Stephen McCauley hosts stunning live performances from emerging home-grown musical talent, from electronica to indie rock to classical. Featuring performances from Rews, Brand New Friend and Robocobra Quartet.
Fifty years after the Lyric Theatre was established in Belfast, actors and playwrights whose careers were launched there discuss its legacy and ambitions for the future.
Over the past few years BBC Arts NI has been supporting local female directing talent to bring their ideas to life in short, cinematic snippets. Marie-Louise Muir introduces this latest batch of five feisty film-makers.
This month's show features musicians from the worlds of jazz, classical, rock and trad partnering up to create and perform one-off performances of new or reversioned tracks. Including performances from Horslips and Ulaid, Barry Douglas and Martin Hayes, Dana Masters and The Bonnevilles, Moya Brennan, Ryan Vail and Elma Orkestra, and Phil Kieran, Karl McGuckin and Jolene O'Hara. Presented by Stephen McCauley.
Phil Taggart brings viewers up to speed on the best new talent of 2019. The programme features five artists working in ceramics, textiles, illustration, gaming and screenwriting.
After a break of nearly seven years Snow Patrol are back on the road. For a quarter of a century, from small gigs to the biggest arenas in the world, Northern Irish rockers Snow Patrol have lived life on tour buses, aeroplanes and in hotels with the pressures of fame and a fair share of personal ups and downs. Filmed ‘access all areas’ on tour from Dallas to Mexico City and New Orleans back to Belfast, this is a backstage pass to the real world of a touring rock juggernaut.
Rigsy and Gemma Bradley are live from Stendhal Festival 2019, with highlights from Hothouse Flowers, Kíla, Elma Orkestra and Ryan Vail, plus Cormac Neeson’s entire set live from the Karma Valley Stage
From the forest to the main stage, a celebration of music and arts from one of Northern Ireland’s most family-friendly festivals, Stendhal.
Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders front man, Ricky Warwick plays in session for BBC Arts NI.
Oliver Jeffers is a name known to millions across the globe. A massively successful and award winning children’s picture-book maker, he’s sold over ten million books which have been translated into over forty languages, such as ‘How to Catch a Star’, ‘Lost and Found’, and ‘The Incredible Book Eating Boy’ ‘Lost and Found’ has already been turned into an award-winning animation and earlier this year Apple announced they would be working with Oliver on another of his books at the launch of their new video streaming service. He’s also made a promotional video for U2 and did the artwork for their ‘Innocence and Experience’ tour. Bono, along with numerous other high profile names, is a fan. Oliver is also a prolific and collectable fine artist, hungrily experimenting with media and form, and in recent times has become politically vocal through his regular postings on Instagram. Born in Australia Oliver spent his childhood and young adulthood in Belfast before moving to New York around 12 years ago. His workshop is in ‘The Invisible Dog’, an artist studio collective in Brooklyn, in an area where he lives with his wife Suzanne and their two children. This is a very important year for Oliver, with the release of his latest book ‘The Fate of Fausto’ and the opening of several international solo exhibitions.
Stephen McCauley presents fresh music talent including acoustic sounds from JC Stewart, R&B-infused beats from Dena Anuk$a, electro-pop from Alice La, alt-rock from New Pagans and Wild Youth, plus rising stars from the classical world.
Musical artists from various genres come together to create unique collaborations, including Kitt Philippa with Daithí and the Belfast Community Gospel Choir, Wood Burning Savages with Ursula Burns, Ruth McGinley with Neil Martin, and The Lost Brothers with Zoe Conway. Presented by Stephen McCauley.
Innovative musicians and NI Music Prize winners Ryan Vail and Elma Orkestra join forces for the international multimedia project Borders.
The best new sounds on the Irish music scene featuring bonus performances from Jordan Adetunji, J C Stewart, Wild Youth, New Pagans, Dena Anuksa and more. Presented by Stephen McCauley.
BBC Arts and The Lyric Theatre, with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, join forces to create short isolation dramas with some of Northern Ireland’s biggest names. This quick–turnaround project utilises our finest writers, actors and directors to produce unique takes on the Covid-19 lockdown situation, exploring both the positive and negative aspects of social isolation. The five-minute theatrical pieces have been created by top flight actors, directors and writers and are shot in accordance with social distancing guidelines.
Nicky is trying to overcome her Aunt’s death during lockdown without all of the usual Irish customs – there was a ‘zoom’ funeral but Nicky has decided to send her off with a proper gesture – delivering tray bakes, or ‘wake cake’ to family and friends in her honour.
Kenny is an ageing, paranoid recluse. Lockdown sees his well-intentioned neighbours leave bags of essentials on his doorstep each week. Mistrustful, Kenny senses there’s an ulterior motive – what are they after? Next time he’ll be waiting to confront these ‘good’ Samaritans ….
Jimmy is fragile and alone, staying in his late father’s house – he died during lockdown. As Jimmy clears out the house contents he notices a girl in the house opposite. He attempts to communicate but she doesn’t respond, staring straight through him. Doesn’t she see him? Is she a ghost? Is he losing his mind with grief?
Partners Karen & Simon are sharing a small office space at home during lockdown. Karen is meticulous, Simon is relaxed….way too relaxed for Karen’s liking. We join them as Wi-Fi problems are upsetting Karen’s plans for a virtual office get-together.
Stella is a mature actress living on her own. To stave off loneliness and keep her mind active she rehearses plays from her past. A young volunteer delivering her medication overhears. A drama student during normal times, he realises that maybe the medicine she really needs is human interaction….
Gillian tells us she was in love once - with a guy at Uni many years before. But he moved on and married. Lockdown has brought him suddenly out of the woodwork again…. his situation has changed and he wants to meet. Should she let him see what she’s become after all this time? Her mother wouldn’t be pleased and, of course, they’d be breaking lockdown….
The RUA is Northern Ireland’s biggest annual art exhibition, an opportunity for all artists - professionals and amateurs alike - to show their work at the Ulster Museum. This documentary follows five artists hoping to have their work selected from the competitive open call. For the first time ever, cameras have been allowed behind-the-scenes at the 142-year-old Royal Ulster Academy. The five artists have been chosen from across Northern Ireland and each has their own story to tell. Comedian Colin Murphy took up painting during lockdown. Stephen Greer, a former drug dealer and paramilitary member, learned to paint in prison. For anxiety-sufferer Amy Wyatt and her mother Alice, a survivor of sexual abuse, ceramics and print-making are more than hobbies: they’re lifelines. Farmer Thomas McNeill makes giant sculptures as a means of self-expression. The programme follows the artists through the process of creating an artwork to finding out whether or not it has been accepted.