Text by CLOT Magazine
In a moment where we are teetering on the precipice—global violence, Birmingham’s effective bankruptcy, and the creeping financial precarity of our sector—this programme is a love letter to the act of making, witnessing, and gathering at the edges of contemporary performance. I love these artists, and they give us reason to continue: to indulge in the stickiness of the unknown and to insist on ways of moving through the world. Said Clayton Lee, Artistic Director of Fierce Festival.
This 2024 edition is the first edition of Fierce Festival under new Artistic Director Clayton Lee. It brings productions to Birmingham, UK, at the vanguard of international performance practice from diaspora communities.
The festival includes UK premieres from international pioneers such as Jeremy Nedd, Ramona Nagabczyńska, Steven Cohen, Joshua Serafin, Harald Beharie, Alessandro Schiattarella and Tiran Willemse. From Birmingham, Selina Thompson Ltd presents Twine, their first new theatre show in seven years, and Sheila Ghelani presents the world premiere of Softly/Tenderly, in which she responds to Birmingham’s gun trade. In a second work, Common Salt, Ghelani is joined by artist Sue Palmer, inviting audiences in small groups to sit around a table to explore England’s colonial, geographical and natural history. Finally, Adam Kinner and Christopher Willes’ MANUAL celebrates the library as a community space, inviting audiences to slow down in a one-to-one meditative listening and reading experience during public hours at the Library of Birmingham.
Other works adopting non-traditional performance formats include Keioui Keijaun Thomas’s three-part film and multimedia installation, Come Hell or High Femmes; Edward George’s seminal neo-soul album, Voodoo; and the UK premiere of Dana Michel’s durational performance MIKE.
From 15 to 20 October, Fierce Festival 2024 will take over Birmingham venues, including the Midland Arts Centre, Birmingham Hippodrome, the Library of Birmingham, and the Festival Hub at the Birmingham Black Box Theatre.
