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The full programme for the 2026 Imagine! Festival is now available.
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Drumroll… our full 2026 festival programme is now live at imaginebelfast.com. With over 120 events this year, it’s a jam-packed week of discussions, workshops, exhibitions, film, humour, lectures, talks, music and theatre. We expect many events to sell out quickly, so get booking now!
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Join us for a special night with local king of anarchic social commentary and cutting-edge satire rarewitch, who will perform his folk music, screen some animations and premiere his new hip-hop play A Hard Nut Life.
A Hard Nut Life is a one-man musical hip-hop play written, produced and performed by rarewitch. Set amidst the branches of a spiralling hierarchical evergreen tree, the worker squirrels have had enough and stage a revolution to take back control of their nuts once and for all.
Accidental Theatre : 27th March : 8:00pm : BOOK NOW
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For the first time ever, former MP Mhairi Black brings her fearless, sharp-witted commentary to Ireland. Taking her first, smash-hit show on tour, Mhairi embraces her trademark dark sense of humour to reflect on her decade in the lion’s den of Westminster. This is a first-hand, ruthlessly honest and hilariously cynical look at 21st-century politics from someone who saw it all from the inside.
Mhairi made history as the youngest person ever elected to the House of Commons at just 20 years old. From her viral maiden speech to making waves within the SNP and across the wider political landscape, she has never been one to stick to the script. Support comes from Northern Ireland’s brightest comedy star, Emer Maguire.
Mandela Hall : 25th March : 7:30pm : BOOK NOW
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A concert and discussion exploring classical music from the Polish diaspora, featuring songs in Polish and English. Soprano Rebecca Murphy and pianist Cahal Masterson perform works by Chopin, Szymanowski and others on themes of displacement, emigration and cultural exchange. At the heart of the programme is Kraina, a collaboration between author Aleksandra Łojek and Northern Irish composer Anselm McDonnell. This four-song cycle sets Polish poetry reflecting on migration and belonging, tracing one woman’s journey from Poland to Belfast during the Troubles. The event concludes with a panel discussion, chaired by Linda O’Shea Farren, on the artists’ creative partnership..
The Harty Room, QUB : 27th March : 7:00pm : BOOK NOW
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Peterson Toscano, our 2026 Artivist-in-Residence presents his solo comedy Everything Is Connected, which weaves conversion therapy survival, global activism and a cast of comic characters into a weird, wonderful and unexpectedly uplifting performance.
After spending 17 years attempting to ‘de-gay’ himself, Toscano emerged as a leading voice exposing the harms of conversion therapy through storytelling and international advocacy. In this shape-shifting show, three seemingly unrelated stories collide in a theatrical twist that links past and future. A performer, activist and scholar, Toscano has spent two decades engaging audiences across three continents with humour and insight on LGBTQ issues, faith, gender and justice.
Crescent Arts Centre : 27th March : 7:30pm : BOOK NOW
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Invoking Ireland is a reflection of the ideas of Irish philosopher and mystic John Moriarty (1938 – 2007) through readings from his works, stories from Irish mythology, poetry and music.
This unmissable evening features performances from singer songwriter Liam O’Maonlai, singer and multi-instrumentalist Cáit Ní Riain, actor and comedian Tommy Tiernan and former Wexford hurling captain Diarmuid ‘Gizzy’ Lyng.
St. Comgall’s : 28th March : 8:00pm : BOOK NOW
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Equal parts concert, cinema, and social commentary, Voices at the End is award-winning Greek/New Zealand composer John Psathas’ powerful statement about the state, and the future, of civilisation.
Featuring pianist Dawn Hardwick, this is a deeply moving work that challenges the status quo and sparks empathy, imagination and urgent conversations about our shared future. Drawing on words of extraordinary poets, writers and thinkers, voices are projected as a constantly unfolding haiku, woven with original film, virtuosic live performance and an epic cinematic soundtrack. You can watch the preview video here.
The Harty Room, QUB : 28th March : 7:00pm : BOOK NOW
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Imagine! Belfast Festival is generously supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Queen’s University Belfast, National Lottery Community Fund, Linen Quarter BID, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Reconciliation Fund, Ulster University, VSB Foundation, Arts & Business NI, Blueprint, Poetry Ireland, Cathedral Quarter BID and the Community Relations Council.
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Copyright © 2026 Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics, All rights reserved.
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