insideKENT Magazine Issue 74 - May 2018 | Page 35

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
SCIENCE MEETS ART THIS MAY
AT NORMAL? FESTIVAL OF THE BRAIN!
Folkestone Quarterhouse HAVE TEAMED UP ONCE AGAIN WITH ARTS
AND LITERATURE ORGANISATION, LIVING WORDS, AND FOLKESTONE FRINGE
TO BRING YOU THE FOURTH ANNUAL NORMAL? FESTIVAL OF THE BRAIN,
TAKING PLACE FROM THURSDAY 10TH TO SUNDAY 13TH MAY 2018.
Ugly Chief © Hugo Glendinning
Delve into and question the mind over four
days of talks, workshops, performances and
exhibitions. This year, Normal? Festival of the
Brain explores rest and sleep, grief and loss,
love and perception, ways to pay attention,
delight in difference and making ourselves
more resilient.
The festival launches on Thursday 10th May
with Victoria Melody and her dad (celebrity
TV antique dealer, Mike Melody) who’ll
perform their uniquely dark comedy, Ugly
Chief, alongside a New Orleans jazz band.
On Friday 11th May, Normal? Festival of the
Brain hosts the University of Kent’s Imagining
Autism project. There will be a community
café run by people with learning difficulties
and impairments, as well as conversations
and a workshop about different perspectives
on living with autism and solutions to problem
behaviours.
Fish Police Cactus
Dementia Friends return to Normal? Festival
of the Brain on F riday afternoon to talk about
dementia, dementia-friendly communities
and how we can all connect to each other.
Have your cake and talk about it too – Bake
Tell Tarts explores how the universal language
of baking might start conversations about the
200 different types of dementia, before
Dementia Action Alliance England discuss the
symptoms and mechanisms for coping with
frontotemporal dementia. Sunday sees a range of inspiring workshops
and talks from professionals include topics
such as sleep, trauma and behaviour. Spend
the evening with Caroline Horton & Co. as
she performs her darkly funny and intimate
look at the struggle to keep on keeping on,
before Anil Sebastian performs an intimate
set of songs from his debut album
Mesonoxian, and Byron Vincent hosts a
spoken word festival finale, answering the
question: what is love?
Start your Saturday off right with morning
meditation before venturing into a day full of
interactive workshops, engaging talks and
profound experiences. The hilarious Francesca
Martinez asks What the **** is Normal? on
Saturday night and The Fish Police perform
songs about why a helicopter isn’t wearing
any shoes, before the evening draws to a close
with a very special Sleep Over in the
Quarterhouse auditorium. Normal? Festival of the Brain takes place from
Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th May 2018. You
can enjoy as many Normal? Festival of the
Brain events as you like by purchasing a £40
festival pass. Many events have a limited
capacity, so please book in advance (even for
free events and even if you have a festival
pass) by visiting www.quarterhouse.co.uk
or by calling Quarterhouse box office on
01303 760750.
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