VISITORS to one of the region's leading festivals can expect the unexpected during three days of street theatre.

The final weekend of the Stockton International Riverside Festival will provide a platform for a wide range of street performances.

The High Street is the main focus for the performances, which will take place every afternoon and evening from Friday to Sunday.

On The Kerb, a showcase of five new pieces of street performance, which are part of the National Street Arts Festival will be held tomorrow.

On Sunday, award-winning Brazilian duo De Ramos Acrobats will do backwards somersaults over a car.

Spanish company Teatro del Azar will bring a splash of colour to the weekend with their roller-skating baroque court and manic robots. Eight-foot "gorillas" will also be on the loose.

Treteaux du Coeur Volant will return with a new show of tightrope walking, acrobatics, fire-eating and trapeze.

Festival artistic director Frank Wilson said: "This year's event is taking place well and truly at street level."