LIFT – The London International Festival of Theatre – is inviting expressions of interest from experienced partners or collectives, leaders or consortia, to enter discussions about its future model. We’re keen to hear from a broad range of applicants with bold ideas to reimagine the festival, drawing on LIFT’s 45-year history – from individuals keen to lead a new model to partners with proposals for collaboration.
Founded in 1981 by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal to “challenge British theatre and open a window on the world,” LIFT has championed international theatre and performance through a biennial festival and off festival programming. For over four decades, LIFT has pushed the boundaries of where, how, and with whom theatre takes place—creating dazzling, radical productions with international artists in unexpected places and amplifying lesser-heard global perspectives through intimate encounters. We believe deeply in the power of artists to reflect and reshape our world, especially in today’s fractured environment. Like many publicly funded arts organisations, LIFT is navigating a challenging funding landscape and a shifting cultural context, but now more than ever, we need bold, collective moments of international connection and revelation.
Since the last festival in 2024, LIFT has been led through a period of review and development by LIFT’s Board, Interim Artistic Director Amaya Jeyarajah Dent and Interim Executive Director Jo Gooding with the support of People Make It Work. Amaya and Jo have succeeded in consolidating LIFT’s financial position, laying the foundation for a bold, ambitious future. Informed by this work, LIFT is now embarking on a reimagining of its next chapter.
With the agreement of Arts Council England, the next edition of the festival will be deferred to 2027, allowing time for a meaningful transformation of LIFT’s model—building on its legacy while establishing a sustainable and compelling, ambitious vision for the future. The Board is seeking to engage in a process of curious, open, and exploratory conversation with potential leaders and partners about the festival’s future. These conversations, co-chaired by our advisers Claire Doherty and David Micklem with Board members and external advisers including Jackie Wylie, Director, National Theatre Scotland, artist and Director of Forced Entertainment, Tim Etchells, and theatre director and Artistic Director of Actors Touring Company (ATC), Matthew Xia, will explore new kinds of partnerships, leadership, artistic visions, programming structures, and the operational models that could support them. We are welcoming expressions of interest to eoi@liftfestival.com by noon on 14th July for conversations with selected prospective leaders/partners by the end of July. We look forward to hearing from you.