The annual Canterbury Festival kicked off last weekend, offering a fortnight of diverse entertainment. What's On rounds up some of the best events on offer in this week’s programme.

Friday, October 25

7pm: Picasso through the Eyes of Lee Miller and Roland Penrose - Gulbenkian Theatre (tickets £6.50)

Antony Penrose, son of the late renowned American photo-journalist Lee Miller and her husband, surrealist painter Roland Penrose, grew up around many famous artists, including Pablo Picasso. Antony will be giving a talk about his family’s friendship with the Spanish painter, ceramicist and sculptor, illustrated by his mother’s photographs.

7.30pm: Bloodshot - St Mary’s Hall Studio Theatre (tickets £15)

Festival audiences are sure to be kept on the edge of their seats during this intelligent thriller. A one-man show, it stars Simon Slater as photographer Derek, who receives an envelope from a stranger asking him to take pictures of an elegant young woman as she walks through Holland Park in London. The catch is, she must not know she is being photographed, leading Derek to become embroiled in a mysterious and dark world of intrigue.

9.30pm: Ahab - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £15)

The four-piece group started out busking in London, where their unique sound took shape, a combination of four-part vocal harmony and folk rock.
Since getting together in 2009, Callum Adamson (guitar and vocals), Dave Burn (guitar and vocals), Seebs Llewellyn (bass and vocals) and Luke Price (mandolin and vocals), have played at festivals around the world, and supported top folk artists including Bellowhead.

Saturday, October 26

7pm: Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £10)

The comedy act began in the UK in 2005 and has been performing around the world ever since, including appearances on TV shows including BBC’s One Show, MTV, and Channel 4’s Big Brother’s Little Brother. They will be serving up a new show of songs, sketches, socks and violence with a sci-fi theme. It is suitable for ages 12 and over.

9.30pm: Fraktured Faerie Tails - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £15)

This outrageous show will see the glamorous members of Drags Aloud offer their unique take on much-loved children’s stories. Laugh and sing along with some surprising, yet familiar characters in this wildly camp show. It is suitable for ages 16 and over.

Sunday, October 27

11am: Luke Jackson - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £5)

Start your Sunday with up-and-coming Canterbury folk singer/songwriter Luke Jackson. The 18-year-old, nominated for two categories in this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, will perform tracks from his debut album More Than Boys.

7.30pm: Mikhail Rudy: Pictures at an Exhibition and Petrushka - Colyer-Fergusson Hall (tickets £18, students £10)

Celebrated Russian pianist Mikhail Rudy will give a special recital, accompanied by an animated film based on original drawings and designs by Vasily Kandinsky, and Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka.

Monday, October 28

2pm: Professor Palmermoff - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £5)

All ages are sure to be left amazed by this fun-filled family magic show. Professor Palmermoff can produce bottles of wine from a balloon and change lottery tickets into real bank notes, and will also perform Tommy Cooper’s classic trick, the Multiplying Bottles.

Wednesday, October 30

9.30pm: Craobh Rua - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £12)

The Belfast band, pronounced Crave Ru-ah, will be performing a compelling celebration of Irish music and song. The acoustic four-piece mix rousing jigs, reels and polkas with tender ballads, using traditional instruments including uillean pipes, fiddle, whistles, banjo and mandolin.

Thursday, October 31

9.30pm: Doudou Cissoko - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £12)

A celebrated Kora maestro, songwriter and Griot from Senegal, Doudou Cissoko will be joined by a band of international troubadours for some world-class world music.

Friday, November 1

7.30pm: Out of the Shadow - Colyer-Fergusson Hall (tickets £18 or £12 for students)

Dance troupe Nobulus’s latest show Out of the Shadow features a mix of breakdance, popping and locking, contemporary dance, acrobatics and ballet. Using only their bodies, this 10-strong Austrian crew create otherworldly scenes by morphing themselves into structures, creatures and even machines.

11pm: CoCo & the Butterfields - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £5)

The five-piece Canterbury band will be coming home for a late night gig, performing their unique fusion of folk, pop and hip hop.

Saturday, November 2

2pm: Curious Creatures - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £5)

Step into the Curious Creatures wildlife park, established by world-renowned explorer, Jeremiah Johnson. Unfortunately, Jeremiah is currently lost somewhere in the jungles of Africa, so he has handed the running of the park over to his inexperienced nephew Craig. Expect to meet curious creatures, from skateboarding snails and gymnastic gerbils to an irritable alligator and an over-excited elephant. Using puppets and live music – plus lots of amazing natural history facts – Squashbox Theatre will uncover the mysteries of the animal kingdom.

9.30pm: Closing Party with Lúnasa - Festival Spiegeltent (tickets £15)

Since forming in 1997, Irish instrumental band Lúnasa’s inventive approach to celtic music has seen them sell more than a quarter of a million albums, and perform at venues around the world including the Sydney Opera House and America’s White House.

The Canterbury Festival runs until Saturday, November 2. To book tickets in person, visit the Festival Box Office at the Marlowe Theatre, open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm. Alternatively call 01227 787787 or visit www.canterbury festival.co.uk