ABSTRACT
Gateshead International Festival of Theatre (GIFT) was one of the first festivals globally to pivot its 2020 edition ‘ingeniously online’ (Wyver, Guardian, 3 May 2020). As many other UK festivals were cancelled in light of the pandemic, GIFT responded by embracing this as an opportunity to experiment. This was at a critical moment during the UK’s first lockdown, when the desire for connection and collective experience was paramount. While the festival format was reimagined, it was crucial that the ethos of GIFT (as a supportive space to take risks) remained, and that GIFT’s festival community could still come together – albeit online. During the five weeks between making the decision to transition, and the festival taking place, an extraordinary number of decisions were made behind the scenes, driven by challenges of how GIFT could best support and protect its programmed artists; how GIFT could build community with audiences; and which were the best platforms, formats and tools for artists transposing for an online context. This chapter offers a personal reflection from this process, integrating survey responses from participating artists and audiences to unearth the strategies and approaches GIFT used to curate community and connection in a crisis.
