10 things coming up in the Worthing and Brighton area

Things you won't want to miss...
The Full MontyThe Full Monty
The Full Monty

1 Comedy. The Thinking Drinkers bring their new UK tour The Thinking Drinkers’ Pub Crawl to The Komedia in Brighton on January 24. Spokesman Matthew Christian said: “Following a hugely-successful UK tour and Edinburgh Festival run with their last hilarious show, The Thinking Drinkers are embarking on a bar-hop through history as part of their new show Pub Crawl – a unique imbibing experience during which every single audience member tastes five fabulous drinks. For free! Beginning with the cerebral wine-sipping symposiums of Ancient Greece via Wild West saloons, Victorian gin palaces and all the way through to the classic Great British pub, The Thinking Drinkers travel the world’s most wonderful watering holes while furnishing their audience with several samples of seriously-delicious drinks. As educational as it is entertaining, The Thinking Drinkers Pub Crawl is a riotous and intoxicating exploration of history’s greatest drinking establishments.”

2 Music. Julian Nicholas Band with special guest Emil Viklicky, Ropetackle, Shoreham, Sunday, January at 8pm. Julian Nicholas’s creative collaboration of three decades with Czech jazz pianist/composer Emil Viklicky, is presented in this one-off show on what is usually Julian’s and Claire Martin’s South Coast Jazz Festival weekend. Julian Nicholas Band also features vocalist and lyricist Imogen Ryall, bassist Tim Robertson and drummer Winston Clifford.

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3 Art. Paul Winner insists he is only a “pretend artist”. But you might beg to differ when you see his work on show in a new exhibition at Arundel Museum – a venue he is keen to support. Paul carries his sketching materials and watercolours wherever he goes and has amassed an extraordinary collection of sketchbooks, paintings, drawings and prints chronicling the places he has visited and the personalities he has encountered. Paul has donated more than 50 pictures to Arundel Museum; all money raised from his exhibition (January 23-March 4, 10am-4pm) will be used to support the museum’s work.

4 Theatre. The Full Monty is on its last-ever tour (January 21-26, Theatre Royal Brighton), the tale of six out-of-work, impoverished steelworkers from Sheffield with nothing to lose. The story took the world by storm and has become one of Britain’s most successful shows.

5 Theatre. The Big Enormous Present, Saturday, February 2, 11.30am, 2.30pm, Ropetackle, Shoreham. The Big Enormous Present is an engaging play for young theatre-goers and their families. It explores the pressures of fitting in and making friends, of finding happiness and how giving can feel as good as receiving. The story unfolds in a school playground where Polly, Jack and Dot find a really big present and discover there’s a lot more to learn than just finding out what’s hidden inside.

6 Theatre. Arundel Players’ first production for 2019 is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, directed by Kate Bennett, which opens on January 21 and runs until January 26 at The Priory Playhouse, London Road, Arundel, BN18 9FA. The show centres on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically-ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime, run by three equally-quirky grown-ups, which also includes audience participation. Tickets on 07523 417926. To book on line visit www.arundelplayers.org.ukand follow the link or go to www.ticketsource.co.uk/arundelplayers.

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7 Music. Former lead singer of the Grammy-nominated Stylistics, Eban Brown will celebrate the group’s remarkable back catalogue at Shoreham’s Ropetackle Arts Centre on Friday, January 25. Eban, who has also sung lead for The Manhattans, The Delfonics and Ray, Goodman and Brown, left The Stylistics in January last year after 18 years with one of music’s great institutions.

8 Theatre. Nigel Havers, Denis Lawson and Stephen Tompkinson star in Art by Yasmina Reza from January 24– February 2 at Chichester Festival Theatre. When Serge spends an extortionate amount of money on an all-white modernist painting, his close friends Marc and Yvan are baffled. But does their violent reaction to this provocative canvas mirror more dangerous antagonisms towards each other?

9 Talk. The man dubbed The Bald Explorer will be giving a talk in the Gordon Room at Worthing Town Hall on Friday, February 1 from 7pm to 9pm. Spokeswoman Tracey Chaplin said: “The Bald Explorer takes his small portable video camera and explores the countryside, especially around and over the glorious South Downs seeking out curiosities, myths and legends, as well as showing off the beautiful landscape, nature and heritage. His daily ten-minute videos feature on YouTube and Facebook. He will talk about his adventures and experiences filming and will be unearthing for us finds and secrets of the South Downs that will surprise and delight. A very entertaining speaker! Tickets are £10 to include wine and nibbles.” Tickets on friendsofthesouthdowns.org.uk/public-talks/ or email [email protected] or call 01798 875073 (Mon -Wed, 8.30am-1.30pm).

10 Art. Pallant House Gallery’s community programme fundraising exhibition is up and running in Chichester (until March 4). Taking place in the studio, it is free entry. As spokeswoman Sarah Jackson explains: “It’s a key opportunity for us to raise vital funds for our community programme which does great work supporting local people, and a great place to find unique works of art at affordable prices. The community programme fundraising exhibition at Pallant House Gallery showcases the wonderfully-rich and diverse array of artworks produced and donated by artists involved.”

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