A free weekend of outdoor performance art at the Brighton Festival

TEABREAK from Trigger as part of A Weekend with Without Walls

Brighton Festival returns with a joyful celebration of collaboration and community taking place across the city between May 6 – 28. As part of this programme the team are back with A Weekend Without Walls, which is a series of events that takes place on May 27 and 28 and is free to audiences.

Without Walls work with some of the UK’s most highly regarded outdoor arts and performance specialists and bring together some of the most exciting new companies and street artists. With support for exciting new artists diminishing the Without Walls team consistently creates opportunities for audiences to see high-quality arts experiences that are accessible to all, regardless of personal, social or economic circumstances. Below is a round-up of some highlights of the programme which is due to visit Brighton:

Pravaas from Akademi is a performance inspired by the climate migration of people from the Sundarbans across India and Bangladesh. The piece explores the beauty and poignancy of South Asian dance forms and classical Carnatic vocals. Through this promenade performance audiences will follow an evocative experience of migration, witnessing the lyricism, fluidity and symmetry of ancient South Asian dance forms. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-pravaas-6228/

Beeja (the name means ‘seed’ in Hindi) will bring choogh choogh to audiences. Conceptualised by one of the most exciting exponents of Bharatanatyam, Anusha Subramanyam, the piece is inspired by the train which chooghs chooghs on. In this show for all the family, Beeja aims to generate new ideas and new understandings through Indian classical and folk dance forms. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-choogh-choogh-6223/

Following on from the success of their previous outdoor duets, Candoco Dance Company is a world-leading inclusive company of disabled and non-disabled dancers that commissions and produces work by world-class choreographers. Their new work in the 2023 programme is directed by Jamaal Burkmar and is set to popular music, providing an opportunity for audiences to expand their idea of who can dance. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-new-work-by-jamaal-burkmar-6221/

Sonia Sabri Company with Mughal Miniatures, a vibrant outdoor performance event celebrating and taking inspiration from the exquisite traditional art of Indian and Persian miniature painting. A series of pop-up, living pictures evoke scenes of Indian princely courts and lush gardens, and the glory of the Mughal period with a contemporary twist. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-mughal-miniatures-6226/

Upswing and Unlimited’s outdoor spectacular Ancient Futures blends contemporary circus and storytelling with Sound System culture and West African folklore. Both a headline festival experience and a pop-up installation, the show fuses dance, circus, parkour, music and storytelling with design inspired by West African masquerade and Afrofuturism. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-ancient-futures-6229/

Trigger brings TEABREAK which serves as a portal into an experiential world of tea drinking and performance. From producers of large-scale epics PoliNations & The Hatchling, TEABREAK aims to shine a spotlight on the contested history and story of the apparently quintessential English cup of tea. Putting audiences and togetherness at the heart of their work, freshly brewed tea will be served from Trigger’s Tuk Tuk, offering companionship and stimulation. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-teabreak-6224/

Nominated for the National Dance Awards in 2022, Amina Khayyam Dance Company returns this year with You&Me, which contains short Kathak dance pieces realised from a South Asian feminist perspective. More ticket information here: brightonfestival.org/whats-on/without-walls-youme-6222/