Brighton Festival, the largest annual curated multi-arts festival in England, has revealed its programme for 2025 under the stewardship of Guest Director Anoushka Shankar.
The Grammy-nominated genre-defying musician, composer and activist was inspired by the theme of ‘New Dawn’ to shape a programme that imagines a hopeful future after a difficult time, celebrating our collective ability to recover, take action and come together to change the world for the better.
Shankar said: “For Brighton Festival 2025, we look towards a ‘New Dawn’. Together with the Brighton Festival team, I’ve been shaping a programme that envisions a hopeful future – an emergence from the dark of night into the glow of early morning. For years now there have been many reasons to worry, to lose hope. But we have the power within us to create an alternate future.
“That’s what Brighton Festival 2025 is about – let's come together to reflect, lift each other up and take action. This is a festival for everyone to participate in, to connect with, to feel part of. I can’t wait.”
Shankar has invited artists who have inspired her over the years and will herself perform her new album, ‘Chapter III: We Return to Light’. She will also co-host and perform in a specially curated version of ‘Brown Girl In The Ring’, supported by Dishoom Permit Room. The platform, founded by Sweety Kapoor, celebrates female talent across music, film and culture – featuring an exceptional cohort of award-winning poets, actors, dancers, musicians and activists including Mona Arshi, Nikita Gill, Asha Puthli, Meera Syal (CBE) and Indira Varma.
Dr Alka Bagri, Trustee of the Bagri Foundation, said: "We are delighted to support Brighton Festival 2025 under the artistic direction of Anoushka Shankar. This year celebrates the vibrant heritage of South Asian talent while fostering meaningful creative collaborations.
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“It is exciting to champion such dynamic programming, and we cannot wait for audiences to discover the transformative power and rich storytelling traditions of South Asian music."
The line-up includes the world premiere of the Brighton Festival commission ‘Wembley’, a new performance piece written by acclaimed author and screenwriter Nikesh Shukla and actors Nikesh Patel and Himesh Patel in the aftermath of the UK’s 2024 race riots.
Brighton Festival, a major event in the international arts calendar, has a long tradition of attracting some of the most exciting performers from across the globe, this year as far afield as India, the US, Australia, Peru and Italy, as well as promoting local artists, and presenting fresh, challenging new work.
Lucy Davies, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival says: “Brighton Festival 2025 is a magnificent body of work – inclusive, generous, global, confident, inter-generational, classical and very cool.
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“Anoushka Shankar has guided, created and curated a very brilliant set of projects which radiate care – for one another, the planet, art, music, ourselves. There are unique events in here which will be memory-making – lucky people of the future will be able to say ‘I was there’. That is what Brighton Festival is all about. I’m honoured and excited to share it with the world.”
This year’s festival takes place between May 3 and 26, with 120 events across music, theatre, dance, circus, visual arts, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community throughout the city and beyond.
*Info: Brighton Festival 2025