FILM: MODERN LIFE
Duke of York’s Fri 1st – Thurs 7th
The scourge of reality television might have taken the edge off seeing real people living their real lives in documentary form, but now and then a real gem comes to the screen. The result of a decade’s worth of filming rural French farm communities, the film is a delicate and charming piece examining the uncomplicated lives of the soil toilers in the face of a rapidly emerging technological farming age. Proving defiantly that small-scale agriculture is far from over; this is a heart-warming film about the triumph of the little man in the face of progress. (NC)

COMEDY: ISY SUTTIE – THE SUTTIE SHOW
St Andrew’s Church Sun 3th
Yes, it’s the one from Peep Show who used cheese as a seductive tool with sticky storeroom consequences for poor old Mark. And also a chance to see Suttie’s acerbic wit and surprisingly half-decent musical talents, the quality of which could just about supersede her stint with Channel 4’s self-conscious finest. (BM)

EXHIBITION: BRAG
Hotel Pelirocco Thurs 7th – Sun June 7th
When we get onto art-chat here at SOURCE HQ, the consensus tends to be that a hand-screened, limited edition poster, reminding us of those all-too-rare live music experiences is a thing of substance and beauty. Lucky for us then, Brighton has BRAG – the Brighton Rock Artists Group. They’ve done posters for Gallows, Devo, Queens of the Stone Age, Seasick Steve and tons of others, most of which will be on display and for sale at their show at the Pelirocco. We already have an unmade bed, so our art collection will be blossoming this month. (MB)

THEATRE: JANICE
St Andrew’s Church, Mon 11th & Sat 16th
Almost 40 years before Doherty et al were at it, Janis Joplin was making their hedonistic forays look like going to bed without brushing your teeth. Nicola Haydn can’t half act, so it’s a bit of a treat to see her return to the stage for a powerful re-enactment of the 1960s singer’s turbulent life. (BM)

TALK: ANISH KAPOOR & MARCUS DU SAUTOY
Corn Exchange, Wed 13th
Plenty have questioned the relevance of Anish Kapoor’s appointment as the first Artistic Director of the Brighton Festival, countered by organisers who see the former Turner Prize winner as a celebrity figurehead for their programme. The Indian sculptor admits his installations don’t have any specific message or meaning, and his oddly skewed design for the Festival brochure hasn’t endeared him to the sceptics. For his actual works, he’s made a site-specific molten dismemberment called Blood Stick in The Old Municipal Market, a monochrome massage machine in The Basement, boxes of fake blood in Fabrica and a spherical mirror in the Pavilion Gardens which literally makes the sky look like it’s fallen down. It’s all undoubtedly more satisfying to stare at than analyse, and Kapoor probably won’t be offering many more answers in this discussion of art and science with Oxford University top dog du Sautoy. (BM)

EXHIBITION:THE BEAUTIFUL & THE CANNED
Brighton Youth Centre Sat 16 & Sun 17th
It’s been a battle at times, but over the years Brighton has gradually grown into a place where you can stumble across genuinely beautiful street art instead of neds getting nicked for fizzing their names on lampposts. Find out how some of the city’s best daub the drab in style. (BM)

DANCE: SERENDIPITY
The Brunswick Sun 17th – Wed 20th
The dance section of this year’s Fringe, as ever, seems certain to do exactly what it says on the tin. Le Navet Bete are a bit different, chucking each other about in between twisting, gurning and playing out improbably whirlwind plots with a panache that proved a hit at Edinburgh last year. (BM)

COMEDY: SMARTY PANTS DOUBLE BILL
Sanctuary Café Fri 1, Mon 18th – Wed 20th & Tues 26th
Their Open Wide show sold out at the Fringe last year, so dynamic duo Andy Thomas and Rob Maloney are back with Carry On Drinking, featuring The Elephant Man and Jack the Ripper. Quickfire sketch show Shop Til You Drop follows up the mirth with endless double entendres and general rudeness. (BM)

EVENT: THE CRITICAL INCIDENT
Phoenix Gallery Wed 20th
One of Brighton’s best-kept secrets, Critical Incident returns for a fourth year with dozens more events best approached after a couple of stiff whiskies. Weaving experiments, clowning and bearded ladies are among an eight-hour programme, which, even if it doesn’t succeed in changing your life, should definitely make you snigger. (BM)

THEATE: TERRY ARKWRIGHT – AN EVENING WITH A MASKED AVENGER
The Nightingale Theatre Thurs 21st
Les Hull is either a great actor or a goggle-eyed loon spewing volleys of deranged rants across perplexed auditoriums. Still fighting the good fight against the demons in his mind and on the streets of Sussex, the middle-aged caped crusader dons his half-hearted costume for another ridiculous venture unto the breach. (BM)

COMEDY: PHIL & PHIL’S THE PERFECT TEN
Duke of York’s, Sat 23rd
Much of the hype around this debut live show for Phill Jupitus and Phil Wilding’s half-hour ponder of ten audience-suggested topics of discussion has revolved around their position as one of the previous, supposedly better old 6Music line-up fixtures. Judge for yourself as the pair bluster through two rounds of their idea. (BM)

COMEDY: MODERN TOSS
The Old Market Friday 29th & Sun 31st
It would be nice to think that the all-singing, all-swearing sketch heroes behind Modern Toss were chucked out of their original St Andrew’s Church venue by regulars horrified at the prospect of this “Edwardian chamber filth.” Get in quick if you want to catch it – most of the tickets have already gone. (BM)

Words by Ben Miller, Matt Barker and Nick Coquet