Greenwich+Docklands International Festival

Previews: 18-20 June, 8pm; 21 June: 7pm,
Matinees: Sat 30 June & Sat 7 July, 5pm (no perfs Sunday)

For the first time ever, GDIF will bring the spirit of the outdoors inside a building, with this world premiere from Handspring Puppet Company, whose work on the National Theatre production of War Horse has been seen throughout the world.

Breathing new theatrical life into Ted Hughes’ mythic Crow poems, Handspring combine their ingenious puppetry with choreography by Ben Duke in a dance theatre performance which promises to be one of London’s hottest tickets this summer.

You will feel the earth move and the sky explode in this epic re-interpretation of the famous Greek myth. Created by Graeae, the boldly inventive disabled-led theatre company and Catalan masters of visual magnificence La Fura dels Baus, Prometheus Awakes is proudly presented in the year of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Take your seats as a forgotten urban landscape comes to life. Uncovering stories seeded on the edges of the city, this poetic dance theatre performance brings together choreographed cars, special effects and glimpses of stolen moments up close and on the horizon. Look on, as electrifying contemporary dance reveals the inner lives of young lovers and others drawn to the edge, whilst you listen to a soundscape on personal headsets.

Hugely successful at last year’s Festival, the Greenwich Fair is back, with a two day outpouring of street arts taking over Greenwich Town Centre. The original nineteenth century Greenwich Fair was an uproarious feast of sideshows, dancing booths, travelling menageries and gruesome melodramas. Much loved by Dickens, it was eventually banned because it was too unruly, but last year GDIF boldly revived it as a showcase for the best of British and international outdoor arts.

So roll up and view a show in a giant pig, glimpse a flying grand piano, get lost in a Catalan labyrinth or have your tea leaves read!

Supported by:
Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich Festivals, Without Walls, Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, Institut Ramon Lull, Catalan!Arts, Old Royal Naval College

In a Festival first, this year GDIF is hosting some of most original, exciting and cutting edge artists working in UK theatre. Word on the Street will inject outdoor theatre with new writing on trains, explorations of Greenwich’s past, biting political song theatre, a poetic tale of urban living, a tea party and even a bouncy castle.

In a street performance which might have been dreamt up by the visionary architect Gaudi, a parade of giant insects will take over Roman Road. Beautifully designed and operated by cycle power, watch out for a fantastical spider dwarfing cars, an energetic ant feasting on trees and a praying mantis staring into top floor windows! With wonderful music and special effects, these insects will advance with the Olympic Park in their sights!

Exhilarating, surprising, thought-provoking and fun: outdoor dance is all of these things and more. There’s no better introduction to the joys of dancing on the street than GDIF’s ever popular Dancing City event, which this year welcomes leading UK and international companies and choreographers to E14. On your journey through the parks, piazzas and waterfronts, you might encounter runaway trolleys, a seaside picnic, eccentric beds or a fairytale forest. There’s also an opportunity to see large scale choreography with Tomorrow’s Men, an inspirational performance by local young men.

Supported by:
Arts & Events Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, Without Walls, Arts Council England, Big Dance, East London Dance, British Council, Olympic Lottery Distributor, ELBA

Following hard on the heels of last year’s Les Girafes, one of GDIF’s most captivating productions returns to provide the finale to this year’s Festival. Setting sail through the streets of Woolwich a giant ship of dreams with its crew of stiltwalkers, musicians and aerialists will embark on an aquatic adventure. Get swept up in a truly spectacular experience as the ship finally docks in Beresford Square, unleashing an ocean of foam and special effects.