An Indian Summer

Home
United Kingdom
Leicester
An Indian Summer

An Indian Summer shares the sights, sounds & wonders of South Asia in the heart of Britain!

Our mission is to celebrate the shared culture between the Indian subcontinent and the UK - nurturing exciting artistic collaborations and educating people from all walks of life about the past, present and future of our global community. Established in 2011, our festival has constantly pushed the boundaries of what a contemporary South Asian Mela should be. Produced by Inspirate we want to think

and deliver the cutting-edge, inspiring a new generation of 21st century diverse arts and culture. Music • Art • Theatre • Dance • Poetry • Food • Outdoor Cinema • Light Parades • Graffiti

Plus so much more...

10/06/2026

🎬 Sabar Bonda comes to AIS Festival 2026.

Winner of the Sundance World Cinema Grand Jury Prize (Drama), Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) is a critically acclaimed story of desire, loss, and ritual. When city-dweller Anand visits Maharashtra to observe a traditional mourning period for his father, he finds unexpected connections with a local farmer. A ‘magnificent film about longing and belonging’. Join us at the Phoenix Cinema for a poignant and tender cinematic journey.

(Marathi - with English subtitles)

Screening in partnership with Phoenix for An Indian Summer, director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade joins us for a Q&A after the screening.

Book your tickets now at https://www.phoenix.org.uk/whats-on/programme/cactus-pears-sabar-bonda/

09/06/2026

JAIKUR is a short dance film and companion work to The Lost Breath, Kesha Raithatha’s larger live solo production. Created through intimate conversations and movement sessions with senior South Asian women in Leicester, the film gathers stories of migration, memory, resilience, and ancestral femininity.

Set across the green landscapes and urban textures of Leicester’s South Asian heart of Belgrave Road — JAIKUR rewilds these women within the places they inhabit. It places them not at the margins, but fully visible within the wider landscape, honouring both their diasporic roots and their present-day belonging.

Rather than retelling stories literally, the film channels their emotional and spiritual resonance through movement, ritual, and cinematic imagery. It becomes an invocation of breath, lineage, and feminine inheritance — a celebration of women’s voices, visibility, and collective remembering.

Supported by The Place, London and Curve Theatre, Leicester.

Funded by Arts Council England

More details on our full programme at https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/whats-on

📸: Pepe Gavilondo

05/06/2026

Join our immersive, advanced workshop led by award-winning choreographer . Participants will deepen spatial awareness in ensemble settings, explore intentional movement through Bharatanatyam technique, and engage in choreographic devising. The day begins with a 1.5-hour conditioning session, culminating in an intensive, closely collaborative experience with Seeta Patel Dance artists.

This event has been produced collaboratively by and

Get your tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/advance-workshop-with-seeta-patel-dance-tickets-1989378509675

04/06/2026

Drawing influence from Indian dance, music, voice and play Holy Dirt is a forty-five-minute whirlwind incorporating Bharatanatyam and Kathakali, with modern physical theatre forms, such as bouffon, clowning and melodrama.

This episodic performance playfully explores the mythic feminine as she struggles ridiculously through our climate catastrophe - she stumbles, she dances, she transforms. Clay, stones, water, and sand erupt across the space in a visually startling drama set to a rich global soundscape, where the rawness of earth converges with myth and ritual.

This extraordinary work, both playful and profound, unfolds as an outdoor immersive installation, creating a powerful sensory experience for all ages.

Created and performed by Vidya Thirunarayan, directed and designed by David Glass, guest performer Dale Wylde.

Photo credits: Zoe Manders

Holy Dirt has been funded by supported by .uk, commissioned by and , in partnership with , India. Original production supported by , , Art Asia, David Glass Ensemble, Funded by Arts Council England.

03/06/2026

The perfect way to close a festival 🌟 with an evening of incredible live music, short film screenings and a live DJ set.

Full Circle, Still Turning brings the curtain down with live music set from Amrit Kaur (sarangi and voice), exploring the sacred sound of Sikh musical heritage whilst traversing the worlds of jazz, blues and soul.

We’ll be screening two short films - Jaikur by Kesha Raithatha and Roots & Rivers by Nupur Arts. This beautiful evening of South Asian artistry ends with an informal festival ‘gathering’ accompanied by a live DJ set from Aaron Hira.

Join us and book your tickets at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/full-cycle-still-turning-an-indian-summer-festival-tickets-1990384252880

01/06/2026

Kismat Walla captures the bustling atmosphere of South Asian market streets ✨ Set in and around a magical rairi (cart), this charming puppetry performance tells stories about fate, fortune and serendipity.

Kismat Walla will be the first major production led by emerging outdoor artist and Thingumajig Core Artist Reyyan Hammad. Reyyan will be the lead designer and a performer. The piece will be directed by Andrew Kim with puppetry direction by Mark Whitaker, and music direction by Kathy Kim.

View the full programme at https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/whats-on

Pc: Ian Hodgson

29/05/2026

✨ Garbh (womb) is an innovative, in-the-round, outdoor dance work that reimagines ancient Gujarati Folk Dance ‘Garba’, giving voice to this underrepresented ancestral form through contemporary choreography and immersive design .

Honouring divine feminine energy ‘Shakti', Garbh embodies the source of life, force of transformation, and essence of motherhood. The ensemble, orbiting a lit, central clay lantern that signifies life within the womb, explores themes of community, creation, resilience, and unity, transforming public spaces into vibrant sites of shared celebration and embodied ritual.

Through installation, bespoke soundscape, costume, and culturally rooted choreography, this new work transports audiences through a journey of life’s cycles in an enlivening, soulful experience that speaks to human connection and ecological renewal.

View the full programme at https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/whats-on

27/05/2026

26/05/2026

🌸 presents an outdoor adaptation of Stravinsky’s iconic ballet ‘The Rite of Spring’, brought to life through the powerful classical Indian dance style Bharatanatyam.

Performed by six dancers, this 33-minute pagan folk story is a striking fusion of Western classical music and Indian classical dance, celebrating the connection between cultures in an open-air setting.

This outdoor version enhances the work’s raw energy, immersing audiences in the elemental power of nature; the changing light, shifting winds, and open space amplify the intensity of the movement and the primal themes of sacrifice and renewal. The absence of a traditional stage blurs the boundary between performers and spectators, making the experience more immediate, visceral, and deeply connected to the world around it.

Visit our full programme at https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/whats-on

22/05/2026

6 Weeks to go until An Indian Summer 2026 ✨ Don't miss out on any of our events, for everything happening just swipe across and find out more 👉🏽

This year’s programme features open-air and indoor events happening in venues across the city, including Attenborough Arts Centre, Jubilee Square and the historic surroundings of Leicester Cathedral and Guildhall. Showcasing original work by South Asian artists from across the UK, this year’s festival programme features bold theatre, cutting-edge dance, live music, puppetry, film and visual arts.

To book our ticketed events and find out more about the festival programme, head over to our website now at https://www.indiansummer.org.uk/whats-on !

Address

Phoenix Square, 4 Midland Street
Leicester
LE11TG

Website

https://linktr.ee/indiansummeruk

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when An Indian Summer posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Arts & Entertainment in Leicester?