Brighton Festival: The best is yet to come
Think you’ve seen it all? As Brighton Festival enters its final week, Latest 7 finds there’s plenty more to sink your teeth into
Since the beginning of May, Brighton Festival has brought us everything from wind-powered instruments and world-class singer songwriters to thoughtful spoken word events and jaw-dropping contemporary circus. However, the three weeks of culture aren’t over yet, as this final week of programming features some truly stunning pieces of theatre for audiences to get their teeth into.
“The final week of programming features some truly stunning pieces of theatre”
Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is one of the best-loved novels of recent years. Now, the European premiere tour of the stage adaptation heads to Brighton (Tue 21–Sat 25 May, Theatre Royal Brighton). The Kite Runner, which first hit the bookshelves in 2003, was Khaled Hosseini’s first novel. It became an instant bestseller across the globe and has since been published in 70 countries.
Described by The Times as ‘exhilarating’, the play follows the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, whose closest friend is Hassan, his father’s young Hazara servant. The tale is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of Afghanistan’s monarchy through the Soviet invasion, the exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime. It charts a friendship that spans cultures and continents and follows one man’s journey to confront his past and find redemption.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Varmints (Tue 21–Wed 22 May, The Old Market) is the brand new children’s dance theatre show, which tells the poignant tale of one small creature’s struggle to preserve a world in danger of being lost forever. Based on the award-winning book by Helen Ward with beautiful illustrations by Marc Craste, this thrilling production is choreographed by B-boy and New Wave Associate Wilkie Branson and directed by children’s theatre specialist Sally Cookson.
In Winners & Losers (Wed 22–Fri 24 May, Brighton Dome Studio Theatre) theatre artists and long-time friends Marcus Youssef and James Long sit at a table and play a game they made up. In it, they name people, places or things — Tom Cruise, microwave ovens, their fathers, rainforests, druids, etc. — and debate whether these things are winners or losers. As each seeks to defeat the other, the debate becomes highly personal, as they dissect each other’s individual, familial and class histories. And because one of these men is the product of economic privilege, and the other not, the competition very quickly begins to cost.
Undoubtedly one of the jewels in this year’s Brighton Festival programme is My Life After (Fri 24–Sun 26 May, Brighton Dome Corn Exchange) – Lola Arias’ documentary theatre piece. Using photos, letters, tapes, used clothes, stories and dim memories, six Argentinean actors born in the ‘70s and early ‘80s reconstruct their parents’ youth. Seeking to answer questions like ‘Who were my parents when was I born?’ and ‘What was Argentina like before I learned to speak?’ each actor reconstructs scenes from the past in order to understand something from their future. Funny, moving and frantic, they become their parents’ stunt doubles, wearing their clothes and trying to represent their lives to create a piece operates around the borders of reality and fiction. Don’t miss it!
For a full line-up of Brighton Festival events this week, visit www.brightonfestival.org
Tickets can also be booked on 01273 709709 or in person at the ticket office on New Road.
