ENTERTAINMENT & PERFORMANCE
Around the site you will find some of the most talented and vivacious historians, raconteurs and actors sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge about their chosen subjects. Throughout every day of the festival, they will be entertaining you with a blend of storytelling, inclusive hands-on activities and demonstrations.
CONFIRMED FOR 2025
HISTORY’S MAID
Historian and performer Dr Kate Vigurs reveals extraordinary stories of trailblazing women through history, from war correspondents to resisters and secret agents to suffragettes.
HENRY V
On Cue Theatre Company will be bringing Shakespeare to Chalke throughout the festival week with workshops and lively and dynamic performances of Henry V. Be transported back to the Elizabethan period and discover how the Elizabethan players originally performed with minimal rehearsal, no director, and working from cue scripts!
KITH AND KIN – Leela Bunce
Saturday 12:30-13:30, Henge
Kith and Kin is a warm-hearted solo theatre show set in Somerset in the 9th century CE about an everyday Saxon woman, performed in a blend of spoken and sung Modern and Old English. The Saxon hall and the vibrant community who knew it are playfully and poignantly brought to life through an array of colourful characters – shining a bright light on “The Dark Ages” with humour and heart.
FOREIGN FIELD
Paul Bavill, Rory Ware and Kyle Glover are three hugely talented costumed historical interpreters who will be demonstrating martial skills, dark crimes and hidden heroics in a mix of history that stretches from the Middle Ages to the Second World War. From 15th-century armoured combat to the artful techniques of Victorian self-defence, don’t miss their unique blend of action, education, and comedy.
THE HISTORY MAKER
1830, Russia wants to invade India, Britain wants to invade Russia, from India; Tibet stands between them as an inscrutable, but vast no-man’s land. Actor, writer, and fight choreographer Adam Schuch-des Forges is transformed into the incomparable Major-General (Dishonourably Discharged), Bishop (De-frocked), Poncenby VainenSchuch-des Forges O. B. E. (Forefeited).
Don’t miss this roller-coaster, boots on the ground account of Britain’s real, warts and all struggle with Russia, for the allegiance of the Forbidden Country of Tibet, by a genuine, British hero, inspiration, roll-model, convicted felon, National disgrace and and personal embarrassment to her majesty Queen Victoria, with added monkeys and often without trousers.
RATTLEBOX THEATRE
Back by popular demand! Created by actor and performer Dave Oliver, Rattlebox Theatre brings stories to life through captivating storytelling and dynamic puppetry. In ‘The Legends of Robin Hood’, Rattlebox Theatre bring the legends of Robin Hood to life through dynamic puppetry, colourful acting, and live music on medieval instruments. With comedy and derring-do, this is fun for all ages.
THE LAST BANTAM – Michael Hughes
Thursday 18:45-20:00, Forum
The Last Bantam tells the story of Britain’s bantam battalions, 30,000 men between 5’-5’3’’ who signed up to fight in The Great War. Their story is told through the eyes of Patrick Michael Wolfe, a Dubliner who signs up to secure Home Rule for Ireland.
THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN – Estelle Phillips
Wednesday 19:00-19:45, Henge
In 1924, respected archaeologist R.C.C. Clay encountered a Bronze Age horseman on Bottlebrush Down. The horseman vanished by a low, round barrow and to this day ghost hunters travel miles in the hope of a sighting. In “The Headless Horseman”, Estelle Phillips reimagines the warrior’s story and how he came to rampage our countryside. This is a tale of love, landscape and nature.
