Passport puts young people at the heart of this year’s Ripon Theatre Festival
🎭✨ With Ripon Theatre Festival (RTF) less than a month away, director Katie Scott has brilliant news for the city’s young people.
The eight‑day feast of live entertainment 🎪 across the city’s streets and venues begins on July 5th and includes the Big Family Weekend on July 11th and 12th, which will see free‑to‑attend performances and activities in four zones – Market Place, Kirkgate, Ripon Cathedral and Spa Gardens 🌿.
As a prelude to this year’s landmark fifth festival 🎉, Katie told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon Blog:
“We are embarking on an exciting new partnership project that will place young people at the heart of this summer’s festival, thanks to Cultural Passport for Young People funding.”
Supported by David Skaith, the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, and funded by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority from the Mayoral Investment Fund, the Cultural Passport programme has been developed and managed by City of York Council.
Katie pointed out:
“The Ripon Theatre Festival project will bring together local young people, artists and youth organisations in a vibrant programme of creative activity, which will take place in the run up to July 5th when the eight‑day festival begins.
Delivered in partnership with YMCA Ripon, this initiative creates multiple new opportunities for 11–18 year olds to take part in arts activities, volunteering and live performance in Ripon.”
At the project’s centre is Sound Board, Zest Theatre’s bold and innovative live show 🎤— shaped in real time by young people and audiences. Part performance, part conversation and part game show, Sound Board will be presented at Ripon Theatre Festival on Sunday 12 July as part of the Big Family Weekend.
A team of Youth Hosts 🙌— locally recruited young people — will work alongside Zest Theatre’s professional artists to welcome audiences, lead activities and help shape each performance live in the moment.
Further creative activity, made possible by the funding, will include drop‑in arts sessions 🎨 delivered by Knaresborough‑based collective Yorkshire CREATE. Hosted by YMCA Ripon and open to all young people in the city, these sessions will include mask and prop making, animation and circus skills 🤹♂️.
Yorkshire CREATE artists will also support young people in designing and creating a Youth Chill Out Zone for the festival. Sessions will take place as part of the YMCA Ripon Pop Up Café in Spa Park on Thursdays this half term from 3–5pm.
Lilla Bathurst, Manager of Ripon BID, said:
“It’s fantastic to see Ripon Theatre Festival expanding its offer and putting young people right at the heart of this year’s programme. As a BID, we’re proud to invest in a festival that not only brings footfall and energy into the city, but also creates real opportunities for local young people to develop skills, confidence and creative ambition. This kind of partnership working strengthens Ripon’s cultural identity and delivers long‑term benefits for our businesses and our community.” 🌟
Further information about this year’s festival can be found at Ripon Theatre Festival🌐
Photo credit: Ripon Theatre Festival
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