A mutilated body has been found in the NCP car park in Hall Ings, Bradford...

Police have played down any supernatural goings on, but a witness at the scene boldly suggest vampires are behind the grisly incident.

This is the background to a performance opening Bradford's first experimental arts festival tonight.

The show, They Only Come at Night, is the headline piece for Stir: Escape The Ordinary, a festival in which an array of leading arts-scene partners have gathered to litter the city's streets with weird and wonderful acts.

The festival runs from tonight until Saturday and will also include raves on milk floats, a world premiere of digital short films and the rather mysterious "Bowlers" - 40 figures in bright bowler hats wandering about the city before congregating in Centenary Square for a dance performance.

They Only Come at Night is a piece incorporating theatre, dance, free running, music and digital projection in one of Yorkshire-based Slung Low's most challenging performances.

Slung Low producer Ben Pugh said: "I think this is possibly one of our most challenging locations, but in terms of being part of the Stir festival, it is a really exciting opportunity to be part of something new.

"I remember when I was younger and I was interested in theatre and art, Bradford was the place to come and see new and exciting work.

"We would come on school trips from Harrogate to see what was going on, but it has sort of dropped off a bit over the last few years.

"But now we are at the point where there is some really new and exciting thinking going on and hopefully it will be a vehicle for future generations to build on this new approach."

Alan Lane, artistic director for Slung Low, said he expects the show to be an intense experience.

He said: "The audience will arrive and a murder has just taken place. We will let three people in at a time and they will go on a separate path to other people, so everybody gets a different part of the story.

"The experience only lasts 20 minutes but there is so much packed into it that it will be quite intense.

"There is a lot of very good work that comes out of Bradford and because we don't seem to group it together we don't know how much quality there is.

"This is a great shop window to show people there is this quality stuff going on and it's not difficult to see it."

As well as the various events taking place throughout the city centre, on Saturday, St George's Hall will be taken over in a 12-hour occupancy by some of Yorkshire's most edgy digital performance and musical artists.

Advance tickets for events are available from Bradford Theatres box office on (01274) 432000. For Slung Low performances and information e-mail lucy@slunglow.org.

What's on at the festival

Weirdness on the Streets

Keep your eyes peeled for the quirkiest stuff on the streets in Bradford: from giant letters (Hugh Jart: The Word on the Street) to bowler-hatted interlopers (The Bowlers) and a roaming pit lane crew (Pit Stop), STIR is bringing the unusual to the every-day.

Date: today until Saturday; Time: when you least expect it! Place: city centre

Bradford Squares - inck

Six writers and a designer stir an envelope round the city to delight readers. Writers include Tajinder Singh Hayer, Gav Husband, Anne McNeill, Tariq Mehmood, Mandy Sutter, River Wolton. Produced by Steve Dearden. Pick it up in bookshops, libraries and at STIR events or log on to www.bradfordsquare.net for more information.

Date: from today; Place: bookshops, libraries, STIR events

Fresh Milk Float

An electric milk float doubles as a stage, transportation and fuss creator for musical happenings. Think Ibiza ... but on a milk float.

Date: today until Saturday; Time: 1pm and 5pm; Place: Centenary Square, Bradford

Bicycle sound systems and random amplified busker sets

Three bicycles roam the city, each towing a speaker playing music by local artists. At points, the bicycles and the Fresh Milk Float meet, join speakers and amplify a short live set by a local artist or band.

Date: today until Saturday; Time: 1pm and 5pm; Place: city centre locations, Bradford

Slung Low - They Only Come at Night

What only comes at night when our perception is most distorted? Set after dark in an abandoned car park, They Only Come at Night combines performance, dance, free-running, music and digital projection in a fast-moving, high-energy theatre experience.

Date: today until Saturday; Time: 8pm, 9pm, 10pm and 11pm; Place: Hall Ings NCP Car Park, Bradford Limited places - e-mail a contact number and details of the date and time you would like to attend to lucy@slunglow.org

Standing On Ceremony

Make a statement and present yourself with a self-styled Lifetime Achievement Award on Blink's Picture Messaging Plinth. Then see your image on the Big Screen in Centenary Square and become part of an interactive gallery of Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Date: tomorrow and Saturday; Time: noon to 7.30 pm; Place: city centre and Centenary Square, Bradford Art at the Heart Open air exhibition and market place - See it, Touch it, Love it, Buy iT!

Date: tomorrow and Saturday; Time: noon onwards; Place: exterior, former police HQ, city centre, Bradford

IOU Theatre - Waylaid

A woman awakes to find herself frozen and tethered in a snow-covered desert. The only evidence of how she came to be here is a wrecked car. Cocooned within an igloo-like dome and equipped with your own stereo, you join the woman on her journey as she tries to escape. Funny, disturbing and moving, Date: tomorrow and Saturday; Time: tomorrow 4:30pm and 8:30pm; Saturday 2:30pm and 7:30pm; Place: Jacobs Well car park, Manchester Road, Bradford; Price: to be confirmed; Tickets: call (01274) 432000

This is Not Cannes

Dress to impress and enjoy the red carpet treatment at a world premiere of seven digital shorts, including work by Clare Bleakley, Studio 163, Tim Smith, Kath Canoville, Naseem Darbey, Artworks, Pipeline Productions, Nurture Media, Bruce Rimell, Martin Hearne, Simon Warner and Shanaz Gulzar.

Date: tomorrow and Saturday; Time: 8pm; Place: BBC Big Screen, Centenary Square, Bradford Bradford Grid Bradford photographers compile a picture of Bradford and ask important questions about how we all see the city. Photographers include: Charlie Meecham, Kate Mellor, Nudrat Afza, Patrick Allen, Paul Floyd Blacke, Liza Dracup, Harvey Dwight, Simon Ford, Richard Ingham, Andy Wade and Simon Warner Date: tomorrow and Saturday; Time: 8pm; Place: BBC Big Screen, Centenary Square, Bradford

BD1 Live

Be first to see the best and freshest bands Date: tomorrow; Time: 8pm; Place: St Georges Hall, Bradford; Tickets: Advance tickets, Bradford Theatres box office (01274) 432 000, or on the door

Pyromancy

A stunning visual feast that meditates on the earth's evolution and human understanding. Evoked through a blend of film, motion graphics, sound, light and pyrotechnics.

Date: tomorrow; Time: 10pm; Place: BBC Big Screen, Centenary Square, Bradford

Events are free unless stated. Call (01274) 432443 for tickets, unless stated. All details on www.bradfordsummerevents.com/stir