The Fish Police top the bill at Plymouth’s first inclusive urban festival
Performers from across the UK are being brought together on Saturday 31 May for a day of music, performance, dance, cabaret, films, workshops and much, much more at the Funky Llama Festival 2014.
This outdoor urban celebration, hip party and cutting edge performance event will take place in the grounds of TR2, the Theatre Royal Plymouth’s Production and Learning Centre in Cattedown, Plymouth.
The Funky Llama Festival will be pioneering, innovative and a celebration of the creative talents of adults with learning disabilities. Heading the line up for this inaugural event will be South London’s The Fish Police, who create their own unique blend of electronic future funk, pop and hip hop and are breaking barriers, pushing boundaries and challenging perceptions of ability as musicians.
Also confirmed are funk and soul group Too Hot For Candy, inclusive rock band I Love Thunder, the award winning Samba Roc plus performance groups All Stars and Wheelfever along with Funky Llama mentored artists Luke Lundin, Mike Canning, Karen Smithen and Andrew Jones and mentored DJs Josh Bentley, Mikey Brooks and Stu Page. Full details of confirmed acts and a full line up can be found at www.theatreroyal.com
Funky Llama is a programme of large scale performing arts and social events run by adults with learning disabilities and open to all. It’s unique in the South West and aims to empower individuals, challenge perceptions and put Plymouth on the map. Last year the highly successful Funky Llama Club Night took place at TR2. The first of its kind in the South West, it saw over 300 clubbers join in a night of performance, Djing, open mic and dance.
Chris Burns from the Funky Llama Steering Group, a group of learning disabled adults who regularly meet to plan the events, is one of those helping to plan the forthcoming festival. He said: “I enjoyed very much hearing and seeing the different kinds of acts which took part in the festival’s application process. I also enjoyed helping my fellow colleagues in deciding how the festival will look and feel. The festival will be a 12 hour marathon of dance, workshops and film. It is certainly one of the largest and most ambitious events l have been involved in. I’m quite proud of the fact that l am part of something which Plymouth and the South West has never seen before.”
The Funky Llama Festival will open its gates at midday on Saturday 31 May and finish at midnight. All tickets are £10 with enablers and under 14s tickets free when accompanied by a full price tickets holder. The venue will be fully accessible with a mixture of both indoor and outdoor spaces. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Theatre Royal Plymouth Box Office on 01752 267222.
Funky Llama is delivered in partnership with Plymouth Music Zone and supported by The Big Lottery & The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
