Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025

Sadly I missed the programme launch tonight but am happy to share the press release with you. At first glance the programme looks amazing, back to what it does best - original, quirky work, a little bit off kilter and showing the newest work amongst tried and tested favourites - but all high quality and inspiring. I love this time of year when the printed programme arrives and the process of choosing events from the wide range of tempting shows. I have had many of my best cultural experiences in May of any given year.

I am looking forward to Gandini Juggling, who have to be seen to be believed. It is a real feel-good show for the whole family, showing mind-blowing skill - and I hope to get rare tickets to Close Up – magic in a small café. Norwich Nine also looks intriguing – as the grandparent of a 9 year-old I am fascinated to hear what they have to say – and not quite realising that the Brexit referendum was so long ago – a life-time for a 9 year old.

And Gilles Peterson - well he is a classic in his own right. Sean Shibe, 2025 NNF resident musician, makes several appearances in this year's festival playing lute, acoustic and electric guitars across his varied programme.

The Spiegeltent always has amazing new work in small shots to explore - I will leave that till I have had time to peruse the full programme. Meanwhile, I urge you to do the same as it hits the headlines after midnight (only 30 minutes till I can press 'send' and upload). Follow the blog for festival updates and recommendations

NORFOLK & NORWICH FESTIVAL
FRIDAY 9 - SUNDAY 25 MAY 2025
FULL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED & TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Festival Director, Daniel Brine, has today announced the full programme for the 2025 Norfolk & Norwich Festival. Tickets are on sale to those with priority booking from Tuesday 18 February and public booking opens on Friday 21 February at www.nnfestival.org.uk. 

One of the oldest arts festivals in England, having been established in 1772, Norfolk & Norwich Festival continues the tradition of presenting world-class international performances alongside trail blazing local artists and emerging new talent.

Woven through the festival are a number of thematic programme stories. Under the umbrella of Magic and Mystery, The Dirty Work (14 & 15 May), is a new solo performance by Jo Bannon, blending the trickery of magic with the lived experience of visual impairment.  Gandini Juggling present their new show Heka (13 & 14 May), which combines juggling, magic and contemporary choreography; and acclaimed magician Vincent Gambini’s Close-Up (16, 17, 23, 24 May) is an intimate one-to-one performance in a cafe, melding sleight-of-hand magic with the dreamlike nature of cinema.

Another strand of the programme, Coastlines celebrates our country’s diverse coast - home to communities, nature, industry and endless stories. As part of this strand, River of Hope (9 - 25 May) explores the Norfolk rivers that empty into the North Sea and brings together the work of around 500 young people in a large installation. In Cromer, on the North Norfolk Coast, Sea Like a Mirror (15-26 May) is an ambitious national partnership programme led by Cement Fields and commissioned to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. At the heart of the project is White Horses, a new artwork by Ivan Morison

The third strand of programme stories - Create and Share celebrates the Festival’s year-round work with young people, schools and communities. Highlights which have been created by artists with people from across the region include The Norwich Nine (11 May), an intergenerational collaboration between Bootworks Theatre Co. and a group of nine-year-old children - born the year the UK voted to leave the European Union; MONSTERS (21 May), a short film depicting a post-apocalyptic fairy tale; created by and starring children from East Anglia; and Rebel Resistors Radio Club (21-24 May) - a new project by Action Hero, in which they work with a group of girls on analogue radios, to broadcast their manifestos for the future

The Adnams Spiegeltent now has a fierce reputation for staging awe-inspiring circus within the celebratory settings of Festival Gardens. This year is no different as Upswing presents Showdown (14-25 May) - a mix of circus thrills and cheeky humour as six contestants battle to the top in a fast-paced game show style competition

The festival will begin with the Welcome Weekend (9-11 May), inviting audiences to enjoy free outdoor performances across the centre of Norwich. Kicking off on the Friday, Speak Percussion and local musicians reimagine the concept of a marching band, heralding the opening of the 2025 Festival before High Voltage brings together over 150 electric guitarists from across the region as a huge garage band. On Saturday and Sunday, a host of premiere performances from some of the UK’s leading outdoor arts companies will fill the streets.

Music is another lynchpin in the Festival programme and 2025 highlights include Grammy award-winner Arooj Aftab (9 May) and DJ and record collector Gilles Peterson (10 May) in the inspiring setting of Norwich Cathedral. Other highlights include 2024 Mercury Prize nominated Liam Shortall aka corto.alto (22 May) and the return of the multi-award-winning Chaos String Quartet (14 May). Celebrating their 30th anniversary, the iconic Apartment House present Music in Four Parts (19 May) which includes a new work by Cassandra Miller – written for the group. 2025’s festival also hosts musical residencies from mezzo soprano Lottie Betts-Dean who presents a trio of shows demonstrating the extraordinary range of her voice, and guitarist Sean Shibe who plays lute, acoustic and electric guitars across his varied programme.

In a partnership with Norwich Theatre, Norwich Theatre Playhouse hosts Songs of the Bulbul (20 & 21 May) - a new dance work by Aakash Odedra, with choreography by Rani Khanam and music by Rushil Ranjan and Show Pony (16 & 17 May), a new show from Still Hungry and Bryony Kimmings, which brings a new perspective on women in circus. 

Presented in partnership with the National Centre for Writing, The City of Literature Weekend (23-25 May) returns with a lively programme of events and talks with writers including Hattie Crisell, Nicola Dinan, Erica Hesketh, Seán Hewitt, Val McDermid, Noreen Masud, Nicola Streeten and many more.​

Artistic Director & Chief Executive, Daniel Brine said: “We’re delighted to unveil this year’s programme in full. It feels like a really vibrant and dynamic mix with a number of international voices peppering the music programme; exciting new performance pieces; some fascinating literary conversations; and a strong sense of community with a number of events that showcase our participation work. I’m really looking forward to May!”   

The full programme for Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2025 includes many more unmissable dance, performance, music, visual arts and literature - visit nnfestival.org.uk for full listings and to filter events by genre and dates.