Brighton Festival unveils 2026 programme, featuring Arinzé Kene

The full programme has been revealed for the 60th edition of Brighton Festival, which returns from 1 to 25 May 2026 with more than 100 events across theatre, dance, music, literature and visual art.

The first festival under the leadership of chief executive Lucy Davies marks a shift in direction, with the organisation now curating and producing original work for the first time in its history.

Theatre takes centre stage in the newly restored Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, which will serve as a hub for performance across the month. Opening the Festival is the world premiere of Kohlhaas (1 to 5 May), directed by Omar Elerian and starring Arinzé Kene. The production marks the first original work to be produced by Brighton Festival and reunites Elerian and Kene following their collaboration on Misty. Adapted from Heinrich von Kleist’s novella Michael Kohlhaas, the piece examines protest and resistance through a contemporary lens.

The Corn Exchange programme also includes Time Keeps The Drummer (8 to 10 May) from Fevered Sleep, a five-hour durational performance featuring 12 local children and one adult percussionist. Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra present a live reimagining of Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (16 to 17 May), while fix+foxy bring Dark Noon (21 to 24 May), an immersive work performed by a South African cast that interrogates the founding myths of America.

Live-art company KlangHaus will stage two immersive experiences across the Festival period, blending sound, light and moving image in site-responsive works that place audiences at the centre of the action. Beyond the Corn Exchange, circus company NoFit State premieres carnation: the revolution is coming and I have nothing to wear (2 to 25 May at Black Rock), directed by Firenza Guidi, combining circus and live music with cinematic imagery.

The Theatre Royal Brighton welcomes the return of Wise Children with a revival of Malory Towers (19 to 23 May), while Akram Khan Company brings its final touring production, Thikra: Night of Remembering, to the Brighton Dome Concert Hall (23 to 24 May).

A major visual art commission, Soft Machines (2 to 24 May), will see large-scale sculptural forms installed along Hove Promenade, created by Brighton-based artist Ivan Morison and collaborator Heather Peak.