Hove Grown, a new performing arts festival for writers and performers within the City of Brighton & Hove, is set to reshape the live performance landscape of the city when it launches on Friday, March 18, 2016.
A new addition to the Brighton and Hove calendar, Hove Grown aims to be an affordable precursor for local talent, in the lead up to the Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe in May. The festival is a joint venture between ZLS Theatre, Brighton’s only social enterprise theatre company, and Sweet Venues who manage the award winning Dukebox Theatre.
Hove Grown will feature around 30 shows in its first year, with some truly unique writing and performances being showcased. The festival will cover theatre, comedy, improv, spoken word and a variety of workshops, with a tailored section catering for fun and educational family-friendly shows. Every show in the programme will be £10 or under, with some shows just £3.
Guy Wah, the founder of ZLS Theatre and Hove Grown, explains: “We wanted an affordable festival that draws attention to the huge variety of fantastic new writing and performance in Brighton & Hove and more importantly we wanted to give these new works an opportunity to be performed. We’re thrilled to have so much support in our first year, particularly from Brighton Fringe, as we always set out to be a forerunner for local writing and performance leading up to the fantastic line-ups at The Fringe and other festivals.”
The Hove Grown festival has a huge selection of shows this year, including local LGBT theatrical duo Behind the Lines performing an acclaimed cabaret show, the award-winning Sussex performance group Bard & Troubadour previewing new material before their anticipated run at this year’s Brighton Fringe, Hove comedian Aidan Goatley debuting his new show with a special evening in his hometown and many, many more.
One of the key aims of the festival is to showcase the numerous venues in Hove situated outside the city centre of Brighton, ranging from large spaces like The Brunswick to smaller, more intimate spaces such as The Dukebox Theatre or Artista Studios.
Sarah Johnson, Assistant Venue Manager for Sweet Venues, said: “Sweet Venues is very keen to shine a spotlight on some of the brilliant venues across Hove ahead of their participation in Brighton Fringe in May. We hope by being loud and proud about our love for Hove, we will raise awareness of the hub of creative activity that has developed in the Western Road area and in time we believe this will drive new footfall and spending to the venues and surrounding local businesses.”
The Hove Grown festival will be hosting a launch party at The Dukebox in Hove on March 17 to celebrate its first year and also establish their plans for the future.
For more information on all the events and to buy tickets, click here:
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