It’s not long to go now, until the streets of Newport City centre will be taken over with mesmerising magic, outrageous outfits, spectacular sights and musical madness.
It’s all systems go at The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre preparations are well underway to bring Wales’ largest free outdoors arts festival Big Splash, back to Newport on 22 and 23 July.
The first sneaky teaser was released 3 weeks ago and we’re thrilled to inform you that we’ve got the inside scoop on even more acts that will be lining the streets and dazzling you all with laugh-out-loud street theatre!
Returning with their bright yellow wig are Gary and Pel, but this time they will be pedalling into the hearts of audiences; inviting everyone to slow dance, snap some piccys and take a 'romantic ride' on their 7ft swan pedalo. Get ready to fall Swan in Love in this picturesque swantacular walkabout performance.
Beautiful, fun, playful, participatory and out of this world; Karina Jones an aerial hoop artist will be showcasing Holes, a performance about two women, one visually impaired, who take a tumble into a mysterious hole in space and guide us through their wondrous imaginative journey. It exposes the experience of visually impaired people from the start and embeds it in the heart of the performance for all. The show is bilingual in Welsh and English with embedded audio description.
The acrobatics don’t stop there! Captive will be taking to the streets with their athletic piece that explores the notion of human captivity. Four dancers perform this exciting blend of dance, acrobatics and aerial work inside a large cage. Disorientated and shaken, the performers use their skill and instinct to survive in this emotionally charged performance. Extremely physical, Captive is a thrilling blend of dance and acrobatics with a dynamic narrative exploring human relationships in captivity is brought to the festival by renowned dance company, Motionhouse.
A familiar face at The Riverfront Theatre, Krystal S. Lowe will be performing at Big Splash with her piece titled, Mud Pies. This interactive performance brings together the physicality of gardening and the exploration of nature and shares how mess and mistakes are essential to growth and wellbeing. This performance will take you on a joyful exploration of soil!
Adding more family festival silliness into the mix is Familia de la Noche with their brand new, bilingual show, Frogs in Bogs / Brogs y Bogs. This hilarious, all-jumping, all-dancing bilingual show is perfect for kids 4+ and provides a ribbiting day out of all the family, with banging tunes courtesy of new music from talented Cardiff art-rock musicians Heledd Watkins and Sam Roberts (HMS Morris).
Just like every other year, this years’ programme is packed full of amusing, interesting, hilariously funny family entertainment. More information about the festival is being released on The Riverfront’s website and social media channels. To keep up to date head to newportlive.co.uk/BigSplash
The Riverfront Theatre would like to thank the Arts Council Wales, Newport Bus, Friars Walk, Newport BID who have all made the festival possible. Along with Newport City Council, the Mercure Hotel and event partners, Le Pub, for their continued support.
The festival is a not-to-be-missed event taking place on 22 and 23 July throughout Newport city centre, make sure to save the date in your diary!
Big Splash 2023
