Free half-term workshops for 11+ in stand-up, stage combat, slam poetry, puppetry and drumming, plus an open mic on 27 October, at Castle Quay and The Mill.
Young people in Banbury can spend half term learning stand-up comedy, stage combat, slam poetry, puppetry, dance and drumming for free, at a week-long festival run by the youth-arts charity People’s Theatre Collective from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November. The workshops are for ages 11 and over, and everything on the programme is free apart from the opening play.
The Tell Your Story Festival is based at The People’s House in Castle Quay and at The Mill Arts Centre. The charity describes it as “a week long festival empowering young people to learn, create and perform a range of storytelling styles”, and its leaflet calls The People’s House, which it is launching this autumn, “a creative home for young people situated in Castle Quay”.
The opening night: Gargantua at The Mill, Monday 7pm
The festival starts at 7pm on Monday 26 October with Gargantua, a play by Carl Grose, performed by the charity’s Monday Nighters group. “In this hilarious play, a giant eating baby tries to take over the world,” the charity says.
The Mill’s event page lists tickets at £5, a running time of 50 minutes, age guidance of 11+ and a warning for strong language. The cast works alongside The Mill’s Tech Academy, and the listing sets out the plot as a series of questions: “Who can calm down this giant baby? Who can stop the end of the world? And, most importantly, who will change his nappy?”
This is the only paid event of the week.
The workshops, Tuesday to Sunday
All the workshops are free and for young people aged 11 and over. The charity’s festival page lists them as:
- Tuesday 27 October: stand-up comedy and DJ workshops
- Wednesday 28 October: stage combat and slam poetry workshops (the leaflet marks stage combat 13+)
- Thursday 29 October: puppetry and dance workshops
- Friday 30 October: puppetry, dance and drumming workshops
- Sunday 1 November: Play in a Day
The leaflet says the all-day workshops are held at The Mill or The People’s House. Places are booked through the sign-up form on the festival page.
The Play in a Day group puts on what it has made at 6pm on Sunday 1 November at The People’s House, the festival’s closing show. The leaflet says it closes “the final chapter of Scar; The Verdant Isle with a performance made in day”.
Banbury Presents: an open mic for young people, Tuesday 6pm
On Tuesday 27 October at 6pm the charity hosts Banbury Presents, an open mic night for young people at The People’s House. “Whatever talent or skill young people want to show off, we would like to see it!” it says. “We’d also love other young people to come and support their peers in this creative and non-judgemental environment.”
The poster asks: “A song? A short dance? A poem? Some art work? Anything at all?” Performers sign up on the festival page, and the poster says they can also just turn up on the day. Audience tickets are free through Eventbrite, where the evening runs from 6pm to 8pm. The Eventbrite page gives The Mill Arts Centre as the location; the charity, its poster and its leaflet all say The People’s House in Castle Quay.
Drop-in arts and crafts for families
No booking is needed for the family sessions. “No need to sign up, just drop in!” the charity says. Its festival page and leaflet list Arts and Crafts Family Drop In sessions from 11am to 3pm on Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October at The People’s House, with a Dreamers arts and crafts session from 2pm to 4pm on Monday 26 October, which the leaflet describes as “a creative space for young people to explore ideas, share stories and get creative”. The leaflet also lists a Dreamers drop in on Wednesday, meeting at The Mill at 4pm. The charity has also given the family sessions as Monday to Wednesday, so check the festival page before setting off.
A procession through the town centre, Saturday 2pm
At 2pm on Saturday 31 October there is a festival procession through Banbury town centre. The leaflet calls it “a chance to experience our sellout summer show in a new format”, with Scar; The Verdant Isle turned into “a vibrant procession”. It does not give a starting point; the festival page is the place to look.
What it means for you
- Workshops (11+, free): book on the festival page.
- Gargantua, Monday 26 October, 7pm, £5: book at The Mill.
- Banbury Presents, Tuesday 27 October, 6pm, free: perform via the festival page, or watch with a free Eventbrite ticket.
- Family drop-ins, 11am to 3pm: just turn up at The People’s House, Castle Quay.
- Questions go to info@peoplestheatrecollective.org.uk.
The festival lands in the same week as the other half-term activities in our Banbury October half term guide, and the rest of the month is in What’s On in Banbury.
Last year’s festival
The charity’s page says the 2025 festival staged seven performances over seven days to audiences of 160 people, worked with 12 artists and theatre practitioners and two technicians, and hosted 116 attendees for 58 hours of workshops, including stand-up comedy, poetry, zine making, lantern making, theatre workshops and special effects make-up. It says 302 people took part in the drop-in arts sessions.
People’s Theatre Collective is a registered charity, number 1137145. Its leaflet thanks The Mill Arts Centre, the Bouttell Bequest, the Souter Trust and the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust, and carries the logos of Arts Council England, Made in Banbury, Banbury Town Council and Cherwell District Council.
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