Big ambitions for the Little Festival of Everything

The 17^th Century Fauconberg Arms pub in Coxwold in North Yorkshire is soon to play host to over 100 acts ranging from magicians, storytellers to singers and performers. The ‘Little Festival of Everything’ is being organised by local theatre company, The Flanagan Collective, spearheaded by Alexander Wright, whose performing arts experience has been with Belt Up Theatre and the York Theatre Royal.

Originally from Coxwold, he was keen to create a new business model for a rural arts festival, where performers could try out new work in a country retreat and the audience could participate, watch and enjoy the experience for free. All the performers will receive expenses that will be covered by sponsorship, but they have all agreed to come to this first festival without an additional fee as they will use the experience as a testing ground for new work, and have a lovely weekend in a beautiful setting with like minded peers. The festival is an opportunity to showcase new material, all of which will be streamed live by Pilot Theatre so the whole world can watch.

The residents of Coxwold have offered their spare rooms and will be hosting the performers for the weekend. This allows the whole festival to be free for audiences, and although some events will be ticketed for capacity, it is hoped that families, visitors and locals will experience many events across the weekend. The acts will be performing in and around the premises of The Fauconberg Arms, and the free entry is a very important objective as it fits in with the general atmosphere of being in a pub. People can spend as long as they want there, eating and drinking at any time as the pub will abandon regular meal times and will instead serve platters of local food throughout the day. Simon Rheinberg, proprietor of the pub, underlines the importance of doing something completely different, as many UK public houses struggle to survive the ongoing credit crunch: “We want to build on our success and reputation and by programming arts events with The Flanagan Collective we will attract new visitors to Coxwold. We are looking forward to welcoming them alongside our locals for this exciting weekend. We see it as a great opportunity to bring artists, residents and visitors together to drink, eat and be entertained.” With some of the best artists from across the country attending, including dance company Rash Dash and award-winning cabaret artist Damsel Sophie, it is hoped the event will soon be a stand-out element of art parties across the UK.

The festival is set to be a regular edition to both the pub- and theatre-lover’s diary. Plans for a summer shindig are already in motion, with whispers of Shakespeare in the garden and parties in the street. Organisers are hoping the festival will be the cornerstone of a longer-term collaboration between The Fauconberg Arms and The Flanagan Collective, with the event becoming an important fixture in the calendar of the modern British arts scene.