The Adnams Spiegeltent returns to the Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2022 for the first time since 2019 to bring a mix of family-friendly shows, music, circus, cabaret, late nights and laughter. Located in Festival Gardens (Chapelfield Gardens) we’ve taken a look at some of the shows that will be performing in the much-loved 500-seat pop-up venue this May.
Barbu by Cirque Alfonse
Kicking off the Spiegeltent programme on May 18, Barbu by Cirque Alfonse delves into the origins of the circus in Montreal at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
In scene after scene where music, video, circus and general craziness collide, each performer wows the audience with a showcase of spectacular skills. Backed by a frenetic electro-trad band, the Cirque Alfonse clan strays dangerously close to the edge in this exuberant circus rave.
“We are so excited to return to England and to play the Norfolk & Norwich Festival for the first time,” said Antoine Carabinier Lépine, founding member of Cirque Alfonse. “It will be so nice to perform that crazy show. We are more than ready to have fun with you guys! Be ready, it's going to be something!”
Barbu is playing from May 18-28 at 7.30pm, and May 29 at 5pm.
Now That's What We Call Musicals with Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo
Dubbed the “Ebony and Ivory of drag”, Olivier award-winning star of La Clique and La Soiree, Le Gateau Chocolat, and the Queen of London’s Alternative Drag scene, Jonny Woo, will perform a melting pot of musical theatre, karaoke, comedy, vaudeville, variety, sing-along and dress-up madness.
Join Gateau and Woo to see all your favourite musical hits, from Gypsy to Grease, Little Mermaid to The Sound of Music.
Now That's What We Call Musicals is playing from May 19-20 at 10pm.
Marmalade By Claire Parsons Co.
If you are looking for fun for all the family, Marmalade is a sweet dancing circus act that looks at the world through body, eye, feeling and taste in a room with fluffy skirts, soft circus and Fellini music. The two performers will embody poetic movement and circus arts creating an exquisite and visual experience together with the audience.
The show is created by an award-winning dance company Claire Parsons Co. who produce clever and elegant performance art for children.
Marmalade will play on May 25 at 11am and May 26 at 1pm.
Grace Petrie
Folk singer Grace Petrie will be performing her new album Connectivity. Exploding onto the folk scene in 2010, Grace’s music is defiant, subversive and honest. Grace crosses genres of alternative, folk, political and comedy scenes and has previously toured arenas with Frank Turner, supported comedian Hannah Gadsby and done a live session on the BBC Radio 2 Jo Whiley Show.
Sing along to her fearless folk anthems about inequality, humanity and connectivity.
Grace Petrie will be playing on May 21 at 10pm.
Broadside Hacks
Originally intended as a club night in London, Broadside Hacks is a collective of musicians founded by Campbell Baum that play radical folk music which combines creative freedom with respect for the past.
Their latest album Songs Without Authors, features an array of brilliantly talented artists including Katy J Pearson, Pixx, Yorkston Thorne Khan and Aga Ujma.
Broadside Hacks will play on May 22 at 10pm.
WOOM
WOOM is a four-part concept-choir, who have already amassed a passionate cult fanbase, including past touring partners like King Krule, Whitney and The Big Moon. Their notoriety as a completely immersive, near-transcendental experience is fast becoming the stuff of indie folklore.
The group includes members from Babeheaven, Arlo Day, Teeth Machine, Hester, Thidius and Jerkcurb.
Come and listen to WOOM re-envisage songs in a way that is at the same time new and familiar, with their lush, harmony-laden vocal re-interpretations of songs by Frank Ocean, Angel Olsen and OutKast.
WOOM will play on May 27 at 10pm.
To view the full Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2022 line-up and to book tickets, visit nnfestival.org.uk
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