The People Speak are bringing their new format The News Ark to Festival of Culture in Pendle. A rumour about a deluge is going viral. What will the members of the Animal Kingdom do? Will they gallop towards the ark or try to wing their way out of the situation? Inspired by Stewart Lee’s quote “Satire is the same as here but with animals in it” we would like to get people to embody different animals with masks. Join our participatory and humorous investigation into how social media and misinformation shape the narrative around the climate polycrisis.

You can also join the Festival classic – Talkaoke, our flagship live, television-style talk show! It’s up to the participants to decide on the topics of conversation. Each chat is a journey from one unexpected subject to another. It can be topical, funny, deep, surreal, or something else. The participants generate the subjects and the host in the middle keeps everybody engaged. The format is simple: the host sits in the middle of an illuminated round table, and you sit around the outside and talk about whatever comes up. Just grab the microphone and air your views.

Festival of Culture in Pendle, where communities come together in solidarity and celebration of Art and Culture. We are delighted to be joined by our friends from Building Bridges and in situ, who organise the Festival.

Photo by John Williams