Brecon Beacons | The annual independent music, science, and arts festival Green Man is back this weekend. The festival site is divided into 10 areas, hosting literature, film, comedy, science, theatre, wellness and family acts, so there’s something for everyone. Outdoor arts highlights include Hijinx, Hands Down Circus, No Sleep Dance Theatre, Matthew Keys, Eilidh Reilly, The Wheelabouts, and lots more.
Bradford | Expect Circus, Dance, Poetry, Art, and fun at BD:Festival, this evening and tomorrow in Bradford City Centre. Be sure to see Common Wealth, Whispered Tales, Front Room Poetry, Kauser Mukhtar, The Dream Engine, Tech Styles International, Motionhouse, Max Calaf, Mind the Gap, Autin Dance Theatre, Carlos Pons Guerra & DeNada Dance Theatre, and Highly Sprung Performance Company.
London | A whole summer season of amazing live performances and arts is underway at Kensington + Chelsea Festival, running until 31 Aug. This weekend see Flood by Theatre Témoin, Timeless by Joli Vyann, and How to Build a Universe and How to End It by Jamaal Burkmar, Extended Play.
Skegness | After three years, the wait is over and SO Festival is returning this weekend! Head to Mablethorpe and Skegness for three free days of innovative international street theatre on the Lincolnshire coast. The packed programme includes Kaleider, Stopgap Dance, Altered States, Jon Hicks with Matt Rudkin, LAStheatre, Kapow, Whalley Range All Stars, Vero Cendoya Dance Co, Zest Theatre, Desperate Men, Talawa Theatre Company, Les Etablissements Lafaille, Paolo Nani Theatre.
OAUK is in Skegness for breakfast on Sunday morning, join us at the Embassy Theatre!
Cornwall | Wildworks’ new open-air promenade production I Am Kevin, directed by Mydd Pharo and created with the communities of Cornwall, is at Carlyon Beach until tomorrow. Experience this fantastical journey discovering the light amidst the darkness and take a deep dive into the depths of your consciousness to rewrite the stories that try to define us.
Birmingham | Birmingham Weekender is back 27-29 Aug with over 100 free events to enjoy. The cultural festival, funded by Bullring & Grand Central, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Hippodrome and Arts Council England, combines a mix of dance, music, film, performances and installations across the shopping destination featuring many of the best artists from Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Cheshire | Just So Festival runs this weekend at Rode Hall in Cheshire. With a love of stories and childhood escapades at its heart, Just So Festival enables families to step out of their day to day lives and into a wonderland of world class literature, arts, theatre, dance, music, comedy and creative pursuits together.
Prescot | Serious Nonsense is a three-day festival of fun and frivolity including incredible street theatre, live music, comedy and family entertainment in Prescot town centre. Outdoor work includes Murmuration Arts’ Owl and the Pussycat.
Medway | Electric Medway presents Augmented River; 10 days of immersive events that will alter your perceptions of reality from 19-28 Aug. Opening today, the digital festival includes EXPONENTIAL by Lucid Creates, Alice in VR Wonderland by Jasmin Vardimon Company, DUSKWAVES, Hello Lamp Post’s artificial intelligence trail, The Black Rabbit by BRiGHTBLACK, and developed with Hi3 Network, Voyage of Ancient Beasts will feature an augmented reality boat safari on the Edith May barge. There’s also a virtual programme online to get involved in.
Greenwich | London’s leading festival of free outdoor theatre and performing arts, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival returns 26 Aug- 11 Sep, with 17 extraordinary days of theatre, arts, dance, and circus. See SPARK by Studio Roosegaarde, The Sky is Filled with Thunder by Fevered Sleep, Charon by Peter Hudson with Building 180 and Les Machines de l’île, Autin Dance Theatre’s Out of the Deep Blue, B.V Natuur by Karel Casier and Aat Dirks, Scrum by Avant Garde Dance, There Should Be Unicorns by Middle Child, Gobbledegook Theatre’s Geophonic, Fuel Theatre’s Peaceophobia, and many more. Also don’t miss two extraordinary days of discovery and dance transforming the piazzas, parks and waterfronts of Canary Wharf into Dancing City on 10-11 Sep. Join OAUK for drinks at GDIF to celebrate Greenwich Fair on 27 Aug.
