Fizzling out or fighting back?

Criticism of this year's Belfast Festival has forced Queen's University to look at ways of bringing that much-needed 'wow factor' back to the event, writes Jane Coyle.

At the launch of the 2002 Belfast Festival at Queen's, director Stella Hall declared the event to be fit, fab and up for celebrating its 40th birthday in style. Three years on, Hall has left Belfast to take up the post of creative director at the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, and the festival, which she ran so energetically for five years, is starting to look a little dowdy, middle-aged and in need of an extensive makeover.

The 2005 festival, which ended last month, was judged by many critics and customers to have been something of a damp squib. Even the festival team acknowledges a distinct lack of the kind of "wow factor" which used to provoke a crackle of anticipation when the programme was unveiled.

Time was when criticism of the festival was deemed a crime tantamount to heresy. But these are changing times and widespread debate is now being encouraged, as Queen's University - the parent body - undergoes extensive administrative restructuring and the festival comes under scrutiny from within and without.

Almost a year before her resignation, Hall had been appointed to the newly-created post of Head of Culture and Arts at Queen's with responsibility for the Naughton Gallery and the Queen's Film Theatre, as well as the festival. In operational terms, the arrangement did not turn out to be entirely satisfactory.

Tom Collins is the university's Director of Communications and the man whose expanding remit includes culture and arts. He explains the department is now seeking to fill two separate posts - one in charge of administration, the second with artistic control of the festival.

"Stella was a unique individual who was keen to play the two roles. But it is tricky for one person to balance a dialogue between the operational and the artistic. You want to see healthy debate, but you don't want artistic leadership bogged down by the widgets. And there are a lot of widgets in something as complex as the Queen's festival."

Hall has been succeeded, in an acting capacity, by well-known theatre director and arts administrator Michael Poynor, himself a seasoned festival participant and commentator and never a man to stand in the way of a lively difference of opinion.

"People should feel free to criticise away and join us in reassessing the festival, which was described in the 2004 Report on Government Funding of Festivals in Northern Ireland as "the only festival in Northern Ireland with flagship status", he says.

"People said - probably correctly - that the 2005 programme did not have the 'wow factor'. Nobody would have been more aware of that than Stella herself, who felt tied and unable to bring in the things she wanted. But that was due, in no small measure, to a drop in financial support and difficulties with the arts infrastructure of the city, which does not possess a medium-sized performance venue.

"We did have some stunning events, like the Lithuanian Romeo and Juliet and the Galician piper Carlos Nunez, but you only discovered them after you had been to see them.

"We have to cut our coat according to our cloth. The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) has already told the arts community that it should expect cuts or standstill funding in the coming year. When you consider how much this community has suffered and how successful the arts can be in addressing social problems, I find that so short- sighted.

"Likewise, sponsorship money has dwindled and gone are the days when major sponsors are putting in six-figure sums."

Festival programme manager Graeme Farrow joined the organisation in 1999 and managed the PR operation for five years. He concedes that, sometimes, the critics do get it right.

"I can appreciate that we are missing the big theatre, ballet and opera companies, which used to be such a distinctive element of the festival. We are looking to redress that. But it has to be appreciated that the Belfast Festival is no longer the only show in town. Now, more than ever, we have to differentiate ourselves from the other festivals and events happening throughout the year.

"Previous directors like Michael Barnes and Sean Doran brought in some wonderful things - often at enormous cost. Stella Hall did likewise, with considerably less money at her disposal. She was also incredibly successful in making the festival more accessible to more people across the city and we don't want to lose that. Quality is certainly not synonymous with elitism."

Programming an 18-day international arts festival with limited finances is a delicate balancing act, as Belfast Telegraph theatre critic Grania McFadden acknowledges. She speaks of it as "a beacon of light during the dark days of the Troubles" but feels that the time has come to refocus.

"Belfast has become a regular venue for touring productions and audiences visit theatres, galleries and concert halls throughout the year. People no longer feel the need to splurge out on two weeks of culture.

"With festivals throughout the city catering for community arts, traditional music, literature, film and dance, maybe BFAQ [Belfast Festival at Queen's] might consider playing to its strengths, rather than growing year on year and including events that would be visiting the city anyway.

"I'd like to think that it will become shorter, sharper, with more international events and premieres, alongside perhaps one showpiece commission from a local artist. Events will need to be special to make the cut - otherwise the whole concept of 'festival' becomes devalued."

Within the UK and Ireland, the Belfast Festival is distinctive through its incorporation into a university environment. It costs Queen's around £250,000 (€370,500) a year - a sum that includes the provision of venues and premises, administration, staff salaries and a cash injection.

It also picks up the tab for financial shortfalls and recently wiped out a deficit of £500,000 (€741,000) from the department, accumulated over years.

Collins holds the purse strings and, as chairman of the Ulster Orchestra, has a realistic view of the way in which the arts have to operate in the current chilly financial climate.

"The arts will never run for profit," he observes ruefully. "But Queen's accepts its role as the festival's funder of last resort. Is it worth it? Undoubtedly. The festival makes a huge contribution to Northern Ireland society and the fact that its name carries the Queen's brand is a crucial element. Its aims are completely compatible to those of the university, in extending people's experience and imagination, being creative and innovative.

"We are keen to encourage the academic community to engage with the festival and to use them as a sounding board for ideas. We have an opportunity to see if the festival can be more rooted within the university's academic activities. We have some world-class resources and excellent people, particularly in the areas of poetry, creative writing, drama, film and music, which suggests the potential for Queen's to play a more active role. There is support for that approach within the university and it would give the festival a core and a new look."

But Collins stresses that, when it comes to shouldering the financial burden, it can't all be left to Queen's.

"There are ongoing problems around the funding and ownership of the festival - by the city, the wider arts community and the university. Queen's can't continue to pour money into the festival in isolation. It needs reassurance that other players - such as the arts council (of Northern Ireland), Belfast City Council, DCAL and bodies like the Northern Ireland Events Company and the tourist board - are prepared to invest too." But as Farrow admits, the proof of the pudding will be in the programme.

"The public aren't interested in how much money the festival costs, how many people work here and how the bureaucracy functions. They just want tosee an exciting programme of really special events. And we are keen to listen to their views because, essentially, our aims are the same. Next year, we will be concentrating on exclusivity - at affordable prices. The emphasis will be on quality, on a 'less is more' approach.'"

He also endorses the view recently expressed by Jude Kelly, chair of the Arts, Culture and Education Committee, which is preparing for London's hosting of the 2012 Summer Olympics, that "a festival should be a series of heart-stopping moments". Belfast awaits with baited breath.