Ripon Theatre Festival

Monoliths - Thursday
2024-07-04 13:30 - 15:30 UTC | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Three women. Three voices. Three stories.
An immersive, digital theatre experience, which interweaves three northern UK landscapes – a moor, a city and a coast – with sweeping soundscapes and poetic monologues. Written by Hannah Davies, Carmen Marcus and Asma Elbadawi, the stories are an arresting testament to the inextricable link between person and place.
Three stories open the world of the English northern landscape in virtual reality, what it means to come from it, live in it and belong to it.
Monoliths has been shown at several international film festivals including Melbourne International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Sheffield Doc Fest.
https://www.ripontheatrefestival.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/monoliths_trailer_draft-1080p-new-logos.mp4

Directed by Lucy Hammond.
Four screenings per hour between 1.30 and 3.30pm.
Each performance lasts 11 minutes and can be experienced by 3 visitors at a time, wearing XR headsets.
Age guide 11+
Presented by Pilot Theatre and One to One Development Trust
Tickets £5

Thursday Lunchtime Concert
2024-07-04 13:00 - 13:50 | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Ripon Cathedral is delighted to host wonderful performers in the stunning setting of the medieval quire for its free lunchtime concerts which take place most Thursdays throughout the summer season.
Linking with Ripon Theatre Festival 2024, this week’s recital from tenor Joseph Spratt is sure to feature a song or two with a theatrical nod. Joseph will be accompanied by Tim Harper.
Joseph is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music and a familiar face with Leeds Symphony Orchestra.
For all Thursday Lunchtime Concerts visit: https://riponcathedral.org.uk/events/thursday-lunchtime-concerts/
Refreshments provided from 12.30
A FREE event (retiring collection)

Look After Your Knees
2024-07-03 20:00 - 21:30 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Look After Your Knees is a new solo work by theatre maker, performer and physical comedian Natalie Bellingham. It is about the pain and beauty of growing older, of connecting and unravelling, of taking hold and letting go. This new solo performance uses comedy, storytelling, movement and interaction to uncover some of the things in life that can be hard to talk about. It’s a celebration of being human in all its banality, sprinkled with joy and ridiculousness. It’s a visual and physical collage performed by a clown delving into the space inside us left behind by time.
This is a show about facing change when you didn’t see it coming. It’s about what comes next.
“Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone” Baz Lurhman, 1999
“Great comic timing, fantastic physicality and delivers emotional moments exceptionally well… clearly (an) exceptional talent.”
Jacob Bush, The Reviews Hub Yorkshire
“Honest, raw and emotionally open on the stage, it makes for a performer who is utterly compelling.” Nick Ahad, Writer and Broadcaster
Natalie was a 2021 Funny Women finalist and co-founder of Uncanny Theatre with whom she toured original work for a decade throughout the UK. She has recently been touring The Polar Bear (Is Dead), a creative collaboration with Daniele Pennati from Milan, and has been working with acclaimed art clown Jamie Wood to create this new solo show Look After Your Knees.
Wednesday 3 July, 8pm
Presented in memory of Ripon Theatre Festival founder, Ian Holloway. There will be a collection after the show for St Michael’s Hospice.
You may also make a donation to the charity directly via Ian’s Just Giving page. Thank you for your support.
Tickets £12 (£10)

Monoliths - Wednesday
2024-07-03 13:30 - 15:30 | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom

A Spoonful of Julie
2024-07-03 13:00 - 14:00 | Holy Trinity Church, Kirkby Road, Ripon, HG4 2EY, United Kingdom
It’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!Who loves Julie Andrews? A practically perfect and truly memorable one-woman tribute. Full of charming stories of Julie’s life with songs, sing-a-longs and medleys from all her best-known shows.
A lunchtime delight to entertain and transport you to a world of favourite things.
Performed by Nicola Mills with Pianist Maria King
Suitable for all ages and one of our dementia-friendly events.Refreshments available.
Tickets £8

