The Big Give: One Donation, Twice the Impact
From 17-24 March donations made to the festival will be doubled by The Big Give Arts for Impact Campaign.
2025 highlights:
Created by Save the Dog Video Productions
Tickets On Sale Now!
Theatre Everywhere at RTF26!
Celebrating FIVE years of culture, colour and community Spirit, RTF is back for 2026. This year’s Festival runs from 5-12 July with 8 days and nights of performances and activities.
All events are now on sale – from storytelling and puppetry to cabaret, Shakespeare and circus.
We’re thrilled to welcome hit shows from the Edinburgh Fringe alongside some of the UK’s best touring acts and theatre companies. We’re supporting new writing and regional talent and in our pop-up programme we celebrate the quirky in Ripon’s unique open-spaces and friendly cafes, pubs and independent shops.
Our Big Weekend for Families will fill the city with street entertainment, open-air theatre and hundreds of community performers.
With a vibrant Schools’ offer and our growing REACH OUT community programme, RTF26 brings the joy of live performance to more people than ever before.
Step right in!
Check out the full programme in the 2026 Festival Guide, and see our Events page to get your tickets before shows sell out.
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Follow Us
Follow our social accounts to keep up to date and join the conversation:
The Big Give Campaign
Donations will be doubled from midday Tuesday 17 March to midday Tuesday 24 March
Donate hereCheck out the 2026 Festival Guide
Pick up your copy of the Festival Guide from the Ripon Arts Hub, Ripon Library, supermarkets and other shops. Or open the guide using the button below and save to your PC or mobile device.
Open GuideRead our Impact Report:
News
Calling all Teachers – Schools’ Programme announced!
Our schools’ offer expands this year to include exceptional opportunities for secondary schools alongside accessible and colourful shows and workshops for primary and specialist schools.
Hooray for Ripon BID!
As we look ahead to Ripon Theatre Festival 2026, we want to take a moment to celebrate and thank Ripon BID for their continued support.
About Us
RTF is run by a small team of volunteers. We work together with our funders, venues and community partners to bring colour and culture to all the communities of the city, contributing to Ripon’s development as a vibrant place to live, work and visit.
RTF is the primary project of longstanding local charity, The Ripon City Festival Trust (charity number 514981).
Find out more about us here.
Get Involved
The festival welcomes professional performers onto our city streets and venues, but it’s the people of Ripon who will really make the festival fly!
We rely on volunteers for:
- Event Stewards
- Publicity team members
- Walkabout Marshalls
- Venue & Refreshments staff
- Performers for our Community Programme
Whether you want to check tickets, look after our visiting performers or sing your heart out on a street corner, please do get in touch.
Support Us
It costs around £70,000 each year to stage the festival and run our Community Outreach Programme. We are very grateful to all those who have supported us in our journey so far, but of course we constantly need to find new sources of funding. As a registered charity, all the funding we raise goes directly towards making the festival happen.
Ways you might like to help us:
- Follow us on social media
- Like and share our posts
- Buy lots of tickets
- Make a donation
- Volunteer your time
- Encourage your company to sponsor us
