WOOLWICH WORKS STAGES ITS FIRST-EVER BEER FESTIVAL AS PART OF ECLECTIC AUTUMN SEASON
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24 BEERS ON TAP, SIX LOCAL GUEST BREWERIES, STREET FOOD, LIVE MUSIC AND GUIDED TASTINGS HEADLINE THE BIG BEER FEST & BIG BEER QUIZ (19 SEPTEMBER), ALONGSIDE CIRCUS SCRATCH NIGHT (25 SEPTEMBER), HUNDRED WATT CLUB (3 OCTOBER) AND ETHIOPIAN DREAMS (7–8 NOVEMBER)
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Woolwich Works will stage its first-ever beer festival on 19 September, leading an eclectic autumn programme of food and drink, cabaret, contemporary circus, poetry, theatre, heritage and live entertainment.
Taking over Woolwich Works for a full day, the Big Beer Fest will bring together 24 beers on tap from the venue’s own festival bar alongside six local guest breweries, hand-picked street food traders, live music, guided craft beer tastings and a Big Beer Quiz. The wider autumn season runs from September into November, ranging from risqué cabaret and new circus work to spoken word, performance and world-class Ethiopian acrobatics.
The season gets underway with Woolwich Carnival (12 September), returning under the theme Our Voices, Our Future, with live music, dance and a community parade culminating in a free celebration in the Woolwich Works Courtyard.
At the heart of the September programme is Woolwich Works Big Beer Fest (19 September), the venue’s first ever festival dedicated solely to brewing. Five of the six guest breweries are already confirmed: Northdown Brewery from Margate, Bianca Road Brew Co and Big Hug Brewing from London, Bexley Brewery from Bexley and Iron Pier from Northfleet, with one further brewery to be announced.
The festival is designed as a fun-packed full day out rather than simply a sampling session. Alongside the breweries, visitors can explore street food, live music and guided masterclasses covering brewing, ingredients and flavour profiles. A dedicated wine bar, low and no-alcohol options and soft drinks will also be available.
Tickets range from £8 to £20, with a Standard Festival Pass (£14), Premium Tasting Pass (£20) including a branded festival cup and three one-third pint tasting pours, and an Evening Finisher Pass (£8) offering entry from 4pm, live music, half a pint from the festival bar and entry to the Big Beer Quiz. Guided Craft Beer Tasting Experiences can be added for £7.50 in advance.
The same evening, The Passenger (19 September) offers a free work-in-progress showing of the follow-up to the acclaimed David Bowie homage From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads, blending storytelling, character, physical theatre and music in a journey through Los Angeles. What follows is a funny, moving and unpredictable journey through the city of dreams — from neon-lit streets and hidden corners to the legendary Chateau Marmont, a place where stories of fame, reinvention and collapse have unfolded for almost a century.
Woolwich Works opens up its remarkable Grade II and II* listed buildings for Heritage Open Day (20 September), part of the National Trust’s Heritage Open Day Programme, with a free programme of tours and talks exploring more than 300 years of history, before BrainFools brings Circus Scratch Night (25 September) to Ropekeepers Studio. The one-off evening gives audiences a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at contemporary circus in development, as artists test new material and receive live feedback.
On 26 September, The MixTape Poetry Festival brings London’s open mic and spoken word communities together for a day of poetry, music, food, dance, workshops and creativity, platforming established performers alongside new voices and independent makers.
October begins with a distinctly grown-up flourish as Hundred Watt Club makes its Woolwich debut on 3 October. One of the UK’s longest-running burlesque revues, the show promises an evening of old-time glamour and new-time wit, combining burlesque, vaudeville, comedy, showgirls, spectacle and song. This show is a no-holds barred, full throttle journey into the wonderful world of showgirls, spectacles and songbirds.
Later in the month, cult television gets an irreverent theatrical makeover in Buffy Revamped (28 October). Created and performed by comedian Brendan Murphy, the award-winning show races through all 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 70 minutes, told from the perspective of Spike and packed with 1990s pop-culture references. Even the most ardent of Buffy fans will not have experienced it quite like this.
November continues the programme with Make Joy (7 November), a one-day celebration of yarn and friendship bringing together knitters, crocheters, makers and a curated marketplace of independent creatives. The same weekend, Ethiopian Dreams (7–8 November) brings Circus Abyssinia’s unique, high-energy blend of Ethiopian cultural traditions, live music and world-class circus artistry to the Fireworks Factory, with contortion, hand-vaulting, juggling, Chinese pole and aerial stunts performed by an international cast. A multi-discipline extravaganza not to be missed.
Together, the programme reflects Woolwich Works’ role as a multidisciplinary cultural destination; a place where established names sit alongside artists developing new work, and where audiences can move between circus, cabaret, theatre, spoken word, food and drink, heritage and community events across a single season.
Nick Williams, Director of Woolwich Works, commented: “Our Big Beer Fest is a great way to kick off our autumn programme: pairing independent breweries with food, music and the chance to discover something new, whether you know your hops inside out or simply fancy a good day out with friends.
“That sense of discovery runs through the whole season. Over the following weeks audiences can experience extraordinary Ethiopian circus, step into the world of burlesque, hear new voices in spoken word or see circus artists testing brand-new ideas. We want Woolwich Works to be somewhere people come for the things they already love, but also somewhere they can take a chance on something unexpected.”
Tickets and information for all shows are available here.