Hilarity Bites Festival Special
2024-07-02 19:30 - 22:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Hilarity Bites Comedy Club x Ripon Theatre Festival feat. Tarot, Black Liver, Joe Kent-Walters, and host Lee Kyle
Tonight’s extra special comedy collaboration has a twist of theatre and a dash of music with a good dollop of improv squirted on the top.
Tarot
Born from the loins of multi-award winning sketch powerhouses Gein’s Family Giftshop and Goose, the on-stage members of Tarot, Adam Drake (Extraordinary), Ed Easton (Starstruck) and Kath Hughes (After Life) write it together with the off-stage members Ben Rowse (Petrichor) and Kiri Pritchard-McLean (Live At The Apollo).
Following a sell out critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2019 they went on to create their Radio 4 series Soundbleed and two short films Hiraeth and Pedwar. Their second Fringe show Cautionary Tales enjoyed similar success in 2022 followed by a week long run at the Soho Theatre, and can now be seen on ITVX.
They have also appeared on Dave’s News Desk at the Edinburgh Fringe, The Paddock for Channel 4 and Live from Barry Island for BBC – but this is a show that is best witnessed live and up-close!
“The jokes come out of nowhere, are bark-out-loud funny, and the whole hour is startlingly live” – The Guardian
“One of the balls-out funniest show of the Fringe” – Chortle
“Tarot will not give you nightmares, though you might wake laughing your head off” – Evening Standard
Black Liver
Ruth is from Blackpool. Keith is from Liverpool. Together they are BLACK LIVER.
Born out of the boredom of lockdown 2020, Black Liver (AKA comics Keith Carter and Ruth Cockburn) has become a surprise hit. The rock ‘n’ roll comedy duo are currently on nationwide tours with two of their shows, putting sounds and words together to make you smile inside and out.
“Iconic” – The Forgotten Arts Festival
“Theatre, comedy, musical, cabaret… you get them all with these two!” – Stage Handed Magazine
“Part music duo, part double act – Black Liver are that quirky couple you want as your best friends…” – Northern Uproar
Joe Kent-Walters
BBC New Comedian of the Year 2023
Joe Kent-Walters is a multi-award winning comedian from Huddersfield. He has been delighting audiences up and down the country with his idiosyncratic style of outrageous character comedy, most notably with his comic creation Frankie Monroe, MC of a working mens club in Rotherham that is a portal to hell.
His performance as Frankie saw him win the 2023 BBC New Comedy Award after a “barn storming” (Ibid) set at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre Joe is now in development with the BBC and is one of Jiksaw’s 2024 ‘Faces of Comedy’.
Prior to his BBC success Joe won the 2021 Chortle Student Comedy Award which saw him play the main comedy stage at Latitude festival and tour Australia, performing at the Sydney Comedy Store.
“Mesmerising and unpredictable presence” – Chortle
Lee Kyle
In his never ending quest not to have a proper job, Lee Kyle spent time as part of an all male Spice Girls tribute act before spending a decade as a professional wrestler.
Managing the difficult trick of being both odd and relatable, he did a show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 that he heard was well received but he doesn’t read reviews because his psyche is too fragile to handle them so he isn’t totally sure what they said.
Armed with props and a rapid gag rate he cuts a confident, if off-beat figure on stage. His jokes veer between the clever and the silly and deliver more than their fair share of belly laughs.
“Had everyone on their feet – Sublimely ridiculous” – The Northern Echo
“A brilliant performance.. Pure genius!” – NARC Magazine
“Quirky and original – the highlight of the night” – Giggle Beats
Note: Line-ups are subject to change in extreme, and unavoidable, circumstances.
Show may contain strong language and adult themes.
Doors 7.30pm, Show starts 8pm
Ticket price: £10

Tales from the Scriptorium
2024-07-02 14:00 - 15:30 | Swanley Grange at National Trust Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, Fountains Abbey, Fountains Lane, Ripon, HG4 3DY, United Kingdom
Brother Aidan returns to the Festival, bringing heritage crafts, history and storytelling to his new home at Fountains Abbey. Witness the process of creating an Anglo Saxon book whilst he weaves talks of his life as a monk. On hand – a huge range of replica artefacts. Demonstration includes parchment and ink making, leatherwork, bookbinding and calligraphy. An interactive event for adults.
Presented by Andrew Bates from Hazelsong Theatre.
Duration 90 minutes
We are no longer taking bookings for this event: Please book for the 11am show instead.

