LIFT returns in 2027 with plans to reimagine London through performance.
London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) will return from 3 June to 4 July 2027. Beginning a new chapter presented by Battersea Arts Centre, it will bring five weeks of daring international performance to theatres, public spaces and unexpected locations across London.
We are delighted to announce Pelin Başaran as LIFT’s new Artistic Director. Başaran, who is also BAC’s Creative Director, brings a renewed artistic vision for an international festival shaped by London’s openness, energy and capacity for imagination.
We are also pleased to announce LIFT Off, a new public and industry-facing showcase of six tour-ready contemporary productions made in England, taking place during the final week of the festival. Funded by Arts Council England, LIFT Off will create new opportunities for artists to connect with international presenters and audiences.
Reimagining the city through performance
LIFT will bring extraordinary international artists to London responding to the questions shaping our world and our communities, weaving performance into the life of the city. Başaran’s vision is for LIFT to create space for imagination, interrupting the familiar, opening up new perspectives and inviting audiences to see the world, and the city around them, differently.
Building on LIFT’s long history of bringing daring, international performance to London, the 2027 festival will feature UK and London Premieres of landmark productions alongside multidisciplinary performances across the city. It will include artists from Asia, the Middle East, Australia, North and South America, and Europe.
Audiences can expect everything from large-scale spectacles to intimate encounters and free performances in public spaces.
“I am so honoured to be appointed LIFT’s next Artistic Director. Many people across London have their own special LIFT memories, experiences that transformed the way they think and feel, and which have stayed with them for years. Over its history, LIFT has created unforgettable encounters by bringing extraordinary international artists to different corners of the city, expanding our understanding of what theatre can be.
Before a different future can be built, it must first be imagined, and I want LIFT to offer a space where that imagining can happen.”
Pelin Başaran, Artistic Director of LIFT and Creative Director of BAC
Announcing LIFT Off
Alongside the programme of international work, LIFT 2027 will host LIFT Off, a new showcase funded by Arts Council England, designed to platform contemporary performances made in England.
Six tour-ready productions will be selected by the end of 2026 and staged from 28 June – 4 July, during the final week of LIFT, with partners including Battersea Arts Centre, Barbican, Southbank Centre, Royal Court Theatre, Soho Theatre, Sadler’s Wells East, Wapping Powerhouse, Unlimited and Theatre Green Book.
LIFT Off extends BAC’s and LIFT’s international role, creating a new route for artists based in England to build relationships with presenters and audiences around the world.
Building on an extraordinary legacy
Battersea Arts Centre has spent over 50 years championing experimental performance, developing artists and finding new ways to connect ambitious work with wider audiences. Presented by BAC, LIFT will build on this experience and the festival’s reach across London, while creating new opportunities for artists and audiences internationally.
This new chapter builds on LIFT’s extraordinary legacy and a creative relationship with Battersea Arts Centre that stretches back decades.
Founded in 1981 by Rose Fenton and Lucy Neal, its unforgettable productions have included The Second Woman (2023) starring Ruth Wilson, Sun & Sea (2022), East Wall (2018), Fly by Night (2018), Sky Orchestra (2012), Life Streaming (2010) and Small Metal Objects (2007).
“Battersea Arts Centre and LIFT have always shared a belief: that live performance should be daring, ambitious, unforgettable and for everyone – and that brilliance can be found anywhere in the world. Building on LIFT’s extraordinary legacy is a natural extension of what we believe, with our capital as the largest stage there is. Pelin is the perfect person to lead the next chapter, with a wonderful set of partners alongside us. Our ambition is for LIFT to take its place among the world’s most vital cultural events.”
Tarek Iskander, Artistic Director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre
More to come
The full LIFT 2027 programme will be announced in February 2027.
Visit liftfestival.com for updates on LIFT 2027.