Reconnect with culture outdoors across London
Are you looking to get back outdoors and enjoy culture again? London’s annual leading outdoor theatre and performing arts festival, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (GDIF), is back for 2021 with a programme of free events to keep you inspired.
Following periods of lockdown, in which the outdoors has offered a place to unwind, reflect and connect with nature, GDIF puts outdoor creativity centre-stage, shining a spotlight on the spectacle and accessibility of art in public spaces.
Each year, the festival brings together a phenomenal array of local and international artists and behind the scenes creatives, technicians, volunteers and partners to create an inspiring programme.
Supported by Arts Council England and the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, this year’s GDIF reflects on the challenges we all faced over the last 16 months and what we’ve learnt. Healing Together is this year’s festival theme, placing the great outdoors at the heart of 16 invigorating days of free and accessible art and celebration.
The full programme of events for 2021 can be found on GDIF’s website, but highlights include:
We Are Watching by Dan Acher
Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Friday 27 – Sunday 29 August, 11am – 7pm
Sunday 30 August, 11am – 6pm
Dan Acher’s We Are Watching is a striking image of a giant eye flown on a monumental flag, comprising of thousands of digital portraits, contributed by people from 190 countries across the globe.
Borealis by Dan Acher
Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Friday 27 August – Sunday 5 September, 8.30pm – 11pm
Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich
Thursday 9 – Saturday 11 September, 8.30pm – 11pm
This extraordinary installation, inspired by the Northern Lights, will light up the skies over the Royal Borough of Greenwich during this year’s Festival. Immerse yourself in Dan Acher’s second incredible installation at GDIF 2021.
Family Tree by Actors Touring Company and the Young Vic
Written by Mojisola Adebayo
Friday 27 August, 7.30pm
Saturday 28 – Monday 30 August, 2pm & 7.30pm
Matthew Xia, who directed 846 Live at last year’s festival, returns to GDIF with a new play by Mojisola Adebayo, inspired by the life of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman, whose cells were harvested and cultivated without her consent after her death from cervical cancer in 1951. The so-called HeLa cells have been vital to studying disease, decoding the human genome, and have even contributed to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines. Exploring timely themes around exploitation and ethics in healthcare, this is a powerful, site-responsive piece.
Greenwich Fair
Cutty Sark Gardens & Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Sunday 29 August, 1pm – 9pm
GDIF’s much loved annual ‘festival within a festival’ is back! Family-friendly street arts, theatre, circus, installations and play will take over the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College and Cutty Sark Gardens on August Bank Holiday Sunday.
Future Cargo, Requardt & Rosenberg
Presented by The Place
Royal Docks – meet at Pontoon Dock DLR
Friday 3 & Saturday 4 September, 8pm
A truck arrives in Silvertown from an unknown location loaded with a mystery shipment. As the sides roll up, a strange and unstoppable process is set into motion… This contemporary sci-fi dance show takes audiences into a surreal visual and aural experience enhanced with 360 sound on personal headsets.
Black Victorians
Guildhall Yard, City of London
Tuesday 31 August – Thursday 2 September, 1pm and 6pm
St George’s Garrison Church, Woolwich
Friday 10 – Saturday 11 September, 2pm & 6pm
This powerful and moving dance performance by Artistic Director and Choreographer Jeanefer Jean-Charles is inspired by nineteenth century studio photographs of black men, women and children. Exploring a complex, but often forgotten black presence in pre-Windrush Britain, this performance calls attention to previously hidden figures and challenges historical and contemporary perceptions.
A Graceful Act of Stupidity by Candoco Dance Company
Wren Landing, Canary Wharf
Saturday 4 - Sunday 5 August, 3pm and 5.15pm
Join our two flight attendants as they take you on a journey that slips seamlessly between the everyday and the poetic. Brace yourself for a playful, yet poignant flight in this beautiful duet for Candoco Dance Company from New Art Club’s Tom Roden. The two performers interweave full-bodied dancing with spoken word, gesture and British Sign Language.
Tonya Nelson, Area Director, London, Arts Council England said: “Greenwich+Docklands International Festival embodies the vibrancy and innovation of London’s cultural offers and returns this year with a programme richer than ever. We’re really pleased to support this year’s festival and look forward to seeing audiences come together to feel inspired and uplifted by outdoor theatre, performing arts and more.”
Bradley Hemmings, Artistic Director of GDIF, said: “Last year GDIF became the first major live festival in the country to take place since lockdown, and this year we’ve set out to build on this with productions offering audiences an experience, which will be every bit as rich and diverse as anything they might traditionally expect in theatres or cultural buildings. Over the last year outdoor theatre makers have proved themselves to be resourceful and resilient in the face of unprecedented challenges and this year’s festival will demonstrate the extraordinary quality and originality of their work.”
To ensure that everyone has a great and comfortable experience at GDIF, there will be Covid-19 safety measures in place. Hand sanitiser will be available on all sites, and they recommend that audience members wear face coverings in crowded areas. Nearly all of the events take place outdoors. You can read more about these safety measures, including GDIF’s commitment to the Seven Inclusive Principles, on their website.
