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The south coast’s biggest standup comedy festival returns to Preston Park on Weds 3 – Sun 7 July. Boasting an unravelled roster of the hottest comedians, this year’s Brighton Comedy Garden welcomes the iconic Harry Hill, Last Leg star Josh Widdicombe, the mighty Dara Ó Briain, multi-award-winning Sara Pascoe, BAFTA nominee Simon Amstell, comedy powerhouse Fern Brady, Taskmaster icon Sam Campbell, Viceland star Jamali Maddix and the world-beating Sindhu Vee plus many more performing in a series of mixedbill shows.
There’s also an abundance of Comedy Garden favourites returning, with podcast hero John Robins, Have I Got News For You regular Phil Wang, viral phenomenon Janine Harouni, cult comic/poet Tim Key and Brighton’s very own comedy superhero Jen Brister to name just a few.
Combining award-winning comedy presented in a beautiful Big Top with quality offerings at the bars and delicious eats from local street-food heroes, this crowd-pleasing festival has been dazzling comedy lovers from Brighton and beyond since its first edition back in summer 2019.
Across five nights and the weekend afternoons, a series of meticulously curated mixed-bill shows, featuring the absolute
best comedians of the moment, are being staged in a beautifully presented venue. Each year it welcomes over 12,000 comedy fans to feast on the finest talent in a boutique-festival setting.
Brighton Comedy Garden is once again working with heycar. The leading online new and used car marketplace’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dermot Kelleher, said: “We’re delighted to continue as presenting partner for our third year working with our friends at Brighton Comedy Garden. With a fantastic line-up of the UK’s top comedians, heycar is thrilled to continue being part of the summer of feel-good.”
The Comedy Garden is produced by sibling team Will Briggs and Cass Randolph of 57 Festivals. “We’re stoked to be bringing back the Big Top to host this year’s incredible acts,” said Cass. “Nothing beats the atmosphere inside a beautiful tent filled with audiences having the best time, the acts really feed off that energy too and give electric performances.”
Will added “This line-up is the best we’ve brought to Brighton so far, and the last few years have been a truckload of fun, so the bar is high! We’re counting down the days until we’re back for another superb edition.”
57 Festivals are a London based company specialising
in live comedy. They produce a series of critically acclaimed summer festivals, deliver a year-round programme of shows and tours and provide bespoke comedy programming for other festivals and venues. Since 2005 they’ve been delivering exceptional comedy shows and their signature style of comedy festivals to select cities across the UK. Their events fuse the energy of a comedy club with the atmosphere of a full-on festival.
Brighton Comedy Garden comes to Preston Park on Weds 3 – Sun 7 July 2024
Tickets are £26 each, and available from: www. brightoncomedygarden.co.uk
Brighton’s only outdoor theatre is marking a tenth season, bringing with it a plethora of theatre, comedy and musical delights.
Founded following the tragic early passing of local playwright Adrian Bunting, BOAT has grown in range and ambition to become one of the UK’s premiere al fresco venues. To celebrate, BOAT opens on Fri4 May with a new production of Adrian’s rousing and relevant play Kemble’s Riot. Based on the true story of theatre price-hike riots in 1809, it won the Best Play Award on its debut at Brighton Fringe in 2011 and rave reviews from its run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2012.
Further highlights during May include Brighton Fringe productions Gays & Dolls, Blue Blood and Emotion in Motion, as well Homestead - a new version of The House of Bernada Alba –programmed in partnership with Brighton Festival.
June sees The Duke’s Theatre Company kick off their UK tour
with As You Like It, before the 5th annual Summer Comedy Festival from Funny That Comedy. Hosted by local comedy legend Stephen Grant, performers this year include A-listers Sara Pascoe, Suzi Ruffell, Zoe Lyons, Marcus Brigstocke, Gary Delaney and Romesh Ranganathan.
Further theatre highlights during the summer include Cue Fanfare’s Brief Encounter, Rather Nifty’s The Count of Monte Cristo, Oddsocks’ Julius Caesar, Changeling Theatre’s Present Laughter, Identity Theatre’s Oliver Twist and Tethered Wits’ Jeeves & Wooster.
As always, BOAT hosts far more than just theatre, with numerous music performances; plus opera, dance, circus and the return of Drag in the Park, hosted throughout the year by Brighton favourite Alfie Ordinary, and featuring some of the UK’s top talent including Asifah Lahore, Beau Jangles, Yshee Black, Son of a Tutu and Dave Lynn, amongst others. As always, there is a
bumper Pride Edition as well as a family-friendly Pride show.
There’s also plenty more for families throughout the summer, including IKP’s The Little Mermaid, Let’s All Dance’s Goldilocks, Quantum Theatre’s Jemima Puddle Duck and SISATA’s Peter Pan
Tickets for all performances and more information can be found at:
www.brightonopenairtheatre.co.uk
With the days getting lighter, and the temperature slowly heating up, Brighton has started to come alive and with it, Brighton i360 has unveiled a series of summer events.
Kicking off with a roller disco on 25th May. TV star Denise Van Outen, and close pal and actress Jemma Bolt will be taking over the Upper Deck for their event Discoliscious. Denise and Jemma started the Discoliscious club night in July 2023, where they host the ultimate party at various venues across the UK. This inclusive party will see DJ sets from Denise, Jemma and DJ Xarnder, as well as live Saxophone tunes by Jam Saxx.
Speaking about the party, Denise says: “I am so excited to be bringing Discoliscious to Brighton. I’ve got family in the city, and I used to live in Hove, so I know how much fun the locals are - and it’s even better that it’s my birthday and the big 5 -0! I couldn’t think of a better way or place to spend it. This will also be the first roller-disco we have hosted so it’s going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get my roller-skates on and hit the decks!”
Fri 26 July
Fancy an evening of fine dining, live music and sea views? Sky Dining returns with an extra special live performance from soulful powerhouse vocalist Red.
From an early age Red’s love for music shone through, having grown up with Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson & Christina Aguilera. Over the years she nurtured her talent and began creating original music heavily influenced by her soulful upbringing.
During her career Red has built a fan base on YouTube attracting over 20 million views worldwide and becoming a TikTok sensation amassing millions of views. She has performed alongside well-known artists such as Diana Ross, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry to name just a few. Last year she toured Europe with the amazing Andrea Bocelli.
On 3 Aug, the Saturday of Brighton Pride Weekend – Swiftageadon will be taking over the upper deck of the i360 for six solid hours of Taylor Swift! Swiftageadon is a night run by fans, for fans to come together for a non-stop Swifty filled party. Expect deep cuts, extended mixes, fan favourites and all the hits.
They’ll also be running pod rides, where you can take in the amazing views of Brighton beach and the surrounding areas, with the party continuing in the pod itself! Join fellow fans and kick off your Pride weekend in true Swifty style!
DJ, drag queen and party starter, Jodie Harsh will be taking over the i360 beachside terrace for the ultimate Brighton Pride event. With her signature blonde beehive and electrifying DJ sets, she's become an icon not only in London's club scene but worldwide. Her unmistakable silhouette graces festival mainstages and underground raves across the globe. As both a producer and songwriter, Harsh's releases on independent and major labels have amassed tens of millions of streams.
Known for her infectious energy and killer mixes, Jodie will take you on a musical journey and get you dancing. From her roots in London's underground club scene, Harsh has spun records at iconic venues worldwide from Pacha Ibiza to Wembley Stadium, Printworks and Warehouse Project. Whether its Glastonbury festival or commanding crowds of 15,000 at Creamfields, Harsh brings unmatched vibes to every event she plays. With sold-out shows in London, Manchester, Dublin, and beyond, this will not be one to miss!
Jodie will also be joined by Gaydio’s Kriss Herbert
and Brighton local Lizzie Curious to get the party started!
Find inner peace in the clouds with Yoga in the Sky. This unique experience includes a 1-hour yoga session on the Brighton i360 pod. Take a journey 450ft skyward surrounded by the picturesque South Downs and beautiful Sussex coastline as the i360 Pod is transformed into a Brighton yoga studio.
Whether you’re a beginner at yoga looking to stretch and relax or an expert yogi, these yoga classes have been specifically designed to suit all abilities.
Brighton’s only dedicated beachside roller-rink returns! Overlooking the iconic West Pier, Skate 360 is the ultimate skate spot to enjoy sea views and soak up the summer sun. Whether you’re a pro or looking to try something new, bring your skates, or hire some and wheel on down to the seafront for skating, music and great vibes!
Challenge yourself to scale new heights with one of the Brighton i360 Extreme activities. Extreme 360 has three pulse racing experiences available to book. Walk 360 allows participants to climb out and enjoy an open-air walk on top of the pod’s roof at 450ft!
Climb 360 allows you to continue your journey skyward xxxx metres above the pod’s maximum height by climbing within the tower.
For those who really want to push their limits, Drop 360 is abseiling but not as you know it… Lean back and slowly descend while suspended from a rope and drop 138 metres down.
For more information or to buy tickets, visit www. brightoni360.co.uk
© Jason Garcia
The Thirteenth Lewes Chamber Music Festival heads to the intimate settings of St John sub Castro church, St Michael’s Church, and the Depot Cinema in Lewes on Thurs 6 – Sat 8 June. Set across three days, sees 18 of today’s most exciting chamber-musicians and soloists, all exploring the musical ties between Europe and America through celebrating the 150th birthdays of Arnold Schoenberg and Charles Ives.
Now renowned for its adventurous and diverse programming, this year’s Festival is no exception with artistic director Beatrice Philips putting together a feast of repertoire spanning more than a century from Vienna to America. Central to the Festival weekend there will be an extended Festival Gala Concert on the Friday, featuring a performance of the rarelyheard chamber arrangement of Mahler’s 4th Symphony for twelve musicians.
There will also be a premiere of a chamber arrangement of scenes from Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier by locally born opera director Guido Martin-
Brandis featuring rising star soprano Hilary Cronin.
Prior to the opening concert on Thursday, there’s an open rehearsal followed by a Friends’ Reception at the Depot Cinema providing the chance to get up close to the musicians and hear how they work.
The Festival also features a late-night concert serving local Breaky-Bottom wine; a coffee concert with home-made cakes and locally provided coffee and a lunchtime concert as part of the schools’ scheme - when classes from five local primary schools are invited along with their teachers to attend a concert especially curated for the occasion.
The Festival also welcomes back actor Samuel West (last seen in LCMF in 2013) to perform the spoken part of Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte for Piano Quintet and actor in the Festival Finale concert.
Full concert listings, special offers and ticket information can be found at: www. leweschambermusicfestival.com
Fresh from the sellout success of Oliver at the Theatre Royal, Brighton Theatre Group’s youth company have diversified to produce another incredibly moving and life-affirming musical.
Coming to Hove’s The Old Market on Tues 28 May – Sat 1 June, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: Teen Edition is the story of a 16-year-old who doesn’t quite fit in within Sheffield’s society. Instead of pursuing a traditional career, he’s told he’ll make nothing more than a forklift truck driver, so he dreams of becoming a glittering drag queen.
With an uncertain future, but supported by the love of his mother, his “Aunt” Ray and his amazing friends, Jamie knows he’ll be sensational in life. Overcoming discrimination,
bullying and heartache Jamie begins a journey of selfacceptance, stepping out of the darkness and into the spotlight that he’s always craved to be simply “fabulous darling!”. This all adds up to a dazzling evening of hope, self-acceptance and inclusivity.
This Teen Edition musical, with book & Lyrics by Tom MacRae and music by Dan Gillespie Sells, is based from an idea by Jonathan Butterell and presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
www.theoldmarket.com
Over 2,000 of the city’s school children took to the stage during the Let’s Dance event at Brighton Dome in March. Dorothy Stringer School has organised the event since 2005 and since then Let’s Dance has become the largest celebration of school dance in the UK, involving students aged five to eighteen and including over 70 schools, colleges, and dance groups from across the city. This year there was even a performance from a mums’ dance group, who put on an excellent show!
As well as bringing together the city’s young people and promoting active lifestyles, Let’s Dance also provides an enriching work experience opportunity for Dance students from Varndean College. Over the course of the week, students gain an insight into stage management as well as what it takes to put a show of this size together.
Katie Booth, event organiser, said: ‘It is such a wonderful event to be part of and every year I am blown away by the commitment and enthusiasm that the young people in our city bring to the stage. The show is not an event solely for experienced dancers, or a competition, but an opportunity for young people to take part and create life-long memories in one of our city’s most amazing venues.’
The week was then topped off by the Dorothy Stringer Dance Show, an impressive display of a variety of dance styles including contemporary, commercial, ballet, musical theatre and jazz, and modern. The show, which featured over 300 Dorothy Stringer students, was created from a mix of the school’s extensive extra-curricular provision, the Dance curriculum, and the students’ own GCSE examination work.
A spokesperson for Dorothy Stringer said: ‘We are extremely fortunate to be able to hold our Dance Show in such an amazing Brighton venue and we strive to showcase the talents of as many of our students as possible, not only through the dances, but also the lighting and costumes. The occasion is a wonderful chance to showcase one of our school’s core values, Creativity, and the opportunity is relished by our students. Huge thanks to all the school and Dome staff and the students who gave their time and energy to make this year’s show happen for the whole community, as well as all the families and friends who supported the event; we hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did!’
For further info and future shows visit: www.dorothy-stringer.co.uk/ lets-dance
BMC by James Allam
London-based artists Oli Epp and Maja Djordjevic have announced the launch of a one-of-a-kind public art project on Brighton's seafront. Strategically positioned between the iconic nudist beach and the bustling Brighton Pier, two classic red telephone boxes have been given a new lease on life as dynamic showcases for contemporary art.
Running until the autumn, the project kicks off with an inaugural installation by Maidstone born artist Rosie McGinn, an artist celebrated for her exploration of emotional extremes through an eclectic mix of mediums.
Born in 1993, McGinn has created a new body of work depicting two stuffed sculpture ‘beings’ stuck in the bit before lift off. Each is equipped with space gloves, lunar boots and breathing apparatus. The astronaut couple stare out onto the sea’s horizon, across the English Channel. The artwork is accompanied by an atmospheric sound design by Ollie Dook.
McGinn describes the work as: “A goodbye letter to home, a self-sacrificial journey to beyond; a pair of lovers sit awaiting their lift off from Brighton beach, UK, Earth. Primed in their phone box rockets the two figures anticipate a journey to the far reaches of the universe. Having tasted the forbidden fruit, they leave their beloved planet behind, so it may grow on without them. In the words of Dolly …we both know that I’m not what you need.”
Epp and Djordjevic's vision for the telephone boxes is not just a tribute to the past but a beacon for the future of public art. By curating an ongoing series of installations, they aim to create a constantly evolving conversation between artists and the community, making art accessible and engaging for everyone.
The red telephone boxes are reimagined as vessels of artistic expression, inviting all who pass by to pause, reflect, and connect in an ever-changing world. Isn’t art all about communication?
As the warmer months approach, Brighton Pride are starting to announce a packed programme for 2024. As ever the centrepiece is the FABULOSO in the Park events; a grandstanding festival of fun, music and inclusivity. Arguably the UK’s most popular LGBT+ event, this year features performances from Girls Aloud, Mika, Gabrielle, S Club, Billy Porter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Peaches, Princess Superstar, Fat Tony and DJ Paulette. Alongside this, there’ll be a Cabaret Tents, Queer Town, the QTIPoC stage, dance tents and a host of new, diverse and immersive experiences.
This weekend is kicked off by the awe-inspiring Brighton & Hove Pride Community Parade, which travels through the centre of the city and unites organisations from across the southeast in a show of solidarity and mutual respect. It features everything from representatives of our public services and local initiatives to charities and the most important local businesses, all bringing a splash of colour and spectacle to the streets. This year’s theme will be ‘JOY – Celebrating Life • Spirit • Resilience’.
The celebrations start this month, with a brand-new exhibition heading to Brighton’s Jubilee Library. Celebrating the inaugural Trans+ History Week, Beyond The Binary - A Celebration Of Trans Joy runs until Sun 12 May.
This collaboration between Brightonbased award-winning photographer and queer artist Chris Jepson, trans groups including Trans Pride Brighton, The Clare Project, Trans Can Sport, TReNBI FC Brighton, Misfits and Transkaters, as well as numerous trans individuals, to celebrate the trans community, share their stories and show support for the vibrant and inclusive city in which we live.
In a world that often struggles to fully embrace diversity and inclusion, Beyond the Binary captures authentic joy, promoting community spirit and empowering the trans community through visibility. Right now the trans community is under attack from all sides, politically, legislatively and in the media, and trans hate crime has more than doubled in 5 years. This exhibition hopes to help counter the negative agenda and spread the pure joy of a community that wants to honour its rich history whilst celebrating its present and future.
For more details on all these events, and the rest of a packed 2024, visit: www. brighton-pride.org
Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare has launched a new Music Hub within its Lewes charity shop. The Hub will be dedicated to all things musical, stocking a wide range of vinyl, CDs, memorabilia and even secondhand instruments.
Music aficionados will be able to listen to some of the store’s vinyl tracks on a record player while browsing for bargains amongst the collection.
Kirsty Hazelden, Shop Manager at Lewes says: “We’re delighted to open this new area of our store, which celebrates all things musical. Since our Lewes shop opened in 2021, we’ve built up a large collection of music items donated by our wonderful supporters and until now, we’ve not had the space to showcase all of these vintage treasures including a drum kit and guitars.
“Our new Music Hub allows us to display a wide range of items available for purchase, and what better day to open than Record Store Day, bringing together both music and animal lovers alike!”
As well as music items, the shop stocks clothes and accessories, furniture, toys, books, bric-a-brac and lots more. It is dogfriendly, with a wide range of pet goods, including cosy dog and cat beds, collars and leads plus treats and toys. All proceeds go towards helping injured and unwanted animals in need at Raystede.
The Raystede shop team would be delighted to receive donations of good quality items to sell to help raise funds for the animals. These can be dropped off at the shop during opening hours. Located at 3 Eastgate Wharf (behind Waitrose), the Lewes shop is open 7 days a week, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, Sunday, 10am to 4pm.
For more information, please visit www. raystede.org/shop/lewes-charity-shop/
Elderflower Fields invites you to the happiest little corner of the Sussex countryside for a weekend of adventure and fun. Filled with music, art, nature, sport and science the award-winning family festival is a chance for kids to be kids and parents to relax in the beautiful surroundings of the Ashdown Forest.
Designed for those with young children, Elderflower Fields is an opportunity for little festival first-timers to lead the way into a magical world of Moonshine Fandango fun, Leapfrog Lawns games, and Urban Woods adventure. Many families return year after year with the knowledge of a safe and nurturing holiday filled with new experiences and unforgettable family memories.
Set in the exquisite High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, expect the finest locally sourced food and drink, a woodland spa for adults, and plenty of camping space with excellent facilities and glamping upgrades available. This year's theme ‘Fairytales Gone Wrong vs Rubbish Ideas’ will fill the woods with upcycled wonder.
A world of wonky stories and imaginative ideas. Celebrate the wealth of creativity that can be found in pre-loved and post-use helping achieve the Festival Vision 2025 pledge for sustainable outdoor events. Of course, all with a sprinkling of Elderflower Fields magic!
