Twenty years after he first performed on its stage, Steve McNicholas has overseen the rebirth of The Old Market (TOM) in Hove’s Brunswick Town. Despite a refurbishment in 1998 the arts centre was in trouble and with the owners struggling to keep the doors open, McNicholas and his co-director Tom Cresswell took over the 186-year-old building in Summer 2010.

A rush makeover to be ready in time for the Brighton Festival saw TOM host exhibitions, ‘avant garde’ kid shows and cabaret and in doing so fulfil its potential as a flexible performance space. “We got great feedback from everyone who had seen the changes in the venue: the retractable seating was the biggest element, something the venue really badly needed,” says McNicholas.

Alongside the main hall, the bar has been swanked-up and is now used for literary and photography talks while its recording studio has scored movie soundtracks. The next stage in TOM’s transformation begins in November as local theatre company Two Bins bring their Fringe plays Ten Men and, the following week, After Party to the venue.

John Binden was born into London post-war poverty. Soon after he developed a taste for violence and allegedly controlled the West London underworld on approval of the Kray twins. He also found time to act in such British classics as Quadrophenia, Get Carter and Performance and ran security for a Led Zepplin tour of the USA. In Frank McCabe’s Ten Men the myths surrounding Binden are peered at and unravelled. From a scandalous relationship with Princess Margaret, to his acquittal at a murder trial where Bob Hoskins appeared as a character witness, Binden is a unique and absorbing muse; ripe for a brand new stage.

The setting of After Party will be familiar to Brightonians who, as we know, are famous for their love of the hedonistic side of life. When uninvited guests on the verge of drug-induced insanity crash a house party more than wine gets spilled as the dark magic of the small hours consumes the cast. Dance-music royalty Audio Bullys provide the (original) tunes.

In December The Old Market is teaming up with New Writing South, who run and co-ordinate writers’ workshops, networking meetings and author talks in the South East, to bring celebrated crime writer Peter James to Hove. The multimillion-selling author will be discussing the allure of his genre and his new book, Perfect People.