RIVER STAGE, RETURNS THIS SUMMER TO THE NATIONAL THEATRE

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London’s largest free outdoor arts festival, River Stage returns to the National Theatre for the eighth year this summer, from 5-28 July 2024

– Four entertainment-packed weekends will run on the South Bank, brimming with live music, theatre, dance and more from the UK’s leading arts and culture organisations

– This year’s River Stage partners are The Glory (5-7 July), Greenwich+Docklands International Festival (12-14 July) and Rambert (19-21 July)

– The National Theatre (26-28 July) will host the closing weekend of River Stage

– KERB will serve a selection of delicious flavours with an array of South Bank traders

The National Theatre’s River Stage returns this July with an exciting programme of live music, theatre, dance and more, curated by some of the UK’s leading arts venues. Over four weekends, the South Bank will come to life with performances alongside a delicious selection of independent food and drink from street food suppliers KERB.

This year’s River Stage partners include The Glory, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Rambert and the National Theatre.

The Glory: 5-7 July
The Glory is back for the eighth year to open another spectacular weekend on National Theatre’s River Stage 2024. The Glory’s Grande-Dames of drag and performance, Jonny Woo and John Sizzle, will host and curate a sensational line-up of top drag queens, kings, cabaret artists, DJs, and theatre makers to present a weekend of exciting free queer music, performance and hi-jinks.

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival: 12-14 July

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival curates a celebratory programme of street theatre, dance and circus at the National Theatre’s River Stage, kicking off the one-month countdown to GDIF 2024. Join them for an extraordinary weekend of up-close performances that will immerse audiences of all ages in GDIF’s much-loved festival atmosphere and signature mash-up of vibrant, inclusive and disruptive summer fun.

Rambert: 19-21 July

The Rambert dance company, one of the world’s most diverse companies of dancers, curate a weekend to remember at River Stage. Rambert, together with the dynamic artists they work with, will bring awe-inspiring dance performances and special guests across the weekend. There will be a chance for everyone to learn some new moves from Rambert’s extraordinary faculty of teachers.

National Theatre: 26-28 July

The National Theatre will once again bring the festival to a close by throwing its doors open and letting the creativity spill out, giving everyone the chance to experience the delights that our South Bank venue has to offer. Expect the very best in family theatre, dance, workshops, music, an NT Live screening and tours of the building.

Behind the scenes, the River Stage team is joined by the National Theatre Young Technicians in the delivery of two weekends for the festival. Launched in 2017, Young Technicians is the NT’s flagship technical training programme for young people aged 14-18, taking place both at the NT and nationwide to offer in-depth training for free to young people from groups currently underrepresented in the technical theatre industries. Participants work with the NT’s production team to develop practical skills across a variety of backstage roles, including lighting, sound, video and more.

Alongside The Understudy and the riverside bar, KERB will be serving up a range of London’s most exciting street food. Club Mexicana, Chicken Bandits and Baba Dhaba bring an array of delectable flavours whilst Hackney Gelato serve delicious, refreshing ice-cream. KERB will be partnering with Two Tribes on the bar for some of the finest cold beer.

The Glory

The Glory is East London’s legendary queer bar, drag hothouse, LGBTQIA+ performance venue, nightclub and curators of major events and festivals across the country. Opened in 2014 by iconic London drag queens Jonny Woo and John Sizzle, plus infamous party-starter, and TV director Colin Rothbart, with many of their staff being influential creatives and some of their performers such as Bimini and Crystal, to name but two, end up gracing the UK’s television sets! Not just a pub, The Glory can be found at leading festivals like Glastonbury, Latitude and Mighty Hoopla and regularly features on documentaries and features.

Greenwich+Docklands International Festival

Recently described in the Guardian as “one of the best free festivals in the UK” and an event “whose annual contribution to the happiness of the people of London is unrivalled”, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival is London’s leading free festival of outdoor theatre and arts which takes places in public spaces across the Royal Borough of Greenwich, East London and the City of London each Summer. In 2023 GDIF became the first festival in the UK to be awarded the Platinum level for accessibility by Attitude is Everything, recognising the festivals profound commitment to removing barriers between audiences and arts.

Founded in 1996, GDIF is the flagship annual event produced by FESTIVAL.ORG, one of the UK’s leading outdoor arts producing organisations and charities, renowned for producing ambitious, inclusive and accessible outdoor events in the UK and beyond.

Rambert

What if…

…there was a dance company where brilliant and daring people could show up and be supported to push themselves to move the world forward.

Welcome to Rambert.

We believe that to give brilliant and daring people the chance to inspire others is to give them the power to change the world for the better. As one of the world’s most diverse companies of dancers we transform everyday spaces by making dance that is awe-inspiring, adventurous, dynamic, and relevant, and taking it to our neighbourhood, the nation and the world. We want to hear the most exciting and radical ideas wherever they may come from and connect with brilliant and daring audiences and participants from all backgrounds. Through performances; dance and wellness classes and courses for people of all ages and abilities we want to ensure we are inspiring, engaging and relevant to everyone.

Rambert’s Chief Executive is Helen Shute and Benoit Swan Pouffer is Artistic Director. Rambert is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England.