Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) London’s leading and longest established FREE festival of outdoor performance returns to Royal Borough of Greenwich, Newham and the Thamesmead from Friday 22 August to Saturday 6 September with the first wave of programming announced today. To celebrate 30 years of the award-winning annual festival, 30 companies from across the world will present new work inspired by the theme Above and Beyond.
This year’s GDIF opens on Friday 22 August with French company Lézards Bleus whose new production Above and Beyond encompasses this year’s festival theme quite literally, as eight extraordinary parkour performers give a heart-stopping performance across the landmark buildings and recently relandscaped public spaces of Woolwich. This world premiere has been specially commissioned to mark the 30th anniversary of the festival with spectacular formation climbing combined with choreography and music inspired by Woolwich’s rich history of mutuality and shared endeavour. A central collaboration with the locally based Citizens of the World Choir reflects the creativity and stories of local people which have been at the heart of GDIF for the last 30 years.
Spectacular staging is central to The Weight of Water in Thamesmead on 5 – 6 September as Dutch company Panama Pictures use stunning physical theatre to explore the climate crisis. A huge floating structure tips back and forth on water, with nail-biting choreography as dancers fight to cling on. More jaw-dropping outdoor performance is featured in Turning Worlds from 30 – 31 August at Greenwich Peninsula, staged in the Design District’s Rooftop Basketball Court alongside other vibrant and buzzing destinations. The theme of Above and Beyond is explored through trailblazing collaborations between engineering and performance including a fusion of circus and robotics, a production enabling a performer to perform vertically on a wall and a captivating dance and physical theatre performance on a giant, rotating metal spiral.
Another festival highlight will see leading Black British theatre company Talawa (Play On, UK Tour) collaborate with acclaimed Black British dance company Fubunation (The Ruins Series) on the world premiere of Fragments of Us on 4 September in Woolwich. Directed by award-winning artist Sonia Hughes (What is the City but the People? with Jeremy Deller for MIF) this new dance-theatre piece explores black masculinity in a moving testimony to collective history and identity.
The hugely popular “festival within the festival” Dancing City returns this year featuring an exciting new partnership with New York’s iconic Fire Island Dance Festival which will see a stellar line-up of international LGBTQIA+ dance artists perform at GDIF. Fire Island Dance Festival was established in 1995 as a fundraising event for Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) and has become a celebrated annual festival showcasing world-class emerging and established dance. Dancing City will also feature three London premieres from groundbreaking disabled artists and companies, along with a huge variety of work from exceptional homegrown and international artists. Full programme and details for Dancing City are to be announced soon.
In this landmark 30th year, the much-loved Greenwich Fair returns to its historic nineteenth-century home in Greenwich Park. GDIF’s reinvention of the original fair brings together a packed programme of uplifting, fun and disruptive street theatre, games and family fun to the beautifully relandscaped Wolfe Statue Piazza at the top of Greenwich Park Hill. Amongst the highlights will be extraordinary puppetry in Theatre-Rites and Miguel Altunaga’s Eshu at the Crossroads, Miss High Leg Kick’s camp and playful celebration of ecology Lady Garden and the UK premiere of a breathtaking all-female high wire performance, Epiphytes, from Belgian company Des Chaussons Rouges. Framed by London’s best view, this performance offers new perspectives on our relationship with the natural world and will provide extraordinary images of the festival theme in action.
Bradley Hemmings MBE, GDIF’s Artistic Director introduces this year’s festival: ‘This year’s theme Above and Beyond grows out of 30 years of delivering GDIF across Greenwich, East London and the City of London. In that time we’ve learned that there are no edges or boundaries in outdoor theatre and the usual distinctions between art and the everyday are often miraculously blurred. This year our “stage” stretches out in all directions – across parks, town centres, basketball courts, roofs and a water space, whilst we also invite audiences to look up, both physically and imaginatively. In the difficult, often fractious times we’re living through, the festival offers a moment in the midst of life’s challenges, to take a breath and experience something uplifting, free and accessible which everyone can enjoy.’
A spokesperson for the Royal Borough of Greenwich said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Greenwich+Docklands International Festival for Royal Greenwich Festivals 2025! Together, we’re working with more organisations and artists than ever before to bring you the biggest and best programme yet. All events are free. Just come along, relax and enjoy surprising and spectacular culture on your doorstep!”
To be published by Unicorn on August 22, Above and Beyond: 30 Years of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival in August, is a limited edition large-format hardback book celebrating three decades of GDIF’s most memorable moments, from audacious aerial choreography timed between take-offs at City Airport to riverbank performances programmed to the tide. Written and edited by Fiona Hughes the must-have book full with stunning never-seem-before photography is available to preorder today and will be available to buy online, in select stores and at GDIF events from 22 August.
INITIAL PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED TODAY:
UK Premiere
ABOVE AND BEYOND
Friday 22 August 6.45pm
Beresford Square, Woolwich, SE18 6AR
Opening the festival with a UK premiere, French parkour artists Cie Lézards Bleus (France) will give a performance of heart-stopping, roof hopping. Gaze up in awe as eight performers embark on a breathtaking journey across landmark buildings in Woolwich. Following the success of Life Lines at GDIF 2024, Lézards Bleus return with their virtuosic combination of movement and climbing skills, to interpret this year’s theme of Above and Beyond. With new music by Roma Yagnik (Resurgam GDIF 2023) and a finale set from the Greenwich-based Citizens of the World Choir, this specially commissioned event opens GDIF’s 30th festival in celebration of mutual support and limitless possibility.
