Loughborough Town Hall’s new season offers a welcome antidote to the winter blues.

Now on sale, with full details published in the venue’s What’s On Guide for January to April 2013, the packed programme showcases the very best in, drama, family entertainment, dance, music, spoken word and comedy, with a number of shows featuring in Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival.

Read about our new season here or browse our website. There is plenty to choose from and lots to appeal to all tastes.

The new music and dance programme opens on 6 February with a performance by The Lock In, the UK’s No. 1 Folk and Hip Hop dance show, featuring The Demon Barbers. The show brings some of Britain’s oldest forms of dance bang up to date in a hugely imaginative collision with modern street dance. Folk fans can also enjoy a performance from the legendary Steeleye Span on 21 March, with Maddy Prior and the band offering a concert filled with inspirational folk rock classics. On 13 April Jazz singer Clare Teal performs a brand new mix of standards, originals and contemporary covers, which promises to cheer and warm hearts.

The varied music programme also offers plenty of opportunities to sample some of the greatest hits from a variety of eras. Thank You For The Music on 8 March is a superb tribute to the 70s super group ABBA. A spectacular cast entertain with lycra-tight harmonies and brilliant musicianship. There’s a fantastic opportunity to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style with The Irish House Party on 17 March. Starring All Ireland Champion musicians, charming presenters with great banter, and excellent Irish dancing, this is the best traditional night of musical entertainment the Emerald Isle has to offer. On 21 April That’ll Be The Day is a hugely entertaining rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza featuring classic gold hits from the 50s, 60s and 70s. In addition, why not dust off your dancing shoes at two great club nights? The main auditorium’s floor will be cleared to make way for dancers to enjoy Northern Soul, Motown and Club Soul, hosted by 8 DJ’s on 16 February, while Lovin’ The 70s on 27 April offers the opportunity to boogie the night away to the best disco sounds.

Comedy forms the backbone of the new programme, and although the performance of Al Murray on 8 April has already sold out, there is still plenty to enjoy. The venue is offering two shows as part of Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival. Simon Day, star of comic tv masterpiece The Fast Show, performs a combination of stand up and extracts from his inspirational autobiography Comedy and Error on 9 February, while on 13 February the sublime observational comic Jimeoin charms with his inspired ramblings on the state of the world in his new show What?! More stand up is offered from a line up of rising stars in the venue’s monthly Comedy Club presented with Just The Tonic, with dates on 8 February, 8 March, and 5 April. Alternatively, experience The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) in a riotous and hilarious fast paced romp that features all 37 plays in just 97 minutes! The madcap men in tights from The Reduced Shakespeare Company weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies on 9 April, in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.

The worlds of theatre and comedy collide in cabaret from The Faaaaaaabulous Ceri Dupree on 14 February. Ceri offers a slick and saucy evening commanding the stage in a series of jaw dropping costumes, performing his amazing vocal impersonations of celebrities such as Adele, Cher, Lady Gaga, Bassey and even the Queen. Three dramas are featured in the new season. Award winning Sell A Door Theatre Company brings to life Shakespeare’s much loved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream on 25 February. There’s oodles of theatrical magic in this enchanting tale of fairies, lovers, hapless actors and a disapproving father. Hull Truck Theatre Company performs a fresh adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic gothic romance Jane Eyre on 19 March. ‘Big Brother is watching you’, when Sell A Door Theatre Company returns on 29 April with George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984.

The new season also offers a series of inspiring, entertaining and fascinating celebrity talks. Join British mountaineer Kenton Cool on 24 February, as he shares his exhilarating experiences from the top of the world, including reaching the summit of Everest for a record ten times. On 27 February, nature, travel and adventure photographer John Beatty discusses his work capturing the magnificence of wild landscapes. The evening complements an exhibition of John’s work in the venue’s Sock Gallery. On 5 March the fabulous poet and raconteur Pam Ayres shares her observations on the comic details of everyday life. Her hugely popular, funny, clever and perceptive verse has made Pam the ‘Peoples Poet’. Football commentating legend John Motson offers sports fans an unusual treat on 20 March, with an evening in which he discusses his long and varied career which has included commentating on six World Cup Finals and twenty nine FA Cup Finals. BBC Radio Leicester sports presenter Martin Ballard will host a question and answer session with John and the audience.

The new season features plenty of treats for family audiences. On 3 and 4 February Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer’s award-winning sequel The Gruffalo’s Child is brought to life on stage by Tall Stories Theatre Company. During the February half term Creaky Knee Story Extravaganza offers imaginative storytelling sessions on 9 February to children aged 2+, and an engaging storytelling workshop for children aged 6 and over. On 15 February Norwich Puppet Theatre present a captivating and visually inventive retelling of the classic Hans Anderson tale The Tinderbox, while Andy Day, Bafta nominated star of CBeebies Andy’s Wild Adventures, returns with a new show Andy & Mike’s Tick Tock Time Machine on 16 February. Andy, and comedy partner Mike James, bring their trademark infectious energy and irrepressible sense of fun in a show that will delight 3 year olds and over. Later in the season, talented actors and a dollop of audience participation bring to life a musical production of the classic Wind in the Willows on 2 April. Follow the exuberant Mr Toad and Mole, Ratty and Badger on a series of fantastical adventures. Norwich Puppet Theatre return to present a magical version of The Pied Piper on 4 April and on 7 April Robin Hood and his Very Merry Men set about defeating the evil Sheriff in an exciting new interpretation of the much loved children’s classic featuring live music, puppetry, Little John, Friar Tuck and buckets of mud.

For details and the complete programme of events, pick up the new What’s On Guide from Loughborough Town Hall or download it and find out more about the shows from the theatre’s website

Book online via our website or call our Box Office on 01509 231914.