Primadonna Festival in Stowmarket wows audiences with weekend of literary fun

Primadona Festival returned on Friday to transport audiences to a world of books, ideas and thought-provoking conversations.

The three-day literary festival took place on The Food Museum’s grounds in Stowmarket and saw many festival-goers in attendance.

With an emphasis on giving women, people of colour, LGBTQI+ and disabled people a platform, it also featured conversations with musician La Roux, Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens, author Juno Dawson and screenwriter Abi Morgan.

Going into the event, ‘Suffragette’ and ‘The Iron Lady’ writer Abi Morgan said: “This will be my first time at the Primadonna Festival and I’m thrilled to be invited.

“I’m excited by the focus on female talent, the mix of writers, comics and musicians and all in such a beautiful and intimate setting.

“I’m looking forward to meeting the fantastic Cathy Rentzenbrink, saying hello to the brilliant Kit de Waal, congratulating C.E. Riley whose forthcoming book ‘Is This Love?’ I loved, and to meeting Viv Groskop in person.

“She recently interviewed me for her ‘How To Change the Room’ podcast on Zoom so it’s great to see she’s recording a live one at Primadonna.

“Plus of course hanging out with my agent, listening to some music and drinking something cold in the sunshine. The weather forecast is looking promising.”

The festival offered many activities for audiences to engage with, this included author talks, live music, debates, food and drink, massage, tarot readings, a cinema, campfire stories, hula hooping and dancing.

A big attraction for this year’s festival was the Walkabout Alice In Wonderland performance.

Hosted by Magic Floor Theatre Productions, the performance featured iconic characters and brought Lewis Carroll’s classic book to life.

Co-founder of the festival Shona Abhyankar said: “Like everyone, the past couple of years have been challenging so we’re even more proud of the hard work and planning that’s all coming to fruition.

“We are passionate about inclusivity and diversity, and we are not as some think, a festival only for women.

“We want to ensure women get prominence to balance out with other larger festivals but we welcome all genders.

“Primadonna Festival really has changed lives.”