The Bank Holiday weekend is now a distant memory, and so is your bank balance. If you’re at a loss at what to do this weekend, swing by We Are Now Festival, a two day bash featuring work and performances from emerging creative talent and established names. Tickets are super cheap, and there’s heaps of performances to choose from. Here’s the run-down:

We Are Now Festival: The 411 

Takes placing at Rich Mix Shoreditch on 1st and 2nd of September, the two day event will host a dynamic programme of boundary pushing theatre, interactive installations, 1-1 virtual reality performance, interactive audio theatre and a late night show harnessing the sonic capabilities of the Tesla Coil.

This one of a kind event will highlight emerging creative talent alongside established names with the aim of offering artists a platform to push the boundaries of their specialism, whether it be art, theatre or performance, that showcase the endless creative possibilities of technology in performing arts.

We Are Now Festival: Performances 

Internationally renowned Circa69 will be premiering their groundbreaking VR theatre experiences to enthral festival goers in London, whilst Tit4Twat will perform their critically acclaimed ‘Losers’ show – one of the highlights of the Camden fringe this year.

A main highlight of the event, Cryptic’s Robbie Thomson will explore the possibilities of harnessing the Tesla Coil as a musical instrument with his XFRMR show. Live Electro-jazz dance fusion by Chiminyo uses his drum kit to play music he has composed on his laptop; a rhythmically rich, infectiously groovy and visually stimulating, live one-man show, and with mesmerising live visuals by Ben Moon. And Emily Dust from Radar Radio will be weaving the evening’s musical fabric together. She seamlessly blends neo-baile from Rio de Janeiro into Bristol bass, Angolan kuduro into grime and hip-hop and South African gqom into house, showcasing the freshest sounds in the world.

We Are Now kicks off with the opening theatre show on the Friday, a work in development from Sleight Of Hand supported by Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol and Theatre Delicatessen. This will be paired with a post-show Salon Talk led by academics, psychologists and theatre makers which will explore the use of technology as a tool for empathy and creativity.

There’s also a few free events taking place across the weekend like Negative Space by Jordan Wu. Negative space is an installation piece created with the intention of communicating to the audience a sense of flow between physical and virtual spaces as well as concepts of negative space in human and environmental focus. The piece draws attention towards the focus on people and focus on spaces. Using a virtual reality headset, participants see the people around them in the virtual space and will feature the collective audience inside a virtual environment.

Another free event is A.M.I curated by Joe Mcalister. A.M.I is an automated, personal experience. Designed to reflect the sheer abundance of personal information available online regarding our personalities. Specifically, through the medium of Twitter. Provide the piece with your twitter account and watch it analyse your relationships with people live. Studying what makes you feel happy, sad, worried and anxious while simultaneously suggesting their root causes. Is it correct? Do you live a different life online? Watch your memories and content blend with the creators own, creating a piece of self-reflection and exploration, unique, just for you.

We Are Now Festival: Useful Information 

Where: 35-47 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA

When: 1st and 2nd September

Tickets: Grab them here 

Visit the website here for more details.

Photo Credit: Gemma Bell