How to Enter:
To enter for a chance to win a family ticket to Elderflower Fields, simply answer the following question:
“What is the theme for this year’s Elderflower Fields fancy dress competition?”
Head to www.bn1magazine.co.uk to enter your answer along with your name and contact details. The competition closes on 17th May. The winner will be randomly selected from all correct entries and notified via email.
Don’t miss out on this magical family experience! Enter today and get ready to create lasting memories at Elderflower Fields. For more details about the festival, visit www.south.elderflowerfields. co.uk. Good luck!
Join Bing and Flop to become a Nature Explorer at WWT Arundel this spring until June 2, with activity trails, storytelling and colouring fun. With new experiences around every corner, it’s the perfect way for young explorers (and their grownups) to discover the sights, sounds and sensations of nature.
Learn all about wetland nature and wildlife with a little help from Bing and his friends.
Bing is one of TV’s best loved characters, adored by children and parents alike. And he’s become one of the best advocates for getting outdoors and learning through play. Precisely what WWT Arundel Wetland Centre is all about!
Our spring programme includes an activity trail featuring Bing and his friends, which will encourage little legs to discover the signs of spring and learn more about the range of plants, birds and animals that call the wetlands home. Be sure to pick up a map at the start and collect your sticker once you’ve completed the trail.
Bing storytelling sessions hosted by WWT team members in our visitor centre featuring the Bing books from HarperCollins are held twice daily on weekends and holidays through June 2.
Bing merchandise will be available for sale in the gift shop with a souvenir Bing sticker for every child who completes the trail and paper Bing ears for Bingsters at the storytelling sessions.
Elizabeth Pearce, Learning Manager at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre said: “Bing is one of TV’s best loved characters, and a brilliant advocate for getting outdoors and learning through play and discoverywhich is exactly what we at WWT Arundel are all about!
Commenting on the partnership Kirsty Southgate, Director of Experiential and Promotions, Acamar Films said: “Bing and his friends love the outdoors, finding opportunities to play outside and learn more about the plants and animals around them. These Bing activities with WWT will encourage new visitors to their locations and we hope that these visitors also find the same joy in exploring and learning more about UK wetland wildlife.”
Other activities at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre during the Bing programme include: Diving duck fish feed, daily at noon, the Pelican Keeper Talk, daily at 2 pm, Pond dipping on weekends and holidays and the Wetland Discovery Boat Safaris running daily.
Nature exploring… it’s a Bing thing!
To plan your visit, search WWT Arundel.
After captivating audiences around the world, a new production of Nick Payne’s award-winning play Constellations heads to Brighton New Venture Theatre on Fri 14 - Sat 22 June.
Originally premiered to critical acclaim at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012, the play explores the complexities of human relationships and the enigmatic world of quantum mechanics. It tells the story of Roland, a beekeeper, and Marianne, a physicist at the University of Sussex.
After they meet at a barbeque the two become lovers. They marry – or do they? Through a series of vignettes their relationship unfolds across multiple parallel universes – a multiverse - as the play explores the infinite possibilities of love and fate. Each universe offers a different outcome.
Through its two-person cast, mesmerising dialogue and innovative structure, Constellations explores our perceptions of both time and space.
“Watching Constellations at the Royal Court I was fascinated by the way such complex themes are explored through such a simple structure,” says Mary Allen, director of the New Venture Theatre production. “I resolved there
and then that I would one day direct my own version. My aim is to produce a theatrical experience that is stimulating, absorbing and enjoyable. I am thrilled that in Kate Alderton and Greg Donaldson I have two experienced actors who bring their own, unique interpretations to the
From The Great Escape to Brighton Festival to Brighton Fringe to Spielgeltent to Fools Paradise to Foodies Festival this place is BUZZING with arts, culture, food, drink, music and frivolity this May. And we are here for it!
I love seeing the city come alive with performers, musicians and chefs. Every venue becomes a stage and the air is filled with the sounds of happy festival goers.
Our fab members will be getting involved as we take them out to events, shows and nurture our fab community by supporting these incredible Brighton festivities. I can’t wait to experience them all, block out your calendars people, we are going ALL IN!
We even interviewed the fab Rhiannon Lingwood from Brighton Fringe on our Connected Brighton podcast this month (listen on our website, Spotify or Apple) about Brighton Fringe, how to get involved and support for the artists taking place. There is a mega 670 shows on offer with an average ticket price of £9! Bargain.
And because we can’t resist giving you our own bespoke, curated, locally led and personally hosted events we’ve got a few fun things for you too. Check out our Mexican Cooking class with Xavier Buendia, Petanque Class with Brighton & Hove Petanque Committee, morning at the ABBA exhibition and trying the new menu with the Happy Go Souvlaki team at Mrs Fitzherberts. Something for everyone!
Get involved, make new connections and support local. Check out our Connected100 on our website for our best recommendations in the city to support small, local and independent businesses. Helping us to keep Brighton boutique and unique.
Stay connected with us - come out on our weekly Social Club events, fortnightly Business Club events, give us a follow on Instagram and sign up for our newsletters to keep up to date with what’s happening across the city.
And have THE BEST time at the festivals, I’ll see you there!
fascinating roles created by Nick Payne, a playwright whose work I greatly admire.”
For more info and tickets, visit: www. ticketsource.co.uk/newventuretheatre
Love, Lyndsey
ww.connectedbrighton.com @connectedbrighton
Children’s Parade Brighton Festival 2023
Image credit Jamie MacMillan
Coming to venues across the city and wider Sussex, Brighton Festival returns on Sat 4–Sun 26 May. It features everything from astonishing dance performances and awe-inspiring music to thought-provoking art shows and intimate book readings – there should be something for everyone.
With the intention of removing all barriers to participation IN the arts, Brighton Festival is also presenting a huge number of free events this year, often in parts of the city which rarely see cultural offerings.
As ever, the biggest and brightest free event is the annual Children’s Parade on Sat 4 May Arts charity Same sky will be leading youngsters from across the region on a tour of Brighton’s city centre, starting off at Jubilee Street and ending on Madeira Drive. This fiesta of colour, moving sculptures, costume and live music will be under the theme of ‘Dream Again’ – providing the perfect backdrop to a month of activities.
Over in Royal Pavilion Gardens, an interactive artwork will be captivating visitors to the city on Sat 4 - Mon 27 May. Created by Leap Then Look, 100 Miles of String will see passers-by encouraged to contribute to temporary outdoor installation which will change and grow over the course of the Festival. 100 miles of string will be handed out, so you can weave, wind and crisscross the installation, creating complex patterns and dense webs, transforming the space into an exciting, playful environment.
Inside Brighton Dome Concert Hall, An Elevated Platform will be providing ‘dysfunctional karaoke for the body’ on Sat 4 - Sun 26 May. You can enter to the sound of a cheering crowd. Take to the stage and elevate your status as you ‘perform’ to your adoring ‘fans’ who praise and celebrate your every movement – the more energetic, the wilder the approval. However, continued stardom is not as easy as it seems. You must keep moving to sustain interest, any slowing down will be met with discontent from your admiring crowd.
Celebrating the wealth of brilliant children's book illustrators in Brighton, Hove and close by, the Children's Illustration Exhibition heads to Hove’s The Book Nook on Sat 4 - Sun 26 May. It’ll feature a superb selection of works by local talents.
To acknowledge the magic of early cinema and filmmaking and its spirit of creativity and innovation, videoclub & Corridor present Days Of Wonder at Hove Museum of Creativity on Sat 4 May - Sun 1 Sept. Sapphire Goss, Annis Joslin, Bella Okuya and Connor Turansky, some of the scene’s most vibrant artists, have been commissioned to respond to existing collections - resulting in new artworks, installed as interventions in the permanent galleries at Hove Museum of Creativity.
The Phoenix Art Space welcomes visual artist and quantum physicist Libby Heaney’s Ooze Machines on Sat 4 May - Sun 30 June. This seductive and repulsive solo exhibition features
immersive multi-channel video, new glass and watercolour works and playable experiences – providing a first glimpse into the non-binary, entangled futures that quantum technologies will bring.
A socially engaged sound art project and exhibition from local young people, artist Simon James and Class Divide comes to Lighthouse on Sat 4 - Sun 19 May. Neolithic Cannibals’ Deep Listening to the Unheard explores the deep time history of the Neolithic in East Brighton and the contemporary soundscape of Whitehawk. The show mixes archaeology, psycho-geography, sound art, and activism. The work will transport audiences to a place where imaginative and fantastical sounds invite deep listening to an area that is hidden and unheard.
Through a series of workshops, young people in Whitehawk have listened to the contemporary environment of East Brighton using the Whitehawk Hill Neolithic Camp, discovered in 1929 via a geophysical listening technique known as Bosing, as a focal point and inspiration for their sonic explorations.
St Peter's Church in Preston Park hosts Festival of Ideas’ Bird Bath Installation on Sun 5 - Sun 12 May. Created by meditator and broadcaster Alistair Appleton (Mindsprings) and musician and ecoacoustician Alice Eldridge (University of Sussex). It’ll transform beautiful buildings into restorative spaces by inviting you to pause, rest and ‘bathe’ in the sound of local birdsong. The
church will be open to the public and filled with spring bird songs recorded in local nature reserves and recovery sites. For an extra special experience, you can join them for the Dawn Chorus Breakfast or Dusk Meditation, Performance and Improvisation.
Outside the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts is the location for Closer to my Dreams on Fri 10 - Sat 11 May. This is a playful, heartfelt take on family and friendship, exploring how we respond to the trials and tribulations life throws at us, and knowing when it’s best to hustle or just let go. Two young, black brothers from inner-city Manchester dream of becoming professional dancers. Weaving together poetry, rap and hip-hop choreography, we follow the pair as they build friendships and relationships and try to succeed in the face of adversity.
On Thurs 16 - Sun 19 May, World Kiosk brings Variable Matter to Moulsecoomb Place, encouraging you to find out about your global neighbours in a whole new light. A simple street kiosk disrupts the fabric of everyday life, offering an intimate and enchanting digital sound and light installation where communities collide. Sip tea amidst a calming atmosphere, engaging in thought-provoking conversation, encouraging new connections. Enjoy their special edition newspaper and be transported to a place where stories come alive. Connect with the life journeys of what makes people all over the world who they are.
In the centre of town, Perhaps Contraption’s The Journey runs in Regency Square on Sat 18 - Sun 19 May. An award-winning experimental brass band, along with Deaf & BSL poet Zoë McWhinney, will be leading the way – asking you to embark on a journey where each movement tells a story. The performance combines an original progressive pop score with Visual Vernacular; a unique blend of physical theatre, signed poetry and mime. Expect a curious, jubilant parade, replete with intricate rhythms, expressive motions, and a healthy dose of hope.
As always, Brighton Festival isn’t just confined to Brighton, taking some of the spectacle to Crawley this month, in association with Without Walls - a network of organisations bringing innovative outdoor arts to towns and cities across England. Inspirate’s Ancient Giants comes to the town’s Memorial Gardens on Sat 25 - Sun 26 May 2024. Gods and demons from ancient stories come to life in this family friendly street theatre show that is an exciting fusion of puppetry, martial arts, dance and storytelling. Shanti, a young girl who is fascinated with stories told by her parents and grandparents, imagines a battle between Hanuman and Ravana; a complex struggle between good and evil. The encounter is brought to life by two 12ft puppets as they interact with audiences and make their way to a dramatic final confrontation.
On Sat 25 - Sun 26 May, Mind the Gap’s Birdie is taking over Crawley’s Queens Square. This beautiful show features three professional actors with learning disabilities, blending intricate choreography, original music, and captivating object manipulation to tell a powerful story about climate change. Homie travels in a mesmerising upcycled mobile home, determined to make a difference in the face of the daunting climate crisis. They then meet Birdie, a new friend struggling to navigate a world filled with plastics and pollution. Together the pair embark on a journey towards freedom and hope, inspiring positive action and encouraging people to stand up for what’s right.
Bureau of Silly Ideas bring their Island Storm to Crawley’s Queensway on Sat 25 - Sun 26 May, creating a fun and action-packed seaside arcade, live on your doorstep. Coastal erosion caused the catastrophic loss of a family-run business. The survivors are now touring and scratching out a living with what they managed to salvage. You will be moved by more than emotions as you help this surviving family rebuild their watery empire. Expect circus, wet fun, hilarity and stunts as you enter this magical arcade action world.
Back in Brighton, Head Over Wheels, a disabled & non-disabled aerial company pushing the boundaries of circus, present Anchored In Air at The Level on Sat 18 - Sun 19 May. This groundbreaking and exhilarating aerial theatre show is a mesmerising fusion of movement, dance, spoken text and music, taking audiences on a thrilling journey into the world of flying wheelchairs, integrated audio description, gravity-defying acrobatics, and the captivating challenge of navigating a colossal tower.
Jeanefer Jean-Charles MBE presents Patois on Brighton Beach, near the i360, on Sat 18 - Sun 19 May. It asks what happens when two unwritten languages meet? This British-Caribbean choreographer tells a story of lost languages, longing and belonging through traditional Caribbean choreography, contemporary dance and an original music score. It’s a journey to rediscover hidden voices and identities that are rooted in dialects that are buried within us as we reawaken stories and generations of the past.
For details on all these free shows, and the scores of other events taking place at Brighton Festival, head to: www. brightonfestival.org
An Elevated Platform Flexer & Sandiland Image Credit Nic Sandiland
Ooze Machines
Libby Heaney
Not all international movements come from grand ideas, some blossom from the simplest of concepts. Back in 1982, artist Ned Hoskins opened his home in Fiveways for people to come, chat and view art by him and his friends. It caught on around the neighbourhood, becoming a regular event. This soon spread to other parts of the city, with Open House events being listed in the Brighton Festival, and later Fringe brochures as part of the city’s cultural offerings. Now artistic communities around the country and further afield have taken up this inclusive grassroots approach to showing work.
“It’s become a worldwide phenomenon now,”
says AOH’s Festival Director, Judy Stevens. “But someone in Fiveways had the original idea.” Judy, herself a Brighton-based artist, printmaker and illustrator, ran an open house on the Seven Dials trail for several years with her partner, graphic designer Chris Lord. In 2004, both helped establish Artists Open Houses, developing it as an independent artist-led event in its own right.
The number of art trails, participating artists and open houses has flourished in recent years. This year is one of the largest ever, with over 180 venues welcoming you. Once confined to just Brighton & Hove, you can find trails along the coast from Portslade to Newhaven, and beyond the South Downs in villages like Ditchling and Hurstpierpoint. “You can walk around areas of the city, or visit parts you’ve not been to before, but also have a nice day out in the countryside…”. While the core premise might be simple, the amount of love and effort going into each venue and the exhibitions is often extraordinary. Judy tells me that most of their visitors enjoy meeting artists or makers and having conversations about works and the idea behind them. There’s an ineffable joy in seeing art in a domestic setting, or even where it was created, which isn’t found going into a possibly less-welcoming, formal setting of a gallery. And, obviously, some people do like looking around artists’ houses.
One artist throwing open her doors during every weekend in May is Sarah Arnett. Last year was the first time for her Little Picture Palace venue; a home and studio on York Avenue overlooking St Ann’s Well Gardens. As well as showing art from herself and five friends, she welcomed visitors into her garden with book readings and music. “It was like a happening,” she tells me. “A mini-festival really. It’s been a good excuse to make a stage... I’m so excited. Last year, the choir I belong to held a Sunday concert here. It was so lovely.” Already, she’s busy with preparations for 2024’s proceedings. The garden is being transformed, with terracing being added and a platform to act as a performance space. “Just the other day, I was wondering what on Earth I’ve started!” Her venue brings together a collection of people, who she refers to as an extended family, including a jewellery artist, a handbag designer and a perfumer, alongside Sarah’s own fine art prints, wallpaper, textiles and clothing.
Amongst the new venues this year is the Portable Open House - essentially a large dolls house transported in a barrow with tiny artworks inside. “Part of that is looking at the affordability of housing in Brighton, and how hard it is to live and work here,” says Judy. Elsewhere is the Wandering Gallery, a camper van transformed into an arts space and parked in the seafront area. “A lot of visitors like houses where there’s lots of different media, so there might be painters, but also textile artists and ceramicists. There are also venues which will have themes. This year there’s The Dog Show, with a group of people working in different mediums, but around the theme of dogs. That includes sculptures, but there’s also painting dogs onto teabags and a pop-up dog portrait studio. They also have a dog-soundscape.” Another is Figment Arts on Hanningtons Lane, who’ll be exhibiting work around Sussex folklore, and encouraging visitors to make collaborative paintings with them around various local legends.
“Different people like different things. Some visitors like a house with just one artist and learning a lot about them. Others will like places where there’s a lot of variety. Many younger artists work with installation and performance, so quite a few houses are including that.” But there’s also plenty of tradition at AOH.
For over twenty years, Troy Ohlson has been welcoming visitors to Maldon Road’s Trojan House, showing off art and handmade crafts in a relaxed home setting. AOH has also started to become a generational event. Colin Ruffell has long delighted people with his playful
paintings of cats. “Both Colin and his wife were some of the original open house artists so their daughter essentially grew up in one.” Now, Shyama Ruffell hosts her own venue on Addison Road, joined by work from a range of artists, often including her parents.
Judy says one of the biggest developments in AOH’s time, apart from the number of artists and venues getting involved, is the quality of work. “There’s some amazing art. It’s also been nice to include more young people and students.”
Judy is adamant about AOH’s credentials as a community event. It involves several schools, university students and there’s quite a few houses showing work from neuro-diverse or learning-disabled artists. There’s also one venue which is a senior resident’s home. “It is all encompassing,” she says. “We aim to encourage artists at all stages of their careers, from those who are just starting out to the established and internationally respected.”
She points out that there’s sadly few places to exhibit work in Brighton and Sussex. “I think the democratisation of Open House is an important feature. It’s quite hard for artists to earn a living. So, it provides a time of the year to work towards and have a large audience coming to see your work and make sales. It does enable some artists to be able to continue their practices.” Because encouraging everybody’s creativity is a huge part of AOH, a lot of the venues also offer workshops to help others to explore their artistic leanings.
There’s also a benefit for hosts in meeting people from their neighbourhood. “I only used to talk to those in the garden flat over the fence,” says Sarah. “But there’s only so far I can shout down the road! Last year, people kept coming up and introducing themselves. I’ve lived here for 27 years, and I’ve never met so many people.” She used to run a fashion store behind the old Ship Street post office, which had a retail space on the ground floor, with a studio upstairs. “I loved that so much. In your own space, people find it less intimidating. You can talk about your practice and your technique. It tells the whole picture.” Opening up her home last May gave her a similar experience, which she’d not felt for a long time.
Buying art in this environment might also provide a greater sense of ownership for the customer. “They’ll remember where it came from,” adds Sarah. “What I’ve found, since doing Open House, is that people are so much more confident in sending an email and asking to come and see work. I’m really lucky that this is my life and job, so it’s nice to be able to share that with people.”
