As the line up for this year’s Festival is unveiled,
our Arts Correspondent picks her hot tickets

“The whole city is like a thought experiment” said Frank Cottrell-Boyce, this year’s Guest Director at the launch event for the Brighton Festival, as he explained why he loves Brighton. He spoke about rebellion, and that “people tend to run away to Brighton’, and gave a glimpse of the Festival to come when he claimed that “we need some hope” and that Brighton is one of the few places that “Looks to the future”.

The Festival launch began with a performance from the Carnival Collective – “30 years and still banging” as they say – who appeared onstage with drums and blue and pink sparkling outfits. As the familiar rhythmic sounds began, I was transported to a high energy vision of the event itself. The Collective director was pointing towards the crowd, with people laughing and cheering as the second song began and it was hard not to move along with him, swaying backwards and forwards in my seat in time with the beat.

After, there are a few speeches however the most notable was Brighton Councils leader, Bella Sankey who talked about visiting Brighton Festival as a child and words were being thrown around such as “Eclectic Celebration” and “Great Showcase”.

Cottrell-Boyce and Nadia Shireen, fellow children’s author and co-presenter of their hit podcast “The Island of Brilliance” took to the stage and introduced three of their favorite acts that will feature in the Festival: “The Perfect Show for Rachel”, “Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow Spectacular” and “The Brighton Table Tennis Club”.

“The Perfect Show for Rachel” is a show controlled fully by Rachel who is a theatre loving, 33-year-old, disabled care home resident and sister to Flo who is the artistic director for Zoo Co & Improbable. The show was developed with Rachel to create a show on her own terms. As explained by Flo on stage, Rachel has her own custom built tech booth which she uses to control what happens on stage at certain times. This show, which received a five-star rating from The Guardian, is definitely a must-see.

“Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow Spectacular” Is an outdoor circus, theatre event that comes from the imagination of award-winning performance maker Marisa Carnesky. The show is made-up of a queer, non-binary and female cast who will perform stunts, tell stories and wow us with their skills. The show’s inspiration comes from the heritage of British working-class female circus performers and is, they say, a perfect representation of colorful and weird and wonderful Brighton.

“The Brighton Table Tennis Club” – that is, the real Brighton Table Tennis Club based at the Fitz in Kemptown – explained how they plan to break the world record for the most consecutive different players in one game of table tennis. This free event seems to be jam packed with several activities including a mega table built up of several normal sized tables and an opportunity to watch paralympic gold medalist Will Bayley.

I am particularly looking forward to:

THE CHILDREN’S PARADE: For all ages, The Children’s Parade is a must see. Packed with colour and wonder, it will be hard to miss parading through the street on the 4^th of May to officially kick the festival off in all its glory!
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/Kot-the-childrens-parade/

KAE TEMPEST: A modern day emotional spoken word artist, who beckons listeners with words of personal experience and depth all while being accompanied by “through the body” music that is bound to give you goose bumps.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XKX-kae-tempest/

Fri 10 May, Brighton Dome Concert Hall

FAYE WEBSTER: An indie artist sensation who brings love songs such as “Right Side of My Neck” and the TikTok sensation “Kingston”, will melt your heart live from the Brighton Dome Concert Hall. Part of “The Great Escape”
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XOx-faye-webster/

Fri 17 – Sat 18 May, Brighton Dome Concert Hall

THE MAKING OF BERLIN: This film, theater and live music hybrid comes from Yves Degryse to display a portrait of the city of Berlin. The show made it to de Standard top ten productions of the year and was described as “Overwhelming from start to finish”.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XK3-the-making-of-berlin/

Fri 10 – Sat 11 May, Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

THE WONDER PANEL: The wonder panel is hosted by guest director Frank Cottrell-Boyce and features childhood hero’s Joseph Coelho, Cressida Cowell and my personal favorite, Author of the much love Ottoline series, Chris Riddle.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XXB-the-wonder-panel/

Sat 11 May, 11am, Brighton Dome Concert Hall

TEENAGE MEN: Brought to you by hit comedy duo, “Shelf” inspired by when the two were mistaken for teenage boys, features anecdotes, songs and the all-important, Instagram algorithm.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XKQ-shelf-teenage-men/

Sun 19 May, Brighton Dome Studio Theatre

THE NIGHT ALPHABET: Performed by the award-winning poet Joelle Taylor and directed by acclaimed theatre director Neil Bartlett, The Night Alphabet is an investigation into violence, resilience and women’s stories.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XKL-the-night-alphabet/

Fri 24 – Sat 25 May, Brighton Dome Studio Theatre

OOZE MACHINES: As far as the free events go, this is the one to see. The exhibition has been created by Physicist Dr Libby Heaney and focuses on the seductive and repulsive world of all things goopy.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/XOd-ooze-machines/

Sat 4 May – Sun 30 June, Phoenix Art Space

100 MILES OF STRING: Created by artists Lucy Cran and Bill Leslie, 100 Miles of String is an interactive, outdoor exhibition where audiences can wound string around large objects, creating complex shapes and patterns.
https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/KoC-100-miles-of-string/

Sat 4 – Sun 26 May 2024, Royal Pavilion Gardens (North Lawn)

GROUND: Production company “Trigger” have put together a three-course meal designed to explore the tangled histories of patenting plants. The experience is led by the voices of Indigenous and traditional knowledge holders and is locally sourced. https://brightonfestival.org/whats-on/Ko7-ground/

Sat 4 – Sun 26 May, Earthship Brighton From £25

For more about this year’s Brighton Festival, go to https://brightonfestival.org/