E52 and Heads Up Festival are delighted that IETM (Informal European Theatre Meeting) – the international network for contemporary performing arts – is holding its March 2019 plenary in Hull.

The initial idea to bring IETM to Hull was hatched in Budapest in 2015 when, along with other theatremakers from the city, IETM member E52 headed out to Hungary. As often is the case, plans were hatched in the early hours of the morning and, along with the British Council, E52 set the wheels in motion to provide IETM with a host city in the north of England. Subsequently, E52 drove the conversation – with British Council, Arts Council England, IETM, Leeds organisation Walking Talking Project, and many others – that now sees the network’s members heading to Hull.

IETM Hull 2019 will explore the reality of inclusion in today’s societies, in their artistic representations and in the process of creation. As IETM point out, “For the arts to survive and thrive, we need to have spaces and places to have positive discussions and debates about these issues.”

It is no coincidence, of course, that Heads Up Festival takes place in Hull across the same dates as those when IETM delegates will descend on the city.

Our artistic programme is of the usual, international standard for which the festival is now renowned, with work that includes The Paper Cinema’s Macbeth, Now Is The Time To Say Nothing (a collaboration between Syrian film-maker Reem Karssli, a group of young Londoners and artist Caroline Williams) and Olivia Furber, Ramzi Maqdisi, 9T Antiope and Hannah Mason’s The Land’s Heart Is Greater Than Its Map.

We look forward to welcoming IETM delegates to our festival, which takes place from March 27-30.

Heads Up Festival is produced by E52 in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre and is a partner in the Collaborative Touring Network.

For more information and to book tickets visit www.headsuphull.co.uk