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🐦 Wit, Wine & Candlelight

🐦 Wit, Wine & Candlelight

With over 50 events from Jane Austen improv to seafood feasts and orchard fun

Ben Watkins
September 19, 2025

☀️ Happy Friday Brightonians!

The nights may be getting longer, but Brighton’s not calling it a day, with Regency-era improv on stage and cider-fuelled community fun at Stanmer Park keeping the weekend buzzing. Add a big seafood feast on the seafront and a Hove spa built for serious unwinding, and there’s plenty to keep the city lively as the nights draw in.

Here’s what’s squawking this week:

🎭 Improvised Jane Austen at Theatre Royal
🍎 Apple Harvest Day returns with family fun
🥗 A seafood spot dishing up lobsters, noodles and whole fried sea bass
🧖 A Hove wellness hub with floats, yoga, massage and more

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🎭 Austentatious

⏰ Sun 2pm & 7pm
📍 Theatre Royal

The acclaimed Austentatious troupe conjures up an entirely new Jane Austen tale at each performance, improvised from an audience-suggested title. Expect quick wit, Regency romance, and plenty of swooning as award-winning performers in period costume bring Austen’s world to life. With live music and endless laughs, this show is a must-see for theatre lovers and comedy fans alike.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🎤 Marcus Brigstocke: Vitruvian Mango

⏰ Fri 7.30pm
📍 The Old Market

Award-winning comedian Marcus Brigstocke returns with his brand-new show, Vitruvian Mango. Exploring masculinity, identity, and the absurdities of modern life, Marcus brings his trademark wit and razor-sharp observations to the stage. Expect a smart, hilarious night of comedy that’s equal parts thought-provoking and side-splitting.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🎶 The Music of Lord of the Rings

⏰ Fri 7-8.45pm
📍 St George’s Church

A breathtaking live tribute to Howard Shore’s legendary score, this concert will transport you straight into Middle-earth. From the soaring themes of the Shire to the darker notes of Mordor, the evening brings Tolkien’s world to life in Brighton’s most atmospheric church venue. A must for fans of the films or anyone who loves epic music.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🍷 In Pour Taste: Comedy Wine Tasting

⏰ Sun 6.30pm
📍 Komedia

Comedy meets cabernet in this laugh-out-loud wine tasting experience hosted by comedians Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh. With the help of a wine expert, you’ll sip five carefully selected wines while laughing at five times as many jokes. Equal parts ridiculous and educational, it’s a night of wit, whimsy and world-class wine.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🚲 Brighton Kidical Mass Ride

⏰ Sun 12-5pm
📍 The Level

Grab your bikes and join this family-friendly cycle ride to Stanmer Village for Apple Day. The ride is fully marshalled and open to all ages, with the group setting off together before enjoying three hours of orchard festivities at Stanmer Park. A great way to celebrate cycling, sustainability, and community spirit.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🌳 Wild Park Community Celebration

⏰ Sun 12-3pm
📍 Wild Park

Celebrate one of Brighton’s beloved green spaces at this special community day in Wild Park. The event highlights the park’s new rainscape and orchard, with fun activities, stalls and entertainment for all ages. Organised by the Friends of Wild Park, it’s a chance to enjoy the outdoors and support local environmental projects.

🎟️ More Info

✨ Enchanted Candlelight Concert

⏰ Sat 5-6.15pm
📍 All Saints Hove

Step into a world of candlelit magic at this enchanting concert in the grand setting of All Saints. Featuring a moving programme of classical music performed by talented musicians, the flickering candlelight creates an unforgettable atmosphere. An intimate and uplifting experience perfect for a serene Saturday evening.

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🎭 Six (Musical)

⏰ Fri 5pm & 8pm, Sat 4pm & 8pm
📍 Theatre Royal

Divorced, beheaded, died, and now remixed into a global smash-hit musical. Six tells the stories of Henry VIII’s wives in a pop concert style that’s empowering, hilarious and unforgettable. With Olivier nominations, a Tony Award, and rave reviews worldwide, this is your last chance to catch the Queens in Brighton before they hit the road again!

🎟️ Tickets & More Info

🧖‍♀️ The Float Spa

On Church Road in Hove sits one of the city’s most calming escapes: The Float Spa. Its signature floatation pods (the largest on the market with 500kg of epsom salts!) let you drift weightlessly in warm, salt-infused water, a deeply relaxing treatment that melts away stress, eases sore muscles and clears the mind.

