First Show Announced for Brighton Festival 2020

Brighton Festival, the biggest annual multi-arts festival in England returns next year from 2 to 24 May 2020 with a world première by Hofesh Shechter Company.

Double Murder is a thrilling new two-part contemporary dance for our times, led by the multitalented choreographer Hofesh Shechter OBE and performed by ten of his inimitable dancers, accompanied by the epic sounds of a Shechter-composed score. The double bill consists of New Creation, an antidote and partner piece to the murderous, poisonous anarchy of Shechter’s Clowns, which premiered on 29 April 2016 at Nederlands Dans Theater 1 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Violence, tenderness and hope are all laid bare through Shechter’s achingly beautiful cinematic lens, bringing a tender and fragile energy to Brighton Dome’s stage. Hofesh Shechter commented:

"I am very excited to bring a new creation to Brighton Festival next year. Together with the dancers I’m looking to find the spark of hope, that deep and childish, fragile human need of warmth. We walked into the studio feeling like a balance is required, a place where we allow time to be on our side as opposed to against us. A fix.”

The boundary-breaking dance company was established by Shechter in 2008 and became Brighton Dome and Brighton Festival’s first resident artists. Shechter was Guest Director in 2014 and Double Murder will be the company’s third world première at the Festival, having previously performed The Art of Not Looking Back in 2009 and Political Mother in 2010.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Festival said:

“Brighton Festival is proud to have worked with Hofesh and his company for over 10 years and we’re thrilled to announce Double Murder as our first show for 2020. As Brighton Dome resident artists, we’re excited to welcome them back home to perform here and for Festival audiences to experience their new work for the first time.”

Andrew Comben added:

“Next year’s Festival will build on the success of 2019 by reaching out to local communities through initiatives such as the Pay it Forward ticket scheme which allowed more people than ever before to see a Festival event for free. We’re looking forward to revealing the Guest Director and the Children’s Parade theme in the next few weeks.”

Established in 1967, Brighton Festival is the largest and most established annual curated multi-arts festival in England. Running across three weeks in May, it opens on Sat 2 May 2020 with the popular Children’s Parade, produced in partnership with Brighton based community arts charity Same Sky. Participation events will appear across the city – Our Place will continue to bring free performances and arts activities programmed by and for the communities of Hangleton and East Brighton; Young City Reads encourages school children to share their love of reading and family friendly events and installations will pop-up in unexpected outdoor locations.