Raindrops on Roses

Showing at Boathouse 5

4.45 to 5.05pm

7 to 7.20pm

8.20 to 8.40pm

Raindrops on Roses by Poppy Plowman is a joyful and playful family-friendly tight wire show, exploring the reality of living with neurodiversity, and the effects it can have on mental health.

‘Rosie is a chaotic and charming woman sporting bold yellow Wellington boots and a big, bright umbrella. Watch her master the art of balance on her tight wire and join her on her pursuit of happiness and self-acceptance.’

Poppy Plowman is a neurodiverse British circus artist with Turkish Cypriot origins. Specialising in tight wire, Poppy has performed for Le Cirques des Petites Natures, Race Horse Company, The Revel Puck Circus, Gorilla Circus & NoFit State Circus.

Poppy has recently started creating her own all-inclusive work around the theme of intersectionality, with the aim of proactively embracing identity and inspiring anti-oppressive attitudes to emerge from her audience. Her diverse background and rich knowledge of circus as an art form have enabled her to create high-level, innovative work that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.

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Taroo

Showing at Boathouse 4

6.30 to 7pm

7.50 to 8.20pm

Company Zid is a Moroccan circus and parkour company based in France, created by circus artist Said Mouhssine. Said is a free runner, stage director, actor and stunt performer who delivers a distinctive brand of circus comedy and parkour movement.

In 2007 Said created the first parkour association in Morocco, followed by three years studying at the national circus school Shems’y in Salé. In 2014 Said created  a video group called Stoonet that mixed acrobatics, special effects and humour and was accessed digitally.

Following the 2016 creation of Tartf Lkhobz, a street show about the conditions of workers in Morocco, Said created his first solo show Routine in 2019, about inactive youngsters who spend their days leaning against walls.

In 2020 Company Zid was born, Zid means “move” in darija (Moroccan Arabic) and their first show Taroo is an outdoor show for one acrobat and his dustbin.

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If Circus

Showing inside Boathouse 4

5.05 to 5.35pm

7.05 to 7.35pm

A contemporary circus company born in 2019 by Mar Olivè Nieto (Barcelona). In 2022, Shalom Gramiccioli (Albano Laziale, Rome) joined the adventure, bringing together their creative paths into one shared artistic vision. The duo met while studying at ACAPA (Tilburg, NL) where they found a common language: using circus as a space to explore memory, heritage, and the deep wisdom behind traditional crafts.

In their first show, Somehow, Mar was working with knitted ropes, alongside the cellist and performer Rogier Hornman. The piece won the Keep an Eye Foundation award in 2020 and was pre-selected by CircusNext Netherlands, standing out for its poetic, multidisciplinary vibe.

Today, Mar and Shalom are leading If Circus, with all the energy into their latest creation: Melic. This piece dives into both personal and collective memory through ropes, gestures, and textures, drawing inspiration from knitting traditions and the stories passed down through generations. In their work, rope isn’t just a piece of circus equipment — it’s a symbolic thread, tying together body and memory, tradition and innovation, stage and audience. With Melic – Knitting Memories (Nominated project at ZIRKÓLIKA AWARDS 2025) the company is crafting a kind of circus that listens, that remembers, that brings movement and meaning to spark a sense of connection, presence, and care.

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OSADÍA

Showing at Boathouse 7

4.45 to 6.15pm

7.30 to 9pm

Osadía is a street theatre company formed in Barcelona, Spain in 1996 by artist Alex Rendon, featuring hair art. Artistic hairdressers, street theatre performers, hairdressing show, art and hairdressing combination, hair sculptures? Osadia is all of that and much more.

The company offers an original and provocative exhibition of hair art with the active participation of the audience, who are seduced by the theatrical appearance of the performers and the sophisticated, imaginative nature of this hairdressing show.

Crowds gather around and remain glued to the artistic hairdressers’ performance onstage, either through curiosity and a sense of wonder, or motivated by a desire to participate. Audiences will be amazed by the transformed characters that descend from the chair. Osadia’s transformations extend to the new way the volunteers act after the performance, for now they are the centre of attention and continue to be so throughout the day, provoking admiration. Their artistic hairdos will be photographed wherever they go.

Dare you volunteer to allow the artists to create a daring and evocative makeover with your hair… Whose Hair Dares?

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Delrevés Vertical Dance

Showing at Storehouse 9

6.16 to 6.35pm

9.05 to 9.25pm

Watch Finale when architecture comes alive as this internationally acclaimed vertical dance company performs high above the Dockyard, using Storehouse 9 itself as their stage.

Delrevés, a vertical dance company founded in Barcelona, began its artistic journey in mid-2007, using architecture as its stage space. Over the years, it has built a solid international career, presenting its work across four of the five continents.With over 500 performances to date, the company has adapted its choreographies to more than 260 different buildings and natural spaces. Delrevés brings a new vision to vertical dance, creating its own innovative language for which it is widely recognised and appreciated.

Finale is a classical piece that uses architecture as a support for movement and offers the audience the possibility of enjoying classical dance in a new performance space, in this case transferring a ballet to the facade of It reproduces famous classical pieces that you will identify, compiling elements of ballets like ‘Swan Lake’, ‘The Nutcracker’ and ‘Giselle’, among others.

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Aerial Dance Academy (ADA) is a welcoming circus and aerial arts school based in the heart of Portsmouth. We offer fun, supportive classes for both children and adults, with sessions for complete beginners through to experienced aerialists. Whether you’re looking to build confidence, improve fitness, learn incredible new skills, or simply try something different, our expert instructors will help you progress in a safe and encouraging environment. Everyone is welcome at ADA, whatever your age or experience.