Bright & Wild 2026
SAT 12 - SUN 14 June
This June, Lyra presents our seventh edition of Bright & Wild - a festival with children and teens at it's heart.
This year, Lyra’s Young Artists disrupt and reimagine a world that isn’t made for them.
Same old, same old.
No. No. No
Where are we supposed to go?
What are we supposed to do?
What if other worlds existed alongside the one we know? Other worlds from the past, the future, or happening right now. What if we could see into these worlds or even change them? Re-write the narrative, cut new paths.
Allow us to welcome you to these worlds through an incredible series of performances, installations, interactive experiences, discussions and activities!
The festival is produced and hosted by Lyra’s teenage Culture Crew.
Friday 12 June
12.15pm: Then What by Vince Vrr Dance Company
4pm: Festival Welcome
4.15pm: Meet Me On the Dance Floor by Dan Brown and The Outline
5pm: Brighter & Wilder: Cutting New Paths (talk)
6pm: Then What by Vince Vrr Dance Company
6.45pm: find yourself a magpie and follow it by Hope Kennedy with the Thursday Young Artists
7.15pm: Brighter & Wilder: Once Upon a Disruption (storytelling)
8pm: Take Up Space by Caitlin Mulgrew with Lyra's Young Company x Crew
*Scamps Dream Bus Design: 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm, 5pm, 5.30pm and 6pm (Especially for Scamps and families. Limited tickets may be available on the day)
Saturday 13 June
2pm: find yourself a magpie and follow it by Hope Kennedy with the Thursday Young Artists
3pm: Yer da works at Tesco (curtain raiser) by Katrine Turner and Platform's Monday Night Drama group
3.15pm: Take Up Space by Caitlin Mulgrew with Lyra's Young Company x Crew
4.15pm: Meet Me On the Dance Floor by Dan Brown and The Outline
5pm: Brighter & Wilder: Re-write the Narrative (Discussion)
6.30pm - Akanana Sweet Banana by Dorine Mugisha
Sunday 14 June
12.30pm: WIG WALTZ by Dan Brown & Minnie Crook
2.15pm: Meet Me On the Dance Floor by Dan Brown and The Outline
3.30pm: find yourself a magpie and follow it
Created by Hope Kennedy with the Thursday Young Artists
4pm: WIG WALTZ by Dan Brown & Minnie Crook
4.15pm: Children & Families Party
5.15pm: Brighter & Wilder: Once Upon a Disruption (storytelling)
*Fly, Fly! @ 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 2pm, 2.30pm and 3pm (Performed by Wednesday Young Artists especially for their families. Limited tickets may be available on the day)
Booking
All performances at Bright & Wild are FREE to attend, but booking is essential!
When you book – you can choose individual events or select ‘Festival Pass’ which allows you to book the full programme in one go!
Or Call/Text 07517 773 780
Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Venue
The festival will be presented at Lyra’s venue Artspace (11 Harewood Road, Edinburgh, EH16 4NT)
This is where to find us.
Accessibility
The venue is accessible by wheelchair and we have two wheelchair spaces available per performance.
There is a ramp at the entrance to Artspace, the studio is on the ground floor and the theatre is on the first floor. The theatre is accessible by lift.
THE PROGRAMME @ A GLANCE
THE SHOWS
MEET ME ON THE DANCE FLOOR
Created by Dan Brown with The Outline
Meet Me On The Dance Floor is a party, a rave and a rejection. The Outline invites you to join them on the dance floor for a choreographic exploration into the boxes and systems that we find ourselves forced into, and what possibilities open up for us when we step outside of the lines.
Using electronic music as the soundtrack to the performance, Meet Me On The Dance Floor will show you how you can let go of the lines and edges and let yourself get lost in the music, finding your own rhythm along the way.
Friday 12 June @ 4.15pm
Saturday 13 June @ 4.15pm
Sunday 14 June @ 2.15pm
TAKE UP SPACE
Created by Caitlin Mulgrew with Lyra's Young Company x Crew
Shindig. Festa. Przyjęcie. दल (Dal). Rave-up. Mmemme. حَفْلَة (Hafla). Party.
Whatever you call it, we're throwing it.
Whoever you are, you're invited.
We don’t have anywhere to go that's ours. Too old for the playpark, too young for the pub. So when word spreads about an empty, it spreads like wildfire. People see us as loud, lazy, ungrateful youths. But really? We just want somewhere to go. Somewhere to feel alive.
So here it is.
Expect live music, dancing, hoarse throats, ringing ears, and memories you’ll never forget.
