Ripon Theatre Festival

Upstage Academy: Student Mini Dramas
2023-06-10 12:30 - 13:00 UTC | Curzon Cinema, 75 North Street, Ripon, HG4 1DP, United Kingdom
A gripping half-hour from some of Upstage Academy’s prize-winning drama students.
These young people take their theatre seriously and regularly sweep the board at competitions with their intense monologues and dynamic two-handers.
Upstage Academy in Ripon offers classes to children aged 6-18years in all disciplines of performance.
Age guide 14+
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

Gav Cross: Twisted Tales for Terrible Children
2023-06-10 12:00 - 12:45 | Courthouse Museum, Minster Road, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Scratch the surface of all the tales we have heard since childhood and we find they are dark, nasty and full of dubious intention…
A slight twist reveals the terrible, the silly and the downright incredible ’truths’ hidden in plain sight.
Gav Cross: Storyteller, Show Off and Chief Idiocy Wrangler vividly brings these old fables to life again.
45 minutes of nonsense and nastiness that will trigger giggles and gasps, with the added risk of ruining your childhood forever…
Age guide 7+
Also on at The Cellar at the Curzon Cinema at 2.30pm
Pay What You Can

Steve Bonham: How to have an adventure
2023-06-10 12:00 - 12:30 | Little Ripon Bookshop, 12-13 Westgate, Ripon, HG4 2AT, United Kingdom
Steve Bonham shares stories (and maybe a song or two) that celebrate the adventurer, explorer and vagabond within us all.
Catch Steve again at Claro Lounge at 11am on Sunday 11th June.
Free event – just turn up

The Hare and the Moon
2023-06-10 11:30 - 12:00 | Minster Gardens, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Performed in miniature on beautiful sets within a vintage suitcase, the tale of the adventurous Hare and her patient friend Moon is told through five delightful minutes of puppetry, spoken word and music. Children and adults alike will be charmed by this enchanting story of night skies, light and the joy of friendship.
10-10.30am The Cabmans’ Shelter, Market Place
11.30am-12noon Minster Gardens, Minster Road (next to the Cathedral)
1-1.30pm The Little Ripon Bookshop, Westgate
2.30-3pm The GreenHouse, North Street
Free event – just turn up

The Wanderer
2023-06-10 10:30 - 15:15 | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
Come and follow the footsteps of countless pilgrims down into the ancient crypt of Saint Wilfrid.
Lit only by the guttering flame of candlelight, meet the Wanderer. An exile who has journeyed north from the stormy south coast of Manhood End.
Hear his service and be warmed by his words as you take your own journey from darkness into light.
Inspired by the Anglo Saxon poem of the same name and by Kipling’s poem Eddi’s Service.
Fell-Foss presents a special and intimate performance in the oldest structure of any English Cathedral and a place of almost continuous worship since 672.
Written and performed by Mark Cronfield

Starting every 15 minutes from 10.30-12 & 1.15pm-3.15pm
Free event – just turn up

Beached
2023-06-10 10:30 - 10:45 | Claro Lounge, 39 Market Place, Ripon, HG4 1BZ, United Kingdom
A mini marvel of a show for a mini audience. Put on your headphones and become immersed in the tale of Arnold, whose walk quickly becomes an adventure.
A soundtrack is played on earphones for each audience member, creating a little world to share.
Each performance by renowned mask and puppet company Strangeface lasts for 10-15 minutes.
“Spellbinding and magical!” “I’m speechless. Absolutely amazing! I want to see it again now!”
Suitable for everyone old enough to sit still and/or wear headphones.
10.30am, 10.50am, 11.10am
Also on at Ripon Cathedral between 1.30pm and 4.30pm
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

Saturday Street Entertainment
2023-06-10 10:00 - 16:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Walkabout acts, crazy characters, circus and clowning bring the streets and open spaces of Ripon to life throughout the day.
Professional acts come together with community performers including Ripon City Morris Dancers, the All for One Choir and Ripon Youth Theatre.
Performances will be staged at Ripon Market Place, Minster Gardens (in front of the Courthouse Museum), in Ripon Arcade and linking streets around the city. Watch out for giant dodos, juggling pirates, pesky dragons and masked old ladies mingling with comic escapologists and a man inside a giant balloon!
All events are free. The running order for the Market Place Zone is:

9.30am-10.30am
Gav Cross: Traditional Tales (The Unicorn)

10am-10.30am
The Great Mandavi
The Hare and the Moon (Cabman’s Shelter)

10.30am-11am
Ripon City Morris Dancers & 400 Roses

10.30am-11.30am
Beached (Claro Lounge)

11am-1pm
Freddie Cleary (The Arcade)

