Riverside Studios announces return of Bitesize Festival this summer

Riverside Studios has announced the return of its Bitesize Festival showcasing work from new and emerging theatre makers.

First running in January 2022, the Festival will return this summer from 5 – 31 July offering punchy, thought-provoking, inspiring, and innovative theatre in bitesize pieces.

The second festival promises more shows, a wider variety of performances and an accessible £10 ticket price across all productions.

The Festival programme includes Impromptu Shakespeare, who perform a ‘new’ Shakespeare play every night, with story and verse improvised in the moment; and Angels’ Wings Theatre Company’s A Plague on All Your Houses, a rip-roaring ride through the plagues of history.

Dark comedy Moral Panic by Blue Dog Theatre explores horror film hysteria in 1984, contrasting with Really Big Pants Theatre’s Clare and Cory Share a (Glorious) Story – a gentle show for younger children, written entirely in rhyme. DuckTape’s Bad Sex is a character study of a lost boy trying to piece his life together, plunging us deep inside the mind of a young actor after a very public meltdown.

Belly Button’s The Man Who Lives Under the Bed is a semi-autobiographical, high-energy performance of comedy, dance, poetry, and music; while Boorish Trumpson is an interactive, music and clowning-filled interrogation of power, from critically acclaimed clown Claire Parry.

The final shows in the line-up of the festival are How My Light Is Spent directed by Tobias Millard, and a devised piece by Helen Iskander Welcome! Bitesize then sees the return of duo Ivantiy Novak and Mohit Mathur with Vrag following their production of Samaadhi in the first festival. The final show in the line-up sees immersive interrogation with Boris Live.

For more information and tickets, visit riversidestudios.co.uk

Rachel Tackley, Creative Director of Riverside Studios said: “We are thrilled to be announcing another Bitesize Festival following the huge success of our first one back in January. It’s been a joy to create a festival that presents new work from such inspiring and innovative theatre makers and to introduce them to audiences at Riverside.”

About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.