Each year the Salisbury International Arts Festival focuses its programme on a particular country, which opens the event. In 2009, 2010 and 2011 the focus was on India, Russia and China respectively. This year the festival will spotlight Catalan culture, from the traditional to the contemporary. Over 80,000 festival-goers will be able enjoy performances by the dance company Nats Nus, the work of Roger Bernat and Pep Bou, various film screenings and musical events that includes such diverse talents as Jordi Savall, the Cobla Sant Jordi, La Troba Kung-Fú, Astrio or a joint show by Carles Santos and CaboSanRoque. Also scheduled are a talk by Barça's Vice-President, Carles Vilarrubí and several performances by the human tower group Castellers de Vilafranca.
"I have experienced the vibrant art and culture of this part of the world since I was a child, as my father is Catalan, and I have discovered a wealth of work that is powerful, energetic and witty", said the festival's director, Maria Bota, in a statement. For his part, the Director of the Institut Ramon Llull, Vicente Villatoro, remarked that "the special importance of being the guest culture at the Salisbury Festival is due to its wide-ranging nature. Fortunately, Catalan culture is often the guest culture at events that show the vitality of a particular sector: literature, dance, architecture, and so on. In this case we can show the vitality and energy of new Catalan cultural output as a whole, in all fields. And we can do so at a prestigious festival that has a substantial impact on British society."
Pep Bou will present his show Rebufaplanetes at Salisbury with the architecture students of Enric Ruiz Geli, the architect working on the headquarters of the future El Bulli Foundation. Ponten Pie will surprise visitors with its theatrical and gastronomic proposal Copacabana, and Roger Bernat will present Rite of Spring.
The programme also includes a film series, with the screening of Agustí Villaronga's award-winning Black Bread, the UK premiere of Joel Joan's Fènix 11*23, Toni Bestard's The Perfect Stranger, and a tribute to the recently deceased Bigas Luna with the screening of The Tit and the Moon. Toni Bestard, Sergio Lara, Joel Joan and Èric Bertran will attend the screening of their respective films and take part in discussions about them.
To complement the artistic events, there will be several talks about Catalan culture. The Vice-President of Futbol Club Barcelona, Carles Vilarrubí, will talk about the links between sport, culture and education, while the former British General Consul in Barcelona, Geoff Cowling, will give a lecture entitled "Catalonia: Past, Present and Future".
In addition to the Catalan programme, visitors will also be able to enjoy the spectacular floral installations of Girona Flower Time.
Below is the complete Catalan programme:
Friday, 24th May - Opening Evening
8 p.m. Ponten Pie: Copacabana - Theatre
7.30 p.m. Cobla St Jordi - Music
Saturday, 25th May
10.30 a.m. Catalan Cooking Demonstration
2 p.m. Catalan Food Festival at Cathedral Close
2.30 p.m. & 4.30 p.m. Los Galindos: Maiurta - Circus
3 p.m. & 8 p.m. Ponten Pie: Copacabana - Theatre
Sunday, 26th May
12.30 p.m. & 2.30 p.m. Los Galindos: Maiurta - Circus
3 p.m. Ponten Pie: Copacabana - Theatre
4.30 p.m. Cloud 9: Architecture Workshop with Pep Bou
Monday, 27th May
5.30 p.m. Catalonia: Past, Present and Future, talk by Geoff Cowling
7.30 p.m. Pep Bou: Rebufaplanetes - Theatre
7.30 p.m. Black Bread (Agustí Villaronga) - Film
Tuesday, 28th May
7.30 p.m. Barça: Sport, Culture and Education, talk by Carles Vilarrubí, Vice-President of Futbol Club Barcelona
Wednesday, 29th May
7.30 p.m. Nats Nus Dansa: Momentari - Dance
7.30 p.m. The Perfect Stranger (Toni Bestard) - Film. Followed by Q&A session with Toni Bestard
Thursday, 30th May
11 a.m. Nats Nus Dansa: Slot - Dance
Friday, 31st May
11 a.m. Edward Stourton: Cool Crossing - Literature
7.30 p.m. Finisterrae (Sergio Caballero) - Film
9.30 p.m. Animals (Marçal Forés) - Film
Saturday, 1st June
Castellers de Vilafranca - Human Towers
8 p.m. La Troba Kung-Fú: Inside the Ox's Belly - Music
Saturday, 2nd June
Castellers de Vilafranca - Human Towers
5 p.m. The Legend of Time (Isaki Lacuesta) - Film
8 p.m. Barcelona Socialites (Mireia Ros) - Film
Monday, 3rd June
7.30 p.m. Fenix 11*23 (Joel Joan) - Film. Followed by Q&A session with Èric Bertran, Sergi Lara and Joel Joan
Tuesday, 4th June
7-7.50 p.m. Roger Bernat: Rite of Spring - Dance
8.15 p.m. Carles Santos and CaboSanRoque: Maquinofobia Pianolera - Music
Wednesday, 5th June
3 p.m. Carles Santos: Solo Recital - Music
7.30 p.m. Astrio: Don't Leave the Planet - Music
7-7.50 p.m. Roger Bernat: Rite of Spring - Dance
9.15 p.m. Carles Santos and CaboSanRoque: Maquinofobia Pianolera - Music
Friday, 7th June
7 p.m. V.O.S. (Cesc Gay) - Film
9 p.m. The Tit and the Moon (Bigas Luna) - Film
7.30 p.m. Jordi Savall - Music
More information can be found at: www.salisburyfestival.co.uk