Midlands-based theatre company Stan’s Cafe have announced the dates for their latest production, River Tours: The Avon – with performances across Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham (1-16 Aug 2026), including a visit to the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The poetic production floats visitors through centuries of history, folklore and wildlife, from the River Avon’s source in Northamptonshire to its union with the River Severn at Tewksbury, and features a remarkable collection of characters and unexpected stories, as well as moments of everyday life, past and present.
Lively, witty and fascinating stories – which range from historical facts to personal anecdotes – are recounted by actor/storyteller Kathryn Hanke beside a specially commissioned three metre long textile map tracing the course of the great river.
Created by Warwickshire-based Studio Mead (aka Ellie Carr-Smith and Molly Acacia Hughes) using screen printing and tufting techniques, the colourful detailed tapestry is filled with illustrations. These have been inspired by the stories collected by the Stan’s Cafe project team, who worked closely with communities and groups across Warwickshire and Worcestershire to bring together a rich archive of tales.
Opening on Saturday 1 August 2026, in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, River Tours: The Avon then travels just over the Worcestershire border to Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire (Sun 2 Aug), before returning to Warwickshire for stop-offs in Willoughby (Wed 5 Aug), Luddington (Fri 7 Aug), Shottery (Sat 8 Aug) and Hampton Lucy (Sun 9 Aug).
The tour then continues to Pershore, Worcestershire (Tue 11 Aug AM) and Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire (Tue 11 Aug PM), before concluding with five performances at The Royal Shakespeare Company, in Stratford-upon-Avon (Fri 14-Sun 16 Aug).
In addition, the production also winds into Birmingham for two performances (Thu 6 Aug, Stan’s Cafe’s Our Facility; Thu 13 Aug, Edgbaston Reservoir).
River Tours: The Avon is the sixth instalment of Stan’s Cafe’s ongoing River Tours project, which has previously visited The Thames, The Lune, The Indus, The Severn and the Volga.
Supporting the Avon project are the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the community groups they work with, along with Live & Local.
Tickets to all performances of River Tours: The Avon, are ‘pay what you can’ with tickets bookable via Stan’s Cafe’s website: stans.cafe
LISTINGS – RIVER TOURS: THE AVON
Saturday 1 August 2026
Cherington & Stourton Show, Stourton & Sutton-under-Brailes Hall, Shipston-on-Stour CV36 5HG
2.30pm
Sunday 2 August 2026
Tewkesbury Abbey, Church Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire GL20 5RZ
6.30pm
Wednesday 5 August 2026
Willoughby Village Hall, Main Street, Willoughby, Rugby, Warwickshire CV23 8BH
7.30pm
Thursday 6 August 2026
Our Facility, Stan’s Cafe Theatre, Umberslade Road, Birmingham B29 7RZ
7.30pm
Friday 7 August 2026
Luddington Village Hall, Luddington Road, Luddington, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9SD
2pm
Saturday 8 August 2026
Brook Arts Hub, 24 Cottage Lane, Shottery, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 9HH
2.30pm
Sunday 9 August 2026
Hampton Lucy Parish Field, Hampton Lucy CofE Primary School, Church Street, Hampton Lucy, Warwickshire CV35 8BE
1.30pm
Tuesday 11 August 2026
Pershore Riverside Centre, King Georges Way, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 1QU
11am
Tuesday 11 August 2026
Bidford Community Library, Bramley Way, Bidford on Avon, Warwickshire B50 4QG
7.30pm
Thursday 13 August 2026
Birmingham Settlement Nature and Wellbeing Centre, Edgbaston Reservoir, 79 Selwyn Road, Birmingham B16 0SL
2.30pm
Friday 14 August to Sunday 16 August 2026
Royal Shakespeare Company, The Dell, Southern Lane, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6BB
Fri 3pm, Sat & Sun 11am & 3pm
Tickets: Pay What You Can (£10 recommended)
Details and tickets: https://stans.cafe
Direct link: https://stans.cafe/project/project-river-tours/river-tours-the-avon/
ABOUT STAN’S CAFE’S RIVER TOURS
“What makes a river special is what happens on it, along it and in it.”
A documentary storytelling series with rivers as its subject. Nothing could be simpler. Stan’s Cafe commission textile ribbon maps that identify the positions of all bridges, dams, major settlements and confluences. These maps are then used to illustrate guided tours that cover thousands of years of history, beautiful natural history, famous sights and fascinating facts.
The tours are performed in an engaging, friendly style with wit and energy to a live audience.
Previous tours have included The Thames, The Lune, The Indus and The Severn, while international editions of the project are also in development, including The Daugava, in Latvia, and Africa’s third longest river, The Niger.
River Tours: The Avon debuts August 2026.
For more details, see: https://stans.cafe/project/project-river-tours/river-tours-the-avon/
ABOUT STAN’S CAFE
Stan’s Cafe is an internationally recognised theatre company and charity, founded in 1991 and based in Birmingham. They make ambitious, collaborative performances for theatres, galleries, public spaces and schools across the UK and around the world.
Their work has been seen by millions online and has multiple won awards for its social impact, but their core principle remains unchanged: they love inspiring and entertaining people with original and playful art.
Web: stans.cafe
X / Twitter: x.com/stanscafe
Facebook: facebook.com/stanscafetheatre/
Instagram: instagram.com/stans_cafe/
TikTok: tiktok.com/@Stanscafetheatre
ABOUT THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a leading global theatre company that sparks local, national and international conversations that build connections, create opportunities and bring joy.
We passionately believe that great storytelling can change the world, and that theatre offers its own unique form of storytelling: it’s live and shared, and transforms a group of strangers into audiences who, together, experience a story come to life in front of their eyes.
We collaborate with the most exciting artists to tell the stories of our time, and through a range of programmes we nurture the talent of the future.
We perform on three stages in our home in Stratford-upon-Avon, in London and in communities and schools across the country and around the world.
Our transformative Creative Learning and Engagement programmes reach over half a million young people each year.
ABOUT LIVE & LOCAL
Live & Local is a not-for-profit arts organisation working with a network of voluntary groups across Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire. The organisation provides a range of support for high quality professional arts activities that keep people in touch with their communities and enhance their quality of life. They are an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and also receive support from County, District and Borough Councils in the areas where they work.
For more details, see: www.liveandlocal.org.uk
ABOUT THE RIVER AVON
For more information about the river, including it’s route and history, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Avon,_Warwickshire