The Hastings Podcast

Just three years ago there were no Greens on Hastings Borough Council, now there are 12, they've become the biggest group and have taken on the task of running a minority administration. Julia Hilton was the first Green councillor on HBC, elected in Old Hastings in a landslide in 2021, she's also a County Councillor and now she is leader of the borough council. We spoke to her about what local people can expect from a Green run local authority.

Every Brilliant Thing is about resilience and hope and addresses aspects of mental health. When mum’s in the hospital and dad says she finds it hard to be happy, there’s not much a seven year old can do…1. Ice cream2. Water fights3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TVThese are the first three items on a list of every brilliant thing in the world worth living for. Duncan MacMillan’s play Every Brilliant Thing pulls back the curtain on what it’s like to be a child of a suicidal mother and the lengths we go for those we love.The story explores depression and hope, uncertainty and change, confusion and joy, heartbreak and anger, relationships and solitude, risk and resistance, guilt and forgiveness. Throughout, The Storyteller interacts with audience members to tell about life with their mother’s depression as a backdrop, including the effects it has on their life and relationships.Every Brilliant Thing is a life-affirming story of how to achieve hope through focusing on the smallest miracles of life.

Did Aleister Crowley really curse Hastings? If you live here is it really impossible to move away and stay away? The story of Crowley and is curse is a fscinating one.

The creative team behind last years' in the round and stripped back production of 'Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf' at The Stables Theatre, come together again to present Doubt – A Parable. Directed by Hugo Trebels and assisted by Jamie Seaton, Doubt – A Parable promises to be another exciting and thought provoking evening at the theatre. Hear all about it in this podcast.

Last time we spoke to Lotti Conway we asked: "How would you cope if all your memories were erased overnight?" Lotti had a massive seizure in April 2020 that left her in hospital, scared and alone as she couldn't remember where she was or why she was there. Doctors diagnosed Autoimmune encephalitis and when we met her journey along the road to recovery had begun, with no one quite sure where the destination was going to be. Eighteen months later we've been back to talk to Lotti and mum Kate to find out how the journey along that road has been going and in this interview you'll hear how they are both coming to terms with the fact that Lotti's condition is not going to get any better and her short term memory problems are something they are having to come to deal with as a part of every day life. The pair admit there have been a lot of tears, but as you will hear there's a lot of laughter and humour too, that helps them get through their darker moment. Hear her first interview by following this link... https://on.soundcloud.com/bmipw Photograph by Georgie Piper

Hugh Whitemore tells Turing’s story in this mesmerising play, combining humour with compassion, and skilfully interweaving different timescales to build up a complete picture of Turing and those around him. During the war we see the code breaking genius at work; given personal authority by Churchill himself for all the resources he needs. After the war we see Turing’s continuing passion for research as he develops the modern computer; at the same time getting progressively entangled in the law after he confesses to his homosexuality. The play provides real insight into the dilemmas faced by a genius who refused to compromise his personal standpoint; not just by the man himself, but by his family, his professional colleagues and The State’s preoccupation with national security.

The Stables Theatre celebrated its 60th anniversary back in 2019. The history of the theatre and how it came in to existence in the first place is a fascinating one. Here, Stuart Baillie looks at those early years and some of the ‘big characters’ who helped make it all happen in the first place.

There's a great three months worth of entertainment in store at The Stables Theatre in Hastings between May and July and the theatre's very own PAG-man Ben Randall considers some of the highlights and discusses his own time in the spotlight, in the world of stand-up comedy.