About Lift

History

Eat London, 2007 / Photo: Tim Mitchell

Starting in 1981 as the London International Festival of Theatre, Lift has presented ground-breaking events and festivals to audiences of over 800,000 including 300 international premieres from 60 countries. Under the directorship of Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, Lift built a strong profile as one of the most adventurous and influential producers of international contemporary theatre in Europe.

Lift was instrumental in placing international theatre on London’s cultural agenda whilst also creating active connections with the rest of the world. Lift events have been staged at over 30 city venues as well as numerous sites including streets, disused buildings, parks, open spaces and the river Thames.

In 1993, Lift initiated an education programme to bring a global perspective to arts education under the direction of Tony Fegan. Lift Learning developed many new commissions and projects across London, connecting UK and international artists with writers, directors, actors, visual artists, business people teachers, school children and young people. Projects included the Business Art Forum – linking artists with business people to explore contemporary issues – and the Teacher Artist Partnership programme, through which artists and teachers explored best practice approaches to developing arts projects for students.

Lift’s commitment to participation continues to evolve through community engagement in all aspects creating festivals – from programming and producing, to performing.

Read stories from the first 25 years of Lift, London International Festival of Theatre in The Turning World by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal.

The Lift Enquiry

From 2001-2006 Lift embarked on a new venture – the Lift Enquiry: an exuberant five year public exploration of theatre in our time.

Lift set a challenge to itself and the international theatre field: What new directions exist for theatre in Britain and around the world? How might a new format for festivals work? Does theatre matter?

Lift invites you to explore the findings of the Lift Enquiry, edited by Richard Gough, Artistic Director of the Centre for Performance Research (CPR) and Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.