Keeping you up to date around town
Streetlife returns to Bracknell - FREE entertainment!
24/07/06
Bracknell’s street entertainment extravaganza, Streetlife, is back for the summer.
Every Friday and Saturday between 12 noon and 3.30pm, the town centre will be buzzing with activity as more than 30 performers and musicians from around the world arrive to entertain shoppers with their unique, unusual, sometimes bizarre but always lively, brand of open-air entertainment.
The six week festival of carnival-style street theatre includes mind-boggling stunts, daring balancing acts, amazing acrobatics, auditory illusions and visual comedy plus lots of uplifting music and dance. Not only will the whole family be enthralled, but quite possibly dancing in the streets too.
It brings a carnival atmosphere to the town, and with so many wonderful and unique acts booked, there’s much more for the family to discover in Bracknell this summer.
Come and enjoy the sunshine at the open-air cafes next to the fountains in Charles Square – or cool down over an iced coffee in the air-conditioned comfort of Princess Square.
Be amazed, be delighted and be part of it – it’s Bracknell’s own mini Mardi-Gras!
On Friday lunchtimes from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, different musical ensembles will be providing the entertainment throughout the town centre and encouraging shoppers to get lively in the streets.
From reggae to jazz, gypsy guitar to Irish folk – there are many different genres to discover.
And every Friday afternoon from 21 July to 25 August by the Bandstand, there will be fun, FREE face painting for the children to complete the carnival feel.
On Saturday 19, Sunday 20 and Saturday 26 – Monday 28 August, our popular Makendoo craft workshops return to Princess Square with a fab ‘Up in the Air’ theme, from balloons to kites and insect shapes to colour in!
And with Bentalls, your favourite high street stores, over 40 independent retailers and plenty of car parking which is free on Sundays and a safe, pedestrianised centre – there’s even more reason to come to Bracknell this summer.
Streetlife is provided by the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership and produced by Simon Chatterton and the South Hill Park Arts Centre.
Streetlife in Bracknell runs every Friday and Saturday from 21 July to 26 August and will be located through out the town centre.
A full list of acts is as follows:
Friday 28th July: Lumii
Straight from New York for one lunchtime only – the maestros of gypsy punk
SATURDAY 29th JULY
Desperate Men: The Miracle Show
Seeking a better life on this blessed soil, an eccentric family of travelling outsiders present their ramshackle road show
Strangelings: Tandem
Be amazed, be surprised as this roving duo bring tomfoolery to town with a magic chest that contains all the stories in the world!
The Laundrettas
The most houseproud act in the world will pamper you senseless
Mangalica
Hungarian hurdy gurdy from the Republika Zaranska
Friday 4th August: Daby Balde
Senegal’s best-kept musical secret
SATURDAY 5th AUGUST
Mimbre: Triptic
Three women present a fast moving mix of acrobatics and performance
Splott Brothers
Musical mayhem and chaotic cabaret from the veterans of vaudeville
Swizzleshaker: Picturehouse
Travel back again to the vintage years of cinema with this vaudeville treat
Dan Fox: HySS
Watch out there’s a sonic guerrilla about causing amazing auditory illusions
Friday 11th August: Gypsy Jazz
Gypsy guitar and hot club Django Rheinhardt-style jazz
SATURDAY 12th AUGUST
Caravan of Desire
An everyday caravan hides a world of comedy and tragedy, loathing and desire and a suburban weekend leads to more than anyone bargained for!
Poles Apart: The Insect Band
Not quite the Beatles but a whole range of larger than life musical insects
Los Kaos: Submarine
They say stranger things happen at sea, and here’s the proof! Having retired from a life beneath the waves Captains Bill and Bob have brought their fantastic yellow submarine.
Jason Maverick
One man show and peripatetic purveyor of magic, mime and madness
Friday 18th August: Luke Daniels
Irish music featuring the prodigious talents of one of the finest accordion players in the country
SATURDAY 19th AUGUST
4×4 Bhangra Dancers
Colour and rhythm from the kings of Indian traditional dance
Larkin’ About: 3 Teds
A tall order for these quiff-sporting crooners whose natural harmonies will brighten your day
Invisible Men
It’s a mission impossible as the men in black make their return
Richard Handley: The Traffic Cop
Good cop or bad cop? Pay up and treat your kids right or you’ll find yourself on the wrong side of the law
Friday 25th August: Hugh Turner
Welcome back Reading’s funk and fusion supremo
SATURAY 26TH AUGUST
Upswing: Voices
Drawing on African tradition and fable, two talented aerialists perform this touching tale of a woman growing up
DNA: Puss in Boots
The roving puppeteers return with this tale of a cat who is too big for his boots
Emmanuel the Magnificent
The return of the master musician and juggler extraordinaire
Fraser Hooper
Everyone’s favourite clown Fraser will even charm the birds out of the trees