Friday 12 June @ 8pm
Saturday 13 June @ 3.15pm
FIND YOURSELF A MAGPIE AND FOLLOW IT
Created by Hope Kennedy with the Thursday Young Artists
“Remember - this is the most important thing - time works differently here, don’t stay too long. Keep your wits about you and remember where the doorway is.”
Inspired by Scottish Folklore, find yourself a magpie and follow it is a story about a group of daring wanderers, one map, countless mythical creatures, music and magic. Join us in the Other World, see who (or what) lives there, and what our own world will be like when we return.
Friday 12 June @ 6.30pm
Saturday 13 June @ 2pm
Sunday 14 June @ 3.30pm
THE DREAM BUS
Created by Jo Timmins with the Lyra Ensemble, Scamps and Wednesday Young Artists
This year, the Scamps and Wednesday Young Artists groups have been imagining what it would be like to disrupt an ordinary bus into an extraordinary world. Over the next year the Lyra team will transform a single decker bus into a creative play space, where you can escape to new worlds and let your imagination run wild. Spoiler alert – Lyra’s getting a bus!
Dream Bus Design Tour
Join us for a sneak peak of the vision for Lyra’s newest space. Taking place on an ordinary bus, members of the Lyra ensemble will share some of the ideas of what our dream bus could look like once it’s transformed.
Friday 12, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 June.
(Non-ticketed)
Scamps Dream Bus Designs
The Lyra Ensemble present a fun, mini performance about the bravely disruptive play bus design ideas that have been dreamed up by our Scamps group.
Friday 12 June @ 2.30pm, 3pm, 3.30pm, 5pm, 5.30pm and 6pm (Especially for Scamps and families)
Fly, Fly!
Wednesday Young Artists transport the audience into a brave new world through dance and song. As part of the performance, we will share some of the ideas of what our dream bus could look like once it’s transformed.
Sunday 14 June @ 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 2pm, 2.30pm and 3pm (Performed by Wednesday Young Artists especially for their families)
BRIGHTER & WILDER
Last year we introduced the Brighter & Wilder programme and this year it’s even brighter and wilder! Join us for a series of talks, activities and guest performances...
Cutting New Paths (Talk) | Fri 12 June, 5pm
Join us as we re-imagine our local community through the eyes of children and teens.
Re-write the Narrative (Discussion)| Sat 13 June, 5pm
Take part in a lively panel discussion, exploring youth arts as an act of disruption for good.
Once Upon a Disruption (Storytelling)| Fri 12 June, 7.15pm and Sun 14 June, 5.15pm
Join us for some live storytelling magic and be whisked off to your imagination and the worlds that live there.
Yer da works at Teso (Curtain Raiser) by Katrine Turner and Monday Night Drama | Sat 13 June
We’re delighted to welcome Platform’s Monday Night Drama group all the way from Glasgow, who are going to share an excerpt of their new work.
Then What
by Vince Virr Dance Company
Fri 12 June, 12.15pm & 6pm
'Then What' explores the moment two people different to each other meet for the very first time, will you be friends, enemies or superheroes?
The duet brings the collision of two different peoples worlds together in daring lifts and thrilling choreography with the audience up close and surrounding them.
Non-Ticketed. No Booking Needed
Akanana Sweet Banana
by Dorine Mugisha
Sat 13 June, 6.30pm
An autobiographical piece exploring Dorine’s multi-cultural upbringing between Tanzania, France and the UK, navigating different people, places and institutions.
On her journey of self-discovery and acceptance, she blends spoken word in French, English, Swahili, and Kihaya with music and movement, weaving together improvisation and movement inspired by whacking, traditional Tanzanian dance, krump and hip-hop
WIG WALTZ
by Dan Brown& Minnie Crook
Sun 14 June, 12.30pm & 4pm
WIG WALTZ is a pop-up dance performance featuring two flamboyant, regency-esque aristocrats preparing for a grand ball. Dressed in extravagant wigs and elaborate costumes, they move through rituals of etiquette, elegance and excess, only to unravel the social codes they’re upholding. Combining humour, physical theatre and choreography, the work playfully challenges conventions of gender, class and identity, inviting young audiences to question who makes the rules about how we look, move and belong.
Non-Ticketed. No Booking Needed
FOOD AT THE FESTIVAL
We’re delighted to be collaborating with Edinburgh Food Social on the festival catering. They’ve been working with Lyra’s Crew to devise a disruption-inspired menu for everyone to enjoy.
Children eat for FREE. (Adults can make a suggested donation)
