The Chipko ('embrace') movement started 40 years ago where people in the Himalayas would embrace the trees to stop deforestation. Now, more than ever, our Earth needs us to embrace it. Come and enjoy some electronic beats ranging from house to quirky to techno and hug this planet through dance.

Celebrities have an annoying habit of being too important, or too dead, to perform on the UK comedy circuit. But a new, fool-proof system allows largely fool-based improv troupe Amorphous Horse to bring a prominent figure of your choosing to life before your very eyes.

Join them as they summon the great and the good through the magic of Wikipedia, then use the celebrity monsters they’ve created to inspire comedic scenes. Past luminaries have included Nicolas Cage, Mary Queen of Scots, Tupac Shakur and Keith Chegwin.

Fun, fast and feminist!

No explanations, no apologies and no pause for breath.

Derek's MoJo are two improvisers out to entertain and challenge the world one story at a time.

Think loud, think fast, think OMG did that just really happen?

A completely improvised high octane adventure inspired by the audience's suggestions.

#BAME #Queer #WomenOfAllAges #PlusSize #Multicultural #Improv #Storytelling #Comedy

“Derek’s Mojo are full of energy, funny and captivating. The audience loved them.” Guleraana Mir, Early Bloom Festival 2018

"If you book improv shows book Derek's Mojo they are brilliant" Steve Roe, Hoopla Improv

"Improv Acts You MUST See in 2019" The Phoenix Remix

Get your funny on as Elle Bert leads us through an evening where you get to take the stage and try out your best new material. Take inspiration from our festival themes or write your own piece, it’s completely up to you. If you want to have your chance on the Byline stage sign up by emailing festival@byline.com. Please title: Comedy open mic and send us your name where you are from and a funny/quirky fact about yourself. All you need to do is prepare a 3-5 minutes stand up set on whatever topic you like. Your spotlight will be turned on at 7pm on Saturday 24th August on the Rebel Rebel Stage. The funniest stand up will be able to perform with House of Comedy at midnight on Sunday 25th (Rehearsals will be provided on the Sunday). Elle Bert our MC extrordinaire will also be running a stand-up workshop on Saturday at noon! Head over to the workshop tents to hone your set before you take the stage.

Joanna is a multi-award-winning comedian, who was nominated for Best Newcomer Comedy Award at Edinburgh Fringe for her first solo comedy show and nominated for Best Show at Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival in 2016. She specialises in her own highly original character comedy shows, which always include interpretive dance. As well as live shows, Joanna played Judith in Ideal for BBC for six series, and other TV and radio.

Joanna is currently touring a new show with Ben Moor called Booktalkbooktalkbook and  a new solo comedy show for 2019 called Wife On Earth (3000 Light Years From Doing The Ironing)

Laughter Yoga is a non-bendy, non-intrusive, all-inclusive, fun ‘workout’ that deals with all stress!

Laughter Yoga helps people benefit tremendously mentally as well as emotionally, and to boost their physical health as they laugh regularly. This is a combination of laughter exercises, clapping, Breathing and relaxation. It was developed by Dr Madan Kataria in Mumbai and is now in over 100 countries worldwide. Benefits include, Increased oxygen to the brain, stress reduction via the release of endorphins and pain relief via the release of dopamine. It is suitable for all ages and abilities.

UnitedMind specialise in long-lasting personal and professional growth through laughter, joyfulness, happiness and holistic health in the workplace, the community, and at home.

For more than 15 years UnitedMind has provided workshop and training programmes for teams and individuals across the UK and the rest of Europe.

Gavin Turk (b 1967) is a British born, international artist. He has pioneered many forms of contemporary British sculpture now taken for granted, including the painted bronze, the waxwork, the recycled art-historical icon and the use of rubbish in art.

Turk’s installations and sculptures deal with issues of authorship, authenticity and identity. Concerned with the ‘myth’ of the artist and the ‘authorship’ of a work, Turk’s engagement with this modernist, avant-garde debate stretches back to the ready-mades of Marcel Duchamp.

Turk has recently been commissioned to make several public sculptures including L'Âge d'Or (2016), sited on the south corner of the Press Centre building in the Olympic Park and Nail, a 12-meter sculpture at One New Change, next to St Paul’s cathedral, London, England.

Introduced by Anita McNaught 

Human society as we know it is coming to an end. The unfolding climate crisis will bring us global famines, mass human migration, devastating weather conditions, and in all likelihood, the breakdown of civilisation.  This is becoming the consensus. This panel will discuss how we need to shift our attention to deal with this future. ‘Deep Adaptation’, a phrase coined by Professor Jem Bendell, takes climate-induced societal collapse as now unpreventable. This pragmatic view of what lies ahead proposes instead that resilience, relinquishment, and restoration, is what we need to focus on for the human race to survive.

Prof Rupert Read

Author of This Civilisation is Finished, Reader of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, Green Party Campaigner chair of the ecological think-tank, Greenhouse and spokesperson of Extinction Rebellion. 

Marc Lopatin. 

Marc has worked closely with Prof Jem Bendell co-authoring articles for the Huffington Post. Marc is also a former communications consultant for UN Environment and Royal Dutch Shell and journalist for papers such as the Guardian and the Independent. 

Roger Hallam. 

Roger is one of the founders of the most talked about direct action groups of the 21st century, Extinction Rebellion.

The environmental movement has surfaced in recent years as a white, middle-class-led movement, however for the last few decades people across the world, predominantly from the Global South, have been fighting the injustices of the western society, one that has brought the worst consequences of climate breakdown to the people who contribute to it the least, by those who contribute the most. Come and listen to members of Extinction Rebellion discuss how we can transform a white-majority led, white-majority issues campaign into an intersectional struggle that incorporates an understanding of and commitment to eradicating colonialism, structural racism, and other forms of systemic oppression that lie at the heart of our ecological crisis.

Join the author’s of ‘This is Not a Drill - an Extinction Rebellion Handbook’ to discuss this book of truth and action. It has facts to arm you, stories to empower you, pages to fill in and pages to rip out, alongside instructions on how to rebel. The author’s will take you through the process of writing this book as well as answer your burning questions about Extinction Rebellion.

By the time you leave this talk you will have become an Extinction Rebellion activist.

In the past year over 100,000 have joined Extinction Rebellion (XR) to rebel against the British Government for criminal in-action on the climate crisis. Why has this happened and what changes is XR bringing about? Are we going to be able to deal with the climate and ecological emergency and, if so, how? Roger Hallam, co-founder and a strategist for XR, will provide an outline of was has happened and what comes next.

Yoga and meditation provide an opportunity to connect with nature - both our inner nature and our connection to the earth. Explore the relationship between your body-mind and the earth through a guided meditation in movement and in stillness. This session aims to leave you feeling refreshed, inspired, and more connected with yourself, others, and the environment.

Jane Simpson with over 15 years experience having tried out a huge range of classes from South Indian ashrams and strong Hatha, in 2009 she completed a BWY training, and more recently with the excellent Jamie Blowers. Her classes will be hard working but full of cheek and fun. Not exactly a size 10 and with limited range she has always championed classes for all.