped languorously over a trapeze, using arms only for action. There is rarely only one thing going on: as well as aerial, your eye is drawn to multiple actions or tableaux simultaneously below. It's hard to keep track, but there are perhaps 13 or 14 performers onstage plus about six musicians in the excellent band; the live original music is intrinsic, mixing rock, folk, Celtic and poppy sounds. They're all multitasking, moving from the heavens to playing in the band, to shimmying up and down towers of the impressive rig, swarming the ground prone on skateboards, performing on the huge circle truss as it moves down from the tent roof or bombing through the action on roller-skates. There is no let-up. All the skills of new circus are on display, with various twists. Tightrope dancing, or more like flopping-bouncing about on the rope; fine hoopwork; juggling from a pit in the ground. Twirling, grace, and anarchic, silly pratfalls. There are calmer interludes too. A trio of widows in black holding bunches of flowers enter with dignity, explode in a moment of wild dancing, then move on. The big guy and the little guy traverse the stage in long black dresses and have a moment of interdependent balance – on giant platform shoes. [ As Galway's arts festival opens, the city's long-expected cultural space inches slowly towards planning this year Opens in new window ] NoFit State was founded in 1986, 'a politically charged time, in a recession, and as a creative reaction to the world around them'. The title Sabotage seems a loose concept, tying together visuals evoking war, conflict, exclusion, protest, riots. An illuminated ambulance beetles about. An oblong shape morphs, via changing projections, from army tank to bus to shipping container. It's imagistic rather than narrative. While thematically it's vaguely dark and evocative of our disturbing world, there's also a whole lot of humour and jollity, a sense of community and connection, and the show is exhilarating, breathtaking, infectious and hugely entertaining, rather than ponderous. A gorgeous, chaotic, playful, joyous, accomplished start to a festive fortnight. Until July 27th at 8pm plus several matinees.
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
As Galway's arts festival opens, the city's long-expected cultural space inches slowly towards planning this year
Galway International Arts Festival artistic director Paul Fahy described the city's arts infrastructure as 'an embarrassment', as this year's two-week-long festival opened, throwing into sharp relief the poverty of arts venues in a city with a reputation for artistic excellence. Plans announced more than four years ago for a long-awaited civic arts space on an An Post city centre site, have inched forward slowly. An Post is 'working through legalities with a preferred bidder', head of corporate communications Anna McHugh confirmed this week. 'We know how much everyone wants to see this development get under way.' In March 2021 An Post tendered to redevelop a large brownfield site, including a former telephone exchange, sorting and storage offices behind Galway's existing GPO. It involved refurbishing the post office, creating a civic cultural space, plus retail and commercial units. READ MORE Since 2019 An Post has generously allowed the festival to use the 640sq m former telephone exchange as a gallery, tucked behind the GPO, a city centre 'secret space' accessed via William Street. From the start, Mr Fahy says An Post has been 'hugely supportive', both locally and at head office. The festival's two main city-centre visual arts venues have been in temporary, borrowed buildings for several years. A partnership with University of Galway has been key, with its venues on campus expected to host 54,000 at performances, exhibitions and talks this fortnight. But Fahy has said it's 'nothing short of shocking' that the city hasn't created a permanent performance and gallery space in nearly 50 years. The planned cultural space at the GPO is 'one of several elements in a complex development project involving significant construction and refurbishment', said Ms McHugh. Originally it expected construction to be well advanced by now, but 'third-party matters and technicalities' impacted the timeline, 'frustrating for everyone'. The project is expected 'to progress to the planning stage by Q4 of this year'. An Post again loaned the festival the space for a temporary gallery for its large-scale site-specific and provocative installation. This is Burning Down the House, built within the space by artist David Mach and the festival team: a life-size stone cottage with flames bursting out the windows. The festival's wider visual arts programme focuses on the climate crisis, environmental degradation, and human relationships with nature and each other. Opening the exhibitions, Mr Fahy pointed out how 'dreadfully inadequate Galway is in terms of cultural infrastructure'. The multidisciplinary festival, a significant magnet for artists and visitors, has a line-up of theatre, circus, dance and opera. This year it has introduced several accessibility initiatives, and is also running a climate transition laboratory as part of a European project researching carbon footprints at large-scale events. [ Galway Film Fleadh 2025: The big winners at the hottest festival in memory, including Gerry Adams basking in adulatory sunshine Opens in new window ] The festival's 50th anniversary is in 2027. 'The first festival in 1978 had a very small tent and a converted shop, and here we are 48 years later with two extraordinarily big tents and a converted building. So, some things don't change. And exciting as it is to respond to a space and make things work,' Fahy says, gesturing to the imposing Mach installation, 'and that thrill will never go away, but it is an embarrassment' that the city lacks venue and gallery space, he says, to applause and cheers of agreement. Catherine Connolly TD, who will declare for the presidential election this week, has said progress on the project was 'unacceptably slow', and that the new civic space would be 'transformational' for Galway. The tents Mr Fahy mentioned are the large blue big top, now a festival staple on the city's skyline, hosting gigs for 3,000 standing, or 1,800 seated. This year a mini village has sprung up around Nimmo's Pier at the Claddagh, where international acrobatic and circus company NoFit State has pitched its own 700-seater bell-shaped performance tent, alongside several accommodation trucks for performers and crew, and a bar-café for audiences, for Sabotage , a spectacular show with live music. The festival's skilled team first transformed the former telephone exchange, unused for 30 years, from dereliction into a gallery in 2019, costing the publicly funded festival more than €50,000. The large-scale sculptures and installations there since have consistently attracted huge audiences. Ms McHugh said An Post remains 'fully committed to a world-class development of this very special site'.
