One of the most talked-about productions is TRASHedy, a dynamic two-hander from the German company Follow the Rabbit. With a mix of movement, clowning, and multimedia projection, it dissects global consumerism, ecological collapse, and collective complicity without preaching. FringeReview described it as physical, funny, and “a mirror held up to the audience’s own habits.”
Equally innovative is Hamlet, presented by Peru’s Teatro La Plaza. Featuring a cast of actors with Down’s Syndrome, this radical reworking of Shakespeare’s tragedy strips away royal pageantry and leans into vulnerability and raw emotional intelligence. It’s a production that reframes the notion of tragedy itself, while giving voice and visibility to neurodiverse performance.
From movement to dreamscape, Theatre of Dreams by the Hofesh Shechter Company offers a cinematic experience translated into contemporary dance. With its rhythmic intensity and surreal design, the piece immerses the viewer in a world where memory, conflict, and identity are constantly shifting.
Also reviewed was Earth Teeth by ThirdSpace Theatre, a raw and ritualistic performance grounded in the voices of young people confronting the collapse of inherited systems. It draws on ancestral symbolism and communal storytelling to ask what the Earth might demand in return for everything it has given. The work invites the audience into a participatory act of lament and offering, echoing themes of environmental reckoning and inherited loss
The Gummy Bears’ Great War offers a surprisingly political edge in playful packaging. With a cast of gummy bears animated in miniature war tableaux, the performance satirises national identity, empire, and absurd bureaucracy. Beneath the humour lies a dissection of modern conflict, refracted through sugar-coated absurdism. Both stylised and critical, it is as sharp as it is surreal.
In Songs of the Bulbul, dancer and choreographer Kesha Raithatha reimagines Kathak for contemporary times. This solo piece is both technically intricate and emotionally resonant, addressing themes of womanhood, memory, and intergenerational storytelling. The rhythmic footwork and spoken word segments are skilfully interwoven, evoking the sound of a bird carrying ancestral songs forward.
North by Northwest brings theatrical sleight-of-hand to Hitchcock’s cinematic classic. The staging leans into playfulness with visible scene changes, cheeky anachronisms, and a metatheatrical tone that never detracts from the suspense. What emerges is both a tribute and a knowing deconstruction — theatrical, clever, and delivered with flair.
Each of these performances adds a distinct thread to the festival’s broader tapestry, from ecological lament and choreographic heritage to political satire and rdical creativity.
For the full list of Brighton Festival reviews, visit the main FringeReview Brighton Festival page.
