Tag: Family

GREENWICH + DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2026

This year’s theme WE MOVE and extraordinary line-up of performances celebrates London’s spirit of resilience and community in the face of life’s myriad challenges from 21 Aug—6 Sep.

Performances such as:

A PLACE BETWEEN MASS AND ECHOES
SAT 22 + SUN 23 AUG
2.55PM + 5.20PM (25 mins)
GENERAL WOLFE PIAZZA, GREENWICH PARK
This love letter to skate culture is a celebration of the power of self expression, resistance and joy, channelling the spirit of a generation in search of connection.
Contains loud music.

DO BIRDS DREAM OF FLYING?
SAT 22 + SUN 23 AUG
1PM + 3.40PM (22 mins)
GENERAL WOLFE PIAZZA, GREENWICH PARK
In this award-winning performance, an artfully designed rotating ladder directs eyes upwards, inviting audiences to
consider new perspectives on the world around us. As the ladder turns, the rules keep changing and elegance and poetry meet control and skill.
Live AD Sun 23, 1pm.

THE TORCH
MON 31 AUG
2.40PM (45 MINS)
GENERAL GORDON SQUARE, WOOLWICH, SE18 6AB
Inspired by the music and influence of Ebo Taylor, The Torch is a gig-theatreexperience where Afrobeat, hip-hop and rap meet live storytelling and DJ-led sound. At its core is a story of identity, pressure and self-discovery, tracing the journey from expectation to independence.
Live BSL 2.40pm.

CICATRIUS
SAT 5 SEPT
3.10PM (45 MINS)
START: WATERFRONT SQUARE
END: THEATRE ROOM, TESSA JOWELL BLVD
Scars become symbols of strength in this inclusive outdoor dance ritual pulsing with rhythm, movement and raw physicality. Inspired by ancient traditions from Sardinia and Catalonia, bodies collide, lift and unite in a powerful celebration of resilience, transformation and the joy of moving together.

KISMAT WALLA
THU 3 + FRI 4 SEP
2.15PM + 4.15PM (25 MINS WITH 5-10 MINS PRE SHOW)
QUEEN’S SQUARE, GREEN STREET, EAST HAM, E13 9JJ
A magical cart rolls into Queen’s Square carrying playful stories of fate and fortune, transforming one of London’s most vibrant marketplaces with this highly visual outdoor show for children and families. Inspired by the bustling energy of South Asian street markets, Kismat Walla combines magical puppetry, street theatre and storytelling in a world where fortunes shift, strangers cross paths and anything feels possible.

…And much more!

We are committed to creating an unforgettable experience for Deaf, disabled and Neurodivergent audiences and artists.

You can contact our Access Producer, Evie on access@festival.org or 07899 893 935.

She will aim to get back to you within 3 working days.



Disability Festival in the Park

Come along for a fun-filled day celebrating inclusion and community spirit on:
🗓️ Wednesday 22 July
⏰ 12pm-7pm
📍 Christchurch Green, Wanstead, E11 2RH
Entry: Free
Music may begin before the formal festival opening.

Enjoy:
🎵 Incredible tribute acts featuring Tina Turner, Michael Jackson, and Ed Sheeran
🎾 Accessible sports
🎤 Stand up comedy
🎡 Funfair
🤩 and lots more!



The Croydonites Fringe

Croydonites is a festival of theatre and performance. Our mission is to showcase local theatre makers, and bring some of the best contemporary performance work from around the UK to Croydon doorsteps.

