REHEARSALS are underway for Peter Pan, the exciting family pantomime which opens next week at The Anvil. The cast are running through their songs with the band, the children and chorus are learning dance routines, and the pirates are practicing acrobatics. The scenery is arriving today and over the weekend Peter Pan will practice flying in the auditorium.

As the audience arrives at The Anvil they will enter through the front doors as if entering the nursery of Wendy, John and Michael. The foyers have been decorated with Christmas trees with the themes of the fruits, wildlife and forests of Neverland. Twinkling lights and stunning silhouettes of Big Ben and the characters Peter Pan, Wendy and Hook decorate the huge glass window overlooking Churchill Way.

Once inside, there will a chance for children to use the interactive shadow wall while they wait to enter the auditorium and take their seats.

Peter Pan opens on December 14 and runs until Sunday, 7 January. Hook your tickets now for this swashbuckling adventure for the whole family, complete with spectacle, laughter, magic and music, plus a big sprinkle of fairy dust!

There is also a specially adapted relaxed performance of Peter Pan on Tuesday, 2 January for those on the autistic spectrum and with other disabilities.

There are a few tickets left for A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens at The Haymarket on Tuesday, 12 December and Wednesday, 13 December. The quintessential seasonal story, this is not to be missed.

The old miser Ebenezer Scrooge has no time for Christmas or those that celebrate it.

One night he is visited by the ghostly apparition of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley is condemned, for eternity, to wander the earth shackled by the chain of wrong doing he forged in life. He tells Scrooge that he will be visited by three spirits and therefore afforded the chance to escape the same fate.

But, will Scrooge choose to amend his ways? Does he deserve a second chance?

The Dickens Theatre Company brings to life some of Charles Dickens' favourite characters, in their inimitable telling of this great Christmas story.

Join the exceptional Cara Dillon for a night of heart-warming Christmas songs at The Haymarket on Wednesday, 20 December, in what will undoubtedly be a magical and memorable festive experience.

If you don’t know the voice of Cara Dillon, you’re in for a treat. If you're already amongst her legions of admirers around the world, you know you have something special in store. The extraordinary Irish singer has won every folk award going.

Having recorded her highly anticipated Christmas album Upon A Winter's Night, Cara and her band will be performing traditional carols, Celtic hymns and other seasonal songs to celebrate and share in the festive spirit.

For more information or for tickets, visit anvilarts.org.uk or call the Anvil Arts box office on 01256 844244.