Trained in woven textiles, Sarah established her own fashion label as well as designing wallpaper. Now working with drawings, she describes herself as an evolving artist. She was chosen to create the cover for AOH 2024’s brochure cover, and is now in the process of having the image woven as a tapestry as a way of recognising where she started.
The conversations are just as beneficial to the artists as they are the audience. “I never realised, until I did some teaching, that there’s nothing like people asking you questions. You’re constantly explaining your work and process.” Normally, she’s just working alone with the process bouncing around in her head. Talking about it for a month, gives her and most other artists a greater sense of placing themselves in the world and a confidence in what they’re doing.
She’s just been sponsored by Brewers Paint with paint and advice (who also support AOH’s Seven Dials trail) to create a mural on the side of her building, along with an outdoor ‘rug’ on her patio. “They’ve given me so much paint and gone back to their people to get all the technical details.”
While many of the artists opening their houses make it look serene and effortless, Sarah tells me she initially had a few jitters about creating a good impression in her first year. “But as soon as people start walking into your house, and they’re so respectful, excited and happy to meet all the makers, it all goes out the window. You want to be as professional as possible… but there is an allowance that you’re trying to get a cake out of the oven, sell a picture and talk to someone. I didn’t know how it would all work, but it was a joy.”
So, what makes the perfect open house? While it’s always a delight to see the expressions of those who’ve never experienced an open house before, Sarah says those who go to AOH shows every year understand the drill. “They know which ones they’ll go to, maybe visit some new ones and where they’ll have their tea and cake. You need to accommodate those who are doing ten in a day, but also those who’ll arrive in the morning, have a gin & tonic, start chatting to a friend and find themselves still here in the evening having dinner with us - which does happen!”
Artists Open Houses comes to venues around Brighton & Hove and across Sussex on Sat 4 – 6 Mon, Sat 11- Sun 12, Sat 18 – Sun 19 and Sat 25 – Mon 27 May. For more information and details about the participating artists, head to: www.aoh.org.uk
The Wandering Gallery and Postcard Nikki Loy
follow us at x nanimaasiankitchen for our daily-changing menus
27 TO 31 MAY HALF TERM ACTIVITIES 22 & 23 JUNE FLOWER POWER 21 JULY ORGAN EXTRAVAGANZA
wealddown.co.uk Tel: 01243 811363
MELTING VINYL COMING UP IN 2024
09.05 Joanna & The Dropouts 22.05 The Handsome Family 23.05 The Handsome Family KENT 25.05 AK/DK LEWES 03.06 Lemoncello 14.06 Group Listening 30.06 Josh Rouse 02.07 Eva Maret
19.07 Lightheaded / Mt Misery 15.08 Devendra Banhart 16.08 Explosions in the Sky 04.09 Office for Personal Development / Battery Operated Orchestra
08.09 Dawn Landes
13.09 Route 500 / Noah Yorke
18.09 Ryley Walker 23.09 Asgeir 27.09 Pictish Trail 12.10 Anna Erhart 13.11 Kris Drever 14.11 Billy Mahonie 17.11 Aircoooled 21.11 Black Doldrums 26.11 King Creosote Gigs are in Brighton unless indicated otherwise. meltingvinyl.co.uk
Situated conveniently at the South side of St Peter’s Church, Brighton, Fool’s Paradise is an epicentre of activity for the Fringe. Presenting two unique venues, each with a stacked program of circus, physical theatre, comedy, music and magic, and an equally impressive program of food and beverage offerings – book tickets now and let us transport you to paradise.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind creating Fool’s Paradise at Brighton Fringe and what you hope to achieve with this new venue?
Fool’s Paradise was born in Australia, as a fully artist led precinct. This means that it is designed, curated and run by artists. The inspiration was to provide a new platform where artists can showcase their work and be properly supported by people who understand the pressures of the open access festival market.
Year round we tour and we see a lot of the same faces in different festivals on the circuit, and we want to create a space that feels like family and home, and the artists coming in can trust us to act in their best interest.
What we want to achieve is an incredible platform for people to showcase their talents. It would be amazing to see the people of Brighton come together for the festival in the space we have created. Our venues are custom designed to work for circus and physical theatre, with super high roofs for aerial acts and state of the art lighting rigs. We want to lift the Brighton Fringe to a new level and support the incredible artists we see year round.
What unique experiences can visitors expect from the two different entertainment spaces—The Vault, and The Bunker at Fool’s Paradise?
The vault was especially engineered with Circus in mind. It has the ability to counterweight performers high into the air. The vault is very heavy on the circus programming, and you can expect high skills and high flying acrobatics in there. The bunker has a lot more theatre, there are some circus shows and some musical shows and comedy.
There’s a wide range of shows at Fool’s Paradise with shows in the daytime for Kids and even late night burlesque shows for the adults.
As one of the founders (speaking with Thomas Gorham), do you have a long history with performing arts? How does your background influence the curation and management of Fool’s Paradise?
As a circus performer I primarily go looking for other circus shows when I am programming the festival. Fool’s Paradise has a much larger sector of circus than most places. Its my bias haha!
One of the fantastic things we do at Fool’s Paradise is that we offer an incredible deal to the artists. We try to keep the risk as low as possible and the administration as simple as we can. With the rising costs of everything worldwide it is getting harder and harder to be a performing artist. We hope that our low cost approach makes it easier and simpler for artists to budget and to play with us. We are trying to reverse the trend of venues getting more and more expensive, and taking so much that the artists is left with so little.
The festival features a mix of your Headfirst Acrobats’ productions and shows from other artists. How do you balance showcasing your own shows with providing a platform for other performers?
We have a large range of shows that we can provide, but we try to program things that will complement the full programme. It can be difficult to have a wide enough variety of shows and still be putting circus and physical theatre in the spotlight. Its a juggling act ahah!
Can you discuss the process and criteria for selecting the twenty-five other productions featured at the festival?
It was a collaborative effort between us and the lovely team at the Brighton Fringe Festival. We did an expression of interest which they put out through their channels. Also we have had a few acts which have played with us in cities in Australia, who decided to roll the dice and come overseas.
GODZ, Arr We There Yet?, and Crème De La Crème are highlighted as key performances. What makes these shows stand out, and what should audiences particularly look forward to?
What makes these shows stand out is their artistry, craft and skill level. Each of these shows have been meticulously designed for their target audiences. A huge range of talent is on display in these shows with the very best that Australian circus has to offer.
Also.. they are VERY funny shows. That’s one of the comments we get a lot, is that people had no idea they were going to be so funny.
What measures are being taken to ensure that Fool’s Paradise is an engaging experience for both children and adults?
Well! We have got you covered no matter what your age is. For the children we have circus workshops! And lots of kids shows, as well as a donut shop (the donuts are also for adults)
And we have a plethora of acts for grown ups. Godz and Lash Out are both R18+ and are both going to be scintillating experiences. Plus there is a full bar and food options for those who just want a nice place to drink, chat and maybe have a bite to eat.
With performances from international artists, including a circus from Ethiopia and Australia, how do you ensure a diverse and inclusive lineup?
We are so lucky that circus is all over the world! It’s easy to have an inclusive lineup because everywhere has such strong circus shows with different flavours which will complement the programme!
We have circus from Africa, Australia, Europe and the UK. Maybe next year we can add more continents!
Could you share more about the free live music and culinary experiences available at Fool’s Paradise? What can attendees expect in terms of food and beverage options?
We are aiming to showcase local Brighton talent and have live music on thursdays under the stretch tent. And DJs will be playing in our club nights on Friday and Saturday nights. Look for club cream on the Brighton Fringe website to see whos playing that weekend. Also entry is free to club cream if anyone has a ticket to the creme de la creme show. Food wise we have our award winning coffee shop, it literally won the
best coffee at the Fringe World festival in perth! We will also have a toastie stand, a donut shop and a fry shack with some Australian staples. I don’t know if the English have been introduced to the magic that is chicken salt, but prepare to have your minds blown.
Finally, what are the long-term goals for Fools Paradise, and how do you envision its role in the broader landscape of the Brighton Fringe and global performing arts communities?
Our long term goal is to become a staple hub in the Brighton Fringe festival. Something that artists and punters alike can look forward to coming back year after year. Something that becomes a part of Brighton culture and is associated with springtime. It would be incredible if our participation could create new paths for performers to take, adding Brighton to their calendars and raising the profile and quality of the Brighton Fringe to new heights.
Anything else you would like to add?
Just a massive thank you to everyone who has helped us along the way. Brighton is full of beautiful people who are doing amazing work and we are proud to be showcasing in your city.
This month’s prize is from Hatchet Harry’s, the new urban axe throwing facility open in Brighton. For a chance to win a coaching session to master your throwing technique follow the competition details opposite and complete the quiz word.
www.renegaderesin.com / www.tiktok.com/@renegade_resin / www.instagram.com/renegade_resin
The Quizword is like a crossword but a little bit more trivia based. Once completed, the letters in the pink boxes spell out a CODEWORD when rearranged. When you have figured it out email us at prizes@ quizface.co.uk FOR A CHANCE AT WINNING THIS MONTH’S PRIZE!
ACROSS
1. Go to BEARDY LITTLE EYES
5. “You know where you are?! You’re in the jungle baby! YA GONNA DIIIEE!” Are the words shouted by which Guns and Roses front man?
7. If Aragon is giving his sword and Legolas his bow. Who is giving Frodo their axe in Lord of the Rings?
8. Go to GAMER AXE 3
11. Go to GAMER AXE 2
12. The name of Thor’s axes he forges with the help of Eitri in the film Avengers Infinity War?
14. Go to GAMER AXE 1
16. The opposite of a big axe
17. Edward Teach was pirate who by the name BlackWHAT?
18. Go to SAY WHAT YOU SEE
19. ?Church?casting?sheet?band?shoulders.
2. “You like Huey Lewis and News?” Patrick asked Paul before grabbing his axe in which film?
3. Corporate, Inheritance and Income are types of what?
4. Nickname for a helicopter
6. Go to WORDUKU
9. To trick or deceive someone, in the past tense.
10. What part of the body would you find the oesophagus, the trachea, the larynx, epiglottis and the tonsils?
13. Frankie Goes to Hollywood asked us to do this back in 1984?
15. Go to MAGIC EYE
Fill out the grid using the letters above each Worduku. The letters in the pink boxes will make up a word. (6 DOWN)
Here are three axes from well known game franchises. Can you name all three?
GAME AXE 1 = 14 ACROSS
GAME AXE 2 = 11 ACROSS
GAME AXE 3 = 8 ACROSS
Solve the Magic Eye to see what word is being spelt out. (15 DOWN)
Which celebrity’s eyes have snuck into Prince Harry’s beard? (1 ACROSS)
What duck related word is formed when you say what you see in this image? (18 ACROSS)
www.trustedrhythmrecords.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/trustedrhythmrecords
“I can remember seeing the same people… all proper music people… Everyone was head down, arms up with sweat sticking your t-shirt to your chest, and everyone was embracing where the DJ was taking them.” David Morpeth, DJ and co-owner of Trusted Rhythm, knows exactly what was so thrilling about Brighton’s clubbing scene at its height. “I really want our label to get that lost art back again.”
Together with Lee Garrett, he’s created a space celebrating the underground, where the more soulful and versatile end of the house music spectrum is allowed to shine. The pair have spent 22 years DJing, predominantly amongst the local scene during Brighton’s ‘golden age’ of clubbing. They’d be firing up places like the Honey Club, Coalition and The Zap, with Lee enjoying residencies at London’s Turnmills and Pacha. “Ultimately, we’re both utterly obsessed by music. I found it incredibly hard to move without thinking of music. It’s very rare that I’ll sit in silence.”
The desire to forge and consolidate something a little deeper led to the duo launching their own label. But the ambitions to create a richer experience for clubbers don’t end with only releasing records. “Because music is everything, we wanted to go beyond the DJing and become more involved in the whole culture and community. For both of us, we really enjoy establishing connections and meeting good people. And having good times with those good people. So, it was a logical move for us.”
Set up two years ago, the label’s mission statement is to platform ‘Music for the underground, not the common ground’. David says there’s a wealth of producers creating unique and exciting sounds. “As we know music is representative of people’s experiences. We really want to show off artists who work hard to put musicality and emotion into their stuff.” Lee had already been busy releasing music on several other labels, so it was a small jump to start nurturing their own talent. “We could see where there were more dots to join together. I feel like we can improve a really good experience for our artists, by making them feel part of something familiar.” A community has been built up, which stretches beyond the local area to welcome producers from the US, Ireland, South Africa, Germany, Sweden and France into the Trusted Rhythm family.
The Trusted Rhythm ‘sound’ is predominantly built around Deep House. It’s a handy tag to deploy, but simultaneously a difficult genre to describe. Like most house music genres, it emerged from 80s America. Taking influence from jazz, soul and disco to lend a more organic feel, it’s more nuanced and gentler than the bombastic tech house popular on huge festival stages. “This part of the genre spent some time going back underground. You don’t see many deep house main room events, and I quite like that. It drives people to be a little bit creative. What I love about this music and the label is that it allows me to dig and dig.” This sensuous style’s polyrhythms do seem to engage the listener on a more profound level. Characterised by hypnotic and often euphoric sounds, it’s typically a little slower than commercial fodder – the gentler pace allowing for intricate and spacious percussion.
Dance music is very much in the mainstream nowadays. We see huge festivals on TV, where the biggest names in the industry gather crowds of thousands with the latest floor-filling hits. But this appeal carries with it a risk of the music becoming anodyne. There’s still a place for the quirky and inventive. Some people are trying to make a stand for something a bit more authentic and intimate. Trying to create a space where revellers aren’t constantly capturing some engineered mass moment on a smartphone, because they’re just too lost in the music.
Perhaps the need to commit every single moment to social media isn’t too much of a problem if people are still paying to hear dance music. After all, life moves on. The way we consume entertainment evolves constantly. Perhaps we’re becoming afraid of immersion, only able to validate experiences with the assistance of a screen. A DJ often has to fight for the attention of those validating their night with status updates.
“The advance of social media does lend itself to that. People want to be immortalised in capturing the imagery associated with that. You need to allow yourself to let go… Simon Dunmore, who used to be the head at Defected, was asked about mobile phones on a dancefloor. Who diplomatically said you need to embrace it and say no. I went to a gig in London, and the people there were super polite, but they were giving out stickers for the back of your phone. It was encouraging you to be part of it.”
David says there are two sides to everything. It’s always nice to immortalise the memory of your mate making an arse of themselves in the middle of a club. “…so long as the engagement with the music doesn’t get lost. And, for artists and labels, you’ve never had a better opportunity to engage with people. We kind of see social media as a vanity metric.”
He recognises online social networking is hugely embraced now, but says many young people are starting to break away from the algorithms, and discovering stuff which isn’t being shoved down their throats. Particularly with music. There is a space for apps like Spotify, but its more rewarding to become involved on a personal level. “What does it give you? A different story to tell…”
The link between these platforms and entertainment is substantial. David says when approaching clubs about holding events, the very first question asked would be how many Instagram followers the label had. “I didn’t even have the chance to explain what the music was. I do wonder if people realise there was a scene prior to social media. You’d communicate through fliers, or chat to loads of people. Maybe go to your record shops, where everyone was sorting out their sets for the night and speak to the guys there. It’s just being a network, and that’s a lost art.”
David and Lee’s own friendship stretches back to when the latter was working in the legendary BPM Records, a store once servicing the needs of DJs and aficionados opposite Brighton Town Hall. “I didn’t know him particularly well, but we’d always struck up a conversation about music. When I’d go in, he’d get an order in and would have kept a few aside, saying that I’d love them. I’m sure he told everyone that. But I did! That sense of embracing people and the personalisation of music… it’s not something you really get with the digital landscape.”
Trusted Rhythm are playing their part in moving the dance scene forward, not least with participation at this month’s Brighton Music Conference. The biggest clubbing industry event in the UK, it gathers luminaries from almost every sector and genre to network and discuss the future. The label will take part in a series of A&R sessions, uncovering new talent and identifying developing trends. “It’s an opportunity to have a conversation with us. We’ll be brushing shoulders with proper household names, like Toolroom, Defected and Hospital Records.”
They know organiser Billy Mauseth from playing alongside him at venues like The WaterBear and The Freemasons, and David is convinced of the value the conference brings to the local scene. “To have a conference like that in the city is massive. Music is an extremely passionate and diverse industry, and that is reflected at BMC. Bringing that kind of energy anywhere is a huge benefit. It’s a privilege. It’s great to build that kind of music. At a macro level, music is hosted in pubs, clubs and bars, so we recognise the impact of that. To have a swarm of those kind of people to this city is a huge achievement.”
The future of the entire industry is uncertain. While festivals are providing entertainment for thousands at a time, it’s accompanied by scores of clubs closing their doors. As with so many other cultural sectors, it’s the centre ground which is being hollowed out. There are the huge headline acts who can command massive fees and, at the other end of the scale, the bedroom amateurs – who are arguably the biggest consumers of dance music. It’s increasingly fraught times for mid-level club DJs, who are the ones who push their genre forward.
David says it’s a cultural imperative that people have an opportunity to see people play in small and medium sized venues; especially in a city like Brighton & Hove, which has a rich history of dancefloor innovation. “Festivals are great, but can you afford £500 every few weeks? I certainly can’t. I read somewhere that about 3,000 pubs and bars have closed nationally in the last five years. I recognise that there’s energy bills, a cost-of-living crisis, labour shortages and the shit show that is Brexit. It is brutal. I could get into the politics of it, but this is why it’s important to build communities in the music scene. Because there’s strength in numbers. You’ve got to support your local pubs. Don’t always ask for guest list and,if you’ve got the means for it, buy your music where you can...”
Everything feeds into the ethos shared by David and Lee, and most around them, where the disc jockey works as a music curator, rather than someone resting on the biggest hits. “I guess that’s the difference between your bedroom DJs and club DJs. You want that kind of journey, where someone takes you through an audio experience. I feel that’s something we definitely want to focus on.”
The pair seem to be concentrating their efforts on two areas. As a label, it’s important to showcase underground music from talented undiscovered producers, which you can listen to in either clubs or on your headphones. There’s Trusted Rhythm events, with regular nights at Brighton’s The Arch and monthly slots at Bloc in Worthing. “We want to represent that lost art of the ‘backroom’. Main rooms are brilliant, and a great opportunity for clubs to bring in international DJs and hundreds of people, but a lot of my brilliant clubbing experience has been in those dark, sweaty second rooms. Generally speaking, they’re always run by local DJs, who have an opportunity to build a real community.”
Trusted Rhythm Records participate in Brighton Music Conference which comes to the i360 and venues across the city on Weds 22 – Fri 24 May. Their next release, Jay Tenner & Der Eva’s Hold Me, drops on Fri 3 May, with more coming during the summer.
The electronic music conference & networking event returns to the i360
BMC will once again bring together Industry-leading professionals and present a programme of insightful talks, workshops and networking events including Keynote interviews with internationally renowned artists Erol Alkan, A Guy Called Gerald, Shadow Child, Saytek, Terry Francis, Hospital Records, Bushwacka, DJ Paulette, and Crazy P.
