Countdown to carnival
STOCKTON TO PUT ON A SPECTACULAR SHOW AS FOUR-DAY FESTIVAL RETURNS
THE countdown to one of Stockton’s biggest events of the year has begun.
The Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) is set to return for its 35th event, promising a jampacked four-day event featuring everything from heart-stopping aerial acrobatics to a community carnival.
The festival, which is returning after a two-year hiatus following the pandemic, is set to take place from Thursday, August 4, to Sunday, August 7.
The free family-friendly affair will feature more than 150 performances and will host a variety of street theatre, dance, and music, with Sunday’s grand finale lighting up the Stockton sky with a dramatic burst of pyrotechnics.
Cllr Steve Nelson, Stockton Council’s cabinet member for health, leisure and culture, said: “It just wouldn’t be summer without SIRF – and we can’t wait to welcome back the borough’s signature event after a two-year hiatus due to Covid.
“This year’s SIRF is going to be truly memorable, with a wide variety of street theatre, dance, music, digital arts and circus, as well as breathtaking aerial acrobatics, to make your SIRF experience something special. You don’t want to miss it!”
Here are some of the highlights:
This year’s festival launches in dramatic fashion with the joy and thrill of French company Gratte Ciel’s large-scale spectacle, Tawa, on Thursday at 7.30pm.
As live music fills the air, aerialists and acrobats will spin in a spectacular explosion of colour on Stockton’s riverside with incredible acts of human strength and resilience. SIRF is committed to creating an environmentally
friendly festival.
The paper explosions used at the event are 100% biodegradable and some will be repurposed by SIRF Carnival artists in 2023. Gratte Ciel will also be planting tree saplings in Stockton to offset the weight of the paper used in the show.
TEES BARRAGE INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE
In partnership with Canal and River Trust, a special international showcase at Tees Barrage to celebrate the charity’s 10th anniversary will be performed. Catch four fantastic events at the venue including Harmonic Fields, by Lieux Publics, an ambitious installation of 500 wind instruments, creating a fantastic and unique musical experience for audiences as they navigate through the landscape.
Enjoy it at the Barrage on August 4, August 5 and 6, 1pm to 7pm.
Revel in Envol, by Entre Terre Et Ciel, is a dramatic journey through dance, music and fire on August 5 and 6 at 9.30pm.
This spectacular show, created around the symbol of the tree, invites us to celebrate the beauty of life.
Or tune in to eons-worth of trapped underground sound being set free by Gobbledegook Theatre’s Ear Trumpet on August 5 and 6, 1pm to 3pm and 4pm to 6pm. Occasionally, these sounds bubble up and erupt to the surface and Ear Trumpet allows you to listen in on this incredible sonic phenomenon!
Join Canal and River Trust for Brilliant Barrage on August 4 and 5, 1pm to 4.30pm. Fun activities for the family include seal mask making, seal spotting and pond dipping.
Budding engineers will enjoy the bridge-building challenge and guided tours of the Barrage control room, which will take place on the hour, every hour.
Why not walk from Stockton town centre to the Barrage or back so you can enjoy all on offer there? There is an accessible walk that can be reached via the riverside. The route, which takes approximately 15 minutes, is signposted and is suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs.
CARNIVAL PARADE – EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN
The much-loved SIRF Community Carnival returns to Stockton High Street on August 7 at 2pm, moving to Sunday for a full day of carnival fun!
The carnival will start at 2pm with its usual colourful procession and will see hundreds of young people, adults, community members, musicians and street performers dance and sing their way along Stockton High Street in a sea of colour and music.
The vibrant procession will make its way through the town centre to the riverside where celebrations will continue throughout the day with a programme full of live music, dance and family entertainment.
WITHIN WITHOUT, BY LIMBIC CINEMA AND FULL TILT AERIAL
Within Without is an immersive multimedia performance that explores visceral and personal articulations of safe and sacred space. The free – but ticketed – event will take place on Friday at 10pm and Saturday at 10.45pm. Tickets for the
Trinity Church event are available from SIRF Central at 3pm each day. The church will be transformed into a cathedral of light, texture and movement, with audiences enveloped in a 360-degree canvas of animations which augment the church in rhythm with the dancers’ movements.
The performance has been developed by a creative team including Limbic Cinema, Full Tilt Aerial and South Korean composers Salamanda. Due to the nature of the building this show isn’t fully accessible, however, a full 360 film of the show will be showcased, along with a documentary about the making of the piece as part of the SIRF Digital programme until August 31.
SIRF FINALE – MOBIL HOMME, BY TRANSE
EXPRESS
French troop Transe Express bring off-beat rhythmic drumming to the riverside from 9.30pm to draw the festival to a close.
A line of vibrant drummers will lead the spectacular finale as a giantsized mobile lifts up into the night sky to showcase a beautiful trapeze performance.
Pa-Boom will then light the night sky with a dramatic burst of pyrotechnics bringing Mobil Homme and SIRF22 to a glorious end!