1) An Evening With an Immigrant

The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton, Saturday 28, and Sunday 29 January, 7.30pm, £12, 01273 709709

Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams left Nigeria for England at the age of 12. His one-man show in Brighton tells the tale of his remarkable journey, from escaping fundamentalist Islam to drinking wine with the Queen of England. Ellams also has some fascinating anecdotes about his time directing an arts festival in Dublin and performing solo shows at the National Theatre in London. All this is underpinned by the central theme of a lack of belonging or home.

2) The Fall

Concorde 2, Madeira Drive, Brighton, Sunday, January 29, 7.30pm, £25, 01273 673311

41 years on from the Manchester band’s formation, The Fall are still touring their fierce, propulsive post-punk around the country. Led by maverick singer Mark E Smith – look out for his predictably unpredictable stage actions – the group have seen many members come and go but now seem settled on a reliable line-up. The gig is being put on by local promoters Dictionary Pudding and Japanese noise-rock band Bo Ningen are supporting.

3) Rent

Devonshire Park Theatre, Compton Street, Eastbourne, Tuesday, January 31, to Saturday, February 4, 7.45pm (2.30pm matinee on Weds and Sat), from £25, 01323 412 000

The landmark show hits Sussex, with Bruce Guthrie adapting Jonathan Larson’s original musical. This exhilarating story revolves around a group of poor young bohemians living in New York City amid the AIDs and HIV crisis in the 1990s. Tragically, Larson died before Rent’s run on Broadway started – it would go to be a fixture in the theatre world, playing for 12 years.

4) Ray Gelato and Claire Martin

South Coast Jazz Festival, Ropetackle Arts Centre, Little High Street, Shoreham, 8pm, £20, 01273 464440

Martin, who has an OBE for services to jazz music, teams up with saxophonist Gelato in a cornerstone event in the festival 4. she co-runs. The duo will perform cuts from their recent release We’ve Got a World That Sings. With 25 years in the business behind him, Gelato is a decorated jazz player whose upbeat style should perfectly complement Martin’s bold, expressive voice. The collaboration between two greats of the genre closes this year’s South Coast Jazz Festival.

5) The Twits

Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Tuesday, January 31, to Saturday, February 4, 7pm (1.30pm matinees), £15, 08448 717650

This family show is a reproduction of Roald Dahl’s book about a revolting couple. They entertain themselves by playing tricks on each other and catching birds for their pies. The Muggle-Wump monkeys hatch a plan to teach the Twits a lesson, though, and everything changes from there. The production promises to be “as disgusting as earth worms disguised as spaghetti”.