2026
This year, the Festival felt simultaneously global and local, with wondrous locally-produced art sitting proudly alongside international work of dazzling quality. It was a programme for the ages.
In 2026, we were reminded of the power of the arts to unite us in troubling times. Community and connection are, of course, what Festivals are all about. Our programme this year was organised around three strands: Writing from the East highlighted a quartet of new theatre pieces, illustrating the wealth of creativity in our region; Becoming Animal featured a number of works that embody being animal, from Circa’s monumental Wolf to local dance legends Thick & Tight’s Natural Behaviour; finally, Music to Move You examined the space between music and movement, and the ways music and movement can unite to move us emotionally.
Circus with Fangs: Wolf
Circa arrived in Norwich with a reputation for bold and groundbreaking circus. Their show, Wolf, was just that – and more.
Ten acrobats, clad in sleek gold-on-black costumes, prowled, snarled, sprinted, tumbled and climbed around the Spiegeltent stage, which was arranged in the round with audience members encircling the action. Within moments, the cast were arranging themselves in a series of dramatic contortions, forming totemic people-towers and extraordinary corde lisse set pieces. The sheer physicality on show was staggering, with acrobats balancing one, two, sometimes four or five others on their shoulders.
The staging was stripped back, with no ornamentation, and the lighting was low. The score was animalistic, all pounding beats and Berlin techno, pulsing and convulsing throughout the performance, leading it towards a thrilling climax. Audience members young and old were delighted: this was extraordinary circus, performed with devastating precision.
Produced by Circa and Chamäleon Berlin.
Co-produced by La Comète.
Circa acknowledges the assistance of the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
Sponsored by Dipple & Conway
Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy
In their matching white coats, Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy strode into the round at St Andrews Hall to rapturous applause, the eager and knowledgeable audience clearly aware they were in for a treat. These two young musicians, partners in life as well as music, brought a freshness and intimacy to their programme of Stravinsky and Schubert. It was a special and memorable evening that will linger long Norwich’s cultural memory.
Kids Business: The Kidz Arms
Taking over a disused pub in the heart of Swaffham’s highstreet, live art duo Hunt & Darton, together with a group of young entrepreneurs, created The Kidz Arms, a pub by kids, for everyone. This hilariously surreal take on a classic British pub included ‘terrifyingly happy hours’, a ‘service at arms length’ contraption that launched pastries at punters, and a gang of ‘Babs’ that would tell you to ‘Get out my pub’ at a moment’s notice.
Whether you were looking for candy-filled cocktails, cereal served in over-sized martini glasses, or jellies on a platter, visitors from Swaffham and beyond experienced non-stop entertainment over two weekends in May. The kids were thrilled to have served 400 customers while developing real business skills and having a lot of fun along the way.
Part of our ongoing Creative Places work in Swaffham.
Kids Business was supported by the Geoffrey Watling Charity and public funding from Arts Council England.
Artists in Residence: Maya Youssef & James McVinnie
This year, two artists brought their own contrasting yet captivating artistic visions to our city, helping us see it through new eyes.
Maya Youssef, the queen of the qanun, performed twice. Her first concert, New Paths Through Old Worlds, showcased magnificent new work exploring the connections and contrasts between Celtic and Middle Eastern traditions. Wide grins and standing ovations were the order of the day. A few days later, she performed music from her most recent album, Finding Home, and the audience was no less appreciative.
James McVinnie, the world-renowned concert organist, also gave two superb performances. The first, Infinity Gradient, presented in collaboration with composer Tristan Perich, was epic. 100 speakers of varying sizes and tonalities were set up in the Nave of Norwich Cathedral, offering a kaleidoscopic array of colour and tone. Later that week, James performed Bach’s Clavier-Übung III at St Peter Mancroft.
As part of his residency, we produced a film about James and the organs of Norfolk. Watch Three Norfolk Organs here.
