Rude Health Festival 2025 at Cambois Miners Welfare returns this autumn, bringing a daring mix of performance, film, dance, and community art to Southeast Northumberland. Running Friday 3 October – Friday 5 December 2025, this radical festival blends creativity with compassion, exploring health, belonging, womanhood, grief, and care.
Presented by The Tute, an artist-led community charity founded by Esther Huss and Alex Oates, the festival transforms the repurposed Cambois Miners Welfare into a thriving hub for innovation, storytelling, and connection.
Why See It
💥 Unique setting: staged from a historic miners’ welfare institute turned creative epicentre in Cambois — proving world-class art belongs everywhere.
⭐ Award-winning talent: features Liz Aggiss (Bonnie Bird Choreography & Total Theatre Award winner), Alistair McDowall, Yuvel Soria, and Lucy Suggate.
🎬 Visionary leadership: co-directed by Esther Huss and Alex Oates, known for pushing the boundaries between art, wellbeing, and community.
More Details
This year’s lineup raises the bar with a vibrant mix of world-class performances:
- AJAYU Transitorio (3 Oct) – a Bolivian Day of the Dead celebration by Yuvel Soria, blending dance, poetry, and communal storytelling.
- Here Be Dragons (4 Oct) – a family-friendly musical adventure from Unfolding Theatre.
- Cambois Hidden Depths Revisited (12 Oct) – reviving last year’s acclaimed street theatre event.
- Stronger Shores Exhibition (1–2 Nov) – exploring the coastline’s impact on health and wellbeing.
- Hexed! (15 Nov) – a new performance by Lucy Suggate and Charlie Ford, inspired by the Women of the North report.
- all of it (21 Nov) – Alistair McDowall’s exhilarating solo play staged as a reading.
- Women, Dance & the Sea (28 Nov) – a curated film night featuring Jacky Lansley, Rosemary Lee, and Liz Aggiss.
- Crone Alone (29 Nov) – Aggiss’s bold return to the stage with anarchic dance and sharp wit.
- From the Sea (5 Dec) – a new work-in-progress by Alex Oates, co-created with those who’ve experienced asylum and coastal life.
The festival also includes Write Now, Be Moved, and Twinkle Arti — projects connecting young people and families through art, writing, and movement.
Plan your visit
📍 Venue: Cambois Miners Welfare, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS
📅 Dates: 3 October – 5 December 2025
🎟 Tickets: thetute.uk
💷 Price Range: Check website for individual event pricing
♿ Accessibility: Step-free venue access and inclusive programming.
About The Tute
Founded in 2020 by Esther Huss and Alex Oates, The Tute is a Northumberland-based artist-led charity producing cutting-edge performance and participatory projects. Its mission is to prove that health, culture, and community belong together — bringing London- and Edinburgh-calibre art to local audiences.
