Here is your Outdoor Arts roundup – find out what’s happening over the next few weeks…

Leeds | Until 9 Sep | Nest is set in 2050 and climate change is shaking the natural world. Now that the bird watchers can no longer watch, Skylar’s home will never be the same again…LEEDS 2023 and the award-winning National Youth Theatre are staging a series of breathtaking events against the stunning backdrop of RSPB St Aidan’s Nature Park, in a once-in-a-generation experience for performers and audience alike.

London | Until 10 Sep | GDIF 2023 will bring together UK and international artists in a programme of ground-breaking outdoor theatre, performance, art, dance and circus in iconic public spaces across London.

  • PAN~ // CATWALK by Zwermers is a fusion of fashion, choreography, live music and theatre. This performance challenges the urge to label or judge others based on how they appear, revealing instead a mind-opening celebration of fluidity and self-expression.
  •  The Architect  by GDIF & Actors Touring Company is an immersive theatrical journey where audiences will travel aboard an iconic red bus and be transported across South-East London.
  • Dancing City is two extraordinary days of outdoor dance transforming the piazzas, parks and waterfronts of Canary Wharf. Discover a spectacular alfresco programme of international and UK dance featuring contemporary, ballet, hip hop, Kathak and choreography on a trampoline.
  • RoZéO by Gratte Ciel is a living installation with 3 performers perched on 10m high poles creating a poetic ritual and offering a moment of calm, reflection and wonder.

Spain | Until 10 Sep | FiraTàrrega offers a selection of theatre, movement and circus performances that aim to seduce the public and arouse the interest of attending industry professionals; an offer that combines the various dramatic disciplines, paying special attention to national and international creative trends. See UK work Fish Mobile by Kaleider above the streets of the Spanish town and Rhinos by Zum Zum Theatre, as well as international work Follow Me by Be Flat, Mo et Le Ruban Rouge by Cie L’Homme Debout, Definicions Ambulants by Electrico 28, Idiòfona by Joan Català and Fish Mobile by Kaleider. OAUK will be there – say hello if you bump into Angus!

Portland | Until 10 Sep | b-side is an internationally recognised arts festival that is led by the love of local. Taking place on the extraordinary Isle of Portland, b-side welcomes curious wanderers and arts-obsessed regulars to its 11th year. The theme for this year culminates in four newly commissioned artworks which focus on the intriguing history and heritage of Portland’s land.

  • Uncommon Land by Wildworks is a modern ritual where people and symbolic animals will come together in celebration. At the coming of dusk, the borderline hour between light and dark, when anything is possible.

City of London | Until 16 Sep | At Bartholomew Fair, the City will become the stage for an array of exciting, unique entertainment, and live performances taking place across the Square Mile. Don’t miss Gorilla Circus, Kit Green, Miss High Leg Kick, Studio Go Go, Puppets with Guts, The Majorettes, Bedlam Oz, L’Arbre à Vache, Bollyflex, Sonia Sabri Company, Cocoloco, and The Flying Buttresses.

  • 16 Sep | The White Wings by Close-Act Theatre is a stilt dancer performance where magical enchanting phantoms stride elegantly through the streets, endowed with transparent wings they seemingly float above the audience.

London | Until 30 Sep | Totally Thames is an annual season of unique, diverse and accessible arts and culture throughout September with activities taking place on, beneath, and along the River Thames, including The Line, XAP (Cross Arts Projects), and Camilla Brendon.

U.S. | Until 5 Nov | The Walk (Little Amal) is going on tour to more than 100 free and open-to-the-public Events of Welcome as she journeys joyously across the United States. more than 1000 artists and arts organizations of every kind will come together to create a traveling festival of art and hope, sharing Amal’s urgent message to the world: ‘????????????’???? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ????????’.

Grimsby | 8-10 Sep | Grim Falfest welcomes Vikings and visitors to Grimsby town centre for a family friendly event celebrating Grimsby’s proud king heritage and links with Scandinavia and Iceland.  Expect Viking re-enactments, battle arenas, heritage stalls and traders – on Fri 8 Sep the event will launch with Grim and his Vikings arriving on their longships and the closing parade is on Sun 10 Sep.

Worthing | 9 Sep | Blazing Saddles at Spin Out 2023 is a joyful, outdoor performance by Bicycle Ballet / Heritage Open Days celebrating the impact of bicycles on women, and fashion from the 1890s. A wry look at pink, evolving cultural taboos, women and bikes. Part of the Worthing ‘Spin Out’ Festival, presented by Worthing Theatres & Museum.

Stalybridge | 9 Sep | Weave Arts Festival is a day filled with wonder, creativity, and cultural festivities as part of EEA and Historic England’s collaborative Hi! Street Fest project. Giant puppet Farrah the Fox will meet Charlie, a puppet based on a ‘little piecer’ (a young child from 1830 who would piece up the broken threads in a factory), to celebrate the town’s rich heritage, vibrant cultural scene, and cherished high street. It’s also part of a wider celebration called Cotton Carnival, where Global Grooves will weave together the town’s heritage through a breath-taking Carnival procession.

