The journey to Re/action Festival 2025 has begun — and we’re thrilled to reveal the first performances joining us in Leicester on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July.
Re/action Festival transforms Leicester’s streets and squares into a playground of ideas, performances and creative encounters that invite us to reconnect with nature and each other. This year’s programme is already shaping up to be our most exciting yet, with a focus on climate action, community creativity and joyful moments of discovery.
We’re proud to welcome the premiere of DIRT! by She Said Jump — a brand-new circus-theatre experience that invites audiences to tumble underground into a vibrant world of worms, wonder and environmental urgency, all through aerial acrobatics and puppetry. It's imaginative, funny and deeply moving.
See giant bees and butterflies parading through the city with Urban Oasis, as we reimagine our urban spaces as havens for insects and wildlife. Neighbourhood Watch Stilts International bring their incredible costumes and planting activities — inspiring everyone to take real steps for biodiversity.
Elsewhere, aerial acrobats will take to the skies (and a human-powered travelator!) in Highly Sprung's Accelerate — an explosive and thrilling performance that questions our energy addiction and looks for a better way forward.
Families will find plenty of magical moments too. The OakMobile — a giant silver acorn created by Talking Birds — offers a beautifully accessible, multisensory storytelling adventure. Inside, the Storyteller and the Robin will share tales of nature, balance and guardianship.
Adding to the weekend’s energy, The Big Swap brings a festival-sized exchange of items, ideas and actions, showing how sharing can help us create a more sustainable future. And Mercurial Dance’s Sign Spinning will take over the streets with brilliant, high-energy performances that reframe the language of urban advertising into something altogether more joyful and rebellious.
And that’s just the beginning. With the Passing it On Exhibition and the Nirvana FC documentary highlighting local stories of pride, resilience and sport, and many more creative projects still to be announced, Re/action Festival 2025 promises a weekend full of possibility.
Stay tuned for more announcements and start planning your visit at reactionfestival.org.uk.
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Also check out other Festivals in Leicester, Sports events in Leicester, Exhibitions in Leicester.
