Words by Elijah Arief
Brighton is set to play host to it’s annual Brighton Fringe Festival on the 28th of May after receiving a £143,000 fund from the governments Arts & Culture revival scheme.
The arts festival has been given the green light to go ahead after a year of unpredictable chaos and anxiety within the Arts sector. Many actors, directors, producers, and technicians have suffered intensely at the hands of COVID-19 and the impact that the virus has had on the economy, but also due to live performances being banned due to lockdowns.
Last year Brighton Fringe had to cut their annual festival in May, and instead reopen houses in October for a restrained yet significant Fringe Festival.
For the most part, theatre and live performances have had to adapt around social distancing laws and on-going lockdowns, with many creative industries having to reinvent and establish new platforms on how to view live entertainment.
Throughout May and October in 2020, many theatre venues created livestream websites to stream live theatre to adapt and overcome the challenges of not being able to see theatre live.
When asked about streaming services and accessing live theatre online, Andy Moseley, director and writer of ‘Makeup’ says “there are so many digital opportunities out there, and people are now able to see shows that they wouldn’t have been able to previously, it really is a democratisation of theatre”.
Brighton Fringe will have many online performances available for those unable to view live performances, and some tours will be digitised also.