Produced by The Stables every two years, the International Festival transforms Milton Keynes city centre and green spaces, creating unforgettable experiences for residents and visitors alike.
This year the Festival will have two main locations: Festival Central in Campbell Park, with The Spiegeltent, Acoustic Stage, installations, bars and food, pop-ups, and free and family events; a Circus Hub in Middleton Hall, centre:mk to mark 250 years of circus.
The Stables in Wavendon and Milton Keynes Theatre will both be hosting events for the very first time… though people will see the venues used in unusual ways.
Among this year’s highlights are the first English performances of Wind Resistance, a solo show created and performed by multi-award-winning singer-songwriter Karine Polwart, at The Stables (July 26-28).
Wind Resistance is a spellbinding blend of song and story and a meditation on the moorland and wildlife of Polwart’s Midlothian home. A runaway hit at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2016, it was nominated for Best New Play, Best Production, Best Director and was Winner of Best Music & Sound at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland 2017.
Karine has also been nominated as Folk Singer of the Year and Best Album for A Pocket of Wind Resistance in the BBC2 Folk Awards 2018, to be announced in April.
The exotic Spiegeltent has been a hit since its first outing in 2010 and will again serve up the best in music, comedy, kids’ events and cabaret throughout the ten days of the Festival.
- The Puppini Sisters and their brilliantly reworking of modern pop songs as vintage swing (July 20);
- Australian circus stars Casus and their explosive show Driftwood witha dazzling display of choreography, acrobatics, trapeze and aerial stunts (July 20-22);
- A one-off gig from the exciting eclectic funk-soul band Brothers Strut (July 21);
- Comedians Mark Watson (July 22) and Tom Allen (July 27);
- Bedfordshire 6-piece CC Smugglers (July 24);
- Pioneering folk powerhouse Eliza Carthy & The Wayward Band, nominated for Best Group and Best Album in the BBC2 Folk Awards 2018 (July 25);
- Newton Faulkner with a breath-taking, rule-breaking, genre-hopping collection of songs (July 26);
- The Gilded Lili Review’s mix of comedy, magic, burlesque and music (July 27-28);
- Tex Mex border music from Los Pacaminos featuring one of Britain’s best-loved vocalists Paul Young (July 28);
- The Celilidh Liberation Front (July 29).
Family Focus events will run throughout the Festival with Spiegeltent highlights including Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco Dance Hall (July 28) and Comedy Club 4 Kids presenting two shows, one with Simple Politics called How Does This Politics Thing Work Then? (July 29)
For more details, vsit www.ifmiltonkeynes.org
