- Programme revealed for this year’s Festival in May
- Guest Director invites everyone to imagine a better world in a three-week celebration of Hope, Wonder, Magic and Fun
- Exclusives for 2024 include events from poet and musician Kae Tempest and world-renowned illusionist Scott Silven
- Festival commissions include Ground, an immersive eco-dining experience and documentary film project, As We Really Are
- An expanded international programme features work from Africa to Australia, including 5 UK premieres
- Other events feature Michael Morpurgo, David Shrigley, Julia Donaldson, Sir Antonio Pappano and Sara Pascoe
Brighton Festival, the largest annual curated multi-arts festival in England, has revealed its programme for 2024. For this year’s Festival, Guest Director and award-winning children’s author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, known for 24 Hour Party People, Millions and latest book The Wonder Brothers, has been inspired by Brighton’s optimistic spirit. He invites everyone to imagine a better world through a vibrant and colourful celebration of hope, magic and wonder, with a sense of fun and play for adults and children alike.
Established in 1967, Brighton Festival stages an extensive programme of events from national and international artists across music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community events, in venues and locations across Brighton, Hove and East Sussex. This year, the Festival runs from 4-26 May with more than 120 events celebrating shared endeavour, the miraculous in the everyday and the beauty in the extraordinary.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is joined by fellow children's authors to talk about inspiration and creativity in two events for both adults and children. In The Wonder Panel!, supported by Brighton College, he will discuss how words and pictures create wonder alongside Cressida Cowell (How to Train your Dragon), Joseph Coelho (poet and Children's Laureate) and Chris Riddell (Goth Girl). Frank and award-winning children’s writer-illustrator Nadia Shireen will record an episode of their podcast The Island of Brilliant live, with former Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson (The Gruffalo) as their guest. Elsewhere, Frank introduces young readers to his latest book The Wonder Brothers, with live drawing from its illustrator, Steven Lenton; and following a screening of the animated film Kensuke’s Kingdom - an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved children’s novel, for which he wrote the screenplay - both writers take part in a Q&A.
Brighton Festival welcomes the English exclusive of Wonders, an awe-inspiring magic show by world-renowned illusionist and performance artist Scott Silven which explores the myth and mystery of his native Scotland through breathtaking illusions. Other exclusives include former Brighton Festival Guest Director Kae Tempest returning for a night of mesmerising spoken word; and Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow Spectacular sees a cast of 33 circus performers, including Netflix star Tallulah Haddon, World Record holding hula hoop artist Symoné and Bollywood dancer Kaajel, undertake a breath-taking, death-defying feminist and queer circus spectacular from award-winning theatre maker Marisa Carnesky.
Brighton Festival Commissions include the world premiere of Ground, where audiences experience an immersive, locally sourced and specially curated 3-course meal that reveals the tangled history of plants at Brighton’s own off-grid eco-building, Earthship. Plus, As We Really Are, marking the start of an ongoing project for Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and Brighton artists, is a cinema screening of vintage gems from the GPO Film Unit alongside new work from Brighton filmmakers which celebrates the wonder of everyday life. The event will conclude with a panel discussion including Frank Cottrell-Boyce and former Brighton Festival Guest Director David Shrigley.
The outdoor programme stages live and interactive events on the streets of the city and beyond. 100 Miles of String, a free installation from Brighton-based artists Leap Then Look, sponsored by Southern Housing New Homes, encourages audiences to weave and wind thousands of metres of string to create a temporary landmark in the Royal Pavilion Gardens. The beloved Without Walls programme returns, supported by Graves Son & Pilcher, to present new works showcasing the best of outdoor performance including the world premiere of groundbreaking new aerial theatre from disabled and non-disabled circus company Head Over Wheels; and a musical parade celebrating the power of community from award-winning experimental brass band Perhaps Contraption and Deaf & BSL poet Zoë McWhinney.
