Woolwich Works, London’s new arts venue recently named Time Out’s ‘best new spot for culture’, is hosting the first ever Woolwich Words & Sounds.
Brand new for 2022, the festival will bring the riverside alive with an eclectic line-up spanning live music, stand-up comedy and spoken word. There’s something for the whole family across multiple artforms and genres, featuring established names and emerging artists across the venue’s variety of spaces.
Alongside the performances there will be street food stalls and a pop-up bar in their sunlit courtyard, the Workers’ Yard. Giving audiences a flavour of what the year-round Woolwich Works programme has to offer, there isn’t a better way to spend a summer afternoon or evening by the river!
Comedy comes from television’s own Jamali Maddix (Taskmaster, Channel 4; Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Sky) who is bringing Fern Brady (The Russell Howard Hour, Sky) and Alfie Brown (Imagination, UK & European tour) along with other special guests for an unmissable night this July. Also bringing laughter to Woolwich Works is Jayde Adams (Snackmasters, Channel 4; Good Omens, Amazon Prime), alongside Sindhu Vee (QI, BBC; Sex Education, Netflix) and a VERY special guest!
The music programme features an eclectic mix of styles and sounds. Audiences can enjoy the genre-defying Penguin Cafe as they celebrate the re-release of their first album A Matter of Life…, dreamy electronica from Laura Misch and soul from singer-songwriter Jake Isaac. Virtuoso Reuben James also brings his jazz techniques and soulful, evocative voice to the season along with special guests, and Norman Jay MBE, of Rare Groove fame, teams up with Lovers Rock producer extraordinaire Dennis Bovell to bring the sounds of their finest grooves and deepest cuts to Woolwich Works’ dancefloor.
American jazz legend Bob Mintzer brings his big band compositions to life with the brilliant National Youth Jazz Orchestra along with and Alice Russell (Here Lies Love, Todomundo/Nonesuch) takes to the stage to with her powerful soul voice. Sam Lee and Soumik Datta also co-headline a night of music, bringing together Lee’s unique role in the British music scene and Datta’s skillset as a composer, producer, bandleader and TV presenter.
Get swept away by the spoken word programme, including works from Sophia Thakur (Superheroes, Somebody Give This Heart a Pen) and Anthony Anaxagorou (After the Formalities, How To…Write It) as they both host performance nights with some of the best and brightest talents.
CEO of Woolwich Works James Heaton comments, Woolwich Works naturally lends itself to festival-style programming with so many great spaces of all sorts of different shapes and sizes. With a strong line-up for Woolwich Words & Sounds and loads of different things to see, do, eat and drink, I hope we’ll persuade people from all over London to come down for the day and discover what an exciting, creative destination Woolwich has become. It’s the place to be at the moment – there’s a real buzz about it!
The captivating festival artwork has been created by illustrator Margaux Carpentier. To book the above events and to read more about the further events on offer, click here.