Monoliths - Tuesday
2024-07-02 13:30 - 15:30 | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Three women. Three voices. Three stories.
An immersive, digital theatre experience, which interweaves three northern UK landscapes – a moor, a city and a coast – with sweeping soundscapes and poetic monologues. Written by Hannah Davies, Carmen Marcus and Asma Elbadawi, the stories are an arresting testament to the inextricable link between person and place.
Three stories open the world of the English northern landscape in virtual reality, what it means to come from it, live in it and belong to it.
Monoliths has been shown at several international film festivals including Melbourne International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival and Sheffield Doc Fest.
Directed by Lucy Hammond.
Four screenings per hour between 1.30 and 3.30pm.
Each performance lasts 11 minutes and can be experienced by 3 visitors at a time, wearing XR headsets.
Age guide 11+
Presented by Pilot Theatre and One to One Development Trust
Tickets £5

Tales from the Scriptorium
2024-07-02 11:00 - 12:30 | Swanley Grange at National Trust Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, Fountains Abbey, Fountains Lane, Ripon, HG4 3DY, United Kingdom
Brother Aidan returns to the Festival, bringing heritage crafts, history and storytelling to his new home at Fountains Abbey. Witness the process of creating an Anglo Saxon book whilst he weaves talks of his life as a monk. On hand – a huge range of replica artefacts. Demonstration includes parchment and ink making, leatherwork, bookbinding and calligraphy. An interactive event for adults.
Presented by Andrew Bates from Hazelsong Theatre.
Tickets £15 includes admission fee
Duration 90 minutes

Wood Owl and the Box of Wonders
2024-05-26 14:00 - 15:00 | Fountains Mill at National Trust Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, Fountains Abbey, Fountains Lane, Ripon, HG4 3DY, United Kingdom
A lonely little owl wants nothing more than to fly into the night and join his friends. But how can he, when he is made from wood? The arrival of another lonely soul changes his life as he strives to help. Join Hoglets Theatre on a magical journey of singing owls, fantasy worlds, friendship and love. Featuring beautiful handmade puppets, original music and an age-old message that the love we show to others comes back to us in time.
Performance plus optional puppet-making activity.
Presented by Hoglets Theatre.
Tickets £5 Please note that usual National Trust admission fees apply.
Running time approx: 40mins (plus 20 min post-show activity ). Suitable for ages 3+
Performance also at 11am

Wood Owl and the Box of Wonders
2024-05-26 11:00 - 12:00 | Fountains Mill at National Trust Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal, Fountains Abbey, Fountains Lane, Ripon, HG4 3DY, United Kingdom
A lonely little owl wants nothing more than to fly into the night and join his friends. But how can he, when he is made from wood? The arrival of another lonely soul changes his life as he strives to help. Join Hoglets Theatre on a magical journey of singing owls, fantasy worlds, friendship and love. Featuring beautiful handmade puppets, original music and an age-old message that the love we show to others comes back to us in time.
Performance plus optional puppet-making activity.
Presented by Hoglets Theatre.
Tickets £5 Please note that usual National Trust admission fees apply.
Running time approx: 40mins (plus 20 min post-show activity ). Suitable for ages 3+
Performance also at 2pm

George Egg: Set Menu
2024-03-21 19:00 - 22:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
George Egg is the comedian who cooks. This award-winning, multi-sell-out, international-touring performer presents a delightful evening’s cooking-with-laughs comprising the best bits from his previous acclaimed shows, plus a few new surprises.
Set Menu is the centrepiece of the RTF 2024 Launch Event. Join us in hearing our plans for July 2024 followed by George’s hilarious show.
“There is a mischievousness about Egg’s humour that is deeply lovable” GRACE DENT in GUARDIAN
“a culinary Bill Bailey, with chopping boards instead of keyboards. It is a multi-sensory delight to spend an hour with him” SCOTSMAN
Over the past half-decade George has toured three shows (‘Anarchist Cook’, ‘DIY Chef’ and ‘Movable Feast’), he’s cooked over a thousand dishes, all of them in front of a live audience and none of them with a kitchen. Revisiting those unlikely environments armed with the chef’s skills he’s honed, expect to learn how to make food on a train with a laptop, in a shed with power tools and in a hotel room with the appliances they unwittingly provide you with. Three plates of gourmet food prepared in the most unconventional of ways and with the opportunity to taste the results at the end. It’s time for the funniest recipes and the most delicious jokes.
“you’ll never look at a Corby trouser press in the same way again. Brilliant” JAY RAYNER
George has appeared and cooked on ‘Bake Off: An Extra Slice’ (Channel 4), ‘Steph’s Packed Lunch’ (Channel 4) and ‘This Morning’ (ITV). He’s made food live on the radio too on ‘Loose Ends’ (BBC R4) a show which he now regularly co-hosts, you can hear him every Monday on Craig Charles’ (BBC 6 Music) Show, and he’s even presented an episode of ‘The Food Programme’ (BBC R4).
Presented by The Badge Farm Foundation
Thursday 21 March. Doors and refreshments from 7pm, event starts 7.30pm.
Tickets include refreshments courtesy of Valentino’s Ristorante.
Launch event sponsored by Golden Frog Marketing.
Tickets £15

