Milton Keynes International Festival 2018

Companyìa Vavel Circus: Garbuix 

Friday 20 - Sunday 22 July, 11am and 3pm each day in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

£8, Under 16s £7, Universal Credit concession £5, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £28

Unreserved seating. Book tickets here

Made up of five women from five different countries, Catalan company Vavel brings a delightful, high energy circus show. Garbuix is jam-packed with acrobatics, music, game playing, laughter, bicycles, a big white bear, and bags of fun and mayhem. These highly talented performers come from Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Switzerland bringing endless physical and linguistic tricks in a zany and enthralling comic circus show for all the family. 

Sur Mesure: Fillage

Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 July, 11am and 3pm each day in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

£8, Under 16s £7, Universal Credit concession £5, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £28

Unreserved seating. Book tickets here

Fillage brings together musicians, instrument manufacturers, woodworkers and circus artists to combine spectacular trampolining, acrobatics and juggling with specially composed live music. The result is a comedic, witty and daring show from this Belgian company, with musicians and acrobatic artists sharing the stage and leaping into the unknown. Great fun!

NoFit State Circus & Motionhouse: Block

Wednesday 25 July, 11am and 3pm / Thursday 26 July, 10am and 1pm in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

£8, Under 16s £7, Universal Credit concession £5, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £28

Unreserved seating. Book tickets here

What happens when dance and circus collide? Block is a powerful fusion of dance and circus that pushes the limits of both art forms, using daring physicality, split-second timing and thrilling feats. Twenty oversized blocks, fashioned to resemble giant concrete Jenga blocks, are deconstructed and reformed into an infinite variety of shapes for the performers to play on, move with and explore.

Groupe Acrobatique de Tanger: Halka (UK Premiere)

Friday 27 - Sunday 29 July, 2.30pm each day in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

Tickets £16, Under 16s £14, Universal Credit concession £10, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £56

Unreserved seating. Book tickets here

This Moroccan collective of extraordinarily skilled acrobats and musicians take audiences on a compelling journey through bustling market places, to the cafés and beaches of Tangier. Halka is the word used to describe the circle formed by crowds gathered around street performers, storytellers, acrobats and singers. Inspired by this rich cultural heritage, the company combines traditional and contemporary acrobatics, tumbling and high-flying human pyramids to share stories with humour, and an authentic and magnetic energy.

Tombs Creatius Company: The Strange Travel of Mr Tonet 

Friday 20 - Sunday 29 July, 10am – 5pm except when a show is on. Take place in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

Free

Discover the extraordinary world of Mr Tonet whose fantastical life and fascinating adventures are revealed by solving the puzzles created by the skilled makers of Catalonia’s Tombs Creatius. Crafted from discarded objects and recycled old furniture, these ingenious games combine mechanical movement, light and sound. Each puzzle includes a box, in each box there is a story, and in each story there is a fascinating character or creature…

The Strong Lady 

Friday 27 and Saturday 28 July, 10.30am and 12.30pm / Sunday 29 July, 12.30pm in Middleton Hall, centre:mk MK9 3EP

FREE

The Strong Lady performs her classic street theatre show with muscle and grace, brute strength and beauty – and always with elegance. A genuine strong woman, Australia’s Betty Brawn presents an exhilarating array of stunts. Shattering gender clichés, she tears thick books in half with her bare hands, twists solid metal, snaps steel chains and performs the Human Carousel, carrying the weight of two gigantic men.

FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT

Sarruga: Insectes and Fireworks Finale

Friday 20 July, 9.45pm in Central Milton Keynes. Starts at intu (Saxon Gate side) and finishes in Campbell Park

As dusk becomes darkness, giant insects move through the streets in a larger-than-life spectacle with music and special effects from Catalan company, Sarruga. Witness fantastical steam-breathing ants, spiders and praying mantis tower over cars and feast on trees. Follow the parade as it works its way to Campbell Park for a short firework finale at approximately 10.30pm. Prepare for the insect invasion…

Dries Verhoeven: Phobiarama

Friday 20 - Monday 23 July and Wednesday 25 – Sunday 29 July

Sessions at 3.30pm, 4.30pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm, 8.30pm, 9.30pm and 10.30pm. No 10.30pm slot on Friday 20 July

Near Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £15, Universal Credit concession £10. Suitable for ages 14+ Book tickets here

Dutch theatre maker and visual artist Dries Verhoeven invites you on his theatrical ‘ghost train’… Swept along on a thought-provoking tour of today’s angst-fuelling media landscape – so flawlessly exploited by politicians, terrorists, marketers and fake news – explore our contemporary culture of fear, difference and migration, with its ever-increasing threats and paranoia. Dries Verhoeven is a world-renowned artist who makes installations and performances highlighting the socio-political reality we live in.

