Holt Arts Festival

The Holt Festival will return on Saturday 13th July 2024. The festival is an annual arts festival, which comprises a range of events, from food and theatre to music, fine art and more

“A visit to Holt Festival begins with the visual impact of a lovely Georgian town with special character. From comedy to cuisine, politics to pop Holt Festival brings you the best in music, theatre, fine art and the spoken word in a glorious celebration of the arts.

There are venues all over town, in pubs and hotels, in tents and school halls. There are performances at the church, the Auden Theatre, in the bookshop, and the magnificent open-air Theatre in the Woods.

The opening night is  Saturday 13th July and there will be a variety of performances throughout the rest of the week at different venues in Holt. The festival truly offers something for everyone with a varied seven-day programme of superb music, comedy, talks, poetry, and drama to enjoy!

Highlights this year include the celebrated singer and actress, Barbara Dickson, giving a special acoustic performance of her songs at an intimate level. Nigel Planer, known from the 1980s TV series ‘The Young Ones’ and ‘The Comic Strip Presents’, will be in conversation about his time at the center of ‘Alternative Comedy’ and his recent writing. The festival will also feature a Derek Jarman day, celebrating the life of this hugely talented man in all its many facets.

Other treats include Rosemary Ashe, a leading figure of West End musical theatre, who brings her unique take on Ethel Merman and Dora Bryan in two unforgettable performances. There will also be folk music with The Shackleton Trio and some of the finest classical music performances, including The Piatti Quartet with a programme of Brahms and Schoenberg, as well as a truly magical performance of Baroque music with soprano Grace Davidson, saxophonist Christian Forshaw, and flautist Andrew Findon in St Andrew’s Church, Holt.

On the final Saturday, the festival will be thrilled to welcome the legendary rock band The Zombies to close the Festival on the Stage on the Field, playing their hits including ‘She’s Not There’ and the worldwide chart-topping single ‘Time of the Season’.

After the tremendous success of the Craxton-Picasso art exhibition in 2022, which attracted over 5,000 visitors, this year the festival presents the German Expressionists & The Third Reich, featuring works by some of the artists deemed as ‘degenerate’ by Hitler. This theme will be mirrored in some of the musical entertainment at the festival, including an evening of Berliner cabaret. Additionally, the festival will host the annual Sir John Hurt, Sworders, and Charlotte Fraser art prize exhibitions and an art outreach programme, which this year involves over 1,500 children from local schools.

Other festival highlights include celebrated writer, Sarah Perry, who will talk about her much-anticipated new novel ‘Enlightenment’. The hugely popular comedy night returns with The Red Card Comedy Club, and there will be a free family afternoon of entertainment with Maynard Flip Flap and friends.

If you are looking for a quiet time in the countryside, this is not it. If you’re looking for cultural nourishment, some belly laughs, and the pleasure of seeing some top-flight internationally recognised performers, you’re in the right place.

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