GREENWICH FAIR
Saturday 23 – Sunday 24 August 1pm – 7pm (Various shows all day)
General Wolfe Piazza, Observatory Hill, Greenwich Park, SE10 8XJ
Returning to its historic, nineteenth century home, Greenwich Fair is back. Family-friendly street theatre, circus, dance and games will showcase the recently relandscaped General Wolfe Plaza, in a packed programme of shows framed by the best view of London. An August Bank Holiday weekend treat for all ages with 12 raucous performances with highlights including:
· UK Premiere
EPIPHYTES
Sat 23 & Sun 24 August 6.15pm (45mins)
A highlight of Greenwich Fair. All-female circus company Cie Des Chaussons Rouges from Belgium take inspiration from the life of trees to put nature centre-stage. With breathtaking high-wire skills, four aerial performers create entrancing images of arboreal growth in the glorious setting of Greenwich Park, home to more than 3,000 trees. Framing the panoramic view of London spread out below, this evocative performance.
· London Premiere
ESHU AT THE CROSSROADS
Sat 23 & Sun 24 August 1.10pm & 4.40pm (30mins)
An enchanting tale of choice, trickery and joy that brings the vibrancy of Yoruba culture to life with remarkable puppetry, dance and music by Theatre-Rites and Miguel Altunaga.
· London Premiere
LADY GARDEN
Sat 23 August 2.05pm and 4.20pm (30mins)
Miss High Leg Kick (Duckie), celebrates the fabulousness of the floral world in Lady Garden, a playful and camp mix of performance art, comedy and dance.
TURNING WORLDS
(30 & 31 August), Greenwich Peninsula
In Turning Worlds taking place at Greenwich Peninsula, this year’s festival theme Above and Beyond is interpreted through a series of four trailblazing collaborations between engineering, technology and performance.
· UK Premiere
RIPPLE
Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0SQ
30 & 31 August (times TBC) (35 mins)
Netherlands based TeaTime Company fuse contemporary circus and engineering to mesmerising effect in this UK premiere. A giant metal spiral becomes an acrobatic playground as circus, dance and physics come together in a performance exploring the consequences of our actions. Enacting a “ripple effect”, three virtuosic performers are confronted with a series of increasingly challenging and unexpected hurdles, forcing them to push their limits, jump higher and even suspend time itself.
· ROBOPOLE
Sat 30 & Sun 31 Aug, times TBC (8mins)
Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0SQ
Robopole is an awesome reflection on humanity’s relationship with technology and AI from German company ULIK. This stunning fusion of precision engineering and virtuosic circus skills, delivers extraordinary images through a seamless integration of human and robot choreography. Beginning with an apparently everyday encounter between an engineer and a robot, an experiment begins in which the robot and the engineer become equal protagonists in a spectacular pas de deux.
· UK Premiere
THE PLATFORM OF IMBALANCE
Sat 30 & Sun 31 Aug, times TBC (10 mins)
Design District Basketball Court, Building C1, Cripps Yard, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0BQ
An ingenious installation simulates lunar gravity. Sculpted entirely from metal, this structure will free virtuoso acrobats from their physical limitations. Conceived as an extension of their bodies, it will release them from their own weight. Compagnie Barks.
· UK Premiere
WALKING ON THE WALL
Sat 30 & Sun 31 Aug, times TBC (10 mins)
Design District, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0AX
Installed on the ground, an innovative installation enables acrobats to walk and perform vertically on the wall. Conceived as an extension of their bodies, it will release them from their own weight and unlock new and exciting acrobatic possibilities. Compagnie Barks.
World Premiere
FRAGMENTS OF US
Thursday 4 September, 4pm & 6.30pm (20mins)
General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH
Celebrating the endless possibilities of Black masculinity, this world premiere dance theatre performance by leading Black theatre company Talawa with acclaimed Black dance company Fubunation, directed by award-winning artist Sonia Hughes features fluid movement and poignant poetry to reveal snapshots of joy, struggle, love and loss.
With rhythmic beats and soulful expressions, striking images of brotherhood and the richness of community, are layered with moments of up-close personal storytelling to create a moving testimony to collective history and identity.
Fragments of Us is co-commissioned by Talawa and GDIF. Supported by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Royal Greenwich Festivals and Arts Council England.
London Premiere
GO GRANDAD GO!
Thursday 4 September 1.30pm & 3.30pm (25mins)
General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH
This joyous celebration of inter-generational family relationships and Caribbean culture by Company DHW, combines hip hop dance and storytelling. With relatable characters, infectious moves and fully integrated access, this is a feel-good show for all ages, which will have you joining in and leave you with a smile on your face.
Go Grandad, Go! is commissioned by FESTIVAL.ORG, Without Walls and Brighton Festival. Supported by Royal Parks, Royal Greenwich Festivals, The Royal Borough of Greenwich, Without Walls and Arts Council England.
London Premiere
THE WEIGHT OF WATER
Friday 5 & Saturday 6 September 2.30pm & 6.30pm (45mins)
Birchmere Lake, Epstein Road, THAMESMEAD, SE28 8DQ
This spectacular water-based event from Dutch company Panama Pictures sees six incredible performers struggle on an unpredictable floating stage. While politicians indulge in power games the performers deal with the impacts of their indecision as they fight to maintain a foothold on a floating platform which see-saws so violently that there’s a constant risk of falling. The stakes are high in this modern parable of global warming, which merges dance, circus and live music on water to nail-biting effect.
DANCING CITY
Full details to be announced soon
London’s much-loved, annual, celebration of free outdoor dance is back! This year’s alfresco dance take-over, showcases a host of amazing outdoor spaces, an exciting new partnership with New York’s Fire Island Dance Festival and three world premieres by leading disabled artists and companies. With stunning staging and a vast array of dance styles, Dancing City features both exceptional homegrown and international talent.