ROSIE YADID
WED 1 JULY / 7PM
In her debut solo hour, Rosie Yadid combines burlesque, musical theatre, storytelling and clown in this bittersweet love song to unsung divas and lyrical exploration of Jewish archetypes.
18+

EMMY FYLES
WED 1 JULY / 9PM
Join Emmy Fyles (BBC3, Comedy Central, LADbible) as she serves up her “multimedia extravaganza (PowerPoint show she made on her laptop) exploring why things are a dystopian-level bin fire for women in 2026.
(But, like, in a totally funny, cute way…)
18+

B!TCH ON THE MIC
THU 2 JULY / 7PM
Packed with sharp humour, surprising tenderness and a host of unruly characters who refuse to stay quiet, B!TCH ON THE MIC is both a performance and an unfiltered conversation with the inner critic.
Please note: This show contains strong language, partial nudity and themes of mental health and is not for the easily offended or faint-hearted.
Suitable for 18+

EMMA DAVIES
THU 2 JULY / 9PM
Join HR consultant, Alllison Pope, as she concludes the workforce restructure at Remark Insurance and delivers the final staff briefing. However, things don’t go to plan as her past won’t stay buried… not even in the slides.
Suitable for 18+

ANDY BONE
THU 2 JULY / 7.30PM
Fitzroy! A show ‘disguised as a lecture’ about the Captain of The Beagle – the ship that took Darwin to The Galápagos Islands. A light, educational show exploring class, empire, race and racism, mental health, love, jealousy and the weather.
16+

MADDIE HURLEY
FRI 3 JULY / 7PM
Doomsday is a bold multimedia theatre experience reimagining Croydon’s past, present, and possible futures. Blending archival footage, interviews, and live performance, three performers navigate cycles of regeneration, resilience, and reinvention. This work-in-progress invites audiences to question progress, place, and the enduring power of urban community.
Suitable for 12+

SISTER BRANDY BEX
FRI 3 JULY / 9PM
Join Sister Brandy Bex on a riotous journey through NHS madness. From dating doctors to dodging disaster, she’s turning it all into comedy gold. Outrageous stories, parody songs, and shameless camp spectacle: nursing’s never been this wild!
Suitable for 18+

AGUDO DANCE CO.
FRI 3 JULY / 7PM
Merging the rhythmic precision of Kathak, the fiery passion of flamenco, and the fluidity of contemporary dance, Agudo crafts a multi-layered exploration of a personal odyssey from West to East.
Suitable for 14+

MIKA HOCKMAN
FRI 3 JULY / 9PM
How do you tell your story when silence is law?
Un-Muted is a powerful solo performance that dives into the silence of legal spaces where voices are erased. Created from Mika Hockman’s groundbreaking research, this evocative piece weaves fractured language, haunting imagery, and untold truths about custody, alienation, and the invisible wounds left by silence. Don’t miss the chance to hear the voiceless speak.
Trigger warning: contains domestic violence content
18+

FUNMI ADEWOLE ELLIOTT
SAT 4 JULY / 1PM
In a City, Near a Forest is a solo storytelling performance in which Dr Kemi Oloruntobi’s forestry career talk transforms into a journey through childhood memories, her grandmother’s folktales, and her fascination with forest ecology. Through four treasured stories and the call-and-response of African storytelling, she explores curiosity, connection and heritage.
Suitable for 8+

ROB DUNCAN
SAT 4 JULY / 5PM
An award-winning printer shares his journey in the print industry and the journey of printing through history. This show celebrates Rob Duncan’s 15+ years in the printing industry and debuts a new category of dramatic arts – performance printing.
Suitable for 16+

JENNY LOCKYER
SAT 4 JULY / 6PM
An original one-woman show featuring theatrical shenanigans and very funny songs!
Suitable for 14+

STARDUST
SAT 4 JULY / 7.15PM
A glitter-soaked tragicomedy from a fallen icon with nothing left to lose – except the will to perform, her accoutrements and possibly her marbles.
Expect 24-carat cabaret, glamour, a constellation of chaos, a confetti of catharsis, and a show-stopping finale of hope.
Suitable for 14+

HOME GROWN
SAT 4 JULY / 8PM
Home Grown brings together Croydon’s brightest and best spoken word performers from across all parts of our wonderfully diverse community, exploring themes of love, sex, death, the urban environment and the lived experience of all the cultures and peoples that combine to make the Cronx a unique creative environment.
16+

