Bitesize Festival | Riverside Studios

Celebrating 50 years of “championing creativity innovation and artistic risk-taking”, Riverside Studios in Hammersmith is putting on its fifth Bitesize Festival, five weeks of theatre, short film, live music and art running until the end of August. 

The programme includes more than 50 shows and events, with a rotating programme of theatre shows from new and exciting creators, something of a mini-Fringe for creatives and enthusiasts alike who are unable to make it to Edinburgh. There is also a Music Day on 15 August, featuring six live acts, and the Bitesize Short Film Festival from 21-23 August. 

The short film festival showcases close to 30 short films, with networking in the Cinema Bar following the screenings on each day.

Throughout the festival, audiences can also enjoy the Bitesize Exhibition, a celebration of contemporary art across multiple mediums, from painting and photography to installation and mixed media. There will be a launch party for the exhibition on 8 August, with music, live installation artwork and networking opportunities.

During press day on 1st August, audiences were treated to an eclectic mix of theatre shows, from stand-up comedy by Joe Haddad in his hard-hitting solo show PalesTEENian, to beautiful suitcase puppetry telling folk stories in DATOU Theatre’s A Fable. 

As well as these, highlights included Mollie May Gorman’s verbatim play Ray, a story about piecing someone back together from the memories left behind after they die. It is in many respects a very ordinary story, the stage littered with the detritus of a life, and that is the point. It is, as Gorman writes in the play “proof that someone’s life, even quietly lived, could show you a way to live too.”

Another standout was Izzy Radford’s Big Dog, a no-holds-barred comedy following sceptical Cambridge graduate Eve as she starts work ghostwriting true crime scripts for a ‘celebrity’ podcaster. This taut and confronting piece delves into the dark side of influencer culture and true crime, while also having recognisable moments for anyone who has ever worked in an office in the modern era.

Still to come are an array of new musicals such as Lifeguards: The Musical and Jukebox The Musical, solo shows such as Too Small To Tell and How Can a Body Withstand This? and diverse offering ranging from improvisation (The Saboteur) to dance comedy (Take A Seat) to “live guerrilla radio broadcast” (Kingdom of Ghosts). But whatever your preference, the sheer range of programming on offer ensures there will be something to suit all tastes. 

Bitesize Festival runs at Riverside Studios until 30th August. For more information and tickets, follow the link here.