For thirty years, the NRLA was Britain’s leading performance art festival. It ran from 1979 to 2010 in various forms, beginning in Nottingham at what was the Midland Group and ending in Glasgow via London’s Riverside Studios and ICA.

The final National Review of Live Art – the 30th Anniversary (NRLA30) – took place in Glasgow, Scotland in 2010.

“What Nikki Milican started at the NRLA was something sensual and radical and it has continued in that way. It was possible to do long performances at the NRLA, which was awkward elsewhere. It’s about people going to the limits of their disciplines, and then going beyond them. I think it (was) the longest running continuous festival of live art in the world.” Alastair MacLennan

“We’re all hardcore strangelings,” she says. “Let’s get that straight. But the stuff people see here will be filtering into the mainstream in five years. Any car advert with gold-painted bodies has come from some body artist opening their veins or covering themselves in feathers. Lady Gaga comes straight out of Warhol’s Factory. The NRLA is one of the few moments in the year when we feel we’re right and everyone else is wrong.” Julia Bardsley

“The shows are always worth seeing: live, human, vivid and strange, with staggering commitment to detail. They are what make the NRLA such a remarkable festival and such an important feature on Britain’s live performance scene.” Tim Etchells

NRLA30.com is launched ten years to the day after the last Festival. For this initial stage in this website’s development, we are grateful for support from the Live Art Development Agency and the NRLA Legacy Fund, along with the support and goodwill of all the artists featured.

Some content on this website is not suitable for those under 18 years.