Brighton Dome

This beautifully ornate multi-arts venue was first constructed as the Prince Regent's Royal Stables and Riding House in 1803. Brighton purchased the building in 1850 converting it into cavalry barracks before it was re-purposed as a concert venue and assembly hall in 1867. Now a Grade 1 listed building the art deco refit that remains today (with a couple of tweaks to bring it up to modern standards) was overseen by architect Robert Atkinson in 1934/35. Featuring three performance spaces the larger Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and intimate Studio Theatre (accessed via New Road). Over the years the venue has hosted everyone from Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix to the Eurovision Song Contest (in 1974 when ABBA romped to victory with 'Waterloo'). The Dome is approximately 10 mins walk from Brighton station and there is parking available at the NCP Theatre Car Park on Church Street.

What's On @ Brighton Dome

Greg Davies: Full Fat Legend

6 Apr 2026 - 12 Mar 2027

Star of shows such as Taskmaster, The Inbetweeners, The Cleaner, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Man Down and Cuckoo, this is Greg’s biggest live tour yet.

Josh Widdicombe

11 Apr 2026 - 8 Sept 2026

Josh Widdicombe is back on tour, not again! By now he has almost certainly mastered the art of stand-up, either that or he has wasted the last 15 years of his life. Come along and decide for yourself.

Joanne McNally: Pinotphile

30 May 2026 - 17 Dec 2026

After the success of her record-breaking tour The Prosecco Express, Joanne McNally returns with her hotly anticipated new stand-up show Pinotphile.

Ray Lamontagne

6 May 2026 - 9 Jun 2026

Rootsy US singer/songwriter with an increasingly intoxicating laidback sound.

Janine Harouni: This Is What You Waited For

2 Apr 2026 - 22 May 2026

Two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and ‘unstoppably entertaining' Janine Harouni hits the road with a brand-new hour of joyful, quick-witted stand-up. Fresh off a world tour - including an Off-Broadway run in New York and a performance at the Netflix is a Joke Festival in LA - the New York native returns with a razor-sharp new show about marriage, parenting, and all the other wonderful milestones that slowly degrade your sleep and sanity. With over 10 million views online, an Amazon Prime special, and rave reviews across the board, Harouni is one of the most electric comics working today. Harouni is a regular on UK TV (Live at the Apollo, The Last Leg, The Russell Howard Hour, The John Bishop Show), and has opened for comics like Michael Che and Adam Rowe. She has featured in films and TV shows like Bob's Burgers, The Franchise, Collette, Patrick Melrose, The People We Hate At The Wedding and The Batman.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra - Sounds of Brazil

18 Apr 2026 - 18 Apr 2026

Explosive Brazilian percussion, a tour of the orchestra and musical fantasies from Mussorgsky and Stravinsky. A kaleidoscopic carnival for all ages! Brighton Dome’s Access Scheme ensures that disabled audience members can book the best seats for their access needs, along with a complimentary personal assistant ticket if required.

The Blindboy Podcast LIVE

18 Oct 2026 - 23 Oct 2026

The Blindboy Podcast LIVE; (Concert Hall)

Mark Simmons

31 Mar 2026 - 28 Nov 2026

Mark Simmons combines hilarious one-liners with an irresistible love of performing, to resonate with audiences at virtual and in-person events. His award-winning stand-up is a cut above the rest, setting Mark apart on the booking circuit and leading him to perform on some of the most prestigious comedy stages in the UK.

Horrible Histories - The Concert

9 Apr 2026 - 11 Apr 2026

The Ultimate First Concert for Kids! For the very first time, your favourite songs and characters from the BAFTA Award-winning CBBC TV series will be appearing live (and dead!) on stage in a very special production! When William Shakespeare is asked to create the greatest show on earth, he’s no idea how much trouble he’ll get from monstrous monarchs like King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria! Things hot up when Death appears - and now Boudica and Cleopatra want to take over! Can things get any worse? Of course they can! Don’t miss this unique chance to see the amazing TV actors singing the sensational TV songs, including Charles II, Dick Turpin, The Monarchs Song and many more! Featuring a live band, led by the Horrible Histories song master Richie Webb, this is one show you won’t want to miss! Bring your singing voices for a truly Horrible show! Cast: Richard David-Caine, Harrie Hayes, Inel Tomlinson, Ethan Lawrence, Verona Rose, Alison Fitzjohn, Neal Foster and Grace Hull Presented by Birmingham Stage Company and Lion Television

Tom Davis: Spudgun

9 Apr 2026 - 13 Feb 2027

Tom Davis is back on the road, firing out his freshly cooked observations on life's hot topics. Co-host of the mega-hit podcast Wolf and Owl with Romesh Ranganathan, star of BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning comedy series Murder in Successville and BBC One smash-hit comedy King Gary, Tom also has his own special Underdog available to watch on Sky and NOW TV.

Troy Hawke

11 Apr 2026 - 4 Jun 2027

Fresh from finding and proving decisive links between IKEA, the CIA and the Nazi’s, 1930’s throwback homeschooled investigator Troy Hawke battle a new enemy on behalf of all people everywhere…the saboteur that lurks in our own minds…

10cc's Graham Gouldman & Heart Full of Songs

4 May 2026 - 28 Oct 2026

10cc is one of the UK’s most innovative and influential bands. They have announced their return to the UK concert scene with the typically tongue-in-cheek ‘And Another Bloody Greatest Hits Tour’ — celebrating a genre-defying repertoire that continues to captivate audiences across the world.

Cat Burns

10 Apr 2026 - 19 Apr 2026

Cat Burns is a 21 year old singer and songwriter from Streatham. The former BRIT school student went from busking on the Southbank to mastering Tik Tok in lockdown, singing a mix of her favourite covers and original music. As a result, she rapidly amassed around half a million followers in just three months and now sits on over 1 million followers on the platform. Cat is not only an astounding vocal talent but also an incredibly talented songwriter offering acute observations on life and love with a fresh perspective in her music. Drawing upon gospel influences, pop inspirations and a love of guitar-led and indie music too. She proudly cites Ed Sheeran, India Arie and Tori Kelly as a few of her biggest inspirations.

Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: Show Pony

1 Apr 2026 - 20 Jun 2026

Taskmaster loser and Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed returns as his critically acclaimed alter-ego Mr. Swallow in the "deliriously enjoyable” Show Pony Mr. Swallow has recently been seen making everyone laugh in Amazon Prime’s hit show Last One Laughing, as well as appearing on numerous episodes of Channel 4’s 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. He made his BBC debut at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards with - frankly - terrifying results, a lot of which is discussed in Show Pony for therapeutic reasons. Show Pony has been described by Mr. Swallow as “payback for everyone who didn’t come to the last tour” and “my most personal/libelous show to date” and will cover everything from not having his own sitcom to not having his own sitcom… and everything in between (critical race theory). As per - expect magic, music and a whole load of brand new mistakes…

The Fibonacci Quartet

11 Apr 2026 - 19 Apr 2026

The Fibonacci Quartet are one of Europe's leading young string quartets and have already made a name for themselves at home, and abroad as prolific competition winners. They are Resident Ensemble at the Escuela Superior de musica Reina Sofia in Madrid with Gunter Pichler. Their programme tonight will comprise music equivalent to Beethoven: String Quartet No 1 in F major Op. 18 No 1. Debussy: String Quartet in G Minor and others. Kindly sponsored by the Countess of Munster Musical Trust.

Happy Mondays

2 Apr 2026 - 24 Apr 2026

Legendary Manchester band Happy Mondays. The Happy Mondays’ classic line-up of front man Shaun Ryder, Bez (freaky dancing and percussion), Rowetta (vocals), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar) and Dan Broad (MD/guitar/keys) will perform timeless hits such as Step On, Kinky Afro, Hallelujah, W.F.L., Loose Fit, Judge Fudge and 24 Hour Party People, amongst many others. After signing to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, the late ‘80s saw the Happy Mondays become the pioneers of the Madchester sound, as they blended their love of funk, rock, psychedelia and house with the sounds of the UK’s emerging rave scene. The band’s third album, 1990’s platinum-selling ‘Pills 'n' Thrills And Bellyaches’, led to the Happy Mondays crossing over into the mainstream to become icons of Britain’s biggest cultural phenomenon for a generation. In 2016, the Happy Mondays won the Ivor Novello’s Inspiration Award, further cementing their reputation as one of Britain’s most influential and loved bands.

Shoot From The Hip

18 Apr 2026 - 18 Apr 2026

Shoot From The Hip (Corn Exchange)

John Kearns: Tilting at Windmills

2 Apr 2026 - 6 Nov 2026

Tilting at Windmills is the brand-new stand-up show from Taskmaster alumni and double Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner, John Kearns. A fragmented, digressing portrayal of a 38-year-old man’s life, alluding to books he hasn't read, touching on the modern condition. Plus VAT! More allusive and bleak as ever, it is unreal the comedian you become. And for who? Decent craic with the right crowd. A show for those who have read about but not committed to the Guinness Nitrosurge.

Russell Howard

2 Apr 2026 - 29 Nov 2026

Presenter, actor, and much-loved funny man.

Sindhu Vee

5 Sept 2026 - 25 Nov 2026

Sindhu Vee is an award-winning comedian, writer and actor. Since swapping a career in investment banking for one in comedy, Sindhu has fast become one of the most exciting and sought-after talents on the UK circuit.

Celya Ab: We Must Stop Meeting Like This

12 Sept 2026 - 1 Nov 2026

Have you ever forensically over-thought your life choices? Are they all somehow connected to a passing comment your Spanish teacher made when you were 15? Has it impacted everything from your love life to your career? Following sold-out shows across the UK, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Soho Theatre, Celya AB (One of the most gifted joke writers of her age - Chortle) is back with a new show with her brand of exceptional, not to mention impressively original (British Comedy Guide) jokes and sharp observations. This is a show about breaking free from shame, and what ensues when you do.

Laura Smyth: Born Aggy

24 Sept 2026 - 26 Nov 2026

What if all your dreams come true and you’ve still got the hump? Laura Smyth has had a meteoric rise in comedy! Her debut tour ‘Living My Best Life’ sold out up and down the country; she has supported Jack Whitehall, Michelle de Swarte, Alan Davies, and Jason Manford and appeared on multiple panel shows. She’s even beaten cancer; she’s done all the alternative healing shit you could shake a stick at – and she still thinks everyone’s a dkhead. It can’t just be her, can it?

Thomas Green: Brainstorm

9 Apr 2026 - 29 Nov 2026

After a significant self-discovery, Green realises his life is a whirlwind full of tangents of his own making, navigating through the impulsive, random and stupid.

Jen Brister: Reactive

2 Apr 2026 - 16 Oct 2026

Jen Brister is Reactive - or so she's been told. Apparently you don't have to respond to every little thing around you. Finding herself in a constant state of exacerbation at the state of the world and people in general, Brister has been told she needs to chill the hell out. Can Jen find her zen? It seems unlikely to be honest...

Beverley Knight

2 Jun 2026 - 30 Jun 2026

Beverley Knight has been one of the UK's most consistent artists for almost three decades. Back together with her live band expect a fun-filled night where she will perform all of her classic hits and fan favourites along with brand new songs, celebrating her incredible career over the years.

The Charlatans

24 Apr 2026 - 6 May 2026

Since breaking through in 1990 The Charlatans have become one of the UK’s most beloved and enduring bands, their indie roots the focal point of a sound that has taken in everything from psychedelia to soul and funk via country rock.

Mike Bubbins

20 Sept 2026 - 17 Apr 2027

Mike Bubbins, star of hit podcast The Socially Distant Sports Bar, and of BBC television comedies Mammoth, Tourist Trap and The Unexplainers, unleashes Throwback, his first ever solo UK stand-up tour. And things may never be the same again. Throwback is a powerful, thought-provoking, visceral hour of stand-up comedy, that pushes boundaries, defies neat descriptions and challenges the audience... As if it is! It’s actually an hour and a half of really funny stories, pretty impressive characterisations, possibly a song (he said he’ll see how that goes), a bit of nostalgia about the good old days, a bit of optimism about the good new days, and Mike generally having a laugh about life and not taking himself, or anything else, too seriously. Having said that, he may, at some point in the show, get very annoyed at berks, whether in the past, the present, or the future. Very annoyed. So basically Throwback is a comedy show about Bubbins sharing, and bringing to life, the stuff that he finds funny. As comedy concepts go, it’s a pretty straightforward one, really.

Maisie Adam: Whatsherface

17 Sept 2026 - 20 Mar 2027

Straight off the back of Taskmaster, A League Of Their Own, and Last One Laughing, Maisie Adam is back with her brand new show Whatsherface. Join the "tall, chaotic one with the weird hair" as she returns with her trademark wit, firecracker gags, and probably a few angry outbursts along the way. A genuine description given by her best friend's Mum at a wedding this year.

James Morrison

29 Apr 2026 - 28 Aug 2026

Chart-topping singer songwriter with a distinctively soulful voice. Back in the mid-00s, making a dent in the music industry mostly involved a creative and aggressive MySpace strategy. Massively bucking that trend, James Morrison's arrival proved that there was still a lot to be said for a great voice. The Warwickshire singer-songwriter took the best elements of smooth soul and hushed folk and elevated it with vocals that crooned and croaked in all the right places.

Catherine Bohart

28 Jun 2026 - 25 Nov 2026

Catherine Bohart loves control, hates change and is a serial planner. It’s been an interesting couple of years… A blisteringly funny new stand-up show filled with horrendous life advice, cheery nihilism and reluctant self-discovery from one of the UK and Ireland’s most exciting comics.