An Audience with Barrie Rutter OBE
2023-10-01 18:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
For one night only, Barrie Rutter, OBE and founder of the ground-breaking theatre company Northern Broadsides visits Ripon.
With over 50 years of experience on stage and screen, Barrie has had a fascinating career which has taken him to China, India, Brazil and Skipton Cattle Market with all points in-between.
His belief that the Northern voice was a vibrant sound to embrace the energy of Elizabethan England led to the creation of one of the most successful companies in British theatre.
A recipient of the 2003 Sam Wanamaker Award, Barrie joins us for this very special evening as he shares his wealth of memories and his passion for language and the theatre.
“Barrie Rutter is one of the reasons why there are so many amazing theatre companies in the greater north nowadays – he is a genuine trail blazer.” Alan Lane, Artistic Director, Slung Low
Presented in partnership with Ripon Poetry Festival.

Ticket price: £18

Robin Hood
2023-06-11 18:00 | Fountains Abbey, Fountains Abbey, West Gate Entrance, Ripon, HG4 3DY, United Kingdom
This summer, the award-winning company presents Robin Hood, an action-packed heist for the whole family. A team of cheeky misfits swoop in to bring down the greedy Sheriff of Nottingham, and they never miss. This fast-moving production delivers huge laughs, swashbuckling adventures, and well-deserved revenge!
Pack a picnic and cheer on the underdogs as Illyria hits the target in another unforgettable season of outdoor theatre.
Adapted by Oliver Grey. Presented by Illyria.
Running time (approx): 1hr 50mins (including 20 minute interval). Suitable for ages 5+
Sponsored by Elstob & 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.
Sunday 11th June, 6pm
Tickets £10.00 – £16.00

Dream of the Sea
2023-06-11 15:30 - 16:15 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
The adventure of a lifetime turns into a disaster for this fisherman!
But when a friendly whale shows him the truth of the sea, his life is changed in ways he could never have imagined.
The ocean comes to life around him with more beauty than he knew existed and as time passes it changes him for the better.
Filled with energy, light and sound, this show for all ages shows a world usually hidden from view below the waves.
With plenty of laughs, special effect, movement, live audio and light effects, it’s guaranteed to leave you in awe at the wonder of the sea.
Free event – just turn up

Where is Mrs Christie?
2023-06-11 14:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Agatha Christie was one of the greatest and most prolific thriller writers of all time.
In 1926, she was at the centre of a mystery as perplexing as any of her fiction, sparking one of the biggest and most extensive police hunts in history.
Her crashed car was discovered in Surrey with the famous author missing. She was presumed dead by many but eleven days later, found staying at a luxury hotel in Harrogate.
The author claimed that she remembered nothing of the events. Neither the press nor the police believed her….
Did she lie, or was it really amnesia?
Was it a publicity stunt or was there a darker secret behind the disappearance?
As in every good thriller, all will be revealed!
Find out the fascinating truth in a stellar performance by Liz Grand.
Written and directed by Chris Jaeger. Presented by On a Role Productions
Sponsored by Specsavers, Ripon
Ticket price: £10 – £12

A la Puppet Carte
2023-06-11 13:00 - 15:45 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
On the menu is not one, not two, but three pop up puppet stages built onto the backs of electric tricycles.
Each mobile stage is a show full of surprises, fun and heart-warming stories of friendship and a sense of home.
Stories include the Story of the Scary Noise and the Magic Samovar.
Presented by Thingumajig Theatre.
Suitable for all ages.
1pm-1.45pm & 3pm–3.45pm
Also catch them on the Market Place at 11am
Free event – just turn up

Circus Skills with The Fire Man Dave
2023-06-11 12:30 - 14:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
A drop-in session for all ages.
Have a go with juggling balls or clubs, plate-spinning, diabolo, hula hooping and more.
A great way to spend some time before the next show begins!
Drop in any time between 12.30 and 2.30
Free event – just turn up

