Join us as we celebrate 15 years of creativity, culture and shared experiences at Basingstoke’s award-winning free outdoor arts Festival.
Over three weekends, Basingstoke Festival brings together the best of Basingstoke’s local talent, alongside world-class performances from across the globe.
Immerse yourself in the magic of live performances, discover new artists and celebrate the creative spirit of Basingstoke. They’ll be laugher, surprises, thrills and spills as street theatre, circus, music, storytelling and dance performances turn everyday spaces into stages.
The festival opens at 5.30pm on Friday 19 June with our Parade of the Mythical Beasts produced by Scratch Built Productions. The parade ends in the Festival Place Amphitheatre where Mr Wilson’s Second Liners will entertain the audience before Tit for Tat Circus debut their new show.
Then we begin on Saturday 20 June with:
Apples and Snakes, SPIN: Rhymes, Rhythms and Raps
A trio of leading performance poets, Paul Lyalls, Sally Pomme Clayton and Zohab Zee Khan, lead a fun-filled, interactive poetry show bursting with rhythm, movement, and imagination. This lively performance invites audiences to get on their feet – dancing, singing and joining in – as words come alive. As part of the performance, come and hear a new Ballad for Basingstoke commissioned by Basingstoke Festival.
o Grandad Go is a heart warming inter-generational family story embedded in love. This relatable Hip-Hop theatre dance show inspires the young and empowers the… not so young.
Fit Up Productions, PeaPea la Plume
The future just strutted in on six-inch heels with the loudest silent disco you’ve ever seen. She’s a robot, peacock, drag queen… with disco in her circuits and sass in every feather. Enjoy this high-voltage street takeover where comedy meets robo-cabaret, and every passerby becomes part of the party.
Join Mr Wilson’s Second Liners as they lead an anarchic, street extravaganza, bursting with colour and sound, rallying impromptu raves on street corners and rousing audiences young and old into a joyful frenzy. They channel the spirit of 24-hour party people and get audiences dancing wherever they play.
Sarah Thomas Lane, Dare to Dream
New work from local artist, Sarah Thomas-Lane
Three children live in a world that rarely looks their way. Yet, sometimes, the impossible feels close enough to touch. This is a story of small beginnings and boundless possibilities. What could you become, if you dared to dream?
Tit for Tat Circus, A Disorder of Knights
New show from Tit for Tat Circus supported by our Creative Incubator Fund
Hear ye, hear ye! It has come to our attention that the Knightly Order has been accused of being old-fashioned, elitist, outdated and utterly irrelevant to the modern day lives of the modern-day people! But not to worry, for our clattering of steel-clad clowns believe that chivalry should be more alive today than ever before. It just needs a little… redefining. With circus-inspired weaponry, spectacular stupidity, community games and absurd demonstrations of bravery – join us in a medieval medley of merriment and madness.
Tilly Ingram Theatre, The Hide
The Hide is a live birdwatching experience, where Tilly shares her love of birdwatching, her struggles as a woman with a non-visible disability, and the story of G463, a disabled White-Tailed Eagle who started her love affair with birds.
We also have some Discover and Explore Sessions by two Hampshire-based artists taking place during our first two weekends.
The first is by Emma Callow. Hampshire-based Learning Experience Designer, Creative Technologist, Presenter, Tinkerer and STEAM expert.
Emma is bringing The Light Lab, a vibrant exhibition celebrating the creativity of children and families from The Safe. This immersive space brings together their ideas, experiments, and artworks, all brought to life through light, art, and technology.
Alongside the exhibition, the Light Lab Play Space will invite children, adults, and families to explore, make and experiment together. Through tinkering with light, visitors can engage with art, science, and technology using hands-on activities such as light drawing, light boxes, animation, and digital pattern-making tools. This project has been developed with funding from Basingstoke and Deane’s Creative Incubator Fund.
