Free events in Lyric Square begin this week with The Little Gardener

Hammersmith's annual Summer Festival, promising free events in Lyric Square throughout June and July, begins on Tuesday June 7 with the first production from Lyric in the Square - which also forms part of the borough wide Hf ArtsFest.

Lyric in the Square will be here for an extended six week period, including two new pieces of outdoor theatre commissioned specially by the Lyric -Home and this week's The Little Gardener, which will go on to tour to Latitude Festival, Greenwich & Docklands Festival and Watford Palace Theatre.

In addition to these regular theatre in the square performances, the Lyric is expanding its programme working alongside its Partner organisations to produce a week of professional dance performances with DanceWest and a variety of events showcasing the talents of its young participants across music, dance and theatre performances.

Lyric in the Square is supported by HammersmithLondon.

The Summer Festival's free events also include all the tennis action from Wimbledon, Il Trovatore live fromthe Royal Opera House, picnics and outdoor yoga.

Here's what to expect between now and July 20:

LYRIC IN THE SQUARE

THE LITTLE GARDENER - Tuesday and Wednesday June 7 and 8, 1pm and 5.30m, suitable for children aged three and up.

Based on the book by Emily Hughes A How It Ended Production.
This heart-warming adaptation of Emily Hughes’ popular children’s book The Little Gardener is performed inside a large glass box, containing a real-life garden. Visually inventive theatre company How It Ended tell the story of the little gardener and the garden that meant everything to him. Will you help the little gardener bring his garden to life? This spellbinding show will melt your heart and you might even get your hands dirty too!

HOME - Tuesday 14 June, 1pm and 5.30pm and Wednesday June 15, 1pm and 4pm

A new, daring outdoor circus piece, weaving together slapstick comedy with breath-taking aerial, acrobatic and physical performances to explore what it is to create a ‘home’.

This highly energetic performance of circus combined with theatre, culminates in the creation of an interactive installation exploring the ideas of home and homelessness.

DANCE IN THE SQUARE- Monday to Wednesday June 20 - 22.

Fun and interactive dance performances from DanceWest’s contemporary dance classes.

LYRIC PARTNERS IN THE SQUARE - Monday to Wednesday July 11 - 13.

Enjoy a variety of exciting performances from Lyric Partners. Featuring Musiko Musika’s ECCO London Youth Orchestra, Lyric Young Company’s 7-9 Acting up group, DanceWest, Tri-borough Music Hub and the New English Ballet Theatre. It is not to be missed and suitable for all.

WIMBLEDON

Pull up a deckchair and watch as all the drama from SW19 unfolds live on the HammersmithLondon Big Screen, broadcasting all the action from the Wimbledon Tennis Championships from Monday, June 29 to Sunday July 12.  Coverage will be shown from 12noon - 8pm.

YOGA IN THE SQUARE

Lumi Power Yoga are also returning to lead Yoga in the Square on Wednesday lunchtimes between June 29 and July 13, so don’t be shy, join in with the downward-facing dogs on Lyric Square (or just come and find out more about yoga, it’s up to you).

IL TROVATORE LIVE FROM THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

Don’t miss Il Trovatore  on the Big Screen live from the Royal Opera House on Thursday July 14. Sit back in Lyric Square to savour Verdi’s gripping masterpiece, packed with powerful arias and thrilling choruses, including the famous and instantly recognizable ‘Anvil Chorus’.  Bring your own drinks and picnic dinner and enjoy this visually powerful production from the comfort of a deckchair.

PICNIC IN THE SQUARE

Picnic in the Square will be back from July 11-13 and 18- 20, between 12noon and 3pm. Unwind during your lunchtime by sitting outside in the fresh air. Come and soak up the sun in the HammersmithLondon deckchairs, or join others over lunch at the giant 20ft picnic tables.

LONDON FESTIVAL OF ARCHITECTURE

During this year's London Festival of Architecture HammersmithLondon is asking budding artists, young visionaries, designers and architects to enter an Ideas Competition and show how they would 'Imagine Hammersmith.' The aim of the competition is to attract creative and interesting ideas and there is a cash  prize on offer. Find out more here .

June 5, 2016