Forge Festival

With Young People

Forge Festival is The Knotted Project’s most exciting and ambitious project to date. This annual theatre festival, now in it's 4th year, is co-designed with young people empowers creative young people across Cumbria to tell their story and make a statement through original performances that they co-create with professional artists from The Knotted Project. Forge Festival is a free opportunity and open to any young person who wants to take part.

A Creative Generation, Forge Festival 2025

Forge Festival, A Creative Generation is a unique and inspiring programme of creative activity engaging schools, communities, and early career artists in Cumbria. Over 2 years, we aim to nurture a creative generation of young people, ready to have their voices heard and create change through the power of theatre.

What’s to come in 2025?

Now in its fourth year, Forge Festival will return to Windermere Jetty Museum on Saturday 26th April 2025 and will include performances from young people from across the region.

In 2025, three performance companies have worked co-creatively with The Knotted Project to create original performances for the festival through a range of art forms in response to theme “Life through a lens- Young people in 2025.” Our young companies include, Young people from Furness Academy in Barrow, Young Carers from Carer Support South Lakes and Young performers from Brewery Youth Theatre. The groups have also created an original film centred around the festival theme for this year.

We have also worked with our Young Producers again to co-produce the festival, ensuring it is young people focused and led.

We have commissioned three new Early Career Artists, Heather- Alice White, Amy Clark and Orla Collier, to create original solo performances for 2025’s festival. As well as the festival, they will embark on a tour to rural venues across the region with a selection of our ECA’s from previous cohorts, developing their work further whilst expanding their reach and networks.

Come and join us on Saturday 26th April at Windermere Jetty Museum to celebrate these amazing young performers!

Tickets are available here: https://lakelandarts.org.uk/events/forge-festival-2025/

Performance Schedule: Saturday 26th April 2025 at Windermere Jetty Museum

10.15am Festival opening performance (all young people)

10.30am – Brewery Youth Theatre Performance 1

11am – Carer Support South Lakes Performance 1

11.30am – Furness Academy Performance 1

12pm – Early Career Artist 1

12.30pm – Early Career Artist 2

1pm – Early Career Artist 3

1.15pm – 1.45pm – Live music in the boathouse by Tiiva

2pm – Brewery Youth Theatre Performance 2

2.30pm – Carer Support South Lakes Performance 2

3pm – Furness Academy Performance 2

3.30pm – Festival closing performance (all young people)

We have also worked with 3 brilliantly talented school groups this year who will be sharing their performances as part of our Forge Festival Schools day. This year our groups include, Sandgate School Kendal, The Whitehaven Academy and Keswick School.

Forge Festival is supported using public funding by The National Lottery through Arts Council England. It is also supported by exceptional local partners including Lakeland Arts, Brewery Arts, Barrow Full, Rosehill Theatre, Carer Support South Lakes, North Yorkshire Council, Wave Forward and Centre for Social Futures at Lancaster University.

“I felt ownership over it, I could see that my ideas contributed to it. Our ideas have been heard, taken into the planning process and actually used. This was our festival that we put together!”
Youth Advisory Board Participant

Please take a look at our evaluation film short from our first Forge Festival in 2022.

Film by Nick Farrimond

“I thoroughly enjoyed Forge Festival. The performances were polished, and the pieces had clearly been devised with passion. It was a great way to give young people a voice”
Forge Festival Audience Member

Rebuild the Future was co-created by The Knotted Project and young people taking part in Forge Festival 2024, in collaboration with filmmaker Nick Farrimond.

This is young people’s creative response to the idea that throughout time in the past, present and future, humans’ connection to nature is changing and shifting… where will we end up?

Music by Lee Affen, Film by Nick Farrimond

All Forge Festival Photography by Owen Peters