...The Ugliest Woman In The World & The False Corpse

Theatre Royal Brighton Tuesday May 17 - Saturday May 21 The True History caused a sensation when it hit the boards in 2002 as one of the first plays to be performed in absolute darkness.

Revived specially for the Festival, this time around the 50-minute show is paired with the world premiere of surreal comedy The False Corpse, another work by Shaun Prendergast.

Brighton-based arts company zygo earned rave reviews when they took the groundbreaking The True History on tour years ago and director Andrea Brooks says audiences can expect the same deeply original and sensual performance.

She says: "We use all the senses apart from sight. We recreat the smells of the period rosewater, hospitals and Mexican cooking and the sound effects are powerful too. It's a fantastic experience for the audience.

"They come out feeling more alive, because we make them experience events as never before.

"It is totally, completely, absoutely, thoroughly dark inside the theatre. You cannot see the hand in front of your face.

"It feels as if the performance is all around you. People who buy seats for the balcony will actually be sitting on the stage for the first performance and they are truly enveloped by the action. The actors are behind and in front of you and rushing up and down the aisle."

The story is about where real beauty resides how we perceive beauty and how we perceive truth.

The lights do come on for the second play.

Times vary. Tickets £10 - £18.50, call 01273 709709.