London is rightfully known for its world class theatre offering and this is once again augmented this summer with the week long London International Festival of Theatre.
The festival, which is, is dedicated to challenging artistic, political, and social conventions; championing artist advancement at home & abroad and celebrating and connecting London to the world.
Cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the event is back with a bang in 2022 with another breathtaking line up of bold and relevant culture, international perspectives, and thought-provoking performances.
“London’s biennial international festival of theatre, brings joyful, daring and unforgettable theatre from around the world to London, using the whole of the city as our stage” says a recent press release for the popular event.
Highlights of the 2022 edition of the event include climate change opera, ‘Sun & Sea’, Cade & MacAskill’s The Making of Pinnochio and the community based Uplifted.
Sun and Sea will see a plethora of songs about the climate performed on an artificial beach in Depford. “A crowded beach, the burning sun, bright bathing suits and sweaty brows and legs. Tired limbs sprawling lazily across a sea of towels. The rumble of a volcano, or of an airplane, or a speedboat” says the blurb for the production on the LIFT website. The audience should expect songs about half eaten sandwiches and the ‘crinkling of plastic bags.’
The production, which was Lithuania’s national entry for the 2019 Venice Biennale, will be performed by an all-female creative team.
The Making of Pinocchio, meanwhile, tells a ‘true tale of love and transition’ through the well-known story of the wooden boy. Set in a film studio crafted from real wood, and fake wood, and real fake wood, the audience is invited to go behind the scenes of Cade & MacAskill’s creative process and relationship, as explore what it takes to tell your truth.
Artists and lovers Rosana Cade (they/them) and Ivor MacAskill (he/him) will be your guides for a production which has been described as a ‘tender and complex autobiographical experience meets the magical story of the little lying puppet who wants to be a ‘real boy.’
The community focussed Uplifted is brought to us by a group of eleven young people who are being touted as the ‘next generation of creatives.’ The group will take over a creative space at Shoreditch Town Hall, turning the basement venue into an accessible and representative space for a series of multidisciplinary live events.
Other highlights of the festival include Sonya Lindfors and Maryan Abdulkarim’s We Should All Be Dreaming, Kitchen Conversations from The Nest Collective and ZU-UK’s Radio Ghost.
The London International Festival of Theatre 2022 will take place between the 23rd of June and the 10th of July 2022. The full line up can be seen here.
For information on other great theatre shows in London please click here.
