The incredible full programme has been announced for Back to Live, a unique children’s festival from four Sussex seaside venues – Komedia, Ropetackle, Brighton Open Air Theatre (BOAT) and The Old Market (TOM).
This special season of children’s events celebrates the return of live performance and includes the international phenomenon Stomp – which originated in Brighton back in 1991 – along with work from fantastic companies including The Minack Theatre, Theatre Fideri Fidera and Box Tale Soup.
Back to Live is staged by four amazing Sussex venues: Komedia, who are best known for comedy, present one of the largest, most diverse arts and entertainment programmes in the UK, and have been programming children’s work since its inception in 1994. BOAT is Brighton and Hove’s premier outdoor venue – a 400-seat amphitheatre nestled in Dyke Road Park. Situated on the banks of the River Adur in Shoreham-by-Sea, the Ropetackle Arts Centre is a multi-award-winning, purpose-built venue that attracts some of the biggest stars in the UK and beyond. TOM has been hosting innovative family shows since opening in 2011; its festival-like programme is the cornerstone of its identity, hosting over 200 different events every year from the venue’s multi-format space.
Back to Live brings together three groups who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic: young children who have never had the chance of experiencing live performance; performers whose tours have been cancelled and their new work not shown; and venues who have a mountain to climb to win back audiences.
The founding directors of Komedia, Colin Granger and Marina Kobler, comment, After two years of lockdowns, closures, and the terrible consequences of a pandemic, we feel there has never been a better time to celebrate live performance and all the joy that it can bring. We are therefore delighted to be working with the charity Komedia Kids and our colleagues at the participating venues to take what we hope is a small step towards recovery.
Back to Live will include a ‘Pay it Forward’ campaign where audiences can buy an additional ticket or two which venues will then, in partnership with local charities, allocate as free tickets to families who might not usually be able to afford to come. This echoes the overall ethos of Komedia Kids which aims to create affordable and meaningful opportunities in the arts for children and young people.
