Imagine Large Print Brochure

Autumn 2017

Hello!

This is an audio version of the MAC’s Spring brochure

for 2017. Entitled Imagine, the brochure selects some

highlights from our live events programme. It doesn’t

detail everything happening at the MAC. For everything,

visit our website themaclive.com.

MAC By Numbers22 Awards won

1.5 million visitors and counting

16,742 hours delivered by 100 MACtivist volunteers

£149,305 discounts to community and school’s tickets

4,000 artists supported

How our prices work Book early to save up to 50%.

Just like airlines, our prices start low and rise the closer

we get to a performance. Unlike airlines, we can

guarantee that our prices will never be cheaper than

they are today.

Booking is easy:

Online at themaclive.com

By phone on 028 9023 5053*

In person at our Box Office 10am–7pm.

* A £1 transaction fee applies to all phone bookings

In our theatres:Muldoon’s Picnic2 September at 7.45pm

Tickets from £12.50 to £25

Pulitzer Prize-winning Irish poet Paul Muldoon makes

his return to Belfast for one night only at the MAC.

Audiences can expect a “music-andliterature

extravaganza” (Time Out). Rarely staged outside of New

York, Muldoon’s Picnic is part of an Irish and Scottish

tour. Muldoon and his house band Rogue Oliphant

(including Cait O’Riordan of the Pogues, Chris Harford

and Ray Kubian) will be joined by special literary and

musical guests including songwriter Duke Special,

violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire and writer Lisa

McInerney.

Artistic Director Paul Muldoon

Produced by Poetry Ireland

Not the Norn Iron News

8 September at 7.45pm

Tickets from £12.50 to £25

Not the Norn Iron News is the new show from John-Paul

Whearty, creator of L.A.D. (Loyalists Against

Democracy) - the sometimes controversial, always

hilarious Northern Irish social media phenomenon.

The self- proclaimed accidental satirist and professional

Twitter troll takes to the stage along with Barbara

Whearty and David Doherty-Jebb to bring you an

irreverent examination of the week’s headlines.

Satire as it should be, live. Expect strong language and

split sides from this up-to-the-minute assault on the

week’s news.

Produced by John-Paul Whearty & Barbara Whearty

Designer David Craig

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (Aged 13 ¾)

22 September –7 October

At 7.45pm from Tuesday to Saturday

At 3pm from Saturday to Sunday

Tickets from £12.50 to £25

Signed & Audio Described Show on Wednesday 4

October at 7.45pm

Sue Townsend’s best-selling novel The Secret Diary of

Adrian Mole (Aged 13 ¾) tells the story of the inner life

of an adolescent boy during the Thatcher period,

hilariously captured by the protagonist in his secret

diary.

Adapted from Townsend’s massively popular book, the

stage version includes original music for a night jam-

packed with laughter, nostalgia and warmth.

From the team behind The Importance of Being Earnest,

Bruiser Theatre Company brings its typically boisterous

style to the story of this loveable loser.

Presented by Bruiser Theatre Company

Directed by Lisa May

Musical Director Matthew Reeve

Presented with kind permission from Sayle Screen on

behalf of the Sue Townsend Estate.

Wind Resistance

10 – 11 October at 7.45pm

Tickets from £14 to £16

Award-winning Scottish songwriter and musician Karine

Ploward brings Wind Resistance to the MAC for its Irish

premiere.

Every Autumn, two and a half thousand pink-footed

geese fly from Greenland to Winter at Fala Flow, a

protected peatbog South East of Edinburgh. From this

windy plateau, Polwart surveys and interprets the

surrounding landscape through song, bird-lore and

personal memoir. The result is enchanting and

stimulating.

Presented by Belfast International Arts Festival.

A Royal Lyceum Theatre Company production in

association with Edinburgh International Festival.

Supported through the Scottish Government’s

Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

Matt Forde: Eat . Sleep . Political Party . Repeat

15 October at 7.45pm

Tickets £15

Find the funny side of world-wide chaos with the UK’s

leading political comedian and star of Dave’s Unspun,

Matt Forde. 

