The Strike a Light Festival returns this month for what will be the sixth year running, with a host of new and varied performances for the people of Gloucester to enjoy.

Strike a Light Marketing Manager Ben Whitnall sums up what the festival is all about.

He said: “We do two festivals a year of high-quality contemporary performances, from dance to theatre to poetry and spoken word.

“In between the festivals we have a year-round programme getting local people in Gloucester involved in the arts.”

Following on from the last Strike a Light Festival, which took place over a week last October, this year’s edition is set to be the biggest yet, with over a month’s worth of events.

“We’ve got nine shows in the festival starting in February, beginning with ‘Juliet & Romeo’ which is a sort of dark comedy and has already sold out.

“Then we’ve got things from ‘Charmane’ which is a family friendly puppetry show, to ‘Now Is The Time To Say Nothing’, which is only for 14 people at a time and features real footage from the Syrian War.

“There’s a real mix of things going on, you can’t really cover it all with a single blanket.”

Performers and artists will be coming to Gloucester from all over the country, and shows will be at a number of different venues, including the Guildhall and The Redwood Centre.

The ethos behind Strike a Light is to make theatre and performing arts in general more accessible to the everyday public.

Ben continued: “The lovely thing about it is that our audience is made up of people who wouldn’t normally be theatre goers.

“In previous years we’ve had responses from people saying, “I feel like I’ve missed out on this (theatre) my whole life” and asking “where can I see more plays?”

“We’ve grown a committed following over the last few years but we’re hoping to see even more new faces for people who’ve never experienced things like this before.”

Strike a Light Festival begins on Tuesday 12th February and runs until Wednesday 27th March.

Read our interview with the creators behind ‘Charmane’ here.