Cheek, Football & Castellucci Bite at Barbican

The piece, that “promises to amaze and unsettle in equal measure” with its theme of black, centres on a minister who always faces his congregation wearing a black veil, spreading mistrust and disorder in the parish. The Minister’s Black Veil is one of six premieres, small interventions, a “Thinker in Residence”, talks and other events presented during the SPILL Festival, which takes over all of the Barbican’s performance spaces and many public spaces next spring.

The Castellucci is part of the next instalment of the Barbican’s bite programme, running from January to July 2011. Highlights already announced include: Deborah Warner‘s revival of Sheridan’s 18^th-century comedy The School for Scandal; Peter Brook‘s new opera production of A Magic Flute, performed in German and French with English surtitles; the UK premiere of Robert Lepage‘s The Blue Dragon, in which the Quebec-based artist also stars; the return of Toneelgroep Amsterdam, after their six-hour 2009 marathon Roman Tragedies, with the staging of the film trilogy-inspired Antonioni Project; offerings in the London International Mime Festival; and Duckie’s much-anticipated sleepover piece Lullaby, in which audiences are invited to bring their pyjamas and end the night in bed in the Pit.

Amongst the other highlights in the new programme are: Cheek by Jowl’s new Russian-performed production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, visiting from Moscow (7-16 April) as part of a UK tour; Told by Idiot’s latest offering And the Horse Your Rode in On: A Sequence of Serious Follies (27 April-14 May), which counts amongst its sources of inspiration Bugs Bunny and TV sitcom Are You Being Served?; the European premiere of Total Football (18 May-18 June), in which the Ridiculusmus duo David Woods and Jon Haynes try to create a whole UK football team to compete in the 2012 Olympic games; hip-hop artists Boy Blue’s new show BBE: Touch (28-30 July), transforming the Pit into a fully licensed bar; and the UK premiere of Australian circus company’s Wunderkammer (19-24 July).

For full listings information, visit www.barbican.org.uk/bite.