Medieval market entertainment

What a set of medieval entertainment includes

A set is a self-contained block of performance: thirty minutes if it is walkabout — a parade through the market streets — and twenty-five if it is static, in a square. We do not charge by the loose hour, because a fair does not need performers wandering about: it needs something to happen, at a set time, where the people are.

The medieval cast is made up of knights, minstrels, jesters, ladies, fauns, elves and sorcerers, in period costume and props, not fancy dress. Depending on what the programme calls for, in come stilt walkers, balance acts, acrobats, jugglers, aerial specialists and dancers. The close is almost always the fire show: torches, fans, staffs and fire breathing, with real fire and trained performers, not cold fire.

There are two acts a medieval market appreciates and few companies carry: a falconry display with birds of prey and a parade on horseback. Both can be added to the medieval programme or booked separately.

How the day is laid out at your medieval market

A full day is five sets spread across the day, and the order that works best is always the same: an opening parade to tell the village the fair has started, two entertainment blocks with the children in the late afternoon, a lit parade as night falls and the fire show to close. A half day is three sets and fits a one-day fair or an afternoon of patron saint festivities.

You do not have to handle the set-up. We need no stage and no structure: a closed room nearby for costume changes, a water point and a clear area for the fire. We fit ourselves to the route, the capacity and the running order you already have fixed, and if rain forces a change, the terms are put in writing before signing.

Tell us how many days the fair runs, what running order you are working to and how many people you expect, and we will tell you how many performers it takes. Filling the square of a village of five hundred is not the same as covering the old quarter of a city.

Medieval fairs and markets where we have performed

We work with the council and its culture or festivals department directly, or with the promoter running the market, depending on how each fair is organised. We have staged medieval entertainment at the Medievalia in Sabadell, at Guadalete Medieval in La Barca de la Florida, at the medieval market in Cútar and in the parades of Aljaraque.

And every season adds new squares: Chinchón, El Escorial, Titulcia and Rivas Vaciamadrid in the Madrid region; Toro, Alcañices and Castillo de Alba in Zamora; Molina de Aragón and Cifuentes in Guadalajara; Corral de Almaguer, Las Ventas con Peña Aguilera and Cazalegas in Toledo; Vilagarcía de Arousa and Baiona in Pontevedra.

The list is nowhere near closed. We travel from Madrid and the journey is inside the quote, so a village in Teruel pays the same as one in the hills outside Madrid. If yours is not here it does not mean it is far away: it means you have not called us yet.

Paperwork, insurance and what the quote covers

If you are the one writing the tender, this is what your finance office will ask about. Every performer is registered with social security by the company, with the employment paperwork in order, and the company holds public liability insurance and accident insurance. We give you a description of each show, its running time, the number of sets per day, the audience it is aimed at and photographic documentation: precisely what street entertainment tenders ask for.

The quote is fixed and carries everything but VAT: performers, costume, props, our own sound and microphones, fire materials, insurance, registrations, travel, accommodation and per diems. There is no per-kilometre price and no weekend, bank holiday or peak season surcharge. It comes as a PDF with several options, so you can compare and choose against what you have budgeted.

And if your fair is not exactly medieval? A custom theme costs no more. We also build Celtic, Viking, Celtiberian, Roman, Renaissance and Baroque, and if what you have in mind is not on this site, we create it.

If the tender specification asks for demonstration workshops as well as the shows, we do those too: trades, weapons, falconry and medieval games, with the craftsman explaining what he is doing. Tell us how long you need each act to run and how many hours you want to cover, and we build the programme on top of that.

Book medieval shows for your medieval fair, medieval market or town festival: ask for a quote with no obligation on +34 657 966 975.