Many projects demonstrate how the arts can be a platform for people to come together, be together and advocate for change. As part of Our Place, a partnership with community groups across the city supported by University of Sussex, Brighton Festival has commissioned a new piece of work from artist and anthropologist Victoria Melody. Re-enactment is an exclusive one-day event made with and for East Brighton residents inspired by The Diggers, a campaign group during the English Civil War. In Neolithic Cannibals: Deep Listening to the Unheard, artists and campaigners Class Divide work with young people in Whitehawk and East Brighton to create a sound art piece inspired by the history of Neolithic East Brighton that asks us to consider the part we all play in addressing complex social issues. And all are welcome at Brighton Table Tennis Club’s AllStars Extravaganza, an experiment in mass participation table tennis at Brighton Dome’s newly refurbished Corn Exchange.
An ambitious theatre programme includes Perfect Show for Rachel, a joyful show directed in real-time by Rachel, a learning-disabled theatre-loving 33-year-old seated on stage with a custom-built tech desk and a UK premiere of cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal’s The Land Acknowledgement or As You Like It, a daring retelling of Shakespeare’s comedy.
An expanded international programme, made possible by principal supporter The Pebble Trust, includes UK premieres The Making of Berlin, an innovative combination of film, theatre and music that explores an attempt to stage a live radio broadcast of Wagner's Götterdämmerung in the city during the Second World War; and Melancholy of a Tourist, in which inventive Spanish-Mexican theatre makers Oligor y Microscopia use found objects to ask questions about our relationship to sought-after tourist destinations that fall out of fashion. Polystyrene shapes come to life in beguiling physical theatre Materia from Italy; and the Caravan Assembly series provides an opportunity for performance makers to showcase their work and meet and collaborate with international programmers and producers.
This year’s visual arts and installation programme is playful and experimental, encouraging audiences to participate. Ooze Machines is a free solo exhibition by award-winning visual artist and quantum physicist, Dr Libby Heaney which uses the motif of slime - at once seductive and repulsive - to explore both the microscopic quantum world and big tech. Members of the public can also take to the stage in front of an audience of adoring (but fickle) fans in the UK premiere of An Elevated Platform, from dance and digital artists Flexer and Sandiland.
For children and families, Irish theatre company Branar present the UK premiere of You’ll See, an inventive adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses that features a storyteller and a pop-up book to demystify the novel for children and adults alike; and Grand Soft Day, a playful, curious and charming new show that celebrates the wonder of the world around us. From Second Hand Dance, The Sticky Dance invites little ones to explore and groove through a colourful world of sticky tape.
Musical events include Norman Jay MBE, who brings his unique take on Northern Soul, Norman Soul, to Brighton Dome’s Concert Hall; West African outfit Orchestra Baobab celebrate half a century of Afro-Cuban beats; and local heroes Carnival Collective deliver an irresistible tidal wave of energy with flavours of Latin, drum ’n’ bass, hip-hop, swing and funk for their 30th anniversary. Dance music pioneer James Lavelle, a.k.a UNKLE, presents his immersive, multimedia show Ronin:Live; and the Festival also welcomes back Brighton’s legendary club nights Gal Pals and Polyglamorous for Our Roots: Dreamland, a joyful celebration of queer culture. Much-loved indie veterans Sea Power perform a one-off homecoming show; cult rockers Spiritualized play music from across their career; and celebrated US filmmaker Sam Green invites us to immerse ourselves in his latest documentary, the Academy Award-shortlisted 32 Sounds.
The classical programme opens with The London Symphony Orchestra under its new Chief Conductor Designate, Sir Antonio Pappano with a thrilling programme of Barber, Ravel and Rachmaninov. In Metamorphosis, transformative music from trail-blazing string players 12 Ensemble combines with an immersive, AI-generated holographic world. Other classical highlights include Class of 1685 from leading international Baroque ensemble Solomon’s Knot, celebrating music from three of the era’s defining composers; an evening of song from Glyndebourne’s leading lady Danielle de Niese; and a performance from the award-winning Heath Quartet in the spectacular Royal Pavilion Music Room.
