Free international outdoor art and performance events transform iconic Dorset landscapes…
Inside Out Dorset 2025: until Sunday 2st1 September
For ten days this September, the urban, rural and coastal landscapes of Dorset will once again be transformed by live art and performance as the biennial Inside Out Dorset festival returns to the county. From Friday 12 to Sunday 21 September, Inside Out Dorset presents extraordinary events in extraordinary locations including beaches, town centres, hilltops, iconic landmarks and riverbanks – all of it free.
Amongst the events in locations spread across Dorset are the iconic Corfe Castle; the coastal towns of Christchurch and Weymouth; Moors Valley Country Park and Forest; and, for the first time, Yeovil in Somerset are:
River of Hope, a spectacular large-scale installation in Christchurch sees 60 specially-created flags flying on the Quay from 12 to 15 September. Inspired by three local rivers – the Stour, the Avon and the Allen – Artist Heidi Steller and poet Matt West have worked with local young people to respond to the rivers and create flags and poetry.
Films will be shown in a shipping container on the site and there will be accompanying music by Dorset-based rapper and songwriter Isaiah Dreads. This event is the culmination of a national programme focused on climate change and young people’s reflections run by Thames Festival Trust. This is the culmination of River of Hope which has taken place in seven UK locations as well as in France and Ethiopia.
Canopy, the brand new immersive sound-work from Lorna Rees of Gobbledegook Theatre, sees her turn her attention to trees, tree-gazing and the future of our forests. From 13 to 21 September, 24 listening stations resembling giant sci-fi seed pods are suspended in the trees of Forestry England’s Moors Valley Country Park and Forest.
The audience is invited to follow a trail though the forest where each pod houses its own sound world. Lorna has worked with tree specialists, scientists, artists, folk musicians and local communities to consider the questions. What makes a forest? Who is a forest for? The trail becomes a joyful game of finding and listening for all. Canopy premiered at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire in July, produced by OPUS and co-commissioned by Forestry England and Activate.
Thousands of people will throng the streets of Weymouth on 19 and 20 September for the performance Sonnet of Samsara. A collaboration between dance company Attakkalari from Bengaluru, India and UK arts charity Kinetika, dancers from Attakkalari, from Tavazia Dance and Dorset-based Emily Thompson-Smith will be joined by 100 volunteer performers from local youth and community groups and members of the public. The procession starts with the arrival of a boat on the Wey from which the performers disembark, they then follow a giant carnival queen puppet, journeying through the streets to the beach, pausing for dance moments along the way, where hundreds of hand-painted pennants await.
The show ends in a ritual finale, blending Kalarippayattu (Indian Martial Art), contemporary dance, and animated physical gestures, transforming the famous Weymouth beach into a vibrant performance arena. Sonnet of Samsara is part of Kinetika’s Beach of Dreams, a UK-wide coastal arts festival exploring the unique heritage, cultures and futures of our coastlines in the face of the climate emergency. It is also sponsored by We Are Weymouth as part of their Dusk Til Dark programme and the Portland and Weymouth Towns of Culture.
Part of the Corfe Castle weekend on 20 & 21 September is a programme of performance and contemporary circus from Catalonia. These hugely-skilful artists cast their magic around the grassy slopes of this National Trust 1000-year-old icon and at various locations throughout the village.
In Idiòfona, Joan Català is helped by the audience to conjure up a giant musical instrument from strings and iron poles of different lengths, creating cascades of sounds from the vibrations. An ode to the pleasure of shared experience, it’s an odyssey of history, memory, stubbornness and poetry.
Finally, Arrels by Toc de Fusta (below) is a family-friendly participatory installation, a playful experience with 20 interactive games and structures that serve as creative reinterpretations of specific cultural traditions from around the world, sharing not only their essence but also their history and character.
Inside Out Dorset is produced by Activate Performing Arts. A belief that the performing arts are for everyone is at the heart of the organisation’s work – every event at the Festival is free with donations welcomed.
www.insideoutdorset.co.uk