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Guide: Galway arts festival, The Script, Taylor Tomlinson and other events to see, shows to book and ones to catch before they end
Event of the week Galway International Arts Festival From Monday, July 14th, until Sunday, July 27th, various venues, times and prices, Once more around the sun for Ireland's most comprehensive arts festival, which this year further embeds accessibility into its programming. Highlights include photography (Joe O'Shaughnessy's Druid, from Monday, July 14th, until Sunday, July 27th, Kenny Gallery, 9am-5pm, free), opera (Mars, from Friday, July 25th, until Sunday, July 27th, Leisureland, Salthill, 8pm, €40), Resistance to Trump: US congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in conversation with Fintan O'Toole (Saturday, July 26th, Bailey Allen Hall, University of Galway, 6pm, €15) and music (Richard Thompson, Sunday, July 27th, Monroe's, 8pm, €40). A particular must-see is the unique Oh…, the new solo show by the long-time festival collaborator Mikel Murfi (various days, Galway Atlantaquaria, Salthill, 8pm, €25). Gigs The Script Saturday, July 12th, Thomond Park, Limerick, 5pm, €82.80/€78.25/€67.40, Visiting Limerick as part of their Satellites world tour (named after their seventh album , from 2024), The Script continue to raise the flag for resilience. It is now more than two years since the death of Mark Sheehan, one of their original founders. Danny O'Donoghue and Glen Power (along with their long-term touring bass guitarist, Ben Sargeant) seem hell-bent on celebrating the power of positive thinking with their blend of arena-friendly pop/rock/R&B and more than a few anthemic ballads. Jessica Pratt Sunday, July 13th, Vicar Street, Dublin, 7pm, €35, Jessica Pratt California's hippie nostalgia, New York's experimental inclinations and London's swinging-sixties vibe run so much through Jessica Pratt's 2024 album, Here in the Pitch, that you're tempted to check the list of contributors to it. Is that Marianne Faithfull we hear, or Joni Mitchell? The Walker Brothers or The Beach Boys? Velvet Underground or Pentangle? The album is one of four that the Los Angeles-based musician has released since her self-titled debut, in 2012, and it more than consolidates her position as the best US singer-songwriter you've possibly never heard of. Well worth investigating. Supergrass Sunday, July 13th, Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, 6pm, €50.65, It's third strike lucky for Supergrass, the Oxford band who re-formed for the second time last year. The main reason for returning is the 30th anniversary of their debut album, I Should Coco, which, as well as being nominated for the Mercury Prize, propelled the band to the forefront of the Britpop movement. Its single Alright, which reached the UK top three, only amplified their appeal. The band's lead singer, Gaz Coombes, said the song wasn't 'supposed to be a rally cry for our generation', but it and I Should Coco have remained just that, no matter the age of the listener. READ MORE Visual arts Summer Open Exhibition Until Saturday, August 2nd, Swift Cultural Centre, Trim, Co Meath, Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm, free, View from the Hugh Lane by Annette Smyth This inaugural art exhibition featuring the work of almost 50 local artists supports multidisciplinary projects that might not have been undertaken otherwise. Artists involved include Fiona Kerbey, Shane Holland, Annette Smyth, Thomas Hendy, Paula Jane Shuter, John Larkin and Lorraine Clarke. The artworks have been chosen by Belinda Quirke, director of both the Swift centre and Solstice Arts Centre, in Navan. Musical Kinky Boots: The Musical Monday-Saturday, July 14th-19th, Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin, 7.30pm, €68.40/€60.90/€52.30/€41.05, Kinky Boots, from Tony Clayton-Lea for The Guide, Saturday, July 12, 2025. Based on the British film from 2005, and with the bonus of songs by the US pop star Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots: The Musical arrives in Dublin for its penultimate run before concluding its tour in Oxford at the end of this month. A Tony and Olivier winner with a mix of