The HighTide festivals in both Aldeburgh and Walthamstow are fast approaching so, if you’re up for some quality entertainment this month, here’s what you can expect from this year’s events.
If you haven’t yet been to HighTide festival, I’d certainly recommend booking in for an event or two this year. Based in East Anglia, this charitable theatre company takes the HighTide festival around the country to perform in Edinburgh, Aldeburgh and Walthamstow – with a future fourth festival in Lowestoft currently being planned for 2021.
But let’s not look to far ahead into the future when this year’s HighTide festival is about to kick off in Aldeburgh next week and later this month in Walthamstow. The theatre company already took 5 productions to Edinburgh over the summer so, if you didn’t get to the Edinburgh festival this year, don’t worry – you haven’t missed out. All 5 shows are available to watch during the Aldeburgh HighTide festival next week including:
- Busking It – gig-theatre by Danusia Samal
- Thor and Loki – a comedy musical by Harry Blake
- The Extinction Event – a magical performance by David Aula and Simon Evans
- Sparks – a two-hander musical by Jessica Butcher
- Songlines – a play by Tallullah Brown
What a great line-up for this local festival, eh? The programme includes more than just these Edinburgh shows; there’s also poetry, comedy, family events, readings, music, talks and plenty more live theatre. Tickets start at just £5 for some shows and the launch event at the Jubilee Hall in Aldeburgh is completely free – you just need to book your ticket in advance.
Unlike some festivals where you buy a wristband for the whole event, this time you can pick and chose which shows you want to see. Or you can save money by purchasing a “Just the Plays” pass to watch all the Edinburgh plays listed above, or a “Super Sunday” pass that gets you into all the 5 events happening on the final day of the festival.
If you’ve ever read my Latitude Festival reviews you’ll know I’m partial to a bit of comedy. So, my top pick for the Aldeburgh HighTide festival is Adam Kay’s show “This is going to hurt” on the 15th. His shows at the Edinburgh Fringe have been a sell out in 2016 and 2017, and his book of the same name is a Sunday Time’s bestseller so I think that’s a good sign. Plus, I’ve previously seen Luke Wright comparing the Speakeasy at Latitude and he’s performing on the first night of the festival with his poetry performance ‘Poet Laureate’.
Let me know if you book in for the HighTide festival and please share your recommendations for must-see shows in the comments below. Enjoy!
