The 5 – 9 September sees the return of Unlimited to Southbank Centre, a biennial festival of events shining a light on the extraordinary work by disabled artists.
This year’s programme, features a fantastic range of dance, performance, comedy, music and art – all of which challenges perceptions and breaks down walls. So where to start? Well, here is a magnificent selection of seven highlights to get your ball rolling…
Antardrishti – Inner Vision
Friday 7 September, 7.30pm
Inner Vision Orchestra, founded and led by Baluji Shrivastav, is the only blind orchestra in the UK. In this Unlimited performance they collaborate with outstanding blind musicians from across India, whilst digital artists Addictive TV provide an accompanying visual soundscape that samples musicians, sights and sounds from India.
We are F*cked
7 & 8 September, 6pm
Enjoy a new performance work by UK artist Jo Bannon, which explores desire, sexuality and neoliberalism. A melodramatic opera, this Royal Festival Hall performance explores the modern feminist experience of personal, psychological and political penetration.
This is Not a Safe Space
8 September, 3pm & 7.45pm
Disabled people have been hit harder by austerity measures than probably any other group in the country. In this show, stand-up comedian and playwright Jackie Hagan brings us the real voices of proper skint disabled people she knows. But don’t expect sob stories – these people are spiky, complex humans, some weird, some wonky, some resilient.
Aby Watson & Dan Daw
Sunday 9 September, 7pm
This double bill of performances from artists Aby Watson and Dan Drew examines identity and disability and takes to task ideas of normal bodies, function and dysfunction. Watson’s dance performance, -ish, is one of movement, object and speech, whilst Daw’s intimate show, On One Condition, invites us to challenge our perceptions.
Visual Art
Across the five days of Unlimited you’ll be able to see a host of visual artworks on display around Southbank Centre, ranging from the British and Palestinian collaborative project It Was Paradise, to the exhibition My Life In London from ActionSpace artists Thompson Hall and Ian Wornast. We also host Richard Butchins’ free art installation The Voice of the Unicorn and give you the opportunity to try your own hand in How Do They Know It’s You?
Vogue: The Unlimited House of Krip
Saturday 8 September, 4pm
Strike a pose with the Deaf and disabled performers of The Unlimited House of Krip at their stunningly visual free vogue ball show as teams, known as houses, compete against one another in dance-offs. You can even try out some moves of your own with dance professionals in the event’s open workshops.
Brownton Abbey Bless Bar
Saturday 8 September, 8pm
Transforming our Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer into a kaleidoscopic off-world temple, Brownton Abbey is an Afro-futurist performance party of intersectional identities, where queer, trans and disabled people of colour lead the narrative. Are you ready to get transcendental on the dancefloor?
Unlimited takes place at Southbank Centre 5-9 September, with a huge range of events for all ages.
Find out more here: https://bit.ly/2NkZf5y
