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Mike Aiken

Mike lives in Brighton. This is a full time occupation. He's also a researcher, writer and activist. Any time left over he spends hanging around cafes and pubs listening to people on their phones. He loves theatre that pokes into difficult places. You won't find him on Facebook.

A complex, exuberant and risqué exploration of love, seduction and misogyny at the New Venture Theatre. Challenging drama.

Feb 22, 2024

Jump into Thomas Ingoldsby's legends: a wild, accessible, crazy performance based on the 19th century collection of ghost stories and myths.

Feb 6, 2024

Glad to be gay but watch out for love triangles that betray. Kevin Elyot explores the 1980s London scene.

Feb 2, 2024

Arthur Pita's sensational adaptation of a classic Hans Christian Anderson tale with superb lighting, costume and music.

Dec 28, 2023

Bertolt Brecht's classic play, produced by Brighton's Lantern Theatre, hits on contemporary themes of war, invasion and displaced peoples.

Dec 22, 2023

The latest performance by the much-acclaimed Gecko Theatre is contemporary, grounded, political and urgent. Kin is physical theatre at its peak.

Nov 3, 2023

A masquerade of crossdressing and mistaken identity. Not Brighton Pride, but the Bard alfresco.

Sep 8, 2023
Ethan Taylor in costume

A spotlight on Ethan Taylor who has been involved in the Brighton theatre scene for eight years as a writer, performer and director.

Sep 7, 2023

Brighton People's Theatre serves up top performances, stories and food.

Sep 4, 2023

Gogol's classic drama about opportunism, scandal and human frailty. A hilarious relevant tale for modern bureaucracy.

Jul 19, 2023

Alan Ayckbourn's classic play brings a host of imaginary characters to life at Southwick Barn.

Jun 12, 2023

'Puddle' is more than a performance. Ensonglopedia's latest show for Brighton Fringe combines drama, soundscapes and a mini-workshop on climate change.

Jun 6, 2023

A fantastic dramatic spectacle from Brighton Festival. An epic performance with contemporary messages on poverty, climate change and human rights.

May 19, 2023

Stand-up comedy with a serious face: racism and violence: chatty, cheeky and conversational.

May 10, 2023

Our picks of plays to see at Brighton Fringe – tackling class, gender, homelessness, music and football.

May 2, 2023

From King Arthur to David Bowie, Jon Mason's storytelling weaves together ancient myths and local history to prove that folklore never died.

Apr 21, 2023

Money lending and overseas trading by Shakespeare. The director takes on justice and discrimination. A contentious story for our times.

Mar 17, 2023

Not Talking - a taut drama by Mike Bartlett about what we don't talk about. Sexual abuse, miscarriage, illegitimate love child, shame.

Feb 27, 2023

Royal families in distress. Three tribes jostling for power. Dodgy deals with potions. Sleeping Beauty at Southwick Barn gave us panto with style.

Jan 7, 2023

Charles Dickens' classic story 'A Christmas Carol' came to The Barn Theatre with an edgy political interpretation highlighting poverty and injustice.

Dec 21, 2022

Two tribes in a culture clash between Hollywood and rural Ireland in Marie Jones's sell-out play at Brighton Little Theatre.

Oct 31, 2022
Shoddysey

A comedic version of the Odyssey, with absurd physical and farcical theatre suitable for adults and kids. Greek mythology in an open-air theatre.

Sep 26, 2022

A crazy mad hurtle through 37 Shakespearen plays with rap, drag and audience participation.

Sep 21, 2022

Performance theatre by local artist exploring sensitive adult themes of asexuality, intimacy and misogyny. October 6-8th.

Sep 19, 2022

Cut down version of Shakespeare's comedy of misrecognition, disguise and farce. Three performers with manic hat changes and cool banjo.

May 26, 2022

Activists protesting against fossil fuels occupy an oil rig in this exciting collaboration between Unmasked Theatre and artists' collective Rising Tides.

May 18, 2022

Highly rated Fintan Shevlin is back with 'To Be Men': taut physical theatre, original sounds and high tension in Tyrone. Brighton-based writer and performer.

