King Lear With Sheep The Hay Barn, Jevington Place, Jevington, Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16.

LEGENDARY film-maker Alfred Hitchcock once said all actors should be treated like cattle.

This experimental re-evaluation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy comes closest to that maxim as a stubborn director, played by Alasdair Saksena, guides a nine-strong flock of sheep through the story.

The 40-minute performance, directed by Heather Williams, has been brought to Jevington by farmer Stephen Carr using his Georgian barn after he saw a warehouse production in London.

Starts 8pm, tickets £12. Call 07532 305909.

One Man, Two Guvnors The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Monday, August 18, to Saturday, August 23.

AHEAD of its Christmas residency at the Theatre Royal Brighton, the National Theatre hit farce by Richard Bean is in Crawley with a cast headed up by Gavin Spokes, Emma Barton and former Eastender Shaun Williamson.

Spokes plays the loveable rogue Francis Henshall, who finds himself torn between two masters as he tries to satisfy his hunger cravings.

The source material may be old – Bean was inspired by Carlo Goldoni’s 1743 Italian comedy The Servant Of Two Masters – but the Brighton-set story mixes old-fashioned slapstick with audience interaction that tears down the fourth wall.

Starts 7.30pm, 2.30pm Wed and Sat, tickets from £27. Call 01293 553636.

Spirit Of The Dance Congress Theatre, Carlisle Road, Eastbourne, Tuesday, August 19, to Saturday, August 23.

NOW seen by more than 25 million people in 15 countries around the world, Irish dance sensation Spirit Of The Dance returns to Eastbourne after a three-year break.

Joining the cast for this tour are the vocal group The Irish Angels, who will be joining forces with the Irish International Dance Company on a trip through traditional Celtic dances combined with the power and passion of Latino, flamenco and salsa rhythms.

Starts 7.30pm, tickets from £16.50. Call 01323 412000.

Playhouse Creatures All Saints Centre, Lewes, Tuesday, August 19, to Saturday, August 23.

THEATRES changed almost overnight when women were allowed to perform on stage during King Charles II’s reign.

This 1993 play by April de Angelis follows perhaps the most famous of all those pioneering Restoration actresses, Nell Gwyn, as she gives up her job as an orange seller to join an acting troupe of feisty women.

This bawdy five-night residency comes from Brytye Productions, the team behind August 2012’s version of Moira Buffini’s Gabriel.

Starts 7.45pm, tickets £12/£10. Call 07951 903414.

Avenue Q Eastbourne Underground Theatre, under the library, Grove Road, Eastbourne, Wednesday, August 20, to Saturday, August 23.

IT’S Sesame Street but not as we know it as this Broadway hit makes its Eastbourne debut at the Underground Theatre.

When Princeton arrives in the titular rundown street in the outer, outer borough of New York armed with little more than an English degree he starts to learn about life’s harsh realities through songs and encounters with some vicious little teddy bears.

Elsewhere Nicky is trying to out his closeted room-mate, and a large and loud furry monster is using the greatest invention of the 20th century to satisfy an all-encompassing desire for pornography.

Avenue Q may feature fuzzy puppets but it is certainly not for children...

Starts 7.30pm, tickets from £14. Call 0845 6801926.

Zippo’s Circus Hove Lawns by King Alfred Leisure Centre, Kingsway, Hove, Thursday, August 21, to Tuesday, September 2

WITH new show Unchained, Zippo’s Circus combines old favourites, such as strongman Hercules and ringmaster Norman Barrett, with brand new international acts.

Look out for aerialists Tropicana Troupe, a new equestrian act from Summer, and classic clowning courtesy of Italian mischief-makers The Rastellis.

Starts 3pm and 7.30pm (not Tues Sept 2), tickets from £6.99. Call 0871 210 2100 or visit www.zippos.co.uk.

The Accrington Pals Gun Garden, Lewes, Thursday, August 21, to Saturday, August 23

HAVING already previewed to packed audiences at their Brighton Little Theatre home, director Harry Atkinson is taking Peter Whelan’s First World War play into the open air.

The play tells the story of arguably the First World War’s best remembered battalion, made up of volunteers who enlisted as soon as they heard Kitchener’s appeal for soldiers.

At their first major action on the opening day of the Battle Of The Somme the battalion suffered devastating losses, which were felt keenly in their home town.

Starts 7.15pm, tickets £10/£9. Call 08448 880432.