Noah’s Ark
2023-06-11 12:00 - 12:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
School assembly favourites Open the Book present a pop-up open-air theatre version of the famous Old Testament story in front of the bandstand.
Let’s hope the deluge remains imaginary.
Free event – just turn up

Wonderland of Games
2023-06-11 11:30 - 15:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
Join Rhubarb Theatre as you shrink into the gardens of the Queen of Hearts to find yourselves amongst her large lawn games.
Once there you might get knotted up in the Alice-themed twister, go crackers with the croquet, or become champions of the chequers board.
But watch out for her court jokers, bringing mayhem and madness, as well as the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter.
An interactive experience from Rhubarb Theatre combining street theatre, family games and weird and wonderful walkabout characters.
11.30am – 12.30pm & 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Free event – just turn up

Seeing Red
2023-06-11 11:00 - 14:30 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
A modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, full of red-related surprises, a pinch of feminism and a mini mob of original puppet characters; all crammed into one large, furry suitcase!
When Gran and Red contemplate their fate inside the wolf’s stomach, a flash of motivation leads our heroine to ‘see red’ and plan a dramatic escape…
Expert puppeteers Frolicked remind us that it’s okay to be angry and that little girls have just as much courage as anyone else. Including the big bad wolf!
Show lasts 25 minutes.
Age guide 5+
11am, 12.30pm & 2pm
Free event – just turn up

Steve Bonham: Stumbling Over Eden
2023-06-11 11:00 - 12:00 | Claro Lounge, 39 Market Place, Ripon, HG4 1BZ, United Kingdom
Based upon Steve’s much-loved book of the same name, Stumbling Over Eden is a one-hour show that combines story and song to celebrate the adventurer, explorer and vagabond within us all.
From the notion of freedom and the beauty of the trail to the joy of travelling companions and the meaning of home.
Not just the story of an eccentric journey from the top of the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara desert, but an invitation to explore just what is adventure?
Funny, moving, authentic, and – sometimes! – profound, with great songs, it is a show like no other.
“This is a ‘boy’s own’ – and girls! – adventure from the nineteenth century, acted out and described in the twenty-first century on the doorstep of Europe.
In his account of the 540km walk from the High Atlas mountains, across the Anti Atlas, then following the exotic river Draa into the Saharan sand dunes, you will fall into a world and people as fascinating and friendly as any fairy tale.” Mike McHugo OBE, co-founder of the Kasbah du Toubkal
Combine with brunch for a perfect Sunday morning.
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

Seastorm in a Teacup
2023-06-11 10:30 - 23:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
A mermaid is an amazing gift for a young adventurer. But what do you do when it just won’t stop growing?
A chance meeting, an act of kindness and an unusual present lead a lonely young girl on the most unexpected journey.
This new play by Gemma Curry (The Sleep Pirates) will take you on an epic adventure of mystery, magic and mermaids.
With storytelling, music, movement and puppetry, little people will love this original tale about finding friendship presented by Hoglets Theatre.
Age guide 3-7
Free event – just turn up

Drama at the Workhouse
2023-06-11 10:30 - 15:30 | Workhouse Museum, Sharow View, Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LE, United Kingdom
Following on the success of last year’s Jubilee at the Workhouse, the museum will once again come alive with Victorian characters based on real lives.
Explore the Workhouse corridors, immerse yourself in its history and hear tales from within the cloistered walls.
See the staff who were charged with maintaining the strict rules and judge whether they were successful. Smell scents of summer blossom in the well-tended gardens or carbolic soap and cooked cabbage in the kitchen and maybe hold your nose as the midden is mucked out. Learn the stories of those you meet or chance upon, from the Marquess of Ripon himself to the lowliest down and out. But above all don’t get on the wrong side of the Matron!
Find out if you’d like to play a part in next year’s festival as a community performer, maybe you’ll be inspired to join the lovely group of volunteers or just come along and experience a day in the life of a Victorian Workhouse.
Cost of admission gives access to all three museum sites and optional 2 hour drama workshop for ages 12+ at 10.30am or 1pm.
Usual admission charges apply