Cornwall | 9 Sep | Arts on the Beach is a free family weekend of street theatre, aerial performance, dance, music and creative workshops. And… a 13-foot roaming puppet. Set imaginations soaring on the sand, with two days of sea-themed creativity and entertainment. Sustainability-minded festivities inspired by the ocean – and protecting it. Don’t miss Tipping Point by Off the Wall Aerial Dance, Hall for Cornwall Youth Dance Company, Out of the Deep Blue by Autin Dance Theatre, On the Standline by Urban Playground Team, Bathing Belles by CScape and Old Time Sailors.

Weston-super-Mare | 9 Sep | Whirligig Festival of Outdoors Arts is a festival where international and local performers come together to bring you jaw-dropping outdoor arts experiences. There’s a fantastic line-up of outdoor arts performances, parades, workshops and installations this year including the Paraorchestra, Collectif Malunés, Alleyne Dance, Motionhouse, Avanti Display, Dizzy O’Dare, Thingumajig Theatre, Megan Clark-Bagnall, Circomedia, Simple Cypher, Spitz & Co, Jones and Barnard, and Luke Jerram.

Middlesbrough | 9 Sep | Middlesbrough Mela is one of the biggest and most spectacular multicultural festivals in the North-East and offers a fabulous mix of music, food, fashion and fun over two days! The Mela brings communities together to celebrate and promote the diverse cultures within the region by playing host to a high-quality programme of world-class music covering a rich mix of hip hop, Bhangra and traditional Asian sounds, Market Bazaar, street theatre, family fun zone and fun fair.

Hereford | 9-10 Sep | Our City Moves is a dance and movement festival, celebrating the joy of movement for everyone. The festival will offer a range of outstanding performances and workshops – Last Orders / Lungs of our City by 2Faced Dance, Lifted by Mimbre, Dirty Feet Dance, Dolloway Dancers, Cool Moves Crew, Starlight Company and Ragroof Tea Dance by Round in Circles.

Bexhill-on-Sea | 10 Sep | Blazing Saddles is a joyful, outdoor performance by Bicycle Ballet / Heritage Open Days celebrating the impact of bicycles on women, and fashion from the 1890s. A wry look at pink, evolving cultural taboos, women and bikes.

Brightlingsea | 10 Sep | Fresh Air Festival (FAF) is a street performance festival with community at the heart of it. It’s a chance to get outdoors and enjoy some pure unfiltered silliness such as Farmyard Circus, The Maniax by MarkMark Productions, The Seagulls, Bureau of Silly Ideas,  and Joe Fleming’s Fireman.

Market Harborough | 10 Sep | Arts Fresco is a free street theatre festival that, for one day every September, transforms the town centre into the biggest street arts festival in the Midlands. The packed line-up includes Garaghty and Thom by Street Comedy, Hula Hooper Show by Angie Mack, The Holliblobs by Ugly Bucket, ​Phileas Fogg: Day 79 by Dizzy O’Dare, ​Living Lamp Posts by Theatre Illumiere, ​The Dustbusters by Feasible Ferret Theatre, Norvil and Josephine by Norvil and Josephine, ​The Ugly Bugs by Enter Edem, ​Drains by Stuff and Things, Bill Oddity’s Bewildered Beasts by The Flying Buttresses, Carlos Airhead by Carlos Airhead, Philosophy Shed by Stuff and Things, The Beatbox Jukebox, MarkMark Productions, The Roamantics, Edmund & Hilary, and Paint Pottle in the Children’s Village.

Cork | 11-24 Sep | Pitch’d Circus & Street Arts Festival brings Cork alive with the magic of circus and street arts. Prepare to be dazzled, enchanted, and utterly captivated by diverse and high-quality performances: A Snail’s Tale by Dunn Create, The Jack Wise Show by Jack Wise, Dodo the Wandering Hobo by Barry Clown, Che Fa, Concilia? by Lorenzo Baronchelli/ Ambaradan, Le Popéra by Curious State, Casting Off by A Good Catch, Bailarinas by Daniel Gonçalves, Beach Barrage by Those Two Idiots, The Grannies by Bill & Fred Productions, 51 Removals by Elisa Gallo Rosso, and On Tish by Síolta Circus.

Great Yarmouth | 15-17 Sep |  Out There has quickly built a national and international reputation for world-class artistic quality, new and diverse work, regional artistic talent, international collaboration and innovative community engagement. Breath-taking spectacle and quirky comedy combine in a festival woven through with quality performance, a family-friendly atmosphere and more than a fair dose of seaside silliness! Don’t miss Cat & Mouse Theatre, Circo Rum Ba Ba, Circus Katoen, Cocoloco, Collectif Malunés, Darryl J Carrington, Drillaz Circus School, Fraser Hooper, Frolicked, Hicks & Rudkin, Ichi, Inverted Theatre, Jack in a Box Entertainment, Jones & Barnard, Karl Stets, L’Arbre À Vache, Les Filles Du Renard Pâle, Losers Arcade, Markmark Productions, Martin Kasper Orkestra, Martin Thompson Studios, Max Maccarinelli, Out There Arts, Octopus Orkesta, Opposable Thumb Theatre, Paka The Uncredible, Poppy Plowman, Sam Goodburn, Santiago Moreno, Sur Mesure, The Miraculous Theatre Company, and Zen Del Sur. OAUK will be there for a Drop-In Breakfast (Sun 17 Sep, 9.30am).

