From pop-hit singalongs to runway fashion, a NT Live film screening, free tours and iconic lip-sync performances – the National Theatre’s free arts festival River Stage on London’s South Bank will have something for everyone this summer.
Now in its eighth year, River Stage invites some of UK’s leading arts and culture organisations to take over the riverside for four unforgettable weekends in July, filled with theatre, music, dance, comedy and a diverse offering of food and drink to suit everyone’s palate.
Opening the festival on Friday 5 July, East London’s iconic queer venue The Glory return to the River Stage for the first time since launching their latest bar The Divine. Dance the night away to club classics at DJ John Sizzle’s Disco and singalong to showtunes at Jonny Woo’s Showtime Extravaganza. A collective of queer performers of Turkish, Kurdish, Cypriot and Southwest Asian heritage, Harem of Noone, will bring pop-cultural delights for everyone to enjoy. Lipsync 1000 V Man Up, one of UK’s biggest contests for drag kings and queens, will be back at the South Bank showcasing the stars of tomorrow. The amazing Barbs on piano will soundtrack your Sunday afternoon with some Chopin and Phillip Glass. Big Gay Songbook will bring the weekend to a close with a mash-up of the best of The Glory plus their talented mates from Margate.
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF) will bring their much-loved inclusive programming celebrating Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists from 12 to 14 July, one month ahead of GDIF 2024. Roll onto the riverside with Les Patineurs for a joyful battle on roller skates and join the Family Catwalk Extravaganza for some runway fashion, ballroom dance and lip syncing. Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE will bring Black Victorians, a powerful dance piece exploring a complex and often forgotten Black presence in pre-Windrush Britain. Perhaps Contraption bring their multi-award winning, progressive brass band party to River Stage for a truly unique musical experience; melding elements of jazz and pop. Fresh from her tour with Ed Sheeran, Fletch@ bridges signs her way through a hit-list that will captivate and delight audiences from all backgrounds at Sign Song.
The brilliant Rambert will take over the festival’s third weekend from 19 to 21 July for an explosive celebration of dance. Choreographer Marion Motin, who worked with Christine and the Queens and Dua Lipa brings her hip-hop influenced style to the South Bank with an excerpt from Rouge created for and performed by Rambert’s dancers. Rambert’s very own Liam Francis and Aishwarya Raut will present their bold choreography with the company with their pieces Where to Start? and Tension Funfair. Catch an excerpt of Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, created by the writer of the TV series Steven Knight with Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer– the thrilling stage adaptation with an iconic soundtrack from a live on-stage band or put on your dancing shoes and join in the fun with Paradigmz’s Soca Workshop and Coco’s K-Pop workshop. Experience a real-life dance-off with dancers of Rambert, participate in a family yoga workshop with Eryck, grab a cowboy hat for a line-dancing class and more!
The National Theatre will host the closing weekend from 26 to 28 July by inviting everyone to dive into the diverse delights of our South Bank venue. Diane Chorley returns with her legendary 80s club The Flick for her only show of 2024 bringing the very best of character comedy, infectious music, queer cabaret and some special guests. Everyone is welcome to have a look behind the scenes with our free backstage tours giving audiences a glimpse of the magic of the NT. For one day only, James Graham’s Olivier Award-winning hit show, NT Live: Dear England, will be screened for free. NT’s former artist in residence and Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, Curtis Holder, will lead a portrait workshop where musicians Fenella Humphreys, Kasia Ziminska and Cara Berridge become his muses. Chisara Agor brings the festival to a close with a boundary-pushing musical performance exploring themes of visibility, magic and solidarity.
Behind the scenes, the River Stage team is joined by National Theatre Young Technicians Alumni in the delivery of the GDIF and Rambert weekends of the festival. Launched in 2017, Young Technicians is the NT’s flagship technical training programme for young people aged 14-18, taking place both at the NT and nationwide to offer in-depth training for free to young people from groups currently underrepresented in the technical theatre industries. Participants work with the NT’s production team to develop practical skills across a variety of backstage roles, including lighting, sound, video and more. Applications for the Young Technicians Programme delivered at the National Theatre are open now on the website, and close on 1 July.
Alongside The Understudy and the riverside bar, KERB will be serving up a range of London’s most exciting independent street food. Baba Dhaba, Mexclub, Chicken Bandits, Oh My Dog and Poke Nom bring an array of delectable flavours whilst Hackney Gelato serve delicious, refreshing ice-cream. KERB will be partnering with Two Tribes on the bar for some of the finest cold beer, and Sen Noods, Meltdown Cheeseburgers and Sireli will be serving up mouth-watering delicacies at The Understudy.
