The New Venture Theatre in Bedford Street - visit www.newventure.org.uk offers theatrical productions with a difference. The set of short "readings" on a Dark theme were brilliant last year, and in February on Love's Labour's Lost were good too.
The Brighton Little Theatre in Clarence Gardens. Talking Heads in November was excellent, so was Time and Conways in April.
The Brighton Early Music Festival, Bremf comes around in October/November and often in March. Bremf performances are friendly, lively and accessible, and best of all they are often without printed music getting in the way.
The main Brighton Festival of art, music, dance, theatre and outside events lasts four weeks each May and the Brighton Fringe events occur mainly in May and then throughout the year.
The Artists' Open Houses AOH is part of the Brighton Festival in May and also runs weekends in December. There was a time when you could see Charles Wordingham's photographs but although many people admired them, very few were sold, if any, and then the venue stopped exhibiting,
The National Theatre (the National) is on the South Bank (of the River Thames) so afternoon matinees are best, perhaps taking a walk by the river as well. And now they've introduced NT Live broadcasts at cinemas around the world, such as my next venue ...
Brighton's iconic Duke of York's Picturehouse screens NT Live and Live from the Met - that's the Metropolitan Opera in New York - and live screenings from the Royal Opera House. I like opera too and was thrilled by their Götterdämmerung. Their season of short British animations are excellent.
The Komedia take part in Brighton Festival and sometimes has folk events.
The Chichester Festival Theatre, easy to reach by train for a matinee performance. C S Lewis's play The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Christmas 2011, adapted by Adrian Mitchell and performed by the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre (CYFT) was brilliant. Thanks to Katie and Rob for recommending it.
I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of the White Witch, who made Narnia "always winter but never Christmas". (I previously enjoyed (at various places) the Snow Queen and the Queen of the Night. I wonder why these anti-heroines attract me.)
I went to Shakespeare's Globe the first time to see Wassail - the theatre created such a wonderful, old-time atmosphere and then again The Globe Mysteries, in the spirit of mediaeval street theatre.
Every November 5th there's Bonfire in Lewes, with four Bonfire Societies including the notorious Cliffe. Lots of video at href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc1lwKfSQ1g&feature=related">YouTube.
Janet Elizabeth January 2024