Friday 30 June Alnwick Playhouse Auditorium 7.30 KARINE POLWART & DAVE MILLIGAN: Songs of Tree and River, Stone and Sea
Seven-time winner at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, Karine Polwart is a Scottish songwriter, composer, theatre-maker and author. Recent projects include The Lost Words, Spell Songs, a multi-artist response to environmental loss and climate breakdown, Wind Resistance, her peatbog-inspired theatre show for Edinburgh International Festival. Enough is Enough Karine’s song for Cop 26 has been streamed over 300,000 times on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8ex7Mnjb4
Dave Milligan is a leading figure in the diverse Scottish music scene. His musical imagination flows freely between multiple genres, most notably in the worlds of jazz and celtic music.
Songs of River and Tree, Stone and Sea weaves Karine’s songs and Dave’s subtle piano accompaniments into an uplifting concert that explores the many ways we interact with the rest of the natural world.
Special guests Werca’s Folk, Northumberland-based choir.
Tickets £12 / 18s and under £3
Saturday 1st July Alnwick Playhouse Studio Hub 10.30 QUEEN of the BIRDS
The Kingdom of Birds is looking for a leader. All across the sky, birds are flocking together.
Karine Polwart brings to life this vivid story of leadership and resilience, diversity and collaboration. Using storytelling and song, sound and creative movement and fun quizzes, it’s suitable for 4 to 8 year olds and their families.
£5 / 18s and under £2
Saturday 1st July Hauxley Nature Discovery Centre 11.00 am Poets in the Wild
Inspiring thoughts and words about nature from Noel Hodgson, Paul Mein, Catherine Ayers and young poets.
All in the beautiful surroundings of Hauxhley Nature Discovery Centre NE65 0JR
Free
Saturday 1st July Alnwick Playhouse Bill Hugonin Auditorium 2.30 WATERSHED The Journey of a River & The Journey of an Activist
Watershed focusses the ideas, energy and enthusiasm of local young performers on challenges ahead. This two part performance of songs, dance and drama was created specially for this festival under the expert guidance of experienced stage professionals ,Susie Cochrane, Cheryl Stewart and Chloe Smith. The threats to our rivers, lakes and coastal waters are seen through the eyes of the generation who will inherit the serious problems left by previous generations.
£5 / 18s and under £2
Saturday 1st July Alnwick Playhouse Studio Hub 5.00 Film - THE OIL MACHINE
How our reliance on oil developed and the threats it now poses to life on Earth. The film explores our economic, historical and emotional entanglement with oil by looking at the conflicting imperatives around North Sea oil.
£5 / 18s and under £2
Saturday 1st July Alnwick Playhouse Bill Hugonin Auditorium 7.30 IMAGINING THE FUTURE
Five speakers share their unique perspectives on the future of our planet.
Damian Cruden, CEO and Artistic Director, Alnwick Playhouse,
What role can the Arts play in helping us to imagine and achieve a greener future.
Paul Brannen, Visiting Professor of Innovation and Enterprise at Newcastle University,
New ways of replacing steel and concrete with wood in the built environment
Chi Onwurah MP, Shadow Minister for Science, Research & Innovation.
Aidan Harrison, retired local farmer
Can we balance food security, biodiversity and local communities?
Tamara Ullyart, a young person’s view of the threats and possibilities ahead. A transcript of her 2023 presentation is available below
The evening continues after the Interval with - BIODIVERSIONARY TACTICS Tim Dalling sings Unsustainable Songs
Specially for this festival ,Tim Dalling will dive into the ecological zeitgeist and the world of climate chaos. The songs will veer wildly from zesty frivolity to poignant philosophy, celebrating exciting surviving species, mourning the lost ones, praising signs of hope and encouraging the audience to sing along with global gusto. It will put a smile on your face, a tear in your eye and a song in your heart.
Tickets for the whole evening £10 / 18s and under £3
Sunday 2nd July Alnwick Playhouse Studio Hub 11.00 am Film: - BLUE
Our ocean has been the guardian of life on earth. Now it is our turn to be guardians for the ocean.
Industrial scale fishing, habitat destruction, species loss and pollution have placed the ocean in peril. BLUE is a provocative journey into the ocean realm, witnessing this critical moment in time when the marine world is on a precipice.
£5 / 18s and under £2
Sunday 2nd July Alnwick Playhouse Bill Hugonin Auditorium 1.30 DEEP DIVE INTO WATER
Water runs through every aspect of the climate and biodiversity crisis – too much, too little, in the wrong place or not of the right quality. But what can we do about it? Can beavers really manage upstream water retention better than we can? Can big businesses and local charities work together to improve water quality in our rivers? Can improving seagrass meadows and oyster beds protect against coastal erosion and store carbon? How can we grow water-intensive crops with less water? Are ‘nature-based solutions’ really better than high-tech ones? Can we help nature to help us?
Come to listen and talk to our panel of professionals from the Northumberland Rivers Trust, Northumbrian Water, Stronger Shores, a farmer and the National Trust, Wallington. There will be challenging questions, but also hopeful answers. And find out whether beavers are back in Northumberland!
Surfers Against Sewage will man a stall in Alnwick Playhouse before this session. Do come along for a chat with them https://www.sas.org.uk
Chair:Ross Lowrie,
RIVERS and SEAS
Peter Kerr, Northumberland Rivers Trust - cleaning our rivers, managing floods, supporting wildlife.
Mike Madine , Northumbrian Water. Cross-catchment working and knowledge sharing through the North East Catchment Hub and river pollution cleanup commitments..
Karen Daglish, Stronger Shores. - Can coastal habitats make British coastlines and communities stronger in the face of flooding, coastal erosion and climate change?
INTERVAL Playhouse Bar 2.45 - 3.30 Taste of Northumbrian Seafood SLOW FISH - organised by Berwick Slow Food
Free fish and seafood snacks with your ticket
Deep Dive Continues 3.30 - 4.30
WATER and the LAND
WATER and the LAND
David Humphreys - a potato grower based at Ford and Etal. Potatoes are a water needy crop. How can a healthier soil help hold water and store carbon?
Kelly Hollings - National Trust - reintroduction of beavers to the Wallington Estate
Full afternoon ticket £7/ 18s and under £2
Sunday 2nd July Alnwick Garden 2.00 - 4.30 MUSIC STAGE
Young performers from local schools celebrate life through music joined by Werca’s Folk The Border Shetland Fiddlers, Alistair Anderson and many more
Pictured: Duchess Community High School at the 2022 Festival
Free to visitors to the Garden - usual entrance fees apply
Pictured: a couple of the Borders Shetland Fiddlers at the 2022 Festival
Free to visitors to the Garden - usual entrance fees apply
Art Exhibition LOVING EARTH June 13th - July 3rd Alnwick Playhouse Gallery
The Loving Earth Project originated by the Quaker Arts Network celebrates some of the wonderful things threatened by growing environmental breakdown. The 30 x 30 textile panels made for the Project illustrate some of the beloved places, people, creatures and other things at stake in the climate crisis. 50 of these panels will be on display at Alnwick Playhouse together with some created by local people.
Alnwick Playhouse and around the town
Youngsters from Gallery Youth in Alnwick have been using their creative talents to show their support for the What a Wonderful World Festival. They have created a series of picture boards featuring spray art images that reflect their concerns about climate change and environmental awareness.
Gallery Youth also took their artistic talents to the Alnwick Freeriders Bike Track where they have decorated the cabin. Pictured