May 11, 2022

A cut down up-to-date Macbeth by Brighton's Suitcase Theatre performed by three women with guitar sounds. Exquisite contemporary drama, cosy venue.

May 9, 2022
Brighton Spiegeltent

This year's Brighton Fringe is teeming with local talent. Highlights include an ode to Woodstock, a radical history tour and the tale of a Brighton prostitute.

May 8, 2022
Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore

A play of sex, seduction and survival in Brighton's 19th century underworld. A great piece of writing and storytelling, back for Brighton Fringe.

May 6, 2022
12th night

Twelfth Night at Brighton's Curzon Theatre is set during WW1, but this comedy of fluid identities is curiously modern. More than a comedy. See it twice.

Apr 12, 2022
Reach For The Lasers

This original one-man show lifts the lid on the drum'n'bass club scene and delves into the psyche of a man who doesn't know when the party is over.

Apr 6, 2022

Storytelling by Brighton-based solo performer, Jon Mason. This brings together myths and tales of war, invasion and love. Wildly ambitious and exuberant.

Apr 4, 2022
The Haunting of Hill House

Horror, whodunnit or psychological thriller? Check out The Haunting of Hill House – based on Shirley Jackson's gothic horror thriller.

Nov 6, 2021

A stormy night in a mansion during the communist witch hunts. This whodunnit is full of tomfoolery and real drama. McCarthy wouldn't like it.

Oct 12, 2021
Secret Garden by This is My Theatre

Magic outdoors drama by This Is My Theatre. Classic story for children and adults. Cajon, folkish chants, neat props. Touring the south over the summer.

Aug 31, 2021

Titania McGrath does stand-up with attitude. It's silly and seriously funny satire. Wake up to woke in the 21st century.

Aug 19, 2021
The Seagull, Curzon Theatre Productions

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov at new Brighton theatre venue: Curzon Theatre in Kemptown. Robert Tremayn directs. Lively, serious and intimate.

Aug 13, 2021
Twelfth Night (In Lockdown) | Brighton Fringe

One woman playing every role in William Shakespeare's silly but serious gender-bending play: 12 characters, 60 minutes and 7,500 words!

Jul 8, 2021

One-woman stand-up comedy at Brighton Fringe. Seriously funny. Trauma and frivolity. Blokes should not wear socks with sandals.

Jul 5, 2021
The Tempest | Brighton Fringe

Themes of racism, gender and disability are explored in Shakespeare's Tempest, performed by Sussex-based This is My Theatre at Preston Old Church.

Jul 1, 2021

Rebel Boob brings immersive and balletic theatre to Brighton Fringe in a show that explores the lives of women affected by breast cancer.

Jun 30, 2021

'You' is excellent physical theatre. Five stars. See it twice! If you don’t get a lump in your throat, or a tear in your eye at the end, you should stick with PlayStation.

Jun 23, 2021
The Sensemaker Elsa Couvreur

One-woman, one-act drama from Elsa Courvreur. Digital totalitarianism in any language. A black stage. Edgy taut theatre at the Rialto. Adult content.

Jun 14, 2021
Hansel and Gretel? | Brighton Source

A postmodern pantomime with an unrelaible narrator. Outdoors with comedy, dance, camp actors, plenty of fun. On two levels: laughs for kids and jokes for adults

Dec 18, 2020

Macbeth in Brighton. One-act play with Scottish Gaelic sounds by This Is My Theatre. Power, ambition, murder, blood. The woods are moving.

Nov 2, 2020

This one-person, one-act play is giddy, funny and seriously entertaining. An odyssey through the madness of corporate pressure on our mental health.

Oct 19, 2020
Caravan of Love

This Brighton Fringe psychodrama about caravanning in Ireland is first-class physical theatre that follows in the tradition of Pinter, Beckett and Berkoff.

Oct 9, 2020

The Spirit of Woodstock comes to Brighton and Hove in a one-person show that gives verbatim accounts of the music, politics and life of the 60s.

Sep 24, 2020

BOAT reopens with music, theatre and picnics. How did they survive lockdown and what events are on?

