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Travelling troupe Circus Oz bring their uniquely Antipodean act to Brighton Dome this month

This September don’t be surprised if you see acrobats dressed as kangaroos and other odd characters taking over Brighton Dome, because Australia’s premier circus ensemble, Circus Oz, is in town with a brand-new high-energy show.

The Circus Oz party planners have been in full swing scouring Australia for the best trapeze artists, contortionists, hoop divers, jugglers, hula hoopers, in-line skaters and all round daredevil acrobats. Having pulled out all the stops to celebrate their 30th birthday – combining classic Circus Oz acts with new characters, musicians and gags – they’ve wowed audiences across Australia and have a just finished a three-week stint at the Edinburgh Fringe where they received some rave reviews.

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Michael Frayn’s hit comedy Noises Off in a new production from Brighton’s Theatre Royal

The hilarious West End and Broadway comedy hit, Noises Off opens its doors at Theatre Royal Brighton in a brand new Theatre Royal Brighton Production. Winner of both the Olivier and Tony award for Best Comedy and seen by over a million people worldwide, now’s your chance to experience the brilliantly funny play the New York Times described as ‘The funniest comedy ever written’.

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Good plays are timeless and make you think; of course to be successful they also have to be brilliantly performed as Strindberg’s Miss Julie was at the Joogleberry Playhouse.

The cast of three were directed superbly by Elena Knight and were all totally, convincing.

Robert Mellor was the chauffeur with pretentions to grandeur, Mary Proctor and Trudy Hodgson played the girlfriend/the maid who knows her place and.

Anya-Marie Vinci was the mixed up rich girl who thinks she can have anything and anyone but she finds to her cost that there is a cruel price to pay as the heart has a mind of its own.

The play was adapted by Elena Knight and Robert Mellor and set in 1920 which worked well (the original play was set in 1888) but personally I would have preferred a 2008 adaptation based in the royals’ favourite club Boujis in London’s Mayfair which I think would have made the play even more thought provoking.

But as I said at the beginning great plays are timeless. See.

Review by Bill Smith.

The stage version of Calendar Girls will premier at Chichester Festival Theatre on Friday 5 September

The show stars Lynda Bellingham, Patricia Hodge, Siân Phillips, Gaynor Faye, Brigit Forysth, Julia Hills and Elaine C Smith as members of the WI who create a nude calendar to raise money for charity.

Written by Tim Firth, who co-wrote the screenplay of the 2003 Miramax film, the story is based upon true-life events. Calendar Girls follows the fortunes of a group of extraordinary women, all members of a very ordinary YorkshireWomen’s Institute who persuade each other to pose for a charity calendar with a difference.

Calendar Girls opens at Chichester Festival Theatre on 5 September and runs until 27 September. Tickets £11-£33 available form the Box Office on 01243 781312 or online at www.cft.org.uk