show tunes and club bangers, it follows the (true) story of a shoe-factory owner who, in a bid to save his family business from closure, decides to produce fetish footwear for men. Comedy Taylor Tomlinson: Save Me Sunday, July 13th, 3Arena, Dublin, 7pm, €59.85/€49.20, Taylor Tomlinson Taylor Tomlinson – one of the most-followed women comedians on TikTok – has, in the past five years, filmed three comedy specials for Netflix and presented the US panel show After Midnight (becoming the only woman host on late-night US television). Tomlinson's Save Me tour, which mines her personal life for material, has its roots in her upbringing in a pious Christian community as well as the removal of her life from such controls. Topics addressed and insightfully ribbed include mental health, sexual preferences and dating. Arts festival Earagail Arts Festival From Saturday, July 12th, until Saturday, July 26th, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, various venues, times and prices, Thirty-eight years is a long time to keep the fires burning, but Earagail Arts Festival doesn't seem to be tiring. Its broad range of events includes theatre/dance (Steps into the Wild & Miss Mary, Monday, July 14th, Gola Island, noon, free), music (Poor Creature, Friday, July 18th, Donegal Castle, 8pm, €20) and circus (Tumble, from Thursday, July 24th, until Saturday, July 26th, Ionad Cois Locha, Dunlewey, 3.30pm, €10/€6). Still running The Beacon Until Saturday, July 19th, Everyman Theatre, Cork, 7.30pm, €39/€36, Geraldine Hughes Commissioned by Druid in 2016, Nancy Harris's play receives a revival (and a Cork premiere). The story hinges on the renovation of a house on an island off the west Cork coast, and how notable feminist artist Beiv (Geraldine Hughes) oversees a deep-rooted, intriguing family mystery. Leonard Buckley and Ross O'Donnellan also feature. Sara Joyce directs. Book it this week Masters of Tradition Festival, Bantry, Co Cork, August 20th-24th, Westport Festival of Chamber Music, Co Mayo, September 11th-14th, Tom Odell, 3Arena, Dublin, October 23rd, Serena Terry, Cork Opera House, March 12th,
New York Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Global Arts Festival Taking Shape Inside Gowanus Power Station
A new arts festival, featuring performance art from Brazil, an interactive installation from New Zealand, and a party presented by a Beyoncé dance captain, will be staged this fall inside a onetime power station along Brooklyn's industrial Gowanus Canal. The three-month series, called Powerhouse: International and scheduled to run Sept. 25 to Dec. 13, is being curated by David Binder, a longtime performing arts producer and former artistic director of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It will take place at Powerhouse Arts, a hulking structure that since 2023 has housed fabrication studios for artists from a variety of disciplines. The festival will be the building's first series of performing arts events, and will feature acclaimed artists like William Kentridge, from South Africa, who is presenting his multidisciplinary opera-theater work 'Sibyl'; Christos Papadopoulos, from Greece, whose prizewinning dance piece 'Larsen C' is about a melting ice shelf; and Carolina Bianchi, from Brazil, who will perform her 'Cadela Força Trilogy,' a stage work about sexual violence, with her collective Cara de Cavalo. 'We're in this moment when there are so many barriers — cultural, physical, ideological — and this festival aims to break down those barriers,' Binder said in an interview. 'What really interests me is the convergence of artists from different countries and different disciplines.' To keep the events accessible, the festival is making at least 10,000 tickets — just over half of the expected total — available for $30 each. At most configurations, the venue will have about 800 seats. Binder said he was motivated in part by a change in the types of work being presented in New York City in recent years. 'There's obviously a lot less international work in the city, a lot less art, a lot less new plays, a lot less music and dance,' he said. 'I'm hoping we're adding to the conversation.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