Marillion

12 Sept 2026 - 2 Oct 2026

While the U.K.'s Marillion aren't the best-known rock band in the 21st century, they've influenced many acts that followed in their wake, directly or indirectly, from Porcupine Tree and Radiohead to the Pineapple Thief and Gazpacho. They are rightfully credited with having established the neo-prog subgenre, and have explored many types of music over the decades that, thanks to their expert musicianship, have celebrated their long, inventive passages for electric guitars and keyboards.

Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Life

7 Nov 2026 - 17 Apr 2027

Hi. I’m Romesh Ranganathan and I Will Change Your Life. Tired of trying quick fixes and papering over the cracks in your life? Then you haven’t tried my new quick fix. My latest tour show. It’s scientifically proven to improve your self esteem. Simply standing next to my tour poster will boost your attractiveness to potential lovers. Problems at home? I will teach you how to successfully bottle up your feelings and pour them out to strangers at a variety of theatres and arenas. Watch my new improved show once and you will immediately become a Romesh Rangana-FAN. That’s Romesh Ranganathan’s new tour, guaranteed to CHANGE YOUR LIFE! Romesh Ranganathan is best known for The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, Parents' Evening, Rob & Romesh Vs, A League Of Their Own, The Weakest Link, Can't Knock The Hustle and his much-loved BBC Radio 2 Saturday morning show, his hit podcasts Wolf & Owl, For The Love of Hip Hop and The Romesh Ranganathan Show. Disclaimer: based on a sample of 3 people who live with Romesh. These claims have not been evaluated by a legal governing body. It isn’t. Presented by Off The Kerb Productions

Anna Lapwood

29 May 2026 - 14 Jun 2026

Hailed as "the dream ambassador for classical music" by Gramophone, organist Anna Lapwood brings an evening of festive organ music to some of the UK's most stunning instruments. Anna Lapwood MBE is an organist, conductor and broadcaster, and is the Organist of the Royal Albert Hall. A terrific protagonist for her instrument, Anna has gathered a following of more than 2 million on social media and performs to sold-out venues around the world. Equally at home with the world's great orchestras and conductors, she has also performed with RAYE, Florence and the Machine, Bonobo and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The End Of The World According To Jonathan Pie

2 Sept 2026 - 29 Nov 2026

Jonathan Pie is coming to terms with the horror of Keir Starmer's Labour and the fact that he voted for it. Meanwhile, Reform are waiting in the wings and Elon Musk is pulling the strings. The far-right are on the march, Trump's having a ball and the woke left still haven't worked out how to get their head out their own arses. The climate is collapsing; AI is about to rule and ruin your life and World War Three feels distinctly possible. Come and see this helpful and hilarious guide to surviving the impending apocalypse. This is The End of The World according to Jonathan Pie.

Urzila Carlson: Fatty on a Yacht

9 Sept 2026 - 30 Sept 2026

Multi-award-winning South African-New Zealander Urzila Carlson is one of Australian and New Zealand's biggest comedy stars, and she's bringing her trademark cheeky wit back to UK stages. An undeniable tour de force of the comedy world, Urzila hasn't stopped since first taking to the comedy stage in 2008.

Kingfishr

14 May 2026 - 26 Aug 2026

Limerick-based 3-piece, Kingfishr, have quickly established themselves as one of the rising prospects in Irish music. Part of the newest generation of Irish contemporaries, the band’s grand, atmospheric tone married with their propensity for catchy melodies has resonated with a wide audience.

The Proclaimers

4 Jun 2026 - 19 Dec 2026

The Proclaimers have carved a niche for themselves where pop, folk, new wave and punk collide as the emotional honesty, political fire, wit and sing-along raucousness of their songs has entertained fans across the world. Amongst their many accolades they have enjoyed Gold and Platinum singles and albums in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. 'My favourite band of all time. They write the most spectacular songs, big hearted, uncynical passionate songs.' -- David Tennant

Bellowhead

10 Nov 2026 - 1 Dec 2026

Vibrant, chaotic and upbeat international folk on a variety of instruments.

Phil Wang: Uh Oh

4 Apr 2026 - 25 Feb 2027

UH OH. Phil Wang’s back with a new stand-up show, and he’s older than ever before. He’s got a moustache now. It bristles with wisdom. His eyes shine with good humour. His shoulders groan under the weight of being the only cool millennial left. Everyone’s an idiot but him. Nice is out. Right is in. The vibe shift is real. Old Wang’s riding it. You know him from one series of Taskmaster, one episode of Would I Lie to You, and one minute of Wonka. Presented by Avalon UK

Breakin' Convention

27 May 2026 - 27 May 2026

Breakin' Conventions (Concert Hall)

Michael Ball: Glow UK Tour

26 Aug 2026 - 29 Nov 2026

Michael Ball is Britain’s leading musical theatre star, a double Olivier Award-winning, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum recording artist and a hugely popular radio and TV presenter. For over 40 years he has been at the top of his game, starring in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway, winning critical acclaim, a devoted following and awards for his stage work and recording career. Michael’s theatre credits include Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (ENO/Coliseum), Javert in Les Misérables – The Staged Concert (Gielgud Theatre & UK / Australia Arena Tour) Anatoly in Chess (ENO/Coliseum), Mack in Mack and Mabel (Chichester/UK Tour), Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd (West End) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’, Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (Original West End Cast) for which he won the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor in a Musical’, Kismet (English National Opera), Patience (New York City Opera), The Woman in White (West End/Broadway), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (West End), Passion, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love (West End/Broadway) and creating the role of. Marius in Les Misérables (Original West End Cast). His television credits include the Victoria Wood BBC TV film, That Day We Sang, opposite his Sweeney Todd co-star, Imelda Staunton. He regularly tours the UK as a concert artist and has sold millions of albums over the last 40 years

Seann Walsh: After This One, I'm Going Home

17 Apr 2026 - 23 Oct 2026

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and the self-dubbed “Lie-In King”, Seann Walsh is 'unquestionably the best observational comic of his generation' (The Guardian). Returning from his run in America, where he made his USA television debut appearance on Conan, Seann Walsh is back on tour in the UK. This disheveled, fiery, animated, fiercely idle, millennial man child is one of best live comedians to have come out of the UK. Seann made his acting debut starring in Comedy Central’s sitcom Big Bad World, this was quickly followed up by the lead role in Monks (BBC One), he utilized his physical comedic abilities in Sky’s silent comedy, Three Kinds of Stupid, which led to him producing, writing and starring in his own silent comedy web-series The Drunk. He also wrote and starred in his own Sky short for Sky Arts and is now co-starring in Jack Dee’s brand-new sitcom Bad Move (ITV one). He recently made his feature film debut as the children’s nemesis in family film, 2:hrs. Seann is quickly on his way to becoming one of the UK’s best comedy character actors. Team captain on Virtually Famous (Channel 4) and a regular on Play To The Whistle (ITV), other TV appearances include: One For The Road (BBC 3), Live At The Apollo (BBC 2), The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV), Tonight at The London Palladium (ITV), Celebrity Juice (ITV2), 8 Out Of 10 Cats (Channel 4), 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Alan Carr’s Chatty Man (Channel 4) and Russell Howards Stand Up Central (Comedy Central) Seann can currently be heard hosting his weekly radio show News-Ish on Fubar Radio. His debut DVD, Seann to be Wild, was recorded at Hammersmith Apollo to critical acclaim when it was released in 2013 by Universal Pictures.

James Acaster

30 Mar 2026 - 28 Jul 2026

James Acaster is one of comedy’s most original voices. A whimsical master, he has received acclaim from around the world, including a record breaking 5 consecutive nominations for ‘Best Comedy Show’ at the 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. In 2017 he toured the country with a staggering three show ‘Trelogy’, performing Recognise, Represent and Reset consecutively over three nights in each venue.

Kevin Bridges: Here If You Need Me

14 Aug 2026 - 13 Feb 2027

Kevin Bridges cut his comedy teeth in Glasgow after leaving school at the age of 17. From there, the young comedian began performing around the UK. Bridges made his TV debut at 18, taking part in Channel 5’s So You Think You’re Funny competition at the Edinburgh Fringe. By 2006, Bridges performed his first full-length solo show at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, his first of many performances at his hometown festival. With his star quickly rising, Bridges started to become a regular face on comedy TV series like Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, Live at the Apollo, 8 out of 10 Cats, and Mock the Week.

Nikita Kuzmin - Supernova!

12 Jun 2026 - 19 Jul 2026

Strictly Come Dancing finalist and fan favourite Nikita Kuzmin takes centre stage in the explosive new dance spectacular Supernova, touring the UK in June and July 2026. Created in collaboration with world-renowned choreographer and BAFTA award recipient Jason Gilkison and presented by international dance sensation Burn the Floor. Supernova is a show fuelled by the firepower of world class performers and creatives from around the world. Expect an evening of electrifying entertainment where artistry meets innovation, and Nikitas trademark charm, power and charisma shine brighter than ever. Get ready the Supernova is about to explode!

Joe Tracini - Ten Things I Hate About Me

20 Apr 2026 - 1 Jul 2026

Hi, hope you're ok. My show is about hope. It's also about mental illness, good liars, bad ideas, Lorraine Kelly and a gang lord forcing me to hold a raw chicken. But it's mostly about hope. I live with a complex mental illness called borderline personality disorder (BPD) and I started writing this, about that, in January 2020. It's been a long 5 years, but I'm finally here. Please come. I wrote it for you. Joe Tracini is an actor, writer and TV presenter. He's starred in TV shows including Hollyoaks, Coming of Age and The Great Outdoors, and was the host of the BAFTA winning The Dengineers on CBBC. Since March 2020 his social media videos have been viewed over 90 million times. The BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 documentary Me and the Voice in My Head explored the frequently debilitating effects that Joe's Borderline Personality Disorder has on every aspect of his life. His book, Ten Things I Hate About Me is a Sunday Times Bestseller.

Chris Packham's World of Wonder: A Planet on the Edge

1 Nov 2026 - 25 Nov 2026

For nearly forty years Chris Packham has been the voice of nature in the UK. Through his groundbreaking work on The Really Wild Show, Springwatch, Inside Our Autistic Minds and Earth, Chris has devoted his remarkable life to engaging with the natural world - and urging us all to do the same. Join Chris as he opens an encyclopaedia of stories from his lifetime of curiosity and conviction. From a childhood bedroom bursting with feathers, skulls, jam-jars full of tadpoles, snakes and lizards, foxes and badgers, to the wild adventures that shaped his love of nature, and the practical things we can all do in our daily lives to make a difference in a time of crisis. Experience an evening alive with discovery, with the chance to see extraordinary specimens from Chris's own collection up close, hear untold stories from behind the camera, and share in his infectious passion for the living world. If you care about everything that creeps, crawls, slithers and slimes - if you believe the world can still be saved - then this is your night. Because the dinosaur in the room isn't fiction. It's real. And it's demanding your attention!

Leila Navabi: Relay

1 Apr 2026 - 22 May 2026

A bold, joyful punk-musical one-person show about making a queer family on your own terms, written and performed by award-nominated comedian, writer and composer Leila Navabi. The critically acclaimed show was included in The Guardian's "10 Best Shows to Catch" at Edinburgh Fringe this summer and was nominated for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence. Relay blends stand-up, electro-pop musical numbers and hand-drawn animation into a heartfelt, hilarious hour about what it takes to start a family when the odds (and the system) are stacked against you. Leila dives into the wild ride of making a baby at home with her partner, a best mate as the sperm donor, and, naturally, his boyfriend cheering from the sidelines. Navabi unpacks love, ambition, and the chaos of building a family on her own terms. Equal parts absurd and profound, Relay is proof that family is not just what you make it, but how.

Ben Folds: The Paper Airplane Request Tour

15 Nov 2026 - 26 Nov 2026

Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Folds, celebrated for his wide-ranging, genre-bending catalogue, returns! He currently tours as a pop artist, while also performing for over two decades with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras. Folds, who served for eight years as the first ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, stepped down from his post when Donald Trump announced his takeover of the Center. Just days before the US presidential election, Folds recorded two sold out performances with the NSO which he released as a live album this summer which debuted at the top of the Billboard classical and classical crossover charts. A New York Times Best Selling author, Ben also creates new music for film, tv and theatre, including original songs for an ongoing series of animated Peanuts specials on Apple TV. Ben Fold's Paper Airplane Request Tour is a unique concert format during which the audience is invited to write their favourite Folds song requests on paper, fold them into airplanes, and launch them toward the stage. The concert includes two halves, separated by a short intermission. In the first half, Folds will perform a standard setlist. In the second half, he’ll perform songs requested via paper airplanes launched onto the stage. Those attending are encouraged to bring their pre-made paper airplanes to the show, or they are welcome to use paper and pens made available at the merchandise table to make their own paper airplanes on site.

Nice! Stories and Rhymes with Michael Rosen

7 Jun 2026 - 11 Oct 2026

To celebrate his 80th birthday, Michael Rosen will present a one-man show for children and families, where he performs a lifetime of poetry. The poems Michael will perform will include classics like We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake and No Breathing, along with debuting new work that will be published in an associated book celebrating A Life in Poems. NICE! is a show for all ages, from the young to the young at heart!

Sam Campbell

31 Aug 2026 - 26 Nov 2026

I definitely don't know what's going on. I'm not even sure I know what's happening anymore. But I cannot wait to come to your town and respect your traditions. I have been on TV over five times. May I divulge a secret? I have purchased a large metal ring. I will use it to keep all of the keys to the city that are given to me by the mayors I impress with my showmanship. Live comedy is straight up amazing because people gather to watch it in a spectacular setting rather than ogling an evil phone screen in some horrid grey dank little corner. Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Taskmaster champion & surrealist genius Sam Campbell is an Australian comedian who shot to international acclaim after winning the Barry Award for Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2018) and the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show (2022). He conquered Channel 4’s Taskmaster Series 16 in 2023 and has appeared on Would I Lie to You?, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Guessable, The Russell Howard Hour, Live at the Moth Club, Friday Night Live, Bloods, Fisk, QI and various other comedy panel and sketch shows. He’s also a writer-performer on his Channel 4’s blap "Get Real Dude" and the cult series "Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared". His debut Channel 4 series "Make That Movie!" will be released in 2026. He is also the co-host of the podcast "Lucy & Sam’s Perfect Brains" with Lucy Beaumont.

