Guest blog: Exeter Culture presents June Boom Week Four

As we come together for one final final week of June Boom celebrations, it's not too late to join the action and some would say we've saved the best for last.

It's not just us saying that though as our friends at Exeter Culture are here to share another indispensible guide of what's on across the city. June Boom is certainly signing off with a bang!

Comedy

If you didn't get the chance to enjoy the Comedy Festival earlier this month then the laughs keep coming with some big hitters taking to the stage this week. New New Zealand’s favourite surrealist Rhys Darby (from the brilliant Flight of the Conchords and Our Flag Means Death, among many other TV delights) will be bringing the house down at Exeter Corn Exchange on Tuesday 24th while star of Live at the Apollo and co-host of All Killa No Filla, Rachel Fairburn, brings the laughs to Exeter Phoenix on Sunday 29th.

Theatre

If theatre with laughs is more your bag, Exeter Phoenix is setting up the sun loungers for Brits Abroad: Banned on 23rd June. Promising an evening of comedy, physical theatre, live music and biting satire from NotThatButThat, the show has already been on a sell-out run at Edinburgh, Hastings and Brighton Fringe 2024.

With a cast including Ricky Tomlinson, Irish culture, music and comedy is celebrated at the Northcott Theatre with Irish Annie’s on Tuesday 24th and on Saturday 28th Barnfield Theatre is hosting an afternoon double-bill of productions from Theatretrain Exeter’s students: Chicago and Disney’s Aladdin Jr. 

Everyone’s favourite spoken-word maven Chris White and Spork! are in residence at the Exeter Library on Thursday 26th, featuring award-winning poets Malaika Kegode and Caroline Bird. There’ll also be live music from hilarious local singer-songwriter Lizzie Lidster, and a pop-up bar.

Visual art

For visual arts fans, Art Work Exeter’s brilliant Pile Up! programme has one more event before it comes to a close. Join Louise Ashcroft, Farmer Glitch and Freya Gabie for ‘Artists Talk Rubbish’ at the Custom House Friday 27th (from 4pm) to talk about the exhibition and answer questions. After a short performance action by Louise at 5.30pm, the artists will be in conversation with Matt Hulland, Resource Recovery Manager at Exeter City Council, about the materials and processes involved in making Pile Up! and wider issues of resource exhaustion and circular economies.

Music

Hitting all the right notes is a tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at Exeter Corn Exchange on Friday 27th (‘Oh What a Night’) and on the same night at Exeter Cathedral is Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. If you fancy something a bit more bluesy and soulful, then the fabulous Southern Fried Groove Queens are at the Phoenix on Saturday 28th and the following night sees rising independent artist Mac Adam at 12 Bar Music and Social on Paris Street. If you enjoy your music al fresco then the the Lympstone Band Summer Concert perform at the Transit Shed, at Exeter Quay, Thursday 26th.

Exeter's Historic Quayside is certainly the place to be on Sunday 29th as the annual Dragon Boat Race (10am-4pm) sees local teams competing, in aid of Devon Air Ambulance.

If that's not enough to keep you busy then check out out full June Boom guide.