London International Festival of Theatre : Forty Years of Global Performances on Local Stages

A comprehensive study of forty years of LIFT, revealing how the festival transformed the UK’s theatre scene with ground-breaking global performances and innovative curatorial practices.

Since 1981, the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) has redefined the landscape of performance in London and across the UK, driving social, political and artistic change through its experimental presentations which connect the global to the local. This book delves into LIFT’s origins and processes, exploring how it has acted as a catalyst for transformation, altering the ways in which audiences have engaged with theatre and each other.

Through extensive archival research and primary observations, the book examines the interplay of social, political and economic forces shaping British theatre festivals since the dawn of Thatcherism. It highlights how neoliberal ideologies have impacted cultural production and constrained the potential for theatre festivals to effect meaningful social change.

Taking an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach, select editions of LIFT are surveyed in-depth, from its trailblazing 1981 debut to the 2020 edition cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It traces LIFT’s evolution against a backdrop of global politics, the rise of socially engaged theatre, and the ongoing efforts towards diversification and decolonisation in British theatre. This book offers a compelling narrative of how LIFT has navigated these complex dynamics, providing invaluable insights into the intersection of art, politics and the contemporary experience economy.