For booklovers, bestselling author Sarah Perry (The Essex Serpent) presents Enlightenment, an unforgettable story of love, faith and science and comedian Sara Pascoe discusses her new novel Weirdo. Poets Brian Bilston and Henry Normal appear together to perform crowd favourites alongside new work and Caroline Lucas shares her new book, Another England. Writer and journalist Jason Okundaye presents his astonishing new work of social history Revolutionary Acts: Love & Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain. Following an acclaimed collaboration at last year’s Festival, award-winning poet Joelle Taylor performs a staged reading from her debut novel The Night Alphabet, directed by theatre-maker Neil Bartlett. Young readers can also take part in workshops with children’s and young adult authors and illustrators including Alexandra Sheppard, Laura Ellen Anderson and Sophy Henn.
In the comedy programme, supported by Mayo Wynne Baxter, Brighton Dome’s flagship comedy night Live at Brighton Dome returns with a Brighton Festival special, spotlighting up and coming stand ups alongside big names. Comedy duo Shelf bring sketch comedy to children of all ages in The Kids Show plus anecdotes, songs and jokes to adults with Teenage Men, while play Fishbowl is a laugh-out-loud silent comedy from award-winning French company Le Fils du Grand Réseau.
A diverse and thought-provoking dance programme includes Triptych by Project Female, a triple bill of hip-hop inspired dance performances that use multimedia, spoken word and technology to amplify youth voices; High Performance Packing Tape, an edge-of-seat show that pushes packing materials to breaking point; and Fault Lines, which follows characters navigating the world’s changing landscape, from sun-scorched plains to roaring waves and smoking forests.
The spectacular annual Children’s Parade once again kicks off the Festival with a fiesta of colour, costume and live music around the theme of Dream Again, supported by Brighton Girls. Creatives from local community arts charity Same Sky have come together with teachers, students and volunteers from schools across Brighton & Hove to make magnificent sculptures, choreograph dance routines and compose parade chants.
From weaving 100 miles of String in an outdoor installation, to new films commissioned to celebrate day-to-day life in the UK, to the have-a-go brilliance of Brighton Table Tennis Club’s Mega Table, Brighton Festival 2024 invites us to come together As We Really Are and as we might like to be.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce says:
“I have had the time of my life helping the brilliant Brighton Festival crew find amazing acts, shows, ideas and performers from all over the world. I cannot wait for the days of May - when that team of bold explorers will unload their cargo of wonders for your delight and delectation. Get ready to laugh, cry, dance, be bedazzled. A Festival full of magic and hope.”
Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival says:
“Frank is someone who delights in sharing stories, knowledge and his own sense of awe and wonder. We always look for a Guest Director with an expansive sense of the world, curious and eclectic in their work and in Frank we have had the privilege of working with someone who is as thrilled by a performance with packing tape as he is by the films of Humphrey Jennings or the works of James Joyce. It's full of wonder and the joy of coming together, a magical Festival that gives us a hopeful recipe for living.”
Brighton Festival 2024 is indebted to the steadfast support of funders Brighton & Hove City Council and Arts Council England; Principal Supporter The Pebble Trust; Major Sponsor Mayo Wynne Baxter; Higher Education Partner University of Sussex; and wider supporters, donors, patrons and members. Brighton Festival is also made possible with support from international partners and governments, including Culture Ireland, New South Wales Government and Canada Council for the Arts.
Jason Edge, Marketing Director at Mayo Wynne Baxter says:
“Mayo Wynne Baxter started providing legal services to the people and businesses of Sussex in the same year that Brighton Dome opened as a concert hall in 1867 to entertain those same communities. Their commitment to bring all sorts of arts to all sorts of people strongly mirrors our values around inclusion and diversity; and we are proud and excited to be supporting Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival again this year.”
Professor Robin Banerjee, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global & Civic Engagement), University of Sussex, says:
“We are really pleased to be supporting the Brighton Festival as its official Higher Education Partner once again. Expanding access to the arts is a shared priority, and we’re delighted to be able to work in partnership to create opportunities for people in our communities – both on and off campus – to engage with the Festival. This will include events across Brighton and at our wonderful on-campus arts centre, the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. It also includes the Festival of Ideas, a programme of talks, events, and activities led by staff and students from the University of Sussex.”
Brighton Festival takes place from 4-26 May 2024.
brightonfestival.org