Aug 10, 2020

Local groups have been stepping up during the lockdown to help the more vulnerable in Brighton.

Apr 4, 2020

Witch Hunt's political satire and bawdy slapstick weaves together a hilarious but jolting feminist fairytale as part of The Old Market's Reigning Women season.

Mar 15, 2020

The Reigning Women season launches at The Old Market with a focus on female talent in comedy, music, film and immersive theatre.

Feb 17, 2020

Human cloning. Gail Louw's adaption of David Daniel's book. Theatre that explores complex social, moral and scientific issues. Writing and acting of distinction.

Nov 5, 2019

A brand new festival of theatre brings over a dozen one-person shows to Lewes mixing comedy and social drama with historical themes and local tales.

Oct 8, 2019

Brighton's Two Piers celebrated 40 years of co-operative living at a party with speakers including Caroline Lucas, Helen Russell and Alexandra Phillips.

Sep 29, 2019

Hollingdean Skatepark is reimagined as a battleground for gang rivalry in a brilliant youth version Shakespeare's tragedy.

Aug 2, 2019

Brighton's rising rents are just one reason why many are looking to live a little differently. We went on a tour of local housing co-operatives to see how they work.

Jul 15, 2019

This one-person play draws from verbatim interviews with a Stonewall survivor, London drag artist and AIDs activist. It's subversive, accessible and not PC.

Jun 30, 2019

What do you do when the director backs out at the last minute? Four actors deconstruct theatre in this subversively funny Brighton Fringe show.

May 27, 2019

Two women meet with a mission. Site-specific, outdoor, physical theatre in a tent. Produced by Dogma Theatre Company for Brighton Fringe. Tension and laughs.

May 22, 2019

Brighton Fringe brings the Russian classic Tolstoy novella and sets it in contemporary England - putting angst, authenticity and avoidance under the spotlight.

May 20, 2019
The Father by Florian Zeller,

Feeling forgetful? Are they stealing your watch? A play about memory and personality. Dementia enacted with humour and sensitivity.

Mar 19, 2019

Glasgow's FK Alexander scrapes and stamps on stage, with unnerving percussion. It's performance art exploring love and lovelessness in recovery.

Mar 15, 2019

Two women in an adapted tale of a Sussex folktale from the 19th century. A tale of wisdom, Wicca and persecution. Top class theatre.

Nov 3, 2018

Theatre as comedy, or comedy as therapy? La La's comedic show about group therapy hit most of the right beats at Rialto Theatre.

Nov 2, 2018

What if placebos really work? Seven dancers backed by sounds from viola to electronica. Artists collaborate with scientists in a sinister dance experiment.

Nov 1, 2018

A professional woman, happily married, wonderful children. It all goes wrong amid plenty of laughs. No-one is happy now. Great theatre.

Oct 31, 2018
Sarah Slator This Is My Theatre

Open air theatre in Brighton with Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Accessible. Tight acting. Mythic set. Scottish Gaelic music. Beautifully enacted.

Jul 8, 2018

Theatre, storytelling, historical reconstruction and political education about Romany people's history and the racism Gypsies and Travellers face today.

Jul 6, 2018

Ingenious contemporary play by Abi Morgan, at New Venture Theatre. Two young lovers look at their past and present. Delicate, intimate and emotional.

Jun 20, 2018
My Father Held a Gun co

High-class storytelling. Massively compelling. Peace and justice and falling in love. Multiple stories. Live guitar and sax.

May 24, 2018
Windmill Young Actors

Lenin and revolution today. Agitprop and personal testimony from young people about change. Audience participation. Drama between Brecht and Boal.

May 17, 2018

The Profumo affair as Shakespearean romantic tragedy. This crafty reworking has it all: politics, love, sex and song. Plus a Conservative government on the rocks.

May 15, 2018

We caught the rehearsals of a seriously funny play about depression, co-written by a junior doctor. Coming to The Warren this weekend.

Apr 12, 2018

This is Kafka's Metamorphosis from the women's perspective. Classic writing, exquisite acting and a spellbound audience. It's great theatre.

