North Star

Our spring 2026 member pre-sale starts Friday, December 12. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, December 15.

Musical Compositions by Kaidi Tatham, Winnie Ama, Leo Miyagee, and Hannah Peel

Arrangements and Music Supervision by Kaidi Tatham

Choral Arrangements by Jennifer John

Musical Direction by Si Francis

Text and Spoken Word by Nandi Jola, Colin Salmon, and school pupils of Belfast and New York City

Produced and presented by Irish Arts Center and Solab  in association with the Lyric Theatre, Belfast 

A Belfast City Council via Belfast 2024 and Belfast Stories commission  

“Wherever else I feel myself to be a stranger, I will remember I have a home in Belfast”—FREDERICK DOUGLASS

North Star is a live music and spoken word performance inspired by the speeches of abolitionist Frederick Douglass during his historic visit to Belfast in 1845. Conceived and developed by Kwame Daniels, this collaborative, immersive standing-room show fuses artistic responses to Douglass’s experience from an eclectic range of contemporary artists—including hip-hop, jazz, gospel, electronic and classical musicians, poets, and young people from Belfast and New York—in a moving, provocative artistic journey rooted in Black cultures, and inspired by Douglass’s deep connection with Belfast.

PERFORMERS

Kaidi Tatham, band leader, multi-instrumentalist
Nandi Jola, poet
Winnie Ama, singer-songwriter
Leo Miyagee, hip-hop artist
Colin Salmon, actor
Oli Savill, percussion
Rick Swann, trumpet
Joseph Leighton, guitar
Ben Flavelle Cobain, bass
Additional artists to be announced

Kaidi Tatham, multi-instrumentalist
Nandi Jola, poet
Winnie Ama, singer-songwriter
Leo Miyagee, hip-hop artist
Colin Salmon, actor
Oli Savill, percussion
Rick Swann, trumpet
Joseph Leighton, guitar
Ben Flavelle Cobain, bass
Additional artists to be announced

CREATIVE TEAM

Lighting design by Aimee Wiliamson
Video design by Macy Stewart
Projection design by Macy Stewart
Original creative producer (Belfast) Rachael Campbell Palmer
Original sound design by David Sheppard and John Best

North American premiere commissioned and produced by Irish Arts Center. Development co-commission from Lyric Theatre, Belfast. World premiere supported by Belfast County Council and Belfast International Arts Festival.

Presented with generous support from Culture Ireland, Tourism Ireland the Northern Ireland Bureau, and the British Council of Northern Ireland.