Theater Tol: Life of Tree

Installation: Friday 20 – Sunday 29 July

Dance performances: Saturday 28 July, 12.10pm, 1.45pm and 3.20pm Sunday 29 July, 12.10pm, 1.45pm and 4.10pm

Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Free

Belgian company Theater Tol’s Life of Tree is an installation of large-scale illuminated dresses. Honouring remarkable women who have made a significant contribution to history with pioneering courage, strength and intelligence, Life of Tree is a meeting place, a memorial and a resting place. Stand under a dress and you will hear music and lyrics – an ode to the inspiring woman the dress represents. Theater Tol will present a dance performance to accompany the installation on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July.

For The Birds

Friday 20 – Monday 23 July and Wednesday 25 – Saturday 28 July 9.15pm, 9.30pm, 9.45pm, 10pm, 10.15pm, 10.30pm, 10.45pm, 11pm at Linford Manor Park, Great Linford, nearest postcode MK14 5AX

Tickets £15, Under 16s £13, Universal Credit concession £10, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £52

Book tickets here

Immerse yourself in a night-time adventure where sound and light take flight… For The Birds is a self-guided journey in an historic landscape transformed by light and sound installations by some of the most dynamic sound artists in the UK, including Mark Anderson, Jony Easterby, Kathy Hinde, Ulf Pedersen and Pippa Taylor. Marvel at the beauty and poignancy of the installations – performances, projections and kinetic sculptures that celebrate birds in song, movement and flight.

Casus: Driftwood

Friday 20 and Saturday 21 July, 7pm / Sunday 22 July, 2.30pm

The Stables Spiegeltent, Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £21.50, Under 16s £18.50, Universal Credit £14, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £74

Driftwood is an exquisitely beautiful and dazzling display of choreography, acrobatics, trapeze and aerial stunts. This is a circus show that will take you on a journey of explosive encounters, hidden looks and humorous discoveries reminding us that to feel is to be human and in a moment of danger, a grasping hold is survival… These phenomenal performers make up Australia’s hottest young circus company, taking this art form to a whole new level and testing the very limits of the human body with breathtaking skill, strength and bravery.

Bicycle Bell-ero composed by Craig McLeish

Sunday 22 July, Cycling from 2pm, Performance at MK Rose, 3pm 

Starts and finishes at the MK Rose, Campbell Park MK9 4AJ

Free

Bicycle bells become musical instruments, cyclists become musicians, musicians become cyclists… Cycling and music come together in this unique collaboration between Milton Keynes composer Craig McLeish and dozens of cyclists who have swapped their regular bell for one crafted from a repurposed instrument. These specially tuned bells will be played as cyclists travel routes and Redways around Campbell Park, culminating in the performance of a brand new short piece of music for massed bicycle bells at the MK Rose. 

Schweigman&: For The Time Being

With live music from Slagwerk Den Haag, presented in association with Milton Keynes Theatre

Sunday 22 July, 4pm and 8pm / Monday 23 July, 1.30pm, 4pm and 8pm at Milton Keynes Theatre

Tickets £15, Under 16s £13, Universal Credit concession £10, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £52

Suitable for ages 14+

Book tickets here

A playful and uplifting theatre performance without words, made by Utrecht’s Schweigman& with percussion group Slagwerk Den Haag. The earth is running slower and slower, but our world is running faster and faster. Time is rushed. How can we experience time and space in the middle of this chaotic and charged environment? Combining movement, design, light, sound and manipulation of space, Schweigman& (under the artistic direction of Boukje Schweigman) creates an experience that is at once playful, spontaneous, empowering and thought-provoking.

