Unlimited festival goes digital

Posted on January 5, 2021

The Southbank Centre’s first digital Unlimited festival programme features five days of dance, performance, comedy, film, talks, workshops and art, celebrating the artistic vision of disabled artists from January 13 to 17, 2021. Alongside the digital programme, there will be an outdoor exhibition onsite at the Southbank Centre, Unseen by artist Suzie Larke. 

Dance highlights, all of which are free to watch, include a broadcast of the powerful dance duet 111 (January 13–15), featuring Joel Brown of Candoco Dance Company and Eve Mutso, former principal dancer with Scottish Ballet, as they explore their different strengths and vulnerabilities. The title takes its name from the number of vertebrae Joel and Eve have between them. 

Artificial Things, from January 15 to 17, winner of a dancescreenaward, is choreographed by Lucy Bennett and directed by Sophie Fiennes. Filmed on location in a derelict suburban shopping mall, featuring an ensemble of disabled and non-disabled dancers, the film explores human interdependence, strength, and vulnerability. Dancers Amy Butler, Laura Jones, Chris Pavia, David Willdridge and Dave Toole, who recently died (see Dancing Times, December 2020), devised the original piece and all appear in the film. The work will be accompanied by a live Q&A with the creative team. 

Sonny Nwachukwu gives an interactive insight into his choreopoem in Saturn Returns on January 17, a live dance and spoken word performance which explores the psychospiritual clashes produced in Black people by the weight of history. Here / Not Here, from January 14 to 17, is a new hip hop film exploring British Sign Language, krump street dance, football and Visual Vernacular – the choreographed and poetic form of sign language. This drama sees three rival groups clash over who should use an abandoned warehouse space. The film, directed by award-winning film-maker and deaf artist Bim Ajadi and written by Jonzi D, artistic director of Breakin’ Convention, is a collaboration with the film’s professional and non-professional, deaf and hearing cast. The music is composed and produced by Torben Lars Sylvest. For more information on Unlimited events, go to southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/unlimited. 

Picture: Unlimited 2021. Photograph by Susan Hay.

Simon Oliver

Simon Oliver has been production editor of Dancing Times since 2010 and is highly experienced in design across print and online magazine production. Throughout his career, Simon has worked on a diverse range of subjects including music, family history, book collecting and poker.