Ripon Theatre Festival

Struzzo and Maxim
2024-07-07 13:30 - 14:00, 2024-07-07 10:00 - 10:30 UTC | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Struzzo (Pete Baynes) and Maxim (Mike Bettison) have been performing feats of derring-do on the streets for many decades. In 2019 a video clip of a performance on the streets of Goole went mega-viral, much to everyone’s surprise!
There will be music and magic. Look out for the Ostrich!
FREE EVENT
10 – 10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens
11 – 11.30pm Little Bird Market
1.30 – 2pm Ripon Spa Gardens
2.30 – 3pm The Ripon INN

Punch and Judy
2024-07-07 13:15 - 13:35, 2024-07-07 12:00 - 12:20, 2024-07-07 11:00 - 11:20 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Beautiful, hand-carved wooden puppets come to life in a fast-moving and funny show that has lots of good old-fashioned knock-about fun, with loads of audience participation.
Each show lasts 20 minutes
FREE EVENT
Ripon Spa Gardens
11:00 – 11:20
12:00 – 12:20
13:15 – 13:35
14:15 – 14:35

The Fireman Dave – Circus Skills Drop-In
2024-07-07 13:00 - 14:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Have a go with juggling, plate-spinning, diabolo, hula hooping and more. Practice your skills before the next show begins!
FREE EVENT
Drop in from 1-2.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Ripon Goes to Bollywood
2024-07-07 13:00 - 13:30 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Ripon goes to Bollywood is an inclusive dance group led by Sarita McDermott. The group started dancing together after the last lockdown and meet weekly. They perform at events and festivals in Ripon throughout the year.
This style of dancing is Indian Kathak dancing. It expresses emotions through story telling, and connects the body to the mind. Great for exercise and wellbeing. The group is very excited to perform in the festival.
FREE EVENT
1-1.30pm Little Bird Market

The Story of Daniel
2024-07-07 13:00 - 13:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
The story of Daniel in around 20 minutes. All the best bits including dreams and of course the lions! Performed by Open the Book.
Open the Book say: “We are a group of Christians from a number of churches in Ripon who go into schools to act out Bible Stories. If you ask a Primary aged school child from Ripon they will know about us! We aim to make these stories accessible to young people and adults alike, with opportunities for audience participation! We’d love to hear from people who would like to get involved. Contact John 01765 690930 or office@holytrinityripon.org.uk ”
FREE EVENT
1 – 1.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Passion for Movement
2024-07-07 12:30 - 13:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
FREE EVENT
12.30-1pm Little Bird Market

Let Them Eat Cake
2024-07-07 12:30 - 13:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Our three Mary Antoinettes take to the street to feed the public their tasty treats!
These comedy pompous poodle-haired queens will cause a right royal ruckus wherever they go! Choose a cake from the tray to reveal a joke, funny foodie fact, truth or dare…if you resist temptation or refuse to entertain the queens they might just chop off your head!
FREE EVENT
12.30-1pm Little Bird Market
2-2.30pm Little Bird Market

The U3A Ukulele Group
2024-07-07 12:30 - 13:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
FREE EVENT
12.30-1pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The Bombardiers
2024-07-07 12:30 - 13:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Tally Ho! and Chocks Away! Three courageous airmen, Roger, Reggie and Rupert are returning from battle when their trusty aeroplane is caught in a freak storm. The daring heroes bravely leap from the craft and find themselves hurled far and wide.
Armed only with their wits and extremely good looks, who knows where they’ll end up, what adventures they’ll find and if they’ll ever be reunited…
Giggles Galore from Rhubarb Theatre.
FREE EVENT
12.30 – 1pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Ripon Walled Garden Performers
2024-07-07 12:00 - 12:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
We can’t wait to welcome these performers back to the festival. Here’s what they told us about their group:
“At Ripon Walled garden, members attend the day service and take part in different activities such as dance, drama and singing with Makaton signs. Through singing, they learn Makaton sign language which improves communication. Dance and drama promote a sense of well-being and confidence. All our members are now well-rehearsed and have performed many times, both at the garden and at community events. Our theatre performers will be bringing you a selection of numbers from their recent show, Mary Poppins which was a huge hit”
FREE EVENT
12-12.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Trinity Singers
2024-07-07 12:00 - 12:30 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Ripon Trinity Singers is a local community chamber choir rehearsing at St. Wilfrid’s Community Hall every Thursday evening during term time. We sing a wide range of a cappella repertoire from medieval to contemporary in many different genres: classical, folk, world music, pop….. and are happy to sing at any community event. We are currently almost at full capacity but do have a few vacancies for Sopranos. Please contact Nicky Brierley-Woods for more information: nicky_woods@btinternet.com
FREE EVENT
10.30-11am Ripon Spa Gardens
12-12.30pm Little Bird Market

Kit and Caboodle
2024-07-07 11:30 - 12:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
With miniature puppet shows inside a big, rolling mule puppet, the timeless theme of migration is packaged up in Thingumajig’s latest street act, KIT AND CABOODLE.
A pack mule with its beautiful burden of tales is joined by two well-travelled companions. Bags and cases open to reveal stories and songs of remarkable journeys from the staggering sojourn of a butterfly to people past and present who set out in search of a better life.
“It was such an emotional and beautiful piece it actually made me cry!” Charlotte, Shipley Street Arts Festival
FREE EVENT
11.30 – 12noon Ripon Spa Gardens
2.30 – 3pm Little Bird Market

