Interview with Simon Marshall: Community Project Manager for Together Festival, Sheffield, 2025

From Friday 1^st to Saturday 2^nd August, the Together Festival will celebrate the work of groups creating art and theatre across Sheffield. With a theme of ‘wonder’, the festival promises a vibrant programme of dance, music, and more.

In this interview, Community Project Manager Simon Marshall talks to Max Walton, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges and successes of bringing the festival to life. He also reflects on the vital role of community in shaping the event, and how Sheffield’s spirit and creativity have influenced the festival’s development and purpose.

1. Can you tell us about the original inspiration behind Together Festival and what you hoped to achieve when it first launched?
The first Together Festival was Together in the Square, which was a chance to bring people back together after lockdown restrictions were lifted. In the years since, the festival offer at Sheffield Theatres has grown and grown, with Together in the City in April 2022 and most recently Together Too in July 2023 and Launchpad Festival in July 2025. We hoped the festivals to be a big welcome to the building for anybody and everybody!

2. How do you go about selecting the performers and acts? What kind of preparation goes into getting them ready for the event?
We try and make sure there’s a programme reflecting groups we work with regularly, as well as communities from across the city that don’t always get the platform and recognition they deserve. This year, having an outdoor stage has meant also selecting acts that can entertain, motivate and hold a crowd, with plenty of fun and joy too. The preparation is largely about making sure they feel as confident and comfortable performing in our spaces as possible.

3. Walk us through the planning process – what does it take to bring a festival like this to life?
It takes a village! Or in this case a building, full of departments who want to make the festival a huge success. We plan to make these days feel really warm and welcoming, and every team, from Creative Engagement through to our Stage Door staff, are instrumental in delivering this. This year, we’ve been lucky to have a Stage One Trainee Producer, Jas Nisic, who has been an incredible energy behind the festival planning too.

4. What’s been the biggest challenge you have faced in organising this year’s festival, and how did you overcome it?
There was a time, post-Covid, when people were desperate for opportunities to come back together, whereas now people have so many options. Making sure Together Festival 2025 stands out is a challenge – and a huge opportunity! There are so many more acts and groups we wished we could have included too – how we’ll overcome it, we hope, is by making sure as many people attend and spread the word as possible.

5. This year’s theme is ‘wonder’ – what inspired that choice, and how is it reflected across the festival?
I think ‘a feeling of wonder’ motivates a lot of why people get involved in the arts, and also people see our building and wonder what it’s for – if we can turn it into a great invitation to come explore, then we’ve done our job! The foyer spaces feel like a wonderland, our Sensory Room is such a fabulous experience for all the senses, and the performances are all linked by this shared sense of possibility and excitement. It’s a huge vibe.

6. What steps are you taking to make the experience truly memorable for first-time visitors?
By making sure there’s plenty to do and see, that things are free and accessible, and that there’s joy at the heart of everything – including the welcome from all our brilliant teams!

7. When attendees leave the festival, what lasting impression or message do you hope they take with them?
We want the lasting impression to be that the theatre is for anyone. Whether it be performances, things to make and do, or just a space to chat and relax, our buildings belong to the people of Sheffield, and these festivals are how we celebrate that!

8. Have there been any unexpected moments or surprises during the festival’s development?
The Sensory Room has been such a triumph, with staff as well as participants! Laura Guthrie and our Launchpad Steering Group designed the space, and Bea Knowles and our Workshop, Production, Operations, Technical and Stage Management teams have created something truly wonderful. We knew it would be a relaxing and calming place, but what we hadn’t realised is quite how beautiful it would be too. It’s a whole world of its own.

9. Looking at the festival now, what accomplishment are you most proud of so far?
I think that there is truly something for everyone!

10. Where do you see Together Festival in the future? Do you have long-term ambitions for growth or expansion?
We’d love to bring lots more festival fun in the future! Our hope is that the people of Sheffield can enjoy even more free and accessible events and activities for everyone.

Together Festival is at various Sheffield venues, 1-2 August – more info here
images: Becky Payne