Afrovibes Festival 2014 returns for UK tour

Published: 1 September 2014
Reporter: Vera Liber

Biko's Quest Credit: Jazzart Dance Theatre

Afrovibes, the biennial festival returns to the UK with a four-week programme of award-winning productions from October 13 to November 8.

Celebrating 20 years of democracy in South Africa, Afrovibes is part of the official SA-UK Season 2014-15, a collaboration that will see the UK and South Africa engage for the next two years in creative programmes.

Each UK venue will host a diverse programme of work including political drama, real-life stories, contemporary dance, music, film and photography.

Each venue will host a Township Cafe where visitors can enjoy typical South African food and drink while taking in music, poetry, talks and free pop-up performances by local artists and Afrovibes performers.

Afrovibes made its European debut in The Netherlands in 1999, and has since developed into a multi-disciplinary arts festival, which takes place in the UK and Holland.

It presents the arts and culture from South Africa for European audiences and artists, enabling them to engage with both emerging talent and established African artists and their work.

The first UK edition of Afrovibes took place in 2010 in London, Birmingham and Manchester. In 2012, dates were added in Cardiff, Nottingham, Liverpool, Lancaster and Hereford. This year Newcastle, Swansea, Bracknell, Edinburgh and Glasgow have also come on board.

Afrovibes presents a programme of contemporary South African theatre, music and dance, alongside a fringe programme of work by local artists. Providing a social meeting place is central to the festival ethos, as demonstrated by the pop-up township cafes in all venues.

The cafe becomes the hub of the festival in each venue, serving South African food, snacks and drinks. It hosts live music and debates, post-show talks, meet and greets with the artists and artistic exchanges.

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?