Greenwich+Docklands International Festival Announces Highlights Of The 2019 Programme

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF), London's leading festival of outdoor theatre and performing arts, today announces highlights of the 2019 festival, running from 21 June - 6 July in locations across Royal Greenwich, East London and, for the first time, the City of London.

Responding to a time of national uncertainty with a determination to make fun and conviviality a central focus, highlights include the Greenwich Fair, an intensive, two-day programme of street theatre in Greenwich Town Centre; the UK première of a major street theatre adaptation of Moby Dick by the Italian company Teatro Dei Venti in the City of London; a captivating site specific theatre production in the Royal Docks entitled Passenger by Jessica Wilson exploring the tangled relationship between local and global; an innovative union of circus and community created in Thamesmead with the French Compagnie XY; the UK's largest annual programme of outdoor dance, Dancing City, across the squares and public spaces of Canary Wharf; and the French street theatre company L'Homme Debout's MO and the Red Ribbon, a spectacular promenade production in Bow, featuring a giant child puppet on a journey of migration and discovery.

The full programme, which will include new commissions, co-productions and UK premières, will be announced in March. GDIF promises something different, and in the words of The Guardian, makes an "unrivalled contribution to the happiness of the people of London".

Artistic Director Bradley Hemmings MBE said, "This year, at a time of national division and uncertainty regarding the UK's relationship with Europe, GDIF will offer an antidote of fun, conviviality and togetherness, bringing Londoners together as never before with a joyously spectacular international programme of free outdoor arts.

"I'm particularly proud that we're welcoming so many International Artists and companies to London, whose work will bring audiences together in these difficult times, inspiring wonder, celebration and optimism".

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) is London's free, annual outdoor theatre and performing arts festival. GDIF is committed to breaking new ground in outdoor performance and raising the ambition, quality and diversity of outdoor work produced in the UK.

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GDIF 2019: PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

GREENWICH FAIR

Various artists

22 and 23 June, Greenwich Town Centre

This annual two-day "festival within a festival" brings together UK and international street arts companies, taking to the streets and public spaces of Greenwich Town Centre. This year's programme has a serious focus on "fun", with productions including the Dutch company Babok's PolderCoaster, a hilarious reimagining of a fairground ride; Tickertape Parade's Fantabulosa, a fantastical queer-positive pop-up world of imagination, storytelling and glitter where boundaries are forgotten and everyone and anyone can be whoever they want to be; and Wild 'n' Beets' Buck a Brenda an uproarious reinvention of the vintage game 'Buckaroo' hosted on cowboy-themed mobility scooters.

MOBY DICK

Teatro Dei Venti

22 June, Guildhall Yard, City of London

Presented on the site of London's Roman Amphitheatre, this spectacular UK première features inventive staging, merging theatre, circus, dance and music with imposing, transformational mechanical structures. A co-commission with the City of London Corporation as part of its 'Fantastic Feats' outdoor arts programme, this Italian production explores timely themes of migration and the fear of the other.

PASSENGER

Jessica Wilson

26 - 29 June, Millennium Mills, Royal Docks

A conversation between two passengers on a bus is the starting point for this epic, unfolding story set against the background of a journey where you take a bus ride through London's Royal Docks. First seen in Melbourne where it was described by Arts Hub Australia as "a brilliantly crafted story that thrusts you into a live-action cinematic experience", Passenger explores the tangled relationship between local and global, blurring the line between reality and fiction in a spectacular and all-encompassing experience.

LES VOYAGES

Compagnie XY

30 June, The Moorings, Thamesmead

Conceived as an exchange of gifts, this acrobatic exploration of people and place from one of France's most acclaimed circus companies, shines a light on humanity and our need to be nurtured and supported. Following a residency with local people on The Moorings estate in Thamesmead, this captivating experience provides an ephemeral and optimistic vision of place through the eyes of those who live there.

DANCING CITY

Various artists

29 June, Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets

The UK's best loved programme of outdoor dance will again take over the squares and public spaces of Canary Wharf with a captivating array of performances from Joss Arnott Dance, Jorge Crecis, Justice in Motion, James Wilton, New Adventures, Eric Lamoureux and Hela Fattoumi, and includes a new production from Talawa Theatre Company co-created by Jade Hackett and Ryan Calais Cameron.

MO AND THE RED RIBBON

Compagnie L'Homme Debout

29 June, Roman Road, Tower Hamlets

This spectacular promenade production explores the experience of migration from a child's perspective as a giant child puppet moves through the streets of East London in search of something. On this emotional journey, a central red ribbon acts as a guide, linking the child to their, family, their country, their experiences and their new life.

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