The second is from Holly New, the UK’s first VR-based fashion designer. Holly will be leading workshops encouraging participants to design clothes for their own avatar. The outcome of which will result in a virtual fashion show to be shared at the end of the festival.
Weekend Two – Saturday 27 June
Two performers build a playful world from dozens of wooden reels and bamboo rods. From chaos to calm, they fix jams and rebuild together with object manipulations and comic clarity.
Gandini Juggling, You Too Can Tutu
Follow two ambitious characters determined to create the world’s first juggling-ballet in this tongue-in-cheek mash up. Colourful pointe shoes synchronise with hyper-coloured balls, creating mesmerising patterns and shapes that will delight audiences of all ages.
This playful and imaginative diabolo show explores themes of teamwork, friendly rivalry, and the joy of learning together. Watch as Gee-Gee celebrate each other’s big wins — and even the little slip-ups — turning every moment into part of the fun.
Local artist, environmentalist and storyteller, Junk Jodie, will present her new show Fashion IFFICENT — a fairytale filled story with recycled mythical creatures like Fiona Fairy, Miranda Mermaid, and Derek Dragon. They’ll help you discover clever ways to care for your clothes, get creative with upcycling, and help stop things from going to landfill. Supported by Basingstoke and Deane’s Creative Incubator Fund
Pirates of the Carabina, Pirate Taxi
A fabulous circus show taking place in, on and around an old-school London Taxi. Sometimes serious, but more often funny, Pirate Taxi weaves in themes of journeys, companionship, and the annual migration of birds.
Scratch Built Productions, The Magical Toy Hospital
Scratch Built Productions, in collaboration with Forest Forge Theatre Company, invites you into a fun, interactive, and immersive experience where they will transform an empty shop unit into a hospital. Using puppetry (and of course 20 years at magical medical school) they will bring your toys to life right before your eyes. On Sundays, the magical medical team will be joined by Oakley Stitchers and the Repair Cafe should your favourite friend require some specialist care and additional TLC. Supported by Basingstoke and Deane’s Creative Incubator Fund
Weekend Three – Saturday 4 July
Meet Bella, a beautiful Asian elephant, and her human companion Kyra as they arrive in Basingstoke on a heartfelt search for Bella’s herd. Brought to life by three highly skilled puppeteers and a storyteller, Bella is a theatrical experience that bridges the magic of imagination with real-world themes. This production is a collaboration between Animate Puppet Co, Basingstoke Festival, and playwright Rebecca Lyon.
Taps, valves, pipes, pumps, sprays, and leaks come together to form a chaotic, yet playful water machine full of games and puzzles, all fed by a central reservoir. But there’s a twist: Hydropunk is also a striking environmental metaphor. With only 1000 litres of water to work with, once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Grow is an interactive, nature-inspired theatre adventure combining dance, sound and storytelling. It explores skies, oceans and jungles while inspiring care for our planet. With tactile, sustainable props, Grow nurtures curiosity, creativity and a lifelong connection to the natural world.
The artists break through the crowds to the empty stage, brandishing a variety of sticks on which they climb, vault and spin. They discover bundles which unfold into towering sculptures that morph and evolve into an animated circus installation – with beauty and poignancy, impressive feats of strength and agility, and a sense of “never having seen anything like this before.”
One Tenth Human, Pipes and Poo
An interactive game-show adventure that explores the extraordinary world of water, pipes and poo. Can you help Bubbles win the golden crown? And what will you discover along the way? Bubbles and Spritz are here to help you find out!
Rummage through the rubble with Bin Rat and friends from Squeaky Clean Street Cleaners to discover where all the junk goes. Scrape scraps off the streets and find out what literally happens to litter in this fun, feral, family show.
Scratch Built Productions, The Magical Toy Hospital
Will also be taking place during weekend three.
Southampton Solent University students from the School of Creative Industries will be presenting work in a temporary exhibition, housed in shipping containers in one of our local parks.
Tin Shed will create an eco-themed fairy tale trail.