Back to Back Theatre: The Democratic Set MK

Filming: Monday 23 - Wednesday 25 July at Queen’s Court, centre:mk MK9 3ES

Screening: Friday 27 July, 7pm in the Vagabond Cinema Dome in Campbell Park

Free

Australia’s Back to Back Theatre brings new forms of contemporary performance to audiences and participants worldwide. The Democratic Set explores the belief that all people are, in principle, equal and should enjoy social, political and economic rights and opportunities. Creating a short film that captures a cavalcade of screen-based video portraits, Back to Back will use a custom-made film set to work with and film performances by the people of Milton Keynes.

Karine Polwart & The Royal Lyceum Company: Wind Resistance 

Thursday 26 - Saturday 28 July, 8pm at The Stables, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon MK17 8LU

Tickets £27.50

Book tickets here

A compelling fable for our modern world, Wind Resistance is written and performed by multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, Karine Polwart. Every autumn, 2,500 pink-footed geese fly from Iceland and Greenland to winter at Fala Flow, a protected peat-bog south-east of Edinburgh. From this windy plateau, Karine surveys the surrounding landscape through history, birdlore and personal memoir in a spellbinding alchemy of song and story, with potent lighting and electro-acoustic effects.

Teatro Container: La Cocina Pública

Tuesday 24 - Sunday 29 July West Bletchley, by The Frank Moran Centre, Melrose Avenue MK3 6PA

Places allocated to the local community

Housed in a shipping container, La Cocina Pública is a mobile kitchen that brings communities together through food and feasting. Travelling from Chile through cities and neighbourhoods in search of local recipes, aromas, practices and customs, Teatro Container will work with West Bletchley residents to share stories and food that will be enjoyed at delicious feasting events - with artists, storytellers, singers and musicians providing entertainment.

Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Festival Central is open to everyone – come and soak up the Festival atmosphere! Campbell Park is the location for The Stables Spiegeltent, Vodafone Gigatent, Vagabond Cinema Dome (27 – 29 July), outdoor performances, free and family events, the Acoustic Stage, food outlets, bars and a box office. 

Festival Central Opening Times:

• Friday 20 July: 3.15pm - 12 midnight
• Saturday 21 July: 10:45am - 12 midnight
• Sunday 22 July: 10:45am - 11pm
• Monday 23 July: 3.15pm - 11pm
• Tuesday 24 July: 5.30pm - 11pm
• Wednesday 25 July: 3.15pm - 11pm
• Thursday 26 July: 3.15pm - 11pm
• Friday 27 July: 3.15pm - 12:30am
• Saturday 28 July: 10:45am - 12.30am
• Sunday 29 July:10:45am - 11pm

Programme and timings may be subject to change. For updates please check www.ifmiltonkeynes.org and social media @IFMKfest #IFMKfest

Family Focus Events

How It Ended: The Little Gardener

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July, 11:50am, 1.40pm, 3.30pm both days in Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Free

An interactive adaptation of Emily Hughes’ popular book The Little Gardener. Performed inside a greenhouse containing a real garden, meet the little gardener and the garden that means everything to him. Help bring his garden to life and get your hands dirty in this spellbinding show that will melt your heart. Suitable for all, recommended for ages 2 - 6.

Bootworks: The JukeBoxes

Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July at intervals throughout both days in Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Free

Watch two beautiful 1950’s Jukeboxes spring to life to re-create classic pop music videos. In a lip-syncing musical medley, Bootworks’ performers use props, masks and puppets (and a terrible selection of wigs!) to animate favourite pop songs past and present. No disc is left unturned as Elvis, Miley Cyrus, The Spice Girls and Adele all make cameos…

The Stables Sessions: Acoustic Stage

Friday 20 - Sunday 29 July

Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Free

New sounds, emerging talent and unsigned bands in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Each session is 45 minutes.

