Stendhal Festival begins tomorrow so here’s everything you need to know before you go. The festival of art takes place in the picturesque Ballymully Cottage Farm just outside Limavady and runs from the 8th to the 9th August. There’s everything from art, music and comedy, to poetry and theatre so there’s definitely something for everyone at this unique weekend. There’s even a handy new iPhone app to help make sure you don’t miss a thing.
Here’s the full line-up for the weekend:
Here’s our picks for each section.
Music
Without a doubt The Undertones are not one to miss. Obviously our favs The Wonder Villains will be putting on a great show full of fun and laughs and our previous #NIMusic Tune for the Weekend artist Amanda St John is one to watch. Silences are making waves with their latest track ‘Santa Cruz’ as are In An Instant with their tune ‘Something Right and Something Real’ so it” be great to be able to catch them live. Alt folk band The Emerald Armada have also been hailed as one of the most exciting acts to come out of Belfast for a long while and in the build up to their debut album release PØRTS are on fire.
Comedy
Pretty much all the comedy acts at Stendhal this year are phenomenal. The ever amusing Ruaidhrí Ward is one of my favourite comedy acts at the minute with his scathing look at NI politics and Shane Todd has been compared to Alan Partridge with his character Mike McGoldrick going viral online. Grumpy old man and comedy veteran Arthur Smith is another big big name not to miss, yet our ultimate comedy pick is improv comedy group Wonder Frog who will have you in stitches.
Theatre
They’re not giving too much away, but Stendhal assure us that there will be some great theatre picks at this year’s fest. There will be performances by the Limavady Drama Club, Big-Telly Theatre Company and Belfast based Shot Glass Theatre so it’s all local.
Poetry
Red Pill will see an alternative stand-up poetry showcase which looks like it could be a bit of fun, whilst Dubliner Stephen James Smith will also be performing. Colin Hassard has won awards for his Spoken Word and poetry slam performances and he’s also back this year to manage the Spoken Word stage.
Art
This is what it’s all about. Shannon O’Kane brings us North Coast landscapes in pencil and textiles, Mya Mya Thit will feature abstract ideas on canvas and John McMacken the artist in residence will be making sketches of scenes at the festivals and will create paintings from them in the gallery.
The good people at Stendhal have also put together this handy guide on how to get there. Have fun and be safe you guys!