The Adam Buxton Band

1 May 2026 - 24 Jun 2026

Join Adam Buxton and his live band for an intimate evening celebrating the release of his debut album, Buckle Up, out now via Decca. Buxton, our most beloved podcaster, seasoned veteran of GarageBand and the jingle, enlisted Metronomy’s Joe Mount as producer and band leader … “I hoped it would be a Metronomy record with my voice” Buxton initially pondered, also hoping the outcome might sound like “Berlin-period Bowie and Eno going for lunch with Radiohead and Nina Simone at Brian Wilson’s beach brasserie.” Instead came fifteen songs that inhabit the space between heartfelt and silly, where Buxton has comfortably set up shop.

Akala - State of the Nation

12 Apr 2026 - 12 Apr 2026

Akala - State of the Nation.

Friday Night is Music Night

5 Jun 2026 - 26 Jun 2026

There’s music for everyone in BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night! Join the BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Radio 3 for an evening of orchestral favourites and unforgettable classical tunes. George Jackson conducts an exciting programme including music by Elgar, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Grieg, Vaughn Williams and Walton. Plus a special guest singer joins the orchestra to perform songs made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone. Don’t miss this exciting celebration as the BBC’s popular, long-running radio show comes to town!

The Archers: Live at 75

7 Jun 2026 - 26 Nov 2026

To mark this extraordinary milestone, The Archers is stepping out of the studio and onto the stage for a very special national tour. Hosted by comedian and superfan Angela Barnes and set at the beloved Ambridge Flower & Produce Show, this landmark event brings your favourite cast into the spotlight with live performances, on-the-spot sound effects and unforgettable moments from the BBC archives. Along the way, you’ll have the chance to test your knowledge in The Bull Pub Quiz, sing along to the famous theme tune and watch our archivist field the toughest trivia true fans can muster. There will also be the opportunity to put your own questions to the cast - ever wondered how Brian Aldridge sleeps at night after a lifetime of infidelity? Or what Natasha’s next brilliant business idea will be? - and enjoy behind-the-scenes revelations that Lynda Snell herself would be proud to draw out. And, in true Ambridge fashion, expect a little Flower & Produce Show chaos before the night is through. Warm, witty, and steeped in nostalgia, this unique tour celebrates the people, stories and unmistakable soundscape that have made The Archers a national treasure for generations. Experience Ambridge as you've never seen - or heard - it before! Cast to be announced. A Commercial Production Licensed by the BBC.

Saint Etienne

11 Sept 2026 - 26 Sept 2026

Formed in Croydon in 1990 by music journalist Bob Stanley with childhood friend Pete Wiggs, and soon joined by singer Sarah Cracknell, Saint Etienne arose within the context of the indie-dance movement of that era but created a unique sound which – albeit accidentally – paved the way for what would later become known as Britpop.

An Evening with Maggie O'Farrell: Land

4 Jun 2026 - 4 Jun 2026

Maggie O’Farrell is the award-winning author of nine novels, including Hamnet, a breathtaking fictional retelling of the death of Shakespeare’s only son from the bubonic plague. This much-loved novel won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020, and this year the celebrated film adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley arrives in cinemas. In June, O’Farrell will return with her highly-anticipated new novel, Land. A multigenerational saga set in 19th-century Ireland, Land centres on the man tasked with mapping the country for the Ordnance Survey. Set in the wake of the famine, and inspired by her own family history, the novel is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and survival with resilience and love. On Thursday June 4 join her at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange for a conversation about this sweeping new novel, the art of writing historical fiction, and re-imagining the lives of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary moments in history. The Book & Ticket bundle includes a stamped author signature copy of Land (RRP £25) - exclusive to the Land tour. These copies can be collected on the night. Presented by Intelligence Squared

Nish Kumar: Angry Humour From a Really Nice Guy

10 May 2026 - 25 Nov 2026

The world is in chaos. Inequality is widening, autocracy is rising and political parties are collapsing. In these divided times, what this country desperately needs is Angry Humour From a Really Nice Guy (in many ways it's actually the last thing this country needs, but it's what it's getting so tough luck). The UK’s leading political comic Nish Kumar – co-host of hugely popular podcast Pod Save the UK, former host of axed BBC show The Mash Report, and one of Taskmaster’s greatest losers – is back on tour with a formidable batch of passionate, progressive stand-up for the ages. Kumar is 40. His mind is breaking. His body is worse. Expect existential angst and political disquiet from comedy's cheekiest boy. Nish Kumar was named one of the 50 Best Comedians of the 21st Century by both The Guardian and The Telegraph, with his previous tour playing to sold out crowds across the UK, North America, Australasia and mainland Europe.

Shalamar

13 Jun 2026 - 10 Jul 2026

Shalamar are one of the most successful soul groups of all time, selling 25 million albums worldwide. Formed in 1976, the band enjoyed their first hit single the following year with the Motown inspired medley 'Uptown Festival'. The 'underground soul club' hits continued with 'Take That To The Bank' in 1978, followed by 'Right In The Socket' and the infectious ‘The Second Time Around’, which dominated the airwaves through Autumn 1979. In 1982, the whole world fell under the spell of Shalamar with the release of the Friends album (which sold over on million copies in the UK) and in particular, 'A Night to Remember' – although it was not perhaps the song but the image of Jeffrey Daniel performing the 'Moonwalk' live on British Television for the first time on Top of The Pops that stopped a nation in their tracks. Fast forward 35+ years and the band, still with original members Jeffrey Daniel, Howard Hewitt alongside Solar Records Dick Griffey, daughter Carolyn Griffey continue to thrill audiences all over the world with their stage show. 'A Shalamar concert is a giant party' says Jeffrey Daniel, 'from the moment we step on stage to the moment we finish the audience becomes part of the show - they’re up on their feet dancing and singing along.'

Elvis Costello

12 Jun 2026 - 6 Jul 2026

The veteran singer-songwriter and guitarist, born Declan Patrick MacManus, plays from a selection of his pub rock and new wave hits including 'Alison', 'Watching The Detectives' and 'Pump It Up'.

Aldous Harding

25 May 2026 - 9 Jun 2026

Aldous Harding is a rare artist who defies conventions and categorisation, creating lush, off-kilter indie pop. Shapeshifting vocals transform with every track, tilting and changing mood and atmosphere, while delicate guitars and soft percussion add a shimmering intensity. Live, Aldous Harding is an intense performer, a mesmerising and theatrical presence, that captivates her audience.

In The Night Garden Live

17 Jun 2026 - 12 Sept 2026

In the Night Garden Live is an amazing musical theatre experience for all the family. Children’s favourite CBeebies’ stars -- Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy, Makka Pakka and friends -- are all brought to life on stage with beautiful costumes, magical puppets, enchanting music, and breathtaking projections that make it feel like you're actually in the Night Garden.

Cobrah

27 May 2026 - 29 May 2026

With a style self-described as “BDSM pop” and “gay workout music,” the alluring sound of COBRAH reflects a natural evolution of music originating from the LGBTQ+ community from an artist who makes shapeshifting an art form in itself on releases like her self-titled 2021 EP and 2023’s full-length debut SUCCUBUS.

Wakefire: An Incantion to Summer

20 Jun 2026 - 20 Jun 2026

Having bewitched audiences annually with their much-loved wintertime show, Awake Arise, Lady Maisery and Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith return with their hotly anticipated next alchemic collaboration: an essential incantation to the summertime. With more folk songs collected about the month of May than any other time apart from Christmas, the charismatic supergroup embark on a journey to mark this season with song and spoken word. There is of course morris, mayday and magic. There is also ritual, rave and cider with Rosie. There are countryside cuckoos and city foxes. There is fear for our warming planet alongside the promise of ripening fruit. As with their wintertime show, Awake Arise, this midsummer offering is a multi-layered and surprising celebration of long summer days and effervescent nights.

Embrace

6 Jun 2026 - 28 Nov 2026

Embrace celebrate the 20th anniversary of their massive-selling, No.1 album, Out Of Nothing, playing their biggest selling record in full, along with their other greatest hits.

Michelle Wolf: Best Job in the World

11 Jun 2026 - 30 Jul 2026

Primetime Emmy Nominee Michelle Wolf has established herself as one of the most influential voices in the comedy landscape. Her stand-up specials across HBO and Netflix have garnered critical acclaim and top viewing figures. Wolf has headlined across the world, including her infamous appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Her last sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run scored a prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination. Wolf is also known for her appearances on The Daily Show (Comedy Central) and The Break with Michelle Wolf (Netflix).

Katherine Jenkins

2 Oct 2026 - 27 Oct 2026

Cherished as one of Britain’s all-time favourite singers, in 2017 Katherine was officially crowned The No.1 selling 'Classical Music Artist of the Last 25 Years’ by Classic FM, and made chart history when her last album ‘Guiding Light’, became her 13th UK Classical No.1 album, further cementing Katherine's position as the world’s most prolific artist in UK Classical chart history. As one of the UK’s greatest musical exports, multi-award winning Katherine has performed all over the world, for the Pope, for Presidents and is a favourite of the Royal Family, having been invited to sing 'God Save The Queen' at Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, perform at Her Majesty's Coronation Concerts at Buckingham Palace and by special request at Her Majesty's 90th birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle. She has embarked upon numerous sold out tours and duetted with such names as Andrea Bocelli, José Carreras, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazon, and Il Divo, amongst others. Katherine was awarded an OBE at the 2014 New Year’s Honours List for her services to music and charity and wowed audiences and critics alike with her stellar performance as Julie Jordan in Lonny Price’s semi-staged production of Carousel at the London Coliseum in 2017.

Sunn O)))

28 Jun 2026 - 3 Jul 2026

Sunn O))) have been challenging the way we think about music. In that relatively brief time, core members Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson forged connections between the worlds of metal, drone, contemporary composition, jazz and minimalism with startling results while remaining true to the eternal principles of volume, density and weight.

Peaches

17 Apr 2026 - 15 May 2026

Peaches (Merrill Nisker) burst into transcontinental favour with her very particular brand of cocksure rapping and groovebox beats. Though she came from an underground cauldron of acoustic folk (Mermaid Café), avant-garde jazz (Fancypants Hoolum), and deconstructed noise swarms (the Shit), it wasn't until 2000 that her fearless, political gender play truly raised heads.

Asian Dub Foundation

7 May 2026 - 7 May 2026

We're proud to bring DP & ADF together to one of London's most beautiful independent venues for a once in a life time night of pure dub-love! - For any ticketing queries please contact your ticket provider. - For any queries regarding our Covid safety & seating: thegrand.info/covidsafety - For any accessibility or other questions, please refer to our Contact / FAQ page - thegrand.info/contact - Please note there will be strobes, flashing lights, loud noises, confetti, the occasional balloon drop and other fun stuff used in the venue. This is an 18+ event .

Astatine Trio

13 May 2026 - 13 May 2026

One third Slovenian, two thirds Brightonian and three thirds BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists, the award-winning, all-female Astatine Trio contrast classic works by Haydn and Mendelssohn with a 2013 piece by contemporary Japanese master Toshio Hosokawa. Written in London on the second of his two visits, Haydn’s typically inventive Trio was composed for a famous female pianist of the day. Hailed by Schumann as “the master trio of our age”, Mendelssohn’s D minor also features brilliant piano writing throughout, not least in its featherlight fairy scherzo. Hosokawa’s Trio offers a shaman-inspired vision of the cosmos, with violin and cello playing at yin and yang.