Preston | 15-17 Sep | Lancashire Encounter is a festival of free arts, music and performances, celebrating the breadth of the County’s diverse cultural offer. Watch high-quality and high-profile arts such as Dandyism, Mimbre and Daryl & Co, Joli Vyann, Thingumajig Theatre, Dhamak Collective, Theatre Témoin, Just More Productions, Autin Dance Theatre, and the Torchlight Procession & Finale with Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, Caribbean Carnival and Preston City Mela, Cacophony Arkestra, Bay Beat, Jazz Swing Dance, Worldwise Samba Drummers, Sparkle Dance School, Dance Syndromeand beautiful large scale puppets from Handmade Parade.

West-super-Mare | 15-17 Sep | Promenade Weekender is a new project, that explores place, environment & the natural world through multidisciplinary contemporary arts and socially engaged practice. New artist commissions and engagement activities feature as part of a weekend programme of location-specific artworks, workshops & activities, music & performance, walks & talks, happenings & interventions taking place along Weston’s promenade.

Dorset | 15-24 Sep | Inside Out Dorset is an international outdoor arts festival where some of Dorset’s most remarkable urban and rural spots are transformed with experiences that touch hearts and minds like nothing else. Don’t miss Duo Kaos, Company Satchok, Chris Iris, The Clay Connection, Plunge Bloom, Dorset Youth Dance, Chloe Loftus and Rodney Bell, The Working Boys Club, Stuart Henderson, Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band, Le G. Bistaki, De Chair et d’Os, Collectief Walden, Akademi, Alice Stevens, and Laura Reid. OAUK will be there with a Festival Focus cohort!

USA | 15 Sep – 1 Oct | The Charlotte International Arts Festival, a Blumenthal Performing Arts Original, uniquely brings together Charlotte’s local and international communities with global artists in a cultural celebration filled with live performances, art installations, food from around the world and more.

Yeovil | 16 Sep | Super Saturday brings the very best West Country food and drink to Yeovil, alongside wonderful and awe-inspiring performances of Out of the Deep Blue by Autin Dance Theatre and Pirate Taxi by Pirates of the Carabina.

Mossley | 16 Sep | The Vale’s Second Birthday Bash has an exciting list of activities and events to get stuck into. There’ll be music and dance tasters, arts and crafts workshops, street theatre and outdoor entertainment, live music, puppet walkabouts, and storytelling. There’ll be drumming workshops and a Carnival inspired night of grooves with Global Grooves, The Ice Green Man by Greenbanks Productions, and Bachelors of Paradise by Full Stilt.

Woolwich | 22 Sep | Hi! Street Fest returns to Woolwich, Farrah the Fox’s hometown, for a spectacular finale event featuring every puppet Farrah has met on her journey from Lowestoft, to Gosport, to Stalybridge. The host puppets have been created with residents through weeks of community workshops and activities with Emergency Exit Arts and Thingumajig Theatre, in partnership with Historic England.

Romford | 22-24 Sep | Murmurations at Bedfords Park is a theatre with a difference and a chance to explore a hidden local treasure, presented by Havering Changing and Tangled Feet. Take a walk on the wild side and Put on a pair of headphones, meet your tour guide and walk through the stunning natural landscape of Bedfords Park – a nature reserve on the edge of a city.

Derby | 22-23 Sep | Derby Festé has a programme packed full of immersive, innovative, and ground-breaking work showcased across the city of Derby for a whole range of audiences of all ages. Prepare for a spectacular line-up of outdoor circus and dance, dazzling acrobatics, the community procession and more… Forests by Rogue Play, Fireside by Nikki & JD, Nathan Geering A.K.A Awesome Wolf, The Whale by Circo Rum Ba Ba, WilderNests by Handmade Theatre, Rush by Joss Arnott Dance, Parade by Autin Dance Theatre, Lungs of Our City by 2Faced Dance, Look Mum! No Hands by Mimbre and Daryl & Co, Castaway by Highly Sprung, Strictly Cycling by Bicycle Ballet Co, Roll Play by Simple Cypher, Finale by Delrevés, Farmyard Circus, Cog in the Wheel by Def Motion, Dovetail by Vanhulle Dance Theatre, Soundcatchers by Jess Murray & Mitch Oldham, Totems by Compagnie des Quidams. OAUK will be there for a Drop-In Breakfast (Sat 23 Sep, 10-11.30am).