Ripon Theatre Festival

Tooti Fruity
2025-07-05 11:30 - 12:00 UTC | Cathedral Forecourt, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QT, United Kingdom
Meet Tooti and Fruity – a ‘pear’ of fruit obsessed, eccentric players! After spending at least 40 years working in a fruit packing factory together they have embarked upon an adventure to bring toots and fruits to the masses!
Having been the supervisor of fruit squeezing at the factory, Tooti now utilises her skills in generating a fruit chorus, whilst Fruity – taste tester extraordinaire – entices the hoards to taste the goodness of her fruit platter.
Are you ready to cut the cheese with these berserk banana battling beauties?.
A flamboyant, all singing, all dancing street theatre extravaganza.
FREE EVENT – a walkabout act – catch them if you can!
10-10.30am Kirkgate
11.30am-12noon Cathedral Forecourt
1.15-1.45pm City Centre streets

Victoria Sponge & Flour Power
2025-07-05 11:30 - 12:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Stilt walking Cake and Baker, presented by Chicks on Sticks
Come and meet a living, breathing dessert on a mission to spread sweetness!
Towering over the crowd stands Victoria Sponge, a giant stilt cake, sugar-spun and brilliantly decorated with mouthwatering sweets, cherries and lollipops.
Beside the cake stands Flour Power, the baker, who created this confection, beaming with pride. They invite festival goers to join in the fun. Don’t miss your chance to snap a photo with the sweetest duo in town!

FREE EVENT – a walkabout act – catch them if you can!
11.30am-12noon Market Place
2-2.30pm Cathedral Forecourt
3.30-4pm Kirkgate

The Story Cart
2025-07-05 11:30 - 12:00, 2025-07-05 14:30 - 15:00 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
A travelling storyteller and his medieval cart. Choose a myth or a monster and see where the story leads. Presented by Eden Ballantyne from Stories Alive.
And watch out for the Story Cart as it travels up Kirkgate ahead of each performance, gathering an audience along the way..
FREE EVENT
11.30am-12noon Minster Gardens
2.30-3pm Minster Gardens

Ripon Youth Theatre
2025-07-05 12:00 - 12:30 | Cathedral Forecourt, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QT, United Kingdom
Ripon Youth Theatre (RYT) runs on Saturday mornings and has over 50 members aged between eight and eighteen from the City and surrounding areas. Here, young people are given the chance to work on the musical theatre skills of singing, dancing and acting as well as taking part in activities such as trips to see professional shows.
FREE EVENT
12-12.30pm Cathedral Forecourt

Scrumptious!
2025-07-05 12:00 - 12:40 | Ripon Library, The Arcade, Ripon, HG4 1AG, United Kingdom
All is well at Sylvie’s Scrumptious Sweet Shop, PC Lee can’t resist the fruit cake, Stanley the Horse loves peppermint creams, and the Talkative Twins only cause a crumb of chaos. That is until a stranger arrives, and their irresistible ice cream threatens to spoil everything.
A magical show about friendship and ice cream, with hilarious songs, dancing, storytelling and gentle audience participation — the perfect treat for families and anyone young at heart from Beggars Belief.
Running time approximately 40 mins
Age guide 4+
Tickets include a free tub of Riccardo’s Gelato courtesy of Valentino’s.
This show is also performed at 10.30am
Ticket Price: £6

Doctor Fairytale
2025-07-05 12:00 - 12:45 | Little Ripon Bookshop, 12-13 Westgate, Ripon, HG4 2AT, United Kingdom
Catherine Jacob introduces her beautiful rhyming book for little ones.
“My name is Doctor Fairytale, I’m always super busy. My list of patients is so long, it sometimes makes me dizzy!”
In a magical fairytale land, Doctor Fairytale and her dog, Nurse Pup, travel far and wide to help injured or poorly people! Rapunzel’s head is hurting from her mother climbing her long locks, Goldilocks has splinters in her bottom from the Bears’ broken chairs, and Cinderella has blistered toes from walking home without a shoe! But no matter the bump or bruise – and no matter how mischievous the patient! – kind and patient Doctor Fairytale is ready with her doctor’s bag, happy to help a hand.
Age guide 3-6
​Event takes place in the ​back room of The Little Ripon Bookshop. Space is limited and we want to prioritise children, so please only bring a maximum of 1 adult per group.
Ticket Price: £5 per child