Family Events in Ripon Spa Gardens
2023-06-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Ripon Spa Gardens, Park Street, Ripon, HG4 2AX, United Kingdom
A whole day of family entertainment in the attractive surroundings of the Spa Gardens.
With open-air theatre for all ages, puppet shows, interactive games and even a chance to practice your circus skills, this will be a boredom-free zone.
The professional programme will be complimented by music, drama and dance performances from local groups inside and outside the bandstand.
Bring a blanket and a picnic, buy an ice-cream from the café and plan to stay all day!
All events are free. The running order is:

Lawns
Bandstand area

10.30am-11am
Seastorm in a Teacup
Trinity Singers

11am-11.30am
Seeing Red
Ripon Walled Garden Performers

11.30am-12noon
Wonderland of Games
Cricket on the Hearth Dancers

12noon-12.30pm
Wonderland of Games
Noah’s Ark

12.30pm-1pm
Seeing Red / Circus Skills
Ripon Goes to Bollywood

1pm-1.30pm
Circus Skills
A La Puppet Carte

1.30pm-2:00pm
Circus Skills
A La Puppet Carte

2pm-2.30pm
Seeing Red / Circus Skills
Ripon U3A Ukulele Band

2.30pm-3pm
Wonderland of Games
Trinity Handbells

3pm-3.30pm
Wonderland of Games
A La Puppet Carte

3.30pm-4pm
Dream of the Sea
A La Puppet Carte

4pm-4.30pm
Dream of the Sea

Seastorm in a Teacup

A mermaid is an amazing gift for a young adventurer. But what do you do when it just won’t stop growing? A chance meeting, an act of kindness and an unusual present lead a lonely young girl on the most unexpected journey.
This new play by Gemma Curry (The Sleep Pirates) will take you on an epic adventure of mystery, magic and mermaids. With storytelling, music, movement and puppetry, little people will love this original tale about finding friendship presented by Hoglets Theatre.
Age guide 3-7
10.30-11am

Seeing Red

A modern retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood tale, full of red-related surprises, a pinch of feminism and a mini mob of original puppet characters; all crammed into one large, furry suitcase!
When Gran and Red contemplate their fate inside the wolf’s stomach, a flash of motivation leads our heroine to ‘see red’ and plan a dramatic escape…
Expert puppeteers Frolicked remind us that it’s okay to be angry and that little girls have just as much courage as anyone else. Including the big bad wolf!
Show lasts 25 minutes.
Age guide 5+
11am, 12.30pm, 2pm

Wonderland of Games

Join Rhubarb Theatre as you shrink into the gardens of the Queen of Hearts to find yourselves amongst her large lawn games. Once there you might get knotted up in the Alice-themed twister, go crackers with the croquet, or become champions of the chequers board. But watch out for her court jokers, bringing mayhem and madness, as well as the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter. An interactive experience from Rhubarb Theatre combining street theatre, family games and weird and wonderful walkabout characters.
11.30am – 12.30pm & 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Noah’s Ark

School assembly favourites Open the Book present a pop-up open-air theatre version of the famous Old Testament story in front of the bandstand. Let’s hope the deluge remains imaginary.
12pm – 12.30pm

Circus Skills with The Fireman Dave

A drop-in session for all ages. Have a go with juggling balls or clubs, plate-spinning, diabolo, hula hooping and more. A great way to spend some time before the next show begins!
12.30pm-2.30pm

A la Puppet Carte

On the menu is not one, not two, but three pop up puppet stages built onto the backs of electric tricycles. Each mobile stage is a show full of surprises, fun and heart-warming stories of friendship and a sense of home. Presented by Thingumajig Theatre.
Suitable for all ages.
1pm-1.45pm & 3pm–3.45pm

Dream of the Sea

From the team that brought us Winne and Warwick (pictured) in 2022. The adventure of a lifetime turns into a disaster for this fisherman! But when a friendly whale shows him the truth of the sea, his life is changed in ways he could never have imagined. The ocean comes to life around him with more beauty than he knew existed and as time passes it changes him for the better.
Filled with energy, light and sound, this show for all ages shows a world usually hidden from view below the waves. With plenty of laughs, special effect, movement, live audio and light effects, it’s guaranteed to leave you in awe at the wonder of the sea.
3.30pm – 4.15pm

Local Performers
Enjoy some super local performers throughout the day, including:
Ripon Goes to Bollywood
Image credit: Nathan Ward
Trinity Singers

