News releases

Dates announced for this year’s flourishing Basingstoke Festival

 
Basingstoke Festival will return this summer to bring the best of the local, national and international arts to residents and visitors, running from Friday 23 June until Sunday 9 July.
 
The free family-friendly festival, based in Basingstoke town centre and across the surrounding borough, will give audiences the opportunity to experience and take part in outdoor dance, circus and street theatre performances in unusual places.
 
The festival will start with a parade through Basingstoke town centre with over 500 young people and community performers, guest produced by local Fluid Motion Theatre Company. The theme of the parade this year is ‘Flourish – being the best you can be’.
 
This year 15 national shows will be performed outdoors in the streets and parks of Basingstoke and Deane, across all three weekends. There will also be a programme of over 50 indoor and community events taking place across the borough during the festival.
 
One of national shows being performed this year is Look Mum, No Hands from Daryl and Co. and Mimbre. This is tender story about friendship and growing up and explores the idea of independence versus interdependence, vulnerability and strength, using striking physical imagery. The performance takes advantage of the fact that one of the characters uses a wheelchair to create original and unexpected acrobatic shapes and choreographies.
 
The Place will present The album: skool edition by SAY, an outdoor dance show celebrating the joy and innocence of making up dances to exciting new music. Combining fast-paced and slick contemporary routines to new music, including tracks with UK beatbox champion MC Zani and alternative pop artist Naomi Banks, this is an interactive show created specifically for kids and their families.
 
A show which will engage all the senses, Eau de Memoire from Francesca Baglione, as Miss High Leg Kick, will be interactive and fun, celebrating the rich experiences and memories evoked by our sense of smell.
 
The festival will also be supporting home-grown local talent. This includes Proteus Theatre Company performing Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Fluid Motion premiering a new show The Greatest Show on Earth, where audiences will be able to immerse themselves in the natural world to improve wellbeing. Scratchbuilt Productions’ The Fairy Finders Trail will take audiences through town centre green spaces on a magical adventure and Junk Jodie’s new show for children SEA-TACULAR will highlight the importance of protecting seas and rivers from plastic pollution.
 
Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr Simon Minas-Bound said: “The festival will span three weekends and offer something for every member of the family.
 
“With local, national and international acts performing across the borough, it’s an opportunity to explore and participate in circus, dance and street theatre on your doorstep. This will be another event that proves Basingstoke and Deane is a great place to live and visit.
 
“There are also lots of community events to enjoy, with a programme of local performances and workshops. Basingstoke Festival will be flourishing this year, so keep an eye on the festival website and social media to find out when more acts are announced.”
 
Basingstoke Festival is a partner in Without Walls, working with festivals and artists and bringing fantastic outdoor arts to people in towns and cities across the UK.
 
For more information on Basingstoke Festival and how to get involved, visit www.basingstokefestival.co.uk or follow @BasingstokeFestival on Facebook and @BstokeFestival on Twitter and Instagram. The website will be regularly updated as more acts are confirmed.