EASTLEIGH Unwrapped is set to return this summer, filling the streets of the town with stunning theatre, circus, interactive performance and live music.

Now in its fifth year, the free festival curated by The Point, will offer a day of fun for the whole community on Saturday June 17.

In 2016, #EastleighUnwrapped was a trending topic nationwide and saw over 31,000 people visit Eastleigh on the day according to figures from the Eastleigh Business Improvement District, resulting in a welcome boost to the local economy.

New for this year, the festival now forms part of the venue’s Summer Social programme, two whole weeks of performances and activities which throw open the doors and take The Point’s work outside.

What hasn’t changed is the festival’s commitment to bringing some of the UK’s most exciting and innovative artists and companies to Eastleigh, and this year is no exception, featuring a lineup with something for all the family to enjoy.

Kicking things off with a bang - literally will be the Batala Portsmouth Samba drummers,with a programme that features:

•Motionhouse – a world class dance-circus company who present their physically powerful and extraordinary work Captive where dancers use incredible skill and instinct to manoeuvre inside a large, metal cage.

•Paper Birds – Set inside a magical caravan where kettles talk, cupboards open to reveal pop-up worlds and the whole space transforms around the audience.

•Team Extreme – Watch in awe at the daring tricks performed on BMXs, skateboards and scooters by Team Extreme and maybe have a go yourself…

•Lori Hopkins – A one-woman puppet show for the whole family

•Talking Birds – Up to seven people at a time can enter The Oakmobile, a magical micro-theatre in the shape of a gleaming, aluminium acorn which hides a peaceful forest glade inside its walls, complete with the sights, smells and sounds of nature.

•Kazzum – Rapper Arji Manuelpillai is The Merry Maker – bringing joy on his three-wheeled trike as he freestyles with unsuspecting members of the public, spitting bars based on their surroundings, the people they’re with or the food they’re eating.

•Raquel Meseguer & Rebecca Tantony – Starting outside The Point, All the Journeys I Never Took takes just one or two audience members at a time on an audio journey to a car parked on the high street, where this highly immersive, spoken word show begins.

•Pif Paf – Returning to Unwrapped with this brand new show, Seed tells the story of Wilford, a tree-planting anarchist on the run from his arch-enemies, the robot slug police.

•Circo Rum Ba Ba – Two eccentric mustachioed waiters arrive in style on their Bicycle Bistro, lay the table and unleash mayhem with hat juggling, plate spinning and acrobatics.

•Glasshouse – The classic boy-meets-girl tale is given a shake-up in Us, which bridges the gap between contemporary dance and street theatre.

•Ceyda Tanc Dance – The Point’s associate artist will be performing an integrated piece featuring professional dancers alongside members of Hampshire Youth Dance and The Point’s Retrospectif companies.

Eastleigh Unwrapped will also feature a ticketed evening performance, as festival regulars Acrojou present Vessel, an athletic fusion of acrobatics and physical theatre performed inside a tiny, wooden boat with the stunning effect of video projected onto water. The performance will take place on The Point’s Dancing Garden stage as the light dims, and tickets will cost £5 or two for £8.

Running from 12-5pm, the festival will also feature live music, the chance to learn circus skills with Top Banana, street magic from The Point’s associate artist Theatre Re and don’t forget to pop into The Sorting Office for their seasonal Open Studios event, where you can browse the work of 16 talented designer-makers based at the former Post Office site.

More information at: www.thepointeastleigh.co.uk or phone the Box Office on 023 8065 2333.