Other sessions include talks and panels featuring a host of top artists including DJ Paulette, Danny Byrd, Syreeta, Jess Bays, Irvine Welsh, DJ Paulette, Stanton Warriors, Krafty Kuts, Bill Brewster, Heidi, Justin Robertson, Mr. C, Smoking Jo, Justin Robertson, Bushwacka, JFB, Point Blank, Matt Jam Lamont, Syreeta and Smokin Jo and two all-star Producer Q&As with A Guy Called Gerald, Funk D’Void, Just Her, Particle, Saytek, Seb Zito, Shadow Child, Steve Mac and Sally Rodgers from A Man Called Adam, plus a Label Q&A with Hospital Records and 20 years of Shogun just to name a few.
The Association for Electronic Music will present two sessions on The DJ Touring Landscape and AI & Your Audience, Harm Reduction: Health, Hearing & Wellbeing will be discussed with ACS, Beatport will present their Annual Report, Cavendish will host a conversation with Commercial Artists Writing For Sync.
Data Transmission’s Grahame Farmer will deep dive into all things Social Media, Inflyte will explore the question ‘Is the Algorithm Truly Listening?, the Label Radar session will share key strategies to make your demos resonate in What Labels Are Actually Looking For?, shesaid.so and NOWIE will tackle the topic of Working in Live.
Point Blank will present a Track Breakdown of Frankie Knuckles ‘Your Love’ with Ski Oakenfull and AlphaTheta (Pioneer DJ) will be showcasing the OMNIS-DUO all-in-one DJ system and the WAVE-EIGHT DJ speaker.
If that wasn’t enough other topics being featured in this year’s jam-packed programme include; A&R, DIY and Self Release, Management, Marketing, Neurodivergence, Podcasts, Radio’s role in the electronic music landscape, Resident DJs, Ticketing, Vocals and much more. AIM, FUGA, Listen Up Therapy, NTIA, PRS, PPL, Skiddle and Steinberg will also be hosting sessions as well.
BMC also supports the charity Last Night A DJ Saved My Life who present an update on their latest projects and how they use the power of music to change
BMC are also excited to present the new and improved ‘A&R Sessions’ headed up by the prolific DJ and music producer Steve Mac will feature more labels than ever before giving more opportunities for immediate feedback with leading A&Rs in the electronic music industry.
Taking place at The Tempest Inn on Brighton’s beachfront, just a short walk from the main BMC Hub the ‘A&R Sessions’ will provide a relaxed, friendly environment, where up and coming producers will have the opportunity to book oneto-one sessions with the labels of their choice.
Sessions will be booked on a first come first served basis. Limited spaces available, book your tickets now here.
Says Steve Mac: “I am delighted to be involved with the new BMC A&R Sessions. I think this is a great opportunity for artists to get their music heard by the industry experts and potentially getting music signed. As a label owner myself and also now running an artists management company, we are always looking for the next generation of up and coming artists. We want to help and make their dreams come true.”
Hosted by AIM confirmed labels for A&R Sessions include; Axtone, Armada Music, Another Rhythm, Audio Rehab, Critical Music, Constant Circles, Cubism, CruCast, Data Transmission, Defected Records, FatCat Records, Freakin909, Helix Records, Hospital Records, Inflyte, Jalapeno Records, Jack Said What, Krafted, Mesh Records, Recovery Collective, Red Giant Recordings, Republica Records, RHYTHM CULT, R&S Records, Shogun Audio, Sleazy Deep, Sunflower Records, Toolroom Records, Trusted Rhythm Records.
The talent always exceeds expectations and past editions have seen tracks signed to labels including Armada, Axtone, Krafted and New State Music.
Axtone’s Edd Thomas said: ‘It was great to connect with aspiring producers. One of the most encouraging things was to see a much more diverse group of aspiring producers coming through, surely the fruits of some brilliant initiatives like shesaid.so.”
Cameron Mackintosh introduces a brandnew production of Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre this summer
Chichester Festival Theatre’s summer musicals are world-renowned. Audiences flock from far and wide to see them, and many go on to the West End. This year’s offering, Lionel Bart’s unforgettable Oliver!, will see Matthew Bourne – internationally renowned for his ground-breaking reinventions of dance classics such as Swan Lake and Edward Scissorhands, as well as his Olivier Award-winning choreography for My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins –
Tour of Oliver!, both as performer and Assistant Stage Manager. On the opening night in Manchester, I met the show’s legendary creator Lionel Bart for the first time. We met again in 1977 when, serendipitously, the ownership of the show’s rights changed hands, giving me the opportunity to present a hugely successful long-running revival of the original production, both on tour and in London, back in the New Theatre where it first opened, followed by a
using the full grandeur of Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s vast stage. Over the last 30 years, Matthew and I have worked together on a number of hugely successful international productions including Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady, a new and very different Phantom of the Opera (currently running in Vienna), his Swan Lake on Broadway, and most recently the rapturously received Sondheim musical celebration Old Friends, which opens on Broadway
“We very much hope that audiences will be coming back for more all over again!”
See Oliver! at Chichester Festival Theatre from 8 July – 7 Sept; tickets from £10 (Prologue tickets for ages 16–30 just £5). Book at www.cft. org.uk or 01243 781312.
making his Chichester debut as both director and choreographer.
And since legendary producer of musicals Cameron Mackintosh is behind this new production, it’s no surprise that following its premiere at Chichester this summer from 8 July – 7 Sept, it will be heading for London in December. Cameron tells us about his more than six decadelong love of this iconic musical, and longstanding friendships and collaborations with both Lionel Bart and Matthew Bourne.
‘I was taken to see Oliver! for the first time as a 13-year-old schoolboy, by my aunt, shortly after it opened in June 1960. Lionel’s glorious songs and Sean Kenny’s brilliant, innovative scenery blew me away and the show changed the British musical forever.
‘Five years later, as I was starting my career, I managed to get myself hired on the first British National
stint on Broadway. From then on, I was asked to be the stage show’s worldwide representative.
‘Long before this, Lionel Bart had rashly sold off his stage rights in Oliver! As I contemplated mounting a new production, I was offered coownership of the rights for the very first time - allowing me to give Lionel a piece of his original royalty backas well as becoming guardian of his artistic rights as author of the show’s book, music and lyrics which he had also given away.
‘My longstanding friendship and collaboration with Matthew Bourne began with the spectacularly successful new 1994 production of Oliver! at the London Palladium (directed by Sam Mendes) starring Jonathan Pryce, which we subsequently remounted in 2008 on an even grander scale, with a cast of over 80, led by Rowan Atkinson,
next spring.
‘We had planned to bring Oliver! to London just as Covid shut down everyone’s lives. The enforced wait got us thinking that having already done the biggest production ever of Oliver!, we were inspired to go back to the more intimate ensemble roots of the brilliant original at the New Theatre, now the Noël Coward (an instinct shared by Matthew Bourne’s long term design collaborator, Lez Brotherston). We are thrilled to have found an exciting young cast (of similar age to the original) led by Simon Lipkin (Fagin), Shanay Holmes (Nancy), Aaron Sidwell (Bill Sikes) and Billy Jenkins (Dodger) who can “consider themselves part of the family” creating this brandnew reimagining of Lionel’s fabulous masterpiece for 2024.
Whatever your craft, whatever your level, there is a short course for you at West Dean. Learn from expert tutors in state of the art studios. Be inspired at westdean.ac.uk
Ialways wanted to know, or perhaps it was a narrative planted in my head from fragments of old British films about variety shows, what it was like to be a showgirl for a summer season in a seaside town filled with performers and audiences. The shows that would have been in the grand venues in town, like the Brighton Hippodromenow being renovated and soon to be re-opened. It was this fascination that led me to the National Fairground and Circus Archive (NFCA) at the University of Sheffield some years ago to do a research fellowship project entitled Showwomen.
The NFCA’s founder, and at the time Collections Manager, is Professor Vanessa Toulmin. She is like a tornado of knowledge on the history of popular performance, circus, variety, fairground and, as she calls it, ‘illegitimate entertainment’ in all its myriad forms. She was born into the fairground community and established the archive in 1994 born out of her original research and commitment to bring greater representation to working class entertainment history and legitimacy to its undercelebrated workers.
Toulmin introduced me to the term ‘Showwoman’ which was generally used in the fairground community to describe a woman who is the proprietor of a ride, circus or fairground amusement or theme park. It was clear that me and others like me were inhabiting a space that straddled the worlds of performance art, the burlesque showgirl and the woman that ran the show. It seemed to me that we could use the term Showwoman as well, that we could be renamed in culture from mere Showgirls and promoted in the ranks of showpeople to fully fledged Showwomen. Perhaps with the term Showwoman in wider culture, unlike the Showman, they would not be famous for having a great sense of bravado and exploiting people, but could perhaps instead represent a new kind of woman-led spectacle – a vision of grand kind of matriarchal utopia.
Contemporary cabaret has changed the popular performance landscape. New shows that explore and evolve traditional variety tropes are growing in clubs, festivals, theatre and across the media. So, who runs the show now? Not just Showmen. Time for the men to step aside! There is a new breed of Showwomxn in town! This is one of the themes of my draw dropping, heartstopping, dream-weaving fabulous new show for the Brighton Festival: Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow Spectacular.
Image by Holly RevellWhy do we spell it with an X? Because some of us are women spelt with an E and some with an X. We are inclusive and we are different, and we are future feminists. We don’t all fulfil the traditional gender stereotype of mainstream women. We don’t all use our wombs in the same way and some of us don’t have wombs. Some of us are binary and some are non-binary. Who are we? We are womxn who walk on fire and glass from Paris like Lala Morte, or women who hang by their hair whilst doing the splits twenty feet above the ground with no net, like Jackie Le. We are Laura London who performs astounding sleight of hand magic and we are Claire Heafford, woman wrestler and feminist campaigner. We are Symone, Guniness world record holding circus artist and Elf Lyons award winning comedian. We are spoken word artist Livia Kojo Alour; we are Ella The Great, Clown, Drag King and Unicyclist; we are Tallulah Haddon rising star and radical performance artist. We are them and we are many more. We are a team, we are different yet united, we are our own bosses, and we have a shared collective vision.
The dream of Brighton as the most joyful, brightly coloured brilliant seaside destination has been in my heart for as long as I can remember. Perhaps that’s why I went to college here in the 1990s and came back in 2017 to make it my home. When I was a child in the early 70s we would come here on holiday to a little flat in Hove Street. There was an old- fashioned sun filled restaurant on the corner of the parade and it’s there that I tasted prawn cocktail for the first time. At the top of the beach at the end of the street there were some children’s rides with painted ladybug carriages that held a very magical place in my mind. And from there I would run to the pebble beach in my brand-new polka dot swimsuit with frills with a bucket and spade searching for sand. Brighton’s’ fading grandeur of then, its lure of everything that represented the exotic, its fortune telling mannequins in glass boxes on the pier and carousels with decorated fairground horses, lit my long-term love affair with the otherworldly alure of seaside entertainments of the past. Brighton was a place you could be other, extraordinary and anything but mundane.
Perhaps showbusiness is all about that now as it was then. A place where the forbidden is allowed and celebrated and becomes the norm. It wasn’t the norm for women to run the show in the heyday of variety. But were women entertainers like us who were more than Showgirls in variety performance past? Is there a case to say there were always Showwomen in British variety and circus? Women who were their owns bosses and created their own acts and identity and ran their own shows? Women who performed here in Brighton doing extraordinary things? I found quite a few of them in the depths of newspaper cuttings and old programmes and photographs in the archive ...
Firstly I’d like to introduce you to Koringa who was an incredible performer and Brighton regular around the late 1930s. She laid on a bed of nails and had concrete blocks broken across her stomach. She was one of the biggest stars in pre-war Britain. Most famously she hypnotised her live crocodiles, who sometimes rebelled and ran into orchestra pits frightening the audiences. She also claims to have worked for the French Resistance, hypnotising animals on enemy lines so soldiers could cross unnoticed by night.
Then there was Lulu Adams, who Professor Vanessa thinks was the first ever British woman clown who was a Brighton resident and lived on Grand Parade. She performed with her husband Albertino who was also a clown and they both played the bagpipes. They left the Bertram Mills Circus in the late 30s to perform in the Barnum and Bailey Circus in New York, fleeing the shutdown entertainment world of wartime Britain. Newspaper articles saved amongst her piles of clippings reveal how he tragically dropped dead days after their arrival whilst giving an interview on live radio. She was left alone to do the run without him in a strange new world. The Showwoman endures. A favourite Showwoman of Brighton seaside entertainment a little later, who you also might not have heard of, was Winifred Atwell. Originally from Trinidad she was a huge star in the 1950s. A pianist known for her fast ragtime and honky-tonk style hits, she sold over 20 million records and was the first black artist to have a number-one hit in the UK Singles Chart and remains the first female instrumentalist to do so.
In Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow
Spectacular you enter a street in a downtown neighbourhood of central Brighton, tucked just behind the station. There you will find a series of strange sideshows with women performing extraordinary feats and surreal choreographies, embodying perhaps the ghosts of the Showwomen that came before us. There are also storytellers – exploring these lesser known, or forgotten, or undocumented lives and acts of incredible Showwomen in relation to our own stories and experiences.
There is a wrestling ring with a match by some of the best women wrestlers in the UK today who know how to fight. There is a mysterious troupe of performers that have appeared, Mr Ben like, from a dressing room of the past - who are guiding you through the labyrinth of performances. There are the most unbelievable aerialists including hair hangers who fly suspended only from their heads.
We are all very different but when we come together, we offer you a unique walk-through promenade show like no other. We channel our ‘shedesseors’ to create new visions of spectacular matriarchal utopias. We make a new kind of herstory and we hope that we bring the glory days of variety entertainment back to life, with new all womxn voices, untold stories and a Showwomxnly spectacle like no other.
So, without further ado I present to you: The Showwomxn, the Showwomxn, The Showwomxn!
Marisa Carnesky brings together a group of highly-skilled, diverse women and non-binary performers for the groundbreaking Carnesky’s Showwomxn Sideshow Spectacular – which comes to Brighton’s Elder Place on Sat 25 - Sun 26 May, as part of Brighton Festival 2024.
www.brightonfestival.org
Scott Silven mentalist extraordinaire is back to the UK after six years with new show Wonders
By Rosie Paldi Edwards
BN1 Magazine had the pleasure to pick the mind of renowned mentalist, illusionist and performance artist Scott Silven. Direct from New York and following on from sold-out international tours, he is bringing his new show Wonders, to The Theatre Royal, part of Brighton Festival. From the 8th to 12th May expect five nights of intrigue, mystery and utter perplexity!
BN1 discovered how Silven entered the world of magic, how far it’s taken him across the globe and what he’s found when he’s got there.
What inspired you at the start of your career?
Scotland is a big place where myth and mystery is a pretty big part of my identity. I remember hearing the stories of fairies and we used to go on our vacations just exploring those landscapes. That place of light and shade and history was so exciting to me. When I was about four or five, my granddad taught me a little magic trick where – he made me say my name into a coin and he passed my hand over it – it vanished. He pointed to a matchbox on his mantelpiece and I ran over to it and opened the matchbox and inside was the coin. It was amazing, absolutely amazing.
“I think it was seeing that the everyday couldn’t just be the everyday. It was a sense of wonder in the world waiting to be explored and that really set me on my journey.”
I know so much of it’s related to luck and being at the right place at the right time. I can’t imagine doing anything else, like really, it’s my dream to do it. When I was a teenager I studied hypnosis.
I was doing the traditional magic for a while, sort of what you would imagine: coin vanishing, cards and communing with nature. Then I saw this hypnosis course in Milan when I was like 13 years old. I saw it in the back of a magazine and I didn’t tell my mum that I was going to be doing it, she probably wouldn’t allow it. I couldn’t afford a flight or anything like that, so I told my mum I was going on a school trip. Then I got the bus from Glasgow bus station all the way down to London and then crossed over into Milan. It was a 30-hour trip. Came back after the weekend with these hypnotic skills. It wasn’t until I started doing media interviews many years later, that she found out that I had actually done that. I totally forgot to tell her the entire time.
Image credit: Alice Boreas“I saw this hypnosis course in Milan when I was like 13 years old, in the back of a magazine and I didn’t tell my mum that I was going to be doing it, she probably wouldn’t allow it.”
It was amazing coming back from that trip. I think that was the moment that I understood the power of the mind and what we’re capable of, but that sort of took me on a different journey, which took the form of a type of magic called mentalism. I call it theatre of the mind, it’s using people’s memories and emotions and experiences and crafting impossible illusions from those things, rather than props or people in funny boxes. I think it’s the most powerful magic. I studied psychology and contemporary performance when I was in Edinburgh, which allowed me to craft theatrical experiences. ‘Wonders’ is a narrative-based show. The audience are coming and seeing a piece of theatre, as well as hopefully having this amazing magical experience.
“People are used to that other type of magic, so it’s kind of like trying to take them by surprise a little bit as well. So, they don’t even realise this could be magic. That’s the hope.”
It’s funny, growing up in those landscapes in Scotland as a kid, you’re so connected to nature. I had this weird thing that I wanted to move to New York City when I was a little kid. I have tried to navigate why that was the case, but I don’t know. I studied in Edinburgh and lived there for a couple of years after that. I was so lucky during that time because the Edinburgh Fringe existed and that’s the world’s biggest arts festival, and we take it for granted living in the UK. We’re like, oh yeah, just the Edinburgh Fringe. For me, what an amazing stroke of luck that I had that on my doorstep every year. After building up my portfolio, I moved to London and then three weeks later, I was on a plane moving to New York. It was one of those sliding doors moments. The show was offBroadway, we were meant to run for four weeks, and we ran for 18 months. It was just like one of those amazing moments. From there I was able to live and tour in the States.
I’ve slowed down a little in my old age now, but I started with like 500 shows a year - you’re doing two shows a day, sometimes three shows a day - looking back on it, I don’t know how I did it, but it was really helpful. I’ve slowed down now, I do about 300 shows a year now. It’s almost a show every day, or every couple of days. There’s a nice balance. Now when I’m touring, I play big venues. I’ll do the Sydney Opera House, the Kennedy Center or Lincoln Center, but I also like to choose really interesting venues as well. When Brighton Festival contacted us and said that it was going to be at Theatre Royal, I was like, oh my goodness, that’s a venue I’ve always wanted to play. It’s a beautiful jewel box of a theatre, such a magical space and it’s going to be my first show back in the UK for about six years.
“In Hong Kong, I did a visualisation in the show where people close their eyes and they imagine they’re walking through a forest and they’re witnessing something. Someone just couldn’t connect with this because they’d never been in a forest before. They’d never experienced woodland.”
Unlike traditional theatre, where you’re just reciting lines every night into a darkened audience, this is so personal to the audience and it’s their memories and life experiences, you really have to do your research before you land in a place. Even the difference between the UK and the US, what we would call a biscuit in the UK is totally different in the US. A biscuit to them is like what a scone would be. It’s strange little things like that, you have to get a sense of, what’s the cultural point here? What’s the touchstones that people have had from their childhood? You’re sort of thrown in and immersed into that culture for better or for worse.
