Let’s Book Holiday Travel Blog

Trafalgar Square Festival is London’s annual programme of spectacular street arts and performance, set in the very heart of the capital, in the well known Trafalgar Square.

This year, 3 weekends of extraordinary events capture the gathering excitement as London prepares for the moment of Olympic handover on 24 August. The events will be taking place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 7 to 23 August.

Here’s a timetable of events:

Week 1: China Inspires

Taking inspiration from Beijing 08, collaborating UK and international artists transform Trafalgar Square.

Look out for the Yellow Earth Theatre Company’s shadow puppets telling the story of Chinese creation; and watch out for the moment when East meets West, boy meets girls, and Chinese and European circus artists take to the air in The Flying Dragon Circus.

Yellow Earth Theatre:

The UK’s leading East Asian theatre company create a ritualistic and theatrical retelling of Chinese creation myths with shadow puppetry and inventive stagecraft. Fusing ancient and modern, the performance evokes the story of Pangu the Giant, who created the world and divided the earth from the heavens.

Commissioned by: Trafalgar Square Festival with thanks to Chinese Community Centre – London Chinatown.

The Flying Dragon Circus

Directed by Pierrot Bidon, whose previous circus creations include the legendary Archaos, this exciting new production is a ground-breaking celebration of the world’s great circus traditions as East meets West, boy meets girl and Chinese and European circus artists, musicians and Kung Fu performers take to the air.

Co-commissioned by: Culture 10, Stockton International Riverside Festival and Beijing Chaoyang Intercultural Association.

Week 2: Olympic Aspirations

Capturing the visionary spirit of the Olympics, fresh new artistic voices put sport and young people at the heart of the Festival.

Zoo Nation, one of the country’s hottest dance companies combine hip-hop and Lindy Hop in recognition of the last time London hosted the games in 1948, while Aqua fuse sport and arts in honour of the Olympic aquatic sports.
Zoo Nation

With their current production “Into the Hoods” taking the West End by storm, the Festival has commissioned one of the capital’s hottest dance companies to create a new show which looks back to the last time London hosted the Olympic Games in 1948. Hip hop meets Lindy Hop in a high energy collision between the dance styles and post-war optimism of the 1940s and the cutting edge contemporary energy of London today.

Commissioned by: Trafalgar Square Festival.

Aqua

Capturing the drama and exhilaration of Olympic aquatic sports as well as the spirit of playful fun which is always associated with water, this newly created performance fuses contemporary circus, street theatre and breathtaking screen imagery. Inspired by great Olympic swimmers, Aqua will fuse sport and arts in visually stunning ways, whilst audiences dive into a watery world of freestyle, butterfly, relay, back stroke and synchronised swimming!
Week 3: Images of London

Think you know London? Look again! The final week of the festival sees artists re-imagining London in surprising and ingenious ways!

Miss High Leg Kick presents a theatrical fashion show in an ultra-glamorous celebration of the everyday. Then watch in wonder as Spanish dance theatre, The Garden of Wonders creates living statues, entrancing pools, Father Thames and Eros; a perfect show for a summer evening in Trafalgar Square.

Miss High Leg Kick

Creating a spectacular journey through an A – Z of famous London landmarks, Miss High Leg Kick presents a theatrical fashion show starring a cast of characters modelling the styles of London in an ultra glamorous celebration of the everyday. Zones 1 to 6, North, South, East and West will be represented in an extravaganza that parodies the excesses of fashion shows - bang in the heart of the real world.

Commissioned by: Trafalgar Square Festival.

The Garden of Wonders

Revealing London’s public open spaces in a new light, this new show from Spanish dance theatre company Factoria Mascaro is a playful romp through classical garden settings. Featuring living statues, entrancing pools, Father Thames and even London’s very own Eros, a perfect show for a summer evening in the Square!

Co-commissioned by Trafalgar Square Festival and Greenwich + Docklands International Festival.

This surely is a spectacular show of outdoor dance, arts and performance, which is not to be missed! So pop over to Trafalgar Square if you happen to be around!

Venue:

Trafalgar Square

London

WC2 5DS

Getting There:

By Tube:
Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines) is the closest Tube station, with an entrance/exit on Trafalgar Square.

The following stations are within a few minutes’ walk:

Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly lines)
Piccadilly Circus (Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines)
Embankment (Bakerloo, Northern, District and Circle lines)
Mainline train

By Train:
Charing Cross mainline rail station is about a three minute walk from the Square.
By Bus:
Routes 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 53, 77A, 88, 91, 139, 159, 176, 453 go past Trafalgar Square. Also routes 22 and 94 terminate nearby at Piccadilly Circus. Many of London’s night buses serve Trafalgar Square. The following routes start/end near the square: 53, N2, N5, N18, N20, N21, N26, N29, N41, N47, N50, N89, N91, N97, N279, and N381, and these routes go past the square: 6, 12, 23, 24, 88, 139, 176, 453, N3, N9, N11, N13, N15, N36, N44, N52, N77, N155, N159, N343.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 4:36 pm and is filed under London, events, places to visit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.