FESTIVAL CHOICE:
King of self-deprecation Richard Herring gets in on the Vagina Monologues act with his Talking Cock. Komedia, 9.30pm tonight and tomorrow.

Last night LoveBrighton witnessed (and assisted with) the gruelling selection of the new Brighton poetry slam team. You can see Sharon, Simon, Moonie and Reverend Mike (yes him again) in action next Tuesday at the Full Moon in Boyces Street, when they will battle a team of hip hop MCs. It'll end in tears, hopefully of laughter, but possibly of intense pain if Mike decides to 'diss' the other team...

FESTIVAL CHOICE:
Lou Reed @ Brighton Dome (Concert Hall). 8pm. Music and poetry including material from his new album The Raven, based around the poems of Edgar Allen Poe.

The presiding spirit of Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! is a loud one, in the form of the very tall and quite possibly certifiable Reverend. The format (not to mention the venue) is arguably not quite big enough for his persona, and it’s a relief when a fairly sedate evening of acoustic noodling and poetry is allowed to begin. It’s a night that demands, if not audience participation, then at least collaboration. The separation between performer and audience is nicely blurry (an impression not hindered by there being just the barest suggestion of a stage in the cosy Sanctuary cellar). But the welcoming atmosphere welcomes everything from the forgettable to the bollocks just as readily as talent, which is a pity. Some form of greatness may possibly beckon for duo Tom Tom the Piper’s Son, if they play up the resemblance to Nick Drake with Liz Fraser on backing vocals and adhere a bit more closely to their key. Simon Clayton (the sane one, or ‘Dec’ as he puts it) also hosts, and he’s a funny funny man.

FESTIVAL CHOICE:
New Venture have a crack at Oleanna, David Mamet's provocative play of sexual politics. New Venture Theatre, Bedford Place, 7.45pm. And just down the road @ The Sanctuary in Brunswick Steet East, new poetic force Stop All The Clocks present the mad cabaret styles of Holy!Holy!Holy!Holy! 8pm (£3.50).