How much were you adapting each show?
The bulk of it was the same, but that’s interesting. In Tokyo I did something involving someone’s childhood home and the house number of their childhood home. The idea of someone having a house number on their door just wasn’t a thing there, so I had to change that.
I think in Hong Kong, it’s really interesting because I did a visualisation in the show where people close their eyes and they imagine they’re walking through a forest and they’re witnessing something. Someone just couldn’t connect with this because they’d never been in a forest before. They’d never experienced woodland, so you’re always accessing different life experiences in really profound and interesting ways.
“My work really isn’t inspired by the magicians. Growing up, it was Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch and those sort of storytellers and the way that they reveal their work, that’s where I take my inspiration from.”
Is there anyone out there doing anything similar to you?
I think I’ve really tried to create my own thing for being a narrative story, story-based thing. It’s interesting, and I think that’s what really helped my show in New York, is that there was no other illusion show like that before. And I really love to see that other performers, other illusionists are now doing stuff like that. For me, there’s an old adage that what magicians did is they took something incredibly profound and they trivialised it. The hope with my work is that it’s taking it back to that place of rarity and ritual and the power of wonder in many ways.
In the UK, obviously Derren Brown is amazing and known for his sort of mind reading stuff. Derren’s fantastic, undoubtedly the UK’s best magician, absolutely amazing and there’s parallels with the work involving the mind, but I think because mine is more storytelling based, his is more psychological. There’s enough of a differentiation there. My work really isn’t inspired by the magicians. Growing up, it was Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch and those sort of storytellers and the way that they reveal their work, that’s where I take my inspiration from. I like to lead the audience with that grey area - that they’re sort of walking through a misty forest, and they can see something in the distance, but they’re not quite sure what it is - it’s a little bit down to the audience to see how they feel or what they’re thinking at the end of it.
Could you tell me a little bit about what to expect from your new show?
Image credit: Alice Boreas
Wonders, in essence, is a show that explores the power of wonder in your life and how that can motivate and inspire you. You will witness impossible and amazing illusions, discover the power of your imagination and become part of this inspiring collective adventure. Hopefully it will be unlike anything you’ve seen in the theatre before and you’ll leave inspired. It’s really lovely speaking to audience members, many years after they’ve seen the show and they come and see it again and again.
Tickets: www.brightonfestival.org/whats-on/ XO0-scott-silven-wonders
The Spiegeltent 14/05/2024
20:00 / 16+
Future Jazz At The Spiegeltent returns in 2024 for a night of explosive contemporary jazz, featuring two of the UK’s finest upand-coming young jazz ensembles.
Expect searing melodies, dreamy textures and afro-latin grooves.
The Spiegeltent 21/05/2024
20:30 / 16+
Ahoy there! You are invited to board the Sailorette and join the plentiful crew, ‘The Old Time Sailors', for a night of foot-stompin’, dancing and singing!
You will be sailing back to the 19th century for an immersive experience of traditional seafaring music performed in a way you have never seen before. The Motley Crew and their plethora of traditional and eclectic instruments will take you back to the time of clashing tankards, and drunken debauchery.
Sing & dance along like a drunken sailor as the band perform centuries old folk & shanty songs. Fancy dress is encouraged, so pull out your best seafaring garments and join the festivities!
www.oldtimesailors.com
Start every Sunday morning in the gorgeous setting of The Spiegeltent and in the company of our own Jazz legends! Herbie is all set to lead the team ably supported by Malcolm Mortimore in the engine room.
In the meantime, the rest of the gang's all here and looking forward to playing for you. Enjoy the superstar talents of the UK's finest Jazz musicians up close and personal, and have more than a bit of a chat!
(Event Sunday 11am) www.herbieflowers.com
The Spiegeltent 25/05/2024 13:00 / 12+
The ultimate big band experience is back at the Spiegeltent for their 8th season! Brighton's biggest, baddest band, the one & only: Brighton Jazz Mafia are returning with an extra special performance of the most iconic big band album: Atomic Mr Basie.
Come dressed to impress in vintage style or just come as you are, to experience this next level swing performance.
www.bigbandjazz.co.uk
BOSCO Theater
Sun 12 May 8pm-9pm 14+
During a family holiday in Cornwall, writer and broadcaster John Doran decided to drag his long-suffering family around as many Aphex Twin related places of interest as they could reach in one day, taking in the curious speaker cone shaped amphitheatre the Gwennap Pit, the dreamlike coastal settlement of St Michael's Mount and the mysterious Logan Rock. The jaunt became the basis of Selected Ambient Walks: Aphex Twin And Cornish Mythology, a lecture to be presented at The Bosco in full 5.1 AFX Vision*. The talk draws many links between the tin mining industry, West Country witches, the legend of Merlin's keep, state vandalism of the Logan rock, Michel Foucault and the stunning history of the Cornish pasty.
*it's a Powerpoint slide show with some music
www.catalystclub.co.uk https:// thequietus.com
Séayoncé: She Must Be Hung!
The Spiegeltent 18/05/2024 19:00 / 16+
The legendary Ghost Whisperer is back! Award winning, critically acclaimed comedy cabaret sensation Séayoncé… and this time it's a witch trial! It's time to figure out which witch is which? Will everyone's favourite comedium survive? Will she literally give up the Ghost? One thing is for certain she simply must be hung!
A hilarious bewitching night of mystical debauchery, cabaret ballads, and camp theatrics. Join Séayoncé (aka rising queer star Dan Wye) and her murderous accomplice Leslie-Ann (aka musical genius Robyn Herfellow) for a hexceptional evening where we raise the stakes… and burn the witch. You're spellbound to be scared stiff!
Anna Soden: It Comes Out Your Bum
The BOSCO Theater 15/05/2024 21:30
Girls aren't allowed to talk about poo. Even though we all do it! Is Anna sensitively exploring how we've managed to gender a universal body function? Or is she just talking about how she used to fancy Milo from the Tweenies and pretending to be the tiny nerdy man that lives in all the calculators in the world? Maybe both!
Part character comedy, part sketch, part stand up, part one person MUSICAL! It Comes Out Your Bum promises to be a super silly hour of your time (and it promises nothing gross, promise!!).
Biscuit Barrel: The 69-Sketch Show
Sat 11 May @ 18:00 Sun 12 May @ 18:00 14+
"The most reliable sketch group in the game" (**** - EdFringeReview) returns to Brighton for the sixth time! Performing 69 sketches within an hour, fresh off their sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run!
Featuring new sketches for 2024, including a slapstick routine told exclusively through beatbox. Meanwhile, a bandit wreaks havoc throughout, stealing characters, sound effects, and even dialogue.
FRIDAY 24TH MAY
6:30pm The Establishment: Le Bureau De Strange 8pm Fool's Moon: Dance Plague 9:30pm Siblings & Séayoncé
SATURDAY 25TH MAY
3:30pm Derek Mitchell: Goblin 5pm Fool's Moon: Puella Eterna 6:30pm Sami Abu Wardeh: Mergiez 8pm Rosa Garland: Primal Bog 9:30pm Cabaret Impedimenta
SUNDAY 26TH MAY
3:30pm Boyz Nite 5pm Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer [Work-In-Progress] 6:30pm The Lovely Boys & Friends 8pm Settlers of Catan, the Unofficial Play: You Can't trade Friendship 9:30pm Wrong Songs
MONDAY 27TH MAY
3:30pm Su Mi: Banana Beard 5pm Bertie Hodd: Dad Jokes
The Extraordinary TimeTravelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen
4, 5, 6 May @ 14:00 Fri 31 May @ 14:00 Sat 1 - Sun 2 June @ 14:00 5+
Amazing tales, elegantly told. The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a multi award winning, family friendly, improvised storytelling show. There will be pirates and princesses, unicorns and dragons, spacemen and swordfights, and all of it completely and irrefutably true.
Imagine Jackanory meets Whose Line Is It Anyway, Live. Award winning comedians, actors and improvisers are challenged to tell increasingly extravagant tales all based on The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. All they have are their wits, a box of silly hats, and the imaginations of a room full of giggling children to ensure that the stories end happily ever after.
The Giant Balloon Show
11, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 May
Sun 2 June 5+
Fresh from touring Australia and New Zealand, the family favourite, sell-out show returns to Brighton Spiegeltent for the fourth year running! The Giant Balloon Show will have you in stitches and awe – expect balloons, audience participation, a banging '80s soundtrack, dancing, and the allimportant GIANT BALLOON!
Non-stop fun for the whole familydo not miss it!
Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles - A Game Show For Awful Children
Sat 1 June @ 16:00
Sun 2 June @ 16:00 6+
Marcel Lucont, the UK's favourite French comedian, presents a wild family gameshow, in which kids get to be pests, politicians and pétomanes to be crowned the most awful child.
See what happens when international insouciance meets infantile exuberance.
A big hit at Edinburgh Fringe and many other festivals, the multiaward-winning comic channels his acerbic humour and quickfire wit into a series of tasks for the younger generation, which is every bit as entertaining for adults as it is for children.
United Queendom: Smooch
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
May 18+
Sassy, Silly and Sexy as Hell!
United Queendom, the surprise Smash Hit of Brighton Fringe 2023 are back! And this time… it's getting intimate! Pucker up and get
ready for SMOOCH! Featuring a dazzling cast of international circus and cabaret superstars, United Queendom are back bringing the fun, the flirt and the downright foolish in their search for love, sex and everything in-between in this racy, raucous riot of a show!
Part catwalk, part cabaret, United Queendom is a company that fuses fashion, circus, burlesque and drag to create shows about self-expression and empowerment with a fierce cast of performers from across the globe.
www.unitedqueendomshow.com
Dizney In Drag: Once Upon A Parody
22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31
May 1 June 18+
Prepare to have all your childhood dreams shattered like Cinderella's glass slipper in an elephant graveyard of adult fantasies and fairytale follies. ‘Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody' is a Whole New World you didn't know you needed!
Follow some familiar characters and discover sides of them you never knew existed. Come and be a Toy in our Story. If you have any reservation, just Let It Go. Be Our Guest and book a seat now! You'll pity the Poor Unfortunate Souls that miss out on this one.
"There is so much to love about this show" ★★★★★ - WeekendNotes, 2022
Disclaimer: This Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody event and the producers The Hairy Godmothers are in no way affiliated with, or endorsed by, The Walt Disney Company or any of its affiliates.
www.thehairygodmothers.com
Ginger Johnson
The Spiegeltent 27/05/2024
21:00 / 14+
Ginger Johnson is a very silly sausage wrapped in a 1950's hollywood moviestar, wrapped in bacon and cooked in the oven at 200 degrees until she's golden brown and crispy round the edges. She is also the current reigning
Queen of Rupaul's Drag Race UK. Since bursting onto the UK cabaret scene over a decade ago, Ginger's award-winning blend of camp laughs and bareknuckle confessional have earned her a reputation for being a risk-taking performer with a big heart and an even bigger mouth.
This year Ginger makes her Brighton Spiegeltent debut, in this one-night-only spectacular that boasts sequins, stories and self-penned songs that promise to beguile and bewilder in equal measure.
"Brilliant, bizarre, and completely unmissable!" - Time Out
www.gingerjohnson.co.uk
David Hoyle
The Spiegeltent 08/05/2024
21:00 / 18+
Just when we need him the most, David Hoyle, the fire ball of avant-garde cabaret, arrives at Brighton Spiegeltent with a new show packed with wit, wisdom and humanity.
David is the original performance avalanche – an all singing, all raging bona-fide performance legend. He has appeared in his own Channel 4 TV series, in films and on-stages worldwide.
"He is raw, sometimes frightening, but also thrilling in his lookno-hands recklessness" – The Guardian
Late Nite Minicab FM
The Spiegeltent 05/05/2024 23:00 / 18+
DJs Alexis Petridis, Johnno & Simon Price play the power ballads, slow jams, and mushy retro tearjerkers that mean nothing to you in the daylight but mean EVERYTHING when they punch you in the feels with a fist of pure emotion during the drunken taxi ride home.
Expect Toto, The Bangles, Foreigner, Elton John, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, Bonnie Tyler,
Madonna, Tina Turner and more... "We don't care how you get here, just get here if you can… "
@ lateniteminicab
Fri 17 May @ 23:00 Sat 25 May @ 23:00 18+
Guilty Pleasures is a club where the spirit of umbrella-era Rihanna downs shots with Whitney Houston, while Taylor Swift doesn't stop moving to the funky funky beat with S Club 7 and Katy Perry loses her sh*t over the fact that Backstreet is back, all right? Not actually, but you know what we mean.
Born out of a frustration for boring souless "super" clubs, their mission was to take back control & put the ‘fun' back into nightlife.
So throw your hands in the air like you just don't care and let that POP music course through your veins well into the night.
@guiltypleasures
The Spiegeltent 26/05/2024 23:00 / 18+
Acid Jazz, a music genre that combines elements of Funk, Soul and Hip Hop with Jazz and Disco into one joyful mix. Originating in UK clubland in the late 80's and combining elements of the Rare Groove and Jazz Dance scenes the Acid Jazz movement took off in the early 90's.
A myriad of live acts took the sound global including Jamiroquai , The Brand New Heavies, Galliano, James Taylor Quartet, Incognito, The Digable Planets and many more.
Jazz Rap/Heavy Funk/Psychedelic Soul/Latin Boogaloo/Bossa Beats all in the mix...
www.mixcloud.com/RussDewbury
Brighton Fringe offers a vibrant mix of performances spanning various genres, including theatre, comedy, dance, music, cabaret, circus, and spoken word. From avant-garde experimental pieces to classic Shakespearean plays reimagined in modern settings, there's something to suit every taste - and it’s time to #FindYourFringe.
For Brighton Fringe 2024, there will be over 700 events taking place at more than 110 venues, stretching from the city centre to Shoreham-By-Sea and Lewes. During the festival, you will discover performances and events by your next-door-neighbour, as well as internationally acclaimed theatremakers from as far afield as Australia, Canada and Ethiopia. You will also discover a cost-accessible festival, with over 80 events that are free to attend and over 100 ‘Pay What You Want’ events - where the minimum price has been set by the performer and you can pay an amount suitable for your budget. You can also ensure you’re getting the best value for money by purchasing a Friends of Fringe membership which entitles you to 2-for-1 tickets on participating events, no booking fees and other perks.
Brighton Fringe events take place in a wide variety of venues. There are theatre spaces that host a wide range of performances, from plays and musicals to dance recitals and comedy such as The Lantern Theatre (77 St James’ Street) and The Actors Theatre (4 Prince’s Street).
The Lantern plays host to the international premier of Geneva Convention (27 - 29 May), a ritual drama that flips between the sublime and the ridiculous, and The South of Somewhere Else (30 May - 2 June), a comical mime duet exploring the cultural differences between two beach towns.
The Actors has built a reputation for hosting queer comedy and theatre and has expanded its programme to 50 events in 2024 including Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence winner Character Flaw Character Flaw (9 - 12 May) is an unapologetically neurodiverse and queer show, navigating the challenges and celebrating the joys of life with ADHD. The Actor’s Lamb Comedy Weekender (25 - 26 May) also plays host to award-winning queer comedians Kathy Manura and Selena Mersey alongside others.
You can also enjoy events in alternative spaces such as schools, community centres and iconic seafront buildings during the festival. Take Shelter! (11 - 19 May) returns to Brighton Fringe 2024, offering fascinating tours of one of the only remaining World War Two bomb shelters in the UK, preserved at Downs Junior School (Rugby Road). Woodland Tribe (31 May - 1 June) takes over the garden at Hanover Community Centre (33 Southover Street) with a highly engaging and creative experience for the whole family through exploration of constructive play and physical construction suitable for children. You can also explore an iconic seafront landmark with the Embassy Court Tours (4 - 26 May), a walking tour where you can discover the building’s fascinating history.
It would not be Brighton Fringe without catching the next best up-and-coming comedian in the back room of some of Brighton’s most iconic pubs. Laughing Horse host the very best comedy across their 5 venues (The Walrus, The Quadrant, The Windmill, The Tempest & Caroline of Brunswick), including TV’s Henning Wehn with his Das Neuen Materialen Nacht (12 - 24 May) and award-winning Sara Barron with her stand-up hour Anything But You
Half A Camel Productions have also taken over several venues across the city (The Caxton Arms, Off-Broadway, Presuming Ed’s, The Snug, Three Jolly Butchers, Bleach - Above The Hare & Hounds) with a programme of comedy, theatre and magic. Carlos Sandin, a graduate of Brighton’s SpyMonkey Clown Creation School performs Pull My Finger (29 May - 2 June) with his fresh take on a modern classic character, James Bond at Presuming Ed’s (114-115 London Road), whilst Venezuelan clown Medicine Woman (15 - 18 May) takes to the stage at The Caxton Arms (36 North Gardens).
During Brighton Fringe, pop-up venues spring up across the city, transforming outdoor spaces into temporary performance venues and glorious beer gardens. This year Fringe-favourites Head First Acrobats bring their venue Fool’s Paradise (next to St Peter’s Church) to Brighton. After smash hit runs at Fringe’s across Australia, the team are bringing their free-to-enter site to Brighton for the first time. With bars, food stalls and even a doughnut stand, it should be the perfect festival time hangout in the shadow of St Peter’s Church.
Showcasing their own sell-out circus shows GODZ (3 May - 2 June) and award-winning Arrr We There Yet? (4 May - 2 June) they are also hosting award-winning events from around the world like the aptly named Fool’s Paradise (27 May - 2 June). Catch Fool’s Paradise at Fool’s Paradise, the Pebble Trust International Touring bursary and FRINGE WORLD award-winner, and enjoy Britt Plummer’s bittersweet long-distance love story.
Discover the Normandy Weekender (24 & 25) and discover the best Normandy has to offer in cabaret, music, food and drink right here in Brighton. La Sirene a Barbe (The Bearded Woman) will showcase the
most show-stopping cabaret talent, with drag queens and performers set to travel to Brighton for their UK debut. Alongside this event, there will be a host of free music events and club nights as well as sampling of traditional food and drink from the region.
Returning for their third year at Brighton Fringe, The Rotunda Theatre will be popping up once again in Regency Square. The Rotunda Theatre have secured themselves a great reputation for their groundbreaking theatre programme and high-quality children shows. This year’s highlights include the awardwinning theatre show And I’ll Blow Your House Down (16 May - 1 June) about society’s treatment of disability, and the heartwarming Crockodogpig (6 - 26 May), a puppet show soundtracked by beatboxing.
The Rotunda will also bring a high-quality workshops programme designed for children and their families including the Create A Performance workshop (25 - 26 May) facilitated by Coppice Theatre, who perform in the main space with their heartwarming show How to Catch a Bookwitch (24 - 26 May), an open-hearted story about a little girl trying to save a library.
With over 700 events taking place during this year’s festival, alongside what Artist Open Houses, Brighton Festival, The Great Escape Festival, and Brighton Spiegeltent have to offer, it can sometimes be overwhelming trying to pick what to go and see.
