Greenwich and Docklands International Festival announces full summer 2020 outdoor programme
© Ray Lee
The Greenwich and Docklands International Festival has announced its programme for 28 August to 12 September.
Offering events with capacities from 50 up to 250, the outdoor event will involve street art, dance theatre, site-responsive pieces and more.
Set to be the first full festival to take place since lockdown began, it will feature a variety of work created in response to the pandemic on top of previously commissioned pieces adapted to fit socially distanced circumstances.
Luke Jerram's new installation In Memoriam created as a temporary memorial to those we have lost during the Covid-19 will also be a tribute to NHS staff and key workers. Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Royal Docks Team will create a new show, 846 Live, in response to the death of George Floyd.
Bernardine Evaristo will create an epic new prose/poem The Weavers of Woolwich, while Requardt and Rosenberg will present a sci fi dance theatre bonanza entitled Future Cargo.
Artistic director Bradley Hemmings said: "As a free outdoor festival, GDIF has always tried to play an active role in local civic life, and as we start to reimagine the future, this 25th anniversary Festival has been designed with artists, local partners and participants to offer an inclusive moment for reflection, whilst hopefully providing something we all desperately need – a time to celebrate and smile together again."
All events will have free, allocated access for local residents, with further free and paid ticketing arrangements to help manage more limited event capacities.
Safety measures will be in place such as socially distanced seating, clearly marked entrances and exits and face coverings for all staff. Additional access arrangements will be put in place for d/Deaf and disabled audiences and those with access requirements.
Other aspects of the programme include Black Victorians, a dance performance inspired by nineteenth century studio photographs of Black men, as well as a site-specific production of Dennis Potter's Blue Remembered Hills by Flemish Theatre Company De Roovers (who presented A View from the Bridge in 2017).
The festival will bring street arts performances to neighbourhoods, featuring Told By an Idiot's socially distanced version of their children's show Get Happy, and Christopher Green's FeelPlay.
You can find out more about the programme here.
