The National Theatre’s Watch This Space festival returns this summer from 23 June to 26 September offering a packed programme of free international theatre, dance, circus and music in Theatre Square.
Expect to see all manner of goings-on during this year’s 14-week event, including jugglers, street theatre, silent comedy, a French brass band, German pyrotechnics and a Spaniard playing a grand piano that sits six metres in the air.
Watch This Space will take inspiration from this summer’s World Cup with Asian dance company Srishti’s show Bend It and a football match featuring players on stilts.
While the programme is aimed at all ages, a week of entertainment specifically for children will be held in July, featuring cabaret, storytelling and Graeae theatre company’s aerial show Against The Tide.
Last year’s Alternative Village Fete returns to the South Bank over the August bank holiday weekend, offering an urban twist on traditional village fetes.
The free entertainment in Watch This Space is not the only outdoor offering from the National Theatre this summer. Its annual season of ticketed performances, Square2, returns to present international theatre from Dutch, Spanish, French and British theatre companies. This year’s season will feature the introduction of Priceless Previews on the first performance of each show, allowing audiences to decide how much they want to pay as they leave.
The full Watch This Space schedule will be available on the National Theatre website in June.
Further along the South Bank, another temporary outdoor venue launched its season last night. Udderbelly, the upside down purple cow that originated at the Edinburgh Festival, will present a host of music, comedy, theatre and family events from now until 18 July. See the full programme here.
CB