The Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2013, a programme of music, theatre and the arts, launched with a free open-air performance of Reve D'Herbert (Herbert's Dream), by Compagnie des Quidams. About 5,000 spectators gathered in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral for the performance. The show has toured extensively around the world and featured a dozen ethereal characters that "ballooned" to more than 12ft (4m) tall on a journey through a "luminous dreamscape".
Micky Martins, the festival's artistic associate for the outdoor programme, said: "These events are about making the festival accessible to everybody so more people can feel it's for them. The quality of the work is just getting better and better and is an art form and audience experience that is on a par with any other form of live theatre or entertainment." About £100,000 of the festival's budget is spent on its programme of free outdoor events.
Serena Dickson, from Norwich, said the show was "relaxing and calm in a beautiful venue". Having witnessed last year's opening production featuring a dinosaur invasion she added: "I think it was very different from last year but it's nice that each year has a very different flavour." The Norfolk and Norwich Festival organisers said about 80% of the outdoor events scheduled during the 16-day event would be UK premieres.
The Norfolk and Norwich Festival promises to "inspire and delight", said director William Galinsky. One of the oldest surviving arts festival in the UK, with its origins dating back to the 1700s, it became an annual event in 1988 and is now one of the biggest city festivals of its kind in the UK.
Mr Galinsky added: "We made the decision to stage Reve D’Herbert in Cathedral Close because we felt that the beautiful nature of the show would work better there. We also like our audience to experience different parts of the city in completely new ways."
The 2013 festival will host more than 165 performances at 29 different venues throughout Norfolk, including the Hippodrome Circus in Great Yarmouth and a performance on the Norfolk Broads.
Councillor Brenda Arthur, leader of Norwich City Council, said: "Hosting one of the largest and best-known arts festivals in the country really helps to cement Norwich's prized position as a city of culture." The 2013 festival runs until 26 May.
- Published7 May 2013
- Published6 March 2013
- Published6 March 2013
