The programme for Liverpool’s 2006 Capital of Culture themed year, Liverpool Performs, has been unveiled. The schedule includes the first project from Artistic Director Robyn Archer based around the theme of a city in transition.
Liverpool Performs is the latest in the theme years leading up to 2008, for which the Liverpool Culture Company claims they will be able to say, “Come any time in 2008 and you’ll find something exceptional”.
 | | Bang On A Can All Stars |
‘The City in Transition’ is the first programme created by Robyn Archer and reflects the upheaval that it is taking place as the result of building work across the city. The programme will include music, theatre and multimedia performances around the city, Robyn Archer says “As we move towards 2008 the city is experiencing tremendous change at high speed. This is both exhilarating and disruptive and The City in Transition programme will take that on board with talks, debates, walks, exhibitions and local and international performance all connected in some way to architecture, building and the way cities change.”
 | | The Trisha Brown Dance Company |
The Royal Court will play host to many of the events which include two European premieres. The first will examine the increasing presence of CCTV and it’s effect on our daily lives. Supervision, a collaboration between New York’s ‘The Builder’s Association’ and digital media company dbox is a cross media performance that will be at the Royal Court in May. The exploration of a world of constant monitoring will be preceded by at FACT in April. The second European premiere is promised as ‘an unforgettable super sensual encounter’. At the Royal Court in November Mikel Rouse’s ‘The End of Cinematic’ has been described as “A cinema that eats cinema”, pushing the boundaries of art, film, music and ideas. One of America’s most famous dance companies the Trisha Brown Dance Company visits the Playhouse in June with a triple bill. New York based Brown, who first came to attention in the 1960’s, has been described as the godmother of contemporary dance. The Playhouse show will cover three themes. Set and Reset 1983 flirts with gravity, Groove and Countermove 2000 is set to a vibrant jazz score by Dave Douglas and Present Tense 2003 mixes aerial choreography with dancers who seem to ride and tumble in space.
 | | Artistic Director Robyn Archer |
Vancouver’s Scrap Arts Music will be at the Royal Court in October for a performance that utilises recycled and salvaged objects to create an orchestra of instruments. Scrap Arts Music founder and composer Greg Kozak has been commissioned to compose The Liverpool Suite. The special composition will utilise discarded materials and scrap from across the city for a theme that will be premiered in 2008. Liverpool will host a UK premiere of a comic book music theatre, The Carbon Copy Building which will be at the Royal Court in October. The words of cult comic book artist Ben Katchor will be brought to life in a multimedia show which won an OBIE (Off Broadway Theater Award) for Best American New Work in 2000.
 | | Carbon Copy Building |
Much of the programme for 2006 is based on existing events with the promotional leaflet showcasing the Grand National and ‘Liverpool v Everton’ Merseyside Derby. The Grand National will coincide with an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery of the work of George Stubbs, the Liverpool artist who is famous for his sporting paintings. The Open Golf Championship at Hoylake and the Liverpool Biennial are also cornerstones of the year. One of the Year of the Sea community projects will come to completion in 2006 when the results of memories of Merseyside ex-service men and women are portrayed in a large scale community theatre work, The Cruel Sea. Some of the city’s walks and tours will be extended with World Heritage and Musical Heritage walks with the promise of celebrity guests. | 
