FOLLOWING the success of their inaugural Reclaim Festival in November last year, the event makes a return to Exeter’s Northcott Theatre next month.

The week-long celebration of women in the arts will feature a wide range of gatherings, workshops and performances hosted at both the Northcott and Barnfield Theatres from June 9 to 14.

The festival has been produced by local director, theatre maker, and producer Katie Villa.

“I'm so excited to share our full programme of events, showcasing amazing work from some of the most incredible women in the South West,” she said.

“The festival celebrates women but is open to everyone and we have so many fantastic events to choose from! From daring performance and breathtaking live art, to fizzy social gatherings and captivating workshops, Reclaim brings together the very best of local, regional and national talent.”

Highlights of the programme include Happenings, an evening of live art, spoken word, moving image, and experimental music. The event is curated by award-winning poet and interdisciplinary artist Kerry Priest, one of the originators of Plymouth's acclaimed SOAK Live Art events. Priest will also lead a Live Art Workshop for anyone interested in getting creative.

Other opportunities for community members to get involved include a Monday Mood Board Brunch, Drag King Workshop, Family Bollywood Dance Workshop, and Life Drawing for the Terrified. Maria Tarokh, artistic director of Exeter Northcott associate artists Company Scherazade, will lead Powerful Bodies — a dance workshop to harness your inner fire.

The performances include: Reclaim the Mic, headlined by multi-award-winning poet Clare Ferguson-Walker; M/Others on the Mic, a daytime open mic gig where children are welcome to be themselves; and Manic, winner of FUSE International Best Solo Show.

Two performances are returning to the Barnfield Theatre: Graceless is a one-woman show created by Grace Plant, a graduate of the Northcott artist development programme, Elevate (formerly ‘Futures’); and Niplash, created by Karla Shacklock, which debuted at the Scratch Night at Reclaim Festival 2024.

“A short work-in-progress performance of Niplash was birthed at the first Reclaim Festival last year.” said Karla.

“The momentum sparked by that one opportunity, and the continued support of Reclaim, has helped Niplash to not only be developed into a longer festival piece, but most significantly has enabled the work to become integrated into the community.”

The 2025 festival programme also features a Scratch Night, showcasing four work-in-progress performances from local artists selected through an open call-out, and Scratch Saturday, platforming new work from global majority theatre company Beyond Face and Devon-based performance creative Micha Colombo.

Northcott joint chief executives Kelly Johnson, Emma Stephenson, and Martin Berry said: “We're so excited to be bringing Reclaim Festival back for the second year running.

“ It is a crucial platform for addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in the arts, and embodies our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for diverse talent to be seen, nurtured, and celebrated on our stages”

Tickets and further information are available at exeternorthcott.co.uk.