Akram Khan Company - Thikra: Night of Remembering

23 May 2026 - 24 May 2026

Past and present converge in a journey through tradition, honouring our ancestors in Akram Khan Company’s final touring production. Imagined as an annual gathering, a tribe of women come together for one night only to awaken the spirit of those who came before them. Through ceremony and shared remembrance, they transcend time, uniting the past and present in a profound act of renewal. Khan draws profound inspiration from diverse cultures that engage in these sacred practices across the globe. With scenography and costume design by award-winning Saudi visual artist Manal AlDowayan, the piece explores the echoes of a colonised past. Featuring an original score by Aditya Prakash (ROOM-i-Nation, 2025), sound design by Gareth Fry, lighting design by Zeynep Kepekli, dramaturgy by Blue Pieta, with an all-female international cast of Contemporary and Bharatanatyam dancers, Thikra weaves a narrative that is at once universal and deeply personal. Together, these creative voices invite us to reflect on our own heritage and the rituals that have shaped our shared humanity. Akram Khan - Director/Choreographer Akram Khan is one of the most celebrated and respected dance artists of today. In 25 years, he has created a body of work that has contributed significantly to the arts in the UK and abroad. His reputation has been built on the success of imaginative, highly accessible and relevant productions such as GIGENIS: the generation of the Earth, Jungle Book Reimagined and Outwitting the Devil Manal AlDowayan - Visual Director / Costume and Scenography Embracing diverse media, Manal AlDowayan’s work encompasses black and white photography, sculpture, video, sound, neon and large-scale participatory installations. Her artistic practice revolves around themes of invisibility, active forgetting, archives, and collective memory, with a large focus on the status of women and their representation. Manal holds a Master’s Degree in Contemporary Art Practice in Public Spheres from the Royal College of Art, London and her works can be found in the collections of the British Museum, London; Centre Pompidou collection in Paris and the Guggenheim Collection in New York Aditya Prakash - Composer & Soundscape Designer Aditya Prakash, an award-winning singer and composer known for his powerful and expressive voice, is one of the foremost young practitioners of Carnatic music. Aditya’s current focus in composition is pushing boundaries within the classical tradition. In his latest solo album, ISOLASHUN, he explores the weight of privilege and the boundaries of tradition in an entirely new creative form. He is currently composing the music for three evening-length dance productions by Akram Khan as well as touring his own solo gig-theatre production ROOM-i-Nation (Brighton Festival 2025), which explores themes of identity, migration and tradition. Supported by Dishoom Permit Room Commissioned by Wadi AlFann, Valley of the Arts, AlUla Primary Co-producing Partner Bagri Foundation

Natasha Walter, NS Nuseibeh, Shahed Ezaydi - Feminism for a World on Fire

21 May 2026 - 21 May 2026

With the rise of authoritarian states, online misogyny and climate breakdown, we see the multifarious, global threats to women’s lives as their safety is being threatened and their freedoms are under attack. We bring together three incredible writers, Natasha Walter (Living Dolls: the Return of Sexism, Feminism for a World on Fire), Shahed Ezaydi (The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women) and N.S. Nuseibeh (Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman) to discuss the idea of a more thriving, intersectional and connected feminism. This event will be chaired by Azieb Pool, arts strategist, author and Director of Creative Ambition at People Make It Work. Please note, N.S.Nuseibeh will join the event via video. Stage timings are subject to change Natasha Walter: Natasha Walter's books include Living Dolls: the Return of Sexism, The New Feminism, and Before the Light Fades. She has worked as a journalist for the Guardian, Independent and Observer and is the founder and former director of Women for Refugee Women. She has been Visiting Professor of Women's Rights at Cambridge University and is currently Honorary Professor at the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice at Queen Mary University of London. N.S. Nuseibeh: N.S. Nuseibeh is a British-Palestinian writer and researcher, born and raised in East Jerusalem. Her interests include issues around identity, ethics, inequality and education. She has previously written for the Atlantic and been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Namesake won the Giles St Aubyn Award first prize as a work-in-progress. Shahed Ezaydi: Shahed Ezaydi is a writer and editor, specialising in features and reporting on culture, social issues and feminism. She was formerly a writer at Stylist Magazine but now freelances for a range of publications. Shahed is also the author of The Othered Woman: How White Feminism Harms Muslim Women, which is her debut book. Azieb Pool: Azieb Pool is an arts strategist, author and Director of Creative Ambition at People Make It Work. Her work centres on how culture connects people, surfaces hidden stories and drives radical change. From 2019–2025 she was Artistic Director & CEO of the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in London. A former Guardian journalist, Azieb is the author of My Father’s Daughter and editor of Fashion Cities Africa.

Ivo Neame Trio - Jazz Connections

20 May 2026 - 20 May 2026

Multi-award winning pianist Ivo Neame teams up with long-time collaborators Tom Farmer (bass) and James Maddren (drums) Ivo Neame is an internationally renowned pianist, composer and bandleader who has established himself as one of the most innovative figures in contemporary European jazz. With his music characterised by a stunning mix of virtuosity, sophistication and playfulness, and his performances known for their dynamic energy and emotional depth, Ivo Neame has received multiple awards. In this special Brighton Festival edition of Brighton Dome's Jazz Connections series, he is teaming up with long-time collaborators Tom Farmer (bass) and James Maddren (drums), as the Ivo Neame Trio for an evening of inventive compositions, rich harmonies and brilliant improvising.

Delphine Trio

20 May 2026 - 20 May 2026

Magdalenna Krstevska clarinet Jobine Siekman cello Roelof Temmingh piano Beethoven Trio in B-flat Major, Op.11 Pépin Snow, Moon & Flowers Frühling Trio in A minor, Op.40 With artists from around the world the Delphine Trio won the Chamber Music Prize at the 2025 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition. Beethoven’s early “Gassenhauer” Trio, nicknamed after its jaunty set of variations on a catchy operatic tune that was earworming its way around the backstreets (Gassen) of old Vienna, prefaces thirtysomething French composer Camille Pépin’s 2018 set of impressionistic miniatures inspired by famous woodblock images of old Tokyo. To end, a lushly post-Romantic 1925 Trio by Carl Frühling, an unjustly forgotten Austrian-Jewish composer recently championed by the great cellist Steven Isserlis for “the unpretentious warmth, the humour, the gentle charm of his style”. In association with Royal Over-Seas League

Rafael Kyrychenko

19 May 2026 - 19 May 2026

Rafael Kyrychenko solo piano Messiaen Première Communion de la Vierge Liszt Mephisto No.1 Schumann Arabesque Op.18 Schumann Études Symphoniques Born in the Azores, Portuguese pianist Rafael Kyrychenko won First Prize in the keyboard section of the 2025 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition. His virtuosic programme contrasts Olivier Messiaen’s poetic wartime meditation on the Virgin Mary at prayer with Franz Liszt’s nimble-fingered depiction of the Devil at play, followed by two masterpieces from Robert Schumann’s mid twenties – Arabesque and Études Symphoniques – which both explore the dual aspects of the troubled composer’s split personality that he himself personified in the imaginary figures of the melancholy Eusebius and the manic Florestan. In Association with Royal Over-Seas League

STATUS FLO - AFLO. the poet, Joelle Taylor & Yomi Sode

18 May 2026 - 18 May 2026

Status Flo returns to Brighton Festival bigger than ever, filling Brighton Dome Corn Exchange with an unmissable night of spoken word. Co-programmed by Brighton Dome and our host AFLO. the poet, this edition features two headline acts - T.S. Eliot Prize winner Joelle Taylor and award-winning writer Yomi Ṣode - plus two feature poets, bringing double the poetry, double the energy, and a stage full of some of the most compelling voices in contemporary spoken word. Expect urgent, moving performances that speak to identity, community, and hope, alongside fresh local talent to be announced. Meet Your Host: AFLO. the poet: Award-winning Brighton-based spoken word artist, AFLO. the poet, presents an uplifting night of spoken word featuring fresh local talent and special guests from across the UK. She is an activist and academic who embraces creative expression to disrupt the status quo and inspire social change, using poetry as a vehicle to address hard-hitting topics, particularly racism and mental health, primarily speaking from her lived experiences. Previously an in-house artist for Brighton Dome, she is a significant force directing change in Brighton's creative scenes and continues to sow seeds across the country Joelle Taylor is the author of four poetry collections, and one novel. C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 T.S Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize and is currently being adapted both for theatre, and into a television screenplay, and was featured on Radio Three documentary Butch. She is a co- curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre and tours her work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of venues, from Australia to Brazil. Her novel The Night Alphabet was published in Spring of 2024 and was named both a Spectator and Guardian Book of the Year. Her most recent radio programme A Young Girl’s Guide to Horror was broadcast on BBC Radio Four. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year. She was recently honoured with a DIVA Award for Outstanding Contribution and named in the Guardian’s 2024 Pride Power list. Her new collection Maryville was published by Bloomsbury in November. Yomi Ṣode is an award-winning Nigerian-British writer and poet, recipient of the 2019 Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship and shortlisted for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (2021), Arts Foundation Awards (2024), and Malorie Blackman Impact Award (2025). His acclaimed one-man show COAT toured nationally, and his play and breathe… premiered at the Almeida Theatre to rave reviews, winning four Black British Theatre Awards. His libretto Remnants premiered on BBC Radio 3 with Chineke! Orchestra. Founder of BoxedIn and 12 in 12, his poetry collection Manorism was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize, and the Rathbone Folio Prize. His debut novel, The Interpreter will be published by Viking.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra - Oh To Believe in Another World

17 May 2026 - 17 May 2026

William Kentridge director Joanna MacGregor conductor Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra Kim Gunning video operator Janus Fouché | Žana Marović editors Greta Goiris costume & puppet designer Sabine Theunissen set & model designer Duško Marović, SASC cinematographer Shostakovich Symphony No.10 Following a blockbuster season, the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra and their Music Director Joanna MacGregor are thrilled to collaborate with one of the world’s greatest living artists, William Kentridge. Using collage, puppets and masked actors in his animated film Oh To Believe in Another World, Kentridge creates a dream-like “abandoned Soviet museum” to accompany Shostakovich’s powerful Symphony No. 10. Kentridge will introduce this astonishing work from the stage, drawing on the politics of oppression in his native South Africa and around the world. Kentridge writes: How to make a film to accompany a live orchestral performance of a symphony? There are already 80 musicians; there is the shine of the brass, and the excitement of watching the relationship between the conductor and the musicians. Behind this, to put a film. But the story of Shostakovich and his complicated relationship to the state in the Soviet Union provides the material. The central characters of the film are Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin; Shostakovich and his student Elmira Nazirova; the poet and playwright Mayakovsky and his lover Lily Brik. We still feel the emotional journey of the music, independent of its historical moorings, but at the same time acknowledge the particular character of the era from which it comes.

Fantastically Great Women with Kate Pankhurst

17 May 2026 - 17 May 2026

Join Kate Pankhurst for a wildly wonderful anniversary celebration of the amazing women who changed the world we live in. Kate is the author of the genre-defying, million-copy bestselling Fantastically Great Women series, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.  The Fantastically Great Women series has inspired a generation of readers to dream big, stand proud and speak out. Girls AND boys should join us to delve into the lives of the most inspiring and influential women of all time, including legendary artist Frida Kahlo, civil rights activist Rosa Parks, scientist Marie Curie, education activist Malala Yousafzai and superstar singer Taylor Swift! Discover how they changed the world and tell us how you will!  With lots of dressing up, a draw along and TONS of fun facts, this is a perfect event for all the family.

Selina Nwulu - Black Climates

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Selina Nwulu, former Young People’s Laureate for London, joins us with her book, Black Climates: Notes on Race, Our Environment, and Visions for Equitable Futures, which uses her poetic and skilful voice to directly address Black British readers who have been previously ignored in mainstream environmental conversations. Hear as Selina talks to writer, stylist and consultant Aja Barber about subjects such as air pollution, prison ecology, disability justice, migration, food, nature, community care, and radical imagination and providing the tools to envisage more equitable futures. This will be a fully masked event to protect our disabled and immunocompromised audience members. Marginalised people have the highest rates of long covid and, in line with the themes of the book, we want the event to be accessible to everyone and part of collective care in the face of climate breakdown.

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

16 May 2026 - 17 May 2026

Celebrate the sensuality and power of jazz. Share the floor with a company of outstanding dancers and a 12-piece live band as Clod Ensemble and Nu Civilisation Orchestra join together to present Charles Mingus’ iconic 1963 masterpiece, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, widely considered to be one of the greatest records of all time. Lose yourself in the music, get up and dance or take a seat and soak up the atmosphere with a drink. Everyone, including wallflowers, is welcome.

Angélique Kidjo

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Five-time Grammy Award winner Angélique Kidjo brings her striking voice to Brighton as part of the Hope Tour Angélique Kidjo is one of the greatest artists in international music with 16 albums to her name. Her discography of music cross-pollinates the West-African traditions from her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America. Using her art to explore African diaspora, offer an electrifying take on Talking Heads Remain in Light and reflect on salsa icon Celia Cruz, Kidjo has amassed critical acclaim, with The Guardian listing her as one of their Top 100 Most Inspiring Women in the World. Her latest album Mother Nature includes captivating young creators from West African music, Afrobeat, Afro-pop, dancehall, hip-hop, and alt-R&B. Resulting as a visionary body of work, Kidjo hopes that her songs may inspire the togetherness that leads to transcendent change.

Raymond Antrobus - The Quiet Ear

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Award-winning poet Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at the age of six when he discovered he had missing sounds – bird calls, whistles, kettles, alarms. Teachers thought he was slow and disruptive, some didn’t believe he was deaf at all. Raymond discusses his memoir, The Quiet Ear, setting his story alongside those of other D/deaf cultural figures – from painters to silent film stars, poets to performers – the inspiring models of D/deaf creativity he did not have growing up.

New Writers - Rebecca Perry, Manish Chauhan & Jon Doyle

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Find out what it’s like to put your first novel into the world. Discover three debut novelists at Brighton Festival as they present their new books with readings and discussion. Author of numerous poetry collections, Rebecca Perry launches her first novel, May We Feed the King this year. Manish Chauhan has been shortlisted for numerous short story competitions and now he presents his first novel, Belgrave Road, and Jon Doyle won the Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers’ Prize 2023, and releases his first novel Communion this year. Rebecca Perry is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Beauty/Beauty and Stone Fruit, both published by Bloodaxe Books (2015, 2021), as well as four pamphlets. Her poetry has been shortlisted for awards including the T. S. Eliot Prize, and her first collection won the Michael Murphy Memorial Prize. Her first work of creative non-fiction, On Trampolining, was published by Makina Books in 2023. Manish Chauhan’s short story Pieces was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. His work has also been shortlisted for the Galley Beggar Short Story Prize and the Exeter Short Story Competition. Early excerpts of Belgrave Road were longlisted for the Curtis Brown First Novel Award and shortlisted for the Daniel Goldsmith First Novel Prize. This is his debut novel. When not writing, Manish works as a finance lawyer and is now based in London. He aims to reach readers who enjoy the works of Monica Ali and Aravind Adiga. Leicester is his hometown. Jon Doyle is a writer based in Port Talbot, South Wales. He was part of Literature Wales' Representing Wales scheme in 2022/23, and won the Writers & Artists Working-Class Writers' Prize 2023. He holds a BSc and MRes in Zoology and MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University, and a PhD in Creative Writing from Swansea University. His work has appeared in Short Fiction, Hobart, Ploughshares Online, The Rumpus, 3:AM Magazine, Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction among other places. Communion is his first novel.

