Bend it... like Emma.

AUSSIE entertainer Bendy Em battled against a bad back to wow audiences at this year's Stockton International Riverside Festival.

The pint-sized crowd-puller comedically bends and contorts her body - and even squeezes herself into a tiny 15-inch perspex box.

But since she started her run of shows at Stockton's Parish Gardens, she has been nursing a back injury.

Clearly wincing in agony she still managed to raise laughs and applause yesterday.

Bendy Em - real name Emma Kerger - is a former national gymnast and dancer from Sydney, Australia.

"My sister used to put me in the lockers when I was a child," she laughed, adding: "This is the first time I've been at the Stockton Riverside Festival and it's fantastic!" Also appearing in the Parish Gardens was Meet Yvonne.

Combining circus with comedy, Yvonne uses slapstick humour in a cosmetics demonstration inspired by the absurdity of the beauty industry.

On Stockton High Street this weekend, an amazing show mixes dance, music and a moving sculpture. Sputnik: A Project of Possibilities draws performers and artists from the UK and Russia.

Ahead of Sunday's finale, pyrotechnic specialists World Famous will create an installation at Trinity Green using music, light and fire. The finale, at 10pm, will see Holy Trinity Church lit up with music and fireworks.

For the full programme, log onto www.sirf.co.uk www.gazettelive.co.uk

CAPTION(S):

THE SHAPE OF THINGS WITH OZ ARTIST: Entertainer Bendy Em, left, has battled against a bad back to wow the crowds with amazing feats of physical flexibility at Stockton International Riverside Festival, including squeezing inside a 15-inch box, far left