WHILE Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre is hosting a season of comedies, the Swan has been presenting its Gunpowder season, a selection of rarely performed work of a more serious nature to mark the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.

The plays on offer so far include Thomas More by Shakespeare, which was banned when written between 1592-95 and told of race riots and dissent in London and More's attempts to quell the uprising.

The season also features A New Way to Please You, described as "an hilarious black comedy," which was written in 1632 about a law passed stating that every man of 80 years and every woman at 60 should be "put down" as they "no longer have a use to society".

Believe What You Will by Philip Massinger is the third play in the series.

Written in 1631, it concerns a Middle Eastern leader's attempts to reunite his people in the face of the all-powerful Roman Empire.

The latest Gunpowder season work is Sejanus: His Fall, which previews starting this week.

Published in 1605, the year of the infamous plot, the play by Ben Jonson is a political thriller that follows the rise of Sejanus, Emperor Tiberius' right-hand man and his ruthless rise to the top.

Directed by RSC associate director Gregory Doran, Sejanus: His Fall runs in repertoire until November 5.

The final play in the season will be a new work by Frank McGuinness, Speaking Like Magpies, specially commissioned for the Swan Theatre about the infamous Gunpowder Plot and which receives its world premiere at the theatre in September.

Details of performance dates and times, together with tickets, are available from the ticket hotline on 0870 609 1110 or online at www.rsc.org.uk