Every year, dozens of music, theatre and comedy acts come together to showcase the best of Lewisham’s arts scene at the Brockley Max Festival.

Now in its 18th year, the festival is as popular as ever, with 75 acts taking to the streets of Lewisham this May and June.

There will also be a fundraising evening hosted by political satirist, Martin Rowson, on Thursday (April 4) at The Chandos pub in Honor Oak.

Moira Tait, festival director, said the aim of the Brockley Max over the last two decades has been to “celebrate the creativity of the community.”

While in its opening years, the festival focused solely on artists from Brockley, it has now expanded to incorporate creativity from surrounding areas such as Honor Oak and Ladywell.

According to Moira, about 95 per cent of the festival’s events are free to attend so they are “accessible to everybody.”

Over the years, she has seen hundreds of acts from across the borough perform – as well as a few visitors from further afield.

Singer-songwriter Coldway will be flying in from Memphis, Tennessee to perform at this year’s festival for the second time after his first stint a few years ago.

“I don’t even know how he found out about it,” Moira joked.

This year, Lewisham residents can expect to see a wide range of performances in different art forms, including:

- A three-night run of Much Ado About Nothing on Hilly Fields

- The South East London Orchestra performing an evening of folk music and a ceilidh

- The La La Piano Bar – a pop-up piano bar hosted by David Roper from 4 Poofs and a Piano

- Spoken word poetry nights

- A three-day radio station (based in the garden of the Fox and Firkin pub)

- Various venues hosting live music performances

The festival will kick off with an evening of six hours of live music at Brockley station on May 31 and will close with the Art in the Park event on Hilly Fields on June 8.