This summer, Brixton House’s Housemates Festival returns inviting artists to take over the House for three weeks from 4 – 23 July 2023.
Following a call-out earlier this year, 11 artists have been selected to become this year’s Housemates and given the artistic freedom to experiment, play and develop work from across art forms and genres. The House will stage work across its theatres and studios, as well as an art exhibition in the downstairs studio, nicknamed ‘The Nook’.
The festival aims to give a platform to new voices, champion often untold stories, and encourage new and returning audiences back to the theatre to discover work told with a fresh perspective.
For 2023, expect stories from a generation whose perspective and understanding of Britain is formed by 1990s culture and the turn of the millennium. Themes explore the complexities of youth crime and rehabilitation juxtaposed with the Black joy of growing up in South London and millennial nostalgia, intergenerational conversations on radical activism; as well as delving into the complexities of family love and relationships, and probing the big life questions about how we all survive in a capitalistic world.
An ode to South London youth culture, three plays take us into the world of South London’s gal-dem and man-dem.
Family and the pivotal conversations that take place inside the home are explored with new work from Daniel Ward in Everything I Own, an intimate yet provocative intergenerational conversation between father and son reflecting on the 1981 Brixton Uprisings and perceived radical activism of the BLM movement.
Lyndon Chapman also presents his debut play, Is The WiFi Good In Hell?, which follows the transition from boyhood to adulthood, Margate to London, and the ever-present search for a meaningful connection.
Ruth Hawkins, Head of Programming and Producing says, “The Housemates Festival is our opportunity to open up our space to artists in an authentic way allowing them to freely experiment with ideas supported by us… This year we have exciting artists and collectives presenting stories that speak to our audiences in a genuine way, across a variety of artforms and perspectives.”
Brixton House, 4th – 23rd July. Tickets £14. Book 2 shows for £25, or 3 shows for £35.
Full festival details: https://bit.ly/HousematesFestival23