JAKE YAPP
SAT 4 JULY / 8.30PM
Welcome to Britain’s brightest new game show for 1976!
It’s a bit like watching an old episode of the Generation Game, only the host is only faintly masking crippling self-doubt, the assistant hates him, and the set is made of cardboard. Ok, it’s EXACTLY like the Generation Game. Expect a total unawareness of political correctness, barely-contained chaos, and a lot of cigarettes flying about.
Suitable for 16+

Granny Pearl – A Magical Tale of the Sea!
SUN 5 JULY / 2PM
Spending time with Granny Pearl is always magical with her tales of the sea and we’re off to the seaside for a special boat trip to meet her! Interactive storytelling, puppetry, play, original live music and song combine in this gentle and engaging theatre performance telling the story of Granny Pearl; a granny who’s 103 and happens to be… a mermaid!
Suitable for 0-6 years

PETER AND THE WOLF
SUN 5 JULY / 2PM
Peter & the Wolf is a magical new production of Sergei Prokofiev’s much-loved musical masterpiece, featuring live music and dance.
Created especially for children aged 2-7 years and their grown-ups, this enchanting show introduces little ones to orchestral instruments, where each sound brings a different character to life. Now reimagined as a playful, theatrical and sensory dance experience, this timeless tale unfolds through movement, music and storytelling.
Suitable for 2-7 years (and their grown ups)

GEEKY BEATS
SUN 5 JULY / 3.30PM
Critical Hits! celebrates anime, video game, movie, and TV soundtracks, all reimagined with a unique jazzy twist. South London-based Geeky Beats brings pop culture classics to life with traditional big band flair in a show you won’t want to miss.
Suitable for all ages

SANSKRUTI DANCE
SUN 5 JULY / 4PM
Aranyani, Goddess of forests and the wild, is dying. To recover – and for the plants and animals that she supports to thrive – she needs nourishment and balance in the world. It is down to a spiritual Sage and a Scientist – and you, the audience – to discover how to save her.
Suitable for 7+ years

JULIAN GYPENS
SUN 5 JULY / 5PM
The show smashes two contradictory art-forms together in a daring balancing act. Where the tale of a man and his tragic separation from his rear-end is woven with choreography and gags. Can this comedian reunite with his long-lost buns, or is he cursed to dance with nothing to shake?
Suitable for 18+



The Cally Festival

Caledonian Road is one of London’s most vibrant neighbourhoods and host to the Cally Festival, an annual celebration of everything the area has to offer. Each year, for one day, we close the road and over 7000 people come together to throw a huge party in it.

Expect music, performance, art, activities, creative workshops and much more. We also open the road to a street market of delicious food to eat and brilliant things to buy. The Cally Festival is a free event for the whole community.

Areas and activities include:

Weeds School
Learn about herbs and flavour at Weeds School’s free seasoning-making workshops, where you’ll create your own blend to take home.

Line Dancing with Val Almeida

Main Stage
The Main Stage is the beating heart of Cally Festival – a vibrant open-air celebration of music, creativity and community spirit. From soul and reggae to rock, funk and genre-blending sounds, enjoy performances from Brunk!, Nkombu, DJ Kerol Garcia, Key Changes, Rhythm Explorers, IFO Band and Britain’s Got Reggae artists.



GDIF – Week 3

GREENWICH + DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2025


CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF SURPRISE AND SPECTACLE

 

Presented By Talawa, Fubunation & Sonia Hughes

Fragments Of Us

4 September | 4pm & 6:30pm | General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH

Free and unticketed – Just show up

This vibrant and tender dance theatre production celebrates the endless possibilities of Black masculinity.

Celebrating the endless possibilities of Black masculinity, this dance theatre performance features fluid movement and poignant poetry to reveal snapshots of joy, struggle, love and loss. With rhythmic beats and soulful expressions, striking images of brotherhood and the richness of community, are layered with moments of up-close personal storytelling to create a moving testimony to collective history and identity.  

 

Presented By Company DHW

Go Grandad, Go!

4 September | 13:30 & 15:30 | General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH

Duration: 25 Minutes

What to Expect: Dance | Family friendly | Great for Kids | On the Move

A heart-warming Caribbean welcome awaits at this inter-generational story told through Hip-Hop, street arts and audience participation.

