22 things to do in Bristol this week, May 22-28 2023

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Monday-Thursday: Beau Is Afraid, Watershed
A paranoid man embarks on an epic odyssey to get home to his mother in this bold and ingeniously depraved new film from director, Ari Aster.

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Now-September 3: Find Shaun the Sheep at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm!
The Hide & Sheep AR trail is a fun filled activity for the whole family! Simply download the free app and find the 11 Shaun the Sheep markers around the Zoo. Included free with Noah’s Ark Zoo admission until September 3.

Noah’s Ark x Aardman AR experience – photo: Noah’s Ark

Monday: JumpFit HIIT workout, Jump Studios
A more unconventional way to get your daily workout in, JumpFit combines high intensity interval training with, you guessed it, jump boots. The 20 to 30 second high intensity workouts combined with equal periods of rest have been proven to be incredibly beneficial, and the jump boots help to strengthen your legs and core.

The class is run at Jumpfit Bristol – photo: Yuup

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Now-June 2: SABOTAGE by No Fit State Circus, Wilson St Big Top
SABOTAGE is another full-on, boisterous, and audaciously fierce performance with the NoFit State signature style. It brings a darker, grittier, and more subversive edge to NoFit State’s trademark large scale contemporary circus spectacular. With incredible acts, original music, new apparatus and a more theatrical feel, SABOTAGE challenges the status quo. Evening and matinee performances available.

Sabotage by No Fit State Circus – photo: No Fit State Circus

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Throughout May Half Term: Dinosaur Valley LIVE, Avon Valley Wildlife Park
Get ready to stomp and ROAR with excitement while you explore the largest collection of animatronic dinosaurs in the South West, including a 15m T-Rex. Follow self-guided trails, complete a quest, meet interactive dinosaurs and enjoy immersive and theatrical shows throughout the day. It’s sure to be a prehistoric extravaganza!

Avon Valley raptor – photo: Avon Valley Wildlife Park

Tuesday: Bristol Girl Book Club, Steam
The Whiteladies Road pub hosts an open book club, where any female is welcome to attend. This month, the book is The Queens Fool by Philippa Gregory, and although the book will be discussed, anyone is encouraged to come along, regardless of how familiar they are with it.

The infamous boozer is located just off Whiteladies Road – photo: Steam

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Wednesday: Wine & calligraphy night, The Mount Without
Join us at The Mount Without for a night of wine & calligraphy, led by ‘uklettering’ who has worked with clients such as Dior, Harrods, Jo Malone & Harvey Nichols! In this course we will be focusing on Introduction to Modern Calligraphy, teaching you the very basics, the foundation strokes, drills to practices, lowercase and uppercase letters, words and sentences.

Wine and Calligraphy night at The Mount Without – photo: The Mount Without

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Across May Half Term: 10 Ways to Play, We The Curious
Looking for some free fun this May half term? Find We The Curious out on Millennium Square and create your own playground!

Half term at We The Curious – photo: We The Curious

Wednesday: Comedy on Tap, New Bristol Brewery
A new comedy night from the popular brewery in St Paul’s. Expect top quality comedy on both a local and national level, along with fantastic locally brewed beers. Bristol24/7 members also had the opportunity to win tickets and pints to this one, so if you fancy being in with the chance to win tickets and pints, along with fantastic freebies around the city, become a member here.

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Wednesday: Aspects Multi-sensory Album Launch Party, Lost Horizon
Bristol-based producer, podcaster and promoter Vice beats, the creator of the only official UK-based J Dilla tribute to date, returns with his second full length album, Aspects, which explores connection in a wide variety of forms.

The multi-sensory launch party will take you on a journey, turning Lost Horizon into a creative galaxy with lots of surprises in store, alongside great music from some of the collaborators on Aspects, and the album played in full with live visuals. This is also an opportunity to hear the album and grab a limited edition vinyl and merch before the public release on the Friday.

Aspects album launch party at Lost Horizon – photo: EQ Music

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This half term: UK’s First AirSlides open at AirHop Bristol
Slide & fly on the UK’s first indoor launch slides of their kind at AirHop Bristol.

Airslides at Airhop Bristol – photo: Airhop Bristol

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Now-July 23: Street Life, RWA
To accompany the main gallery exhibition Found Cities, Lost Objects, our very own Academicians, Malcolm Ashman RWA, and Stephen Jacobson RWA, have curated Street Life, a multidisciplinary exhibition of work themed around urban landscapes. 20 RWA Academicians were invited to take part in the show, exploring their experience of urban living through architecture, sculpture, printmaking, and painting.

Street Life at RWA – photo: RWA

Opens Thursday: BOVTS Summer Festival, The Wardrobe Theatre
The theatre school puts on eight brand new, cutting edge plays at The Wardrobe Theatre over a four week period, starting on Thursday. And with a double bill each production night, there are no shortage of opportunities to see the stage stars of tomorrow show you what they’re all about.

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Now-August 13: Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the city, RWA
Discover Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City. Curated by Turner Prize winner, Lubaina Himid CBE, this Arts Council Collection touring exhibition explores modern city life from a female perspective. Themes range from safety and navigation to concepts of belonging and power. Included are Bristol artists whose work examines Bristol’s history – where it has come from and where it is now.

Found Cities, Lost Objects – photo: RWA

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Thursday: The Room: 20th Anniversary Screening, Watershed
A celebration of the 20th anniversary of The Room including big surprises, never before seen footage from The Making of The Room and a sneak peek at Greg Sestero’s new UFO abduction movie. Includes live audio commentary, followed by a Q&A with Greg Sestero.

