Festival Friends’ Priority Booking Opens: Monday 29 July, 11am

General Booking Opens: Monday 12 August, 11am

Canterbury Festival returns from 19 October – 2 November, celebrating our 40^th birthday with a brilliant array of exciting events. Presenting a stacked programme, the Festival celebrates four decades of culture with music, theatre, comedy, talks, science, family shows and much more. Showcasing local acts alongside international touring artists and companies, this year’s Festival is packed full of unique experiences to share with friends and family, bringing colour and energy to the city this autumn.

The celebrations begin on Festival Eve with the Festival’s 40^th Birthday Party taking place at the Festival Club at Westgate Hall. Don’t miss an evening of cabaret, comedy and music as Canterbury comes together to celebrate this momentous milestone.

Tenebrae: Path of Miracles

Then on Saturday 19 October we hit the ground running with the return of the community music celebration Beautiful Noise, across the city centre. In the evening Tenebrae perform Joby Talbot’s modern masterpiece Path of Miracles in the beautiful setting of Canterbury Cathedral. Meanwhile indie-pop troubadours The Feeling take to the stage for an intimate concert at the Great Hall and blues legend Lil’ Jimmy Reed heats things up at the Festival Club.

The Feeling

Over the following two weeks the Festival presents a months’ worth of gigs, concerts and recitals. After 45 years on the road, the legendary Canterbury-formed Oysterband and June Tabor take to the stage to bid farewell in style and The Shires visit the city for an intimate acoustic concert as part of The Two of Us Tour.

Secret Byrd is an immersive concert and theatre piece taking place in Canterbury Cathedral’s Eastern Crypt. Performed by The Gesualdo Six and Fretwork, audiences rove freely, becoming part of the composer’s story as a secret Catholic Mass takes place by candlelight during the Reformation.

Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason

Don’t miss visits by the exceptionally talented Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, the BBC Big Band with a swinging celebration of Gershwin, Canterbury Choral Society who close the Cathedral series with Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, while the Alabama 3 bring their raucous acoustic sound to the final night at the Festival Club.

Across the Festival other highlights include Open Water, Brazilian guitarist and Classical FM Rising Star Plínio Fernandes, DJ legend Don Letts, the all-singing, all-plucking Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and Los Pacaminos presenting a Tex Mex party night.

This year’s Performance line-up welcomes Irish comedian Keith Farnan, 5-star cabaret comedy group Flat and the Curves, Guru Dudu with a high-energy Silent Disco Tour of the city, and America’s Got Talent winnerand Las Vegas resident artist Tape Face flies into town.

The Tape Face Show

The Comedy Store Players hit the stage with improv from the original stars of Whose Line is it Anyway, and there’s even a stand-up matinee for new parents with Bring Your Own Baby.

Theatre lovers can enjoy a clowning exploration of Hamlet in Alas! Poor Yorick. by Ridiculusmusand a riotous, improvised parody of Blyton’s back-catalogue with Bumper Blyton. In Best Man an improvised wedding speech spirals wildly and hilariously out of control. Another must is One Way Out, a powerful drama exploring young British Caribbeans’ experiences of the Windrush crisis.

One Way Out

Hailed as ‘one of Kent’s greatest secrets’, Ginger Bennett presents an evening of topical song and spoken word, and the incredible Mat Ricardo will blow you away with his unbelievable mix of circus, comedy, magic and shenanigans!

This year’s Talks series welcomes speakers on history, health, politics and much more. Highlights include a discussion on dementia between Kieth Oliver and Reinhard Guss, Geopolitics expert Tim Marshall on the exploration and exploitation of space, Bettany Hughes on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Dave Parker on the life behind H.G. Wells, and Frances Tophill on making the most of your garden space.

Bettany Hughes: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Science series begins with the Kent College Lecture, presenting Luca Viganò with Fairy Tales, Cybersecurity and AI. Then continues with retired Head of Forensic Investigation at Scotland Yard, David Tadd; wildlife inspector David Roberts discusses the challenges of identifying and tracking down illegal wildlife traffickers; Maggie Aderin-Pocock answers questions about the night sky in The Story of the Solar System; Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger and Patrick McGrath talk about the science of winemaking and The Canterbury Climate Action Partnership reveal the revolutionary project creating natural habitats on 100 farms across East Kent.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock: The Story of the Solar System

The October half term gets underway with clowning comedian Mr Pineapple Head, magician and comedian El Baldiniho, The Extraordinary Time-Traveling Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Edinburgh Fringe hit Mr Sleepybum and the Trash Test Dummies Circus deliver a dump-truck full of hilarity and physical feats in their slapstick show for all ages.

Trash Test Dummies

Throughout the Festival there are lots of ways to get involved in creative activities as part of the Public Engagement programme with events including a stand-up workshop for the over 60s, a Canterbury Youth Orchestra, dance workshops and more.

Following last year’s spectacular event at Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury Festival are delighted to welcome Luxmuralis back with a groundbreaking new light show – Fantastic Tales and Where to Find Them (13-21 Dec). This year’s show will be an outdoor light and sound experience set against the stunning backdrop of St Augustine’s Abbey and The King’s School, transporting visitors back in time to the captivating world of the Anglo-Saxon era.

In addition, the Festival presents an extensive programme of Walks, Visual Arts, Community and Umbrella events and more.

Amanda McKean, Interim Festival Director said:
“2024 is an exciting year for Canterbury Festival as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary. I’ve been delighted to bridge the gap between Festival Directors this year and have been working hard to bring you a programme that has something for all tastes. A Festival is nothing without its supporters and I would like to say a huge thank you to our Partner and Principal Sponsor, our Headline Sponsors, Event Sponsors, Corporate Members, Festival Patrons, and Friends and of course, you, our audience who come out in droves to support your Festival.”

As an independent charity, the Festival would like to thank the loyal support of their sponsors, funders, members, volunteers and audiences – without whom this year’s events would not be possible. They are delighted to share that Paul Roberts Canterbury is this year’s Partner and Principal Sponsor, Paul Roberts said:

“Since its reinvention in 1984, the Canterbury Festival has delivered a contemporary programme of the arts worthy of a city famed for its rich contribution to European culture. Today’s Festival – international, inclusive and innovative – is as vibrant and forward-looking as ever. Paul Roberts Canterbury is particularly delighted by its breadth. Over a fortnight of events, young and old from all walks of life are sure to find something to gladden the heart. It is this that makes the Canterbury Festival a key feature of the British festival calendar.”

The Festival would also like to thank the generous support of Headline Sponsors Kent College, Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Kent and new this year Craven Street Wealth, and over 27 other businesses across the Canterbury community. Canterbury Festival are truly grateful for their backing and encouragement.

You can explore the full programme by visiting our What’s On pages, downloading our online brochure or picking up a copy of our physical brochure from the Festival Office, 8 Orange Street, Canterbury CT1 2JA.