The Fantastic Mr Forster
2025-07-05 12:00 - 12:45 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Prepare to be amazed! The Fantastic Mr Forster brings 45 minutes of wonder, laughter, and a touch of magic to audiences of all ages. Mr Forster’s dazzling tricks and fun-filled performances will have everyone talking long after the final “abracadabra”!
FREE EVENT
12- 12.45pm Minster Gardens
2.30 – 3.15pm Market Place

Calamity Dames
2025-07-05 12:15 - 12:45, 2025-07-05 15:15 - 15:45 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
“This town ain’t big enough for the both of us….”
Introducing ‘CALAMITY DAMES’ these Rootin Tootin Cowgirls will give any Cowboy a run for their money!
In a male dominated Rodeo arena, these horse ridin’, gun slingin’, whip crackin’ gals are now calling the shots!
A comedy dance theatre ‘hoedown’ inspired by famous Western films, movie soundtracks and notorious Cowgirls and boys in history, both real and fictional.
YeeeeeHaaaaaa! Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Presented by Kitsch n Sync Collective.
FREE EVENT
10.00 – 10.30am Market Place
12.15 – 12.45pm Market Place
3.15 – 3.45pm Market Place

Cloudscapes
2025-07-05 12:30 - 13:30, 2025-07-05 14:00 - 15:30 | Cathedral Forecourt, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QT, United Kingdom
Visit the Cloud Museum Trailer and relax on a giant beanbag to enjoy the fabulous Cloudscapes, part-installation and part performance by Gobbledegook Theatre.
As you like back to watch the clouds, you’ll listen on headphones to a story all about the clouds, the sky and Lorna’s journey of a lifetime with her father. Take some festival chill-out time.
If you prefer to use your own headphones and device you can scan a QR code on site.

FREE EVENT – donations welcome
10.30am-12noon Cathedral Forecourt / greenspace
12.30pm-1.30pm Cathedral Forecourt / greenspace
2-3.30pm Cathedral Forecourt / greenspace

Lula Hoopa
2025-07-05 12:45 - 13:15 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Dynamic hula hoop circus act. Rhythmic gymnastics, dance and fun. You might even get a chance to give it a go yourself.
FREE EVENT
10.30 – 11.00 Cathedral Forecourt
12.45 – 1.15am Market Place

The Dame Judy & Mr Punchinello Show!
2025-07-05 12:45 - 13:15, 2025-07-05 15:00 - 15:30 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Classic seaside mayhem with a family friendly modern twist!
Dame Judy (not that Dame Judi) has finally taken over! About time too! The show was getting far too rambunctious for it’s own good. But will Mr Punchinello agree to the new rules? It seems highly unlikely!
All the puppet show favourites are here in a topsy-turvy, parallel universe, reimagining of the seaside classic. That’s the way to do it….hopefully. Presented by Grandly Strange Puppet Theatre.
FREE EVENT
11.00-11.30am Minster Gardens
12.45-1.15pm Minster Gardens
3-3.30pm Minster Gardens

The Knighty Knights
2025-07-05 13:00 - 13:30 | Cathedral Forecourt, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QT, United Kingdom
The king has sent forth two brave and fearless knights on a quest to travel the land and bring joy and laughter to all his subjects. Of course, great deeds will need to be accomplished: dragons tamed, princes rescued, and tea and crumpets saved. Oh and don’t forget the grand tournament where the two knights joust it out for the glory.
FREE EVENT – just turn up!
11.30am-12noon Kirkgate
1-1.30pm Cathedral Forecourt
3-3.30pm Kirkgate

Tooti Fruity
2025-07-05 13:15 - 13:45 | Ripon City Centre

Ripon Dance Academy
2025-07-05 13:15 - 13:45 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Ripon Dance Academy offers high quality dance training in Ballet, Modern Jazz, Tap, Contemporary and Acro. Classes are offered from pre school to 18 and pupils have the opportunity to take part in IDTA examinations, full school shows and dance festivals.
RDA will also be performing on Sunday in Ripon Spa Gardens from 10-10.30am and on Ripon Market Place as part of the Little Bird Artisan Market from 2.30-3pm
FREE EVENT
1.15-1.45pm Minster Gardens