Friday 20 July

6.15pm Hope in High Water

8.15pm Hannah’s Yard

Saturday 21 July

1.15pm Amit Dattani

2.15pm Elizabeth & Jameson

3.15pm Hannah Scott

4.15pm Pete Hemsley

5.15pm Paolo Morena

6.15pm Sian Magill

8.15pm Roses & Pirates 

Sunday 22 July

12.45pm Tracey Browne

1.45pm Michelle Nadia

3.45pm Lowly Hounds

5pm Amy Claire & John Bowman

6pm Sweetcornbread

7pm Ethemia 

Monday 23 July

7.15pm Candi’s Dog

8.45pm  Inlak’esh

Tuesday 24 July

6pm The Other Band

7pm Rebecca de Winter

Wednesday 25 July

6pm Anna Hester

7pm Fred’s House

Thursday 26 July

6pm Jinder

7pm Natasha Seale Duo 

Friday 27 July

5.45pm Yvonne Lyon

6.45pm Amelia Lappert

9.15pm April Blue 

Saturday 28 July

12.45pm Navaro

1.45pm Katey Brooks

4pm Tinderbox

5pm The Hallows

6pm Dawn Iverson

7pm Harrison Bond

9.15pm Chris Fox 

Sunday 29 July

12.45pm Joe Miles

3pm The Blackheart Orchestra

4pm Tom Korni

5pm Manny & The Coloured Sky

6pm James Burrage

7pm Steve Winch & The Inception

The Stables Spiegeltent Programme

The Stables Spiegeltent

Festival Central

Campbell Park MK9 4AD

The Spiegeltent is an exotic setting for live music, comedy and late-night cabaret. Beautifully constructed with wood, stained glass, velvet drapes and mirrors, and complete with its own bar, this is the venue for live music, comedy and late-night cabaret. The Spiegeltent is the beating heart of the Festival, and the ideal meeting place for audiences and performers.

The Puppini Sisters

Friday 20 July, 9pm at The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £27.50. Unreserved seating, cabaret style

Book tickets here

With impeccable retro style, The Puppini Sisters brilliantly rework modern pop as vintage swing and add zest to timeless classics. Famed for their gorgeous and immaculate Andrews Sisters-style close harmonies, the Sisters have a legion of fans worldwide, have collaborated with Michael Bublé and have five albums under their waist-clinching belts. 

Brother Strut

Saturday 21 July, 9pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £21. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

Driven by a love of funk, blues and 1960’s/70’s soul, Brother Strut deliver unparalleled live shows. Exciting and electric, the band is made up of some of the finest musicians around - between them they’ve notched up half a billion sales working with iconic artists including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner and Amy Winehouse.

Mark Watson: This Is Half Way To Being A Show

Sunday 22 July, 8pm at The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £17. Unreserved seating, cabaret style

Book tickets here

After fending off death on Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island TV show, Mark Watson returns to what he’s best at – being indoors. This multi-award-winning writer and TV comedy star offers witty food for thought, audience interactions and all sorts of other fun in this work-in-progress show.

Addictive TV: Orchestra of Samples + Special Guests: Evelyn Glennie & Alejandro de Valera

Support: Jally Kebba Susso

Monday 23 July, 8pm at The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £22.50. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

Pioneering audio-video remixers and electronic duo Addictive TV have spent six years collaborating with musicians around the world. The Orchestra of Samples features international artists from Brazil, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Senegal, Colombia, Bhutan and across Europe ingeniously sampled and spliced together to create a digital supergroup who have never met, but play together on-screen. This one-off musical journey without borders will feature world-famous percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and guitar virtuoso Alejandro de Valera.

CC Smugglers and Support: Emma McGrath

Tuesday 24 July, 7.45pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £16.50. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

With a host of headline stealing gigs across Europe, this 6-piece outfit plays great, original music with showmanship, swagger and suave. With echoes of American folk, swing, jazz, country, ragtime and bluegrass, as well as contemporary touchstones such as hip hop, metal, dubstep, house and dancehall, nothing is off limits!

Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band

Support: The Black Feathers

Wednesday 25 July, 7.45pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £25. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

Eliza first assembled the exceptional 12-piece Wayward Band in 2013 to promote her ‘best of’ compilation Wayward Daughter. Still together, they continue to champion the vibrancy of today’s traditional music, ‘the last truly underground music scene’, with a big band and big sound.

Newton Faulkner and Support: Charlotte

Thursday 26 July, 7.45pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £37.50. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

It’s just over a decade since Newton Faulkner released his debut album and became something of a household name. Since then, he has recharged his batteries, reinvented his sound and released an astonishing genre-hopping sixth album Hit The Ground Running (2017) that is by far the best and boldest of his career. The ultra-long dreadlocks have gone, the guitar is even better and the voice is bigger than ever. Book early!

