Ripon Theatre Festival

The Soapsud Sisters
2026-07-12 13:15 - 13:45, 2026-07-12 15:00 - 15:30 UTC | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
‘Here come the girls!’
Pair up your socks, dig out your delicates, separate your silks, it’s laundry time with the magnificent SOAPSUD SISTERS, Rhubarb Theatre’s latest festival show for 2025.
Join our bubbly beauties as they take you for a spin through a washing cycle like no other.
Presented by Rhubarb Theatre Company
About the performers:
Rhubarb Theatre have been RTF regulars since 2023.
Kirsty’s professional acting career began with Pimlico Opera, performing in prisons, schools and on the London Fringe. She trained in the performing arts at Middlesex University and toured to Edinburgh Festival, performing with companies such as Great Eastern Stage.
Returning to Lincolnshire, Kirsty set up Rhubarb Theatre with Philip in 2000, and has since been involved in a huge variety of roles for Rhubarb’s shows and projects – creating, directing, acting, prop & mask making, storytelling, making audio recordings and even writing children’s story books.
Artistic Director, Philip has been treading the boards ever since he can remember, touring with numerous theatre companies and creating Rhubarb Theatre with his partner and fellow performer Kirsty.
As a professional performer, his skills include mask, physical comedy and improvisation. His personal highlights with Rhubarb include becoming the first ever Lincolnshire-based theatre company to be accepted onto the professional Rural Touring Scheme, and travelling to Australia to devise with, and direct, the award-winning theatre company KUSH CABARET which culminated in performances at the prestigious National Museum of Art in Sydney.
FREE EVENT
1.15am-1.45pm Ripon Spa Gardens
3.00-3.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Ripon Walled Garden & Jennyruth Workshops - The Big Red Shoes
2026-07-12 14:00 - 14:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
The Big Red Shoes is a playful, participant-built performance created with Ripon Walled Garden, Jennyruth Workshops, and The Art Guild CIC. Using oversized props, movement, humour, and Makaton, it reimagines The Big Red Shoes as a story about pressure, fame, rest, connection, and the joy of dancing together.
Ripon Walled Garden supports adults with learning and physical disabilities through creative activities. They say, “Our members love participating in the theatre festival and love sharing their creativity with new audiences.”
Jennyruth Workshops is a hub of creativity and skills development dedicated to providing meaningful work and opportunities for adults who have learning disabilities.
Project led by Douglas Thompson and Sharon Hockin from The Art Guild:
Douglas is an artist and workshop leader. He helps people make art, drama and creative projects together, bringing people of all ages and abilities together to have fun and learn new skills.
​Douglas teaches creative workshops and helps run local arts events and festivals. He is studying for a PhD in art and disability studies and works to make the arts open to everyone.
Sharon loves art and loves how creating art makes her feel. She loves experimenting and playing with lots of different techniques and materials. She was a teacher and now works with local charities, festivals, community groups and individuals exploring and developing work and ideas. She says “I get a huge buzz out of working with people and hearing what they want to say, that is when the magic truly happens!” Sharon believes in having a voice and knows that art enables you to shout out about what is important to you.