Books!
2025-07-05 13:45 - 14:30 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Books! is a high energy show featuring acrobatics, fire-juggling, eccentric absurdity, terrible puns and, of course, books. Four bedraggled book enthusiasts travel from town to town – forced between the margins – on a mission to protect literature.
The libraries keep closing, their beloved books are being forced out into the streets, where the rain is heavy and the sun is getting hotter!
But with the membership numbers of their strange little book club dwindling, they must embark on a quest to recruit more radical reading enthusiasts. Without new members, the book club might be closed forever! (you make take a moment to gasp in horror)
These Hardback Heroes can’t let such a tragic epilogue come to pass… but they need you. Yes, YOU. You can already read – so we’re halfway there.
Presented by Tit for Tat Circus.
FREE EVENT
11.00-11.45am Market Place
1.45-2.30pm Market Place

Jack and the Beanstalk
2025-07-05 13:45 - 14:30 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Join storyteller Olivia Corbin-Phillip (Stories with Liv) in this interactive outdoor storytelling event, perfect for children aged 3-7.
FREE EVENT
1.45-2.30pm Minster Gardens

Victoria Sponge & Flour Power
2025-07-05 14:00 - 14:30 | Cathedral Forecourt, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QT, United Kingdom
Stilt walking Cake and Baker, presented by Chicks on Sticks
Come and meet a living, breathing dessert on a mission to spread sweetness!
Towering over the crowd stands Victoria Sponge, a giant stilt cake, sugar-spun and brilliantly decorated with mouth-watering sweets, cherries and lollipops.
Beside the cake stands Flour Power, the baker, who created this confection, beaming with pride. They invite festival goers to join in the fun. Don’t miss your chance to snap a photo with the sweetest duo in town!

FREE EVENT – a walkabout act – catch them if you can!
11.30am-12noon Market Place
2-2.30pm Cathedral Forecourt
3.30-4pm Kirkgate

Lula on the Loose
2025-07-05 14:30 - 15:00 | Kirkgate, Kirkgate, Ripon, HG4 1PB, United Kingdom
Meet Lula Hoopa -our dynamic hula hoop circus act roaming the streets of Ripon.
FREE EVENT – this is a walkabout performance – catch her if you can!
10.30-11.00am Cathedral Forecourt
(12.45 – 1.15pm Market Place – static performance)
2.30-3pm Kirkgate

The Fantastic Mr Forster
2025-07-05 14:30 - 15:15 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Prepare to be amazed! The Fantastic Mr Forster brings 45 minutes of wonder, laughter, and a touch of magic to audiences of all ages. Mr Forster’s dazzling tricks and fun-filled performances will have everyone talking long after the final “abracadabra”!
FREE EVENT
12.00 – 12.45pm Minster Gardens
2.30 – 3.15pm Market Place

The Knighty Knights
2025-07-05 15:00 - 15:30 | Kirkgate, Kirkgate, Ripon, HG4 1PB, United Kingdom

Victoria Sponge & Flour Power
2025-07-05 15:30 - 16:00 | Kirkgate, Kirkgate, Ripon, HG4 1PB, United Kingdom

The Wind in the Willows
2025-07-05 17:30 | Ripon Races
Mole yearns to explore the wide world. Gruff old Badger enjoys peace and quiet. And Rat likes picnics and just messing about in boats. Their idyllic lives on the Riverbank are turned upside down when Toad, bewitched by the roar of an engine and the screech of burning tyres, pursues his latest in a long line of extravagant obsessions: a fast, red motor-car. Multiple award-winning Illyria celebrates Kenneth Grahame’s timeless tale of friendship, laughter, the longing for home and the lure of adventure. Enjoy it all summer across the UK where the story is set: in the great British outdoors.
By Kenneth Grahame. Adapted by Oliver Grey. Presented by Illyria.
Running time: 100-minutes (approximately), including a 20-minute interval.
Suitable for: Ages 5+ (younger children also welcome)Sponsored by Elstob Auctioneers
Please bring your own rug or folding chairs (but no umbrellas!), picnics welcome.
Dogs are NOT allowed at the performance.
Performance continues regardless of weather.
Saturday 5 July, 5.30pm
Tickets £11.00 – £17.00