As seen on The Royal Variety Performance 2015, Have

I Got News For You and Question Time, Matt Forde

singlehandedly fulfils comedy’s brief of taking our

political masters to task. Audiences are in for a hilarious

night out with a first-class comic combining spot-on

impressions with up-to-the-minute observations. Now with added Trump.

Presented by Belfast International Arts Festival.

Beckett Women: Ceremonies of Departure

2–12 of November

At 7.45pm from Thursday to Saturday and at 3pm from

Saturday to Sunday

Tickets from £12.50 - £25

Created by the historic Boston-based theatre company

The Poets’ Theatre, this production showcases four of

Beckett’s most powerful short plays – Not I, Footfalls,

Rockabye and Come & Go. Prepare for beautiful,

chilling and thought-provoking world-class poetry that

will touch on love, loss and longing.

Beckett Women: Ceremonies of Departure is directed by

Bob Scanlan, a personal friend of the playwright and

one of the world’s greatest interpreters of his work, while

visual design is by renowned American auteur David R.

Gammons.

George Egg: Anarchist Cook

9 -10 of November at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

One man, one hotel room, three courses. The first

outing of this award-winning show in Ireland, Anarchist

Cook is a cocktail of stand-up comedy, cooking and

extreme multi-tasking.

George Egg stays in hotels a lot and some years ago,

unimpressed with room service, took matters into his

own hands.

In this original show George prepares a three-course

meal using only the equipment hotels unwittingly provide

(iron, kettle & trouser press) and if you want to…you can

taste it at the end.

Presented by Lakin McCarthy.

Rory Nellis: Album Launch

11 November at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

Rory Nellis launches his second solo album entitled

There Are Enough Songs in the World alongside a full

band including Peter J. McCauley, Philip Watts d’ Alton,

Herb Magee and Walter Thee Goon.

Support comes from the fantastic Owen Lamont and his

band. NI-based Lamont is a songwriter with “one of the

most soulful voices you’re ever likely to hear.”

NI Soul Troop 10th Anniversary Show

18 November at 9pm

Tickets £15

NI Soul Troop is regarded as one of the top live original

bands in Belfast since they first hit the music scene 10

years ago. Guaranteed to make you dance, their funk

laden soul songs have filled dancefloors all over Belfast

and throughout the country.

The band has lost count of how many members they

have had over the years (somewhere between 40 and

50) and for this 10th anniversary show, they hope to

bring back as many past members as they possibly can.

Notify and Mark Lettieri Trio

19 November at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

Ireland’s Notify meets America’s Mark Lettieri Trio for an

exceptional music collaboration. At the crossroads of

traditional Irish music, jazz and ambient electronica,

Notify breathes new life into Irish music. The Mark

Lettieri Trio is an instrumental jazz-rock-fusion ensemble

led by three-time Grammy award-winning guitarist and

composer, plus Snarky Puppy member, Mark Lettieri.

Notify and the Mark Lettieri Trio have been supported by

Arts Council Ireland & Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Touring Award.

The Man in the Woman’s Shoes

21 – 23 November at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

The Man in the Woman’s Shoes is a one man show

written and performed by Mikel Murfi. Set in October

1978, with Pope John Paul not long dead, Pat Farnon

has some business to do in town. The story follows Pat

as he walks to town and back again. It is a beautifully

observed performance, utterly simple and equally

astonishing.

The Man in the Woman’s Shoes has toured in the US

and enjoyed a sell-out run at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.

Audiences can expect a funny and tender show that at

times is downright daft.

Written & performed by Mikel Murfi, Loco & Reckless

Productions.

Commissioned by Sligo County Council Arts Service &

Hawk’s Well Theatre Sligo.

I Hear You and Rejoice

24 November at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

Hot on the heels of The Man In The Woman’s Shoes, I

Hear You and Rejoice is Mikel Murfi’s brand new one

man show. Late in his life, Pat Farnon, a cobbler and all-

round contented man, marries the redoubtable Kitsy

Rainey. It’s a match made in heaven, in more ways than

one.

I Hear You and Rejoice is a moving and joy-filled

account of a most unlikely marriage. You may never

look at life in quite the same way again.

Written & performed by Mikel Murf.

