Skunk Anansie

Brighton Dome

August 26

Now this is how making a comeback is done.

Skunk Anansie are marking their 25th anniversary with an absolutely electrifying set of their most well-known tracks.

Proving there is no other band like them, they are still unique and at their best after all this time.

Their alternative rock and mix of the radical, political and emotional were injected in to the crowd with all the attitude you would expect.

Lead singer Skin, perhaps the most impressive front woman of a band ever, had the audience in her hands with an in-your-face performance.

She burst on to the stage and pretty much straight in to the crowd, jumping on them, joining them on the floor, and doing a lap around the barrier.

Her beautifully infectious vocals filled Brighton Dome along with the multi-talented band who make keeping up with her look effortless.

The essence of Skunk Anansie is still there, and they don’t shy away from the important messages that are as relevant as they were back then.

Skin took a moment to point out the band is made up of children of immigrants.

Both love and hate come back around so we should all be looking after each other.

A couple of brand new songs were thrown in and we were rightly warned they would blow our faces off but there was time to get our breath back with iconic tracks Hedonism and Secretly.

I remember Skunk Anansie as a child in the 90s and this gig brought a genuine “I can’t believe that was 25 years ago”wave of nostalgia over myself and the rest of the audience, leaving an impression that will last another 25 years.

Collette Orwell

Alice In Wonderland

HHHH

Brighton Open Air Theatre, Dyke Road Park

August 25, Four stars,

This touring production, by Immersion Theatre, maintained all the traditional elements of the madcap tale, while delighting with colourful costumes to match the larger-than-life characters.

There were also fantastic, original songs by James Tobias, including Wonderland, “where black is white and white is black” and Barking Mad, led by the Cheshire Cat.

Tweedle Dum (James Stirling) and Tweedle Dee (Thomas Cove) were hilarious in their brotherly bickering and audience banter, which began even before the show had started as they mingled with the crowd along with Alice (Bryony Buckingham) and Sister (Charlotte Fishwick), who was also the villainous Queen of Hearts, who cried “be very careful how you tread or you’ll lose your head”.

It was a musical extravaganza with a cast just of five, but seeming greater, led by Jack Ballard as the White Rabbit, delivering a high-octane performance.

There was some funky singing and plenty of humorous audience interaction.

The performers even thankfully cooled the crowd down with a water gun and also sent a giant beach ball around the crowd.

Altogether, it was a highly engaging and magical family show.