Cricket on the Hearth
2024-07-07 11:00 - 11:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Cricket on the Hearth is an Appalachian step dancing team that meets in St. John’s Church Hall, Harrogate, HG1 3DT, on Sundays at 6.30pm to 8pm. We are a mixed side and dance mostly to American old time music played on the fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin. New members – dancers and musicians – are welcome. If interested, please contact Stella by email, sfzealand@hotmail.co.uk
FREE EVENT
11-11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens

Hedge Heads
2024-07-07 11:00 - 11:30, 2024-07-07 10:00 - 10:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Look out! Our Hedge Heads are on the loose!…Can you spot the suspicious looking shrubbery lurking about the bushes? If you see them, let us know as they are in need of a trim!
FREE EVENT
10 – 10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens/The Ripon INN
11 – 11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens/The Ripon INN

Struzzo and Maxim
2024-07-07 11:00 - 11:30 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom

Opera Brunch
2024-07-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Valentino’s Restaurant, 14 Westgate, Ripon, HG4 2AT, United Kingdom
*SOLD OUT*
With the Down-to-Earth Diva, Nicola Mills.An uplifting start to your Festival Sunday with a truly unique performer. Choose from a wide-ranging Song Menu from Italian arias to crossover classics.
“I laughed and was amazed in a matter of minutes”
Tickets £16 – includes brunch
Brunch includes sweet or savoury pastries with Bucks Fizz or a hot drink.

The Not So Big Bad Wolf
2024-07-07 10:30 - 11:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
“Welcome back Listeners – Little Red Riding Hood here! Stay tuned as I go undercover to reveal the truth behind fairytales’ most infamous villain – The Big Bad Wolf”
Meet Little Red; adventurer, heroine and world-renowned “True Grimm” podcaster. She’s on a mission to debunk the myths around her so called nemesis, with the help of a few storybook favourites, her red cloak, and a basket full of music, mayhem and magic tricks! But the truth is no Fairytale… Behold as your favourite tales are re-spun and woven together in an epic new adventure from Wrongsemble.
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/fc2b2d_55be174c14ad4bf1ab27dec1e0e6ab90/720p/mp4/file.mp4
Age guide 4+
FREE EVENT
10.30 – 11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens
3 – 4pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Trinity Singers
2024-07-07 10:30 - 11:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom

The Three Suitcases
2024-07-07 10:15 - 10:45 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Three quirky characters that meet by chance at a train station. Where is the train? Will it arrive? As time tick-tocks onwards the three accidental companions become more and more playful, passing the time in adventurous and exciting ways – who knows what might happen next?
Full of mime, physical theatre, music and fun, this is a slapstick Rhubarb Theatre street-treat for all the family!
FREE EVENT
10.15 – 10.45am Little Bird Market
2.30 – 3pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Sunday Family Day
2024-07-07 08:00 - 17:00
A whole day of family entertainment in the attractive surroundings of the Spa Gardens. Plus walkabout acts, music and street entertainment at the Little Bird Artisan Market and at The Ripon Inn.
With open-air theatre, dancing, puppet shows, face-painting and a chance to practice your circus skills, you’ll easily fill the day.
The professional programme will be complimented by music, drama and dance performances from local groups.
All events are FREE.
Printable running orders for Sunday 7 July are available here.
Sponsored by Concrete4U and Ripon Races

Hedge Heads
10-10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens/The Ripon INN
11-11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens/The Ripon INN

Trinity Singers
10.30-11am Ripon Spa Gardens
12-12.30pm Little Bird Market

The Not So Big Bad Wolf
10.30-11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens
3-4pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Struzzo & Maxim
10-10.30am Ripon Spa Gardens
11-11.30pm Little Bird Market
1.30-2pm Ripon Spa Gardens
2.30-3pm The Ripon INN

Cricket on the Hearth
11-11.30am Ripon Spa Gardens

The Three Suitcases
10.15-10.45am Little Bird Market
2.30-3pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Freddie Cleary
2-2.30pm Little Bird Market

The Bombardiers
12.30-1pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The U3A Ukulele Group
12.30-1pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The Story of Daniel
1-1.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Kit and Caboodle
11.30-12noon Ripon Spa Gardens
2.30-3pm Little Bird Market

Lily Worth
1.30-2pm Little Bird Market

Let them Eat Cake
12.30-1pm Little Bird Market
2-2.30pm Little Bird Market

Ripon Goes to Bollywood
1-1.30pm Little Bird Market

Circus Skills Drop-in
1-2.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

The Golden Tree
2-2.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens (performance)
3.30-4.15pm The Ripon Inn Garden Marquee (workshop)