Head in the Clouds
2025-07-06 10:00 - 10:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
A serene and beautiful walkabout act of three wandering women with their head in the clouds…. Feeling foggy?… In limbo?….When things get a little stormy, remember that after the rain comes a rainbow…these airheads will leave you feeling on cloud 9!
Curiously quirky walkabout act brought to you by Kitsch n Sync Collective.
FREE EVENT
10-10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens
11.45am– 12.15pm Ripon Market Place (Little Bird Artisan Market)

Ripon Dance Academy
2025-07-06 10:00 - 10:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Ripon Dance Academy offers high quality dance training in Ballet, Modern Jazz, Tap, Contemporary and Acro. Classes are offered from pre school to 18 and pupils have the opportunity to take part in IDTA examinations, full school shows and dance festivals.
RDA will also be performing on Sunday at the Little Bird Artisan Market from 2.30-3pm and on Saturday at Minster Gardens from 1.15-1.45pm
FREE EVENT
10-10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens

Sunday Street Entertainment at Little Bird Artisan Market
2025-07-06 10:00 - 15:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Once again our Family Day takes place across Ripon Spa Gardens and at the Little Bird Artisan Market on the Market Place.
A fantastic range of professional acts and community performances whilst you browse the stalls or pull up a deck chair and take the weight off for a while.
All events are FREE.

Head in the Clouds
2024 favourites Kitsch n Sync (The Tea Cosies & Hedge Heads) return with a serene and beautiful walkabout act. These airheads will leave you feeling on Cloud 9!

The Pied Piper
Theatre on the move, based on Robert Browning’s much-loved poem. The mischievous Piper outwits the greedy townsfolk and their plague of pesky rats. Follow the performers around the park with music, witty wordplay, and plenty of audience participation. Performed by Notice this Notice Theatre Company

A Knight Away
A bumbling entourage of knightly stupidity. Sir Kuss feels he deserves a well-earned mini-break. His ever-loyal, but overburdened squire is not so sure.

Pop-up Giant Puppet
See the results of the Puppet Workshop held earlier in the day

Plus a line-up of community performers from across the region, including:

Slubbing Billy’s
Ripon Goes to Bollywood
Trinity Singers
Dishforth Military Wives Choir
Medusa
Ripon Dance Academy

Sunday Family Day
2025-07-06 10:00 - 16:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Once again our Family Day takes place across Ripon Spa Gardens and at the Little Bird Artisan Market on the Market Place.
Open-air theatre, walkabout acts, circus skills workshops and Punch and Judy plus music, stories and dance from community groups. Bring a picnic to the park and stay all day!
Join us for a full day of fun, starting at 10am
All events are FREE.

Head in the Clouds
2024 favourites Kitsch n Sync (The Tea Cosies & Hedge Heads) return with a serene and beautiful walkabout act. These airheads will leave you feeling on Cloud 9!

The Pied Piper
Theatre on the move, based on Robert Browning’s much-loved poem. The mischievous Piper outwits the greedy townsfolk and their plague of pesky rats. Follow the performers around the park with music, witty wordplay, and plenty of audience participation. Performed by Notice this Notice Theatre Company

Breadcrumbs
Hansel and Gretel are siblings that argue about everything. When they wake up lost and confused in the heart of the enchanted forest one night, they’ll have to put aside their differences once and for all to solve the mystery of how they got there and make it home! Music, magic and puppetry from Wrongsemble.

Punch and Judy
Traditional show with beautiful hand carved wooden puppets. Fast-moving and funny. Presented by Jolly Good Productions.

Circus Skills Drop-in
Have a go with juggling balls & clubs, poi and ribbon twirling, staff spinning, Chinese yoyo/diabolo, balancing props and handstand tuition. Take some time out from seeing shows to have some fun with the experts.

The Puppet Petting Farm
Come down on the farm with HandMade Theatre. Featuring a wonderful collection of loveable animal puppets from the cheeky goat to the giant highland cow. Original music, songs and plenty of interaction.

Bee Cart
Join Bombus and Borage on a journey of discovery into the weird and wonderful world of bees and all things nature.

A Knight Away
A bumbling entourage of knightly stupidity. Sir Kuss feels he deserves a well-earned mini-break. His ever-loyal, but overburdened squire is not so sure.

Plus a line-up of community performers from across the region, including:

Ripon Dance Academy
Ripon Trinity Singers
Cricket on the Hearth
Open The Book
Ripon Walled Garden Performers
Slubbing Billy’s
