This July, Certain Blacks presents Ensemble Festival 2026 in London’s historic Royal Victoria Docks. Now in its seventh edition, the free outdoor celebration of circus, dance, and theatre returns for two full days of bold, joyful and thought-provoking work, suitable for all ages.
This year’s programme explores identity, ritual, ecology, and collective experience through a dynamic mix of dance, music theatre, circus, and physical storytelling. Highlights include Fragments of Us from Talawa Theatre in collaboration with contemporary dance company FUBUNATION and award-winning artist Sonia Hughes, a dance and spoken word performance exploring ancestry, belonging, and shared experiences. Garbh by Shyam Dattani and Mira Salat reimagines Gujarati folk dance Garba through contemporary choreography and visually rich design, while ElevateHer by Daughters of the Wire celebrates female camaraderie and empowerment through wire walking performance.
Nigel “Kobby” Taylor’s The Torch blends Afrobeat, hip-hop, rap and storytelling into performance with music about identity, legacy and discovering one’s own light. Ferdinando + Bernstein’s Stick and Stone brings audiences together through physical comedy and visual imagery in a playful and poignant reflection on nature, ecological crisis, and reconnection.
The programme also includes Balance by Brainfools, a contemporary circus piece using found objects, theatre and acrobatics to reflect on pub culture, and Captain C-Man by Cormac Mohally, a juggling and circus show for all ages.
Ensemble also showcases a selection of performances from Catalan artists. These include U.F.A by Cris Clown, a public space installation centred around a clown suspended in the middle of the street; Domte by Nacho Flores, a poetic street circus duet inspired by mythology and transformation and Water Silhouettes by Teatro en Movimiento Callejerx, a participatory performance exploring water scarcity through a symbolic language.
Following recent funding awarded through Arts Council England’s Creative Foundations Fund, Certain Blacks will invest in environmentally conscious and sustainable infrastructure to deliver a more accessible festival. As well, Ensemble Festival 2026 features work supported through Without Walls, the national network championing outdoor arts across England.
Clive Lyttle, Artistic Director of Certain Blacks says: “I was recently asked by a group of young Black men where I was from – ‘Are you from Somalia? No. Are you from Jamaica? No. So you think you are British? Why? You aren’t from here?’ – ‘I was born in Lewisham Hospital; the same place my mum worked all her life and where she died so, this is where I’m from.’ The work in the festival touches on this conversation of identity and what it is to be diverse, or different or care about the world. It’s a pleasure to present work from artists that engage with these themes and we are grateful for the support of our funders, community and friends, which enable us to keep telling these stories”
More information about the Ensemble Festival 2026 line-up:
Talawa Theatre, FUBUNATION and Sonia Hughes – Fragments of Us – Centred around a cast of Black boys and men, the work unfolds using fluid movement, rhythmic expression and personal storytelling, revealing snapshots of their lives, joys, struggles, love and loss. Through spontaneous audience interactions and immersive staging, the show creates a dialogue between the individual and the collective, celebrating the richness of shared experience. Supported by Without Walls. Original commission support by Greenwich+Docklands International Festival.
Shyam Dattani and Mira Salat – Garbh An in-the-round piece reimagining the ancient Gujarati Folk Dance ‘Garba’, Garbh (womb) gives voice to this underrepresented ancestral form via choreography, sound and installation. The work honours divine feminine energy ‘Shakti’, transporting audiences through life’s cycles in a soulful experience that speaks to human connection and ecological renewal. Supported by Without Walls. Commissioned by Richmond Arts & Ideas Festival 2025 and Co-produced by Pagrav Dance Company with funding from Arts Council England.
Daughters of the Wire – ElevateHer An uplifting, all-female, wire walking spectacle performed across interconnected multi-level wires. Blending circus, music, spoken word, and movement, the show follows six performers sharing stories of strength, beauty, defiance and sisterhood. Created by circus company Daughters of the Wire, the performance joyously celebrates female empowerment and gender equality in circus arts. Commissioned by Certain Blacks; supported by Without Walls and Arts Council Project Grant.
Nigel “Kobby” Taylor – The Torch Powered by live DJ decks and synths, the cast multi-task as musicians and actors, slip between characters and the band. Via Afrobeat, hip hop, storytelling and comedy, this work also touches on heartbreak and displacement with its beat-driven narrative. Supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Certain Blacks, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Freedom Festival, Stockton International Riverside Festival and Brighton Festival.
Ferdinando + Bernstein – Stick and Stone Flick Ferdinando and David Bernstein use physical comedy and visual imagery to confront the loss of all wild things. With their signature style of play and idiocy, they invite the citizens of this place to discover the simplicity of a stick and a stone. Stick and Stone is a call to make nature great again, to be guided back to the woods, hold stones and experience the mountain and the shoreline. Supported by Without Walls and commissioned by Certain Blacks, Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Brighton Festival, Activate/Inside Out Dorset and Stockton International Riverside Festival.
Brainfools – Balance Using beer kegs, bottles, and planks, two strangers turn a dusty cellar into a high-energy acrobatic playground. An uplifting acrobatic spectacle devised to charm and energise audiences. Co-produced by Hoxton Hall.
Cormac Mohally – Captain C-Man A juggling and circus show for all ages with Cormac, also known as Captain C-Man, a street performer on a mission to share his juggling skills and passion for circus with everyone. The show invites audiences to clap, cheer, and help Cormac achieve ‘the greatest and most dangerous juggling trick in the universe’.
Cris Clown – U.F.A. Unidentified Flying Object (In Female) features a clown suspended in the middle of public space, interrupting the everyday with absurdity and surprise. Through improvisation and playful audience interaction, the work transforms urban environments into sites of surprise and humour.
Nacho Flores – Domte A contemporary street circus duo with a poetic and visual piece contrasting domination with collaboration. With live music and inspired by a mythological imagination, the piece traces a dreamlike journey riding minotaurs towards a delirious freedom with the participation of the audience. With Nacho Flores as a modern-day Don Quixote, Domte explores the ways we relate to public space.
Teatro en Movimiento Callejerx – Water Silhouettes A multidisciplinary street theatre performance exploring water scarcity and social issues through poetic, participatory and sensory storytelling. Set in a dystopian world, the piece combines sound, visual imagery, testimony and fiction to invite audiences into a thought-provoking experience.
For full details of all events, including performance times and precise locations, please visit www.certainblacks.com
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