To make it easier for families, Brighton Fringe has produced a Family Guide, available to collect from the Brighton Fringe Box Office (inside The Ledward Centre, Jubilee Street) and libraries across the city. Here you can read about all the weird and wacky events the whole family might enjoy.
Brighton Fringe have also produced a listings booklet for those who find it too difficult to browse and book on a computer or smartphone. Again, these are available to be collected at the Brighton Fringe box office and libraries across the city.
Brighton Fringe have also added a ‘Starting Soon’ page on their website, for those of you who like to be spontaneous and book the next show that’s about to start. You can also toggle settings to use the ‘Nearby Now’ option, so that you don’t have to venture too far from home to enjoy some culture.
This year, Brighton Fringe are asking you, the audience, to #FindYourFringe, with so much on offer, there really is a Fringe for everyone. To help you find it, Brighton Fringe have divided their programme up into several categories that will help you explore the programme depending on your mood. Brighton Fringe wants to help you find your funny, weird, escape, story, groove, thrill or talent during this year’s festival.
Find your weird with Luke Rollason’s alternative comedy bursary winners. Disney+ star Luke Rollason has financially supported four up-andcoming alternative comedians taking part in Brighton Fringe and all will perform at his comedy showcase at Komedia (24 May).
Escape the city and travel back to 1990’s Manchester with fringe cult-heroes Police Cops: Badass Be Thy Name (23-25 May) at Fool’s Paradise. Hot off the back of sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe
and Soho Theatre, multi-awardwinning Police Cops return with their latest comedy blockbuster. A gritty kitchen sink drama turns into a vampire-slaying horror epic.
Discover a brand new story at The Westgate Chapel, Lewes with Lewes Curious’ Outspoken Word (3 May), a collection of poets and storytellers will come together to perform bold and brave new work. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you could enjoy Lost to the Sea (4 - 17 May) at The Lantern Theatre, a brand new storytelling performance interwoven with Orkney mythology and cello accompaniment.
Get into the groove with Tina, Queen of Rhythm (31 May) at The Brunswick fronted by Ruby Rose, Sussex-based soul Diva extraordinaire, who boasts a stellar career spanning many years. Ruby is backed by a band of the crème de la crème of seasoned musicians who will get you dusting off your vocal chords and dancing in the aisles.
Experience a new thrill with the whole family as Germany’s Champion of Comedy Magic, Rene Magic, brings his laugh-outloud show The Magic Wand With Three (!) Ends (28 May - 2 June) to Presuming Ed’s
Or perhaps you’d like to explore a new talent with TAP (18 - 19 May) and BN1 Arts (New England Road), a percussive dance performance, that will leave you hitting, thwapping, slapping and stamping the floor. TAP is part of the Culture Connex Festival Season,
a programme of events created in collaboration from Brighton Fringe, urbanflo, Pan-African Creative Exchange, Brighton Pride, Ironworks Studios and Brighton Pride.
Interim Managing Director of Brighton Fringe Limited, Amy Keogh, said “We’re so excited for this year’s Brighton Fringe. We have unbelievable local talent taking to the stage alongside performers from across the whole country and around the world. We have hundreds of venues taking part and we’re delighted to have several involved as far as Lewes and Shoreham as well as those here in the city.
We’re delighted that so many people in Brighton support Brighton Fringe, and the wider local arts scene. That support ensures we can keep delivering this festival year after year. We’re asking you to find your fringe this year because we really believe there is a fringe experience for everyone.”
Brighton Fringe Ltd., the charity behind Brighton Fringe the festival, offers artists at every stage of their career to be involved in a festival bigger than themselves, with the opportunity to reach audiences they might not normally have access to. The festival is open-access, meaning there is no artistic criteria, accolade or level you must reach to be invited to participate, there’s a different line up every year hosted by a different combination of weird and wonderful venues. The small team at Brighton Fringe Ltd. work year round to support and
develop artists through their Fringe Academy programme, bursary schemes, showcases and awards alongside the administration of the festival.
By buying tickets to a Brighton Fringe event, or attending a free one, you are supporting the arts and art-makers in Brighton, the UK and beyond, alongside the Brighton Fringe team, ensuring the festival continues to happen in the city.
It’s time to #FindYourFringe, there’s one for everyone.
Brighton Fringe runs from 3 May - 2 June 2024.
For tickets visit: www. brightonfringe.org or call 01273 917272
Henning Wehn
Apparently, you need to be quick... Artist Emma Stibbon is telling me about her practice and upcoming show at Towner Eastbourne, Melting Ice | Rising Tides. Composed around the impact disintegrating polar glaciers have upon our own shores, it’s the culmination of years of field work in adverse conditions. But you can’t really draw with gloves on.
She tells me about one series of pictures created on the deck of a ship heading to the Svalbard archipelago, right up in the Arctic Ocean. “There were massive seas, and it was bitterly cold,” Stibbon says. “I was feeling a bit seasick, so thought I’d just draw. It was freezing, but better than feeling ill down below. Over the course of the voyage, which was about 3 ½ days, I made roughly 30 drawings. When I got back to my studio, and reviewed them, the earlier ones were straight-forward, but as we headed north, they’d started to show ice in the medium.” Rather than being an obstacle, this is what she likes about working in these environments. “There are things which you simply can’t control with drawing. They kind of take over the process.”
Part of Melting Ice | Rising Tides offers an immersive experience for the audience, issuing a stark reminder that the seemingly remote issue of polar ice sheet melt has a
very real impact on our lives. “I’ve also enjoyed using some of the materials from the Sussex coastline. I’ve ground up chalk and used that as pigment. There are elemental things which you experience while you’re out, and I’ve enjoyed bringing those into the work.”
This is a first large-scale show in a major UK institution for the Bristolbased artist. Its scope means we’re given an impressive overview of Stibbon’s entire practice, from the smallest drawings done out in the field to printmaking and installations. The majority is occupied with recording landscapes undergoing transition and change. “This is a culmination of the research I’ve been doing over the last years. I’ve particularly looked at glacier and polar ice retreat. For a long time, I’d been thinking about how you can connect these seemingly remote events with what’s happening on our doorstep.” Towner is a perfect venue for the show, not least because of the Eastbourne institution’s mission to reflect the environment it sits within - located within metres of a shore which will likely look very different in only 100 years. It’s relatively simple to make an emotional link amongst an audience between what is happening on the other side of the globe and the issues faced by the South East’s coastline.
“Quite a lot of Sussex is low-lying, despite the many areas of elevation, so flooding is a risk. Fortunately,
there is an Environment Agency plan for the area between Pevensey Bay and Eastbourne. It’s one of the largest coastal defence projects in England, which is working to reduce the risk of flooding to properties in that area.” Obviously, Britain is an island, so it isn’t just a single region undergoing accelerated cliff erosion and collapse. “These conversations need to happen. I think avoidance and ill-judged building…,” she tails off. “Perhaps that’s too political. Maybe we shouldn’t go down that road. I’m just an artist.”
“We need to make a connection between the ground you’re standing on and these global events, and think about our own actions. There is a responsibility to change our own behaviour. I’m not claiming my show will do that, but we are all part of big events.”
She’s always been fascinated with landscape, starting with a wider interest in those which are unstable or undergoing transition. This took her to a lot of volcanic and seismic terrain in places like Iceland and Hawaii. “Anywhere with a volcano basically. Of course there’s a whole tradition of artists representing that. I think we’re always being drawn to the dynamic and moving. Obviously the drama of it is quite spectacular. I had an amazing residency on Big Island, which has one of the world’s most volatile volcanoes.” There was also a big draw towards the built landscape, especially in cities witnessing huge
change. Berlin, for example, has seen the turbulent events of the 20th century make a huge imprint on its topography. Likewise, Rome has visible marks left by various periods, from the imperial and ancient times through to the fascist years. “I’ve a preoccupation about how, as humans, we have an assumption that our time is somehow stable and going to continue, while ignoring that evidence shows otherwise. Right now, we’re in a very shifting landscape.”
Stibbon’s practice seems to draw from a proud tradition. The golden age of scouring the globe for scientific and geographical marvels took place before the advent of portable photographic equipment, so the 18th and 19th centuries gave rise to exploration artists. People like Edward Wilson and William Hodges captured the sights of new territories and unwittingly consolidated a whole new art genre. “I’ve been fortunate to see some exceptional landscapes in the Artic and Antarctic. After witnessing these changes and seeing things happening over my own lifetime, as an artist I feel a responsibility to record that and present it to audiences.”
Particularly on the polar journeys she’s made, she looked at the painters who travelled on similar expeditions throughout history, which also included military cartographers and people with topographical training. “I was
fortunate enough to be an artist in residence with the Royal Navy down in Antarctica. It was bizarre to sit up on the bridge with all their devices. They’ve got infra-red, ultrasonic and all these recording machines whirring around you and I’m just sitting there with my watercolours, trying to do it with my eye and my hand. There’s something human about that though. Drawing has an incredible ability to connect people. We all draw. Even if we don’t do it as adults, we used to as children.”
Most people will never be able to experience those landscapes in person, so Stibbon tries to capture the beauty and wonder of our planet, and the extraordinary things which we stand to lose. These things are changing. I hope there’ll be beauty to the show, and people will be absorbed in the way drawing presents these landscapes, but also to provoke some thought and an underpinning of the critical situation we’re in.”
While the Arctic region’s melt has contributed greatly to rising sea levels, if Antarctica begins to shed mass into the oceans it’ll be a massive turning point for our futures. “Some sections are definitely melting, with glaciers retreating. With the main continent, if the ice locked up in that was to go, we’d be seeing metres of sea-level rise. That would be absolutely catastrophic. Which is what we’re risking.” So, have we gone too far? Are we just looking back at a tipping point for climate change? “I think if we could limit global warming, that will influence the way things are going. Science has shown that the severity is down to our carbon emissions. It’s something which needs to change.”
When out in the field, Stibbon works figuratively - drawing from observations and constructing a reaction to what she’s witnessing. “Antarctica is a mesmerising other-worldly place. Responding to that as an artist is a privilege. Increasingly, with locations I’ve revisited, like the European Alps, there’s glaciers that I can see retreating quite dramatically in only a decade.” Seeing something like this so close to our own shores is what compelled her to focus on the melting ice and rising sea levels. “It’s the most critical issue of our time. If I can present that in my work, in a way which gives people an insight and a sense of how fortunate we are with the beauty of nature. Even with the Sussex
As a nation, we’re probably at the more temperate end of what’s happening and about to come. There are extremes happening in places like Bangladesh, where rising sea levels have been devastating for communities. But incidents around the world still have implications in Britain, whether that’s rising migration, crop failures or regional instability. But Stibbon wanted her work for this show to be anchored in the immediate and familiar. “I think this coastline, with places like the Seven Sisters, is
was initially quite hard to assemble comparative images because many of the original scenes were captured by photographers standing on the edge of cliffs. “Of course, that’s now in the sea.” Fortunately, Eastbourne’s Racquet Studios were able to assist with some drone work taking a camera to where land no longer lies. “It is dramatic. It’s tens of feet out, in just 20 or 30 years. So now, people can really see what’s happening…”
Recording out in the field, instead of the controlled calmness of a studio, does present its own challenges.
quite iconic. As part of the show, I’ve been collecting postcards, and we borrowed some materials. Towner has some interesting historic works representing that coastline.”
She delved into the work of artist Elizabeth Smith Paget, who was a regular visitor to Eastbourne over a 40-year period. “I selected some of her works in the Towner collection to make comparative drawings of those locations today. So, you can look at the two side by side.” It
a local beach, packed with rocks and materials borrowed from the coastline. “It’s facing a drawing of a large breaker coming at you, so hopefully visitors will feel a bit trapped between the sea and the rock.” The Towner’s collection is rooted in this landscape, with a really strong representation of artists who’ve worked in the area. “They’ve been great to work with. Nothing is too much. In fact, the more of a challenge, the more they seem to enjoy it.”
As modern life gets busier, it’s increasingly difficult to make these messages resonate. The power of lobby groups working on behalf of the energy industry is enormous, so even the most fervent of voices get drowned out by white noise in our traditional media outlets. And many feel powerless or fatigued by the situation. So, is art perhaps a better way to elicit positive action?
“I think we need to make people feel emotionally connected. It’s personal. It’s part of my familiar landscape. There are places I care about which I can see changing. Until we’re actually feeling with our heart as well as our head… I think creative processes can do that. There’s data and science, which is of course critical and we’re all too familiar with, but it often doesn’t move us to change our behaviour or think more proudly about our everyday lives. …myself included.”
“Part of the reason I like drawing from observation is the elements and adversity. Often working in a sub-zero environment, it does evidence itself in the drawing.” But it’s this exact experience which informs her work back indoors, when creating on a larger scale.
As an exhibition, Melting Ice | Rising Tides gathers many of the sketchbooks accompanying her expeditions, alongside huge pieces detailing the rugged beauty of the natural landscape. It also recreates
One keen supporter of Melting Ice | Rising Tides has been Caroline Lucas MP, who features in a film being shown as part of the show and wrote the foreword to an accompanying book. “We’re also having an ‘in conversation’ during the show. I think she can speak better than me, but I think it’s important to say it has to be a message of positivity. Particularly with the younger population, who have got a lot at stake. I think they’re incredibly active, and that’s something we need to build on. I want the show to remind us of our planet’s beauty. And what we stand to lose.”
Emma Stibbon’s Melting Ice | Rising Tides runs at Towner Eastbourne until Sun 15 Sept.
www.townereastbourne.org.uk www.emmastibbon.com
“Anyone that knows me knows I’ve got thousands of anecdotes and worked with tons of different people,”
Richard Norris, chart-storming musician, festival promoter and record producer, is musing over how he created his new autobiography, Strange Things Are Happening. There are quite a few tales, in a career characterised by curiosity. Alongside hitting the Top Ten with The Grid, witnessing the birth of an era-defining cultural movement, he’s hung out with LSD guru Timothy Leary and collaborated with some of the most enduring names in music.
“I wanted to use these stories as raw material for a good piece of writing,” says the Lewes resident. “Something which worked as a story. I’ve got quite good recall and spoke to loads of people. You only need one hint of something, and all this stuff comes flooding back. That can be a sound or a picture in your head…”
One major player in this book is the legendary Joe Strummer. Norris tells me the pair got on almost straight away. They met while recording at Peter Gabriel’s studio near Bath, when the former The Clash frontman turned up with a load of people. “It looked like some mad circus had come to town. He asked if anyone knew how to programme a drum machine. From there we spent two years working together.” Norris says there were always strange things happening when you were around Strummer, no doubt assisted by his chaotic lifestyle. “Everything was in the now. He’d suggest driving to Liverpool to see Leftfield when it was only two hours before the gig. It was a very exciting time. A lot of people describe it as his lost period, but he was so busy and enthusiastic about things. He was a joy to work with. We did a lot more living than recording though.”
The book’s title references his days working for a psychedelic record label, where he started a magazine also called Strange Things Are Happening. “It was really a precursor to things like Uncut and Mojo, in that it had a real mixture of anything cult. There were movies, books, records and a Krazy Kat double page cartoon. We’d write about Barbarella or Iggy Pop… I went to interview Alan Moore and Kathy Acker… There were loads of bands, like Wire and The Go-Betweens. So, it was a blend of the things we liked.” The title is also shared with an esoteric pop-psych single from the late 60s, by a band called
From the weird to the Weald: Acid House pioneer lays it all outBy Stuart Rolt
Rings And Things. “That was probably made by a bunch of session musicians. I don’t think they ever did anything else! But, the idea of strange things happening runs throughout the book. There’s always something unexpected around the corner.”
The writing process for Strange Things Are Happening started with a chapter about the nearmythical rock and roll musician Sky Saxon. Best known as the lead singer of 60’s Los Angeles band, The Seeds, he’s typical of the characters Norris has found himself amongst over the years. “You have to try and balance it, so it doesn’t sound like a load of name-drops. I’m not a ‘lead singer’ kind of guy, I’m more in the back-room, so I could take more notice of what was happening. With someone like Saxon, he had a few hits in the 60s and is revered by some as one of the originators of garage psychedelia, but he was pretty much a beatnik vagrant. He was living on people’s floors, and from one bar to the next. But there was something about how he worked, and the absolute ‘music life’. He was playing gigs and getting bands together from the early 60s until the week he died.” Norris set out to reclaim what is considered ‘success’ in music. Maybe, just maybe, it’s not about topping the charts, but instead keeping going and pushing the form onward.
“If you’ve got that attitude, then you’ll really see life. You might not be the richest person, but you will have the richest experiences.”
Inevitably, this autobiography turns to the Acid House movement, and the wild times at the fabled Shoom. Held at increasingly larger venues around London during the late 80s and early 90s, this club night had an indelible impact on UK clubland. Founded by Danny Rampling and his wife Jenni, he and Terry Farley pushed the new styles of US music to the UK, alongside odd Euro hits and up-tempo indie, in what became known as the Balearic sound. Shoom also hugely contributed towards Acid House’s trademark style, with baggy clothes, toned-down trainers and the iconic smiley faces everywhere.
music, and there were records out in the early eighties which sounded like acid house.” His The Grid bandmate, Dave Ball, had already flirted with lots of Acid House aesthetics. As one half of Soft Cell, their song, Memorabilia, featured the archetypal Roland 303 bass synthesiser and lyrical allusions to ecstasy long before they became mainstream.
“There were different camps within the early Acid House scene. Certainly, in London, a lot of people who came to it were soul boys, or football fans. Others, like Andrew Weatherall and myself, came from alternative music. We’d be into stuff like John Peel, Cabaret Voltaire, Chris & Cosey and Throbbing Gristle. That was tiny minority. The idea of bands like The Residents and The Woodentops wasn’t new to us. But playing music from across lots of genres wasn’t happening much in clubs previously.”
Many proponents of the Acid House movement extolled its seemingly endless possibilities. This new culture was going to change the world, bringing a new era of love, unity and shared ambition. But, like the hippies before them, that generation are now running the world and finding utopia might not be so close at hand. “In terms of electronic dancefloor, it has really fulfilled its potential. And just keeps on giving. Subcultures spawn other subcultures, and there’s this constant renewal. Which is amazing, compared to genres like mod or gothic, who haven’t really reinvented themselves.”
On a personal level, Norris says the scene has gifted a huge sense of community. “There’s thousands of people that I’ve met through Acid House, who I wouldn’t have otherwise. While I’m in touch with maybe three people from school, I’d be on tour and see people who I’ve known for decades through this culture. I don’t know in a broader sense if it did, in terms of changing the world. But it changed my world.”
“My kind of electronic and acid house story is very different from other people’s. There’s this idea of four DJs bringing back this new music from overseas like conquistadors. It sounds quite dodgy. You know… going abroad, finding one DJ’s records, basically stealing all their selections and bringing them home. It’s not a particularly nice origin story. And it’s not particularly true. Everyone’s acid house story is the origin story... Everyone gets into different things.” In truth, the genre has roots across Europe, along with US cities like Detroit and Chicago.
