2

	The Old Courtroom (venue website) Theatre 4 May, 9:00pm-10:00pm; 5 May, 3:00pm-4:00pm, 9:00pm-10:00pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Suitable for age 16+ only.

It’s an attention-grabbing concept: Shakespeare’s most gruesome tragedy adapted into a musical comedy. And a concept like this is going to take a lot of living up to. Do Sheep Theatre do that? No, they don’t. They do deliver something sort-of compelling with a few entertaining moments, but they completely fail to hit the target they’ve set themselves.

3

	Pavilion Gardens Café (venue website) Tours 10, 19, 24, 26 May, 2:00pm-3:30pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

I love the Pavilion Gardens Café. I really love the Pavilion Gardens Café. I love the Pavilion Gardens Café so much, that I’m thrilled by the very thought of a 90-minute Pavilion Gardens Café Tour. So I joined current proprietor David Sewell, accompanied by noted local tour guide Geoffrey Mead, for this quirky historical walk – whose very existence has amused and intrigued me ever since it first appeared in the Brighton Fringe programme a couple of years ago.

3

	Regency Tavern (venue website) Theatre 2-4, 9-11, 16-18 May, 7:30pm-8:30pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Suitable for age 16+ only.

An anxious man mutters quietly to himself as he watches TV. There are chemicals in the food and we’re all addicted. People keep coming into his room and moving his things. Something’s clearly not quite right, but from the bag of shopping he spills over the floor, it appears that he’s still connected to the outside world – barely.

4

	The Nightingale (venue website) Theatre 8-12 May, 9:00pm-9:55pm Reviewed by Darren Taffinder
Warning: Contains strong language.  World Premiere.  Warning: Contains flashing lights.  Parental Guidance. Under-17's must be accompanied by an adult.

Gather Ye Rosebuds – the name comes from a 17th century poem by Robert Herrick – is the second of two shows from local company Sandpit Arts, responding to the social and political changes in the Middle East brought on by the Arab Spring. Set in Egypt at the height of the Tahrir Square protests, Medina’s family and friends come together for her thirteen year-old daughter’s circumcision. Seeing this show was one of those great surprises you get from time to time at the Fringe; I really liked it.

2

	The Nightingale (venue website) Theatre 8-12 May, 7:15pm-8:10pm Reviewed by Darren Taffinder
Warning: Contains strong language.  World Premiere.  Warning: Contains flashing lights.  Parental Guidance. Under-17's must be accompanied by an adult.

I was really looking forward to Tunnel. It’s one of two shows at the Nightingale from local arts company Sandpit Arts (the other is Gather Ye Rosebuds), and both shows are winners of its first annual playwriting competition, where writers from around the world were asked to respond to the Arab Spring and ensuing social and political changes in the Middle East. Scripted by Mags Chalcraft, Tunnel has some beautiful moments, but in the end I felt let down by a weak story and one-dimensional characters.

4

	Emporium Theatre (venue website) Theatre 11-12 May, 8:00pm-9:00pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Part of the Five Pound Fringe. Tickets not available from the Brighton Fringe box office. Buy on the door or visit www.brighton5poundfringe.com

I don’t like the ukulele. I groan at the very sight of a ukulele. The alleged “inherent comedy” of the ukulele got old for me about 30 years ago, and I secretly think the only reason comedians play the ukulele is because it’s easier than the guitar. So if I’m going to give four stars to a show with a ukulele in, you can safely assume that everything apart from the ukulele was very good indeed.

This show contains a ukulele.

3

	The Old Courtroom (venue website) Theatre 9-12 May, 9:00pm-10:00pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Warning: Contains strong language.  World Premiere.  Parental Guidance. Under-17's must be accompanied by an adult.

Robert Cohen’s new play, High Vis, is the epic tale of a city under siege, and the one man with the courage it takes to confront a nameless adversary. As the missiles fly and his superiors cower, Quint McBride rallies his callow recruits in a desperate defence of law and order. He’s a veteran soldier, a master of personal defence and an indefatigable agent of justice. And he’s also – er – a traffic warden.

2

	Phoenix Brighton (venue website) Theatre 4, 11 May, 4:00pm-5:20pm, 6:00pm-7:20pm, 8:00pm-9:20pm; 5-6, 12 May, 3:00pm-4:20pm, 5:00pm-6:20pm; 8-10 May, 6:00pm-7:20pm, 8:00pm-9:20pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Warning: Contains strong language.  World Premiere.  Suitable for age 16+ only.

Oh, I really wanted to like this play. In fact, I really did like a lot about this play: it has a cleverly immersive premise, some deeply committed acting, and an energetic fluidity, which at its best swept the performance along on a whirlwind of movement and words. But unfortunately, that dramatic restlessness had a downside that I simply can’t ignore… because for every highlight, there was another moment when I honestly didn’t have a clue what was going on.