Artists take over the centre of Leeds for the weekend of May 18 to 20. Directed by filmmakers the Quay Brothers, OverWorlds and UnderWorlds is a free event using music, dance, theatre, film and light in the city’s public spaces.
The weekend of performances and installations begins on Briggate, a pedestrian street running through the heart of the city. The show’s other locations include the Dark Arches, a complex of tunnels that run beneath Leeds train station.
The creative team for the weekend includes composer Gavin Bryars, choreographers Daniel de Andrade, Gary Clarke, Douglas Thorpe and Charlotte Vincent, sound designer Mic Poole and writer Blake Morrison. Stephen and Timothy Quay said: “This is the first time we’ve been invited to work on such an enormous scale, and we’re delighted to be working with such a renowned and talented group of artists and designers. Leeds is a city full of unusual spaces that resonate with ideas and those of the creative team. OverWorlds & UnderWorlds is going to take all of us into new territory, through familiar spaces perceived in unfamiliar ways.”
The work is one of 12 Artists Taking the Lead commissions, established by the UK arts councils for the Cultural Olympiad. It is a collaboration between eight of the city’s arts organisations: Northern Ballet, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Opera North, Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance, Leeds Museums & Galleries, Leeds Met Gallery & Studio Theatre and Leeds Art Gallery.
See www.overworldsandunderworlds.com for more information.
Photograph: Leeds Canvas 2012
