In May cinephile Linsay McCulloch shone a light on the attitudes towards women’s roles in 2WW films, artist Anna Dumitriu shared the extraordinary story of how her great grandfather patented a system for extracting gold from seawater (was he successful..not telling!) and musician Al Strachan explored the role of body sounds in music, from heartbeats to farty bleeps. 
For June we welcome author Lambros Fatsis, animation producer Ceri Barnes and teacher George Butcher with a talk that just might blow a few minds! 

And of course there’ll be music from the mighty Jane Bom-Bane.

Dive into an evening of storytelling where orcas rebel, anglerfish steal the spotlight, and the deep sea lights up with bioluminescent magic. Not your average ocean talk – expect sass, sparkle, and sea creatures with attitude with Elissa Phillips, Director of Incredible Oceans.

Elissa Phillips, Director of Incredible Oceans, is a voice for the sea and one of today’s most dynamic anti-whaling campaigners. She’s been invited to COP29 to speak on commercial whaling and recently brought human rights into the spotlight while moderating a high-profile panel at the UN Ocean Summit. When she’s not on the world stage, Elissa is on the road with Incredible Oceans captivating audiences with strange and wonderful ocean stories and inspiring action to protect our blue planet.

Henri Brocklebank is director of Sussex Wildlife. She will be exploring our coast’s least-known complex ecosystem – its stunning kelp forests, and highlighting their plight in the face of trawling and biodiversity loss. 

In June we learned about the gay biker gang, The Sussex Lancers, from Alf Le Flohic; Jak Hutchcraft shared his passion and friendship with London’s Black Vikings,;and artist Ella Bertoud revealed how synesthesia led her to turn the sounds around her into abstract paintings. 

For our final Catalyst before the summer break we welcome Lewes Union Music Store’s Del Day, historian Sarah Watson and Brighton University’s Barbara Chamberlain. 

In June Claire Rakich shared her research into gender motifs in folk songs in films; Mike Unwin explored the use (and misuse) of bird song in movies; and George Butcher revealed why artist Neil Harbisson chose to permanently bolt a camcorder onto his skull!

For July we welcome Elizabeth Field, music journalist Dan Spicer and historian Bella Pollen.

Five years in the making, Ghosts of the Medicine Show is a personal and psychological journey through the wilder corners of modern entertainment history.Learn how and why our greatest artists, performers and celebrities owe their tricks, skills and worship to the shaman’s age-old medicine show and how we as an audience are, more than ever, a congregation in need of healing.Along with a deep dive into pop culture, Ghosts of the Medicine Show explores the influence of gladiatorial talent shows like The X-Factor; the persecution and romanticisation of travelling people; the fanaticism of football fans; and the death and resurrection narratives that dominate our most cherished Christmas stories and fictional characters. Inspired by Rogan Taylor’s Death and Resurrection Show (which has remained out of print since 1985), Ghosts of the Medicine Show reframes Taylor’s big ideas in our digital age: with an exploration of ‘shaman’ like artists that include Brighton’s Marissa Carnesky, Nick Cave and David Devant and His Spirit Wife, together with the likes of Alice Coltrane, Ozzy, Yoko Ono, Jesse Darling, Fever Ray, David Hoyle, Kate Bush and, of course, David Bowie. In an age of soul sickness, we need our Bowies more than ever. The show must go on because the show IS the medicine.

For this book launch I’ll be giving a brand new 45-minute talk and readings, peppered with audio and visual clips and maybe even a bit of audience participation (in a good way). 

Ghosts of the Medicine Show is beautifully designed by Erica Smith and printed in full colour. The publication is entirely self-funded; if you’d like to purchase a copy you can do so at the launch with an exclusive £5 discount.

Five years in the making, Ghosts of the Medicine Show is a personal and psychological journey through the wilder corners of modern entertainment history.Learn how and why our greatest artists, performers and celebrities owe their tricks, skills and worship to the shaman’s age-old medicine show and how we as an audience are, more than ever, a congregation in need of healing.Along with a deep dive into pop culture, Ghosts of the Medicine Show explores the influence of gladiatorial talent shows like The X-Factor; the persecution and romanticisation of travelling people; the fanaticism of football fans; and the death and resurrection narratives that dominate our most cherished Christmas stories and fictional characters. Inspired by Rogan Taylor’s Death and Resurrection Show (which has remained out of print since 1985), Ghosts of the Medicine Show reframes Taylor’s big ideas in our digital age: with an exploration of ‘shaman’ like artists that include Brighton’s Marissa Carnesky, Nick Cave and David Devant and His Spirit Wife, together with the likes of Alice Coltrane, Ozzy, Yoko Ono, Jesse Darling, Fever Ray, David Hoyle, Kate Bush and, of course, David Bowie. In an age of soul sickness, we need our Bowies more than ever. The show must go on because the show IS the medicine.
For this book launch I’ll be giving a brand new 45-minute talk and readings, peppered with audio and visual clips and maybe even a bit of audience participation (in a good way). 
Ghosts of the Medicine Show is beautifully designed by Erica Smith and printed in full colour. The publication is entirely self-funded; if you’d like to purchase a copy you can do so at the launch with an exclusive £5 discount.

