Aldeburgh Festival 2022 is a 24-day celebration of music and the arts, running 3 – 26 June.

The programme features several significant works about sustainability and the climate crisis. One is composer Laura Bowler’s ground-breaking music-theatre piece, Houses Slide, which will be performed on 4 June at 7pm by soprano Jessica Aszodi with the London Sinfonietta and acclaimed theatre director Katie Mitchell.

All the power needed for the performance of Houses Slide – the lighting and the sound – will be generated solely by the pedal power of 16 voluntary cyclists. Britten Pears Arts, which runs the Aldeburgh Festival, is inviting keen Suffolk cyclists who would like to take part in rehearsals throughout the week and the performance to get in touch to volunteer and make their Aldeburgh Festival debut in June.

Matthew Walker, one of the producers at Britten Pears Arts, says: “We are looking for people who have a reasonable level of fitness, but you certainly don’t have to be an elite cyclist. Houses Slide encourages all of us to think of interesting and fun ways we can address one of the great challenges of our time.”

First Suffolk Sportive at Aldeburgh Festival Houses Slide is not the only Aldeburgh Festival event which involves cycling. This year features the first Suffolk Sportive, in association with TRP Events. The event is open to all: you can book your place on a 25-mile, 50-mile or 75-mile cycle ride through the Suffolk countryside, departing from Snape Maltings, the home of the Aldeburgh Festival.

There will be a variety of low carbon options for travelling to and from events without bringing a car. Alternatives to the usual festival coaches include signing up to the Aldeburgh Festival Liftshare scheme, created by Suffolk Liftshare, to share car journeys with other audience members, saving money and helping to cut carbon emissions. You will also be able to charge electric vehicles at Snape Maltings, or there’s the option to book an on-demand Katch electric taxi-bus to Snape Maltings from Wickham Market Station (in Campsea Ashe), Framlingham or Tunstall.

Special Aldeburgh Festival electric bikes that you can use to get around and maximise your enjoyment of the beauty of the Suffolk coast are also available to hire from its partners Eezybike in Aldeburgh.

* Find out more about transport options at: www.brittenpearsarts.org/aldeburgh-festival-2022/festival-transport

For more information on Aldeburgh Festival and to book tickets, go to. www.aldeburghfestival.co.uk.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help power the performance of Houses Slide, email: hscyclists@brittenpearsarts.org. Or to book tickets for that event go to: www.brittenpearsarts.org/events/houses-slide