The Gilded Lili Revue

Friday 27 and Saturday 28 July, 10pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £16. Unreserved seating, cabaret style for ages 16+

Book tickets here

Ms Lili La Scala - decadent diva of vintage glamour and divine Mistress of Ceremonies - is back! With her beloved cabaret reprobates to entertain you in these rollicking late-night shows, Lili presents her dazzling cabaret spectacular with a veritable variety smorgasbord of international comedy, burlesque, music and more. With Havana Hurricane, Elliot Mason, Pi the Mime, Scarlett Daggers - and, of course, Lili herself. 

Monski Mouse: Baby Disco Dance Hall

Saturday 28 July, 2.30pm at The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Tickets £8, Universal Credit concession £5, Family (4 people, max 2 adults) £28

Free for babies under 6 months

Book tickets here

Australian DJ Monski Mouse spins the discs, bringing high energy fun and smiles to under 5s and their families. Striking a balance between anthems for the grown-ups and tracks for the children, the musical selection is a combination of fun retro dance tracks and funky nursery rhymes. Part of the dance floor is set up with a soft furnished ‘baby area’ where non-walkers can roll around to the music too. Ms Mouse and her experienced early childhood performers lead the crowd in a warm-up and facilitate the fun.

Los Pacaminos featuring Paul Young

Saturday 28 July, 7.45pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £21. All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

This cactus sharp, stetson wearing, magnificent 6 create the perfect cantina setting for a tequila-fuelled rocking party night. Fronted by Paul Young, Los Pacaminos play the very best in Tex Mex Border music with an incendiary mix of classics and original material, from The Texas Tornadoes and Ry Cooder to Los Lobos and even Roy Orbsion. Book early!

Comedy Club 4 Kids & Simple Politics: How Does This Politics Thing Work Then?

Sunday 29 July, 11.30am in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £6, Universal Credit £5 Unreserved seating. Suitable for ages 7+

Book tickets here

Politics is boring. Politics is complicated. Politics is for adults. RUBBISH! Politics is actually super important. Luckily Tatton Spiller (Simple Politics) and Tiernan Douieb (Comedy Club 4 Kids, CBBC’s The Slammer) know exactly how to make sense of it so that it’s great fun. You might not be able to vote yet but you have opinions and you know the world you want to see…

Comedy Club 4 Kids

Sunday 29 July, 2pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £10, Under 16s £9, Universal Credit £6, Family of 4 (max 2 adults) £36

Unreserved seating. Suitable for ages 6+

Book tickets here

The best stand-ups and sketch acts from the international circuit do their thing for an audience of children and their families. It’s just like a normal comedy club, but is on in the daytime, the children are welcome, it’s without the rude bits and there’s no patronising idiocy!

Ceilidh Liberation Front

Sunday 29 July, 7.45pm in The Stables Spiegeltent, Campbell Park MK9 4AD

Tickets £14 All standing/dancing with limited unreserved seating

Book tickets here

With a small army of virtuoso musicians the Ceilidh Liberation Front combines music, dance and a generous sprinkling of theatricals. Subverting and converting the world with their energetic new ceilidh regime, this band breathes vigour and vitality into the traditional ceilidh, whilst honouring its roots and traditions with charismatic callers, uplifting tunes and cracking dances… Bring your dancing shoes for a final fling on the last night of the Festival!

Festival Talks 

Talks and discussions exploring different aspects of the Festival programme. All talks are in the Arabian Tent, Festival Central, Campbell Park MK9 4AD and are free

Discussion: For The Birds 

Sunday 22 July, 11.30am - 12.15pm

For The Birds artists discuss working in Milton Keynes to create a unique night-time experience. With Mark Anderson, Jony Easterby, Kathy Hinde and The Parks Trust.

Discussion: Brexitarama 

Monday 23 July, 5.45pm - 6.45pm

A discussion about international culture in a post-Brexit landscape. The panel will include Dries Verhoeven, creator of Phobiarama and Alison Woods of NoFit State Circus.

Discussion: Open Forum - Home? 

Thursday 26 July, 3.30pm - 5.30pm

An open discussion about what ‘home’ means in relation to the making of The Democratic Set in Milton Keynes. With Back to Back Theatre, Dr Agnes Czajka (Department of Politics & International Studies, Open University) and Richard DeDomenici (artist and film-maker, IF: 2016).

In Conversation: Jenny Sealey MBE 

Sunday 29 July, 11.30am - 12.15pm

Festival Director Monica Ferguson talks with Jenny Sealey, CEO/Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Company which places D/deaf and disabled actors centre stage, and challenges preconceptions.