NOVUM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
WILD by Motionhouse - photo credit Dan Tucker
NOVUM, Newcastle’s newest multi-arts festival experience, returns bigger and bolder in its second year with more international artists, live music and free activities
Spectacular visual arts installations, dazzling circus performances, spoken word and theatre, ‘breaking’ competitions, live DJ sets and intimate folk gigs, jazz fusion and indie singer songwriters alongside free family friendly activities – Newcastle’s NOVUM Festival is quickly becoming one to watch.
Highlights of the four-day festival include:
DJ Yoda, the world-class turntablist, music producer, and trailblazing video artist is headlining with an exclusive, bespoke and immersive Audio Visual showcase created especially for NOVUM where audiences will experience the heartbeat of Newcastle like never before (Saturday 10 August)
‘Shrink’ by Belgian installation and performance art specialist Lawrence Malstaf where people from local communities will become living portraits in a striking exhibition that will see them vacuum-packed and vertically suspended.
A flying piano and ensemble of circus artists from Bristol based Cirque Bijou will deliver an aerial show featuring live music and singing.
Motionhouse, the world class dance-circus production company, bring their gravity-defying dance-circus production ‘WILD’ to the Festival, a piece where the performers use powerful physicality to move animal-like through a forest of tall poles.
In the year that breaking (breakdance) becomes an Olympic sport, local breaker Rob Anderson and break.ne showcase Triple Threat, where B-boys and B-girls will battle it out in an original Breaking competition.
The magical non-verbal puppetry and storytelling of The League of Curiosity
BBC Young Folk Awards finalist Amelia Coburn will be stopping off on her nationwide tour in Newcastle to perform from her debut album (Thursday 8 August)
Anthemic spiritualists Flamingods (‘Majesty’ 2016, ‘Levitation’ 2019) (Friday 9 August)
The multi artform event will showcase local, national, and international talent, transforming the Grade II* listed Civic Centre and surrounding gardens into a cultural playground.
