When we began to explore how to bring about a long weekend of events and activities to brighten our unique city, we never dreamed that we would be offering up such a packed programme of drama, puppetry, street theatre, dance, storytelling and more. From 23-26 June we will be welcoming more than 20 professional theatre companies and acts to take part in a remarkable number of events crammed into four days and more than a dozen venues from small back rooms and cafes and to green spaces and city streets.

We are proud that many of the visiting companies are Yorkshire-grown and that we can support all the artists from both near and far as they return to touring after the restrictions of the recent couple of years. 

Many local performers and groups have also stepped up to help bring Festival Saturday to life and to take part in our community Ripon Revue show. And the Festival will be about more than just the thrill of live performance, with workshops and interactive events woven into the weekend’s programme too.

We are delighted that businesses, local councils and trusts have got behind the Festival to a degree that has enabled us to book a wide range of street theatre, helping create a festival vibe. On Festival Saturday three key zones – the Market Place, Spa Gardens and the Canal Basin will have back-to-back street shows and community performances whilst walkabout acts will move around some of the city’s streets, linking our venues together.

Thanks to sponsorship and local support, many Festival performances are free to watch and prices for ticketed shows have been kept as low as possible. Donations towards the costs of staging the events will be welcome and we encourage you to give generously to support future activities. We hope that you will be able to make a weekend of it, sharing our unique city with friends and family and enjoying the variety of events on offer.

See you there!

The Festival Team