Brighton Festival 2010

Exhibition: Berlin Horse, Lighthouse Tues 4th – Sun 30th (except Mondays)
Film forefather Malcolm Le Grice’s brand of eerie modernism is encapsulated in this experimental film, taking moving images of horses and repeatedly superimposing them, changing the sequence and colour of an 8mm original film and blending it with an early newsreel in a short barrage of imagery and sound. Conceived in 1970, the piece features an original Brian Eno soundtrack, and Le Grice will be discussing his theories in a preview of the installation at the Lighthouse on Sunday 2nd. (BM)

Theatre: Kim Noble Must Die, The Basement Fri 7th and Sat 8th
Kim Noble, so legend has it, had cameos in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and The Mighty Boosh, but he would have been miles too sinister for either of those. He doesn’t so much bare his soul as take his audience to the depths of manic-depressive hell, masturbating, self-harming and stalking his way to an excruciating, staggeringly raw, surprisingly profound admission of despair. As a final pre-suicide gesture, he’ll also be writing you into his will and providing sperm to female viewers. (BM)

Event: Flickers: Off the Path, Stanmer Park until Sun 9th
In Finland, where Rachel Henson’s “hyper-real”, animation-driven journey through countryside debuted last year, there were reports of participants feeling like they were trapped in a fairytale and generally freaking out at the filmic superimpositions appearing before their eyes. Such ordeals are unlikely to phase any Brightonians who spent the occasional adolescent afternoon sampling the fungal delights of Stanmer Park, and the UK premiere of this psychic jaunt even features an expedition kit complete with navigational flick book. (BM)

Talk: Martin Amis, Corn Exchange Wed 12th
Wantonly, often predictably pompous, acerbic, pointlessly verbose and – perhaps worst of all – the spawner of any number of less adroit writers with designs on his style, it was still something of a relief when Martin Amis reappeared last year with The Pregnant Widow, a return to form inspired by the sexual revolution. Like him or not, it would be a bit of a travesty for any booky to skip an appearance in person by the compelling, comic provocateur. (BM)

Site Specific: Bodies in Urban Spaces/Electric Hotel, New England Quarter/The Level Fri 14th and Sat 15th
A pair of free ones to baffle or enrapture, starting with a meeting at a secret location for Bodies in Urban Spaces, where 20 dancers, climbers and athletes reckon they’ll take you on a trip to transform your perception of the architecture of our fair city. Electric Hotel seems to have strayed from the poi garbage and battered tramps usually associated with late night performances on The Level, donning headphones for a voyeuristic glimpse inside a mocked-up outdoor residence. (BM)

Dance: Political Mother, Dome Thurs 20th – Fri 21st
Dance heavyweight Hofesh Schecter strengthens his allegiance with the Festival for the third year running with this new piece. After training in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Paris, Schecter’s dances beautifully stitch together influences from across the world. He manages to be progressive and disciplined, experimental without ostracising his audiences. This year 10 dancers will perform alongside a live score, a ‘Chinese puzzle of emotional complexity, a chain of surreal events’. Don’t miss it. (LS)

Theatre: The Moment I Saw You I Knew I Could Love You, The Basement Fri 21st – Sun 23rd
One of a few relatively new pieces rewarding risk and a certain spirit of immersion at this year’s Festival, Curious’s piece takes the metaphor of balance and being cast adrift for a delicate, intelligent contemplation of mortality. It uses film, sound, light, performance and visual distortion to craft a melancholic, wistful love story in the unlikely setting of the belly of a whale, using the odd unusual prop to engage and involve the audience in a reflective, subtly executed narrative. (BM)

Theatre: Before I Sleep, The Old Co-Op until Sun 23rd (except Mondays)
Dreamthinkspeak are an associate company of the Festival, building a reputation for laying on the best kind of site-specific work in atmospheric, beautifully thought-out previous pieces at Stanmer House and the backrooms of the Theatre Royal. Returning with a promenade show inspired by Chekhov’s apocalyptic The Cherry Orchard, this one has been specifically designed for the forgotten Co-Op on London Road, and the skeleton building should give them plenty of shadowy corners for the tense, spooky trips they specialise in. (BM)

WORDS BY LIZZIE SIMNER, BEN MILLER