Norris just wanted to write down his version of what happened. A story which started ten years before aghast tabloid headlines and the summer of love. “I came from art school, DIY culture and alternative
As the ways we consume entertainment change, different music scenes are still rapidly evolving. And much of it has subsided back into the underground, away from media scrutiny and co-opting by big business. “Club culture definitely exists, especially with things like grime or drill, which are less obviously noticed in the overground press. Drum and Bass is massive as well.” I wonder if those epoch or life defining events even still happen, but Norris tells me he’s enjoyed ‘Acid House’ experiences in places other than a sweaty nightclub or grimy warehouse.
Together with Chris Tomsett, he started the Lewes Psychedelic Festival in 2009. “The third one we did was in this place called Zoo Studios in the Phoenix Quarter, and we had tons of things going on. It felt more like a rave than anything else I’ve been to in years.” He says it’s difficult to sustain something like
this as a full-time business, but you can still create a micro-scene with a hired church hall and 50 mates. “All counterculture starts like that. Shoom really was a hundred people. Walking around London, if you spotted a Shoom T-shirt on someone in early ‘88 it was like finding a rare bird. It was very small, but it can only take that amount of people to set something off.”
More recently, he established the East Sussex Psychedelic Film Club with John Higgs and Andy Starke. Bringing the weird and wonderful to the town’s Westgate Chapel, it’s become a place to present some of cinema’s most artistically interesting works. “We sell out within hours because it’s something new and different. There’s a lot of attention to detail. There’s a fanzine for every screening, and we give things away.” Recent events have included a Q+A session with Ben Wheatley to support his historical horror, A Field In England, alongside some more abstract happenings.
“We showed a film called The Flicker the other week, which is basically half an hour of static and strobing. And that’s it. I did think: ‘Are we going to get away with this?’ But there was a round of applause at the end. So now we can get away with anything!” They’ve just shown something Norris intriguingly describes as ‘the only Japanese haunted house psychedelic film you’ll ever need to see’. He’s recently purchased the soundtrack album, and enthusiastically shows me the sleeve. “Look at that! The cover is totally round the bend. It’s an amazing film, but not something you can easily find. To put these things up on the big screen is such a joy, because people do love it.”
In truth, it seems Norris has always been a fan of DIY culture, from sating a local thirst for experimental cinema right back to being 14-years-old and pressing up his own 7” singles to sell in Rough Trade’s shop. “Since that day, I’ve been doing that. It’s a mentality. A mixture between punk and art school. It’s going against the grain a little bit. If someone’s doing a thing over there, we’ll do our own thing over here to create something new.”
Lewes, for all it’s pretence to respectability, has long been home to the mystic, radical and gently subversive, much like the more celebrated Hebden Bridge or Glastonbury. “It does have that same thing. I went to college in Liverpool, and one of my flatmates lived in Lewes. So, I used to come down and visit. She had these weird mates. We’d sit in the Gardeners Arms, and they’d be
into Viking reenactments and all this mad stuff. I was always like; ‘They’re all mad. What’s it about?’ I’ve always found it intriguing.” Later, he’d found himself heading to the county town after festivals, parking up in his orange VW campervan outside The Snowdrop. “After a while, we thought: ‘Why don’t we just live here?’ So, we became one of the much-maligned ‘down from London’ people. I tell people my family is from here. Because it’s where my daughter was born,” he says with a wry chuckle. Aside from periods back in the capital, he’s lived here for 20 years now. He tells me the relative peace and quiet has given him the space for more creativity.
Despite the complex task of writing a book, and the lure of walking his dog up on the Downs, Norris has still been composing and releasing. Since lockdown, he’s been working on his Music For Healing ambient series, prodigiously releasing at least a soundscape every month for quite a while. “That’s been an amazing experience. Lots of people have written in to say it had helped them with anxiety, grief and bereavement. People have even given birth to it. I don’t know as yet why this kind of music seems to relax people, but anecdotally, there’s hundreds of people writing in.” He says he’s extremely lucky to have his own studio, so can make music every day. He’ll get up and be in there from 8am until lunchtime. “You can get quite a lot done. It becomes about the practice, rather than the result.”
This year potentially brings with it a new record deal for The Grid. They’re also booked to play their first live shows in decades. It seems Norris is at a good creative point. Writing the book has triggered a small reassessment for him, adding new context to the things he’s seen, the work he’s done and the colourful characters upon that journey. “It’s very subtle… the things that you learn. And I’m still learning. And I’m learning a lot from people’s reactions to it. They’re seeing certain patterns that I hadn’t noticed. I feel like I’ve got all those anecdotes out now. As we move towards our first gig in 20 years, I’ve got a clean slate to make more anecdotes.”
Richard Norris’s Strange Things Are Happening is available now, from your finest local booksellers.
www.richardnorrismusic.com
“I’d like people to see Briggs as someone who was an innovator, and not somebody who only produced Father Christmas and The Snowman. Delightful as those things are, he had an enormous range of work.”
Steph Fuller, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft’s Director, is musing on the scale of Bloomin’ Brilliant: The Life and Work of Raymond Briggs - the most in-depth look yet into a remarkable talent.
Taking over the whole museum, the exhibition features 30 items from the late author’s estate, alongside over 100 original artworks from an incredible career spanning six decades, celebrating Briggs’s work and life in the heart of a countryside he’d made his home. “Hopefully, we’ll get a feeling for the person. He might have had a curmudgeonly reputation, but it was a persona he put on in public. Those that knew him say he was very funny and warm towards others.”
Briggs studied at the Wimbledon College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art, going on to make a name for himself illustrating children’s books. Moving to East Sussex, he started creating his own stories, becoming one of the first British artists to release graphic novels as we now know them. With a few notable exceptions, most such releases were previously just collections assembled from material printed elsewhere. Briggs forged a sweet spot between picture books, novellas and three panel comic strips from the daily press, developing the format as a platform for both compelling narratives and his expansive illustration talents.
“He took what was essentially a cartoon form and made it into a way of telling a story, which was unusual at the time. He also produced books for adults as well as children in the same way. He used different techniques side by side, so you get the frame-by-frame storytelling, but you’ll also get illustrations with different techniques in the same book.” From the intricate illustrations leaping from the page in When The Wind Blows to the dialogue free adventures of The Snowman, Briggs constantly pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the printed form. It’s an ambition which characterised his entire career. “Even from early days, he was doing quite leftfield things. He illustrated a book about giants in the 60s. There’s an image where one of their footprints is shown, with loads of tiny humans around it. He’d inked up his foot and stepped on the paper. It’s a quirky thing to do, and very off the wall for the era.”
The Museum was approached by the Briggs’s estate, who were very keen to do an exhibition near where he lived and worked. The artist was a regular patron in Ditchling’s The Bull pub, and over in Plumpton’s Half Moon. “It’s been a privilege to work directly with the family. We’ve had access to his house, studio and lots of personal stuff, so it’s given us a chance to tell the story of the person, as well as looking at the work.”
Curating a show which acknowledges 60 years of work might have been quite a challenge, but Bloomin’ Brilliant seems to offer a comprehensive look at all aspects of his practice.
Items include work from Briggs’s pioneering and most enduring titles, including The Snowman, Father Christmas, Father Christmas Goes on Holiday, Fungus The Bogeyman and When The Wind Blows, plus the autobiographical graphic novel Ethel and Ernest. The exhibition delves into the origin and creation of his most celebrated characters and stories, while also gathering drawings, hand-lettered typography and page designs - from his earliest commissions to his 2004 book The Puddleman. Alongside this, there’s also a selection of ephemera from his studio and home. “There are things like his drawing desk and a special chair which he’d sit in when thinking. One of the most special items is a pair of cupboard doors, which he’d painted with life-sized portraits of his parents, Ethel and Ernest, which obviously no-one has seen, unless they’d been in the house.”
The local area had a big impact on his output; the sights of this verdant strip between the South Downs and the Mid-Sussex commuter belt can be seen throughout his books. He moved to the area in the late 60s, buying a house in Westmeston and teaching at (the then) Brighton Art School. “After his wife died, he got together with another woman called Liz, who already had two children. She had a house in Plumpton. So, he developed a set-up where he’d live his domestic life in Plumpton but did his work in Westmeston.” Eagle-eyed readers can spot his house in 1973’s Father Christmas, providing a handy parking spot for a magical sleigh.
The people in his life also pop up repeatedly. Aside from Briggs’s account of his parent’s lives, both make regular appearances in other books. Inclusions like these provide some interesting Easter eggs. John Vernon Lord, himself a celebrated illustrator and author living in Ditchling, appears in Father Christmas On Holiday. In a sequence reminiscent of Briggs’ own experiences of holidaying with Lord’s family, his friend can be seen queuing for a campsite’s washrooms.
While giving the impression of being otherworldly and uplifting, much of Briggs’ output was also subtly political, whether it’s championing the everyday heroes of the British working class or examining the Falklands War. Much of it also centres on family and life. “There’s also quite a class element in his work,” says Fuller. “He was a working-class boy from Wimbledon, who went to art school and became massively successful. He really loved his parents, but you can see his frustration over the years at how they didn’t understand his job or that you can make money from drawing pictures. It was the first generation where people from those backgrounds would be going to university and developing wider horizons and ideas. So there’s an intergenerational tension around that. Everybody cares about each other, but they also find each other a bit confusing.”
Briggs had a talent for looking beneath the surface and truly understanding people’s motivations. He explored the intricacies of ordinary English lives, constructing his stories with a mischievous and slightly dark sense of humour. Certain themes resonate throughout all his work, including illness, duty and loss. Perhaps confronting these in narrative form provided some sense of catharsis. “There’s an underlying melancholy. He wasn’t looking for the grand fairytale ending. But he also grounded things very much in reality. His Father Christmas was like a grumpy DPD driver. He’s a working-class deliveryman, who’s got a loo at the end of the garden. That was a fresh way of looking at things and is part of what makes his books so relatable. They’re not taking place in some other realm; they’re set in a place which we can all recognise.” Even The Snowman, a much-loved Christmas staple, ends with the departure of the boy’s friend. Fuller suggests Briggs endured plenty of grief during his life, which manifested in his work. In the early 70s, he lost his wife, Jean, and both his parents within just 18 months. “All of that knocked him about. The idea that things might be quiet now, but everything can just disappear, is quite a prevalent theme.”
With that holistic approach in mind, one of the ambitions for the exhibition is to encourage others to pursue their artistic bent – offering a range of reading and drawing activities, along with an illustration competition. They’re even offering a unique treat, inspired by one of Briggs’s most iconic characters, Fungus. Their new Bogey Lollies have been crafted with Chloe Edwards at Seven Sister’s Spices and combine grapes, lime cordial and jelly.
Fuller has a particular connection with Fungus The Bogeyman, a tstory of a day in the life of a normal bogeyman, who starts questioning the value of his work. “I remember loving Fungus. My brother and I would have all kinds of jokes where we’d swap bits of the dialogue. But that kind of disgustingness is part of the fun. But he’s really a sensitive character. He cares about his family and is very gentle. He’s not a monster, he’s just someone who lives in a tip.”
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft presents Bloomin’ Brilliant: The Life and Work of Raymond Briggs until Sun 27 October www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk
Briggs would write, illustrate and design the books himself, tasks usually occupying at least three creatives. “No, he’d do the whole thing. It would take a long time to produce them, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for that.”
As an exhibition, Bloomin’ Brilliant attempts to both inspire and provide insight into a brilliant and complex character. Amongst the unique items on display are the original art from Father Christmas On Holiday. “We have these sheets with the borders on them, which are full of little notes, like the dates of when the pencil drawings or watercolours were completed. Occasionally, there’s one that says something like: ‘terrible hangover’. They’re very alive. You can really feel the person lurking in the background.”
What inspired you to pursue a career in music and how did you get started?
We got started back in college when we were studying engineering in Limerick. We all played music quite a bit between house parties, trad sessions and cover gigs. When COVID lockdowns hit, Fitz and Eddie happened to be living together and rather than study or do any assignments we started writing tunes and just loved it. We wrote Eyes Don't Lie first and McGoo lived down the road so we asked him if he'd just improvise over it. Instantly we knew between the 3 of us we had something, hard to describe what it was at the time but we really loved the process of writing the tunes and everything just kind of exploded from there.
Can you share a memorable experience from a previous live performance that has stayed with you?
In the last couple of months, we got the opportunity to headline the Olympia Theatre in Dublin. For an Irish artist the Olympia is iconic, and it was one of the first goals we set out to accomplish as a band. I think standing on the stage and hearing every person sing our songs back at us is something none of us will forget.
One of the first gigs we'd ever played was a Sofar Sounds session in Brighton. We were very young and inexperienced at the time, but the crowd gave us a standing ovation. That was one of the first times we felt we had won an audience and gave us a lot of confidence going forward.
What message or emotions do you aim to convey through your music to your audience?
Hope is probably the most dominant emotion. Even when things are as shit as they could be, there's always a way back. I think everyone has had experience in that department so it's something we feel strongly about.
Who are some of your musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
I would say all 3 of us have different answers for this. Eddie would be strongly influenced by Ben Howard's first album, Snow Patrol’s Fallen Empires album, anything Bon Ivor does, and Fitz takes a big influence from Dermot Kennedys debut album and Walking on Cars. McGoo has a strong connection to Trad music in Ireland. He brings a very different influence from people like Gerry O'Connor and Bears
Den. The combination of those we find really interesting and puts us in a cool space.
How has your music evolved since you first started creating and performing? It's funny, I remember the first time we walked into studio we didn't know what we were doing. We wanted to be exactly the same live as we were on records. So we set ourselves a 10 track limit for each song, nothing but the instruments, vocals and some harmonies were to be recorded. That is still true but completely unrealistic. We also love film soundtracks and how they can take you on a journey. We wanted our songs to do that which is why a lot of them now will start small and quiet but will finish very loud and full.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance? I know it's quite the cliche answer but honestly we're on stage to have a good time. There's a lot of hard work goes into preparing the live show but once that's finished and you get up in front of the crowd all you want to do is enjoy it. And all you want from the audience is to enjoy it as much as we do.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to create music, especially during challenging times?
It's like a lot of things, sometimes you'll be ultra motivated to create and you'll write 2 songs a day for a week. And some weeks it gets harder. We are really lucky to have a base of operations in the countryside in Tipperary on a Farm, it really helps to go back there and reset when there's been a lot happening. We always seem to be able to write songs there.
If you could collaborate with any musician, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
Another question that'll have 3 different answers, Eddie's dream Collab would be Bon Ivor, obsessed with everything the lad does. Fitz would love to work with Johnny Cash and McGoo coming out of left field would love to work with Childish Gambino and Louis Armstrong.
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the music industry?
Having a group of people you can trust is so important. Friends who will honestly tell you when a tune is good or when you might be doing the right/wrong thing is so important.
@kingfishrofficial
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What inspired you to pursue a career in music and how did you get started?
I remember writing was the first thing I ever loved as a child, and I was writing songs about relationships in primary school when I didn't even understand that experience yet. Then I joined the school choir and it made me realise how much I loved to sing, even though I was super shy. Those things stuck with me and I just developed them in secret until I started releasing music when I was 15, and people in school started discovering me online and then this music thing just wasn't something I could hide anymore.
Can you share a memorable experience from a previous live performance that has stayed with you?
I opened for my friend Isabel LaRosa earlier this year in London, and a bunch of her fans at the front were jumping and hyping my songs up and it was so nice to see the support even though they didn't know me prior to the show. It really showed me that it doesn't matter how big or small I am, if the music is good then it will resonate with people, and that's all that matters.
What message or emotions do you aim to convey through your music to your audience?
Artists are just regular people, we experience things like anxiety and insecurity and heartbreak, and I just want everyone who listens to know that they're seen, and I feel it and I get it but we can turn it into a great thing and sing and dance about it at a show.
How has your music evolved since you first started creating and performing?
The more I create, the more I learn and the better my sound gets I feel. When I did my first show I was a bag of nerves but with each show I just get a bit more into it and it reinforces to myself how much I love it.I think in a decade, I'll probably be a musical beast.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance?
I want to be that artist that makes people leave a show thinking "God I love live music." I just want people to enjoy themselves and fall in love with music even more, which is how I feel whenever I see a really good gig.
How do you stay motivated and inspired to create music, especially during challenging times?
I typically get creative blocks if I overthink the process, and preemptively criticise myself before even making anything. So I just remind myself that I love to create because creating is fun, and I remove the pressure of having to make anything that's immediately fantastic.
If you could collaborate with any musician, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
There's so many people I could say, but I'd either say Remi Wolf or Brakence. Their sounds are super different from each other, and so experimental but at the same time it's uniquely them. I think I'm similar in that sense and I just really love their music. Their sounds are amazing live too.
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the music industry?
Stay persistent, remember why you're doing this and who you're doing it for. Don't be scared to put yourself out there, and always believe in yourself.
@dellaxoz
What inspired you to pursue a career in music and how did you get started?
I grew up in a musical family but it wasn’t until my early twenties that I really considered a career in music. I was lucky enough to make friends with some great people who encouraged me to make my own music and who also took me out on the road playing for them, and slowly over time I found my way into being an artist in my own right.
Can you share a memorable experience from a previous live performance that has stayed with you?
My first headline show in London earlier this year will definitely stay with me forever. It was really special to perform my album for the first time and the audience were so supportive and generous.
Who are some of your musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
I grew up listening to artists like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway, who have all influenced me massively in terms of their musicianship - their vocal and instrumental performances in particular. Then a bit later on I got into artists like Kate Bush, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel - they definitely shaped my sound sonically and in terms of the way they presented themselves and pushed boundaries.
How has your music evolved since you
first started creating and performing?
It’s mainly evolved in terms of the production. When I first started making my own music I was more interested in songs/ instrumentation and although I had production ideas I didn’t really see myself as a producer. I’m lucky enough to have worked with and learned from some brilliant producers who encouraged me and collaborated with me on my music which I think pushed it into a different place sonically.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance?
I hope they connect to the music - the message and the
emotion of the songs, the performances of me and my band, who are all amazing musicians, and I hope people leave feeling uplifted
How do you stay motivated and inspired to create music, especially during challenging times?
Honestly, It can be really difficult to stay motivated sometimes and I've had some long periods of not making music as a result. When that happens I try to remember the reason why I even started making my own music in the first place, which was just purely out of enjoyment and as a form of expression. Sometimes I have to go back to that early state of mind where I’m not thinking about it in the context of a professional career, it just has to go back to a more naive place where I can just feel creative again without thinking about the potential outcomes.
If you could collaborate with any musician, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
I would love to sing with Bonnie Raitt. She’s another artist I've always loved and I would love to just be in a room with her and sing alongside her.
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the music industry?
Focus hard on what is most authentically ‘you’ and try not to compare yourself to anyone else. Sail your own ship!
@fabianapalladino
What inspired you to pursue a career in music and how did you get started?
Growing up in Wales, I began performing by competing in the Eisteddfod which is a traditional festival held there every year for centuries. I learned about the tradition of telling stories through song. That’s definitely the point whereby I fell in love with music.
I’ve always struggled to convey my emotions in conversation, music and songwriting became this outlet for me to understand my emotions and thoughts. It was more a need than a want.
Can you share a memorable experience from a previous live performance that has stayed with you?