Write & Shine: Shorelines - Gemma Seltzer

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

An early morning writing workshop, embracing the sea, the light and the horizon. We’ll read poetry and stories shaped by shorelines, consider the power of close observation, and trace the kind of writing that emerges where land meets water. Together, we’ll welcome the morning as a ritual space: using creativity and reflection to explore the quiet joy of beginning anew. Tea & coffee will be provided.

Mithras Trio

15 May 2026 - 15 May 2026

Praised by The Arts Desk for their “intensity and expressive range”, the prize-winning young players of the Mithras Trio are former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists. Enthusiastic exponents of contemporary music, they pair an early trio by Shostakovich, written in the throes of teenage passion, and a late but lyrically life-affirming trio by Schubert, written in the shadow of his impending death, with Joy Lisney’s atmospheric Petrichor – evoking the scent that rises from the earth when rain falls on dry ground – which Mithras Trio premiered in a live Radio 3 broadcast from the Wigmore Hall in 2023.

Andi Osho & Dorothy Koomson - At All Costs

14 May 2026 - 14 May 2026

We mark the release of Andi Osho’s Most Wanted and Dorothy Koomson’s The Quiet Girls, as they speak to radio presenter and host Fee Mak about what happens when characters take matters into their own hands. We bring together two writers at the top of their game, Dorothy Koomson, (My Best Friend’s Girl, The Ice Cream Girls and The Woman He Loved Before) and Andi Osho (Asking for a Friend, Tough Crowd and the hit TV series Blue Lights) who take us from the world of a prestigious boarding school to the gentrified streets where artisanal coffee shops and microbreweries mean that affordable housing edges further and further out of reach.

Sherri Lun

14 May 2026 - 14 May 2026

Winner of both First and Audience Prizes at the 2024 Birmingham International Piano Competition, and hailed by the Chicago Tribune for her “pinpoint clarity and convincing bravura”, Hong Kong-born, London-based Sherri Lun features three great composer-pianists of the modern era – one Italian, one French and one German – reworking or reacting to the music of earlier times. Busoni transposes Baroque masterworks by Bach from violin and organ to piano keyboard; Ravel creates a suite of eight contrasted waltzes in tribute to Schubert; and Brahms erects a monumental set of variations, plus final fugue, on the foundation of a simple air from a Handel harpsichord suite. In Association with Kirckman Concerts

Patti Smith: An Evening of Words and Music

13 May 2026 - 13 May 2026

In an exclusive event for Brighton Festival, Patti Smith presents An Evening of Words and Music Patti Smith’s five decade-long career boasts extensive achievements as a performer, author, recording and visual artist whose influence on rock music helped reshape the genre. First emerging as a punk-rock pioneer in the New York arts and music scene in the 1970s with the release of her seminal debut album Horses, Patti Smith has since established herself as a prominent cultural voice. From being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, to winning the prestigious National Book Award in 2010 for her bestselling memoir Just Kids, to releasing her latest memoir Bread of Angels in 2025, the punk-poet has been internationally acknowledged for her contributions to music and literature. In this exclusive event for Brighton Festival, don’t miss the chance to hear the social commentary of a cultural icon as she showcases rousing iterations of her spoken word and poetry along with an intimate live musical performance.

OUT

12 May 2026 - 12 May 2026

'We’re vibing, shape-shifting in a bid for acceptance' Defiantly challenging homophobia and transphobia across our communities, OUT is a duet - a conversation between two bodies, which bravely carves out a new kind of space, reclaiming Dancehall and celebrating queerness amongst the bittersweet scent of oranges. An interdisciplinary performance inspired by ongoing global struggles for LGBTQIA+ rights, OUT is a defiant challenge to the status quo. Bravely embracing personal, political and cultural dissonance, this work smashes through our violent colonial histories to reimagine, reclaim and celebrate our delicious queer future. This show is a part of caravan assembly, a three-day event that presents contemporary performance made in England to an audience of international programmers and collaborators. The performances are open to the public as part of Brighton Festival and sit alongside a series of industry conversations and discussions for those participating in the assembly. caravan assembly is delivered by Farnham Maltings in partnership with Brighton Festival.

Philosophy of the World

11 May 2026 - 11 May 2026

A delirious, genre-defying explosion of sound, fury and feminist fire. It’s raucous, relentless and utterly alive, twisting and turning through the strange, tragic, true story of outsider musicians, The Shaggs. A long time ago, a man from a small town in New Hampshire received a palm reading. It told him his daughters would form a famous rock band. So he set about making that fate happen. The result is one album Philosophy Of The World (1969). Ridiculed in their fathers lifetime but revered as proto punk icons years later by Kurt Cobain and Frank Zappa, The Shaggs finally met their fate. Featuring questionable mime, high-intensity dance, awkward crowd work, stage combat, cheap wigs, gabber kicks, philosophising, and a well-trained actor, In Bed With My Brother twist rock ‘n’ roll history into a sweaty, sticky, searing rebellion. It’s a wild, tongue-in-cheek reclamation of who gets to define you, who decides whether you’re a legend or a loser and who owns the right (and the rights) to tell your story. This show is a part of caravan assembly, a three-day event that presents contemporary performance made in England to an audience of international programmers and collaborators. The performances are open to the public as part of Brighton Festival and sit alongside a series of industry conversations and discussions for those participating in the assembly. caravan assembly is delivered by Farnham Maltings in partnership with Brighton Festival.

Brighton and East Sussex Youth Orchestra

11 May 2026 - 11 May 2026

Aged 19, US-born Curtis Phill Hsu won the biennial Hastings International Piano Competition in 2024, having impressed the jury with his “artistry, musical maturity and technical brilliance”. He now returns to the Brighton Festival, following an impressive lunchtime recital of Debussy Préludes last year, to play Rachmaninoff’s hyper-romantic Second Piano Concerto alongside the youngsters of the Brighton and East Sussex Youth Orchestra. Written in 2024 for the young players of York’s Yorchestra, veteran British composer Nicola LeFanu’s exuberant Airs and Fanfares – alternating fanfares that showcase the brass with airs that foreground the woodwind – were specifically designed so as to, in her words,“ allow the advanced players to shine, but not daunt the less experienced”. To complete the programme, the tempestuous overture to pioneering suffragette composer Ethel Smyth’s Edwardian opera about murderous Cornish sea scavengers is offset against Saint-Saëns’s violin-led Hallowe’en vision of Death fiddling while skeletons dance on their graves. Artistic Director of the Brighton and East Sussex Youth Orchestra since its foundation in 2021, Peter Michael Davison enjoys a busy career in both the concert hall and the recording studio, and is equally comfortable conducting the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra or the soundtrack to Casualty.

How to Defeat the Far Right

11 May 2026 - 11 May 2026

If you’re shocked and disconcerted by the recent rise of intolerance and hate, you’re not alone. As we find ourselves in May, in the wake of local elections, none of us are sure what the landscape will look like. Will compassion and empathy have triumphed over divisive and damaging rhetoric or will we be painfully assessing the aftermath of an eruption in British politics? Brighton Festival brings together a group of speakers to respond live to the place we find ourselves in. Headed up by campaigner and founder of HOPE not hate, the UK’s leading anti-fascist organisation, Nick Lowles, whose book, How to Defeat the Far Right: Lessons From Hope Not Hate, addresses the real and present threat of the far right, explaining how its ideas are proliferating, why Britain isn’t immune to its rise, and what we can all do to defeat it. Lowles entwines his inspirational story with hard-won lessons from decades of activism, with topics covered including HOPE not hate’s undercover work and on-the-ground campaigning against the EDL, BNP, UKIP and Andrew Tate. About Nick Lowles Nick Lowles MBE is the founder and Chief Executive of HOPE not hate. He first got involved with the anti-fascist movement as a student volunteer at Sheffield University and was previously a freelance investigative journalist, working on BBC Panorama, World in Action, Channel Four Dispatches and MacIntyre Undercover. Between 1999 and 2011 Lowles was co-editor, and then editor, of Searchlight magazine. He founded HOPE not hate in 2004 and was awarded an MBE in 2016 for his services in tackling extremism.

Shakespeare's Sisters

10 May 2026 - 10 May 2026

This programme includes music from Schubert, Vaughan Williams, Haydn, Verdi, Purcell and more (full programme below) Miranda Richardson, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award-winning, star of stage and screen (The Hours, Sleepy Hollow, Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire), reads from Harriet Walter’s book, She Speaks! The book imagines – sometimes playfully, sometimes searchingly, but always in Shakespearean verse – what some of the Bard’s most intriguing female characters would have said, if only they’d been given more lines to say. Interspersing readings of Harriet’s own texts with some of the speeches that Shakespeare himself wrote for his women, this evening offers a chance to decide if the greatest writer in the English language was a radical feminist or a sexist pig. Meanwhile leading operatic soprano and concert recitalist Sophie Bevan and Grammy Award-winning pianist Christopher Glynn explore how these same women – mothers and mistresses, saints and sinners, fairies and murderers, witches and wenches – have inspired countless composers down the ages, from Purcell and Haydn through Schubert, Berlioz and Verdi to Bernstein and Madeleine Dring

Gen X Gen Z

10 May 2026 - 10 May 2026

Tom of Finland. Breastfeeding. Men. Raving at the Hacienda decades apart. Just the usual parent and child catch up. A show about parenting where Tink (parent) and Abra (child) ask ‘without you, who am I?’ It’s about growing up when your politics at home is miles ahead of the outside world. Imagine being parented by a Mancunian renegade who stays out all night but gets cross when you do. How does it feel being brown with a white mum? How do you know you’ve done a good job as a parent when you left home at 15? Abra thought her mum was normal until she started school and saw that no one else’s mum looked like hers. This show is a part of caravan assembly, a three-day event that presents contemporary performance made in England to an audience of international programmers and collaborators. The performances are open to the public as part of Brighton Festival and sit alongside a series of industry conversations and discussions for those participating in the assembly. caravan assembly is delivered by Farnham Maltings in partnership with Brighton Festival. Content guidance: Contains some language some may find offensive, references to sex, experiences of homophobia, transphobia, racism, sexism and ableism. References to the death of an infant

Liz Pichon

10 May 2026 - 10 May 2026

Join award-winning author and illustrator Liz Pichon as she celebrates 15 years of the multi-million bestselling Tom Gates series and takes you into the world of The Mubbles with drawing, games, storytelling and more. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates celebrates 15 years in 2026 and new book Pesky Pets and Parties (Hopefully) is the 24th book in the laugh-out-loud series filled with adventure, doodles, friends, foes and caramel wafers! The Mubbles live on the Isle of Smile and when the clouds of joy bump together to make a wonky rainbow, it’s a sign that someone or something is coming to visit. The hilarious full colour graphic novel series is filled with colourful characters, boundless fun and lots of adventures. Please bring a pen and paper for live drawing! 

Katie Kirby: Lottie Brooks’s Diary

10 May 2026 - 10 May 2026

The fantastically funny, relatable and CHART-TOPPING Lottie Brooks diary series, by number one bestselling author and illustrator Katie Kirby, is filled with first experiences, friendship fails, embarrassing moments and plenty of laughs. And so is this event! Lottie’s done with embarrassing herself. There can’t possibly be any more ways to do it! Right?

Zamrock Allstars: Sampa The Great x W.I.T.C.H.

9 May 2026 - 9 May 2026

Zamrock pioneers W.I.T.C.H share the stage with groundbreaking artist Sampa The Great in an exclusive collaboration for Brighton Festival. A night celebrating the new resurgence of Zamrock; bringing W.I.T.C.H., one of the original voices of this inspirational African music phenomenon together with Nu Zamrock wave led visionary - Sampa The Great, driving the next generation energy into a new cultural movement. The two acts will not only be sharing the stage in this evening of powerful and joyful music but will be collaborating and performing together in this UK exclusive for Brighton Festival. Sampa The Great is a Zambian-born, Botswana raised rapper, singer, and visionary who has long been celebrated as one of global hip-hop’s most compelling voices and is stepping into her most powerful era yet. In recent years, she has embarked on a musical journey, discovering that her connection to Zamrock runs deeper in her family than she ever realised. In 2023, she learned that her uncle, Joe “Groovy Joe” Kunda, is the founder of the band W.I.T.C.H., and that he had recruited lead singer Jagari long before her own collaboration with the band, or her Zamrock discovery. This special performance, embracing legacy, destiny, and evolution, sees her fully stepping into the electrifying energy of Zamrock. Sampa The Great Zambian-born rapper, singer, and visionary Sampa The Great has long been celebrated as one of global hip-hop’s most compelling voices, and is stepping into her most powerful era yet. Winning multiple awards for her groundbreaking albums and performing on some of the world’s most iconic stages, from Coachella and Glastonbury to NPR’s Tiny Desk, Sampa’s achievements have seen her build a global fanbase while continuously pushing and challenging artistic and cultural boundaries. Relocating back to Zambia in 2020 marked a pivotal shift in her artistry, deepening her connection to her roots and shaping her sonic evolution. A white man wearing sunglasses, a Black man wearing sunglasses and a white man stand behind two black men sat on a wooden bench. They are all wearing clothes covered in red, green and black tribal prints W.I.T.C.H. W.I.T.C.H. (We Intend To Cause Havoc) were the biggest rock band in Zambia in the 1970s and spearheaded Zamrock, fusing influences that ranged from the Rolling Stones to Black Sabbath and James Brown and mixing them with traditional African rhythms and bush village songs. As Zambia’s economy stagnated and the country buckled under the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, W.I.T.C.H. fell apart. Their charismatic lead singer Jagarii retreated to a life of quasi-anonymity as a university music professor before being wrongfully arrested and finally ending up working in a Zambian gemstone mine. In the new century, the music found a new audience when Now Again Records reissued their entire discography in 2012. Jagari began a collaboration with Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskoviç, and W.I.T.C.H. was reborn.

