· Cariad Lloyd’s GriefCast, 300th episode of An Irishman Abroad and Angelos & Barry set for first ever Podcast Live
· Yashere joined by Late Night Gimp Fight, Phil Wang, Sindhu Vee & Lost Voice Guy on comedy programme
· Le Gateau Chocolat, Hans and Mariah & Friendz amongst star-studded cabaret offering
· CBeebies’ Twirlywoos joins family programme which kicks off with Family Fest during the Easter Holidays and continues throughout the festival
Underbelly Festival Southbank’s 2019 programme is shaping up to be its most exciting and diverse to date, with over forty more shows added to the line-up today bringing some of the very best circus, comedy, cabaret, variety, live podcasting and family entertainment to the banks of the Thames.
Flip Fabrique, the Quebecois company whose style is a totally unique mix of joyous free-play, high-concept theatrics and an array of first-class circus skills, return to the Southbank with Transit – a viruallly arresting, thrillingly high-octane circus show with an enigmatic and engrossing subtext throughout which the performers’ ruminations on their own careers raise questions about the transient nature of life itself. (27 May – 7 July)
Also set for the Southbank are Sons of Pitches – the acapella and beatbox group who shot to fame as winners of BBC 2’s The Naked Choir and will be showcasing their astonishing singing talent and innovative vocal arrangements at Underbelly Festival for the first time.(6-8 May)
Some of the biggest names in comedy will also be joining the bill, with The Daily Show’s UK correspondent and international stand-up sensation Gina Yashere dropping in from 21-23 June.
Before then there’s a chance to catch Sindhu Vee (14 Apr) – the Indian comic who has also lived in the Philippines, the USA, Canada and the UK and is one of the finest truly international voices in stand-up, Underbelly Festival legend Jason Byrne (10-11 May), infamous sketch troupe Late Night Gimp Fight whose shamelessly dark, anarchic and experimental style has won them a huge cult following (24 May), Masters of Gaulier-inflected clown comedy Zach & Viggo with Thunderflop (29 May), and Phil Wang (30-31 May) – one of the most distinctive and hilarious young performers on the stand-up circuit and a superstar in the making.
Comedy performance will be running throughout the festival with acts announced for later in the summer including Britain’s Got Talent 2018 winner Lost Voice Guy, making his Underbelly Festival Southbank debut. (10-11 Sep)
Underbelly Festival has also built a reputation in recent years as one of the London’s finest cabaret venues, and 2019 is shaping up to be an all-star line-up, including one-of-a-kind performer Le Gateau Chocolat performing Icons– a journey through the galaxy of divas and superstars who shaped Gateau’s one of a kind style and fabulously metamorphosising singing voice (10-13 April), the Rat Pack of Drag Mariah & Friendz (11 July)and the provocative, explosively energetic and uproariously funny Hans (4 Sep).
In June Underbelly Festival will present a brand-new programming strand Podcast Live – two weeks dedicated to taking some of the most entertaining chatterers in the world from your earphones to the stage.
Podcast fans who can’t wait until June for a fix will have their appetites whetted with a live recording Deborah Francis-White’s iconic Guilty Feminist in the Belly Theatre on 11 April, with acts announced for Podcast Live! today including Cariad Lloyd’s paradigm-shifting series on loss and how we rebuild GriefCast (6 June), legendary comedy double act Angelos & Barry (7 June) and the 300th episode of An Irishman Abroad (15 June)
Underbelly Festival will present its most extensive ever family line-up this year, kicking off with Family Fest throughout the Easter Holidays and continuing for the length of the festival with acts announced today including maritime sketch comedy madness from The Noise Next Door: At Sea!, a post Brexit How Does This Politics Things Work Then? (which could benefit a few of the ‘grown-ups across the river if recent events are anything to go by), and the first ever stage adaptation of a CBeebies smash hit: Twirlywoos Live! – in which the producers of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show bring your favourite characters to life with beautifully innovative puppetry, mischief, music and plenty of surprises. (3-31 August)
Now in its 11th year on the Southbank in the heart of the world’s cultural capital, Underbelly Festival has become a staple of London’s live entertainment scene – the original, biggest and best pop-up festival providing world class performance at affordable prices across two distinctive and atmospheric venues, a sumptuous array of street food and drinks, and some of London’s finest outdoor bars.