Introducing (Brighton &) Hove Grown
(Brighton &) Hove Grown is a new writing festival exclusively for Brighton & Hove writers and performers. I came up with the idea late last year, and following a whirlwind few months working with Sweet Venues, tickets are now on sale. Check out the full event at the Hove Grown website.
There are 70 performances of 29 shows over ten days across three venues.
My top five picks
Firstly, I must confess that I’m not familiar with all of the shows, so this isn’t a recommendation above all other shows. This is the first five shows & workshops that caught my attention when putting the brochure together, including one that I might be slightly biased towards…
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1. Write With No Excuses – Cast Iron Theatre – The Brunswick
As a writer that has barely written a word for six months, this was always going to be my first booking. Cast Iron have been running short play evenings every three months or so for around 18 months now, and Andrew Allen has been the creative force behind it. A chance to spend three hours learning from him for the bargain price of £8 is just too good an opportunity to miss.
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2. The Man Who Looks Like Goats – Ant McEwan – Artista
I’ve been meaning to catch one of Ant’s performances for a while now. We crossed paths at Iron Clad improv a while ago and I was impressed with Ant’s effortless stage presence and genuine outgoing demeanour. He was also bloody funny. At £3, it would be rude not to check this show out.
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3. The Heaven on Earth Show – The Other Realm Theatre Company – Artista
Promising a chat show with a very special guest – Lucifer – in the intimate surroundings of Artista, my interest was piqued by a conversation with Adrian Jameson at the recent PlayMakers event. I’m interested to see the result of Adrian’s directorial methods that focus on energies and building a connection with the audience.
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4. Hove As You’ve Never Seen It Before – Broken Guru – The Dukebox Theatre
I’m a huge improv fan and the guys at Broken Guru have put together a cracker of a format for (Brighton &) Hove Grown. Apparently the town of Hove originated not only on Waterloo Street, but in the Iron Duke pub itself – which hosts the Dukebox Theatre. Though the show itself is highly unlikely to be factually accurate, the stories created are likely to be just as interesting!
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5. Insomnia – ZLS Theatre – The Brunswick
Disclaimer: I’m in this one. That said, this is our most ambitious and challenging project yet. Devised with Rose Clark, Rachael Sparkes and Simon Taylor, the show features multimedia elements and explores the thoughts and experiences of four people from contrasting realities. Transcending genre and timespace, we move swiftly from one world to another, with one constant – the things in our heads that cause an inability to sleep.
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Nothing grab your attention on this list? Never mind, there are 24 other shows and workshops for you to check out. Why not head over to the (Brighton &) Hove Grown website and see what appeals?