Patrice Lawrence: The Elemental Detectives

9 May 2026 - 9 May 2026

Join award-winning writer Patrice Lawrence to learn about her critically acclaimed series The Elemental Detectives. Expect surprises at every turn as Patrice discusses the real-life inspirations behind her work, the pride and vibrancy of mixed heritage, and shares invaluable tips on crafting your own compelling story. About Patrice Lawrence Patrice Lawrence writes for children and adults mostly with a hint of crime. Her books have been shortlisted for the Costa Children's Award, Nero Book Awards and Carnegie Medal, and won a number of awards including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize for Older Fiction, the Bookseller YA Book Prize, the Crime Fest Award for Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (twice), the Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour and the the Little Rebels Award. Patrice has been awarded the MBE for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Joelle Taylor: Queer Narratives Writing Workshop

9 May 2026 - 9 May 2026

A workshop focused on exploring queer narratives - based around the processes and ideas behind Joelle Taylor’s new poetry collection, Maryville. You’ll gather ideas for writing your own poetry, take part in writing exercises and start developing your poetic voice. This workshop is for participants who identify as LGBTQIA+ and is for all writing abilities. Joelle Taylor Joelle Taylor is the author of four poetry collections, and one novel. C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 T.S Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize and is currently being adapted both for theatre, and into a television screenplay, and was featured on Radio Three documentary Butch. She is a co- curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre and tours her work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of venues, from Australia to Brazil. Her novel The Night Alphabet was published in Spring of 2024 and was named both a Spectator and Guardian Book of the Year. Her most recent radio programme A Young Girl’s Guide to Horror was broadcast on BBC Radio Four. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year. She was recently honoured with a DIVA Award for Outstanding Contribution and named in the Guardian’s 2024 Pride Power list. Her new collection Maryville was published by Bloomsbury in November.

Christopher Edge: Fear Files

9 May 2026 - 17 May 2026

Uncover the spooky mysteries of Fear Files: Hide and Seek with Christopher Edge in an exciting and interactive event based on his new middle-grade horror series. Christopher will challenge the audience with some spine-tingling puzzles and mini-quests to unlock the secrets of the Darkive, an online database of the strange and unexplained. Can the audience help Christopher stay one step ahead of the Itter? About Christopher Edge Christopher Edge is an award-winning children’s author whose books have been translated into more than twenty languages. His novels include The Times Children’s Book of the Week Escape Room, and The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day, which won the STEAM Children’s Book Prize. Described by The Guardian as “a writer of genuine originality” and by The Times as “no ordinary author,” Christopher grew up in Manchester, but now lives in Gloucestershire, close to his local library.

Time Keeps The Drummer

8 May 2026 - 10 May 2026

A bold, new durational performance where time is fluid, joyful and chaotic. A space of wild abandon and limitless possibility. Explore time from children's point of view in a five-hour durational performance for family and adult audiences. Time Keeps the Drummer brings together 12 local children and a single adult percussionist in a performance that explores time from a child's perspective: time as play, experimentation and repetition. The audience, both children and adults alike, are invited to slow down, linger and rest, coming and going throughout to engage with the performance on their own terms. Each live-directed performance unfolds as a unique and unrepeatable experience, shifting between theatre and live gallery installation through improvised movement, text, projection, music and lighting. The percussionist plays a motion-capture drum kit to create a continuous beat of clock time, which the audience can hear through headphones before setting them aside to enter the world of children's time.

London Symphony Orchestra

8 May 2026 - 8 May 2026

In his Third Piano Concerto, by turns tempestuous, tuneful and tender, Beethoven typically transformed any passing hints of pessimism into an ending of ebullient, unalloyed joy. Tchaikovsky, by contrast, concluded his symphonic swansong, premiered just nine days before his untimely death from cholera, with a headlong descent from the heady heights of euphoria into the dark depths of despair – and yet the Pathétique Symphony still lives on as one of the most poignantly personal last testaments in all of Western classical music. One of the world’s finest ensembles, the London Symphony Orchestra makes its annual visit to the Brighton Festival under its Chief Conductor, Sir Antonio Pappano, cementing a musical partnership that just goes from strength to strength. They’re joined by expatriate Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin, who won First Prize in the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2010 and has recently performed concerts for the Barenboim-Said Foundation in aid of Ukrainian refugees. Supported by Prof David Gann CBE FREng

Joelle Taylor: Maryville

8 May 2026 - 9 May 2026

Joelle Taylor brings a staged reading of her new poetry collection to Brighton Festival; a searing, poetic excavation of 50 years of lesbian counterculture. Following on from her T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poetry collection C+nto & Othered Poems, Joelle Taylor’s Maryville charts the lives of four butch lesbians through five decades of underground queer history, tracing the culture, clubs and resistance that shaped their world. The performance is directed by acclaimed writer and director Neil Bartlett, with visuals from artist and filmmaker Sweatmother. It will be followed by an on-stage Q&A and book signings. Friday's Q&A will be chaired by poet John McCullough and Saturday's Q&A will be chaired by Dr Rosy Carrick, a poet, playwright, actor, translator and stage compere. BSL interpreted on Sat 9 May

Philippa Perry: Shrink Solves Murder

7 May 2026 - 7 May 2026

Hear from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, Philippa Perry as she delves into the world of crime. Shrink Solves Murder is a warm, witty and wise crime caper from the nation’s favourite therapist. Philippa Perry talks about her new book and reveals why a psychotherapist makes a perfect detective. After all, they spend their days listening to secrets, fantasies and motives. About Philippa Perry: Philippa Perry is an artist and psychotherapist as well as a TV and radio presenter. She is the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read and The Book You Want Everyone You Love To Read?(And Maybe a Few You Don’t), published by Cornerstone Press. Her books have been translated in over 40 languages.

Minerva Baroque

7 May 2026 - 7 May 2026

This programme includes music from Handel, Corelli, Purcell & more (full programme below) With the united aim of exploring London’s musical heritage through the lens of Handel’s life, work and legacy, the four musicians of Minerva Baroque (three instrumentalists and a soprano) recreate the typical repertoire of an 18th-century English music room. Sacred and secular vocal works by Handel himself (setting texts in his native German as well as his adopted Italian and English tongues) are interspersed with pieces by his great English precursor Henry Purcell and his younger contemporary Thomas Arne (of Rule, Britannia! fame), a stately air from Playford’s English Dancing Master and a popular sonata by Handel’s Italian mentor Arcangelo Corelli. In Association with Brighton Early Music Festival

Laurie Anderson: The Republic of Love

16 Apr 2026 - 6 May 2026

Pioneering artist Laurie Anderson returns to Brighton Festival with a solo version of The Republic of Love; a project about the relationship between government and love. Laurie Anderson launched her musical career in 1981 with the release of O Superman, and has since established herself as an innovative and groundbreaking writer, director, composer, visual artist and musician. Her avant-garde take on pop music redefined the genre, transforming complex ideas into immersive experiences using music, technology and performance art. She returns to Brighton for the first time since being Guest Director for Brighton Festival's 50th Edition in 2016. Born from a two-hour talk about the relationship of Government and love written for a Vienna-based festival themed around the rise of Fascism in Europe, The Republic of Love is a celebration of freedom. Featuring songs from Anderson’s discography, including Big Science and Language Is A Virus, this multi-sensory immersive experience of music, language and visual art takes songs from the past and provides reflections on how they take new meaning in today’s political climate.

NOVO Quartet

5 May 2026 - 5 May 2026

Four “best friends” who met at music college in Copenhagen, the Novo Quartet have gone on to win multiple international awards. Currently BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Ensemble in Association at the Royal Northern College of Music, their recent debut album, TRACK 1, was named Editor’s Choice in Gramophone magazine. Keen champions of contemporary music, as well as contemporary fashion, they pair Beethoven’s most monumental, mysterious and sublime “late quartet” – reportedly the composer’s own favourite string quartet – with a modern and slyly teasing take on a Haydn minuet and trio by Grammy Award-winning US composer Caroline Shaw. The Novo Quartet on Caroline Shaw's piece: 'Our first encounter with her sound world was through a shared concert we had with the wonderful violinist Mari Samuelsen, who had a great concept mixing Baroque pieces with minimalist music. Those two styles actually go really well together, because they’re both very “pure” kinds of music built on clear structures and simple ideas. That was actually our first real meeting with minimalistic contemporary music. We think this piece is a great way into contemporary music for people who might normally feel a bit unsure or sceptical about it. It’s quite simple on the surface, but it really milks a lot of interesting harmonies and colours. There’s a strong pulse and a directness that makes it easy to listen to. “Entr’acte" is inspired by Haydn’s String Quartet op. 77 no. 2, which is why we programme the two works together. Unfortunately, no time for Haydn this time!'

St John Passion

4 May 2026 - 4 May 2026

In this bold, contemporary staging of Bach’s St John Passion, the story of life, death and resurrection – of a person persecuted for their beliefs, crushed by authority and ultimately transformed through resilience and hope – is made even more urgently familiar, and given extra immediacy and clarity, by being sung in English. Combined with the artistry of the Britten Sinfonia and an international cast of young international soloists from William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants and Le Jardin des Voix, the magnificent Brighton Festival Chorus and Youth Choir will sing from memory while moving through the space so as to dissolve boundaries between performers and audience. Community choirs and audience members will also be able to join in the chorales, and there will be an opportunity to attend a preparatory workshop so as to open up the music to everyone. With hundreds of people performing together, the result will be a moving and collective act of storytelling through music. Directed by James Morgan, this will be a vibrant, fearless and modern retelling of Bach’s transformational story – a story that still resonates today across faiths, cultures and communities, encouraging us to meditate upon timeless themes of justice, compassion and redemption.

Ak/Dk & Danalogue

3 May 2026 - 3 May 2026

AK/DK and Danalogue come together to share the stage for a night dedicated to building mind-melting sonic worlds through the most imaginative and authentic use of synths, beats and full-on live performances. Having recently toured the world as a founding member and producer of the powerful, revered and musically unclassifiable trio The Comet Is Coming, Dan Leavers aka Danalogue, now presents his fearless experimental solo live show which promises to take us on a journey through deep cosmic ambience and propulsive dancefloor dreamscapes. Known for their high-energy and structural abandon as a live act, AK/DK will close the night with improvised layers of fuzzed-up synths, delays and thunderous double drums. Their stream of fizzing arpeggios and crushing motorik drums has earned them places on stages and at festivals all around the UK, Europe and South America including Manchester Psych, Latitude and End of The Road.

Michael Rosen & MC Grammar: Ridiculous Raps & Rhymes

3 May 2026 - 3 May 2026

Get ready to rhyme, rap and ROAR with laughter! Former Children’s Laureate and poetry icon Michael Rosen has teamed up with award-winning rapping teacher & World Book Day ambassador, MC Grammar, for an action-packed musical showdown. This unmissable family show pits Raps against Rhymes in a high-energy, laugh-filled musical celebration of words.

KlangHaus: Last Haus on Earth

2 May 2026 - 23 May 2026

A totally unique, site-responsive experience where barriers between performers and audience are dismantled in an audio-visual sensual storm. Part gig, part cinematic installation, KlangHaus unites the raw energy of The Neutrinos with the stunningly evocative visual language of Sal Pittman. Together, they transform the space into a living, breathing canvas of light and sound, navigating a breathtaking spectrum from pin-drop quiet to full-on loud and back again. Performed in a dramatically enhanced domestic setting where you are welcomed into the artists’ personal space, immersed in the present, the sound, the light. We invite you to sit, stand, lean and move in and around the performers for a full-on sensory experience. A Brighton Festival Exclusive. Supported by Arts Council England, Norwich Arts Centre, National Centre for Writing.

KlangHaus: Darkroom

2 May 2026 - 23 May 2026

An immersive, multi-sensory, intense, profoundly emotional and affecting climate-chaos wake-up call. Virtual reality for the ears and eyes. Conceived working with climate themes in collaboration with scientists at University of East Anglia’s Tyndall Centre, Darkroom was originally presented by invitation at Glasgow’s COP26 International Climate Change Conference. Now the 20-minute installation for just six audience members at a time, held in complete darkness, has been updated and reimagined for Brighton Festival. A Brighton Festival exclusive.

Kneebody

2 May 2026 - 2 May 2026

New Generation Jazz continue their mission to bring the best international jazz talent to Brighton presenting Grammy-nominated US jazz-fusion legends KNEEBODY for their only UK gig outside London. KNEEBODY, are globally recognised as one of the most genre bending, adventurous and exciting bands of their generation for their sheer virtuosity and musicianship. Their sound is an explosive blend of rock energy and high-level, nuanced chamber ensemble playing, set within the frames of highly wrought compositions that balance adventurous, no-holds-barred improvisation. Now, in 2025, Kneebody embarks on an exciting new chapter with the release of their highly anticipated album, Reach, set to drop on April 18 via GroundUP Music. This marks the band's latest project as a quartet, featuring keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, saxophonist Ben Wendel, and the uniquely dynamic Nate Wood, who simultaneously handles both bass and drums. Reach exemplifies Kneebody’s continued evolution, pushing the boundaries of genre while delivering their signature blend of intricate composition and raw energy. Support comes from New Generation Jazz showcase ensemble New Generation Jazz Futures. Jazz Futures is a free access music education programme for young people based at Brighton Youth Centre, providing weekly group workshops, talent development and performance opportunities for young jazz musicians.