Ripon U3A Ukele Band

Cricket on the Hearth

Trinity Handbells

The Little Bird Artisan Market
2023-06-11 10:00 - 15:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
The Festival teams up with Little Bird Artisan Markets to bring you colourful characters, music and puppetry throughout the day.
Watch out for the Have-a-Go Pirates, Monsieur Monsieur the Mime Artist and characters from Alice in Wonderland mingling with buskers and community performers.
Highlights of the day include tricycle-pulled puppet shows from Thingumajig Theatre and the Rock Choir.
Lots of free entertainment whilst you browse the curated stalls from independent traders across the region.
The running order for the Market Place Zone is:

9.30am-10.30am
Puppets for Breakfast (The Unicorn)

10am-10.30am
Rock Choir

10.30am-11am
Monsieur Monsieur

11am-12noon
A La Puppet Carte
Stumbling Over Eden (Claro Lounge)

12noon-12.30pm
Have-a-Go Pirates
Trinity Singers

12.30pm-1pm
Lily Worth

1pm-1.30pm
Wonderland characters

1.30pm-2pm
Have-a-Go Pirates

2pm-2.30pm
Passion for Movement Dancers

2.30pm-3pm
Steve Bonham

Have A Go Pirates

Although these pirates might look the part they haven’t really got that much experience pirating. Actually they haven’t got any, but they’re trying really hard.
As they make their way through the crowded streets they practice their pillaging techniques, although being so overly critical of their own performances they never actually manage to get any pillaging done.
With their ‘Practice Pirate Ship’ and their pirate wits about them all around will want to join in the banter and help them become the true pirates that deep down they know they are.

A la Puppet Carte

On the menu is not one, not two, but three pop up puppet stages built onto the backs of electric tricycles. Each mobile stage is a show full of surprises, fun and heart-warming stories of friendship and a sense of home. Stories include the Story of the Scary Noise and the Magic Samovar. Presented by Thingumajig Theatre.
11am – 11.45am

The Queen of Hearts and The Mad Hatter

Monsieur Monsieur the Mime Artist

Steve Bonham

Local Performers
Enjoy some super local performers and buskers throughout the day!
Rock Choir

Trinity Singers

Lily Worth

Passion for Movement

Puppets for Breakfast: The House that Jack Built
2023-06-11 09:30 - 10:15 | The Unicorn Hotel, 2 Market Place East, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Hazelsong Theatre present The House that Jack Built – a high energy puppet show for children and families.
Come and watch the two bungling performers try to control their wayward puppets popping up in all the wrong places.
They are going to need help to stop everything falling apart…
Age guide 3+
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

Overblown!
2023-06-10 20:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
The thirteenth coolest place to live in the UK?
Join our team of well-meaning residents attempting to sell the charms of our unique city and demonstrate community cohesion in action.
Nothing goes quite to plan as local farmers, pub quizzers and pantomime dames come together in comic chaos.
An evening of sketches and musical numbers provide a flavour of Ripon like you’ve never tasted before.
Stay Awhile Amid its Ancient Charms, just beware of the locals!
A community performance directed by Ryan Stocks.
Age guide: 14+
Ticket price: £8

Kate Fox: Bigger on the Inside
2023-06-10 17:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Poet and comedian Kate Fox once thought receiving a positive diagnosis for autism had as much a chance of happening as a female Doctor Who.
As such, since the Doctor’s 13th incarnation (played by Jodie Whittaker) in 2018, Fox’s life has changed quite a bit.
Blending stand-up and spoken word with personal memoir and her warm performance style, Kate looks at neurodiversity through the theme of Doctor Who.
Taking us through the ways the iconic sci-fi show has shaped her view of the world, she shines a light on how our ideas of normality need an update and how we are all Bigger on the Inside.
Kate is a stand-up poet and broadcaster, a regular voice on Radio 4 and a ‘gentle activist’ for the voices of Northerners, the working class, women and the neurodiverse.
Ticket price: £8 – £10

The House that Jack Built
2023-06-10 15:00 - 15:45 | Little Ripon Bookshop, 12-13 Westgate, Ripon, HG4 2AT, United Kingdom
Hazelsong Theatre present The House that Jack Built – a high energy puppet show for children and families.
Come and watch the two bungling performers try to control their wayward puppets popping up in all the wrong places.
They are going to need help to stop everything falling apart…
Age guide 3+
Free event – just turn up