I suppose those early days of performing in small venues to a
handful of people is very special, then fast forward a few years, and supporting Coldplay in the Principality Stadium was awesome, both memories motivate me to keep at it... Seeing someone in the crowd sing the words to Basement for the first time. It made me emotional! When writing songs you're in such a bubble, and I always write about experiences in my life, which songs provide this silver lining to any situation, so to see someone in the crowd singing the words was an incredible moment! I think also anytime I play live with the band and me and Theo do a silly move (I decided it would be a good idea for us to go back to back) and Jack (the guitarist) is looking over to check we haven’t fallen over haha! Being on stage is so freeing, I think it’s the only place I truly feel comfortable!
How does the music scene in Brighton influence your creativity and style?
Who are some of your musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
Growing up, I would steal my parents CD’s which had bands such as The Cardigans, Nirvana and the pixies. I fell in love with this era of music, the live aspect of the guitars, drums and vocals. Maybe it’s a nostalgic thing? I’m massively influenced by Radiohead, No Doubt, The Cardigans and Nirvana. I remember finding all of my Dad’s old CD’s when I was younger, and I feel like that music has stuck with me when I approach the sonical side of the record.
How has your music evolved since you first started creating and performing?
Playing live has had the biggest impact on my music, being able to connect to audiences and try new songs, you get instant feedback, playing with a live band influences how you write songs, as it's not just me in my bedroom anymore, I need to translate ideas for a performance that has energy.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance?
It's hard to know, but maybe it's different things for different people, some of my songs are high energy and of course some are more melancholy, but I suppose it's that connection to a specific song or lyric
How do you stay motivated and inspired to create music, especially during challenging times?
I’m reallllly excited to go to The Great Escape this year and watch bands such as Ugly, Mary in the Junk Yard, Picture Parlour and Wunderhorse. It’s so inspiring seeing other bands play live, it’s such an exciting scene at the moment!
What message or emotions do you aim to convey through your music to your audience?
Performing live is definitely my happy place! You can connect with an audience and share songs that capture parts of your life that are very introspective. So it naturally leads to leaving my raw emotions and experiences with the audience. So I try to convey the whole rainbow of feelings that motivated me to write the songs in the first place. Vulnerability, honesty and rawness. I want people to feel like they can get to know me from my music!
Writing songs has always been a way for me to understand my emotions, maybe similar to someone who might write a journal. If the listener relates in some way, I hope it brings them a comfort in knowing that they're not alone in that emotion.
If you could collaborate with any musician, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
I’d love to make a song with The Beaches, Chappel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter and Deftones at the moment.
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the music industry?
Be yourself! Write songs about things that you resonate with! Experiment with producing and don’t worry about being “right” or “perfect”, just be authentic to you!
@hanalili__ www.hanalili.com
What inspired you to pursue a career in music and how did you get started?
I’ve always had a love for writing songs. Always wanted this to be my full time job, I think inspirations came from multiple directions from working in jobs I hated to various different life situations I found myself in, it really just pushed me into giving everything I had to music. Started off on socials by sharing snippets of my life through the songs I was writing and then it’s all just sort of grown from there really.
Can you share a memorable experience from a previous live performance that has stayed with you?
Scala show in King’s Cross, I played Venus on piano and I had about 800 people singing the words I’ve written. That was so lovely and I’m sure there’s many more moments like that to come.
How does the music scene in Brighton influence your creativity and style?
Unfortunately, I haven’t been there enough to comment but it’s inspired me enough to come and perform, as I am at this year’s The Great Escape fest.
What message or emotions do you aim to convey through your music to your audience?
I write a lot of love songs. Just want everyone to know that they can love, be loved, and no one’s alone in any of this, we’re all human and we don’t need permission to feel the way we do. Happy, sad, in love or heartbroken.. whatever the feeling is, we’ve all been there and anyone’s welcome to listen to my music if it helps them feel these.
Who are some of your musical influences and how have they shaped your sound?
up on a mixture of 90’s hip hop, BigL, Gangsta, Shyheim, murs, Tupac, Big etc and alt rock like Red Hot chili Peppers, Goo Goo Dolls, Arctic Monkeys. To some older ones like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Everly Brothers. And in more recent years have been listening to post Malone, Noah Kahan, The Kid LAROI and more. I think I draw inspiration from all of them and I’m not entirely sure how or what parts of my music comes from them but I feel like they definitely all have something to do with what comes out when I create a song.
How has your music evolved since you first started creating and performing?
So much. I remember over 10 years ago putting my first video on YouTube.. I found it again a few years ago and I just thought it was horrendous. But it was lovely to notice the progression of improvement throughout the years. My writing is better, my vocals are better, my guitar playing is still pretty basic if I’m honest I could deffo do with practising the guitar and piano more.
What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance?
I just wanted everyone to feel the love tbh, the rooms are always so warm and lovely, not temperature wise but just the vibe. Everyone’s
friends and if I can connect with these people that listen to my music, I hope they’ll want to connect again and again and really help me build something special. I want them to feel how they make me feel after a show. Filled with love and excited to do it again
How do you stay motivated and inspired to create music, especially during challenging times?
Get out, in nature, take a break, don’t force it too much I guess
If you could collaborate with any musician, living or deceased, who would it be and why?
I feel like my mind is always changing with this one cus it’s super hard to pick one.. I think
I’ll go with SZA this time, she’s so sick her voice, Melodie’s and lyrics are always wicked and I think we could make something pretty cool together
Lastly, what advice would you give to aspiring artists looking to break into the music industry?
Don’t quit trying.
@mackenzy.mackay
Forget the sun-drenched shores of California; Brighton, with its bracing winds and pebble shrapnel, isn’t exactly the stuff of surfer dreams. Yet, a year ago, fresh off a Sri Lankan surf camp, I discovered an altogether different kind of wave haven on this unlikely coastline. Who knew a pebble beach could be the answer to my post-surf blues? Brighton, to my surprise, offered a way to keep the dream alive!
Conquering Brighton: Tips for the Undiscovered Surfer
My first challenge in Brighton was finding the local scene. Rumours swirled about an unwelcoming vibe, especially around the marina. My big break came through a friend. They connected me with a local surfer who was also involved with Surfers Against Sewage (SAS). I met up with him in person and bombarded him with questions: "Where's a good spot for beginners?" "When are the conditions usually best?" "What kind of board should I be using?"
Thankfully, this surfer was incredibly helpful! He shattered the myth of the intimidating local scene. The Brighton surf community turned out to be a lot more accessible and welcoming
than I had imagined. This positive experience not only helped me get started but also highlighted the importance of getting involved in the local community. So, whether you're a seasoned surfer or a complete newbie, don't hesitate to strike up a conversation with the locals. You might be surprised by how friendly and supportive they can be!
Next, I discovered a hidden gem: "Surf Fit" run by Ocean Set located at sea lanes. This turned out to be a game-changer. Surf Fit is a meet up specifically designed to improve your surfing. Sure, the 7 am meetups were a brutal wakeup call, but the camaraderie and the surfspecific exercises led by the fantastic Andy and Marianne made a huge difference in my fitness and technique. From paddling power to core strength and pop-up practice, Surf Fit targeted all the muscles you need to shred the waves. Joining a group like Surf Fit is another great tip – it's a fantastic way to meet fellow surfers and improve your skills in a supportive environment. For land-based training, I enlisted the help of Jamie at Sea Gym to address my notoriously tight hips (years of football will do that to you!).
Fueled by Surf Fit and the burning desire to catch real waves, I embarked on my mission to find a surf spot. Whispers of "Hot Pipes" had reached my ears during training, and the
name alone conjured images of monstrous, unforgiving waves. Thanks to the incredible Surf Fit crew, however, I secured a secondhand board, downloaded a reliable wave app, and with a mix of trepidation and excitement, paddled out at Hot Pipes. To my utter astonishment, instead of a churning beast, I found a welcoming haven buzzing with a thriving surf community!
Let's be honest, Brighton's waves can't compete with the barrelling monsters of Cornwall or Bali. But for maintaining fitness and honing skills before my Sri Lankan return, it was perfect.
Fast forward to the UK winter, and I found myself basking in the sunshine of Weligama, Sri Lanka, for a glorious three months. While I opted for my own apartment for the majority of my stay, Layback Surf Camp became my go-to spot for instruction and community during the initial two weeks. Their twicedaily surf sessions, video analysis, and yoga classes were fantastic. Weligama boasted a plethora of amazing spots, with "Lazy Right" in Midigama becoming a particular favourite. The instructors at Layback, especially Rash, Anju, and Leon, deserve a shout-out for pushing my surfing to new heights.
While not quite the commercialised surf mecca of Bali yet, Weligama is definitely on the rise. Here are some tips to make the most of your Sri Lankan surf adventure:
• Go out with a local guide at the start, they'll know the best spots for the conditions and can help you navigate the lineup safely.
• Joining a surf camp like Layback is a fantastic option for solo travellers, especially for those seeking a built-in community and instruction during the initial part of their stay.
• Coworking spaces are a great way to stay connected to work or home while chasing waves. Weligama has several options, making it easy to blend your passions.
• Don't miss the local nightlife! Sample the delicious Sri Lankan cuisine and soak up the vibrant culture.
• Yoga is a fantastic complement to surfing, improving your flexibility and balance. Many surf camps in Sri Lanka offer yoga classes.
• Bring your own leash – they can be expensive to buy locally.
Beyond the waves, another unexpected highlight of my Sri Lankan adventure was the amazing group of surfers I met called the Trifins. This wasn't a formal group, but rather a collection of passionate surfers from all corners of the globe who would regularly link up for sessions. We explored different breaks around Weligama and beyond, sharing rides on tuk-tuks, swapping stories over delicious curries, and pushing each other to improve our surfing.
There was Thomas, the electrifying Austrian DJ known as DJ Mischkonsum, who promised to bring his infectious beats to a Brighton beach party soon. Hailey, a torpedo-armed surfer from Australia, was a fearless wave magnet. Nadia, the sleek and stylish Berliner, brought her cool demeanour and an impeccable low stance to the lineup. And Chris, a fellow Brit from Brighton, was just starting his surfing journey in Sri Lanka, and the Trifins were more than happy to welcome him into the fold.
Travelling solo can be daunting, but the beauty of surfing is the instant connection it fosters. Hitting the waves on your own opens you up to meeting a whole new crew – friendly locals and fellow travellers alike. Both Brighton and Sri Lanka
boast welcoming surf communities, making it easy to find your tribe, no matter your skill level.
Sri Lanka might have been the ultimate winter escape, a surfer's paradise with waves that dwarfed anything Brighton could offer. But here's the thing: Brighton's unexpected waves and the incredible Surf Fit community played a vital role in keeping my skills sharp and stoking the fire for this adventure. Now, after three months exploring the coast of Sri Lanka, I find myself missing those early morning Surf Fit sessions and the camaraderie of battling Brighton's waves. Surfing in Brighton may not have been the ultimate goal, but it undeniably provided the training ground that made conquering Sri Lanka's waves all the more rewarding.
And the best part? The friendships forged in both locations will undoubtedly lead to future adventures together. The beauty of surfing is that it transcends language and culture, creating a universal connection amongst those who share the passion for riding waves. So, whether it's chasing swells in Sri Lanka or battling the rollers of Brighton Beach, I know I'll have a crew to share the excitement with.
THURS 2 MAY
SKY ATLANTIC
Inspired by the bestselling novel by Heather Morris, this limited series tells the story of Lali (played by Jonah Hauer-King), a Slovakian Jew deported to Auschwitz in 1942. Shortly after his arrival at the epicentre of the Holocaust, he is made a Tätowierer (tattooist), and charged with inking identification numbers onto fellow prisoners’ arms.
One day, he met Gita (played by Anna Próchniak) which leads to a relationship which defies the horrors around them. So began a courageous and unforgettable story of love in the most horrendous of environments. Under constant guard from a volatile Nazi SS officer Baretzki (played by Jonas Nay), Lali and Gita became ever more determined to keep each other alive.
WEDS 8 MAY
APPLE TV+
Hailed as one of the best sci-fi novels of the decade, Dark Matter is a gripping story about the road not taken. The series will follow Jason Dessen (played by Joel Edgerton), a physicist, professor and family man. But one night, while walking home on the streets of Chicago, this unsuspecting chap is abducted into an alternate version of his life.
Wonder quickly turns to nightmare when he tries to return to his own reality, amid the mindbending landscape of lives he could have lived. In this labyrinth of timelines, he embarks on a harrowing journey to get back to his true family and save them from the most terrifying, unbeatable foe imaginable: himself.
SAT 8 MAY
BBC ONE/BBC IPLAYER
Here we go! New actor, new Doctor and a new attitude, but with some familiar names running thigs behind the scenes. Series 14 of this muchloved sci-fi drama promises slots of hi-jinks, running down corridors in formation and timeywimey stories which are probably a little too much for Saturday teatime.
We’re now getting a full season with Ncuti Gatwa as the titular time-traveller, as he gleefully waves his space-PHD in the face of all kinds of new alien danger. Accompanied by the mysterious Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), he’ll be bouncing between the Regency era, the 1960s and the furthest reaches of the universe, righting wrongs and generally interfering in other people’s evil schemes.
THURS 16 MAY
NETFLIX
The first part of season 3 is about to drop, and we’ll find Penelope’s attempts at finding a husband falter, as she decides to give up her crush on Colin. He’s returned from travelling with a new look and swagger. Eager to win back her friendship, Colin offers to mentor Penelope in the ways of confidence. But when lessons start working a little too well, he must grapple with whether his feelings for her are only friendly.
Complicating matters is a rift with Eloise, who has found a new friend in a very unlikely place. And it becomes increasingly difficult for Penelope to keep her scandal-sheet Lady Whistledown alterego a secret…
THURS 16 MAY
Created by Brian Watkins and starring Josh Brolin (Dune, Avengers: Endgame), Imogen Poots (Green Room, Roadies) and Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, American Crime), this inventive drama blends the great American Western with science fiction themes.
As we move into season 2, we discover the impact of rancher Royal’s admission about his other life, having travelled through a rift on the western pasture, transcending time from the 1800s to the vibrant 1960s. A conflict between Royal and Autumn, seemingly a drifter camped out on the family’s land, has ensued. Which leads to the realisation that she is actually his own granddaughter, Amy, who has come from the distant future.
DOCTOR WHO THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ
WEDS 22 MAY
APPLE TV+
It’s season 4 of this touching comedy-drama about a couple attempting to start a family of their own, and it’s all change for most of the cast. We’ve jumped forwards six years and discovered that Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) are now experienced adopters.
They’ve built a loving little nuclear family, which isn’t without a few challenges. Fortunately, everyone’s lives are enriched by the extraordinary support network around them. However, as their teenage daughter, Princess (Scarlett Rayner), starts to yearn for a connection with her birth mother, Nikki and Jason find themselves confronted with the ultimate test of their parenting skills.
THURS 23 MAY PARAMOUNT+
It’s a big return for Line of Duty star Vicky McClure, as she plays a woman pushed to her limits. An inability to sleep is ruining her life, and she’s tethering on the cusp of a breakdown. Alongside McClure is Tom Cullen (The Gold), Leanne Best (Compulsion, Bolan’s Shoes) and Corinna Marlowe (Hysteria), with everything directed by Börkur Sigthorsson (The Midwich Cuckoos, Baptiste).
Based on the bestseller Insomnia by Sarah Pinborough, we follow this otherwise successful career woman, everything started a few weeks before turning 40. Strangely, this also happened to her mother, who suffered a violent psychotic episode on the night of her birthday.
THURS 30 MAY
NETFLIX
Set in 1980s New York, we follow the desperate search of Vincent for his nine-year-old son. The youngster disappeared one morning on the way to school, and his father, creator of the hugely popular children’s television show, Good Day Sunshine, struggles to cope with the loss.
Distressed and volatile, Vincent becomes increasingly irrational. He clings to his son’s drawings of a blue monster puppet called Eric, convinced that if he can get it on TV then his child will return. As this destructive behaviour alienates his family, Vincent’s colleagues, and the detectives trying to help him, it’s Eric, a delusion of necessity, who becomes the only ally in the pursuit to bring home his son.
FRI 3 MAY
Jane Schoenbrun, director of the ambitious (and properly unsettling) We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, steps up again with another thought-provoking horror / thriller. It stars Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (Atypical), with Helena Howard (Shoplifters Of The World), Danielle Deadwyler (Station Eleven) and Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst - being partly executive produced by promising newcomer, Emma Stone.
Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show - a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
FRI 3 MAY
He’s a stuntman, gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights for our entertainment. Fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this Ryan Gosling must track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
From real life stunt man and director David Leitch (Bullet Train, Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) comes his most personal film yet. A hilarious, harddriving, all-star apex-action thriller and love letter to action movies and the hard-working and under-appreciated crew of people who make them.
FRI 10 MAY
Directed by two-time BAFTA and Emmy winning David Hinton, this documentary is the legendary Martin Scorsese’s moving look at two of British cinemas greatest filmmakers. That duo created some of the great classics of the British golden age including The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
Scorsese takes the audience on a very personal journey as we hear how, from a young age, he was captivated by their films, how they helped shape his own filmmaking. It’s brought to life with a treasure trove of rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger and Scorsese, and honours two of British filmmaking’s undisputed geniuses.
FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA
FRI 10 MAY
The battle between territorial units within a titular construct rages! Many years after the reign of the mighty Caesar, a young ape goes on a journey. It’s an experience which leads him to question everything he’s been taught about the past and make choices which will define a future for both apes and humans alike.
Director Wes Ball (The Maze Runner) breathes new life into this epic franchise, pushing it all several generations into the future. Apes are the dominant species and live harmoniously, while the remains of human civilisation have been banished to the shadows. But then a new tyrannical ape leader starts to build his empire.
FRI 17 MAY
Writer and director John Krasinski (The Office, Jack Ryan, A Quiet Place) shares the story of Bea - a girl who discovers she can see everyone’s imaginary friends, and what she does with that superpower. It stars Cailey Fleming (The Walking Dead, Loki), Ryan Reynolds, Krasinski, Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Harry Potter), Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr and Steve Carell, in a unique look at the incredible power of imagination.
Bea then discovers that her neighbour, Cal, has the same ability, so the pair embarks on a magical adventure - hoping to reconnect all the forgotten imaginary friends with the kids who once abandoned them.
FRI 24 MAY
There’s not a smart motorway in sight, as this massive sci-fi franchise gets another instalment. Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers, young Furiosa falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe. As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Last Night In Soho) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love And Thunder, Rush) star in this irrepressible epic from Academy Award-winning mastermind George Miller – a much-anticipated return to the iconic dystopian world he created more than 40 years ago.
FRI 31 MAY
Daisy Ridley (Star Wars, Murder On The Orient Express), Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai, Burn), Stephen Graham, Kim Bodnia (The Bridge, Pusher) and Christopher Eccleston gather to recount the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle - the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and written by Jeff Nathanson, this is based upon a bestselling book by Glenn Stout. Born to immigrant parents in New York City in 1905, Ederle battled adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society, eventually rising through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team overcoming the 21-mile trek across Europe’s most famous water way.
