Things to do in Brighton and Sussex this week: 12–18 October

Updated: 11 October 2026, 2:15am BST

Brighton’s week starts with small-scale theatre and accessible dance before the city’s comedy festival takes over the weekend. Families also have a new Wallace & Gromit trail at Wakehurst, while several fresh exhibitions are open at Brighton Museum.

Monday 12 October: theatre at Brighton Dome

Fire Fire begins at 8pm in Brighton Dome’s Studio Theatre. The play follows two people brought together by a memorial and a climate protest, exploring grief, anger and common purpose. Tickets are listed from £10.

This is the compact option for the start of the week: one venue, an 8pm curtain and a subject rooted in how protest affects ordinary lives. Check the Dome’s live listing before travelling because availability can change.

Tuesday 13 October: accessible dance and writing

Thick & Tight’s Natural Behaviour is at the Corn Exchange at 7.30pm. The show combines dance, satire, impersonation and poetry in a series of portraits of human and non-human life.

The performance is relaxed, includes integrated captioning and audio introductions, and offers a pre-show access session at 6.45pm. Brighton Dome lists standard tickets at £22, concessions at £20 and a limited low-income price of £10. The venue recommends it for ages 12 and over.

A separate creative-writing workshop, Exploring the Whole Story, is also listed at Brighton Dome on Tuesday from £12, with limited availability when checked.

Midweek: Brighton Museum’s new exhibitions

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Current exhibitions include:

• The Biba Look: Photography and Fashion, exploring the style and imagery associated with Biba.
• Where are all the Lesbians?, using collection objects and artistic responses to uncover hidden histories.
• Young Carers. Big Voices. A Fairer Future., a photography display made with The Carers Centre for Brighton & Hove.
• And So I Watch You From Afar and The Most Beautiful Anthropocene, an exhibition about sustainable cameraless photography and environmental change.

Standard entry is £10.50 for adults and £5 for children aged 5–18. Brighton & Hove residents with BN1, BN2, BN3 or BN41 postcodes pay £8 and can bring up to four children under that resident ticket. Carers enter free. See our full Brighton museums price and opening guide before visiting.

Friday 16 October: comedy festival opening night

The Brighton Dome Comedy Festival in cahoots with Komedia runs from 16 to 25 October. Friday’s opening programme includes Jazz Emu from £26, Celya AB from £22, Catherine Bohart from £21 and Tom Davis at 7.30pm for £29.50.

Tom Davis’s show is captioned. Other access arrangements vary by performance, so use each official event page rather than assuming the whole festival has the same provision.

Komedia’s basement club also runs at 8pm on Friday and Saturday, with unreserved seating and an 18+ age limit. Several events overlap, making location and finish time more important than simply choosing the biggest name.

Saturday 17 October: Wallace & Gromit at Wakehurst

Wallace & Gromit’s Fantastic Fungi Trail opens at Wakehurst on Saturday and continues to 1 November. The trail starts from 10am and last entry is 5pm until 24 October.

The activity pack costs £3 for non-members and ordinary members, on top of garden admission; it is free for Wakehurst family members. Booking both the Wakehurst entry ticket and trail pack in advance is the safest approach.

Sunday 18 October: comedy and a slower museum option

Sunday’s festival choices include The Blindboy Podcast Live at the Concert Hall from £34 and Jimeoin’s Ballyhoo! at the Corn Exchange at 7.30pm for £26.50, with a 16+ restriction.

For a quieter day, the museum exhibitions remain open until 5pm, or families can continue the Wakehurst trail. Check Sunday rail engineering before committing to a journey outside Brighton.

Brighton Locals’ view

The strongest part of this week is range rather than one blockbuster. Accessible dance, small theatre, major comedy names, local social-history displays and an outdoor family trail serve genuinely different audiences.

The trade-off is cost. A family trip to Wakehurst requires garden admission plus the trail pack, and festival tickets rise quickly. Brighton Museum’s resident rate and the Dome’s limited low-income seats are the best-value routes, but both require checking eligibility or availability.

Before you go

• Use the official venue link and recheck start time, age limit and availability on the day.
• Book access sessions or seating requirements directly with the venue.
• For Wakehurst, reserve garden entry and the separate trail pack.
• Plan the return journey before buying an evening ticket.

Bottom line

This is a strong culture week for Brighton and Sussex. Choose by access, travel and real total cost, not headline price alone.

Author: Brighton Locals Newsroom