Now in its 48th year, the festival returns once more with an extraordinary programme. A record 36 venues and locations throughout the city will be filled with music, drama, dance and visual arts for the duration of the festival, which runs from tomorrow, Friday 15th October, until the 30th October 2010.

Showcasing from the start just what the festival has to offer, Chopin 200th Anniversary celebrations will launch in full swing tomorrow morning at Central Station. Rush Hour Chopin will treat commuters to a dash of rousing music in the morning to get them all fired up for work, from 7:30-9:00am; then at 4:30-6:00pm something to help them unwind. World class international artists and performers, from drama and dance to classical and contemporary music, will be on offer from that time throughout the city’s impressive venues.

This year’s festival highlights include world premieres of: National Anthem, the first ever stage play by Colin Bateman, celebrated author of Murphy’s Law; Postcards from Dumbworld, an extraordinary new opera by award-winning composer Brian Irvine; Don’t Shoot the Clowns, a feisty and funny political satire inspired by Jo Wilding’s well-known book.

Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen’s will also be bringing a powerful line-up of controversial plays never before seen in Northern Ireland: Black Watch, a huge success in the West End, is bound to get people talking, especially considering the Black Watch and its presence in Northern Ireland during The Troubles; The Habit of Art, a new play by Alan Bennett, writer of West End hit The History Boys; Trilogy, which enjoyed huge success at the Barbican last year, and is once again inviting fifty female volunteer dancers to participate in its celebratory venture into modern-day feminism.

Please find the full press release attached to this email, and further information at www.belfastfestival.com. Should you require any further help, images or interview opportunities with the festival’s participants, please contact:


Tani Burns: 0207 749 6850 / tani.burns@ideageneration.co.uk or Rachel Williams: rachel.williams@ideageneration.co.uk