One World Orchestra

1 May 2026 - 1 May 2026

Eighteen global musicians from sixteen countries come together with one bold musical vision. Founded in 2023, One World Orchestra brings together musicians to create an exhilarating fusion where ancient instruments meet contemporary beats, salsa montunos collide with English folk and Arabic maqams, and authentic rhythms from around the world pulse through UK Grime and African harmonies. The group exists as a proud declaration that difference isn't just to be tolerated, but is a vital force that can strengthen and heal fractured communities. Their compositions and covers move between moments of delicate reflection to electrifying fusion, bringing languages, traditions and sounds together from diverse cultures. At a One World Orchestra concert everyone’s a member of the band, so come prepared to sing, dance and drum to create a unique night to remember.

Beverly Glenn-Copeland

1 May 2026 - 1 May 2026

Fresh off the release of his brand-new album Laughter In Summer, the legendary singer, composer and transgender activist comes to Brighton Festival. After remaining virtually undiscovered until 2015 at the age of 71, Beverly Glenn-Copeland was approached by a Japanese collector seeking copies of his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies. A domino-effect ensued, inspiring reissues, new recordings and collaboration with Sam Smith and Romy of The xx. His latest album Laughter In Summer is a collaborative love letter between himself and his eco-poet, theatre actor and producer Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland. It symbolises the memories, shared devotion and joy of a life lived together, as well as the grief felt following Beverly’s diagnosis with a version of dementia known as LATE. Genre-defying and deeply intuitive, he brings his unique blend of folk, jazz, classical and electronic music to the Brighton Dome Concert Hall stage. With minimalist structures and gentle vocals, Beverly Glenn Copeland’s music is intimate and deeply intuitive. Joining him on stage will be the 60-piece, London-based, all-genders FChoir, a community choir using music as a feminist practice and providing space for all voices to be heard without assumptions of gender, origin or sexuality.

Anthony Scaramucci: The All The Wrong Moves Tour

15 Sept 2026 - 15 Sept 2026

Financier, podcaster, political commentator and former Trump White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci comes to Brighton Dome to explore how the United States became so deeply divided, and crucially, how it might begin to move forward Anthony Scaramucci, one of the most recognisable figures in modern American politics, will come to Brighton Dome in September - on the eve of the pivotal US midterm elections - to discuss the United States, ahead of his new book All the Wrong Moves Drawing on his unique experience at the heart of Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Washington, Scaramucci will examine the cultural, political and economic decisions that have fuelled America’s polarisation. Throughout his tour, Scaramucci will expand on the themes of the book in conversation with leading interviewers, offering insight, analysis and sharp-edged commentary on power, populism, media and the future of democracy. Anthony Scaramucci is the Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital, an alternative investments firm with approximately $10 billion in assets under management, including Bitcoin. He served as Donald Trump’s White House Director of Communications in 2017 for 11 days before Trump fired him and is the author of three previous books: The Little Book of Hedge Funds, Goodbye Gordon Gekko and Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole, a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Presented by Intelligence Squared

Lucy Beaumont - Bad at Quiz Shows, Good With Weirdos

16 May 2026 - 17 Jun 2027

Lucy Beaumont has had quite the year. She lost a contestant £79,000 on The Wheel, forgot to revise for Mastermind and generally confirmed she’s terrible at quiz shows. So she’s sticking with what she does best - she’s back on the road with a brand new show. Following the success of her sell-out debut UK tour, Lucy returns with Bad at Quiz Shows, Good with Weirdos - an evening packed with chaotic brilliance, mayhem and beautifully surreal storytelling that’s made her one of the UK’s most beloved comedians. Expect tales of going into hiding after Celebrity Traitors, creating cow udder couture on The Great British Sewing Bee and navigating life as someone for whom “normal” has never made much of an appearance. Whether you loved her on Taskmaster, know her from her award-winning sitcom or just appreciate someone who turns everyday disasters into comedic gold, this is the night out you need. Come for the chaos. Stay for the weirdos.

Hollie McNish & Harry Baker

26 Nov 2026 - 27 Nov 2026

Spoken word sets from Hollie McNish & Harry Baker.

African Soul Rebels featuring Les Amazones d’Afrique, Gasper Nali

2 Oct 2026 - 2 Oct 2026

African Soul Rebels featuring Les Amazones d’Afrique, Gasper Nali + support.

The Age of Consent

2 May 2026 - 2 May 2026

Bronski Beat’s defiant debut album, live and reimagined through the voices of ground-breaking queer and trans contemporary artists including Planningtorock, Tom Rasmussen and Bishi. A piece of musical and political history from 1980s Britain, The Age of Consent is presented as you’ve never heard it before. This show features a powerhouse line-up including Planningtorock, Tom Rasmussen and Bishi, plus more to be announced. Backed by The Chateau Collective; a specially curated queer house band performing bold new arrangements of the record, including Smalltown Boy and Why. An unashamed portrait of radical queerness in 1980s Britain, this record marked a pivotal moment in LGBTIQA+ cultural history, acting as a beacon of hope for a generation of disenfranchised youth. Originally staged in 2024 to celebrate the record’s 40th anniversary, The Age of Consent is now back by popular demand, re-energised and revitalised. Join us for a musical celebration, and a collective call to action for the work still to be done in the fight for queer and trans liberation.

Patti Smith

12 May 2026 - 12 May 2026

Patti Smith, born in Chicago and raised in South Jersey, migrated to New York in 1967. Patricia Lee Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, and author whose 1975 debut album Horses elevated her as an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement of the 1970s. Smith has fused rock and poetry in her work.

Stevie Martin: Clout

1 Apr 2026 - 30 Oct 2026

Stevie Martin has built a significant following and acclaim for her prolific online output which includes a series of regular viral sketches with Lola-Rose Maxwell which have amassed over 20 million views (3 million of which on Tiktok) two hit podcasts (Nobody Panic with Tessa Coates and Might Delete Later with Gina Martin) which collectively receive over 100,000 downloads a month, and a regular long-form improvised comedy book club on Twitch. A writer published everywhere from Vice to the Guardian, Stevie’s first book, Nobody Panic, was published by Hodder Studios and adapts her hit podcast.

Happy Hills: Create a Comic Character with Sophy Henn

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Learn how to create a comic character with Sophy Henn.

I Tell Myself I’m Awesome with Joshua Seigal

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Joshua Seigal discussing his new book of children's poetry, I Tell Myself I’m Awesome.

Jerwood Glyndebourne Young Singers with Matthew Fletcher

18 May 2026 - 18 May 2026

The annual visit by Glyndebourne’s Jerwood Young Artists is always a highlight of our Lunchtime series – a wonderful opportunity for you to talent-scout the opera stars of tomorrow, as exceptional young singers selected from the Festival Chorus, and generously supported in their career development by the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, step out of the chorus line into the limelight to perform their favourite excerpts from across the operatic repertoire.

Kohlhaas

1 May 2026 - 5 May 2026

The first ever Brighton Festival Production, and a world premiere, Kohlhaas has been developed specifically for the refurbished Brighton Dome Corn Exchange. A bold adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist’s novella Michael Kohlhaas, it asks what happens when justice fails, and one man refuses to let it go? Performed by the critically acclaimed Arinzé Kene (Misty, Girl From The North Country, Get Up Stand Up), Kohlhaas tells the story of a 16th century German horse dealer who seeks redress after a local Baron tricks him out of his two most beautiful horses. When met with corruption and indifference, a principled demand for fairness spirals into an uncompromising quest for justice, with violent and far-reaching consequences. Translated and directed by Omar Elerian (Misty, The Chairs, Rhinoceros), and adapted by the pioneering Italian playwrights, Marco Baliani and Remo Rostagno, Kohlhaas reunites Elerian and Kene in their first one-man show since the Olivier-Award nominated Misty. Urgent, unsettling and fiercely contemporary, Kohlhaas is an atmospheric, brooding journey into the psychology of protest and resistance, asking what does justice really look like when systems are broken, and rights are denied – and how far is too far?

This is Who I Am with Rashmi Sirdeshpande

17 May 2026 - 17 May 2026

Discover that we are so much more than where we are from with award-winning Rashmi Sirdeshpande, as she presents her latest picture book, This is Who I Am. This beautiful, poetic celebration of children with shared heritage, illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane, was one of the Guardian’s Best Children’s Books of 2025. Join Rashmi as she discusses all the things that make us who we are and how we should be proud of that.  Rashmi Sirdeshpande is a lawyer-turned-storyteller, who was part of the Penguin Random House WriteNow mentoring programme in 2018. As a British Indian child, she didn't get to see many children like her in the books she read, so she is now passionate about writing stories that children from all backgrounds can relate to.

Dark Noon

21 May 2026 - 24 May 2026

A mind-blowing theatrical experience – a brutal reimagining of the history of America Dark Noon by fix+foxy flips the script on the Wild West, envisioning US history as absurd, horrifying and deeply profound. A pioneer town springs up in real time as an extraordinary cast of South African actors rebuild the frontier through an outsider’s lens. With slapstick humour, satire and breath-taking stagecraft, the show comes fresh from five-star runs at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Factory International Manchester, St. Ann’s Warehouse New York and Sydney Festival. Dark Noon transforms Brighton Dome Corn Exchange for a limited run, pulling audiences into a raw, immersive ride through history that confronts power, race and displacement.

Mehfils: A Studio Theatre Takeover: Shift Octatonic

23 May 2026 - 23 May 2026

Join us for a specially curated Mehfil gathering where performers and audience come together to experience the 'rasa' (emotion) of South Asian classical arts. In this first performance forming Mehfil's 'A Studio Theatre Takeover', the Artistic Director of zerOclassikal Jonathan Mayer leads an experimental approach to the use the octatonic scale in a raag setting, colliding and connecting to create a new piece. Shift Octatonic shows the migration of the scale that was made popular in the 20th century by European composers, moving from Persia to the West and now to South Asia, in a revolutionary set of transpositions with electronic raag and taal. Bring or find a rug or cushion in this relaxed setting where you are encouraged to find your own place around the stage. Jonathan Mayer (sitar), William Rees Hoffman (sarod), Robin Christian (bansuri flute), Chandra Chakraborty (vocals), Debashish Mukerjee (tabla) and Carmilo Tirado (electronics), Kathak choreographed by Amina Khayyam

Alison Moyet

4 Oct 2026 - 23 Nov 2026

The tour celebrates 40 years as a solo artist as well as the release of her new album ‘KEY’ on Fri 4 Oct, which features a collection of reworked singles, fan favourites, deep cuts and two new songs. That unmistakable voice - big enough to fill a stadium and yet intimate enough to make you feel as though she’s singing just for you - has taken her on quite a journey with career highlights including two #1 albums, six Top 10 singles, two BRIT Awards and a Grammy nomination.

Rhys James: Chop Logic

10 Sept 2026 - 13 May 2027

A fast, forensic show of big ideas and gag-dense overthinking from one of the nation’s sharpest stand-ups. Rhys has made a discovery that could fix everything. It’s been staring him in the face the whole time, in a mirror held behind his head. If he can ignore his own problems for long enough, he might just be able to solve yours. Star of TLC’s Mock The Week and BBC Radio 4’s Rhysearch, also seen furrowing his brow on QI, Live At The Apollo and his viral U&Dave lecture, ‘I Stalk Strangers Online’.

Earl Sweatshirt

25 Aug 2026 - 3 Sept 2026

Known for a creatively languid style that has swung lyrically from highly personal alt-rap to morbid horrorcore, Earl Sweatshirt helped launch Odd Future into hip-hop prominence around the turn of the 2010s and has since remained among the most unique rapper/producers around. Since making his solo debut with the acclaimed mixtape Earl (2010), his first two albums, Doris (2013) and the seriously (and descriptively) titled I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside (2015), have placed in the upper reaches of the Billboard 200 chart. By the time he released his third album, Some Rap Songs (2018), Earl had either produced or appeared on tracks by most of the Odd Future affiliates, including Tyler, The Creator and Frank Ocean, as well as similarly left-field artists such as Danny Brown and Denmark Vessey. His fourth album, the tightly focused Sick!, arrived in January 2022, and the drill-influenced single "Making the Band (Danity Kane)" surfaced in 2023.

Jazz Emu

9 Sept 2026 - 11 Nov 2026

JAZZ EMU is the viral comedy character sensation from award-winning writer, actor, musician Archie Henderson. Garnering over 70 million views, 430k followers on YouTube, 10 million views and 258k followers on TikTok and over 74k monthly listeners and 20 million streams on Spotify, Jazz Emu has developed an ever-growing avid fanbase over the past couple of years. Following runs at the Soho Theatre & Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jazz Emu will be touring his hotly anticipated brand-new show, Knight Fever alongside his full live band, The Cosmique Perfectión. Knight Fever sees Jazz and The Cosmique Perfectión’s dreams come true when they secure the coveted slot to perform the headline slot at The Royal Variety Show; at long last, Jazz Emu has a chance to secure his long-coveted Knighthood. But there’s bad news; a series of recent criminal allegations are threatening to snatch the coveted prize from before his very, very, very eyes. Will Jazz and his Contractually-Less-Talented-Than-Him band, be able to put on a Heck Of A Show and secure a Royal Pardon? Or will Jazz’s next performance be in the canteen at Wormwood Scrubs? The only way to find out is to settle in and watch the musical fever dream that is Jazz Emu: Knight Fever.

Ahir Shah

5 Jun 2026 - 14 Mar 2027

HBO and Netflix star Ahir Shah (Live at the Apollo, Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, QI) is back with his new stand-up show Golden. His last show, Ends, won the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, sold out shows across the world and was recorded as a comedy special for Netflix. Ahir has also been seen and heard on shows including Ahir Shah: Dots (HBO), Jurassic World 3, Foundation (Apple TV), Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC2), The Last Leg (C4), The Mash Report (BBC2), Frankie Boyle's New World Order (BBC2) and The Now Show (BBCR4).

