‘I would like people to feel like kids again – to be amazed’

Author Frank Cottrell-Boyce, writer of the London Olympics opening ceremony, is guest director of Brighton Festival – England’s largest multi-arts festival – this spring. The programme is shaped around his belief in the power of hope, as he seeks to extract wonder and joy during turbulent times

“I’ve never done anything quite like this before,” says Frank Cottrell-Boyce (main picture), who has been involved with more creative projects than most. Acclaimed children’s book author, screenwriter of films such as 24 Hour Party People, and writer of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, he’s most recently taken up a curatorial role as guest director for the 2024 Brighton Festival.

“I love Brighton,” he enthuses. “It feels very different from the rest of the UK in lots of ways. It’s a very forward-looking place – and it looks forward in fun. There’s definitely a sense of optimism about the place.”

This sense of cheer that Cottrell-Boyce feels radiates from the picturesque seaside city aligns perfectly with his own thoughts about life, art and culture. “I’ve been looking for somewhere to talk about hopeful things,” he says. “So, as soon as I was asked to curate Brighton Festival, it felt like the ideal platform. The festival is a platform to talk about optimism because pessimism is a luxury for good times. We’re in bad times, so we need to look for a way out.”

And so this May, Cottrell-Boyce offers up a varied and uplifting festival that is rooted in the themes of hope, wonder, magic and fun. “I wanted to cast the net as wide as possible,” he says of his curating process. “We have everything from amazing aerialists and street performers to a world record attempt by a table tennis club.” The lineup is vast, from the musician and poet Kae Tempest to the illusionist Scott Silven. The festival will comprise more than 120 events over three weeks, spanning music, literature, theatre, circus and more.

Talking of inspiring magic, Cottrell-Boyce has quite literally seen and experienced that first-hand. “Just before my mum died, she had a birthday party and I organised a magician to come,” he explains. “She was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, as my father was dying. I watched this magician do close-up magic with her and she became a little child. I would like people who come [to the festival] to have that opportunity to be like a kid again – to be amazed.”

That moment would go on to help him during a difficult time. “In my grieving I lost my mojo,” he recalls. “I remembered thinking: ‘I’ve lost my magic, where should I look?’ So I learned magic. If you do a magic trick really well, people ask: ‘How did you do that?’ Adults get so little opportunity to be vulnerable and open. To see people’s defences go down and just go: ‘Wow’, is so wonderful. So, instilling that in people became my criteria.”

The festival is a platform to talk about optimism because pessimism is a luxury for good times. We’re in bad times, so we need to look for a way out

Cottrell-Boyce is a lifelong advocate for the power of the arts in education. Via the extensive children’s programme at the festival, he also wants to tap into the sense of wonder that learning through art can bring. “You can’t do anything without imagining it first,” he says. “We didn’t go to the moon without imagining what it would be like to go. Art and culture can result in an experiment in thinking about what the world could be like. So, the festival is like a giant thought experiment.”

Aside from being a place to learn, revel and explore, he hopes the event will also be unpredictable – filled with the eye-opening power of surprise. “The wonderful thing about festivals is that they offer you things that you didn’t know existed,” he says. “It’s one thing watching out for what’s coming on at your favourite venues and going to see that but this festival is a completely different thing. It’s filled with stuff you didn’t know you wanted.”

And in curating a festival filled with hope, wonder, magic and fun, some of that has rubbed off on Cottrell-Boyce himself. “It’s been a completely joyous thing to do,” he says. “When I’m writing a book, the ending should be a surprise, so you get to be the first person to be surprised by it. Curating the festival has been like this too – and nearly everything has surprised me.”

Three highlights of this year’s Brighton Festival

Brighton Festival takes place from 4-26 May. To find out more, visit brightonfestival.org