Waiting for Godot at Theatre Royal Brighton

It seems such a long time ago that I excitedly queued up to get my tickets for Waiting for Godot but finally the day arrived. In case you slept through some of the press and pr about this production the reason it was so eagerly anticipated is not just because it is a classic play but the two protagonists were being played by Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart.


This production was theatre as it should be, in fact one of our party declared it was the best play he had ever seen, and as he is a culture vulture this was quite a compliment! The two leads had the audience spell bound throughout, a lot of the dialogue was spoken in hushed tones however you could still hear every word clearly proving that there is a big difference between projecting your voice and merely shouting, which is something a lot of the tv/soap/reality stars who suddenly decide to 'do theatre' rarely grasp . Praise is also due to the two co-stars Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup who were equally enthralling. The whole production was faultless and proved that there is definitely still a place for theatre even in this digital age.

The good news is that the Theatre Royal Brighton has just released its Summer programme and there is plenty to look forward to, in particular Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge starring Ken Stott. Although make sure you stay quiet during the performance as (quite rightly) Ken Stott won't stand for any disruptions. A View from the Bridge is being staged as part of the Brighton Festival as are The Playboy of the Western World and Breaking News.

So let us know what you've booked tickets to see and what your top tips are.

Charlotte

Funny Brighton video

Just a quick one today, found this funny Brighton version of the recent Barclaycard advert with the guy on the waterslide. What I love about this video is that no one seems to take any notice when the chap whizzes past them. But then I guess that's typical of Brightonians attitude to things we're so used to seeing anything and everything that nothing shocks us anymore!



Charlotte

Trying not to twitter my life away...

We have only recently signed up to Twitter, I say 'we' it was actually our lovely web mistress Sarah. I'll be honest I wasn't entirely sure exactly how we would use it, although since we've launched it Sarah has been getting increasingly attached to Twitter and our followers.

However Sarah is on annual leave for a couple of weeks and so she asked if I could keep an eye on it for her. So on Monday I was a little cautious about logging on as I had visions of all the followers disappearing. But I'm actually starting to get into it, it's a great way to just get snippets of information out to people, just the headlines of what's happening and what's coming up. Although the real joy is the interactivity of it, for example the other day someone asked what the temperature was like, should they don their shorts and as I'd just come back in from lunch I was able to answer him. Plus I'm getting to learn things, as today someone tweeted to say that the Radio 4 afternoon play 'Baring Up' was set in Brighton, as I'm not familiar with this play I had a look on Google and it turns out it's a fictional story of a woman trying to set up the first naturist beach. Whatever next?

Despite my initial reservations I have to admit it does look like there is potential for Twitter and VisitBrighton, it's a great way to communicate with all the Brighton fans out there, we'll be able to discuss ideas with them and as a thank you to our first group of followers we have already had a special Twitaway so the possibilities are endless...

Anyway if you want to know what all the fuss is about then join in at: twitter.com/VisitBrighton

Charlotte

Festivals in Brighton

Hooray we finally have some lovely Spring weather :)
While I'm in a glorious sunny mood I thought I would share with you our show case of the four major festivals which take place in May each year: The Brighton Festival, Brighton Festival Fringe, The Great Esape and Artists Open Houses....



Hopefully it will be as sunny as it is at the moment but with so much going on it looks set to be a fantastic May whatever the weather.

Charlotte

Brighton City Reads

Went along to the launch of Brighton City Reads last night - it really inspired me to read this year's book - The Book Thief.

It's such a 'novel' (geddit!) idea to get everyone in the city reading and sharing their ideas about a book. This year's choice is a crossover book (appeals to adults and youngsters) and, despite some heavy material, (Nazi Germany) is a very life affirming read. The idea is to read the book and pass it on to a friend, neighbour, relation, stranger, even a literate cat if you can find one, so they can read it/discuss it. They can then pass it on too...

Grab your copy of The Book Thief

So as part of the Brighton City Reads Festival VisitBrighton is offering an exclusive book for a booking offer, so visitors to the city can join in.

The first 500 people who confirm an accommodation booking through VisitBrighton either by telephone or online, for dates between 13^th March and 23^rd May, can collect a free copy of this year’s City Reads novel, The Book Thief, from the Brighton Visitor Information Centre (conditions apply).

Described by The New York Times as 'a novel of breathtaking scope, masterfully told.' The Book Thief is an international bestseller and must read.

Find out more about Brighton City Reads.

Cheers

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Brighton Sculpture trail

Someone tweeted us on Twitter and said how much they liked the Brighton Sculpture Trail we link to on our site.

There is SO much diverse sculpture in Brighton, the sheer amount is quite an eye opener in itself.

