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Cabaret nights are always a mixed bag, but Smarty Pants Productions have a knack for mixing in some sublimely stupid comedy alongside the ridiculously awkward interludes. Highlights included neat sketches from Melons a Trois, the endearingly scatty wit of Victoria Nangle and the ribald audience-bashing of Louise Conran. But it was the dumb-as-hell chav-rap of Milky T that stole the show. Unnervingly convincing in his white tracksuit and cap, this crotch-clenching B-Boy from Hove managed to keep the audience rapt. The night finished with an unexpected but hugely entertaining double-bass and ragdoll-style tap-dance.
Hanbury Ballroom, 18 March
4/5
Ben Bailey

Saturday night at the movies: it’s possible that the late hour and bad weather may have kept some people away, but those who like popcorn with their pop were in for a rare treat. The surrounds of Brighton’s 100-year-old cinema provided the perfect setting for the launch of the ‘Fins latest single, ‘Meet Me At The Pictures’, while more familiar tracks also got an outing in re-jigged versions, which won over an appreciative crowd. Gorgeous support, too, from The Half Sisters, which attracted some geek-sexy dancing in the aisles. All in all: good looks, good sounds.
Duke of York’s Picturehouse, 19 March
4/5
Andrew Allen

This was a long, strenuous evening, night and early morning of lead-heavy, rib-fracturing beats, bleeps and industrial cacophony – an aural soundscape fashioned by Bosch. When Autechre finally appeared, letting in some welcome light and air, they demonstrated how effective a little imagination, thought and creativity can be when harnessed to musical technology, ridding it of the sterility present in much of what had gone before. The mixed crowd seemed pleased they’d braved the sudden chilly drizzle. They certainly got an awful lot of sounds for their pounds.  
Corn Exchange, 18 March
3/5
Gary Mepsted

Tom Conti led a great company in what might have been rather an old fashioned farce but turned out be a ripping comedy filled with clever twists. Eric Chappell, best known for TV sitcoms, has written a play filled with great jokes and heart-felt sentiments that thundered along with never a dull moment. The form may be a little dated but when handled this well by writer, director and cast, you leave the theatre aching from laughter. Conti was, as always, excellent, although his northern accent did slip into Scots from time to time. But the star of the evening was Diane Fletcher, whose world-weary delivery and dead-pan panache made for comic perfection.
Theatre Royal, 17 March
5/5
Andrew Kay