One Magic Summer
20-31 August 2009

Free, magical performances in the square

Deckchairs provided

This August Trafalgar Square will host 100 deckchairs, free to use each day from 10am – 8pm, simply to sit, relax and enjoy. Bring a book, or your lunch and take a seat. Do move them about, but please don't take them away!

Performances Thursday 20-Sunday 23 and Thursday 27-Monday 31 August, 12pm and 5pm

Enjoy high summer in the company of some great street theatre and dance with a generous mixture of genuine magic and illusion and that most important British commodity – a sense of humour!

• Full programme details

Week 1: Our Magic Summer

Our Magic Summer is the British summer seen through the prism of childhood recollections. What could be better than a trip to the beach, a weekend expedition in the camper van or a ramble in the countryside? For some the magic of traditional summer pastimes never fades, so join Bill and Vera for a nice cup of tea by their seaside Beach Hut or follow the Lost Ramblers in their fruitless search for that local beauty spot.

Week 2: Staycation, Staycation

A humorous take on the more varied ways in which today's determinedly individualistic and diverse city dweller celebrates the Great British Summer. It's a chance to enjoy an alfresco dinner party with a select group of friends, take part in a tennis tournament, make a start on that personal training regime in the company of the Unfit Athletes or learn the steps to Bollywood dance.

Performance highlights include:

Swervy World 'Beach Huts' – The ever-gregarious Bill and Vera have set up their beach hut beside their 1950s camper van, and like nothing better than a nice chat with passers-by.

Comic Character Creations 'Lost Ramblers' – Fully equipped for an enjoyable hike in the country, the Lost Ramblers must have taken a wrong turning somewhere…

Markmark Productions 'It's a Kind of Magic' – A real 'end of the pier' show – unidentical twins perform death-defying feats of illusion to an accompaniment of 80s power ballads.

Bad Taste Cru – Bystanders seize the chance to cast off their office uniforms and show some surprising moves.

Wet Picnic 'The Dining Table' – Stay-at-home foodie Ursula Barrington Farrington dines al fresco and provides a hilarious crash course in how to behave at the table.

Fairly Famous Family 'Anyone for Tennis' – A day out at Wimbledon was never like this – an umpire in his high chair and a petulant tennis star are the cue for an extraordinary tennis match with the audience filling in as ball boys/girls and the other tennis player!

Nutkhut Dance Company – British Asian company Nutkhut bring the excitement and glamour of Bollywood to the heart of a Trafalgar Square summer.

Dot Comedy 'The Unfit Athletes' – With the London Olympics as inspiration, these would-be Fun Runners aim to spend the summer getting fit, but there's a little more work to do before 2012.