DMU graduates and students set to wow at Story City 16

Students and graduates from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) are part of an innovative performance festival set to take place across the city.



Story City is a nine-day festival that showcases work from local and national artists in theatre, dance, spoken word, comedy, music, storytelling, installations and podcasts.

At the end of each event, the audience members are given an envelope and pay how much they think the experience was worth – with all the money going to the artists.

Take part in workshops, watch new dance pieces, join an immersive performance or help crown Leicester’s best busker – there are some fantastic shows to support.



Story City Festival runs from July 15 to 23, with 35 events across art spaces and other venues in Leicester. These include Peter’s Pizzeria, The Cookie, Upstairs at the Western, The Font pub, The Exchange, New Walk Museum and Attenborough Arts Centre.

Second year Performing Arts student Ross Thomson will be performing his solo piece, Dear Sir, at Upstairs at The Western on July 21. It is an autobiographical performance on the struggles of masculinity and what it means to be “a real man”.

Ross said: “It’s something different and I like the ‘pay what you want’ aspect because I want to hear audience feedback. I haven’t done anything like this before, so I am nervous, but also excited.”

Story City is staged by a team of Performing Arts and Drama graduates Laura Evans, Andrew Davis, Paul Rogers and Kirsty Mealing, together with Northampton and East15 graduates.

Last year was the inaugural festival, with nearly 1,000 people coming to see performances in Leicester’s theatres, cafes and pubs.

Laura, who is also a part-time lecturer at DMU, said: “I’m so excited about the Story City programme this year. The work is diverse and high quality, and it’s great to have such a local presence – and a big DMU presence too!

“Upon graduating, I have found that the arts community in this city is so supportive and nurturing, and Story City really is the result of people getting together and making stuff happen! We’ve had an incredible amount of support from our venues and partners across the city.”