We asked our friends at Brighton Fringe for their recommendations, giving us their insight into the breadth of shows and tours on offer (over 670!) to help us plan our diaries this festival season. Here's their favourites so far -
Returning to Brighton Fringe after a two time sold-out three-nights run in 2022/2023, award-winning performer Paul Diello and his 8-piece ensemble are back with an all-new version of The Great 80s & 90s One Hit Wonder Songbook. Diello will take you on a camp and colourful cruise through the decadent 80s & dance fuelled 90s that will have you dancing, crying, laughing out loud and saying "oh god, I haven't heard that song in years!"
Bursary winning Kate Darach explores and explodes these and other identities in her search for a hat that fits, or a box to call home. Theatre-maker, poet, NHS employee - Brit-ish / immigrant, queer and a parent, able-bodied yet wrongheaded, with a brain variously broken, brilliant, and bonkers, Darach asks us what labels we apply to ourselves as we try to define who we are, and how we see past them to the things that connect us.
Award-winning musical comedian and professional overthinker Selena Mersey is in a long-term relationship for the first time in her life. Unfortunately, she’s also been reading about Freud. Can Selena’s straight-passing relationship survive the weight of anxiety, progressive politics, and an incredibly impactful psychology A Level?
A short queer history walking tour (90 mins approximately once we start off) of central Brighton locations featuring a small selection of our past local heroes, villains, interesting people, buildings, places and events. From the bookshop destroyed by Britain's obscenity laws, to a queer fascist, to a groundbreaking photographic artist, to anti-discrimination protests that contributed to cultural and legal changes, and more. Ticket fees received will be donated to local LGBTQ+ organisations.
Come and experience the beauty of light and nature, as part of St Peter’s Church 200-year celebrations. Life by Luxmuralis is a spectacular light show that fills the church space with a radiant light display, taking a journey through earth, sea and sky, accompanied by atmospheric soundscapes.
Back by huge popular demand, the Culture ConneX Festival Season once again welcomes a UK edition of PACE (Pan-African Creative Exchange). This year their very special guest is award-winning actor, director and activist Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE, whose career includes performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Josette headlines a vibrant series of performances, exhibitions, screenings and the new BLACADEMIA events, which run in parallel with an immersive career development programme offering advice surgeries, ‘speed dating’ with industry professionals and networking opportunities for creatives. The main hub for the workshops and performances will be the state of the art Ironworks Studios, while the visual art, photography and pop up events will be hosted at different sites across the city including BN1 Arts, Plus X Innovation and Jubilee Library.
Learning disabled, autistic and neurodivergent artists from the Figment Arts Studio will work with museums along the south coast to explore the rich and varied folklore of the area, making artwork in response to the stories and running creative workshops for people to learn about the colourful heritage of their local area.
Five women find themselves at a BootCamp for flawed women where they question what it takes to conform to the increasingly impossible expectations of toxic and misogynistic men. A whirlwind of emotions, funny self-deprecating humour combined with the steps we follow to walk ourselves home, a passionate love ballad to our lord and saviour Andrew Tate, and asking the audience if anything is EVER going to change. No one listens to women who talk too much, so we sing instead - music, comedy and mood swings galore.
Step back in time to explore a unique part of Brighton's wartime history with one of our air raid shelter tours. During the war, every school would have had its own air raid shelter, now one of the only surviving examples in the UK is under the playground at Downs Junior School.There is lots to do and see during your visit to Take Shelter: Tour the shelter with one of our knowledgeable guides (ticketed), play one of our vintage fair games, browse our World War II museum, chat with our veterans about their wartime experiences, soak up the vintage sounds and learn wartime dances on our dancefloor, or enjoy a cup of tea and bite to eat from Mrs Button's Tea Room and take home a souvenir from the Take Shelter shop.
A critically acclaimed fringe favourite in 2023 , 'Do the Thing' are back with their unique concept in improvised comedy musicals. For each show, a number between one and ten is chosen at random via the audience, and that will be how many full, full-on musicals are made up on the spot that night by an orchestra of one (Ian Scott) and a cast of two (Stellar Firma & Yes Anderson's Tim Meredith and Simon Plotkin).Could it be a single involved story, a high-octane run of ten or something in the middle? No matter what, expect Do the Thing's trademark catchy tunes and ludicrous characters. They are chaotic but polished, always on the verge of breaking down but come together in the end, consistently daft but sometimes intelligent.
There is SO MUCH to choose from, we hope these recommendations help you pick shows and tours this May.
Keep an eye on our newsletter for more festival tips and recommendations each week, and we shall see you at the Fringe!
Team CB
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