A heart-warming Caribbean welcome awaits at this inter-generational story told through hip-hop, street arts, audience participation and integrated British Sign Language. Led by Dani Harris-Walters, Company DHW is a new and exciting hip-hop theatre company which puts community, relatability and inclusivity at the forefront of its work.

 

Presented By Panama Pictures

The Weight of Water

5 September – 6 September | 2.30pm & 6.30pm | Birchmere Lake, Epstein Road, Thamesmead, SE28 8DQ

The stakes are high in this modern parable of global warming, which merges dance and circus on water to nail biting effect.

This spectacular water-based event sees 6 incredible performers struggle for survival on an unpredictable floating stage. While those in power indulge in power games the performers deal with the impacts of their indecision as they fight to maintain a foothold on a floating platform which see-saws so violently that there’s a constant risk of falling. 

 

Dancing City 2025

6 Sept | Newham

London’s much-loved, annual celebration of outdoor dance is coming back to Newham on Saturday 6 September.

This year’s alfresco dance take-over will showcase a host of amazing outdoor spaces across Stratford – popping up in the Town Centre, East Bank and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. With stunning staging and a huge variety of dance styles, explore the full line up now.



GDIF – Week 2

GREENWICH + DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2025


CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF SURPRISE AND SPECTACLE

 

Turning Worlds

Sat 30 & Sun 31 | Greenwich Peninsula

Discover a weekend of trailblazing collaborations between engineering and performance including a fusion of circus and robotics, a production enabling a performer to perform vertically on a wall and a captivating dance and physical theatre performance on a giant, rotating metal spiral.

Staged in the iconic public spaces around Greenwich Peninsula, including the rooftop basketball court, this weekend of extraordinary circus is an unmissable GDIF 2025 highlight. Every performance is free and unticketed – just show up.

 

Presented By TeaTime Company

Ripple

30 August – 31 August | 1.00pm & 3.40pm | Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0DX

Duration: 35 Minutes

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

This UK premiere fuses contemporary circus and engineering to mesmerising effect in a show centred around a giant metal spiral. 

A giant metal spiral becomes an acrobatic playground as circus, dance and physics come together in a performance exploring the consequences of our actions. Enacting a “ripple effect”, three virtuosic performers are confronted with a series of increasingly challenging and unexpected hurdles, forcing them to push their limits, jump higher and even suspend time itself. This UK premiere fuses contemporary circus and engineering to mesmerising effect.

 

Presented By Compagnie Barks

Walking On The Wall

30 August & 31 August | 1.10pm, 2.25pm, 3.25pm | 2 Appleby Yard, Building A2, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0BJ

Duration: 10 Minutes

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

Rub your eyes as ingenious staging enables a performer to walk on walls.

This second performance from Compagnie Barks uses inventive staging to enable a performer to defy gravity and walk on walls. Conceived by artistic director Bastien Dausse as an escape from the commonplace, this performance will showcase the playful architecture of the Design District encouraging us to celebratecreativity in everyday life.

 

Presented By Bastien Dausse with Compagnie Barks

The Scale

30 August – 31 August | 1.50pm, 2.50pm, 4.30pm | Design District Basketball Court, Building C1, Cripps Yard, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0BQ

Duration: 10 minutes

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

Evoking the weightless movement of astronauts in space, this poetic performance takes place at London’s only rooftop basketball court.

This contemporary circus performance is one of two productions from Compagnie Barks, exploring themes of gravity and our relationship with the physical world, by combining acrobatics with ingenious staging. Presented at London’s only rooftop basketball court, this captivating show will be framed by stunning views across Greenwich and Canary Wharf to evoke the weightless, effortless movement of astronauts in space.

 

Presented By UliK Robotic

Robopole

30 August – 31 August | 2.10pm, 3.10pm, 4.50pm | Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0ES

Duration: 8 Minutes

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

A stunning fusion of robotic engineering and virtuosic circus skills.

