Features

10 reasons theatrelovers should go to Latitude Festival this year

We take a look at some of the theatre and dance highlights at this year’s festival

| London | London's West End | Off-West End |

23 April 2015

Following on from the recent music line-up announcement which revealed that Alt J, Portishead and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will headline this year's Latitude Festival. The theatre and dance line-up has today been announced. We take a look at the top ten reasons to get yourself down to the Suffolk festival this July, whether you're a hardened theatre fan or a music lover looking to discover something new.

Latitude Festival takes place from 16 – 19 July 2015 at Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk. Tickets start at £84.50 for a day ticket and can be purchased through WhatsOnStage here.

1. Paines Plough one-woman Garage gig-theatre

Leading new writing company Paines Plough brings the world premiere of With a Little Bit of Luck by Sabrina Mahfouz. This one-woman show is underscored by a live mix of old school UK Garage and explores the legacy of a cultural movement that defined the hopes of a generation.

2. Kneehigh work in progress

Cornwall based theatre company Kneehigh present a work-in-progress showing of 946. Adapted by Michael Morpurgo (Warhorse) and Kneehigh co-artistic director Emma Rice from Morpurgo's book The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, 946 uses music and puppetry to tell a tale of war, prejudice and love.

3. Live broadcast of National Theatre's Everyman

National Theatre Live present a screening of Everyman live from the Olivier. Starring BAFTA winner and Academy Award-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), this new production is directed by new artistic director Rufus Norris.

4. Bryony Kimmings and boyfriend Tim Grayburn on Mental Health

Written by performance artist Kimmings, Fake it 'til you Make it began life at Edinburgh where it won a Fringe First Award and has since toured round Australia. Joined by her boyfriend Tim Grayburn, who until recently was an account manager at a top advertising agency, the pair present a 'warming and heart-breaking' show about clinical depression and men.

5. Sadler's Wells on the Waterfront Stage

The UK's leading dance house again presents a diverse programme of world class dance on the Waterfront Stage (which now has a roof, something curator of arts Tania Harrison is very happy about).

Highlights include the National Youth Dance Company consisting of 38 talented young dancers (aged 15-19) performing new dance work called Frame[d]. Rambert returns with Christopher Bruce's Rooster – a celebration of the swinging Sixties set to music by the Rolling Stones.

6. Opera North

Nestled within the Faraway Forest, studio space The Little House hosts Opera North and their production of I Am Yours, Yours I Am, taken from the final moments of Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea.

7. Forest Fringe

This year's Forest Fringe highlights include The Not Great British Bake Off from Hunt & Darton. Richard Dedomenici 'The Death of Social Housing' where you can 'Mourn the loss of social housing by assembling your own flat-pack self-assembly paper model of an iconic council block" before setting them on fire and sailing them down the lake. Nick Field 'Be My Friend' – a one-to-one performance that 'explores the negotiations and complications of friendship in a world of fractured selves.'

8. Blind Summit

From the makers of the Fringe First Award-winning show The Table comes Citizen Puppet, a puppet-docudrama telling the true story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Blind Summit looks behind the scene to uncover a dark tale of gambling, greed, theft and murder.

9. Steampunk Dracula

From the creators of the smash hit tour of A Clockwork Orange, Action To The Word bring their new Steampunk adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic, Dracula.

10. Lily Bevan & Sally Phillips Talking With Strangers

Sally Phillips (Smack the Pony, Miranda) and Lily Bevan (Pheasant Plucker, Mock Tudor) bring their new collaboration, an upcoming BBC Radio 4 comedy series, Talking With Strangers. Topics may include the graphic design of maths textbooks, flamenco poodle fusion, flirting courses, Scandinavian gender relations, the Jeremy Irons fan club, Suarez, Suez and sewage. Or may not.

Purchase your Latitude tickets through WhatsOnStage here.

The full line-up is as follows:

Theatre Arena

Waterfront Stage

Sadler’s Wells Presents Ballet Rambert And National Youth Dance Company | Company Chameleon

The Little House

Faraway Forest

Live Art House

Literary Arena

Directors Session: With James Grieve From Paines Plough

Cabaret

Duckie Feat. Fabulous Russella With Disc Jockeys Readers Wifes, Lucy Mccormick, The Lipsinkers, Jennifer Coleman, Cheryl Dole, Derek Mccluckie And The Duckie Dhss All Stars Jonny Woo & Le Gateau Chocolat Dickie Beau | Scottee | Bourgeois And Maurice | Diane Chorley | Miss Behave's Gameshow With Special Guests Captain Kidd, Fez Fanaana, Ivan Brackenbury, Raymond & Mr Timpkins And The Two Wrongies | Doug Segal | Stuart Bowden | On Yer Bike – The Maggie Thatcher Game Show! | Suzannah Gonzo Presents Musical Bingo