Greenwich + Docklands International Festival announces full line-up

The Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) has unveiled its 2024 programme, including over 50 free performances across 17 days from 23 August to 8 September.

This year’s festival, themed “ALL CHANGE,” will take place in various locations in London, including Greenwich, Newham, and the City of London.

French street theatre artists Les Commandos Perçu will present Silence! in Woolwich. The opening night spectacle will combine pyrotechnics and  percussion against the backdrop of the Royal Artillery Barracks. Also amongst the shows is THAW, an eight-hour aerial performance on a 2.5-tonne block of ice by Australian company Legs On The Wall.

The festival will also feature the world premiere of From Here On, a physical theatre performance by multi-award-winning companies Good Chance and Gecko. Set outside Liverpool Street Station, the production commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport, with 40 young people joining Gecko’s ensemble to explore themes of displacement and the right to safe passage for children.

Another world premiere, A Ballad of Thamesmead by Dante or Die, will take audiences on an immersive journey through south east London’s Thamesmead.  French urban acrobatic artists Lézards Bleus will present Life Lines, a Parkour performance that transforms the landscape of Greenwich Peninsula into a stage for acrobatics.

World Kiosk, a sound installation by David Shearing of Variable Matter, will invite visitors to sip tea and listen to shared stories in a sensory pop-up street kiosk in Newham. GDIF 2024 will also introduce Parkworks, a new two-day family-friendly programme in Stratford Park, featuring performances and interactive games over the August Bank Holiday weekend. The festival’s annual outdoor dance celebration, Dancing City, will this year take place in Stratford’s East Bank