Into the hood at Brighton Dome

Spring programme unveiled at Brighton Dome

An award-winning hip hop fairy-tale, a stunning white bear brought to life via jaw-dropping puppetry and an exploration into the secret roots of human hair extensions ensure Brighton Dome’s spring programme of work is as unique as ever.

In March, the venue will mark International Women’s Day with a special run of events featuring an appearance by acclaimed broadcaster Sandi Toksvig with Politically Incorrect (8 Mar); a special show of comedy, guests and serious ideas. Performance artist Victoria Melody will seek to explore the roots of the hair extension industry following her experiences of wearing someone else’s hair whilst competing in beauty pageants in Hair Peace (5 Mar); expect tales of an unbelievably expensive wedding, a Celebrity Big Brother contestant and a hair… a lot of hair! Alongside this, the venue welcomes back comedian Katherine Ryan – reportedly the comedian whose run sold out faster than anyone else’s at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe – with her new show Kathbum, a rehearsed try-out performance of Twelve Angry Women (4 Mar); playwright Sara Clifford’s response to the 60th anniversary of the seminal film Twelve Angry Men, a retrospective of work from Brighton Dome’s flagship outreach project Miss Represented (4 – 9 Mar) and Open House (5 Mar); a specially curated programme of performance, art and debate with Brighton Women’s Centre.

A busy and bold theatre programme starts with Tom Stuart and Fuel’s I am Not Myself These Days (13 Feb); a one-man tour de force that explores the drag scene in 1990s New York based on Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s best-selling autobiography. The Big Apple’s very own trail-blazing transgender artist Kate Bornstein (18 Feb) will also head to the city with a witty performance that seeks to explore the notional of a not-man, not-woman identity. Lewes-based company Goat and Monkey will turn Shakespeare’s Macbeth on its head in The Devil Speaks True (18 & 19 Mar) as Banquo recounts the Bard’s famous tale in an auditorium shrouded in total darkness via an immersive, sensory performance, whilst Invertigo Theatre Company present Dan Murphy’s provocative, gripping, and touchingly funny debut play A Local Boy (26 & 27 Feb); theatre for teenagers which addresses our obsession with Snapchat and selfies.

Having stormed the West End in 2008, leading hip hop dance company ZooNation are back alongside Sadler’s Wells to present a revamped version of their smash hit Into The Hoods: Remixed (25 & 26 Mar). Featuring a DJ called Spinderella, a menacing music mogul Wolf and an aspiring singer Lil Red, this is a fairy-tale like no other - a storybook adventure with beats and boom boxes. Other dance offerings in Spring include new dance from choreographers Liz Aggiss, Johnathan Burrows, Matteo Fargion and Simon Tanguy presented in NORA (23 Feb); a dancer-led project conceived and performed by Eleanor Sikorski and Flora Wellesley Wesley, co-produced by South East Dance, whilst Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton & Erin (28 Jan) will present a glitzy evening dancing to some of the greatest numbers of golden age of song.

On the music front, Brighton Dome’s continues its partnership with Making Tracks to bring the very best bands from the far flung corners of the world to Brighton with the likes of Russian group Otava Yo (21 Feb) and Argentinian songsmiths Perotá Chingó (5 Apr). SPECTRUM (19 Feb, 17 Mar) – the venue’s long-running series of gigs in collaboration with Resident Records – is back for another run of shows featuring the freshest talent in town, including a very special Record Store Day celebration (16 Apr) involving multiple acts throughout the day. Saidi Kanda and Mvula-Mandondo Band will the rhythms and flavours of Tanzania to the city courtesy of African Night Fever (11 Mar), whilst jazz aficionados can look forward to shows from Grammy-winning saxophonist Tim Garland with his Electric Quartet (16 Mar) and jazz legend Herbie Flowers with his popular Jazz Breakfast (28 Feb, 13 Mar, 10 Apr). Other music highlights in spring include concerts from Daughter (17 Jan), Steven Wilson (25 Jan), Massive Attack (1 Feb), Gabrielle Aplin (15 Feb), City & Colour (18 Feb), Ludovico Einaudi (11 & 12 Mar), Wolf Alice (22 Mar), Christy Moore (2 Apr), Bellowhead (18 Apr), Gregory Porter (19 Apr) and Explosions in the Sky (24 Apr).

For families, Brighton Dome is delighted to announce Raymond Brigg’s The Bear (14 & 15 Feb) will lumber into the venue courtesy of acclaimed theatre company Pins and Needles Productions. With critics likening the show to War Horse thanks to its wonderfully realised bear puppet, this new production promises to be a beautiful, moving, playful and funny adaptation of the incredibly popular storybook. Acclaimed Irish theatre company Travelling Light will celebrate Jim Sheridan’s magical film Into The West (1 & 2 Apr) – a tale of two boys in a grim tower block in Dublin and a white horse who offers them a chance of escape – on its 20th anniversary with a new stage adaptation, whilst contemporary circus company Bikes & Rabbits ensure you’ll never look at a library in the same way with These Books Are Made For Walking (30 Mar); an inventive piece of physical theatre in which books become everything from headdresses to slippers.

Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra’s afternoon concerts make a welcome return in Spring with soloists including violinist Matthew Trusler (31 Jan), pianists Melvyn Tan (14 Feb), Howard Shelley (6 Mar) and Rob Clark (20 Mar), whilst London Philharmonic Orchestra will continue their regular trips to the south coast with a series of concerts featuring pianist Stefan Ciric (16 Jan), violinist Kristóf Baráti (27 Feb) and guitarist Miloš Karadagli (16 Apr). Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra pay homage to some of the finest film scores including work from John Williams and James Horner in a programme of work titled Heroes and Aliens: Epic Galactic Soundtracks (6 Feb), there’s a very special Brighton Dome Organ Showcase courtesy of the much loved John Mann Music Show (11 Apr) and Spring sees the final three concerts of 2015/16 Coffee Concert series in association with Strings Attached featuring performances from Royal College of Music Wind Ensemble (24 Jan), Elias String Quartet (21 Feb) and the Heath Quartet (27 Mar). 

For further enquiries, please contact our press team:

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Chris Challis, Senior Press Officer – [javascript protected email address] | 01273 260838
Anna Whelan, Digital Marketing Officer – [javascript protected email address] | 01273 260825

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival

  •  Brighton Dome is the south coast's premier multi-arts venue - a three space, Grade 1 listed building made up of the Concert Hall, Corn Exchange and Studio Theatre at the cultural heart of one of England's most creative cities. 

· Each year Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival presents over 600 events spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy, literature, spoken word, visual arts, film, digital and more as part of its year round programme as well as producing the internationally-acclaimed Brighton Festival in May.

  • ·With a rich history spanning over 200 years (starting life as the Prince Regent's stables and riding house), Brighton Dome provides an extraordinary space in which to bring the arts alive. A hub for artists across the region, Brighton Dome commissions and supports both emerging and established artists and companies, enabling them to develop, take risks and deliver work of the highest quality.
  • ·Brighton Dome is a registered arts charity which aims to champion the power of the arts, to enrich and change lives, and inspire and enable artists to be their most creative. Each year, the work of the Creative Learning team reaches over 15,000 people in Brighton & Hove and beyond through innovative projects such as Miss Represented  - an arts collective of vulnerable young women who have been involved with the criminal justice system; the Umbrella Club - a membership club for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their siblings and carers; and Three Score Dance Company, created to offer contemporary dance opportunities for men and women aged 60+ in Brighton & Hove.
  • ·Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival are working with the Royal Pavilion & Museums to realize a future vision for the Royal Pavilion Estate. For updates and news please visit www.brightondome.org