Event type: Performance

Outer Waves Festival 2026

Liverpool’s underground music and arts festival OUTER WAVES is returning to Liverpool’s North Docks at Invisible Wind Factory and Make CIC on May 23rd & 24th 2026!  Dedicated to experimental, avant-garde, and underground music from across the world, the festival platforms international artists alongside commissioned local talent, with an integrated visual art programme and a programme of events extending beyond the main stages including workshops, artist interviews & panel discussions.

HeadlinersHeadlining the festival are ØXN (feat. Radie Peat of Lankum) and Dame Area, joined by Jarboe (Swans) feat. Thor Harris and Joy Von Spain and the world premiere of HAND TO MOUTH TO — a newly reimagined live performance commissioned by Outlands Network and Full of Noises, collaboratively composed and performed by Keeley Forsyth and long-time collaborator Matthew Bourne.

Final Lineup AdditionsThe final wave of artists joining the bill includes HHY & the Kampala Unit, Elspeth Anne, a Lesser Version, Those Holy feat. Ly Nguyěn, Jacques Malchance, and veve, joining a bill that already includes the incendiary ritual electronics of Lord Spikeheart, the Okinawan-Jamaican dub and traditional fusion of Waq Waq Kingdom, and much more besides.The festival also presents specially commissioned new works from local artists Coby Obi, S. Fearon, Quieting (in partnership with Music Futures), and Tomas Edgar (Dada Fest). The weekend will also feature panel talks, workshops, and afterparties.

Visual Art ProgrammeComplementing the music programme, OUTER WAVES 2026 features an expansive visual art programme transforming the spaces of the North Docks. Works will be presented by Kromavision, Sam Wiehl, Freddy Francke, Jasmine Murphy, and more, bringing immersive and site-specific installations that extend the festival’s sensory world beyond the stage.An International FestivalWith artists travelling from across Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond, OUTER WAVES 2026 is a truly international gathering. The festival’s lineup reflects a genuinely global underground, connecting Liverpool’s North Docks to experimental and avant-garde communities worldwide. Alongside the music and visual art, the festival will present panel talks, workshops, and afterparties across the weekend.

Full Line UpØXN (feat. Radie Peat of Lankum)Dame AreaJarboe (Swans) feat. Thor Harris and Joy Von SpainKeeley Forsyth & Matthew Bourne present HAND TO MOUTH TOHHY & the Kampala UnitElspeth Annea Lesser VersionJacques MalchanceveveLord SpikeheartWaq Waq Kingdoma.P.a.t.TCarmel SmickersgillDale De Saint Paul & Mariam RezaeiDomestic PartnersE the Artist (Nyahh Records)GermanagerGY!PAHAALHedgling (Nyahh Records)HaressKarl D’SilvaLuce MawdsleyMincemeatMohammad Syfkhan (Nyahh Records)MugstarUltan O’Brien (Nyahh Records)Coby Obi *S. Fearon *Quieting *Those Holy feat. Ly Nguyěn *Tomas Edgar (Dada Fest) ** Commissioned local artist

 

Fun for Little Ones: A Tribute to Ms Rachel

The UK’s Ultimate Tribute to the Global Sensation… Ms Rachel! 

Get ready for singing, dancing, giggles and non-stop fun as the magic of Ms Rachel comes to life on stage in an interactive, high-energy live tribute performance made just for little ones and their grownups!

With over 10 billion views and 15 million YouTube subscribers, Ms Rachel is the viral superstar capturing hearts across the world — and now, your little ones can experience this FUN, interactive LIVE on stage performance!

Fun for Little Ones Live is the UK’s only tribute show of its kind, bursting with lively sing-alongs and engaging songs, puppets, characters, and colourful on-screen animations, and audience participation and educational moments.

Whether they’re clapping, dancing, or singing their hearts out, children will be enchanted from start to finish!

Don’t miss your chance to be part of the excitement — families across the UK are raving, and little fans are going wild!

STAGE LEFT

Created in-house at the Unity, this new performance dives into the theatre’s bold and rebellious past. From its roots as Merseyside Left Theatre in the 1930s to the vibrant creative home we inhabit today, A Radical Reimagining brings decades of radical storytelling roaring back to life.

Through dynamic performance, powerful voices, and striking moments from the past, we celebrate a legacy of theatre made for the people. Expect a journey through protest, passion, and creativity, a reminder that this stage has always belonged to those with something to say.

Part of Unity’s Heritage Lottery Funded project.  

Young Radicals

6–6.30pm, 6.45–7.15pm  (& Sat matinee 1.15-1.45)

Step into the future with our Young Radical Theatre Makers as they take the stage in a bold, high-energy ensemble performance, this new generation of artists amplifies the voices of today to ask the urgent questions of tomorrow, a call to listen, to reflect, and to imagine what comes next.

Divided by the ensemble. Directed by Grace Gallagher and Mariana Pires

Part of Unity’s Heritage Lottery Funded project.  

Breaking the Class Ceiling – A Live Exploration of Working Class Artistry (Plus Scratch Open Mic)

Join us for an unflinching, live panel discussion that bridges the gap between Unity’s 1930s ‘Workers’ Theatre’ roots and Liverpool’s contemporary creative scene.

