Five must see acts at the first week of the Brighton Fringe

WHISKEY Tango Foxtrot is a comedy drama.

But behind it there is a dark story of one woman’s experience of sexual harassment and bullying while serving in the RAF.

Rebecca Crookshank wrote the play after four years in the air force, signing up when she was just 17-years-old.

The play follows her from basic training to when she was posted to a desolate radar site in 2001.

On the remote mountainside she was the only woman in the base, surrounded by 28 men.

She recalls the horrifying and brutal initiation ceremonies and constant threats against her as they demanded her silence.

While she never received an apology for her treatment, she considered writing Whiskey Tango Foxtrot her official complaint to the RAF. 

The play had a five star run at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and was richly awarded.

6pm, tickets £10.

The Bula Loop
St Andrew’s Church, Church Road, Hove, Friday, May 6 to Sunday, May 8

A 19-YEAR-OLD autistic playwright is seeing his debut production showcased at the Fringe.

Tom Page, from Eastbourne, wrote and stars in his production The Bula Loop which was inspired by his own personal experience of a family living with autism

Tom plays the central character, Adam, who dreams of travelling the world on a Bula Loop round-the-world ticket.

However it all goes pear-shaped when his brother gets there first and announces his gap-year plans over dinner.

It is directed and produced by Tim Marriott, Eastbourne College’s drama director, a former stage and television actor best known for seven series of the sit-com, The Brittas Empire.

Earlier this year the show premiered in Eastbourne to positive reviews.

6pm, tickets £9.

Aphrodite in Flippers
The Warren, Studio 2, York Place, Brighton, Wednesday, May 11, to Sunday, May 15
IT IS Georgie’s 40th birthday when her two friends spy something rather strange lodged in her ear.
This bizarre discovery propels the three women on a surreal, dark and comic journey into an bold, saucy and extraordinary world.
Follow the three as they traverse strange landscapes, encounter friends and foes, before finally getting home with a bit more than they bargained for.
The show is part of the Fringe’s arts showcase WINDOW programme.
The production is performed by Georgina Roberts, Sarah Goddard and Vicki Manderson and is directed by Sara Davey Hull and designed by Kate Driver Jones.
From the Bold and Saucy Theatre Company, you can expect something unique and exciting.
Wed/Thu 6.45pm, Fri-Sun 4.45pm, £11. 

Meow Meow 
Brighton Spiegeltent, Old Steine, Sun/Mon May 8 and 9, Sun/Mon, May 16 and 17
ONE of the queens of modern cabaret.
Australian-born Meow Meow has won the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize, fronted the Olivier award-winning La Clique, and was named as one of top ten cabaret performers in the world by Time Out.
Real name Melissa Madden Gray, she was also named the best cabaret performer at the Helpmann Awards for her show Little Match Girl.
Know for her unique brand of what has been dubbed kamikaze cabaret, her performances have captured the attention of audiences across the world – with sell-out shows in New York, Berlin, London and Sydney.
She was also known as a favourite of the late David Bowie, who curated some of her solo work, and has been hailed for “dragging cabaret” into the 21st century.
9pm, tickets £17.50.

Cassetteboy v DJ Rubbish
Brighton Spiegeltent, Old Steine, Friday, May 6

IF A politician or celeb makes a gaff, you can bet CassetteBoy is going to make some kind of remix out of it it.

The electronic comedy duo rose to fame on YouTube with videos such as David Cameron rapping about his alleged love for pigs in Gettin’ Piggy With It and a re-cut of Alan Sugar on The Apprentice.

Despite their viral success, with millions of views, Mark Bolton and Steve Warlin initially made no money due to questionable copyright status until revisions in the law in 2014.

They started out in the mid nineties, making mix tapes and dubbing gags between the music.

Their partner in crime, DJ Rubbish, is a freestyle rapper.

Together they have appeared at Glastonbury and the Edinburgh Fringe with mixes such as 50 Cent’s In Da Club overdubbed with Jeremy Paxman.

10.30pm, tickets £10