11am-11.45am
The Maniax

11.45am-12.15pm
Dizzy O’Dare’s Giant Balloon Show

12.15pm – 12.45pm
Ripon Youth Theatre

12.45pm-1.15pm
Cabin Fever

1pm-3.30pm
Maggie Wakeling (The Arcade)

1.30pm-2pm
Alannah Creed (outside Davis & Lund)

1.15pm-1.45pm
Ripon City Morris Dancers & 400 Roses

1.45pm-2.30pm
The Maniax

2.30pm-3pm
Cabin Fever

3pm-3.30pm
Alannah Creed (outside Davis & Lund)

3pm-3.30pm
The Great Mandavi

3.30pm-4pm
All for One Choir

The running order for Minster Gardens is:

11am-11:30am
Ripon Drum Circle and Sycamore Drummers

11:30am-12noon
The Hare and the Moon

12noon-12:45pm
Gav Cross: Twisted Tales for Terrible Children (Courthouse Museum)

1pm-1:30pm
The Great Mandavi

1:30pm-2pm
Dizzy O’Dare’s Giant Balloon Show

2pm-3pm
Ripon City Morris Dancers & 400 Roses

Cabin Fever

Join Captain Bullock and Bosun Bell for maritime mayhem, magic and mirth. Clap along as our seafaring mateys navigate the celestial spheres. The finale features the brave little Dove of Peace & Love being fired out of a Canon!! Come and see if she survives! It’s a nautical extravaganza of eccentric experiments, sensational circus skills, and hilarious feats of derring-do.
12.30pm Market Place
2.30pm Market Place

The Flying Dodos

Despite all the odds, an unknown subspecies of the dodo has been discovered! Much larger than their extinct cousins and able to fly (sort of), Charles and Amelia, two relics of a bygone era, are very excited to be travelling the world to see what they’ve been missing.
10am-4pm Ripon City Centre

The Crimplene Crusaders

These octogenarian upholders of moral values will be out and about with one thing on their minds: to keep standards high. Our twin-set clad campaigners will keep a firm eye out for any slouching, flirting, or hand-holding, making sure that good old-fashioned values are championed.
10am-4pm Ripon City Centre

The Maniax

Twice winners of the prestigious ‘Street Show of The Year’ award this hilarious, spectacular comedy performance has been performed all over the world. Based on an amazing Houdini style escape the show is packed with stunts, illusions and great comic routines.
11am Market Place
2pm Market Place

Never too Old

A long-suffering Grandpa and a stubborn Grandma battle it out for your attention and affections. This Yorkshire couple have certainly been around for decades, but they’re no strangers to the 21st century. They’re feisty, they’re mobile (well, just about…) and they’re connected (they know what social media is… and they’re not afraid to use it!) Living proof that you’re never too old to do anything…
10am-4pm Ripon City Centre

The Great Mandavi

Described as “eccentric”, “hilarious” and “charming”, this act is a firm favourite at festivals across the UK. Too busy performing at Glastonbury to join us 2022, he has cleared his schedules to bring unicycling, juggling and antics to Ripon. Don’t miss him this year!
10am Market Place
1pm Minster Gardens
3pm Market Place

The (Little) Hazelsong Dragons

Cute or scary? You decide. Hazelsong Theatre bring their newest dragon creations to the streets of Ripon. Mobile, curious and persistent, you’d better watch out – they could be anywhere!
10am-4pm Ripon City Centre

The Giant Balloon Show

The Giant Balloon Show will have the audience in stitches and in awe simultaneously. Expect feverous balloon sculptures, high energy comic performance and of course the all-important giant balloon! Take everything you know about balloons, add an award-winning entertainer and an 80’s soundtrack, and twist that into a highly entertaining show for the whole family.
11.30am Market Place
1.30pm Minster Gardens

Local Performers
Enjoy some super local performers throughout the day, including:
All For One Choir

Ripon Youth Theatre

Freddie Cleary

Ripon City Morris Dancers

400 Roses

Maggie Wakeling

Alannah Creed

The Hare and the Moon
2023-06-10 10:00 - 10:30 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom

Gav Cross: Traditional Tales with a Twist
2023-06-10 09:30 - 10:15 | The Unicorn Hotel, 2 Market Place East, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
In a lovely little house, in the middle of a lovely quiet wood, things are shaping up to be a very good day indeed.
There’s breakfast on the table, but it’s just too hot so time for a family morning walk.
But how quickly things can change! A broken antique chair, and a very noisy snorer.
Things are about to take a turn for the worse in this well-known tale, told from a different point of view.
Gav Cross is a brilliant storyteller with an eye for twisting and tweaking a tale or two.
Join him on a breakfast-time adventure and maybe come up with a few stories of your own along the way.
Age guide ​5+
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

