Coming up in April…
Expect the unexpected at Now Northwich, back to transform the streets of the town centre and Barons Quay with a dazzling programme of dance and street arts for all the family on 30 Apr. There’s so much to see, including Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram, Autin Dance Theatre’s Out of the Deep Blue, Drum & Dance Extravaganza from Juba do Leão & Jubacana, Mimbre’s Lifted, The Beesby Artizani, Movema’s Taking Flight, Frock by Stopgap, Dandyism by Patrick Ziza Dance, Frozen Light Theatre’s Night Out in Nature, Pandora’s Boombox by Dope Male Performance Company, and Salt Stories by About Time Dance Company.
Imagineer, in partnership with Circolombia and Rebel Manifesto Aerial, presents Flow: Milesians – The Coming Of The Gaels, a spectacle performance combining theatre, circus, aerial performance, and live music telling the epic story of the Coming of the Gaels to Ireland, at Bishop Ullathorne School Grounds, Coventry from 16-22 Apr. Also in Coventry, don’t miss Pirates of the Canal Basin from 21-24 Apr by Coventry’s EGO Performance Company, NoFit State Circus, and a 60-strong community ensemble. Part promenade, part static spectacle, Coventry Canal Basin will be transformed into a lively pirate harbour town full of strange and wonderful characters and stories, including a stranded ship staging live music and aerial acrobatic spectacles!
Streets of Rother, 18 Hours annual street art festival, is back for 2022 with Streets of Battle at Abbey Green on 2 Apr and Streets of Rye at Rye High Street on 30 Apr. Tomorrow see Levantes Dance Theatre, Dan The Hat, Circo Rum Ba Ba, and Inside Out Theatre Company, then on 30 Apr don’t miss The 2 Men, Fair Play Comedy, The Grand Theatre of Lemmings, and Amy Amelia Arts.
About Us, one of the ten UNBOXED projects, created by 59 Productions, The Poetry Society and Stemettes is in Caernarfon until 5 Apr, Luton on 14-12 Apr, and Hull from 30 Apr-6 May. About Us is a free open-air spectacular event using cutting-edge projection mapping, animation, music and poetry to celebrate our extraordinary connections to everything around us: past, present and future.
Another of the UNBOXED projects, Green Space Dark Skies led by Walk the Plank, has its first official event this month at the Peak District National Park on 23 Apr, and then heads to Lagan Valley AONB- County Down on 30 Apr. 20,000 people from all paths in life will become Lumenators, each carrying a low impact light into the landscape, experiencing beautiful green spaces across the UK, making patterns on mountains, lakes and moorland.
Brighton Open Air Theatre is back with a bumper 6-month summer season, kicking off on 8 Apr. There’s something for everyone with stand-up comedy, drag, music, family favourites, hard-hitting drama, laugh-out-loud comedies, improvisation, opera, dance, and a healthy dose of Shakespeare. On 22 Apr Autin Dance Theatre presents Out of the Deep Blue, on 1 Jun see The Gunpowder Plot by Three Inch Fools, Oddsocks Productions presents Hamlet (The Comedy) from 9-11 Jun, and much, much more!
In Worcester take all the family along to Atmosphere, a new outdoor Spring festival inspired by our environment and the natural world, taking place 9 & 10 Apr. Immerse yourself in a two-day programme of live performances, workshops, talks and activities at Cathedral Square and Worcester Woods Country Park, including Cast Away by Highly Sprung, The Bees by Artizani, Take Ten by Fluid Motion Theatre & Lorna Rees, and The Actual Reality Arcade by Matthew Harrison.
There’s loads to see and do at Shoot Festival 2022, in Coventry City Centre from 23 Apr-7 May, a two week diverse festival which platforms the best of Coventry and Warwickshire’s up and coming talent. See two brand new theatre pieces commissioned for Performance: In Bloom, listen to up and coming musicians from across the region at the Sound Stage, experience nine bite-sized performances from talented performance artists at the Shop Front Theatre as part of the Performance Programme, and much more!
The Drogheda Arts Festival is back, live and in person, with a programme of national and international in-door, outdoor and site-specific performances, along with visual arts exhibitions, music, spoken word, theatre, literature, circus, and family shows and workshops. On 2 May head to Dominics Park for the DAF Big Day Out, a day of free music, events, and activities for all ages, including Autin Dance Theatre’s Out of the Deep Blue, Tumble Circus with Cycle Circus, Bricí Spraoi’s Imagination Playground, and Goodnight Egg by Bombinate Theatre.
In Spain, Mostra Igualada runs until 3 Apr, a great showcase for the best shows for children and young audiences, which annually brings together around 30,000 spectators and more than 1,000 professionals to Igualada. Also in Spain from 29 Apr-1 May is La Fira de Titelles in Lleida, with more than 25 puppetry and visual theatre shows for all ages. In Belgium, De Gevleugelde Stad Ieper – City of Wings Ypres runs 8-10 April in the historical centre and on the ramparts of Ypres, free for everyone.
Don’t miss Trevithick Day, an annual community event celebrating Camborne and its most famous son, Richard Trevithick on 30 Apr in Camborne Town Centre. There’ll be steam engines, a steam parade, sound stages with local bands and choirs, street entertainers, stalls, street food, exhibitions, vintage vehicles, and dances led by Camborne Town Band. There’s two great opportunities to see Shakespeare Undone! by the Natural Theatre Company this month, in Bath on 21 Apr and Sutton Coldfield on 23 Apr. Be taken on a theatrical journey in which the best bits of Shakespeare come to life around you in this brilliant walkabout comedy performance.
Expect high-quality art, music, and a wonderful day out at the Devizes Street Festival on 30 Apr-1 May. Enjoy the fantastically energetic event which sees the Market Place bustling with people and roaming acts of all kinds. Also 30 Apr-1 May brings the physical return of The Fossil Festival in beautiful Lyme Regis, on the world famous Jurassic Coast. Enjoy a weekend of science, discovery, and fun, with talks and lectures, family activities, a 360 dome cinema, fossil market, exhibits, and workshops.
Meet Gnomus, the caretaker of the Earth created by Puppets with Guts, at Stonehenge from 29 Apr-2 May. A kind and gentle giant, Gnomus can remember the Neolithic people who built the monument and will be sharing stories about how they built it, who else has visited over the past 5,000 years and reminding us that we must all be caretakers of the earth.
This evening at Drygate Brewing Co in Glasgow, experience The Self Assembled, a medley of movement, costume and performance celebrating four decades of the wondrous work of Oceanallover by Tracy Alexander Rigg. The Self Assembled is an immersive evening of theater performance and global beats with live music from Samson Sounds, prominent sub-bass frequencies from DJ N-TYPE and a curated club-night by SGT Pokes.
