COMEDY: CHRIS ADDISON Komedia Sat 6th
In a crueller parallel universe, Chris Addison never made his name as a geeky spin doctor in The Thick of It, and is still presenting dire late-night clip shows in between playing miniscule comedy clubs. As it is, his satirical breakthrough has seen the middle class bastion of zipwire energy, unstinting self-deprecation and anti Daily Mail diatribes snap up endless successful radio and TV shows. He’s even having to do an earlier show for this one after the initial gig sold out. (BM)

THEATRE: BANE II Upstairs at Three and Ten Sat 6th
Twisting film noir and pulp fiction with smoke and mirrors physicality and characters morphing at breakneck pace, Joe Bone’s original portrayal of Bruce Bane – a hired hand scaling the murky streets in fearless pursuit of an evil implicitly lurking around every corner – was one of the highlights of the Fringe last year. Returning with more mystifyingly summoned sound effects (there’s a brilliant accompanying guitarist in there somewhere), the gravel-voiced avenger’s updated escapades are a cause you can believe in. (BM)

THEATRE: HUIS CLOS Upstairs at Three and Ten Tues 9th – Thurs 11th
Catch a few board-treading local prodigies as Brighton Young Actors have a crack at Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential tale from hell, where a group of hapless souls are left to poke and prod over each other’s worst desires in a collective dark night of the soul. It’s sure to resonate with anyone who’s made the sorry traipse out for a swift soothing Guinness after an all-nighter at the Volks. Hell is other people, as the most famous quotation from this one suggests. (BM)

THEATRE: THE SEAGULL The Little Tues 9th – Sat 13th
A full-blooded barnstormer for The Little this month in the form of Anton Chekhov’s late 19th century classic featuring a quartet of thespian Russians sparring with their own fragile egos in a cry for help running on sex, showbiz, hope and despair. Strictly speaking it’s got enough pathos to qualify as a kind of tragicomedy, but the depth of character given to each individual makes it much more affecting than that would suggest. A powerful bit of drama worth watching. (BM)

PERFORMANCE: THIS IS NOW The Basement Thurs 11th
Experienced dancers Tom Roden and Pete Shenton combine some niftily hilarious dance moves with great big slabs of nostalgia based around the original Now That’s What I Call Music! album from 1983, which Roden illegally recorded onto cassette from vinyl. Their choice of genre meshing means they draw plenty of odd comparisons, usually involving Morecambe and Wise and Rambert Dance Company. In truth they’re original, random and liable to make you piss yourself. Especially if you’ve got a soft spot for Heaven 17. (BM)

EXHIBITION: RENEGADE POTTERS AND EXTREME CRAFT Ink_D, from Fri 12th
Still a bit of a mystery at the time of writing, the name of this show begs further investigation, especially in the hands of Ink_d. We know Carrie Reichardt, a potter who fires anarchic messages onto vintage plates, is involved, as are War Boutique, a protest group who subvert military uniforms and bulletproof vests, and Jimmy South, a glass wizard who carves luminous grenades among other attempts to “make very ugly objects beautiful”. We’ll get our placards and Dr Martens out. (BM)

COMEDY: DAVE GORMAN Theatre Royal Sun 14th
Dave Gorman’s journey on a pushbike between 32 nationwide gigs takes on a comedic rags-to-riches twist in light of the ticket prices for this one. From the doppelganger-hunting TV show to the gasless road trip around America and the publicity picture of the man himself in a charity shop cardigan, he’s clearly moved into the realms of safe appeal – the fact he’ll probably pack out the Royal attests to the ubiquity of his fuzzy, gentle approach, although he’s capable of more acerbic things. (BM)

THEATRE: ONE MAN LORD OF THE RINGS Theatre Royal Weds 24th
Following his successful outing with the One Man Star Wars Trilogy, Charles Ross is back with a singular take on Tolkien, the three films reduced to a one-hour performance. No costumes, no props, just a pair of elbow pads and the wit and imagination to sift through the hours and hours and hours of arse-achingly dull cinema to arrive at its essential narrative crux, all delivered at breakneck speed. Can we request a 10-minute Schindler’s List next? (NC)

COMEDY: RICHARD HERRING: HITLER MOUSTACHE Komedia Weds 24th
Sporting new facial hair, the star of The Headmaster’s Son and 90’s double act Lee and Herring, aims to tackle racism head on with comical flare and intelligent wit. Having been acquainted with his bushy upper lip for sometime he sets out to test his audience, creating moral dilemmas by asking is the moustache offensive or are we ridiculous to think so? With in-depth research and touching on iconography, Herring delivers a laughable and topical debate. (EB)

TALK: MARK KERMODE Duke Of York’s Mon 29th
Born Bad pin-up Mark Kermode’s hillbilly haircut could be about to get primetime exposure if his rumoured succession of Jonathan Ross on the Beeb’s Film 20- materialises, although he’s uncharacteristically cagey about his chances. In the meantime, the unstoppably loquacious Observer and Culture Show cinema critic has got his own book to publicise, which should be worth a read simply for the full account of the infamous interview during which legendary German director Werner Herzog was hit by a bullet. (BM)

Emma Bertrand, Nick Coquet, Ben Miller