Feature: More theatre treats in Brighton, south coast and London

If you see only one play in Brighton in the next few weeks, make sure it’s Bleach at Pride @ The Ironworks. Written and performed by Dan Ireland-Reeves, it blew me away recently at a pop-up Garden Theatre season in Pimlico from Lambco Productions. Dan invests heavily physically and emotionally in this Queer tale of a sex-worker who meets fear and violence on a less than average Saturday night. Its finale is both shocking and unexpected. It’s on for one night only on 26 September. Details here

Before that there are other treats at the same venue. They include: 18 September Cabaret promoter/singer/director Tim McArthur interviews tv and theatre treasure Christopher Biggins, now well into a more-than-30-year showbiz career, running from Porridge to I’m A Celebrity.

23 September Tim is back to team up with Duncan James for their Big Camp Show, with singing, chat, high camp and maybe even drag. They played son and mother in Aladdin at Hastings so anything could happen.

The following night sees The Illustrious Blacks in a galaxy elsewhere as two kings each rule a planet. Well-known for singing, and gender-bending fashions , they will collide in a technicolour explosion and a fusion of funk, house, space disco and synth-pop. To book, see Pride’s website here

On 30 September the night is taken over by Polari LGBTQ+ Literary Salon. Curated and hosted by Paul Burston, this live show of Queer literary talent is not to be missed- part of Polari’s 10th Anniversary Tour, including John McCullough and Barbara Brownshirt. Tickets for Ironwork shows at ironworks-studios.co.uk

Brighton and London Drag Royalty are lined up from 20- 24 September for 5 performances at the Curzon in Brighton when they present Golden Girls: A Musical. Playing the beloved tv roles are Tanya Hyde as Blanche, Rose Garden as Dorothy, Stephanie Von Clitz as Rose, Pixie Polite as Sophia and Sally Vate as Mrs Beatty. For one night only -23 September Mrs Moore will play Sophia. Expect love, death, friendship and fun. Tickets at outsavvy.com

The exciting independent New Venture Theatre in Brighton is running a revival of its highly successful play Di and  Vi and Rose from 1-9 October. It charts the lives of 3 women from when they meet at uni in Manchester in the 1980’s to near the present day. It’s a story of fun, friendship and what happens when life doesn’t quite turn out as you thought it would. Tickets from newventure.org.uk

Brighton-based performer Andrew Farr takes his fabulous one man/woman show about the life and loves of chanteuse Edith Piaf to Above The Stag, Vauxhall on 24 September and 10 October. It’s a truly remarkable incarnation of the  tragic singer. Tickets abovethestag.org

Staying at the Stag, on 6 October musical theatre diva Vivienne De Vil presents songs  from stage and screen – expect Garland, Streisand and Ross.

At the same venue on 15 October Jamie Anderson: Poz Daddy is part stand-up, part live music in an irreverent cabaret about life with HIV and being a dad.

Emma Dears and Helen Sheals perform as Judy Garland and Liza Minelli in Judy and Liza- set against the backdrop of mother and daughter’s 1964 Palladium show. Two performances on 17 October.

Tim McArthur’s back again with his solo show Sondheim Divas , which does what it says on the tin, giving him some great female solos to interpret. It’s at the Brighton Ironworks on 28 October and the Stag the following night.

West End stars Wendi Peters and Bill Ward appear in the headless horseman saga The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. As part of its tour, you can catch it at the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne  from 23-27 November. Tickets at eastbournetheatres.co.uk

Darkfield, producers of immersive experiences, blend tech and theatre. Their new show Eulogy, is part of the BFI London Film Festival and runs from 6-17 October. Eulogy is described as a communal experience,  lasting 30 minutes, using binaural sound and speech recognition technology to immerse each audience member in a dreamlike labyrinthine hotel, imagined in the darkness. You are given a key card and a chaperone on arrival and you are guided through rooms, corridors, a car park, a canteen and a lift. More information at darkfield.org

Nordic theatre and culture come to London via the New Nordics Festival at Jacksons Lane, North London from 12-16 October. The shows include Refuge: a one-man play exploring loneliness, Western angst and Ikea furniture. The Woman Who Turned Into A Tree follows Daphne who is made to move to the less fashionable suburbs where her neighbour is a talking fir tree. Counting To Zero starts at scene 10 and counts down. How are a train track and the untimely death of a cow linked? Tickets at jacksonslane.org.uk

And finally, Not: Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a subversive parody starring Christina Baston, Wesley Griffith and Lawrence Russell. Expect Mel Brooks type craziness and probably not much respect for the original. It’s at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing on 17 September. Tickets at wtam.uk/events

Watch soon for my run-down on Christmas shows and concerts. I know:  it’s nearly here!