Maxwell Cooter

★★★★

Brighton, as the saying goes, looks like a town that’s helping the police with their inquiries.

It’s been nearly seven years since the dance troupe from east London pulled off a shock victory in Britain’s Got Talent.

“It’s a labour of love watching Sussex” declares Harold, the fictional sergeant looking after the wounded Hedley Verity.

A welcome return for Laurent Pelly’s double bill of Ravel’s contrasting operas: the former a bawdy farce revolving around the lusty appetites of a young wife; the other, a morality tale for badly-behaved children.

Folk music and Shakespearean tragedy don’t normally hand-in-hand but Folksy Theatre’s take on Hamlet is a fresh adaptation that managed to transport us from a blazing hot Brighton to a chilly Denmark.

Anyone who has a young daughter will be well aware of the appeal of Jacqueline Wilson, her books are almost essential reading for girls (and some boys) so it was no surprise to see a healthy audience for this adaptation.

This must have looked a great idea on paper: Brighton’s own Treason Show taking on Shakespeare’s bawdiest comedy at the new open-air theatre.

In C is one of the major classical works of the late 20th century: the piece that redefined what traditional western music sounds like.

These reshaping of the Viking sagas were prime entertainment for children, back in the days when kids TV was less frenetic and CGI just a random collection of letters.