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Thursday: Bristol Beacon presents: Siv Jakobsen, The Louisiana
Norwegian musician Siv Jakobsen ushers in a hushed and breathtaking reverence with her songwriting. Her delicate vocals convey an emotive poignancy, underpinned by instrumental accompaniments that take in Jakobsen’s finger-picked guitar playing, soaring strings and striking harp and brass arrangements. The new album ‘Gardening’ was released to much acclaim this year, with Clunk Magazine describing it as “a new benchmark for modern folk records”. Jakobsen has spent a lot of time on the road, playing shows alongside the likes of Damien Jurado, José González and Susanne Sundfør, and will be supported at this gig by local bands Ead Wood and Deadheading.

Friday: Rough Sketch Productions presents The Clone Project, Cloak & Dagger
Dubbed ‘a cross between Black Mirror and Looney Tunes’ The Clone Project is an entirely improvised comedy show, set in a futuristic world where every human has multiple clones that can be reactivated in the event of death, and how this changes people’s relationship with the fragility of life.

The Clones Project at The Cloak and Dagger – image: Rough Sketch Productions

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Saturday: Whole Lotta Shakin’ – The Shakin’ Stevens Story, Redgrave Theatre
The award-winning tribute to the UK’s biggest selling singles artist of the 1980’s – Whole Lotta Shakin’ is a nostalgic celebration, jam packed with feel-good Rock ‘n’ Roll!

Whole lotta shakin’ at Redgrave Theatre – photo: Redgrave Theatre

Saturday: Dot to Dot Festival, various locations
The always popular multi venue festival returns to the city. Celebrating the best artists and bands from around the country, the festival takes over 13 central Bristol venues. With everywhere from the O2 Academy Bristol to The Crown, there’s no shortage of wicked new music to discover.

Dot to Dot Festival poster – image: Dot to Dot Festival

Saturday & Sunday: Love Saves The Day, Ashton Court
One of the most important events in the annual Bristol party calendar, Love Saves The Day returns to the sprawling Ashton Court for a weekend of some of the UKs finest DJs and performers. With Fatboy Slim headlining Saturday and years and years taking the reins on Sunday, it’s looking to be a cracking weekend, as it’s always proven itself to be.

Love Saves the Day 2023 poster – image: Love Saves the Day

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Saturday: The Comedy Box promotes: Stand Up For The Weekend with BEN NORRIS and GUESTS, Hen & Chicken Studio
The term “circuit legend” is overused, but Ben Norris is one of a handful that have been headlining for more than two decades and rarely departs a stage without leaving it torn to shreds in his wake. A master of the craft, this will be some of the most polished stand-up you are likely to see.

He is highly experienced and hugely well-respected and is renowned for his innate ability to improvise as well as deliver sharply crafted material.

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Sunday: The Young’uns, Redgrave Theatre
The Young’uns live shows are renowned. With heart-on-the-sleeve storytelling, beautiful lyrics, warm harmonies and relentless repartee, Sean Cooney, Michael Hughes, and David Eagle (the award-winning stand-up comedian) sing life-affirming folk songs for today.

Sunday: 1Relation sound system day party, Lost Horizon
If you’re looking for more mellow day party vibes but still soundtracked by an immense soundsystem, look no further than Lost Horizon. The 1Relation crew are a newly formed system, but formed from some of the finest names in the Bristol dub game, so you know you’ll be in for a treat of the bassiest and vibiest proportions.

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And coming soon…

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May 31: Candlelight: A tribute to Queen, The Mount Without
Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations never before used for this purpose in Bristol. Buy your tickets now to discover the music of Queen at The Mount Without under the gentle glow of candlelight.

Candlelight: A Tribute To Queen – photo: The Mount Without

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June 1: Bristol Beacon presents: Fantastic Negrito, The Fleece
Part love story, part history lesson, Fantastic Negrito’s extraordinary new album, White Jesus Black Problems, is an exhilarating ode to the power of family and the enduring resilience of our shared humanity. Inspired by the illegal, interracial romance of his seventh generation grandparents—a white indentured servant and an enslaved Black man—in 1750s Virginia, the collection is bold and thought provoking, grappling with racism, capitalism, and the very meaning of freedom itself, all without ever losing sight of the desire and determination at the heart of the tale. With his blues/rock/R&B sound winning him four GRAMMYs and sending him on tours with everyone from Sturgill Simpson to Chris Cornell, don’t miss this dynamic artist’s live performance at The Fleece this June.

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Friday 9th – Sunday 18th June: Festival of Nature, Millennium Square
Join the celebration for Festival of Nature’s 20th anniversary with its unmissable programme of vibrant city-centre events, family nature parties, wildlife workshops, walks and talks, film screenings, and spectacular performances across 10 days. Don’t miss out on the festival’s feature Bristol event at Millennium Square and Anchor Square &  June 17 and 18 – two days of free nature activities, stalls, food and drink, and special guest talks.

Festival of nature – photo: Natural History Consortium

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Opening July: Beyond Submergence, Propyard
Wondering what a 20,000sq. ft. immersive experience looks like? Step into Beyond Submergence this summer, a world-first exhibition of light & sound by Squidsoup, brought to Bristol by the team behind Four Tet’s immersive live performances dubbed ‘the best live show in the world’ by Mixmag. Take part in a once-in-a-lifetime experience, discover the host of events taking place in the exhibition space and find out how to book below.

Main photo: Plaster/Giulia Spadafora at Soul Media

Read next:

• Seska brings award-winning family comedy magic show to The Wardrobe Theatre
• Preview: Dot to Dot 2023
• Tickets go on sale for Beyond Submergence at Propyard

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