Festival Success: University Centre Peterborough Lights Up the Inspire Education Group Tent at Peterborough Celebrates

University Centre Peterborough is celebrating a successful weekend of performances and activities following the fifth annual Peterborough Celebrates festival, organised by Nene Park Trust at Ferry Meadows.

Students and staff from both University Centre Peterborough and Peterborough College delivered a diverse range of workshops, theatrical previews and literary performances.

The weekend’s activities included interactive sessions and original previews hosted by UCP’s performing arts community:

Character Creation Workshop: Acting tutors and students from UCP led a workshop for all ages, using movement and physicality to teach participants how to bring characters to life and communicate subtext without dialogue.

K-Pop Dance Workshop: Dance tutors and students from UCP and Peterborough College teamed up to teach a fun and easy K-Pop routine.

Winter Calls Preview: HNC Acting and Dance students at UCP presented the first-ever preview of Winter Calls by Frequency Theatre. This brand-new, original musical was entirely written and produced by the students, showcasing original scores and sophisticated storytelling about a gang of unlikely heroes surviving the aftermath of a nuclear war.

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Sunday’s schedule highlighted University Centre Peterborough’s literary talent with workshops and live readings on the tent stage:

Get Crafty: UCP student and Malcolm Bradbury Trust bursary recipient Tanya Cornwell, alongside English Course Leader Dr Andrew McDonnell, hosted an interactive session where visitors made plasticine ladybirds, developed nature poems, and helped assemble a Poetry Tree.

Creative Writing Readings: Dr Andrew McDonnell hosted a stage session where students taking part in UCP’s Creative Writing workshop shared their original stories and poems.

Peterborough Poets United: UCP student and Malcolm Bradbury Trust bursary recipient Helen Cross hosted a performance uniting Peterborough’s top poets. The lineup featured current Peterborough Poet Laureate Hilary Steele, alongside Laura Collins, Arthur Chapman, Lore Greeh, Silje Strømsten, Sandy Wardrop, Sophie May, Annie Gray, and Jo Henry.

Bardmaster: The performances concluded with Bardmaster, a show inspired by the TV format Taskmaster. A team of poets attempted weird and wacky poetry-related challenges for the amusement of the Bardmaster, former Peterborough Poet Laureate and Chair of Syntax Poetry Collective, Keely Mills assisted by adjudicator Sandy Wardrop.

University Centre Peterborough would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who attended the festival.