Leicester | Tomorrow Inspirate is taking over the Curve Theatre and Leicester’s Orton Square for An Indian Summer Festival, an entire day filled with outdoor music, dance, workshops, culture, art and food. Expect an eclectic showcase of outdoor music and dance, from classical and contemporary to Bollywood, hip hop and jazz, try food from all over South Asia, get involved in family-friendly workshops, and explore a range of talks and films. Don’t miss Nupur Arts with their outdoor Holi performance and performances from Nupur Arts’ Junior, Youth & Bharatanatyam groups throughout the day.
Then on Sunday, the Leicester Mela takes over the city centre. Bank Holiday weekend is the Leicester City Festival featuring Vision Mechanics’ Storm, Talking Bird’s Whale, Artizani’s Bees, Enter Edem’s Plankton, Kapow’s Mayfly and the Leicester Taiko.
London | In King’s Cross today or tomorrow? Be sure to catch Future Cargo, the latest outdoor show by Requardt & Rosenberg in Lewis Cubitt Square. Combining large-scale spectacle with surprising intimacy, this dance phenomenon is performed in a 40ft haulage truck under the stars. Grab some headphones and connect to the strange world.
Hull | From 26 Aug- 4 Sep Freedom Festival returns to Hull with ticketed and free theatre, dance, contemporary circus, sideshows, audio walks, music, art exhibitions and unforgettable performances, alongside a digital programme of films, podcasts and talks on-demand and online. Look out for amazing outdoor acts including Middle Child Theatre, Tombs Creatius, Close Act, Cie Dyptik, Cie L’Homme Debout, Arjan Kruidhof, Jon Hicks and Matt Rudkin, Mimbre, 16 RPM, Joseph Toonga & Just Us Dance, Firma Kodde, 2Faced Dance, Dizzy O’Dare, Sam Goodburn, BrazUKa International, and more!
Orkney Islands | Green Space Dark Skies, led by Walk the Plank, heads to Orkney Islands- West Mainland tomorrow. 20,000 people will become Lumenators, each carrying a low-impact light into the landscape, making patterns on mountains, lakes and moorland.
Victoria Embankment | Head to Victoria Embankment on Sunday at 2pm for the Nottingham Carnival parade, featuring numerous troupes from Nottingham and around the country, and then head to the carnival site for four music zones featuring live bands, 30+ DJ’s and sound systems and steel bands.
Wakehurst | Fun, songs and adventure await at Wakehurst from 25-30 Aug as Sixteenfeet Productions bring the heart-warming coming of age story, The Jungle Book, to life for all the family.
Ealing | Spend a magical time in Walpole Park, Ealing, for a delightful 60 minute version of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors from 26-29 Aug at 2pm and 5pm. Be transported to the Greek city of Ephesus for a story of confusion, madness, and mirth, brought to you by Persever Productions and Drama Studio London.
Stoke-on-Trent | Be prepared to feast your eyes! The Big Feast returns to the streets of Stoke-on-Trent City Centre for a two-day festival-style event packed with live performances, music, dance and activities 26-27 Aug. There’s loads of amazing outdoor arts acts involved including Pif-Paf, Jeanefer Jean-Charles, Fluid Motion Theatre Company, Cohesion Plus, 2Faced Dance Company, Highly Sprung, Alleyne Dance, Cocoloco Performance, and many more.
Netherlands | Festival Spoffin, the international street arts festival in Amersfoort, Netherlands, runs 26-28 Aug for three days full of outdoor theatre, dance, circus, and music.
Warwickshire | What better way to spend your bank holiday than in the fields of Ragley Hall for Camper Calling 26-28 Aug. From music magic on the Lakeside Stage to the best up and coming bands on the Arrow Stage, and family activities to keep everyone busy from fun for the littlest Callers in the Carnival Field, to the calm sanctuary of the Mindfulness and Wellness Field.
