The performing arts were back with a BOOM!

Liverpool Ignitus Festival of Performing Arts paved the way for an outdoor arts  tcomeback after lockdown. A partnership between the Bombed Out Church, Bring the Fire Project, Katumba Drumming & Movement and ourselves, the festival provided the platform for performers to finally flex their creative muscle again after lockdown in 2020 and to re-connect with their audiences having one of the most beautiful and iconic backdrops in Liverpool.

Our inaugural event, ‘The Spark Ignites’ on 15th August 2020, was free: a treat for the community as much as for us: the guys from Bring the Fire Project, the drummers from Katumba and ourselves. It was also an excellent test run for our Covid-19 processes.

The second event in the ‘Ignitus’ series took place at the Bombed Out Church on 29th August: ‘Rise of the Phoenix’. And did it rise! Kicking off with a series of workshops in the afternoon, the Bombed Out Church was starting to look a lot like a festival site and seamlessly transformed itself into a wonderful outdoor stage at night.

We put together a greatly diverse line-up for the performance night. Showcasing Francisco Cararra on acoustic guitar, SMG Dance Collective, Katumba and Bring the Fire Project to an audience that packed out the church to its non-existent rafters, the night was a huge success. Many audience members said that ‘Rise of the Phoenix’ was their first foray back into live entertainment after lockdown – and how good it felt to be part of a real-life spectacle again!

On 27th September, we delivered ‘Wake the Dragon’ to a full house!

The biggest production we’ve been involved so far in 2020! The first half of the show with Teatro Pomodoro doing the compering was part cabaret, part contemporary circus showcasing 3 aerial disciplines: rope, silks and hoop. The finale combined live music from drum’n’ bass band Sleeping Dragon – hands up who’s been to a live music gig lately?! – with a theatrical pyro show that blew your mind, staged in front of a gigantic, fire-breathing dragon head installation! A huge thanks goes to the city council, who funded the event from their Without Walls pot, which made it possible to keep this event free.

Photo credit @Nick Mizen photography

Our 4th and final event in the Liverpool Ignitus Festival of Performing Arts 2020 series would have taken place on 31st October: ‘Katumba Hallows Eve of the Orishas’. For all our safety and with a heavy heart, we made the decision to postpone the event to  2021. It was the right thing to do and brought you the Routes & Roots Halloween Carnival