Brighton Comedy Festival

Various venues, Brighton, until Saturday, October 24, various times, tickets from £11, 01273 709709

THE annual cavalcade of comedy comes to a close this weekend with a mix of funny women, improvised laughs and tales from the policing frontline.

Among those making an appearance tonight are former police sergeant Alfie Moore at Brighton Dome Studio Theatre; Lee Nelson and Rob Beckett at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange; Richard Herring exploring happiness at The Old Market; and master of the surreal one-liner Milton Jones at Brighton Dome Concert Hall.

Closing the main festival tomorrow are scientific comedy trio Festival Of The Spoken Nerd and Argus Award-winning theatre show Margaret Thatcher: Queen Of Soho at the Corn Exchange; Marcus Brigstocke-led improv comedy group The Beau Zeux at The OId Market; Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated Nish Kumar and Nick Helm at the Dome Studio Theatre; and a festival special of Funny Women at Komedia Studio Bar.

Screen Rebels

Latest Music Bar, Manchester Street, Brighton, Saturday, October 24, 6pm, £6/£8, 01273 687171

THE London screenplay showcase comes to Brighton for the first time. A cast of eight professional actors perform rehearsed readings of four new screenplays, followed by a networking event for screen professionals. On the bill for the first night are political drama Glass War by Shoreham-based co-director Lorenzo Fantini, black comedy The Gentle Politics Of Genitals by Eva Kincsei, sci-fi mystery One Place To Another by Philip Catherwood and supernatural sex-comedy Fertility Lost by Southwick-based co-director Elizabeth Mienert.

Stanmer Speaking: Threads That Weave And Fray

Stanmer Churchyard, Sunday, October 25, 11am to 4pm, free, www.facebook.com/Stanmer-1452604338351936/

SOUND artist Thor McIntyre-Burnie has teamed up with Zap Art, Inroad Productions and Stanmer residents to create an installation exploring the history of Stanmer Park.

The oral history installation is part of a research project called Stanmer Voices which received a grant of £10,000 from the Big Lottery Awards For All scheme.

Sara Clifton, who developed scripts for two pieces of community theatre for Newhaven Fort, will use the collected stories in a new play, which is set to be performed in the park and village.

Daniel Kitson and Gavin Osborne: Stories for the Starlit Sky – A Tour of a Trilogy

Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Church Street, Monday, October 26, 7pm, £13, 01273 709709

CULT stand-up Daniel Kitson is reuniting with musician and songwriter Gavin Osbourne to revisit a trio of stories first performed at Regents Park Open Air Theatre across three separate summer nights.

Kid Carpet And The Noisy Neighbours

The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove, Monday, October 26, 2pm and 4pm, Tuesday, October 27, 11am and 2pm, £8, 01273 201801

ED Patrick, aka Kid Carpet, mixes rock music, puppetry and projection to explore the first day in a new house and the horrors and excitement it might contain.

Playhouse Creatures

Brighton Little Theatre, Clarence Gardens, Brighton, Tuesday, October 27, to Saturday, October 31, 7.45pm, £9, 08448 880432

BRIGHTON Little Theatre recreates the experiences of the first women to perform on stage in King Charles II’s England, as they struggle to be accepted for their acting talents rather than objects of sexual desire.

The Marvellous Imaginary Menagerie

Royal Hippodrome, Seaside Road, Eastbourne, Tuesday, October 27, and Wednesday, October 28, 3pm, 11am Wed, £9, 01323 802020

Connaught Theatre, Union Place, Worthing, Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, 2pm, 11.30am Sat, £9, 01903 206206

LES Enfants Terribles, creators of touring shows The Trench, Captain Flynn and The Dinosaur Pirates and The Terrible Infants, bring a new puppet take on the travelling circus to Sussex for half-term. Their cast of mystical animals includes a decapus, whistling pank, a tresillian toad and a cow that looks like Brian May.

Dial M For Murder

Emporium Brighton, London Road, Wednesday, October 28, to Saturday, November 21, Tues to Sat 7.45pm, 2pm Sat and Sun, from £15, emporiumbrighton.com

FREDERICK Knott’s classic tale of what should have been the perfect murder was immortalised on the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock. This return to the original thriller stars Coronation Street’s Oliver Mellor, Hollyoaks’ Terri Dwyer and Marcus Hutton of Brookside fame.

Duck, Death And The Tulip

Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, New Road, Wednesday, October 28, and Thursday, October 29, 2.30pm, 11.30am Thurs, £7/£5, 01273 709709

LITTLE Dog Barking stages German illustrator Wolf Erlbruch’s tale of a playful duck and his constant play companion Death.

Copperdollar: Back Of Beyond

The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove, Thursday, October 29, to Saturday, October 31, 8pm to 2am, £15, 01273 201801

PREVIOUSLY seen at this year’s Glastonbury, Copperdollar mark Halloween and the Mexican Day Of The Dead with three nights of art, performance and music featuring resident DJ Marc Stylus.