A MAJOR theatrical festival will begin in a North-East town tomorrow (Thursday October 3).

The Jabberwocky Market will transform venues around Darlington into hubs of creative activity when it takes over the town for the weekend.

The four-day celebration of theatre is staged in conjunction with the internationally acclaimed Battersea Arts Centre as part of a nationwide project bringing high-calibre theatre to areas around the country.

A successful preview programme of events held in the run-up to tomorrow’s launch saw the team behind the festival take over a stall in the town’s covered market to host a series of live performances as a taster for the main event.

Tomorrow’s launch will see The Forum transformed into the Jabberwocky Market, with artists and artisans manning a variety of specialty stalls alongside a selection of performances taking place throughout the day.

On Friday, Hummersknott Academy will host a day devoted to children aged between seven and 12. Youngsters can enjoy two shows – the interactive What If?, which encourages children to question the universe, and Mouth Open, Story Jump Out, a Battersea Arts Centre Production about a master maker-upper.

On Saturday, the town centre host a number of pop-up events and performances whilst Sunday’s relaxed finale features poetry, performances and stalls at The Voodoo Café and Quaker Meeting House, which will host the festival’s headline performance, Paper Cinema’s Odyssey – a silent film featuring puppetry and a captivating live score.

Festival producer Caroline Pearce said: “We are really excited about the festival, it is all coming together and we cannot wait for it to finally happen..

“Our preview programme has been massively successful, so many people came to watch and support the performers and many of them have become involved with the festival.

“We have really tried to engage with the local community and it has just snowballed, we have had so many people come forward and volunteer.

“We hope that the main programme is going to be as successful as the preview. There are a lot of new ideas in the festival as a whole and it is really exciting.”

Tickets, costing £14.50 for each day, are still available.

For more information and a full schedule of events, visit jabberwockymarket.org.uk or follow @JabbMarket on twitter.