THEATRE: A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED
Little Theatre Mon 1st – Sat 6th
An Agatha Christie classic as the Little re-opens for 2010, featuring a bunch of villagers who take the foolish step of responding to a murder advertised in their local rag by turning up to watch it happen. Their intrigue is rewarded by the lights being turned out and three of them taking a bullet, but luckily the ever-perplexed Miss Marple is on hand to unmask their dastardly assassin. Via a craftily concocted and confusingly contrived trail of clues, obviously. (BM)

FILM: PONTYPOOL
Duke Of York’s Fri 5th
Like Portslade in the snow (but with more zombies and bodily fluids), Bruce McDonald’s Pontypool brings blood-curdling apocalypse to sleepy suburbia, whose only hope turns out to be a suitably horrified shock-jock radio DJ. So far so standard, but the real reason this one summoned the superlatives last year was its slow burn of suspense through a spooked-out script and suspense ramped through subtlety rather than schtick, heading back to the 70s ethos which first chilled viewers’ veins. (BM)

TALK: UNDER THE SKIN OF THE HORROR GENRE
Lighthouse Tues 16th
Anyone who makes films with names like House of Mortal Sin, House of Whipcord and Satan’s Slave deserves credit, although it took David McGillivray’s series of 70s horror flicks several years to achieve cult success. He wound up writing for the equally scary Julian Clary, so he’s perfectly placed to discuss the evolution and current resurgence of the gore genre with critic and journalist Alan Jones, author of The Rough Guide To Horror Movies and curator of the UK’s FrightFest. (BM)

EVENT: BRIGHTON ZINEFEST
Thurs 18th – Sun 21st
After packing out the Westhill Hall at its inaugural fayre last year, Brighton Zinefest moves up to the Hanover Community Centre on February 20th for an afternoon of workshops, chat and cake. Bookended by social evenings at Coachwerks and the Cowley Club, the festival unites DIY musicians, artists and political activists in a busy weekend of zine swapping and networking. If you’ve ever felt the urge to turn your life’s learning into an eight page A6 comic book, here’s your chance. (SH)

COMEDY: THE TREASON SHOW
Pavilion Theatre Fri 19th & Sat 20th
In the same way most sketch revue teams deserve to have their tongues vigorously massaged with sandpaper before being hung upside down in front of a looping Jim Davidson gig as eternal penance, the Treason team fully warrant their growing acclaim. Meeting the serrated savagery of Have I Got News For You with saucy acting, frequent nudity and gleeful musical interludes, the floorboard terrorists who write this stuff could give The Thick Of It a run for their money. (BM)

EXHIBITION: A JOURNEY THROUGH U
Phoenix, from Sat 20th
A wholesome, hopeful first show of the year at the Phoenix as they invite Same Sky – a regional arts group who unite a whole load of musicians, storytellers, artists and “peddlers of the metaphysic” with the public – to fill the gallery with works by kids exploring the inside of the human body. It looks kaleidoscopically pretty and uplifting, and is accompanied by a programme of free Saturday workshops for visitors. (BM)

EVENT: WEAVING THE RAINBOW
Sallis Benney Wed 24th
Brighton Science Festival is a brilliant exorcism of all those bored hours in classrooms trying to ignore old physics dweebs or getting chucked out for going too far with the rubber/Bunsen burner test, and it’s back with another bulging programme this month. This one-off show is a commentated cosmic glance into the universe, heading into the sky for some of the most mesmerising photos produced by the Hubble as it celebrates 20 years of intergalactic scouring. (BM)

EVENT: BIG SCIENCE SATURDAY
Sallis Benney Sat 27th
The centrepiece of the aforementioned whizzbang fest, with a stupendous amount of stuff (all for adults) entertaining the Sallis Benney. Take your pick from explosive stageshows and the truth about anti-depressants to the inside track on spotting suspect body language by dodgy car salesmen and explanations of why music is indispensible to humanity. There’s also grub, puzzles to edge you nearer the brink of insanity and talks by guests including Guardian writer Polly Toynbee and comedian Ben Miller. (BM)

FILM: THE SHINING 30th ANNIVERSARY
Duke Of Yorks Sun 28th
This birthday screening is presented by the good people at SPACE, the monthly Brighton arts gathering, and not only features a rare big screen outing of the movie in all its scary glory, but you get plenty more bang for your buck in the shape of its Executive Producer and Art Director being interviewed by SPACE’s Lisa Holloway. An unmissable movie buff night out. (NC)

COMEDY: RED BRICK COMEDY CLUB
Upstairs At Three And Ten Sat 27th
Andrew Lawrence is a comedian prone to changing his accent and persona with the frequency of a schizophrenic refugee, but it’s unlikely this embittered nihilist – an if.Comedy award winner already, despite being a relative newcomer – will swerve from his trusty dose of gags so vicious they’ll make your ears feel like they’re being slashed with snapped credit cards. Headlining here, his relentlessly bleak patter and fearless refusal to deign any subject matter off limit is justified by his underlying brilliance. (NC)

Words by Nick Coquet, Stuart Huggett and Ben Miller