The Terrible Tragedy of the Twinbrook Turkey

12th to the 23rd of December at 8pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £18

Theatre duo Em Two Balloons are back with a brand-

new Christmas comedy The Terrible Tragedy of the

Twinbrook Turkey. With the tinsel around the tree and

the Christmas season in full swing, all is not going to

plan for two unsuspecting families in West Belfast……

Will a mysterious guest prove to be the Trump card? Will

the Twinbrook Turkey vote for Christmas? From the

same team that brought you the sell-out 2016 comedy

Deck the Falls, join this hilarious duo for another year of

seasonal shenanigans.

Produced by Balloon Factory Productions

Written by Vincent Higgins

Directed by Paula McFetridge

Starring Ciarán Nolan & Gerard Jordan

Hansel and Gretel

28th of November 2017 to the 7th of January 2018

Tickets from £12.50 - £25 for adults and £10 for

children.

Packed full of fun for all the family, Hansel & Gretel is a

brand-new Christmas show, written, directed and

produced by the MAC. Our version has been brought

bang up to date, but with all the characters you know

and love.

Get lost in the magic and follow the sweetie trail to a

host of fun, memorable songs, big jokes and of course,

a wicked old witch.

This is an all-ages show proudly sponsored by Phoenix Natural Gas, but those 5+ will get the biggest kicks.

For full show times visit themaclive.com.

Signed & Audio Described performances on Saturday

the 9th of December at 6pm

Relaxed Performances on Sunday the 10th and Sunday

the 17th of December at 2pm

Written by Stephen Beggs & Simon Magill

Directed by Rhiann Jeffrey

Music by Garth McConaghie

Proudly Sponsored by Phoenix Natural Gas

I Heart NYEurotrash

31 December at 8:30pm

Tickets £17

If you’re old enough to remember Jean-Paul Gaultier

trying his hand at telly, you’re going to love reliving the

nineties at our Eurotrash-themed New Year’s Eve party.

There will be dancing until late and live music in our

foyer from house band, The Moonshines. Not to mention

some full-on trash talk. Our Upstairs Theatre is being

retrofitted into a karaoke bar, so get ready to turn the

cheesy setting to nineteen-ninety-three, pull some

shape-shifting dance moves and sing your heart out to

Usher in the New Year. 2018 won’t know what’s hit it.

In our Galleries:

Bill Saunders: Side Steps These Ferried Measures

Rise

30th of June to the 24th of September in the Sunken

Gallery

The first major institutional exhibition of Belfast based

artist Bill Saunders showcasing a range of sculptures

and a series of his new works on paper.

Carol Rhodes: Survey

Curated by Andrew Mummery

30th of June to the 8th of October in the Tall Gallery

The largest survey to date in Ireland of renowned painter

Carol Rhodes spanning almost twenty years of her work

including drawings that have never been exhibited

before.

Dougal McKenzie: A Dream and an Argument

30th of June to the 8th of October in the Upper Gallery

A major new body of work by Edinburgh born, Belfast

based artist Dougal McKenzie bringing together key

elements of his practice, including his interest in history,

heritage and storytelling through painting.

Coming soon: Shonky: The Aesthetics of Awkwardness

Curated by John Walter. Opening 20 October

Remember, this is just a taster of what’s on at the MAC

this Autumn/Winter. For everything visitthemaclive.com.

Looking for Christmas gift ideas? Here’s what’s coming

up in the New Year…

Maggie’s Feg Run

13th to the 25th of February 2018 at 7.45pm

Tickets from £12.50 - £25

The loveable Maggie Muff is back in the highly-

anticipated sequel to 50 Shades of Red White and Blue

and Dirty Dancin’ in le Shebeen. This is the one you’ve

all been waiting for, where Maggie and Big Sally-Ann

are on top form as they head to Benidorm on an all-

important ‘Feg Run’.

David Meade Mentalist: Wizard of Odds

1st to the 4th of March 2018 at 7.45pm from Thursday to

Sunday. 3pm Saturday Matinee

Tickets from £16 - £22

In his funniest and most impossible show yet, the first

mentalist to win a million dollars in a Las Vegas casino

will blow your mind as he beats the odds and predicts

the impossible.

Remember, this is just a snapshot of our Spring

programme and doesn’t include everything. For

everything, visit themaclive.com.