The Last Motel
2023-06-09 20:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Abalone’s desperate, he’s taken holiday to commit armed robbery and now he has a woman stuffed into the boot of his classic car. Join us at The Last Motel to see if Abalone’s hostage changes his perspective on life.
‘A theatre, more than a hint of Tarantino and Lynch’ – Fictionmaker.
‘A kind of homespun Fargo with more theatrical flair’ – Edfringe Review
‘Imagine Inside No 9 plus Stephen King’s Misery and you’re halfway there’ – Audience Member
A psychological thriller presented by Sheepish Productions
Age guide 14+
Ticket price: £10 – £12

Ripon Heritage Ghost Walk
2023-06-09 19:15 - 21:00 | Ripon Marketplace, Market Place, Ripon, HG41BP, United Kingdom
Explore the darker side on Ripon’s history from the macabre to the mysterious. Discover ancient burial sites, curious bone finds and characters who lived and died hundreds of years ago, but who some say still linger…
Led by Ripon Museum Trust Guides.
All proceeds to Ripon Museum Trust
Ticket Price: £4 – £6

The Bluebird - A Quest for Happiness
2023-06-09 17:30 | Ripon Library, The Arcade, Ripon, HG4 1AG, United Kingdom
Join Mirtel, a Seer, and her tree spirit Micky, on their journey to find the elusive bluebird and help unlock its mystery.
What is the bluebird’s secret power and where could it be hiding? In the Land of Memory or Future? Is it trapped in the Land of Luxury or lost in the Land of Night?
This beautiful and thoughtful show combines theatre, puppetry, philosophy and shadow play to create a perfect twilight event.
What are you doing, sitting here in the darkness? It’s time to let in a little light!
Age guide 6+
Pay What You Can (PWYC)

Mike and Millie Go to the Seaside
2023-06-09 15:00 | Holy Trinity Church, Kirkby Road, Ripon, HG4 2EY, United Kingdom
Specially created for those living with later-stage dementia, this charming show takes the audience on a day trip to the 1960s. Using music, dance, mime and rhyme, the performers from Smashing Mirrors Theatre Company provoke memories and stimulate interaction in a safe and comfortable setting. There’s even sand, seaweed and shells to touch and take you straight to the beach. And of course, there will be a cup of tea at the end!
Presented in partnership with Dementia Forward, the show will also be performed at 11am at George Armitage House in Burton Leonard.

Booking enquiries boxoffice@ripontheatrefestival.org. Places limited.
A FREE event.

Bread is Life
2023-06-09 12:00 - 14:00 | Holy Trinity Church, Kirkby Road, Ripon, HG4 2EY, United Kingdom
Let’s make bread – the Syrian way. We’ll mix the dry ingredients, in a bowl bought in a souk from Idlib, then we add water… and wait for it to rise.
And when it is ready, and the room is filled with the smell of freshly-baked bread, we will share it with our friends and neighbours – and enjoy it with Syrian meze.
When he was in Turkey, writer Kevin Dyer was told by a Syrian refugee, ‘Do not forget Syria’.
In a thrilling piece of interactive storytelling, Storm in the North attempt to keep the proud people of that country in all our minds – with food and a story of hope.
Presented in partnership with Ripon City of Sanctuary

Age guide 13+
Ticket Price: £10, includes meze.

Sense and Sensibility
2023-06-08 19:00 | The Old Deanery, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
The social season is upon us! You are cordially invited to the Sense and Sensibility Matchmaker’s Ball.
Ladies Elinor and Marianne Dashwood each seek to meet an honourable man of good fortune (and handsome countenance if possible) by whatever means necessary.
As you mingle amongst the beau monde, revelry and romance will ensue and together we shall witness these two sisters’ sense and sensibility. Rumours abound that royalty may even be amongst our number…
If you’re eager to partake in the ups and downs of Regency romance, don your finery and join Heartbreak Productions for their open-air adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.
Jane Austen’s biting social satire about sisters in straitened circumstances is sure to satiate your summer romance requirement. Pack a picnic, grab your chaise longue (or blanket), and settle in for this literary classic with a Heartbreak twist.
Suitable for ages 10+
Please bring your own rug or folding chairs (but no umbrellas!). Picnics welcome but please respect our hosts by purchasing all drinks at the bar.
Dogs are NOT allowed at the performance.
Performance continues regardless of weather.
Thursday 8th June, 7pm
Tickets: £18 adults, £10 children

Once Upon a Fairytale
2023-06-08 13:30 - 16:30 | Ripon Library, The Arcade, Ripon, HG4 1AG, United Kingdom
Goldilocks is missing and we need your help to find her!
A fun-packed, interactive show for little folk. There’ll be games, music, puppets and so much more!
Fairytales have been around for centuries. Passing from generation to generation and taking on different twists and turns there are usually lessons to be learnt and characters to love . . . as well as those to watch out for.
Travel with Story Craft Theatre through a whole host of favourite stories and meet familiar faces along the way: Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man and some hungry Bears to name a few!
Age guide 2-7 yrs
Pay What You Can (PWYC)
1:30pm & 4pm

