It's raining festivals (and apparently, fish)
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Honour Bayes: This May it's raining festivals

Stepping out into the rain for what feels like the thousandth time this week I’ve found it impossible to shake the feeling I’m about to get flyered any second. Surely the only time it’s this wet is Edinburgh in August?

But while we’re all safe from having shiny pieces of A3 stuffed into our hands for another 3 months, we’re certainly not short on festival atmosphere with the season in full swing.

In London after the International Mime Festival, Sprint at Camden People’s Theatre and Forest Fringe’s season at the Gate Theatre, we’re currently drowning in metre and verse as the World Shakespeare Festival and Globe to Globe monopolise the capital.

For those fed up of the Bard of Avon, in June LIFT 2012 is "Shining a light on the stories of the world" with another thrilling line up including Gatz, an 8-hour version of The Great Gatsby by Elevator Repair Service. Meanwhile on the Southbank the big purple cow is making us chuckle with the Udderbelly Festival a taster to the treats provided at the Edinburgh Fringe in August.

But before we get ahead of ourselves May seems particularly stuffed with theatre goodies. Running throughout the month the Brighton Festival has a strong theatrical showing this year with a tasty mix including performances from dreamthinkspeak, Spymonkey and Vanessa Redgrave.

Meanwhile three other fantastic festivals are popping up around the country beginning this weekend (5 & 6 May) with Sampled at The Junction in Cambridge. Forty minutes from London (perfect for a day trip with a picnic) it’s a festival of performance that lets you experience an impressive array of talent in one place.

“
May seems particularly stuffed with theatre goodies”

In fact it's the kind of dream line up that will get enthusiasts as excited as Avengers Assemble does comic-book fans. But if you’re unsure about dipping your toe into the world of performance art, a day ticket (at £15 the same amount you’d pay for bad pub theatre) allows you to take a chance on a number of shows safe in the knowledge that you'll love at least one.

Meanwhile fans of new writing should head to Suffolk for HighTide. From 3 to 13 May theatregoers are being treated to 18 new works with pieces from an exciting array of voices including Ella Hickson and Laura Poliakoff (yep, daughter of Stephen).

Now in its seventh year HighTide has established an enviable track record in finding and nurturing new talent with productions transferring nationally and internationally. Projects and writers developed in the past include Tom Basden whose play Party was adapted for Radio 4, Adam Brace’s Stovepipe which was listed in The Sunday Times as one of The Ten Best Theatre Productions of the Decade and Nick Payne whose If There Is has pulled in Jake Gyllenhaal to star in it later this year.

Finally taking us from Spring to Summer is the Ipswich Pulse Festival running from 25 May to 9 June. Pulse includes a truly varied line up from performance artists like Dan Canham and Hugh Hughes to BSL productions of Shakespeare, a modern adaptation of Under Milk Wood and new writing from playwrights such as Morgan Lloyd-Malcolm.

It also boasts one of the best sci-fi opening webpages I have ever seen, and if that’s not worth a look I don’t know what is.

Festivals are a great way to access a range of artists you might otherwise miss, enabling you to see all your favourites in one place and find new ones. With May positively dripping with them (I’m sure I’ve missed some, do shout if I have) it looks like I’m going to be sat in the theatre with a steaming umbrella for most of the month. I think you should join me.

- by Honour Bayes

Any opinions expressed above do not represent the view of Whatsonstage.com nor any of its staff or contributors beyond the bylined author.

Honour is a freelance arts journalist who has written for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Stage, Time Out, Total Theatre, FEST Magazine and the Church Times. She was Theatre Editor of Fourthwall and is on the editorial team at Exeunt Magazine where she is the host of a bi-monthly arts podcast. Honour blogs at http://theatreworkbook.wordpress.com

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	Honour Bayes: Lyric keeps it local - 25th Sep 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: Theatre buildings & communities - 13th Sep 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: Verbatim rights & wrongs - 3rd Sep 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: The politics of performance - 29th Aug 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: Acting with a capital A - 23rd Aug 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: Edinburgh - season to season - 14th Aug 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: All that glitters IS gold - 7th Aug 2012 blog
	Honour Bayes: Theatre can't be bought & sold - 1st Aug 2012 blog
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Internal Links
	New director for Suffolk's HighTide festival - 16th Feb 2012 News
	Steve Jobs play receives European premiere at HighTide fest - 7th Feb 2012 News
	Highlights of the Brighton Fringe Festival 2012 - 23rd Feb 2012 Features
	Elevator Repair Service bring Gatz to Noel Coward with LIFT - 2nd Feb 2012 News

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