‘A SPOONFUL OF SILENCE’ – Brighton Fringe Festival

Mandana grows letters in her field. The availability of letters, which enables her to talk, depends on the season and the harvest. She crafts her sentences delicately as she tells you her story, allowing you to enjoy the silence between the words. She is waiting for you by the stove in her cosy kitchen, sprinkling rose petals in a freshly made pot of tea. Hold a warm cup of tea in your hand and embark on a journey to the present moment. A delicious and raw performance questionning our use of words. This show can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet!

“This show has a Zen – like emphasis on taking your time and not doing a million things at once”. The Irish Times***

“Challenging the social stigma of the awkward silence and reminding us that language is a gift. The experience was absolutely delicious”. ThreeWeeks*****

“It does win you over” RTE Radio One.

Nightingale theatre’s upstairs kitchen, 29 – 30 Surrey Street, Brighton

Tickets £8.50/ £6.50 Concessions

www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk

WWII Air Raid Shelter, Whitehawk, Brighton

Tucked away below Race Hill and on the grounds of Whitehawk Primary school, you’ll find the carefully restored WWII Air Raid shelter. I took a tour – part of the Brighton Fringe Festival and brought Joe (13). Derek and Charlie showed us around, retelling snippets of their experiences and memories during the war. On display are many artifacts from the period and Derek engaged Joe by asking what he thought they were ? Good question – he thought the meat grinder was a pasta maker (there’s a chain of thought here…) and as for the peculiar looking tongs, I was surprised to learn they were curling tongs – in fact not dissimiliar in shape to our modern day hair straighteners! I shivered at the thought that this shelter was used by up to 500 people, all packed in sitting on benches that ran the length of the tunnels, for anything up to hours at a time. The tour takes an hour, is great for all ages and well worth adding to anyone’s agenda as part of this years festival.

www.brightonfestivalfringe.org.uk

Knitted Living Room at Emmaus Brighton, Brighton Fringe Festival 2011

In their latest creative venture, the Emmaus Brighton Good Will Co-op have knitted a whole living room! The Good Will Co-op started up in 2008 as a project that brought together local people and gave them the opportunity to use their creative skills to turn donated wool, fabric and craft materials into gifts for sale in the Emmaus Brighton shop. Sales of their hand-made gifts have generated nearly £8500 for Emmaus Brighton, enabling more help to be given to people in need. The weekly get-togethers provide a social focus for local people who might otherwise become isolated, and the transformation of unwanted materials into useful items helps reduce landfill.You can see the extraordinary knitted room, complete with newspapers, radio and comfy chair, at the Portslade Community Open Forum on 26th February at Portslade Town Hall. It will on show from 7th – 29th May at the Emmaus Brighton Community, Drove Road, Portslade as part of the 2011 Brighton Fringe Festival before touring various arts venues and stopping off at some Emmaus Communities. The idea of knitting a whole room came from Nicky, one of the Good Will Co-op’s talented volunteers, who was looking for a novel way for the Co-op to raise funds, whilst raising public awareness of Emmaus.

www.emmaus.org.uk

Thistle Hotel Brighton serves up an evening of comedy

As part of this year’s Brighton Fringe Festival, Thistle Brighton is offering diners an evening of great food and classic British comedy as Faulty Towers The Dining Experience takes over its restaurant throughout May.

Based on the classic British TV sitcom ‘Fawlty Towers’, ‘Basil,’ ‘Sybil’ and ‘Manuel’ are set to bring organised chaos to the hotel’s Promenade Restaurant as the Interactive Theatre Australia revives these iconic characters, entertaining diners while they enjoy a great meal out.

Though Manuel’s waitering skills may leave much to be desired, diners will be treated to a high-quality three course meal as they enjoy two hours of comedy entertainment featuring the best-loved lines from the original series.

With daily dinner performances and lunchtime shows over the weekend, there are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the popular Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. Tickets start from just £38 per person.

For more information on Thistle Brighton’s Faulty Towers Experience visit www.thistle.com or to book call 01273 763244.

Terms and Conditions:

· Offer valid from 7th – 29th May, 2011

· Dinner performances daily (except Mondays) sitting at 8pm for an 8.30pm show

· Lunchtime performances on Saturdays and Sundays only sitting at 1pm for a 1.30pm show

· Lunch tickets are £38 per person, including a three course meal and two-hour show

· Dinner tickets are £43 per person, including a three course meal and two-hour show

· Tickets are subject to availability

Great Wall of V*gina

Changing female body perception around the World through art…

It took artist Jamie McCartney five years to create The Great Wall of V*gina with the help of 400 women.

World premiere exhibition coming soon at the Brighton Festival Fringe.

www.greatwallofvagina.co.uk

The Great Wall of V*gina is part of the Brighton Fringe Festival
6th-31st May 2011
Jamie McCartney Sculpture Studios
7 Ship Street Gardens
Brighton
BN1 1AJ