The Shires

8 Aug 2026 - 20 Nov 2026

UK country superstars The Shires first entered the history books in 2015, when their debut album, Brave, became the first ever British country album to enter the UK Top Ten. Their second album, My Universe, also broke new ground by becoming the fastest-selling British country album of all time and reached the top three in the UK chart. After an incredible two years, Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes, hailing from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, have fast become a firm favourite in the UK country music scene. Now they’re making their mark in Nashville too. With two gold certified albums under their belt within 12 months of each other and nine playlisted tracks across BBC Music, The Shires are back and they’re raring to go.

Vittorio Angelone

19 Sept 2026 - 7 Oct 2026

Vittorio Angelone is an Italian-Irish comedian who grew up in Belfast. After moving to London to train as a classical musician he eventually made the predictable switch to stand-up comedy. He has risen through the ranks of the comedy world at an incredible speed, building a following with stand-up clips, podcasts and sketches amassing millions of views online.

Midge Ure

8 May 2026 - 30 Nov 2026

Midge Ure, born James Ure, is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and producer known for his work in various bands and as a solo artist. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly with the bands Slik, Rich Kids, Visage, and most notably, Ultravox. Ure is also recognized for his co-writing and production of the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and his involvement in organizing Band Aid, Live Aid, and Live 8.

geography

How Geography Explains Our World, With Tim Marshall

28 Sept 2026 - 28 Sept 2026

Tim Marshall is one of the world’s most successful authors on foreign affairs. He’s the writer who put the ‘geo’ into geopolitics with his multi-million selling books Prisoners of Geography and The Power of Geography. Marshall’s principal argument is that without geography we cannot understand the world. Geography explains why China would find it highly difficult to invade Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait is about 130 km wide at its narrowest point, which is roughly three times the distance from Dover to Calais. Any invading force would face inhospitable coastlines, unpredictable monsoons and muddy, tidal beaches. Beijing might decide in time that these are risks worth taking. But these basic and immutable facts of natural terrain still matter hugely in international affairs.

Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks

6 Sept 2026 - 1 Oct 2026

Jon Anderson is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable voices in music as the lead vocalist and creative force behind YES. Anderson was the author and a major creative influence behind the ground-breaking album Fragile as well as the series of epic, complex pieces such as Awaken, Gates of Delirium and especially Close to the Edge which were central to the band's success. Additionally, Anderson co-authored the group's biggest hits, including I've Seen All Good People, Roundabout and Owner Of A Lonely Heart. After 50 years of success in the music business, Jon has worked with many variations of YES, as well as collaborations with Vangelis, Kitaro, Roine Stolt and Jean-Luc Ponty. He has released several critically acclaimed solo albums including Olias of Sunhillow, Song of Seven, Animation, Three Ships, Toltec and Survival and Other Stories and most recently 1000 Hands to name just a few. The Band Geeks began as the house band for the Band Geek podcast, an internet show created by Richie Castellano (Blue Öyster Cult). The band gained popularity on YouTube with their incredibly detailed recreations of music by artists like Queen, Toto, Black Sabbath and Yes, which have earned the Band Geeks over 30 million views. The Band Geeks: Richie Castellano (Blue Öyster Cult) - Bass, Guitar Chris Clark (Brand X, John Entwistle) - Keyboards Andy Ascolese (Kasim Sulton’s Utopia, Celebrating Meat Loaf) - Drums Phil Castellano - Keyboards, Guitar Matt Beck Graziano - Guitar

Juliet & Romeo

12 Nov 2026 - 14 Nov 2026

A retelling of Shakespeare's classic tragedy.

Alice Cooper: Devil on My Shoulder Book Tour

11 Oct 2026 - 20 Oct 2026

Alice Cooper announces the release of his definitive autobiography, ‘Devil on my Shoulder’, published by Ebury Spotlight on 8th October 2026. This long-awaited autobiography finally lifts the lid on one of the greatest lives in music. Building on over sixty years of rock folklore, Cooper will support the book’s launch with an intimate 8-date UK speaking tour. Each evening will feature the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in conversation with a special guest moderator, followed by an audience Q&A, offering fans a rare glimpse behind the greasepaint and guillotines. There are two, seemingly irreconcilable, Alice Coopers - the murderous, morally corrupt theatrical character who threatened the moral fibre of the western world… and the man who plays him, a sober pastor’s son who has been happily married for 50 years. Along the way, the two became schizophrenically intertwined. And in a haze of pioneering rock n roll, alcohol, drugs, iconic songs and wild gigs, guillotines, slaughtered chickens, legendary friends, rumours, snakes, Ouija boards, surrealism, house fires and car crashes - they nearly killed each other. In the Sixties and early Seventies, Alice Cooper was simply a rock group, but as their lead singer, Vincent Damon Furnier, developed his modern-day Grand Guignol character, Alice Cooper became his stage name. Then, on a wave of global success, he legally changed it to his own. With a career spanning six decades, Alice's story features witty, intimate anecdotes featuring Salvador Dalí, Bob Hope, John Lennon, Groucho Marx, Vincent Price, Frank Sinatra, Erroll Flynn, Bette Davis, Jim Hendrix, Gerald Ford, Andy Warhol, Tiger Woods, to name a few, but he's also an acute observer of dysfunction and despair, wildness and criminality, urges and addictions, transgressions and human goodness. And so he tells his story from both perspectives: angel on one shoulder, devil on the other. Devil on My Shoulder is the definitive memoir from one of the most iconic music artists of our generation.

Hothouse Flowers

3 Nov 2026 - 27 Dec 2026

Since the release of their last CD, 'Into Your Heart' Hothouse Flowers have been playing steadily around Ireland, America, Great Britain, Japan and Europe. Their shows last between two and three hours depending on the level of fever in the room. Most recently their sound has been enhanced and reinvigorated by the return of Peter O’Toole on bass, bouzouki and vocals. Drumming with the band these last ten years is Dave Clarke. Dave has been a drummer in Dublin since the beginning. His commitment to the beat is mesmerizing. His style has been a force in the direction of Hothouse Flowers today. Also playing with the band these days is Dorset man Martin Brunsden on double bass and backing vocals. His musicality adds yet another dimension to the ever evolving sound of the band. There is an unpredictable energy in the band that harkens back to the 'Risk' days. They call upon their grand repertoire to create a show that is unique to the time and place. No two shows are the same. Improvisation can come at any point and allow the men express their brightest and their darkest influences. 'Rock and Roll is not about safety or politeness, it is not about perfection either. It is expression and it is spirit.' Humour is also never far from a Hothouse Flowers night. They do not take themselves seriously however, there is no mistaking the musical integrity among them as they open up to each other in musical dialogue. Fiachna, Liam and Peter are traditional musicians. This allows for moments of ancestral connection. What was a second before a Doors-like workout, becomes an earnest and a timeless offering to the memory of Currachaí na Tra Báine. A song inherited by Fiachna describing the blow inflicted upon a community and a family due to drowning. This moment and moments like these set the Flowers apart from almost any other band of their time and trade. They are carriers of Culture and all of what that entails. Hothouse Flowers came out of tough times. They played the streets and brought the streets to the stages of the world. Individually Fiachna and Liam are enjoying a broadening of their horizons. Fiachna has been producing and presenting radio and television programmes and working as a composer of music for television. Liam has been collaborating with the Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre Company. Still Hothouse Flowers has not yet fulfilled her destiny. The possibilities are endless. The will is there. Ni fada go bhfeicfear.

Alan Carr: Have I Said Too Much?

13 Jan 2027 - 4 Dec 2027

Alan Carr’s back on tour and his lips are unsealed! With a big mouth and a talent for oversharing, Alan’s ready to dish some drama. Expect stories of dipping into the dating pool, navigating showbiz green rooms and a sprinkling of tales from the Traitors turret.

Dylan Moran: We Got This

3 Jul 2026 - 30 May 2027

How can it be you have spent a whole ten minutes staring at a banana? Why do you always do stuff like that? Why do you never do the other really great things where it’s much, much better - and afterwards you don’t want to saw off your own face and post it back to yourself with not quite enough stamps? Also, learn how to make breakfast not even knowing you are out of bed. Diagnose the mirror, reason with the mice and boil yoghurt blindfolded. Enjoy the fruits of hurtling cognitive decline and your neighbour’s sprawling ghastliness, absence of humanity and so, so much more. These times have not been easy. We Got This is the brand new show from BAFTA and Perrier award winning comedian Dylan Moran. It promises to be a joyously furious romp through the frustration and folly of modern day life.

Joshua Idehen

14 Apr 2026 - 16 Nov 2026

Joshua Idehen is a British-born Nigerian residing in Sweden. A spoken-word and poetry artist and musician, he has written poems on the Mercury-nominated albums “Channel The Spirits” by The Comet Is Coming, “Your Queen Is A Reptile”, and mobo-winning “Black Is The Future” both by Sons of Kemet.

Ed Gamble: Fresh Hell

18 Apr 2026 - 26 Jun 2027

Everyone’s annoying cousin, Ed Gamble, is going back on tour in 2027 across the UK & Ireland with some more of his stand up grot. So come and see the self appointed Crown Prince of Visualised Companion Podcasts harrumph about the stage. Co-host of the award winning mega hit podcast Off Menu with James Acaster, host of visualised spinoffs The Traitors: Uncloaked and Taskmaster The Podcast as well as new upcoming panel show Unacceptable airing this summer, Ed’s brand new tour, Fresh Hell follows his biggest ever sold out world tour across Europe, North America and Australasia. “A Class Act. Comedy Gold” ★★★★ Time Out “consistently eye-wateringly hilarious” ★★★★ The i “You can bet on Gamble to deliver laughs” Evening Standard

The Wonder Stuff & Inspiral Carpets

1 Oct 2026 - 8 Dec 2026

A co-headline showcase of two iconic indie bands, blending The Wonder Stuff’s anthemic charm with Inspiral Carpets’ Madchester groove.

I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue

20 Apr 2026 - 20 Apr 2026

The multi award-winning antidote to panel games will be recording part of its 85th series for the BBC at the Brighton Dome. Join chairman Jack Dee, a panel of top comedians, plus pianist Colin Sell, for an unmissable evening of inspired nonsense

Our Place Family Workshop: Portrait Photography

3 May 2026 - 3 May 2026

Our Place Family Workshop: Portrait Photography with Vivek Vadoliya.

Our Place Family Workshop: Funky Junk Moving Models

3 May 2026 - 3 May 2026

Our Place Family Workshop: Funky Junk Moving Models led by Kate Milner.

Larry Dean: Hellbent

18 Jun 2026 - 3 Dec 2026

Recently married, emotionally feral. The Gallus Glaswegian Goon returns with a riotous show about refusing to grow up. As seen on SNL, Live at the Apollo, QI and The Royal Variety Performance.

Josh Thomas

11 Nov 2026 - 6 Dec 2026

Josh started doing stand-up 20 years ago. In that time, hes won some prizes and lost a lot of celebrity versions of reality TV shows. His shows Please Like Me and Everythings Gonna Be Okay were international sensations. They dealt with lots of important issues, but this year, he just wants to be silly.

Kim Wilde

26 Aug 2026 - 28 Mar 2027

Kim Wilde burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the classic Kids In America, a worldwide hit. This lead to a stunning career with over 30 million record sales spanning 12 albums and some of the most memorable hits of the 80s including Chequered Love, Cambodia, You Keep Me Hangin' On, You Came, Never Trust A Stranger and Four Letter Word. The 90s saw Kim continue to remain in the spotlight with the albums Love Moves and Love Is, featuring singles including Love Is Holy and the Bee Gee's classic If I Can't Have You from The Singles Collection 1981-1993. In 2013 Kim released the beautiful and critically acclaimed, Wilde Winter Songbook album, which featured her favourite Christmas and winter-inspired songs, both cover versions and original material. With Radio Two playing Hey Mister Snowman at Christmas, Kim played a few select Christmas shows in both the UK and Holland, which she repeated with the release of the special edition of the album the following year.

Make Mini Zines

16 May 2026 - 16 May 2026

Join the DIY publishing revolution and create your own mini zine to take home or swap with other young people! Zines are folded paper publications (like mini magazines/books) that allow you to share whatever you want to say, write and draw. Join local children’s creative writing and mentoring charity Little Green Pig at this imaginative drop-in workshop. Collage, cut and paste, doodle and write about whatever you want to!  Artist and creative Azaria Franco and mentors will demonstrate how to make your own zine. They’ll have creative prompts to help you come up with ideas of what to collage, including ideas themed around future dreaming and time travel.  All materials and equipment provided. Everyone aged 7 to 13 is welcome to take part in this workshop, accompanied by an adult.

Frazey Ford

27 Oct 2026 - 27 Oct 2026

Frazey Ford is best known as the lead singer of beloved alt-folk band The Be Good Tanyas. Her second solo effort, Indian Ocean, is a lush album filled with songs about pain and dealing with tough truths, but also about love, contrition and being bold, which the Guardian called a ‘country-soul gem’ in their four-star review.

Dexys

20 Oct 2026 - 8 Nov 2026

Dexys Midnight Runners burst out of Birmingham in the late 1970s with a fiercely original blend of soul, folk, and new wave energy. Fronted by Kevin Rowland, the band became best known for their global smash Come On Eileen, a track that perfectly captures their knack for mixing heartfelt storytelling with irresistible hooks. Never content to stand still, Dexys constantly reinvented their sound and image, earning a reputation as one of Britain’s most passionate and distinctive musical acts.

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