STUNNING fire gardens, circus troupes, live art and comedy will all be on show from today as Sirf returns to Stockton Town Centre with more than 100 shows. The festival, which runs until Sunday, will celebrate the redevelopment of the area with four days packed full of spectacular street theatre, dance and music productions from all around the world.

A focus for Sirf 15 is Instant Light, the interpretation of a story commissioned from Sara Maitland telling the magical tale of how Stockton became a festival town. It starts with the historic fact of John Walker's invention of the friction match and weaves through it the magic of the circus to create a mythical version of how the festival might have come about. Instant Light, will be presented in episodes over the full weekend.

Sirf opens with the Instant Light circus troupe arriving in Stockton by boat. The circus troupe will disembark and lead its audience along the Riverside to enjoy BoO, a spectacular trapeze show by French company, CirkVOST performed on an extraordinary structure of 368 bamboo poles.

The Instant Light story continues tomorrow and Saturday with Love Struck, the story of the meeting of John Walker and Vesta from the circus and the invention of the friction match – a pharmacist with ambitions to be an inventor meets a daring circus dancer. Together, they become accidental alchemists, and the spark between them ignites the way for a beautiful and intimate journey.

Also tomorrow, the festival features a fiery theatrical performance inspired by Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 novel. Spectators will watch the story unfold in a display of high-octane drama and pyrotechnics to show a dystopic society where people seek happiness in a world of technology.

Tomorrow and Saturday will also bring Carousel, a fully-functioning merry-go-round complete with a host of mysterious characters. Music, dance and drama combine for a stunning piece of dance theatre in which the performers use the carousel’s revolving platform to flip, roll, dive, and spin to an eclectic Balkan and Gypsy-influenced score.

Stockton’s Parish Gardens will play host to Navrattan on Saturday and Sunday. This magical weekend highlight is inspired by the children’s stories of Mughal Emperor Akbar and his favourite Advisor Birbal. Audiences will embark on an epic quest of shadow puppetry, interactive storytelling, dance and craft workshops to solve clues and collect the missing gems of Emperor Akbar’s favourite pendant, the Navrattan.

“For 28 years Sirf has been a highlight of our diverse events programme, offering a fabulous display of skilled performers, theatre, music and entertainment. With the regeneration of the High Street, this year’s festival will be bigger and better than ever. We have plenty to celebrate in Stockton and are delighted to bring the unique, creative festival back with another programme of unmissable shows,” says Councillor Norma Wilburn, cabinet member for arts, leisure and culture.

French fire artists Cie Carabosse will close the festival on Sunday. The company has created a masterpiece for Sirf which will transform Trinity Church and Trinity Green into an immersive garden of fire, light and music on a grand scale for a very different and exciting end.

A programme of shows runs from noon until 11pm on each day. There will be a mixture of both small and large-scale production shows for all ages.

Entry to the festival is free. Audience capacity to 451 and Navrattan is limited and tickets are available now. Look for information about how to get tickets on sirf.co.uk or ask at Sirf Central on the High Street.

n This year's Saturday Sirf Community Carnival will bring the Instant Light story to life with a magical tale of how Stockton became a festival town. At noon the procession will start down Church Road to Stockton High Street, Tower Street and end on Stockton Riverside.

Six sections of the parade have been created by different artists. Section 1: The Circus Comes to Town by Morwenna Catt which takes inspiration from the Victorian Circus.

Section 2: Victorian Stockton by Shirley Wells looks at the excitement of the railways and other new inventions which left a legacy for the town.

Section 3: John and Vesta by Katy Dye. The tale of John Walker a chemist who lived and worked on Stockton High Street and invented the world’s first friction match and Vesta an aerialist performer from the circus returns to the streets.

Section 4: The Spark by Creative Seed highlights the importance of John Walker’s invention. Based on flames, fire, sparks and light this section will bring to life the friction match and difference it made to people’s lives.

Section 5: Sirf by Kim McDermottroe celebrates the event's 28-year history of bringing the best street theatre performers to Stockton High Street.

Section 6: Lighting the Skies by Sue Walpole and Thea Soltau features a riot of colour based on fireworks because every year SIRF finishes with fantastic fireworks and skies full of colour and sparkle.