FREE EVENT
2.00-2.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Sound Board
2026-07-12 14:00 - 14:45 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Sound Board
Zest Theatre
It starts with a conversation. Where it ends? That’s up to you.
Part chat show, part game, part live performance – Sound Board has been made especially for young people and their community. Packed with quick-fire debates, playful challenges, and surprising moments of honesty, it’s a show shaped by you in real-time. One moment, you’re playing a game. Next, you could be reflecting, cheering, or celebrating what makes you unique under a shower of confetti.
Put on your headphones, listen in, and see where it takes you. No two Sound Board shows are the same, but each is full of big ideas, bold opinions, and unexpected moments that unfold around you. No scripts, no barriers, no filters – just the energy of right now.
Hosted by professional performers and local young people, this is your space to talk, discover, and connect. Dream big, make some noise, or let things go. However you show up, Sound Board makes sure your voice is heard.
Age Guide: Made for 11-18s but suitable for all.
Every performance will feature integrated Audio Description. A touch tour is available 10 minutes
before the start of each show.
zesttheatre.com/soundboard
FREE EVENT
11.15am-12.00pm Ripon Spa Gardens
2.00-2.45pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The Rubbish Shakespeare Company: Romeo & Juliet
2026-07-12 14:00 - 15:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Romeo and Juliet
Rubbish Shakespeare Company
Enemies. Balconies. Kissing… SAUSAGE ROLLS!!??
Three hapless idiots perform Shakespeare’s famous tragedy using nothing but tatty wigs and a burst airbed they found by the bins. This frenetic 60 mins of fourth-wall-breaking, ludicrous action features clowning, slapstick, and mischievous storytelling, ensuring everyone from 5 to 105 knows what’s going on!
This isn’t boring Shakespeare – it’s bonkers!
Suitable for ALL AGES!
Described as ‘like Horrible Histories but funnier’ (Primary Times), the ‘delightfully wacky’ Rubbish Shakespeare Company present an anarchically joyous, family-friendly treat.
Featuring clowning, slapstick and mischievously interactive storytelling, this ‘side-splittingly funny’ (The List) tragedy is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare – or even theatre itself!
‘A genius way to bring the Bard to fresh audiences’ West End Best Friend
‘It’s pure rubbish… and you’ll love every minute’ Wee Review
About the performers:
The Rubbish Shakespeare Company (or RubSC, if you’re in a hurry) is a family-friendly theatre company with a passion for Theatre and Creative Education. Their mission is to prove that Shakespeare isn’t rubbish – he’s brilliant, bold, and a bit bonkers – just like them!
It all started in 2007, when three drama graduates from Liverpool John Moores University decided that Shakespeare needed a shake-up. Since then, they’ve toured the UK (and beyond!), turning classrooms and community halls into raucous arenas of rhyme, rhythm, and ridiculousness. What began as a passion project is now a full-blown mission: to make Shakespeare fun, fearless, and fantastically accessible for all.
FREE EVENT
11.15am-12.15pm Ripon Spa Gardens
2.00-3.00pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuiness
2026-07-12 14:30 - 16:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
How will history remember you? As the person you are, or as the person you want to be?
A funny and poignant story of an Irish nurse and poet, based on the true stories from World War II.

It’s 1939 and Philomena McGuinness, an Irish nurse and poet, has been newly recruited for the British war effort. But can one live a life true to the poetry inside them when they are constantly being defined by their role in the war?
Moon Rabbit is an innovative, two-person theatre company specialising in historical one-woman plays. Based in Edinburgh, they have performed their historical one-person shows all across the UK, and onboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and Queen Anne. The company was founded by Joshua King (playwright and fiction writer) and performer and voice actor, Jasmin Gleeson. Joshua is also co-founder of and writer for theatre company Say It Again, Sorry?
“If you leave this play feeling anything other than touched and inspired, then you are probably not breathing.” Broadway Baby
Sponsored by Specsavers Ripon
Age Guide 12+
Tickets £12
*Matinee multi-buy deal available*

No Strings Attached - A Puppet Cabaret
2026-07-12 20:00 - 21:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
An evening of song and sketches and some surprises, all performed by talented puppets with help from local community performers and Puppet Power North.

Join the Festival Team, friends and volunteers for a fun finish to Festival week.

Puppet Power North (PPN) is led by Mark Edwards who has honed his puppetry skills over the last decade working with amateur societies, schools and youth groups. Mark has been in education for over 35 years and has used puppets throughout his time as an educator. After being inspired through a Noda summer school course he has for the last 10 years developed puppet workshops for young people and adults. For the last 20 years he has directed musicals for a number of local amateur operatic societies. 2024 saw him direct a production of Avenue Q.

Age Guide 10+

Tickets £10

Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
2026-07-24 19:00 - 21:30 | Ripon Races
Two hearts. One fate. A timeless love reborn.The Duke’s Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, a bold reimagining of the iconic tragedy directed by Joseph Pitcher. Pitcher’s acclaimed credits include Gypsy (UK Theatre Award for Best Musical Production) and My Fair Lady at The Mill at Sonning, and Macbeth at the Salomons Theatre, Tunbridge Wells. Returning to the company following Macbeth (2025), this vibrant production also features original music by composer Rob Millett (Rambert Dance Company and The Royal Opera House, The National Theatre and Shakespeare’s Globe).

Running time: 120-minutes (approximately), including a 15-minute interval.Suitable for: Ages 7+

Please bring fold up garden chairs, camping chairs or blankets. People on blankets will be advised to sit in the first 5 metres in front of the stage. The production is supported by a PA system, with each actor individually amplified.

You are encouraged to bring a picnic to the event. Hot and cold drinks will also be available to purchase.

Dogs are NOT allowed at the performance.

Performance continues regardless of weather.

Friday 24 July, 7pm

Gates open 6.15pm

Touring venues in North Yorkshire – performances also at Scarborough (Weds 22nd) and Harrogate (Thurs 23rd). See Dukes Theatre Company website for details.

Ticket price (including booking fee) £13.82-£18.43
