theartsdesk in Belfast: Scenes from the 48th Belfast Festival

Fewer laughs, higher-brow, but this year's box office outsells Lady Gaga

by Bruce DessauSunday, 31 October 2010

'New circus' troupe Circa 'howl in the face of gravity'

In National Anthem, the debut play by bestselling novelist Colin Bateman, a composer lies prostrate on the floor. Half hungover, half waiting for inspiration, he has been commissioned to co-write an anthem for Northern Ireland with a poet and has a day to do it before flying back to his continental tax haven. The ad-hoc alliance soon fractures as differences emerge. One is Catholic, passionate and pretentious, one has sold his Protestant soul to MOR rock and platinum sales. Can the two sides work in harmony?

More people bought tickets for these productions than bought tickets for Lady Gaga's recent visit

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Book tickets for Black Watch at the Barbican website

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