Ripon Walled Garden Performers
12-12.30pm Ripon Spa Gardens

Passion for Movement
12.30-1pm Little Bird Market

We're Not Going Back
2024-07-06 19:30 - 22:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
75 Mines. 3 Sisters. 1 Cause. (And a six-pack of Babycham)
2024 is the fortieth anniversary of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, a dispute that still resonates today. But the strike wasn’t just about pickets vs police – in this thought-provoking musical comedy, there are no miners and no cops. Instead, we follow the fortunes of three sisters in a pit village, hit hard by the Government’s war against the miners and determined to set up a branch of ‘Women Against Pit Closures’.
It’s early 1984, and Olive, Mary, and Isabel are sisters whose everyday squabbles collide with a strike that forces them to question their lives, their relationships, and their family ties.
https://www.ripontheatrefestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/WNGB-trailer-captioned.mp4

This strike wasn’t just a war fought on the battlegrounds of a picket line, Parliament, and public opinion; it was as much a battle in the homes and families of those fighting for their communities.
We’re Not Going Back tackles the resilience of working communities, the make-and-mend fabric of family, and the power of sticking two fingers up to a government hell-bent on destruction… and all with humour, song and a six-pack of Babycham.
Presented by Red Ladder Theatre Company and Unite the Union
Written by Boff Whalley
Ticket price: £14 (£12)

The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle
2024-07-06 17:30 - 19:30 | Newby Hall and Gardens, Skelton-on-Ure, Ripon, HG4 5AE, United Kingdom
Doctor Dolittle leads a simple life as the village doctor in sleepy Puddleby-On-The-Marsh. He often undercharges his patients, or even treats them for free, so he is terribly poor. But one day, with the help of his wise old parrot Polynesia, he makes an extraordinary discovery: that he can talk to animals.
As news of his talent as an animal doctor spreads, animals across the world send messages asking for his help. So he borrows a leaky old ship and embarks on a thrilling quest to cure illness, spread kindness, and better understand animals everywhere. He is joined on his adventures by a loyal animal crew: Jip (a dog), Chee-Chee (a monkey), Dab Dab (a duck), and Gub Gub (an ever-hungry, cake-loving pig) –who together may even help him fix his money problems once and for all!
Hugh Lofting’s timeless classic celebrates the power of empathy and inspires audiences young and old to see the world through the eyes of animals. This funny, exciting new family musical is performed with flair and wit by Illyria in the great outdoors.
Adapted by Oliver Grey. Presented by Illyria.
Running time (approx): 1hr 50mins (including 20 minute interval). Suitable for ages 5+
Sponsored by Elstob Auctioneers
*Tickets include access to Newby’s award-winning gardens from 1pm on the day of the performance*
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 6 July, 5.30pm
Tickets £11.00 – £17.00

Ripon City Morris & 400 Roses and Thorns
2024-07-06 15:30 - 16:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
We are a North West Morris Dancing team from Ripon. We practice most Monday evenings from 7.45pm in Bishop Monkton Village Hall, which is between Ripon and Harrogate. In the summer months we dance at various pubs in the area on Monday evenings and at Festivals, weekends of dance and at many other events. We are instantly recognisable by our patriotic kit and fresh flowered hats.
We are joined by the incredible 400 Roses and Thorns
FREE EVENT
10.30-11.15 Ripon Cathedral forecourt
12-12.30pm Market Place
2-2.30pm Ripon Cathedral forecourt
3.30-4pm Market Place

Kirkgate Street Party
2024-07-06 15:00 - 18:00 | Kirkgate, Kirkgate, Ripon, HG4 1PB, United Kingdom
The fun continues on Kirkgate with buskers, bands and more. Enjoy a meal in one of the restaurants, or have drink before taking in more theatre.
FREE EVENT – just turn up!
3 – 6pm Kirkgate

Theatre for One
2024-07-06 15:00 - 16:00 | Kirkgate, Kirkgate, Ripon, HG4 1PB, United Kingdom
Street theatre with a difference. 3 short performances lasting 3 minutes.
Each performed to only one person at a time, (plus curious onlookers!)
A most intriguing, and then exclusive, theatre experience!
“A simple idea, the best ones often are, created with such loving care and attention to detail that you just have to smile. Sometimes three minutes is all that’s needed!” Dorothy Max Prior, Animations Online (UK)
Join Lempen Puppet Theatre for The Belly Bug and Dr Frankenstein.
Have a look down the “Belescope” and see the habitat and habits of the belly bug. Enjoy the dance of life!
Come and join Dr Frankenstein at his work table and watch him at work. Unsurprisingly he’s creating a new life!
FREE EVENT – just turn up!
Theatre for One is also running at Ripon Cathedral from 10.45 – 11.15am and from 1.30 -2.30pm on Kirkgate.

Stone Soup
2024-07-06 15:00 - 15:30 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
A wandering stranger holds the secret to making delicious soup, fit for the finest folk in the land. But can they really make soup with just a stone?
Performed from a travelling cart and including elements of storytelling, music and comical puppet characters.
Eye of Newt’s re-telling of this traditional folk tale invites audiences young and old to help a stranger in need. With the power of community, kindness and more than a little imagination, everyone in town will enjoy a taste of delicious Stone Soup.
FREE EVENT
Market Place 1.30 – 2pm
Minster Gardens 3 – 3.30pm