In an era where the ‘class ceiling’ remains a challenging barrier in the arts, how do creatives and radical makers keep momentum? We bring together five Liverpool working-class artists to discuss the politics of the stage, the power of heritage, and the future of working-class storytelling.

Following our headline panel discussion, we’re offering a space for working-class creatives to test new ideas, political rants, or works in progress.

Followed by Radical Scratch Open Mic 5-6.30pm Part of Unity’s Heritage Lottery Funded project.  

WoWFEST 2026: Launch of Buckled: a play by Helen Jeffery

Family, friendship and booze. Drinking to remember. Drinking to forget.How do you navigate sobriety in a world that revolves around drink?

Join playwright Helen Jeffery for the launch of the published playtext of Buckled, released by Salamander Street Press as part of WoWFEST26.

Originally commissioned by Unity Theatre for Up Next Festival and later touring across the North West, Buckled is a darkly funny, deeply human exploration of alcohol dependency and the relationships shaped by it. At once tender and unflinching, it examines the quiet pressures of a culture where there’s always an excuse for another drink.

During this intimate event, Helen will share extracts from the script and take part in a conversation about the play’s creation, development and journey to publication. Copies will be available on the night at a special discounted price.

Trigger warning: Alcohol dependency. Suggested age: 14+

Helen Jeffery is a playwright, poet, performer & director. A graduate of the Liverpool Everyman Playwright’s Programme she has had several plays produced including ‘The Brink’ and ‘Gun Metal Blue,’ a recipient of the Blink.Theatre Award for new writing.

Helen was commissioned by Unity Theatre, Liverpool to create Buckled as part of Up Next Festival 2023. In 2024 and 2025 it toured to several venues in the Northwest including The Atkinson, Southport, The Arts Centre, Edge Hill, 53 Two in Manchester and Unity Theatre, Liverpool.

Helen is currently developing a new play for stage, as well as working as a dramaturg through her company ‘Sober Scribbles.’ More information about this and her other projects can be found here.

Venue: Unity Theatre Bar

 

WoWFEST 2026: Joelle Taylor: Maryville

Joelle Taylor brings a staged reading of her new poetry collection to WOWFest; a searing, poetic excavation of 50 years of lesbian counterculture.

Following-on from her TS Eliot Prize-winning poetry collection C+nto & Othered Poems, Joelle Taylor’s Maryville charts the lives of four butch lesbians through five decades of underground queer history; tracing the culture, clubs and resistance that shaped their world.

With a vividly sketched cast of characters, the Maryville butch bar becomes a lens through which to consider the underground histories of queer London. The violence and pain of oppression and the beauty and intimacy of community are rendered in awe-inspiring high definition.

The performance is directed by acclaimed writer and director Neil Bartlett, with visuals from artist and filmmaker Sweatmother. Maryville explores the scars, hopes and potentialities of dyke identity and the queer underground.

Joelle Taylor is a queer, working class author of six plays, a novel, and four collections of poetry. Her most recent, C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 TS Eliot Prize, the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors, and is currently being adapted for the theatre. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the host and co- curator of Out-Spoken, the UK’s premier poetry and music club, currently resident at the Southbank Centre.

Neil Bartlett’s recent stage work includes Orlando in the West End with Emma Corrin and a live version of Derek Jarman’s film Blue at the Tate Gallery, with Russell Tovey, Travis Alabanza and Joelle Taylor. His most recent novel was the Polari Prize-nominated Address Book.

Sweatmother is an artist and filmmaker based in London, whose moving image work blends performance, self-recorded documentation, internet and archival materials to explore and make visible queer lived experiences.

Joelle Taylor: a staged performance of her new collection MaryvilleDate: Thursday 14th  MayTime: 8pmVenue: The Music Room, Philharmonic Hall Hope St, Liverpool L1 9BP

Piano Concert with Duncan Honeybourne

Duncan Honeybourne, internationally acclaimed concert pianist gives an evening concert of Schumann, Bax, Pott & Chopin, with an interval for refreshments. All ages welcome – tickets are £10 on the door.

 

 

Bowie Experience

 

A must see for all Bowie fans, the latest production features all the hits from A to Ziggy.

Bowie Experience continues to amaze audiences with an astounding attention to detail, bringing the golden years of David Bowie to the stage. So, put on your red shoes and Let’s Dance!

 

An Orchestral Tribute to Tim Burton & Dark Fantasy by Moonlight

 

A spellbinding live concert celebrating the music from cinema’s most whimsical and eerie masterpieces – from Tim Burton’s gothic fantasy films to cult classics of the dark and magical.

75 minutes of spine-tingling, heartwarming, and otherworldly music, performed live by an 18-piece chamber orchestra of first-class, classically trained musicians and evocative live vocals, and featuring unforgettable themes from:

• The Nightmare Before Christmas

• Edward Scissorhands

• Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

• Corpse Bride

• Alice in Wonderland

• Batman

• Beetlejuice

• Sleepy Hollow

• Labyrinth

• Wednesday

• The Addams Family

From the creators of The Best of Hans Zimmer & Film Favourites Illuminated – Customer Reviewed: 4.7 / 5.

This brand-new orchestral journey dives into the magic, mischief, and melancholy of dark fantasy cinema.

Please note: The performance contains strobe lighting

Disclaimer: The Illuminated Orchestra and its events are not affiliated with the films and composers listed. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.