Red Ladder’s production of The Damned United, about Brian Clough’s tempestuous time at Leeds United – made famous by the 2009 film starring Michael Sheen – is among the highlights at the first Ripon Theatre Festival.

The radical Leeds-based theatre company captures the feeling of incredulity, dismay, anger and disgust felt in 1974 and beyond, by Leeds fans and players alike, after Clough – who described the team as cheats – was surprisingly appointed manager.

He only lasted 44 days at Elland Road, but went on to greater things at Nottingham Forest, winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.

Tickets for a number of events at the festival, which takes place at indoor and outdoor venues around the city from June 23 to 26, are now on sale.

Lempen Puppet Theatre are among the family-friendly performers at the festival.

Other highlights include open-air theatre specialists Illyria, whose production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, will be staged in the cloisters at Fountains Abbey.

Ripon’s refurbished Arts Hub, with its newly-installed wheelchair lift, will play host to visits from two North Yorkshire-based touring companies, Fell-Foss Theatre and Pyramus & Thisbe Productions.

Fell-Foss will present Crusoe’s Island – described as “one man’s story of shipwreck, solitude and salvation”  as the festival’s opening night show.

A scene from Fell Foss Theatre’s production of Crusoe’s Island

Pyramus and Thisbe will be reviving their Holmes and Watson The Farewell Tour as a comic Sunday lunchtime treat.

Family-focused entertainment

Children and families will be spoilt for choice across the whole weekend.

Ripon Library will welcome back Hoglets Theatre with a twilight show for children, who are invited to come dressed for bed and to enjoy a gentle bed-time adventure with The Sleep Pirates show.

Story Craft Theatre from York also take over the library for an afternoon of crafty tales around the Heading into Space theme.

Puppetry and theatre for families feature heavily on Festival Saturday with back-to-back entertainment both indoors and outdoors across the city.

Skipton-based and internationally-respected Lempen Puppet Theatre take part in an entire day of indoor and outdoor shows and workshops in the Arts Hub, Library and at pop-up open-air locations.

Two more theatre companies with family-focused productions will be in residence in Ripon Spa Gardens for Festival Saturday – Badapple Theatre Company present their Tales from the Great Wood, followed by Strange Twig Theatre Company with Winnie and Warwick’s Magical Menagerie,

These shows sit alongside Punch and Judy puppet shows from Richmond-based Ron Wood and the day kicks off in Spa Gardens with an interactive Musical Bear Hunt for young children.

Festival director Ian Holloway said:

“We are delighted that businesses, local councils and trusts have got behind the festival to a degree that has enabled us to book a wide range of street theatre and “walkabout” acts, helping create a vibe throughout the day.”

Sunday events include pop-up dance theatre from Leeds-based ACCA ColLab to be performed in two café locations and the culmination of a Jubilee-themed living history project at the Ripon Workhouse Museum, before the Festival Finale at Fountains Abbey.

The Ripon Theatre Festival programme also includes pop-up indoor drama, spoken-word and illustrated talk events at the Curzon Cinema, The Little Ripon Bookshop and Ripon Library.

There’s also a puppet-led family trail game around the city centre and on Saturday night, a community revue of sketches and music from local writers and musicians.

The Festival opens on Thursday morning, June 23, with folk fables for grown-ups from “a unique force in storytelling”, Leeds-based Ursula Holden Gill.

A programme of free and affordable events

Sponsorship and local support means that many festival performances are free to watch and prices for ticketed shows have been kept low to encourage residents and visitors to attend multiple events across the weekend.

Ripon Theatre Festival is being organised by a team of community volunteers under its parent charity, The Ripon City Festival Trust.

In addition to main sponsor Wolseley, financial support has been provided by the Ripon BID, Specsavers, Ripon, Elstob & Elstob, MKM, F E Metcalfe along with North Yorkshire County Council, Ripon City Council and the Liz & Terry Bramall Foundation.

Support has also been provided by community groups, including  Ripon Rowels Rotary Club, the Charity Pantomime Group and the Ripon Recycling Fund.

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Arts and community groups from across the city, are coming together to play a role in the new Ripon Theatre Festival

Taking place from June 23 to 26, the festival aims to brighten the open spaces and venues in the city with professional and community performances.

Plans include puppetry, dance, drama, street theatre, storytelling, children’s activities and family shows.

Festival director Ian Holloway and representatives from the organisations that make up the festival team, introduced themselves to an audience of 40 potential participants, volunteers and supporters at a meeting held in Ripon Arts Hub last week.

Festival team members, from the left: Ian Holloway, Tina Salden, Simon Hewitt, Katie Scott and Julia Whitham

The event is being made possible with funding from a growing number of businesses and organisations, including main sponsor Wolseley, which has been a leading employer in the Ripon area for more than half a century.

Family shows are planned for Ripon’s Spa Gardens

Volunteer Co-ordinator, Tina Salden, said:

“There are many roles for volunteers to help out as stewards and marshals or to serve refreshments, look after visiting artists or direct visitors and audiences.

Help is also needed ahead of the Festival with publicity around the region to ensure that the events are enjoyed by as many people as possible.” Anyone who missed the meeting, but who wants to get involved can contact info@ripontheatrefestival.org.