UEL’s After Dark Festival February 29, 2024

The University of East London (UEL) hosts its second annual ‘After Dark’ Festival at its Docklands campus on Thursday, 29 February, 2024. The festival is a flagship event produced this year as part of the University’s ‘Year of Science’, which explores the impact of technology and AI on careers and communities. The sporting aspect of the festival acknowledges that 2024 is also an Olympic year.

‘After Dark’ will showcase UEL’s innovation in sport, creativity and movement. This free event is open to all and features music, dance, creative arts and fashion. Visitors are invited to participate in immersive experiences to test their individual performance against sporting legends. The festival is designed to be an experiential journey.

Hilary Lissenden, the University’s Assistant Chief Operating Officer for Sport and Active Campus says: 

After Dark is about shared creativity and expression. The Year of Science adds a further element to the 2024 festival. UEL will demonstrate how tech can offer enrichment on a personal level. We welcome the whole east London community to take part.”

Guest artist, Charlie Tymms, is known for her puppetry design for films War Horse, and Isle of Dogs and theatrical productions Life of Pi and Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away in Tokyo.

Charlie says: “I’m extremely excited to work with UEL’s art foundation students, to produce the parade puppets and showcase them against such a stunning backdrop. And I love the idea of incorporating course-related experience into large-scale events production. Whenever someone animates an inanimate object and casts it in a scenario, we see the beginning of life for a puppet. In some ways, puppeteering is an art form that defies gravity.”

For the second year, UEL theatre undergraduate Oliver Cudmore will support the festival as part of the After Dark student committee. He says: “Last year’s event was very hands-on and a lot of fun, which is why I’m involved in it again this year. It was lovely to see the look of amazement on people's faces. It's not just about UEL but the community around us as well, which I really love. It brings people together.”

The After Dark Festival starts at 5.00pm and concludes at 8.00pm on 29 February. Admission is free. To book your ticket and to learn more, visit UEL online.