Firstly, a special mention to our friends at Trigger for the rescheduled production of its ground-breaking outdoor performance, The Hatchling. After cancelling in response to the tragic incident in Keyham, on Saturday and Sunday The Hatchling will soar above Plymouth as a symbol of hope and togetherness for the community and a mark of honour to the victims.
There are over 100 free events to enjoy at the Birmingham Weekender this Bank Holiday, featuring a range of artists from Birmingham and the West Midlands including Motionhouse, Gandini Juggling, Dizzy O’Dare, Nutkhut, Big Gay Disco Bike and Autin Dance Theatre. Funded by Bullring & Grand Central, Birmingham City Council, Birmingham Hippodrome and Arts Council England, the festival will take place throughout the Bullring and Grand Central shopping destination.
After a year away, Newcastle Mela returns to the city for a vibrant three-day celebration of South Asian cultures with music, dancing, workshops and food for the whole family. Tuck into a biryani as you enjoy performances from a range of artists including Punjabi reggae king Roach Killa, Punjabi bhangra singer Malkit Singh and Rakhi Sood Bollywood Dance.
Kent’s international family arts event BOing! Festival bounces back over the weekend in Canterbury with a packed line-up of outdoor artists. Enjoy the multicoloured whirling of Dulce Compania’s Rainbow Ballet, take a ride with The Puppet Bus, be inspired by Upswing’s Catch Me and enjoy a whole range of other exciting performances, workshops, films and fun.
Postponed from its usual July dates, St Mary’s Village Carnival for Eaton Bray, Edlesborough and surrounding areas will go ahead this Saturday 28 Aug; this year’s theme is Heroes, so bring your cape.
One of the biggest events in the outdoor arts calendar, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival launches in London this Friday. The festival opens with the We Are Watching ceremony featuring reflections, poetry, speeches and music to mark the raising of a 10-story high flag designed by Dan Acher, a message to world leaders emphasising the urgency of climate change action. Later in the night, the spectacular light installation Borealis will shine out echoing the awe-inspiring brilliance of the Northern Lights. In the grounds of Charlton House and Gardens Mojisola Adebayo’s new play, Family Tree, explores the extraordinary story of the Henrietta Lacks gene cells.
Head down to Greenwich Peninsula on Saturday for GDIF’s Dance by Design, a trio of dazzling dance performances: The Lost Opera by Ashley Peevor and Nikki Watson; Dandyism by Patrick Ziza Dance and Finale by Delreves. On Sunday the action sails over to the Cutty Sark where Greenwich Fair will be in full swing, with a family-friendly day of class performances including Talawa, LasTheatre, Strong Lady Productions, Geert Hautekiet, Nikki Charlesworth, Access All Areas Theatre, Far From the Norm, The Cultural Assembly, Teatro Só, Just More Productions, Altered States, Stalker Teatro, 15feet6, Puppets with Guts and Fatt Butcher’s Big Gay Disco Bike. Throughout the weekend the On Your Doorstep programme will bring pop-up street performances directly to the communities of Thamesmead, Eltham and Deptford.
Elsewhere in London, don your top hat, brush up your bustle and take a stroll back in time through Vauxhall’s Pleasure Gardens at Victorian Vauxhall, a Victorian Funfair packed full of circus acts, ice-cream, music and vintage games. Prizes for best fancy dress! Saturday, 2-7pm, reserve your free spot now. After an epic run, the final outdoor offering from the Kensington+Chelsea Festival is Alleyne Dance’s Bonded, in Kensington Town Square on Saturday.
Get some sea air in your lungs at Hartlepool Waterfront Festival as it presents its boldest programme yet. Alongside a stellar line-up of live music, catch performances from Curious Theatre, Motionhouse, Puppets with Guts, Let’s Circus and more. In tribute to all those lost to Covid-19 and the NHS health and care workers who have risked their lives, Luke Jerram’s installation In Memoriam will be on display at Seaton Carew Park for the duration of the festival.
The next event in Coventry City of Culture’s highly anticipated programme of events is Highly Sprung’s CastAway, a dynamic outdoor aerial performance exploring the impact of today’s throwaway society on our waterways. Free – head to the Canal Basin at 12.30 or 4pm on either Saturday or Sunday to experience the magic.
Kapow’s Grow, a comment on humanity and a comedic gardening show combined. is branching out across Cumbria this weekend, visiting Millon, Whitehaven and Kirkby-Stephen.
Bringing Exeter out of lockdown with the first live event for the city, the Exeter Street Arts Festival will see buskers and street performers delivering delightful moments of pop-up performance to a range of different locations all over the city – all day long!
On Monday Devizes International Street Festival will welcome some of the best UK street performers, contemporary circus acts, dancers, musicians and walkabout shows to Wiltshire for a ‘directors cut’ of its annual event. This condensed, home-brewed version of its programme includes all-woman acrobat troupe Mimbre, Autin Dance Theatre, The Black Eagles, Pickled Image, Ashley Peever and Nikki Watson’s Lost Opera, Bicycle Boy Live, The Desperate Men, Joy Magnet with our fave Aussie mates the Roo’s, Rimski & Handkerchief, The Flying Buttresses, Simple Cypher, Matt Pang on his #HappyHeartBike and Avanti’s Spurting Man, a human fountain shooting out over 200L of water in 3 minutes as well as Musical Ruth as ‘Elton Wrong’.
If you’re in Brighton, BOAT invites you to Stand Up Under the Stars, brave a Tempest or enter the Secret Garden this weekend. Heartbreak Productions are spanning the country with Gatsby in Morden, Dream in Devon and Mr Stink in Bishop’s Stortford. Bash Street Theatre’s Cameraman is tracking across Cornwall and Devon in Liskeard, Redruth, Crediton and Plymouth. Join Mole, Ratty, Mr Toad and Badger in Calf2Cow’s outdoor production of Wind in the Willows; this weekend sees them venture across the South of England, visiting Eastleigh, Corsham, the Thorrington Theatre in Suffolk and Shoreham-by-Sea. And it’s your last chance of the summer to catch Oddsocks’ Comedy of Errors in Matlock on Saturday.
As always, let us know what you’re up to and have a great weekend.