But The Float Spa is more than just pods. Since opening in 2014, founder Camille Pierson has grown it into a full wellness hub, now based in a converted 19th-century bank complete with yoga and Pilates studios, an infrared sauna, expert massage therapists and even a cosy Dream Room hidden away in the old vault. It’s a place where science-backed therapies meet simple feel-good rituals, designed to help you reset both body and mind.

From floating to yoga and massage, it’s become one of Brighton & Hove’s go-to spaces for slowing down, switching off and recharging properly, recognition that’s seen it named a finalist for SME Business of the Year at the Brighton & Hove Business Awards 2025.

📍 125 Church Road, Hove
🌐 thefloatspa.co.uk
🕒 Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 9am-7:30pm, Sun 8:30am-6pm

🥗 New Spot: Aberdeen Seafood

Named after Hong Kong’s Aberdeen Harbour, famous for its floating seafood markets, this new spot on Brighton seafront brings that same spirit of big plates, bustle and sharing.

There are six types of lobster, bowls of beef noodles and wonton soup, but the showstopper is the whole sea bass, Fried twice, glazed in sauce and stretching across the table for £24. It’s messy, generous and the kind of dish Brighton has been missing. Not fine dining, but food with character, made to enjoy with friends.

The space itself has a lively, no-frills feel, more sports bar than sleek restaurant, but that’s half the charm. It’s about piling the table high, raising a glass and digging in. Whether you’re here for salted egg chicken with a beer or lobster broth to chase off the autumn chill, Aberdeen Seafood promises to be a new favourite for unfussy nights out by the sea.

📍 133 King’s Road Arches
🕒 Open Mon-Sun, 11am-11pm
🌐 @aberdeenseafood

Events marked with a * are sponsored

General Events

Friday

😆 Komedia Comedy Club
8pm @ Komedia
Brighton’s top comedy night with a killer line-up. Tickets

😂 Marginally Funny
8-10pm @ The Archives
Free new-material comedy night with pros and newcomers. More Info

🍷 Sign and Wine
7-9.30pm @ Projects Nile House
Learn BSL while sampling incredible Portuguese wine. Tickets

Saturday

🎨 Meet, Mingle & Make Art
2-4.30pm @ Jubilee Library
Creative games, sketch competition and networking for artists. Tickets

🧵 Seaside Siblinghood Holistic Craft Fair
10am-5pm @ Brighton Unitarian Church
Stalls, workshops and community spirit for the Autumn Equinox. More Info

🍫 Healthy Chocolate Workshop
2-4pm @ Crescent Drive North
Nutritionist-led workshop on guilt-free chocolate making. More Info

💍 Rat Betty Jewellery Pop-Up
Sat-Sun 10am-4pm @ Dukes Lane
Bold silver jewellery with 80s RAT race vibes. Free

😂 The Secret Comedy Club
7-10.30pm @ Artista Café & Gallery
Award-winning intimate comedy night. Tickets

Sunday

🎧 Dance Autumn Silent Disco
5.30-6.30pm @ Brighton Beach
Guided silent disco on the sands at low tide. Tickets

🎶 Chris Difford
7.30-11.30pm @ The Old Market
Co-founder of Squeeze plays solo hits and classics. Tickets

😂 Ben Pope: The Cut
8pm @ Komedia
Stand-up show about masculinity, fathers and circumcision. Tickets

👑 The Court
7.30-9.30pm @ The Yellow Book
Folklore, folk horror and performance in an immersive night. Tickets

Family Events

Saturday

🎪 BroadFest 2025
Sept 19–21 @ Broadwater Green, Worthing
Three-day summer finale with live music, funfair, food and more. More Info

🌊 Living Coast Undersea Experience (5+)
11am-4pm @ Cliffe Hall, Lewes
Virtual dive beneath Sussex seas in this family VR adventure. Tickets

📖 Little Bad Wolf Storytime
11.15am-12pm @ The Book Nook, Hove
Join Abie Longstaff for stories and laughs with Little Bad Wolf. Free

🎯 Active Future Open Day
1.30-3.30pm @ BHASVIC Sports Hall, Hove
Free family fun with NERF, dodgeball and team games. Tickets

Sunday

🍎 Apple Harvest Day
12-5pm @ Stanmer Park
Celebrate the apple season with cider, music and stalls. More Info

🏇 Plumpton Racecourse Jump Season Opener
12-5pm @ Plumpton, Lewes
Live horse racing and family entertainment. Tickets

Live Music