Celebrating 40 Years of LIFT!

Aim

LIFT needs your support to ensure we can bring inspiring and thought-provoking art to London from around the world for the next 40 years.

About LIFT

(Photo by Victor Frankowski)

LIFT is a festival of international theatre that has brought inspiring and thought-provoking art to London audiences for 40 years, forging connections across geographical and cultural borders.

This year, LIFT celebrates its 40th anniversary with a renewed sense of purpose and mission:  

To create powerful, invigorating experiences that challenge artistic, political and social conventions; to support an equitable cultural rebuild post-Covid; to champion artist advancement at home and aboard; to lead sustainable internationalism; to celebrate and connect London to the world. 

(Photo by Mark Allan)

Help LIFT Unlock London 

Since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic forced cultural organisations to close their doors, the UK’s cultural landscape and society as a whole has dramatically changed. The full extent of long-term effects are yet to be seen, but we know that all areas of life will experience a form of long-Covid. 

LIFT was forced to cancel our 2020 festival, meaning we have received no income from ticket sales since 2018. Despite the cancelled performances, we continued to pay all our committed fees to artists and partners in full. We chose to support the arts and to create a fair and ethical cultural sector despite the financial loss to our own organisation.

We are still struggling to negotiate the implications of Covid as it poses a significant barrier in bringing international performance to London. But while 2020 paused our festival, it didn’t pause our creativity. We are coming back with a full festival in June 2022 and our outlook will be decidedly international, as we advocate for the return of international work to the UK and its continued importance.

In the context of the pandemic, Brexit and climate change, we believe a festival celebrating London and connecting us to international perspectives is more important than ever. London and the UK face many challenges, but there is also significant opportunity to regenerate, restore and build anew in a positive, equitable and sustainable way. LIFT will be at the heart of that rebuild, supporting London and subsequently the UK to rebuild through the culture we make and celebrate. London is a cultural capital of the world and a leader in performing arts. Engagement in culture has always been and will continue to be at the heart of how Londoners assert their identity, find meaning and connection.

(Photo by Tristram Kenton)

We need you to support LIFT into the next 40 years. 

LIFT is a registered charity, and we rely on generous supporters to fulfil our mission. Without this support, we are unable to deliver our ground-breaking work on and off stage. 

Please support LIFT by making a donation today, so that for the next 40 years, we can continue to be a home for transformative ideas and invigorating experiences brought to you from around the world. 

Any donation, no matter how small, will support the next 40 years of LIFT, so we can continue to be a source of joy, inspiration, solidarity, rebelliousness and strength for London and Londoners. 

Thank you!

 (Photo by Warren King)

This project successfully funded on 21st December 2021