Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
flying-the-nest
Previews

Brighton Open Air Theatre

May 30, 2016
-
Posted by Ben Miller

The emergence of Brighton Open Air Theatre, with its swirls of seats cascading down to a green horseshoe stage in Dyke Road Park, might just be the best thing to have happened on Brighton’s arts scene this year. It’s certainly an incredibly welcome addition – you sense something like this should have happened a long time ago – and it’s been a while coming: since the death of playwright and construction manager Adrian Bunting, in May 2013, his vision for the theatre has been accelerated through a fundraising programme which raised £100,000 before planning permission was granted at the end of 2014.

Bunting, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, left his life savings (£18,000) to the creation of a permanent open air amphitheatre on the disused bowling green he identified, asking four of his closest friends to work with his designs during his dying days. His mother, Isobelle, opened the theatre a year ago, and his spirit looks to be firing its lively opening months, overseen by a team of unpaid volunteers and relying on donations and audience support to create the kind of magical space that nurtures important theatre.

Its Brighton Festival line-up encapsulated its strengths and inclusive nature: Festival Director Laurie Anderson’s Music For Dogs, a piece performed for the ears of a sitting of locally-recruited canines, grabbed the headlines and sold out in minutes, but there’s also been a particularly anarchic reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (by the Globe Theatre Company) and a family show in Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince, with young actors from across the city having already taken part in a performance of The Secret Garden earlier this month.

The tricky but crucial challenge of inspiring younger generations is perhaps the role BOAT seems so well poised to take on. Hatching College, at the end of the Fringe, features a giant nest, puppetry, music and birds for very young kids, and the theatre is playing the role of host, alongside partners including BHASVIC, The Old Market, Brighton and Hove Youth Services and a range of the best local producers for young people, for next month’s Starboard Festival, a festival of theatre made for and with young ‘uns. “During the opening night I had a strong sense that I wanted to do something to build on the community-led way that it came into being,” says Naomi Alexander, who came up with the idea for the festival during the theatre’s opening gala last May.

“BOAT has opened thanks to the generosity and hard work of a few local people who persisted with determination in making this dream a reality. It has not had a penny of public subsidy. I wanted to do something to enable children and young people to feel like this space belongs to them, too.”

A snail-seeking show by South East Dance, a jazz-influenced balloon band and physical theatre from Komedia Kids are part of the line-up, as well as workshops by the likes of internationally-decorated Nigerian poet Inua Ellams and Shakespeare North trustee Stephanie Street. Before then, the theatre’s programme is eclectic enough to accommodate everything from a Heritage Opera version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni to performances by perennial summery favourites the Brighton Beach Boys.

Visit brightonopenairtheatre.co.uk.

Words by Ben Miller. Photos courtesy of BOAT.

Brighton Festival
May 30, 2016
Email
Ben Miller
Ben Miller is a SOURCE feature writer and reporter.
← PREVIOUS POST
The Chills Review
NEXT POST →
Hetton, Sun 26th June
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Jacob Collier, Thursday 16th June
    May 18, 2022

    The multi Grammy-winning singer and multi-instrumentalist brings his worldwide Djesse tour to Brighton.

  • The Great Escape 2022 Review (Fri)
    May 18, 2022

    More bands, more reviews. Friday's festival was a heady mix of Turkish techno, gothic indie, Japanese folk, jazz punk and grime metal.

  • Gregory Porter Review
    May 17, 2022

    Gregory Porter was back in town, ahead of his headline slot at Love Supreme, with an excellent, expanded band and a totally amazing opening act.

  • The Great Escape 2022 Review (Thur)
    May 16, 2022

    The Great Escape made a triumphant return with three days of musical mayhem across the city. Here's a round-up of two dozen acts we caught on Thursday.

  • To Be Men at Brighton Fringe
    May 11, 2022

    Highly rated Fintan Shevlin is back with 'To Be Men': taut physical theatre, original sounds and high tension in Tyrone. Brighton-based writer and performer.

  • When Shall We Three Meet Again
    May 9, 2022

    A cut down up-to-date Macbeth by Brighton's Suitcase Theatre performed by three women with guitar sounds. Exquisite contemporary drama, cosy venue.

  • Brighton Spiegeltent
    Must-see local theatre at the Fringe
    May 8, 2022

    This year's Brighton Fringe is teeming with local talent. Highlights include an ode to Woodstock, a radical history tour and the tale of a Brighton prostitute.

  • Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore
    Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore
    May 6, 2022

    A play of sex, seduction and survival in Brighton's 19th century underworld. A great piece of writing and storytelling, back for Brighton Fringe.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2021
Brighton Open Air Theatre opens in Dyke Road Park for 2016 festival