WITH human towers, mime with bubbles, circus and cooking, this year’s Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival will celebrate the vibrant arts of Catalunya.

In her final year as festival director, Maria Bota is bringing the spirit of Catalunya to the city through theatre, film, dance, music, talks and food.

Ms Bota launched the festival at Salisbury Arts Centre on Wednesday in front of festival friends, sponsors and invited guests.

She said: “Many of this year’s festival events are inspired by Catalunya.

“I have been experiencing the vibrant arts and culture from this part of our world since I was a child, as my father is Catalan, and I have discovered a wealth of powerful, feisty and witty work which I hope you will love.”

The troop of 120 Castellers of Vilafranca building human castles outside the cathedral spire looks set to be a sight to behold.

Castells are traditionally built at festivals across Catalunya and the Castellers of Vilafranca have become known for building their towers in front of international landmarks including the Eiffel Tower and on the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper.

In Salisbury they will build their tower in front of the spire at a free event in the Cathedral Close on June 1.

World renowned Catalan performers will also be coming to the city, including mime artist Pep Bou, dance company Nats Nus Dansa and bass viol musician Jordi Savall.

During the 16-day festival from May 25 to June 8 the city will be full of breath-taking installations from Girona’s Flower Festival and there will be opportunities to sample Catalan cuisine.

The Catalan programme is being supported by the Institut Ramon Llull, which promotes Catalan language and culture abroad.

Booking for the festival opens today.

To download a programme or book tickets go to salisburyfestival.co.uk.

Tickets are also available from the box office on 0845 241 9651.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

THIS year the festival team is drawing together three events into one free opening event on Saturday, May 25.

Close Encounters will be held in the Cathedral Close, combining the usual opening and closing events and the family playday.

Close Encounters kicks off at 2pm with a host of free activities for people to get involved with.

There will be art and sporting activities for families to enjoy, including junk modelling, face painting and street theatre.

And there will be the Catalan Cooking Food Festa Major throughout the afternoon and evening.

The foodie event gives people the chance to sample a tasty variety of Catalan foods such as cakes, grilled vegetables with Romesco sauce, pa amb tomàquet and ham.

A host of world-class street theatre groups will be putting on performances around the Close throughout the day and evening before the festival fireworks go off with a bang at 10.15pm.

LITERARY PROGRAMME

CELEBRATED children’s author Michael Morpurgo comes to the festival to tell the story of Albert and his beloved horse Joey.

Acclaimed musicians John Tams and Barry Coope will accompany him with rousing yet haunting songs that were specially composed for the National Theatre’s award-winning production of the novel War Horse.

And Lionel Shriver, author of international bestseller We Need to Talk About Kevin, comes to the festival for a talk about her latest novel, Big Brother, which tackles issues surrounding obesity – why we overeat, whether extreme diets ever work and how we treat overweight people.

There will also be talks by writer and broadcaster John McCarthy, wildlife TV presenter Kate Humble, TV historian Dan Snow and academic and humanist AC Grayling, among a host of others presenting a wide range of subjects for discussion and debate as part of the festival’s literature programme.

VARIETY OF MUSIC

A VARIED programme of music will be on offer at the festival, including the ever popular Salisbury Live event.

There will be a rich classical programme including Pinchas Zukerman along with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, popular Catalan bands such as Astrio and La Troba Kung-Fu and some must-see performances for folk fans with Eliza Carthy and Jim Moray.

Salisbury Live, which hosts local bands in pubs throughout the city, promises to be bigger and better this year, running over two weekends of the festival.

INCREDIBLE SETTINGS

SALISBURY Cathedral will be the setting for a number of this year’s festival events, featuring highlights of this year’s classical music programme.
Circa & I Fagiolini will bring a combination of beautiful music and exhilarating
acrobatic feats into the setting of the city’s iconic building with How Like An Angel.
Australian company Circa’s six acrobats will ascend, contort and tumble in
an ethereal display of physical daring accompanied by a live performance of
sacred music from the 11th to 20th centuries by UK-based vocal ensemble I
Fagiolini.
The festival will showcase performances in many of the area’s other fantastic
settings, including Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre returning to Old Wardour Castle, this time with King Lear, The Solstice Quartet at Trafalgar Park near Downton, Fretwork at St Thomas’s Church and The Hilliard Ensemble at Wilton
Church.