There's a fairytale action for kids and grown-ups on stage this week, while music lovers shouldn't miss London rapper Lewis Parker or Australia's Vine.

SNOW QUEEN, The Hawth, Crawley, January 10-11
This classic fairytale about a boy with a heart as cold as stone and the girl who journeys to the end of the Earth to save him is told through music and puppets. The unexpected is celebrated by the adventurous Forsight Theatre Company's alternative presentation of the heroine Gerda as black and female, a reworking of the pantomime formula. This production promises to be a wonderfully atmospheric show.

LA PETITE MORT, Komedia, Brighton, January 10-11
Hans Christian Anderson's classic The Little Mermaid is here reinterpreted for modern adult audiences with splendid visual effects. A mermaid yearns for life above the sea but falls in love on land. This original piece of physical theatre is saturated with imagery. Starts 8pm, £8/£6, call 01273 647100 for further details.

LEWIS PARKER, Pressure Point, Brighton, January 14
Four years after his acclaimed debut album, Masquerades and Silhouettes, this East London rapper has at last crawled out of the studio with his second, It's All Happening Now, a collection of 20-plus tracks. A Star Wars devotee, Parker moulds the sci-fi ethos into a philosophy about his music - a belief in elevation through sound. Starts 9pm, £8/£7, 01273 702333.

VINE, Komedia, Brighton, January 16
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Manics, Stereophonics and Catatonia, these Australian rockers moved away from their native land and strangely chose to settle in the music Mecca that is Cardiff. Led by brothers Martin and Paul Tzaczyk, Vine believes in diversity in music, combining shades of blues, hardcore and melodic rock. Starts 8.30pm, £6/£5, 01273 647100.