Broadway Producer David Binder Appointed Guest Artistic Director of London’s LIFT | Playbill

International News Broadway Producer David Binder Appointed Guest Artistic Director of London’s LIFT The bi-annual theatre festival will next take place in June 2018.
David Binder

Tony-winning Broadway producer David Binder has been appointed guest artistic director of LIFT 2018, a biennial festival of theatre that will take place throughout the month of June 2018.

It follows the departure of Artistic Director Mark Ball to become the associate artistic director of Manchester International Festival. An international search for the recruitment of a permanent artistic director will commence this summer.

Binder has worked with LIFT over the past four years, most recently as LIFT’s artistic associate. He spearheaded LIFT’s presentations of Taylor Mac at the Hackney Empire, Andrew Schneider’s YOUARENOWHERE at Shoreditch Town Hall, Constanza Macras’ Open for Everything at the Royal Court, and Rara Woulib’s Deblozay in the streets of Greenwich and Deptford, during the 2014 and 2016 festivals.

In New York, he produced The High Line Festival, curated by David Bowie. He also produced the Dutch New Island Festival on New York’s Governors Island—ten days of performance, music, theatre, and dance from the Netherlands. His TED talk, “The Arts Festival Revolution,” has been seen online by more than a half million people.   

His Broadway credits include Hedwig and the Angry Inch; 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda; and Of Mice and Men, starring James Franco and Chris O’Dowd, the first Broadway show to be filmed by NT Live. After being introduced to De La Guarda at LIFT ’ 97, he was inspired to produce the show in New York and later around the world.  He is currently co-producing the Barbican/Toneelgroep Amsterdam production of Obsession, directed by Ivo van Hove and starring Jude Law.

In a statement, Binder commented, “I’m thrilled and honoured to be LIFT’s 2018 Guest Artistic Director. For two decades, the festival has acted as my unparalleled guide, taking me to every corner of London. It has introduced me to new forms, new ideas and new communities, and to international artists, who again and again, have changed the way I perceive the world. It has been inspiring to work alongside Mark and the team for the past four years and it’s an opportunity of a lifetime to work with Beki [Bateson, currently Executive Director and now newly announced as CEO] in leading the 2018 Festival. In these very challenging times, I think LIFT’s role is more vital than ever.”

For further details, visit liftfestival.com.

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