Successfully launched in 2022 and attracting more than 40,000 audiences across three programmes of events, Our Future Starts Here aims to explore issues of our time, enable new cultural experiences for North East Lincolnshire residents and highlight Grimsby’s place in the world now.
For this new edition for Autumn, we’re pleased to be partnering with Projekt Renewables to present future-facing, thought-provoking, quality and fun performances for all ages around Alexandra Dock. National touring work from leading outdoor arts companies is coupled with creative participation opportunities, ‘green learning’ and children’s activities on sustainability themes.
Sat 21 Oct – Alexandra Dock
The Whale By Circo Rum Ba Ba
Don’t miss this wonderful whale installation while it’s ‘washed up’ in Grimsby!
At 18 metres long this presents a delightful spectacle, while also offering beautiful, interactive story-telling sessions on environmental themes.
But where has the whale come from and why?
Join Marine biologist ‘Netty NorthWest’ and an acrobatic diver, who will take children and families inside ‘the belly of the whale’ and lead them on a journey through the life of an ancient Leatherback Turtle and the threats and dangers they face to survive. This is a chance to hear about sea-creatures and their battle to survive in an ocean full of plastic, while also helping the explorers save the turtle and whale.
Lifted By Mimbre
Lifted is a collection of funny, poetic and surprising moments, which explore in different ways what it means when one body is carried by another. Or when one person carries two people. Or when a person doesn’t want to be carried. Or when three people find the perfect balance.
Created in collaboration with three guest choreographers, Yi-Chun Liu, HURyCAN and Gary Clarke, this captivating performance by acrobatic theatre company Mimbre experiments with new approaches and mixes dance, theatre and circus to celebrate the expressions and impressions that appear when three strong women move, lift and balance each other.
Out of the Box by Darryl Carrington
Out of the Box is a show of Impossible situations when a constant battle with physics is resolved in a finale that will have the audience feeling like they have just witnessed the underdog substitute scoring the winning goal.
A unique blend of world-class juggling, high skill manipulation and original, Tik Tok trick shots are delivered through gentle clowning when the audience become the stars of the show and celebrate both failures and successes.
Drawing from personal experiences of neuro-diversity, Darryl Carrington gently guides audiences through a celebration of our differences, similarities and how – through playfulness – we can find a common space between the two and break down the boundaries that divide us.
The Album: School Edition by Say
Celebrate the joy and innocence of making up dances to exciting new music in this interactive, outdoor dance show.
SAY is a duo and their energy is infectious and will inspire you to get creative with movement too!
Combining fast-paced and slick contemporary dance routines to exciting new music including tracks with MC Zaniland and alternative pop artist Naomi Banks, the album: skool edition is an interactive dance created specifically for kids and their families.
As a company SAY was born from Sarah Golding and Yukiko Masui’s ambition to re-discover the creativity that can get lost through formal training and to challenge the elitism sometimes associated with contemporary dance.
Fri 27 Oct – Alexandra Dock
Toast by Pif-Paf
Pif-Paf as a company formed out of sustainability campaigning, with a clear aim to bring wonder and change to people’s lives where they live, work and play. Pif Paf believes that an empowered community is the key to any positive and sustainable change. Their works are playful and dramatic explorations of the big themes around sustainability.
TOAST takes audiences on a journey through the seasons, through story-telling, music, food and dances. In each of the four seasons the performances explore a different aspect of the things we do together. The show looks at our closeness to the land and seasons through celebration, inspiration and preparation, rather than a telling of the struggles to come.
As a show, Toast is made largely from reused materials and is battery powered and the food is responsibly sourced.
The Precious Thing by Inverted Theatre
A fun and moving outdoor show featuring an array of juggling, hand-balancing contortion, clowning and puppetry, the show is a metaphor for how the human race is not good at looking after our world and now we are starting to pay the consequences.
The two relatable and playful characters have two things to do: fish for food and look after and nurture their one treasured possession. Trying to keep it alive using water.
We see them struggle with problems creating more trouble for themselves. They do not take the logical route, but the one that seems more fun. They spill and waste water till there is none left and their world starts turning purple.
There might be a simple answer if they thought it through, but the solution they find creates another problem. And while this is funny to watch it has negative outcomes for their world.
The duo even pull the audience into their antics to contribute purple objects that change their world into a purple mess of discarded objects.
Unboxed by Linden Dance
Linden Dance promotes positivity, individuality and empowerment, championing diverse perspectives, backgrounds and creative voices. In their explosive outdoor duet UNBOXED, a mixed-race man and a white woman set themselves in opposition to two giant wooden cubes in a representation of their battle with prejudice and judgement. The toxicity of the subject matter can be felt in the pulsing soundtrack and the performers’ athletic physicality.
Future Chalk by Urban Canvas
This fabulous chalk-art team joined us previously for Our Future Starts Here, creating a colourful and inspiring 81-metre long wind-turbine right the way across Riverhead Square with the public’s help.
We’re excited to welcome them again this time to the Alexandra Dock area where everyone is invited to get creative, have fun and design artwork on environment and nature themes.