The trail is really fascinating and well put together and offers a great opportunity to discover sculpture around the city and learn about its history. It was done by the National Recording Project for Sussex and you can download it via our site.

With such a rich sculptural heritage in the city, the trail makes a great thing to do for a few hours. You'll get to find out about the Kiss Wall, doughnut sculpture and some of the famous icons around the city, as well as quite a few you may not know much (or anything!) about...

Thanks to the National Recording Project for Sussex for allowing us to link to the Trail.

Let us know what your favourite Brighton sculpture is...

Enjoy!

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Brighton Winter Pride

Fancy some thunderous thing slapping? Howabout a Queer Ceilidh? Oh go on...

Not just for summer, Brighton Pride is also putting on a winter version to celebrate everything lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Taking the chill out of winter, this spectacular array of events, concerts, cabaret and comedy is the largest winter LGBT event in the UK.

A week long extravaganza of fabulous Pride events

Brighton and Hove Winter Pride 2009 opened on Saturday (7th March) and runs all week.

Promising a week-long extravaganza of over fabulous 90 events across the city in 30 different venues, see the VisitBrighton website for more on the wacky week's lineup...

Al duomo Brighton - win an Elvis Night...

Feeling all shook up after winter? Fancy a shake, rattle and roll at Al Duomo's Suspiciously Elvis' Night in Brighton?

Then throw on your blue suede shoes and have a gander at our new competition on www.visitbrighton.com and you and a friend could be on your way to the Elvis Night at Al Duomo on 29th April.

Prize includes:

• entry to the Elvis Night
• a delicious Italian meal
• wine and cocktails.

"Hey, buddy, don't you be no square. If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair. Let's rock..."

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Paintings Unwrapped at the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

We all know that we should take a lunch break, in order to give our eyes a break from the computer and to get a bit of fresh air. However sometimes it's difficult to know what to do, working in the middle of the Lanes it can be all to tempting to indulge in some retail therapy, that said we are also right by the sea so we can take an invigorating walk along the seafront but that's less tempting in the rain.

The other day I was faced with this very dilemma and then it occurred to me that I hadn't been into the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in a while so I decided to pop in there, and I'm glad I did as they have a couple of really interesting new exhibits on at the moment. First of all there is Paintings Unwrapped, which encourages people to see paintings with a fresh eye. The paintings are displayed in pairs and next to each one the curator has written a few pointers and things to look out for within the painting, thereby encouraging people to really look at the paintings and to see things which they might otherwise have missed.

However personally the most charming point about this exhibition is that people are encouraged to write their own labels for the artwork on a piece of card and display it next to the painting. This interactive element has obviously appealed to children, as one girl said she licked one of the paintings, hopefully she meant to say like but I quite like the idea that she was so overcome with enthusiasm that she had to actually lick the painting. Either way I think it's a great initiative as art can sometimes seem too high brow, whereas in reality it is something that should be appreciated and enjoyed by as many people as possible.


The other new exhibit I enjoyed having a look at was Human Resources, which is only a small display along one of the corridors but it is a series of portraits (just the faces) of some of the staff from the Royal Pavilion and Museums, but none of the portraits are named so you don't know what anyones job title is, making everyone equal. It's also a nice why of giving the hard-working staff a bit of recognition as well.

So there you have it, if you have some spare time in Brighton then make sure you visit the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery which Simon Calder rated as his number one in his list of the Seven Wonders of Brighton. I'll definitely be popping back in the summer as their new exhibition will be The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollack

Charlotte

Sunsets in Hove

Hmm, well I seem to be on a bit of a roll now with the sunsets in Hove. There was another gorgeous one last night. If you're in Brighton or Hove, or live nearby, they really are worth a look - sunset is around 5.45 at the moment.

Once it kicks in it all happens pretty quickly, so make sure you are there in good time. At the weekend, there are often loads of people gazing at the sky with cameras and video phones too, so it can be quite a communal experience, not to say rather magical. So I urge you to go down before it starts raining again!

Anyone else seen the sunsets lately or have any photos?

Sarah
VisitBrighton

Well - it's a bit basic so plse don't comment telling me how, well, basic it is please.

It's our first forays into video and whilst at times it looks like i was being attacked by a bad case of hiccoughs or suddenly realised that there was a zoom button (!) i thought i'd pop it up simply because the sunsets in Hove are just so darn lovely...

A colleague said 'oo - it looks like the Caribbean!' and then offered to join me next time with a palm tree...

So, if you fancy coming to the South Coast's answer to the Caribbean - you know where to come!
See www.visitbrighton.com for more on Brighton and Hove...

Sarah