October means Belfast Festival at Queen's, and as usual there's a plethora of events to choose from. Hottest ticket theatrically is unquestionably the visit of the world-famous Schaubühne Berlin, making its NI debut with a staging of Ibsen's great social drama An Enemy of the People at the Grand Opera House.
The company has a reputation for cutting-edge productions, and this surtitled version of Ibsen is no exception. The Guardian critic, reviewing the show in London, noted director Thomas Ostermeier's "highly effective update" of the play, "putting his actors in grunge-cool modern dress, having them play pop songs and perform against a set chalked, Dogville-style, on blackboard walls". There is also audience involvement, subjecting Ibsen's whistle-blowing theme to more intense scrutiny than is normally possible within the confines of conventional theatre. This is exactly the sort of bold, mould-breaking drama that festivals should be presenting, and all credit to the BFAQ team for booking it. 23-25 October, goh.co.uk
On a smaller scale, but potentially equally compelling, is The Suit, a play about adultery adapted from a short story by the South African writer Can Themba. The production is by another renowned visiting company, Théâtres Des Bouffes Du Nord, with the legendary Peter Brook directing. His staging has again attracted a strong reaction from the critics, one describing it as "a minimalist masterclass, exquisitely performed and almost unbearably moving", another averring that "this story of adultery in apartheid South Africa is quietly preparing to break your heart". Another ideal festival choice, this time on the main stage at the Lyric Theatre. 29-31 October.
Cross-media collaborations can look better on paper than they are in practice, but the combination of music from Benjamin Britten's dark, haunting cello suites and poems by Sylvia Plath should make for a genuinely interesting evening on 01 November, also at the Lyric. Actor Charlotte Rampling is the reader, Sonia Wieder-Atherton the cellist, and there's a pre-show talk on Plath's poetry by Gerald Dawe, Professor of English at Trinity College, Dublin, a useful introduction to the main presentation. lyrictheatre.co.uk
Classical music pure and simple also has a range of festival concerts on offer. The pick of them is probably the concert on 31 October, in which Belfast-born pianist Barry Douglas plays Beethoven's Fourth Concerto with the Ulster Orchestra. Douglas is in the form of his life at present, and is an excellent Beethoven pianist, so this is a marvellous opportunity to sample his consummate artistry.
The programme also features the launch of new Ulster Orchestra Chief Conductor Rafael Payare's complete cycle of Tchaikovsky's symphonies. The Fourth is his chosen starting point, and its explosive finale in particular should play to the young Venezuelan's flair for drama and orchestral colour.
Payare also conducts a highly imaginative concert in the Ulster Orchestra's excellent lunchtime series, featuring the orchestra's wind and brass sections. Works by Gabrieli, Tomasi and Richard Strauss are on the menu, and they should flourish in the warmly sympathetic Ulster Hall acoustic. 29 October,
ulsterorchestra.com
Arts Rundown
Date: 16/10/2014
