Greenwich and Docklands International Festival

By Hazel Last edited 225 months ago
Greenwich and Docklands International Festival
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There are some parts of London that just don’t know when to stop. Greenwich has already got a shipload of interesting and beautiful things to visit such as the ruddy big Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory, the Old Royal Naval College which is now the University of Greenwich and Trinity College of Music and the almighty, river-spanning foot tunnel. For a brief while, it looked like it might have the London Eye too. And it's where time itself starts, being the site of the prime meridian, Greenwich Mean Time or 0 degrees longitude, depending on what you prefer.

As if all that wasn’t enough, its got a cracking summer festival too. Starting on Saturday 25th June, the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival will bring to the area some spectacular outdoor events.

First up: The Maritime Mysteries on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th June at Lower Grand Square, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, SE10. Nearest public transport is the DLR station for Cutty Sark or the overground train to Greenwich. Once it starts to get dark (approximately 9.30pm at the moment – woo!) the audience will be surrounded by what promises to be an awesome spectacle, according to the festival programme:

Audiences will be surrounded by images, sound, music and performances drawn from global waterfront cultures ranging from the Celtic fringes of Europe, to the Bay of Bengal, via South East Asia and Brazil. Featuring aerial theatre, giant puppetry and a sea of voices from local communities in Greenwich, this very special production has been developed to coincide with the 2005 Sea Britain initiative.

For the following weekend, head to Canary Wharf where the corporate landscape of mile-high mirrored glass office blocks will be miraculously overtaken by aerial performances involving circus for grown-ups, the folk dangling from long strips of red cloth from the BBC ident and a finale involving a crane.

And in true Greenwich-style, there is still more: there are promises of choreographed JCBs in Bow and a dragon as high as a house that will romp through Woolwich later in the programme which Londonist thinks is well worth a look – bring a suit of armour and your best damsel in distress. Go here for more information and a full festival programme.

Last Updated 21 June 2005