HOTBED 2021

It’s that time of year when The Junction looks more like the vibrant arts centre we wish it could be all year round. With the boundless energy of Paul Bourne and his talented team from Menagerie, their Hotbed Festival of new writing bursts on the summer scene turning the otherwise bleakly empty Cattle Market into a vibrant arts hub.

With a packed programme over the weekend, there is a lot of great promise to anticipate. Vanessa Ackermann’s ‘Love, No Country’, takes Soviet Russia to contemporary London. This sounds intriguing and I hope to review it for the Critique. A first for Hotbed is a commissioned film ‘Under the Weather’ by celebrated local playwright Steve Waters and starring the Menagerie stalwart Patrick Morris. I am also attracted by ‘Covid Confidential’ (where would we be without the virus?) and many more new works.

Alongside these will be Menagerie’s Covid Connections, a series of short monologues newly commissioned for the festival. Acclaimed writers from across the UK will offer a perspective on each month of the past year. Also reflecting on the pandemic, Abi Zakarian’s new play will be performed for only three audience members at a time – in parts of Cambridge Junction that are not usually open to the public. Intriguing.

Hotbed Festival 2021 16-18 July

Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way Cambridge CB1 7GX

Tickets: £3-£10 for individual events, £22/£18 (concessions) for day passes on Saturday or Sunday Web Sales: https://www.junction.co.uk/events/hotbed-festival Box Office: 01223 511511