Future Ritual has announced the full programme for the second edition of CEREMONY, its festival of performance art, which returns to Peckham from 25 to 29 November 2026.
Taking place across Copeland Park and Bussey Building, the festival brings together an international and intergenerational line-up of artists, exploring themes of ritual, mystery, identity and connection.
Curated by Joseph Morgan Schofield, this year’s festival considers “the ways queers, migrants and others who inhabit the outsides and undersides have tended to mystery, ritual and connection in the shadow of empire and industry”.
The programme includes the world premiere of Ron Athey’s Asclepeion, a large-scale work inspired by ancient Greek mysteries. Five years in the making, the performance runs on 27 and 28 November and features collaborators Hermes Pittakos, Myrgon and Carmina Escobar.
The festival opens on 25 November with Pianka Pärna’s Curtain Call, a live art ballet featuring performers Wet Mess, Nando Messias and Claudia Palazzo, accompanied by a live score from Leo Chapman. The same evening also features Paul Regan’s All Over [2].
Other highlights include Mal Parry’s Every Law a Tattoo, which responds to legislative hostility towards queer and trans communities, and Eoin McCaul and Dilan Kumar’s sensory collaboration TAIBHSE [Ghost].
Julia Bardsley will present the new durational installation and performance #2:aNALOGUE Abyss iGNITION, while Argentinian artist Tiziano Cruz returns to the UK with a performance lecture examining the experiences of Indigenous Argentinians.
The programme also features Katherine Meynell’s dead bird & fallen angels, n:u (melissandre varin)’s FREE(HOLD), Dagmar Bilon’s 7 Rooms: Dismantling Grief, and a new durational work from Swedish artist Gustaf Broms following his sold-out appearance at the festival in 2025.
On the closing day, Lynn Lu and Rona Lee will present new durational performances before acclaimed artist Lois Weaver concludes the festival with her solo work WHAT’S A CHAIR WITHOUT A TABLE, exploring ageing, mortality and solitude.
Alongside the main programme, the latest edition of DISCHARGE, curated by Martin O’Brien, takes place on 28 November and features Shaun Caton, Daniel Oliver, Claudia Palazzo, selina bonelli, Bart Seng Wen Long, Tommy Burke and Ewan Hindes.
Joseph Morgan Schofield said: “The programme offers a rich overview of contemporary performance languages, revealing the ways performance art is influenced by (and influences) theatre, contemporary dance and fine art. Diverse in form and approach, each artist brings a unique presence and perspective to the stage. In particular, Mal Parry’s ‘Every Law a Tattoo’, supported by Barbican’s Open Lab programme, and Ron Athey’s ritualistic ‘ASCLEPEION’ lean into the theatrical frame, offering a new approach to theatre making.”
CEREMONY follows a sold-out inaugural edition in 2025 and represents Future Ritual’s most ambitious festival programme to date.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