Songs from Shakespeare
2023-06-08 13:00 - 13:50 | Ripon Cathedral, Minster Road,, Ripon, HG4 1QS, United Kingdom
A recital of Shakespeare songs and arias including works by Verdi, Gounod and Cole Porter, finishing with Brush Up Your Shakespeare! Performed by soprano Louise Wayman, accompanied by Tim Harper.
Louise, originally from Dorset, studied at the Wales International Academy of Voice with Dennis O’Neill and Nuccia Focile. Previously she studied at Birmingham Conservatoire with Christine Cairns winning prizes for Oratorio, English Song, Lieder, Opera and Recitals. She has many solo opera credits with Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham Opera, Midland Opera, Northern Opera Group and Manchester Opera Ensemble as well as singing with the choruses of Wexford Festival Opera and Opera North. She has sung across Europe with ensembles such as Polyphony, Ex Cathedra, Collegium Vocale Gent and the BBC Singers.
Solo engagements have included Handel’s Messiah and Alexander’s Feast, Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Exsultate Jubilate, Haydn’s Creation and Nelson Mass, Bach’s Passions, Cantatas including 199 ‘Mein Herz Schwimmt im Blut’ and 51 ‘Jachzet Gott in Allen Landen’ and Mass in B Minor, Poulenc’s Gloria, Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony and modern works including the recent London premiere of Rick Birley’s Advent Carol Succession.
A Thursday Concerts event presented by Ripon Cathedral.
Refreshments provided from 12.30
A FREE event (retiring collection)

Tales from the Scriptorium
2023-06-08 11:00 - 12:30 | Ripon Library, The Arcade, Ripon, HG4 1AG, United Kingdom
A morning of heritage crafts, history and storytelling.
Join Brother Aidan of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne as he creates an Anglo Saxon book whilst weaving talks of his life as a monk.
To do this he will have on hand a huge range of replica artefacts and the audience members will experience parchment making, leatherwork, Coptic bookbinding, quill pen and oak gall ink making and calligraphy.
The audience will read and translate some Old English and create their own piece of calligraphy in Insular Majuscule script and also a stamped leather bracelet. They will take these away with them along with a printed page of beautiful calligraphy by Linda Richardson and a copy of the Lord’s Prayer in Old English.
Presented by Andrew Bates from Hazelsong Theatre
A hands-on event for adults.

Happy Place
2023-06-07 19:30 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
‘Weight of the world getting you down? Get down to your nearest Happy Place and leave your worries at the door. With over seven thousand locations nationwide, we create personalised realities at affordable prices.’
In a near dystopian future, corporations have commodified happiness into virtual reality booths, costing just the price of a coffee for limitless experiences.
With comedy, puppetry, physical theatre and live music, follow four strangers on an extraordinary journey as they find themselves locked inside their own Happy Place.
Join critically acclaimed Forget About The Dog in what has been described as a Black Mirror meets Monty Python meets Jumanji adventure, exploring happiness, friendship and the role technology plays in our world.
Presented in partnership with Ripon YMCA Young Leaders

Age guide 12+
Ticket price: £5-£12

Happy Place Drama Workshop
2023-05-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
A chance for young people with an interest in theatre and performance to attend an exclusive workshop with actors from Forget About The Dog theatre company. Their acclaimed production of Happy Place opens the festival on 7 June but those aged 12-18 are invited to attend a fun two-hour session using drama games and theatre techniques to explore the themes of the show.
The play, which explores happiness, friendship and the role technology plays in our world is particularly relevant to young people.
Participants will also receive a discount code to attend Happy Place in June.
Workshop places are FREE, but must be booked in advance.
Funded by the LOCAL FUND for the Harrogate District, administered by Two Ridings Community Foundation.

… and this is my friend Mr Laurel
2023-03-30 19:00 | Ripon Arts Hub, 49 Allhallowgate, Ripon, HG4 1LQ, United Kingdom
Jeffrey Holland (Hi-de-Hi, You Rang M’Lord) stars in this one-man show about friendship, memories and a couple of remarkable lives. Set in Oliver Hardy’s bedroom, the action takes place as Laurel pays a visit to his sick friend, recounting their past success as one of the greatest cinematic partnerships of the century and providing an in depth, humorous and touching account of the comedian’s life.
Presented to launch the 2023 Ripon Theatre Festival, tickets include refreshments, information about forthcoming festival events and a Q&A after the show with Jeffrey Holland.
Presented by KPS Productions and The Finishing Touch Company
Written by Gail Louw and Jeffrey Holland
Thursday 30 March, 7pm
Tickets £15 (£13 with Subscriber’s code)
