The Iron Age earthworks of Maiden Castle and fields overlooking Chesil Beach will be transformed into performance spaces for an exciting arts festival.

Biennial arts showcase Inside Out Dorset is a chance to see rural and urban locations transformed by some of the best international outdoor circus, theatre, dance and art.

Performers from the UK, France and the Netherlands are part of the festival this year, and most shows are free.

It runs from Friday, September 14 to Saturday, September 22.

This year’s sites and national heritage locations include Maiden Castle near Dorchester, a field near Chickerell Army Camp, Poole Quay, and the woodlands around Shelley Park in Boscombe, Bournemouth.

Boscombe will be the location for three UK premieres on September 15 and 16: Manimal: Gesticulating, a way of thinking about the world by Les Souffleurs Commandos Poetiques from France, De Weide Wereld by Waterlanders, and Olie by Collectief Waldon, both from the Netherlands.

Inside Out Dorset co-artist director Kate Wood says: “We are looking forward to welcoming artists from all over Europe to perform in our distinctive county.

"The opportunity to present so many premieres by companies that have never worked in the UK before is very special.”

A field overlooking Chesil Beach formerly owned by the MOD near Chickerell Camp will host a large-scale outdoor production for up to 2,000 people.

Furious Folly was co-commissioned by the town of Poperinge in Flanders to mark the anniversary of the first use of poison gas and by 14-18 NOW, the UK’s World War One centenary programme.

On the battlefront in no man's land, the audience find themselves immersed in a world of sound, light, pyrotechnics and performance. Mark Anderson leads a team of artists who draw on the anti-war spirit of the early 20th century Dadaist movement to 'rail against the madness of the battlefield and challenge the inhumanity and senselessness of conflicts past and present'.

It will be performed on Wednesday, September 19 and Thursday, September 20.

Tickets priced £10 available via insideoutdorset.co.uk

Meanwhile, Wayfaring by the And Now: company is 'an artistic journey of exploration', inspired by the landscape and ancient routes of the pre-Roman pathway, the Icknield Way. It runs from Saturday, September 15 to Saturday, September 22 and is free to attend.

Audiences are invited to join the artists on a procession from Dorchester’s Corn Exchange to Maumbury Rings and Maiden Castle. Then, using local and found materials, And Now: will craft an installation on Maiden Castle which audiences can move through, investigate and contribute to. On the final weekend illumination, music and performance will transform the installation in a beautifully intimate celebration of people and place.

This will be the culmination of a three-year national heritage project. Prior to the Dorset final, And Now: will have created installations in two other Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the Icknield Way, Wells Beach in Norfolk and in the grounds of Basildon Park on the edge of the North Wessex Downs.

Boscombe will be the location for three UK premieres on September 15 and 16: Manimal: Gesticulating, a way of thinking about the world by Les Souffleurs Commandos Poetiques from France, De Weide Wereld by Waterlanders, and Olie by Collectief Waldon, both from the Netherlands.

The opening weekend at Poole Quay on September 14 and 15 will see sodade from French company Cirque Rouages, The Actual Reality Arcade, by Matthew Harrison and Rock the Boat Street Guitars.