Comedian and storyteller Ben Moor returns to the Catalyst Club for his latest show, A Three Thing Day. 

Ben has a show opening later, but first he has a family meeting, and before that there’s a funeral. A single day can encompass the past, present and future; friends, family and strangers; the ridiculous, the moving and the inspirational. Like life.
Surreal and melancomic, Ben Moor’s new show is crammed with hilarious one-liners and observations, alongside beautiful and poetic digressions. Subjects covered include good gullibility, dolphin infestations, snacks, and unreliable phones.

‘Quirky, poignant and warm storytelling show’ The Stage ★★★★

‘An English Wes Anderson’ BroadwayWorld

‘Funny, acutely observed, and ultimately compassionate’ ★★★★ ThreeWeeks

With Simon Costin, Dr Barbara Chamberlin, Dr Helen Cornish and music from The Claras

Introducing Joan Wytte, an alleged Cornish witch, whose skeleton hung in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic for nearly forty years before being repatriated to the earth in 1998. The life of Joan Wytte remains vital in storytelling, performance, and pilgrimage. Her place in witchcraft ancestry seems secure. It is unlikely however, that Joan ever existed.
Across talks by Simon Costin, Dr Barbara Chamberlin, and Dr Helen Cornish, and original songs written and performed by The Claras, we celebrate and interrogate the Afterlife of a Cornish Witch, Joan Wytte and her stories.

Simon Costin 
Simon is the Director of the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall, the world’s largest repository of artefacts and archive material relating to Witchcraft and magical practise. He will discuss the history of the museum, its founder, Cecil Williamson, and how the skeleton arrived in the museum and what evidence he gave for her story.

The Claras
Sussex-based folk duo The Claras (Clare McGlone and Claire Rakich) combine harp and harmonies to perform traditional songs and story-inspired originals. For this event The Claras have used the work of Helen Cornish and Barbara Chamberlin to create two original songs about the women behind the witchcraft – Joan Wytte and the unsung unknowns. 

Dr. Barbara Chamberlin 
Starting from a blurred memory of a witch and a museum, Barbara and her collaborator Jess Marlton, went in search of Joan Wytte to try and tell her story. In this illustrated talk, Barbara shares their version of Joan Wytte’s life and afterlife, from her life as a cunning person in Bodmin through to her final resting place, and in doing so, explores ways that papercut can reflect the many gaps in her story. Dr Barbara Chamberlin is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Brighton. 

Dr. Helen Cornish 
Dr Cornish examines where Joan’s story is – and isn’t – found in the archives. It takes some surprising twists to a London anatomy museum and an American art gallery before considering how Joan is recreated anew for new generations who find diverse meanings in these stories.
Dr Helen Cornish is an Anthropologist and lecturer on the MA in Folklore Studies at the University of Hertfordshire. Her research has focused on contemporary Witchcraft – with the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall as a key research site.

Hosted by David Bramwell, Helen Cornish, and Barbara Chamberlain

Mark Farrelly (Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, Howerd’s End, Jarman) presents his riveting, kinetic solo show portraying one of the great English writers of the inter-war years. Patrick Hamilton was a dazzling success in his twenties, producing hit plays Rope (filmed by Hitchcock) Gaslight (which gave us the modern term ‘gaslighting’), and classic novels Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude. But Hamilton was also an alcoholic, whose wit darkened as his inner and outer worlds collapsed.

Covering the entire sweep of Hamilton’s thrilling life and writing, The Silence of Snow entertains and challenges, asking: why do so many of us get through life without feeling we ever truly knew another person?
Running time: 70 mins no interval

​Written and performed by Mark Farrelly
Directed by Linda Marlowe

★★★★ “You won’t be able to take your eyes off this magnetic actor Mark Farrelly. He inhabits the character of Hamilton with a blazing fluidity” The Times

★★★★ “Horrifyingly funny snapshot of the wit, novelist and playwright…brilliant” The Spectator