Liverpool physical theatre festival
- Paul Genty
- 2 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Liverpool’s week-long Physical Fest - an international festival of contemporary physical theatre - celebrates exciting visual and movement-based performance.
This year's celebration brings bold new work from across the globe to the north for the first time, and is produced by Tmesis Theatre - a female-led company from Merseyside, with a diverse international ensemble, passionate about physical theatre.
As part of the vibrant seven-day schedule of performances, workshops and events, Tmesis will also be sharing a first-look at their new show, Demonology - a collaboration with acclaimed Liverpool-based writer Lizzie Nunnery, set in in a remote village in 1590.
Launching on September 7, Physical Fest 2026 will occupy Liverpool's home of radical theatre - the Unity - for a week of performances, while workshops, talks & debates will take place at Arts Bar Studios in Hope Street.
Established in 2005, Physical Fest is one of only two dedicated physical theatre festivals in the UK and attracts participants from all over the world with its diverse programme.
Performances begin on September 8 with performer and theatre-maker Peta Lilly's Ungirlfriended, as wannabe woke "cis-het-straight-white-man" Parker Dee battles back from heartbreak with quirky takes on pop standards and witty original songs.
The following night brings Japanese visual artist Izumi Ashizawa to the Unity stage for Kurogo Me, Together! - a piece of participatory performance art where the audience is invited to make the performer “invisible” by putting on the Kurogo costume pieces.
Thursday sees a Double Bill of Clowning, while on Friday local playwright Lizzie Nunnery and Tmesis Theatre themselves present Demonology - a powerful new exploration of the stories we inherit and the ones we tell, set in in a remote village in 1590 beset by witches.
The programme at Unity is brought to a fitting close on September 12 with a double bill of pioneering physical theatre shows - a kinetic, cinematic storytelling performance from Zoe McWhinney, Upon A Stale Sun; followed by Pessadilla, a visually striking fusion of dance, circus and physical theatre choreographed by Italo-Belgian choreographer Piergiorgio Milano, that follows an ordinary man trapped inside his own dreams, desperately fighting to stay awake.
Running concurrently is Physical Fest's pro-gramme of Learning and Participation, taking place at the Arts Bar Studios in Hope Street and packed with energy, mischief and world-class talent.
This year’s line-up invites artists to get stuck in, take risks and rediscover the joy of physical performance. This is also a chance to train, play and connect with some of the most exciting practitioners around. See the link for the workshops programme
Full programme info here