Festival 2026 highlights
All 2025 Events and Artists
The Spiegeltent
- Ana Carla Maza
- Band Night – BBC Introducing
- The Big Bamboo – The Bo Nanafana Social Club
- Danny O’Mahony
- Herbert & Momoko
- jasmine.4.t
- (le) Pain – Jean-Daniel Broussé
- Sara Dowling with the Sam Braysher Quartet
- Seckou Keita Band
- SexyTadhg
- Wolf – Circa
Free Outdoor
- CHAIR! – The Geraldine Pilgrim Company
- ElevateHer – Daughters of the Wire
- Fragments of Us – Talawa Theatre Company Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-commission
- Garbh – Shyam Dattani & Mira Salat
- The Giant Balloon Show – Dizzy O’Dare
- Holy Dirt – Thirunarayan Productions
- Museum of Spirals – Frozen Light Theatre
- Stick & Stone – Ferdinando + Bernstein
- Tender Exchange – Radical Ritual Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-commission
- The Torch – Nigel ‘Kobby’ Taylor
Classical Music
- Astatine Trio
- Britten in America – Britten Sinfonia with Elizabeth Watts & Oleg Shebeta-Dragan
- Candlelit Compline – Norwich Cathedral Choir
- Clavier-Übung III – James McVinnie
- Elizaveta Ivanova & Sanja Bizjak
- Goldberg Variations – Philharmonia Chamber Players
- Impulse: Music in Motion – Scottish Ensemble
- Infinity Gradient – James McVinnie & Tristan Perich
- Kleio Quartet
- Kleio Quartet with Andrew Hamilton & Berniya Hamie
- Pavel Kolesnikov & Samson Tsoy
Contemporary Music
- Abdullah Ibrahim Tribute – National Youth Jazz Orchestra Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
- Cowboy Junkies
- Finding Home – Maya Youssef
- GoGo Penguin with support from Daudi Matsiko Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
- Neil Crowley Trio with support from Tom Rogerson Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
- New Paths Through Old Worlds – Maya Youssef World Premiere of New Work
- Nubiyan Twist with support from Tara Lily & Tadi the Great Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
- Stornoway with support from Alice Boyd
- The Band Stand
- The Gary Crosby Sextet presents Mingus Moves Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
- Theon Cross Part of Norwich Jazz Festival
Performance
- Albatross by Martha Loader – Menagerie Theatre Company
- Bellow – Brokentalkers
- Ceilidh – Cut A Shine
- Crossing the Line – A St George’s Theatre Production Festival Connect & Create Project
- Culture, The Environment & Social Transformation – UEA & NNF Thinker in Residence Festival Connect & Create Project
- Double Bill: Fenland Elegy & Four Portraits from an Edgeland – Dan Canham Festival Connect & Create Project / Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-Commission
- En Route – One Step at a Time Like This & Richard Jordan Productions
- Follow Me – Be Flat
- From the Dunes – Joseph Harrington with Poppy Stevens Festival Connect & Create Project / Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-Commission
- Heartwood – Curious Directive Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-Commission
- Kids Business – Hunt & Darton Festival Connect & Create Project
- Matter Era – Terrapin & Tim Spooner
- Natural Behaviour – Thick & Tight Festival Connect & Create Project / Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-Commission
- Ragroof Tea Dance: A Masked Ball – Round in Circles
- Requiem – Kaleider
- The King’s Lynn Nine – Bootworks Theatre Company Festival Connect & Create Project
- The Magic Lamp – Indefinite Articles
- Treekin – Trigger
- Underwater – An-Ting & Ian Gallagher
- Wind in the Willows – Sheringham Little Theatre Festival Connect & Create Project
- Your Town, My Town, Our Town – Victoria Melody Festival Connect & Create Project
City of Literature Weekend
Programmed in association with National Centre for Writing
- Borrowed Voices, Living Seas: Lyric Writing – Georgia Shackleton
- City of Literature Publishing Fair
- From the Floorboards – Georgia Shackleton
- Glyph – Ali Smith
- Imagining the Future Through Poetry – Rishi Dastidar
- Make Your Own Medieval Mark – Darren Leader
- Nation of Strangers – Ece Temelkuran
- Page Against the Machine
- Set Sail! – Rob Starling
- Shared Stories: A Workshop for Family & Friends – Jarred McGinnis
- The Body in the Kitchen Garden – Vintage Cream Tea with Paula Sutton
- The Given World: The Rural Uncanny – Melissa Harrison
- The Harriet Martineau Lecture – Rachel Clarke
- There is No Meant To Be: Family, Identity & Legacy – Jarred McGinnis & Sarah Hall
- Wild the World: Nature Writing – James Canton
- Writing the Family – Yvette Edwards
Visual Arts
- The Assembly House
- Mary Newcomb: A Life Recorded
- Mary Newcomb: Thinking & Working
- Blickling Hall
- Journeys – Global Textiles from the Karun Thakar Collection
- East Gallery
- Wind Eyes – Olivia Bax
- In Conversation with Olivia Bax & Dr Stephen Feeke
- Norwich University of the Arts’ Immersive Visualisation and Simulation Lab (IVSL)
- Off-Earth – Louis Nixon
- Norwich Castle
- Chain of Flowers – Miranda Boulton
- In Proximity – Norwich Castle Open Art Show
- Seven Decades of Contemporary Art – Norfolk Contemporary Art Society
- The Crypt Gallery
- Small Things – Norfolk Contemporary Art Society
- PRIMEYARC
- Go Gently Into the Garden of [Im]possible Dreams – *conditions apply Artist Collective Festival Connect & Create Project / Norfolk & Norwich Festival Co-Commission
- Groundwork Gallery
- From Deep Heritage to Contemporary Art – ‘Seahenge’ Revisited
- Out of the Depths, New Works: George Nuku, Frances Kearney
- The North Shore to Paradise – Ben Tufnell in conversation with Tracee Findlater
- The Sainsbury Centre
- Living by the Rule: Contemporary Meets Medieval
- Play Power
- The Ruling of Mother Julian – Kate Pickering
- Bolwick Hall
- The Garden Comes Inside
- The Garden Comes Inside: Artists in Conversation – various, inc. Caroline Fisher
- The Garden Comes Inside: Garden & Exhibition Tour
Masthead credit: Lily Monsey
Other image credits: Luke Witcomb, Kat Mager, Kezia Tan, Tom Maingay