This stunning fusion of precision engineering and virtuosic circus skills, delivers extraordinary images through a seamless integration of human and robot choreography. Beginning with an apparently everyday encounter between an engineer and a robot, an experiment begins in which the robot and the engineer become equal protagonists in a spectacular pas de deux. Don’t miss this awesome reflection on humanity’s relationship with technology and AI. 



GDIF – Week 1

GREENWICH + DOCKLANDS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2025


CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF SURPRISE AND SPECTACLE

Presented By Cie Lézards Bleus & Citizens of the World Choir

Above And Beyond

22 August | 6.45pm | Beresford Square, Woolwich, SE18 6AR

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

Gaze up in awe as eight parkour performers embark on a breathtaking journey across landmark buildings in Woolwich. 

Following the success of Life Lines at GDIF 2024, the French company Lézards Bleus return with their virtuosic combination of movement and climbing skills, to interpret this year’s theme of “Above and Beyond”.

With new music composed by Roma Yagnik (“Resurgam” GDIF 2023) and a finale set from the Greenwich-based Citizens of the World Choir, this specially commissioned event opens GDIF’s 30th festival in celebration of mutual support and limitless possibility. 

 

Presented By Cie des Chaussons Rouges

Epiphytes

23 August – 24 August | 6.15pm | Lawn Lookout, Observatory Hill, Greenwich Park, SE10 8XJ

Duration: 45 Minutes

Free and unticketed – Just show up 

With breathtaking high-wire skills, four aerial performers create entrancing images of arboreal growth in the glorious setting of Greenwich Park, home to more than 3,000 trees.

This all-female circus company takes inspiration from the life of trees to put nature centre-stage. With breathtaking high-wire skills, four aerial performers create entrancing images of arboreal growth in the glorious setting of Greenwich Park, home to more than 3,000 trees. Framing the panoramic view of London spread out below, this evocative performance expresses the transformative, cyclical power of nature, revealing new ways of seeing our world.  

Greenwich Fair 2025

GDIF’s cherished festival within the festival is back! Family-friendly street theatre, circus, dance and games installations take over Greenwich Park, overlooking the best view of London from the top of Observatory Hill. All shows are FREE and unticketed. 

23 August – 24 August

Free & Unticketed – Just show up!



Quixote

Join Quixote, Sancho and a cast of merry misfits on an epic journey through the ages and allies of Enfield in the search of truth, drugs and chivalry…

Reheated, relocated and retold by InterACTion Theatre Group – this intergenerational community production draws inspiration from Miguel De Cervantes’ famous tale ‘Don Quixote’ which celebrates the lives of those we have lost, and reflects on our own legacies.

Thursday 17th July at 7pm @ Ponders End URC Church

 

Tickets for this performance are free. To book your free ticket please email hello@facefront.org with how many tickets you want to book.



The Legacy of Le’Gassy Manor

It’s summer in the village of Gassy End and for all the villagers this can only mean one thing – the annual Gassy End Summer Fete. This year however, there is to be an addition to the usual proceedings… The old ‘Le Gassy Manor’ house is to be auctioned! Although the house has stood empty for nearly 40 years, it has never ceased to be full of mystery. Devised & performed by Broken Silence.

Broken Silence is Face Front’s flagship community group of disabled adult participants.



Quixote

Join Quixote, Sancho and a cast of merry misfits on an epic journey through the ages and allies of Enfield in the search of truth, drugs and chivalry…

Reheated, relocated and retold by InterACTion Theatre Group – this intergenerational community production draws inspiration from Miguel De Cervantes’ famous tale ‘Don Quixote’ which celebrates the lives of those we have lost, and reflects on our own legacies.

Thursday 24th July at 2pm and 7pm @ Dugdale Arts Centre Enfield

This performance is now SOLD OUT, to join the waiting list for tickets please email hello@facefront.org with the time and number of tickets you would like to be put down for.



   

PROJECT AND WEBSITE SUPPORTED BY

Arts Council EnglandFace Front Inclusive Theatre

 
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