The Norfolk & Norwich Festival, one of the oldest arts festivals in England, is returning in just a few weeks for 17 days of world-class performances from 9 to 25 May.
Alongside its renowned programme of talent from around the world, the Festival has made local voices a crucial part of its programming through its Festival Connect & Create initiative, where the organisation works year-round, across the region, to bring exciting creative opportunities to children, young people and their communities. The 2025 Festival places that work on full display through a varied line-up of events springing from the Festival Connect & Create programme.
Kicking off the Festival is a Friday evening double bill on 9 May combining the spectacle of High Voltage from JOF and Sam Halmarack, which brings together around 150 guitarists from across the region in a rocking showcase of musical talent, and March Static from Speak Percussion and All the Queen’s Men, an immersive sonic experience that re-imagines the concept of a marching band – celebrating community and peace over military might.
Presenting this community work in the Festival programme brings the often-undervalued perspectives of young people to the fore. The Norwich Nine (11 May) is an intergenerational collaboration between Bootworks Theatre Co. and a group of nine-year-old children born the year the UK voted to leave the European Union. Created in one week, the show reflects the children’s fascinating perspectives at this crucial juncture in their lives – halfway between birth and adulthood.
Filmmakers Andy Field & Beckie Darlington present MONSTERS (21 May), a short film depicting a post-apocalyptic fairy tale. Created by and starring children from across East Anglia, the film blends fantasy and reality, reinterpreting disaster tropes through the eyes of a generation familiar with crisis. A new project from Action Hero, Rebel Resistors Radio Club (21-24 May), brings to life twelve manifestoes of girls from Great Yarmouth, broadcast through analogue radios, asking profound questions about the future in a playful and accessible way. Meanwhile, filmmaker and choreographer Dan Canham’s Four Portraits from an Edgeland, is a moving film created in collaboration with young people from the Fens, which weaves together dance, personal narratives and cinematic artistry.
In Cromer, on the North Norfolk Coast, Sea Like a Mirror (14-26 May) is an ambitious national partnership programme led by Cement Fields and commissioned to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. At the heart of the project is White Horses, a new artwork by Ivan Morison. Presented alongside his work are two projects created with artists Kate Munro and Neil Paris and two groups of local children. River of Hope (9 – 25 May), a collaboration with Thames Festival, explores the Norfolk rivers that empty into the North Sea and brings together the work of around 500 young people in a large installation at The Forum in Norwich.
The Festival’s Senior Connect & Create Producer, Alex Anslow said: “Year-round we are working in schools and communities across the region to support and deliver extraordinary art projects which enhance the lives of participants. Presenting these as part of the Festival provides an amazing opportunity to share their work with wider audiences and provides a wonderful moment of celebration for all involved.”
The full programme for Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2025 includes many more unmissable dance, performance, music, visual arts and literature events – visit nnfestival.org.uk for full listings and to filter events by genre and dates.
