Out of the Ordinary goings-on planned as street festival heads for Cambridge
A free street arts festival is coming to Cambridge city centre this weekend.
Called Out of the Ordinary, it will run from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday (August 26-27) and feature music, dance, magic, puppets and more. The new event has been organised by the city council and is supported by Cambridge BID.
One of those appearing will be Joanna Peacock (joannapeacock.com), who will perform her Viking Legacy show at three different times on Saturday (11-11.30am, 12.45-1.15pm and 2.30-3pm).
Her performance will involve wearing a Viking king costume she designed and built and parading – on stilts – from the Corn Exchange to Peas Hill, Market Hill, Sidney Street, Petty Cury, Guildhall Street and back to the Corn Exchange.
Joanna, who previously studied sculpture in New Zealand, said: “I was researching local Viking stories of Suffolk and Essex, where I grew up and live, and read about a local legend from Haverhill.
“He was meant to be an actual Viking in history, and he went on to have hundreds of children. So he had his own legacy – that’s basically what inspired my performance.
“I wanted it to be really natural and organic, and I like using as much reclaimed, repurposed fabrics and materials as possible.
“So the Viking’s made of wicker and hessian that I found in my grandfather’s shed when they were clearing it out. This ancient fabric came into use, which I’m really pleased about. And his eyes are made of pāua shells, from New Zealand.”
Joanna, who has also performed at the Secret Garden Party in Huntingdon, will be taking part on the Sunday too, dressed as an octopus queen.
“I trained as a sculptor and I approach the costume-making as sculptures,” she explained, “and then I have to wear it and it takes what it takes to build it – lots of metal – and often proves to be quite uncomfortable.”
Joanna has also trained in singing, dance, acting, acrobatics and has even had clown training. “Over the years I just keep adding on to whatever interests me,” she said.
Cllr Mairéad Healy, executive councillor for communities at Cambridge City Council, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing the Out of the Ordinary street arts festival to Cambridge for the first time over the August bank holiday weekend.
“An array of outdoor arts will transform the historic streets of Cambridge, filling them with energy, excitement and colour as they become stages for artists and street performers, dazzling passers-by with extraordinary feats of imagination and physical theatre.”
For more information, visit bit.ly/3KOsBpi.
