Our final Brighton Festival 60 weekend is full to bursting with captivating theatre, incredible circus, evocative music and more. From aspiring young table tennis stars to live performance lovers of all genres, there’s something for everyone – and it’s a Bank Holiday weekend, which means an extra day of Festival fun! Read on to find out what we have in store.
Ending soon
It’s your last chance to see Emma Rice Company’s high-energy, nostalgic and cheeky Malory Towers. Get ready for high jinks, high drama and high spirits, all set to sensational live music — at Theatre Royal Brighton until Sat 23 May.
Don’t miss leading circus company NoFit State’s carnation at Black Rock (ending 25 May). “Wild, witty, and rebellious” (Brighton & Hove News), carnation brings together world-class circus, live music and striking visual imagery in a powerful, immersive experience.
Make sure to catch the final performances of Brighton Festival exclusive Last Haus on Earth by acclaimed performance artists Klanghaus (Anita’s Room, Brighton Dome, until 23 May). A kaleidoscopic, mesmerising merger of visual arts and live music, Last Haus on Earth breaks down the boundaries between audience and performers for a gig experience like no other.
For one weekend only
Award-winning international theatre company Fix+Foxy’s Dark Noon transforms Brighton Dome Corn Exchange into an absurdist wild west (21–24 May). Watch a pioneer town spring up in real time as an extraordinary cast of South African actors rebuild the frontier through an outsider’s lens, with slapstick humour, satire and breath-taking stagecraft.
See past and present merge in Akram Khan Company’s final touring production, Thikra: Night of Remembering (23–24 May). A tribe of women come together for one night only to awaken the spirit of those who came before them, told through an original score and movement from an all-female international dance cast, drawing on diverse cultures and sacred rituals from across the globe.
Laugh out loud at award-nominated comedian Leila Navabi’s heartfelt and heartwarming one-person musical Relay (22 May). Bold and joyful, Relay blends stand-up, electro-pop musical numbers and hand-drawn animation into a heartfelt, hilarious hour about what it takes to start a family when the odds (and the system) are stacked against you.
Unmissable live music
On 23 May, The Mehfil Space & zerOclassikal perform Mehfils: A Studio Theatre Takeover, featuring two unique performances of South Asian-inspired music in an intimate and communal gathering in the Studio Theatre. Bring a cushion and be part of the experience as the musicians explore tones and melody, blending classical sounds with experimental styles.
And closing this year’s music programme on 25 May, New Zealand artist Aldous Harding kicks off her first live tour since 2023, playing tracks from her new album, Train on the Island.
Fun for all ages
Our final Weekend Without Walls runs at Black Rock and Market Square from 23–24 May. This free weekend of outdoor performances features a range of dance, theatre, performance art and physical comedy, from acclaimed artists including Talawa Theatre Company and Thirunarayan Productions.
And on Bank Holiday Monday, Brighton Table Tennis Club are back with an afternoon of free ping pong fun for all ages in the Concert Hall. Record Breaking Table Tennis features open-access tables, refreshments and DJs – and the chance to set new Guinness World Records!
Artists of the future
From 24–25 May, Create Music and Lighthouse present a Youth Curated Weekend: two days of events shaped and designed by young people from across the city. Taking place in the Studio Theatre, the weekend will feature visual arts exhibitions, live music performances, and panel discussions, with Gen Z at the heart of the conversation. Find out more about the Youth Curated Weekend here.
Art across the city
While out in the city this weekend, why not visit one of our outstanding, free-to-access visual arts exhibitions?
Soft Machines, created by Ivan Morison in collaboration with Heather Peak, is on Hove Promenade until 24 May. This set of monumental, embodied sculptures, built from agricultural materials, explore the bodies that make a city, and the way they speak to each other.
At Phoenix Art Space (just around the corner from Brighton Dome), see artist duo Antonio Jose Guzman and Iva Jankovic’s A Timeline of Infinite Skies (until 28 Jun). Featuring their trademark indigo-dyed patterned textiles, the installation reflects on intertwined histories of wealth, empire and cultural memory by highlighting Brighton and Hove’s largely hidden or forgotten legacies resulting from the forced migration of enslaved people.
And don’t miss Shhh… (BN9 Studio, Marine Workshops, until 31 May), a joint exhibition by artists Abigail Norris & Isobel Smith that explores questions of silence, tension and intimacy between two people creating work in the same space. On Sat 23 May, curator Marcelle Joseph joins Norris and Smith for an intimate, unscripted conversation in front of the work, discussing visibility, access and collaboration in visual arts.
Soft Machines is supported by the Henry Moore Foundation. Comedy and Create Music events and the Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival membership scheme are supported by Mayo Wynne Baxter. Thikra: A Night of Remembering is supported by Dishoom Permit Room.
