Ensemble Festival 2025

Taking place across East London’s spectacular waterside destination, Ensemble Festival by Certain Blacks highlights include Hydropunk, an interactive water installation by outdoor arts veterans Artizani and sustainability-focused Tenderfoot Theatre; HUG by Levantes Theatre, a visually arresting circus performance exploring the simple act of a hug; and Waiting Song by circus director Mish Weaver, a moving trapeze duet about how hopes for the future shape the way we speak and move.

Returning Olivier-winner Francesca Baglione (aka Miss High Leg Kick) brings a multi-sensory and wacky flashback to a night out in late 1950s dance halls in PALAIS DE DANSE, while Nandita Shankardass’ Roots to Rise blends dance and poetry in a call to ecological and ancestral reconnection.

The acclaimed physical comedian Tiago Fonseca performs NoMo, a clown show about the contemporary addiction to screens, and TELL ME by Sadiq Ali Co. tackles stigma around HIV through circus, blending breathtaking Chinese pole and physical storytelling.

Theatre legend and director David Glass and internationally renowned Vidya Thirunarayan co-present HOLY DIRT, uniting earth, myth and movement in a visually stunning piece featuring Indian performance styles and modern physical theatre forms, such as bouffon and melodrama.

Tilly Ingram’s The Hide offers an audio-led birdwatching installation that reflects on hidden disabilities and what is not immediately obvious to the eye. And closing the weekend with radical joy, TRUTH by outdoor artists Ramshacklicious and inclusive theatre company Hijinx transforms the docks into a revolutionary street theatre celebration that questions societal norms

Ensemble Festival is sponsored by Without Walls UK and funded by Arts Council England.