Westminster kicks off Soho Poly Summer Festival 2024

Located in University of Westminster’s Riding House Street building, the Soho Poly’s annual festival celebration includes a mixture of community-focused and free public events, from music and poetry to workshops, theatre and exhibitions. The Soho Poly Summer Festival 2024 calls back to pioneering alternative arts movements of the past and points the way toward a more progressive and inclusive cultural landscape in the future.

The rich programme includes the Polyphonic Music Club hosting five free Monday lunchtime music events. Each event runs between 12–1.30pm and includes a celebration of personal history through musical lens with a Musical Memories and Singalong session on 17 June and 8 July; a Songwriting Techniques workshop on 24 June; an interactive Jam Session on 1 July for all levels of musical experience; and a live gig on 15 July. 

Between 9–28 June the Go To exhibition will be open to visitors in the room above the Soho Poly basement. This exhibition tells the story of the venue’s work over the past year and includes production shots and memorabilia. A private view will be held on 19 June between 6–8pm with drinks and live music. Email the Soho Poly for more information.

On 20 June between 6.30–8.30pm the Soho Poly Arts Club will host a Poetry Night featuring an amazing line-up of poets hosted by their poet-in-residence Deborah Finding.

The Long Good Friday, the longest day of the year, will be celebrated on 21 June between 1–4pm with a Little Portland Street Take Over. Guests can visit the outdoor Badge Cafe, pop into Cookery School, or listen to a polyphonic spree of street music. Between 1–2pm Mike Garry and the Cassia Quartet will perform material from the album Handwritten Miracles and his number one single St Anthony – An Ode to Anthony H Wilson. They will also be performing on 22 June between 1–2pm.

On 21 June between 6–9pm the Soho Poly will also present Dollys at the Polly, a series of craft workshops. Those in attendance will make badges with Badge Cafe, self-serve self-portraits with Jane Suck, learn origami with Happy Origami Wonderland or explore recycled stitching with Daniel Torquato.

The All-Day Polyphonic Music Festival will take place on 23 June between 12am-9.39pm with eight acts making waves in London right now: Gipsydelica, Mr Morski, Awale Jant Band, Basia Bartz, House Above The Sun, Fausatu, John Peacock, Jo Griggs and Tom Poslett and Bennett Valuks.

The Soho Poly Festival will also present a range of theatre experiences including Hourglass: A Suffragette’s Story, a brand-new black comedy written by Amy Leigh-Matthews and Vikki Thompson, directed by Amy Leigh- Matthews and produced by Lipstick Rebel Productions Ltd.

On 27 June guests can take part in live oral history interviews and a panel celebrating the Women’s Theatre Festival of 1973: Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk – 50 Years of Feminist Theatre. This event is presented by Unfinished Histories and London Performance Studios in conjunction with Aurora Metro Books. An additional walking tour is available from 7 pm.

Concluding the festival on 28 June from visitors are invited from 1pm to a script reading of Carty, a play for seven women by Janet Amsden. As four servants flee religious persecution, they start to recognise what could create a peaceful world.

The Summer Festival directly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10: Reduced Inequalities. Since 2019, the University of Westminster has used the SDGs holistically to frame strategic decisions to help students and colleagues fulfil their potential and contribute to a more sustainable, equitable and healthier society.

Bookings are free but required for all events. For more information on the Soho Poly Festival follow it on Twitter or Instagram.