Apr 8, 2018

A showcase of short drama from Andrew Allen at Cast Iron Theatre. Comedy and tragedy. Pinteresque. Made in Brighton.

Mar 28, 2018

A one-woman show drawing on Jewish British humour. It's comedy, stand up, and voracious storytelling.

Mar 9, 2018
I'd be lost without it The Old Market 02 2018

Our digital lives explored through immersive theatre, via fake news and invented personalities. Wet Picnic brought tough questions about digital mass hysteria to The Old Market.

Feb 28, 2018
Dracula The Bloody Truth

'Dracula The Bloody Truth' is horrific theatre. A Transylvanian spoof that mixes farce and slapstick into Dracula's tale. Faultless bad acting for comic perfection.

Oct 30, 2017

Black Queer movement. $elfie$ confronts our taste for violence and extreme desire through dance, choreography and drama.

Oct 25, 2017

Friends of the Greys make a bid to save the famous Brighton pub. Community Shares Buy-Out plan launched for The Greys.

Oct 21, 2017

The Other Realm Theatre Company brings horror at Halloween. Classy horror. Lovecraft's 'Pickman's Model' adapted by Adrian Jameson.

Oct 20, 2017

Brighton Horrorfest brings you spooky tales and storytelling for adults and kids, walking tours, workshops, puppets and interactive immersive theatre.

Sep 17, 2017

Women in war. Women in resistance. A people facing destruction. Post-nuclear. Greek tragedy in the 21st century.

Aug 11, 2017

Brighton-based author writes post-apocalyptic tale. Magic masks and torchlight. Dream-like journey through the twilight of industrial Britain. Horse-drawn theatre on tour.

May 16, 2017

Theatre in your own front room. A man with a can. Becoming a star. Graffiti and the meaning of life.

May 9, 2017

Multi-media theatre, art-film, modern dance, audience questions. Indelible selfies. The right to be forgotten. Gritty and beautiful. Take your phone.

May 9, 2017
Medea Electronica | Brighton Source

Electronica meets Greek tragedy in a northern town. Gig and drama mash-up by local group. Woman leads on revenge, betrayal and taboo. Original soundtrack.

Mar 28, 2017

Physical, operatic, tragic theatre. Queer eye candy. A story of the pain, vulnerability and power of a self-deconstructing Sissy.

Mar 27, 2017
Stand Up For Our NHS | Brighton Source

A host of great local performers line up behind the campaign to save the NHS including Jo Neary, Attila the Stockbroker, Robb Johnson and Mark Brailsford from The Treason Show.

Jan 10, 2017

Staying clean. Women with a passion for jokes. Theatre that's serious and surreal. Magical realism mixing joy with death.

Dec 6, 2016
88 London Road | Brighton Source

Brighton theatre 88 London Road – formerly The Emporium – is due to close in early 2017. Artistic Director, James Weisz, tells us what comes next.

Nov 30, 2016
Brief Hiatus | Brighton Source

We spoke to one of the directors of Brighton's newest theatre company to hear about their plans to give the city a shot of affordable and subversive drama.

Sep 20, 2016
Kirsty Elmer | Brighton Source

We chatted to the director of 'Love And Information' - a funny and poignant play about relationships and technology showing this week at Brighton's New Venture Theatre.

Jul 15, 2016
Something Street | Brighton Source

A crazy narrator takes you on decade-hopping trip through the lives of terrace residents in this new immersive theatre show on Brighton beach.

Jun 27, 2016
Living Between Lies | Brighton Source

Four women and four different worlds, all bound together by lies. This dazzling one act play is seriously funny.

Jun 13, 2016
Blackbird | Brighton Source

David Harrower’s acclaimed play comes to Brighton - edgy theatre about punishment and remorse, challenge and taboo.

Apr 21, 2016
East | Brighton Source

Stephen Berkoff’s play ‘East’ hits Brighton. It’s physical theatre in your face. Shakespeare meets the C-word. Raw class.

Apr 20, 2016
Mike Aiken - Contributor at Brighton Source