Photograph: Roger Bamber

Welcome to The Basement!

Located in the heart of Brighton, The Basement is the region’s leading purveyor of innovative and experimental performance. Presenting a programme of leading national and international artists alongside the Brighton’s most exciting experimental performers, The Basement is a vibrant hub for all things subversive and idiosyncratic.

The Basement supports a thriving community of Supported and Associated Artists who develop and present new work in the venue. With a range of unusual performance spaces we offer unique performance possibilities for artists and audiences. There is also a sympathetically priced bar making the venue a great place to spend the whole evening.

We also provide a range of services and facilities to hire at very competitive rates.


Our artistic policy

The Basement presents and supports the production of new, experimental performance. Drawing on live art, experimental theatre, dance, new cabaret, music and interdisciplinary practice, the programme presents work that is challenging, risk-taking, engaging, powerful, socially connected and witty. The programme exploits the wide range of possible performance formats provided by the venue’s unusual and flexible spaces. The Basement provides a context for work that falls outside traditional genres and an environment in which artists and audiences can take risks together.

The Basement presents a broad view of contemporary experimental performance. It creates a context in which early career artists are seen alongside established artists, and performances developed in the city are seen alongside international work. In this way, visiting performance is always presented in a context that is engaged and relevant and emergent artists present work in a context that is aspirational with connections beyond the immediate region.

Scratch!   

Call for Work

Continuing our support of early career artists and the promotion of new work, The Basement is programming a series of performance events in 2010 entitled Scratch! with the purpose of providing a platform to present work-in-progress or previously unseen work.

Fundamental to Scratch! will be critical feedback given after each performance by members of the invited audience, drawn from partnered institutions, local and national artists, members of the public, other arts organisations, as well as the other performers, providing an invaluable aid in further development of the works performed. 

The first Scratch! of 2010 will be at The Basement on Thursday 25 February.

Please submit as much detail as possible about the work you wish to show, alongside details and information of previous performances. Please also enclose a CV, and a DVD or links to online media about the work you wish to show and any other previous works. 

Deadline for submission: Monday 1 February 2010 to Greg Mickelborough (Venue Manager) via email to greg@thebasement.uk.com, or by post to The Basement, 24 Kensington Street, Brighton, BN1 4AJ.

Coming soon...

	THE SPACE  BRIGHTON’S UNIQUE REGULAR ARTS AND MEDIA EVENT COMES TO THE BASEMENT  Date: Thu 4th February Doors: 7.30pm Tickets: £6 (£5 concession)   Lisa Holloway talks to film director Nicolas Roeg, forty years since the release of his debut film, the cult classic Performance; and to major arts figure, Sir Christopher Frayling. With performance from singer/songwriter, Johanna Harman. The informal atmosphere of The Space brings together the creative community offering the opportunity to hear about the life of and work of fascinating creative professionals. Hand picked by the curators of The Space the evening is renowned for the quality of guests and interviewers alike. AMAZING RAFFLE PRIZES! Including tickets to Bradford International Film Festival and to East End Film Festival. Memberships to Duke of York's and V&A plus films, books, gigs and cinema! www.thespace.me.uk
	LOVE LETTERS Date: Sun 14th February Doors: 4.30pm & 7.30pm Tickets: £8 (£6 concession) Let's raise our glasses to long lost loves and current lovers, to mums, to dads and to absent friends. Uninvited Guests stage an event that is somewhere between a wedding reception, a wake and a radio dedication show. We speak of our own and other's loves - deep, passionate, ambivalent and unrequited - and dedicate songs to them.   If you want to join us on this happy occasion, send a song dedication to someone you love to marketing@thebasement.uk.com Tell us what they mean to you and why you've chosen this piece of music.   Your letters of love may become part of the show, romantic gestures or signs of friendship, shared publicly between us. Be our witnesses and we'll be yours. A BAC Scratch and an Arnolfini We Live Here commission. Also commissioned by Leeds Met Studio Theatre. Uninvited Guests are Arnolfini Associate Artists.
	ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLY?  LOVE!  Date: Wed 17th February Door: 7.30pm Tickets: £6 (£4 concessions)  Love is in the air, is all around, is a drug… so join us for evening of original storytelling in the White Rabbit's candlelit warren. Part fifties tearoom, part deranged children's party, we will woo you with irresistible new stories straight from the heart, featuring local writers, embracing this month’s theme: LOVE. We invite you to enjoy FREE cakes, sweets, treats, and to enter our Valentine’s poem competition to win a White Rabbit Love Kit just in time for the big day. Grab a "Teapot Cocktail" from the bar, and help us to give Love a bad name… follow the bunny... down, down, down “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” Oscar Wilde
	SCRATCH! Date: Thurs 25th February Doors: 7.30pm Tickets: FREE!  Continuing our support of early career artists and the promotion of new work, The Basement is pleased to present Scratch! This is an opportunity for early career artists to present works in progress and for audiences to contribute their thoughts and critical insight to the creation process. Each Scratch! event will present 3 – 4 short excerpts from brand new performances followed by a post show discussion with the artists.  We are keen to hear from artists, performers and theatre-makers who are in the process of making new work. If you are interested in presenting works-in-progress at Scratch! please send a summary of the work you wish to show, details of previous performances, a CV, and a DVD or links to online media of the work you wish to show or other previous works to Greg Mickelborough: greg@thebasement.uk.com

Autumn 2009 Programme

Our Spring programme will be available from Febuary 2010

Book Now! Call 01273 699733
There are lots of ways to stay in touch with The Basement.To receive regular programme up-dates you can e-mail us at:info@thebasement.uk.com to be put on our Friends Mailout list or follow us on Facebook.

The Basement is supported by Brighton and Hove City Council, Arts Council of England South East, SEEDA, Foyle Foundation and Awards for all