There’s less than two weeks to go until the 2025 Festival of Wonder kicks off in St Laurence Church, the Stroud Centre for Peace & the Arts in the centre of town.
The Festival of Wonder offers a weekend of spectacular free entertainment allowing all to step back from the busyness of life to enjoy the fun, amazement and simple joy of Wonder.
The festival is completely free to attend except for a very special Gala Evening on Saturday 22nd November featuring internationally known circus and comedy artists. As the only paid performance, this fundraising evening allows guests to ‘pay forward’ thus enabling others to attend the rest of the festival for free.
The Gala Evening provides a more refined and decorous environment, with a free glass of prosecco (or non-alcoholic alternative), yet with all the fun of the circus. It will feature a specially commissioned circus show ‘The Briar & the Bramble’, written and directed by Andy Bewley, with a set design by Tatiana Ozhiganova, and stars the heart-stopping aerial & acrobatic stars of the West End show ‘Come Alive’ Klondi & Yann, champion juggler Gordon Marquez returning to the festival by popular demand, sensational stage magician Marco Cardoso and, for the first time, a live band.
Special guest for the evening will be the UK’s favourite clown, Tweedy, appearing at the festival for one night only. Tweedy will reminisce about his life with the circus, no doubt adding much comedy and fun along the way.
And one of Stroud’s best kept secrets, the incredible singer-songwriter Asha McCarthy, with her guitar and music loops, will perform her unique songs which blend her background in North Indian classical music with Irish folk.
The Gala event will be the only show to provide guaranteed seating and you can choose your seat on the ticketing website. Tickets are available from £20 seated with a small number of standing tickets at £15.
Doors and bar open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Festival producer Phil Coysh says: “Our Gala Evening is a highlight of the festival for many. It provides quality entertainment in a more relaxed and refined environment, people like to ‘pay forward’ to enable the other days of the festival to be free and therefore fully inclusive, and there’s an opportunity to see acts like Tweedy the Clown, who is only performing at the Gala.”
Other performers at the free festival include the Renewal Gospel Choir, School of Larks, Painswick Community Choir, Aimee Rose Bennett, Thomas Trilby and The Magnificent Mr Kai.
There are still a few tickets remaining for the two Relaxed Performances of ‘The Briar and the Bramble’ on Friday 21st at 5pm and 6.45pm – shows specially designed to be accessible for people with sensory sensitivities, autism, learning and physical disabilities or anxiety, with a chill-out space, social story and reduced capacity. For full details of the festival programme and tickets visit www.festivalofwonder.org
