Malvern Theatres has some treats in store for avid theatregoers next season.

It gets off to a fantastic start as Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers returns after previous sell-out visits (January 23-28).

Set in Liverpool, it tells the tale of twin boys who are separated at birth, only to be reunited by a twist of fate.

The Almeida Theatre production of Festen will visit the venue in May as part of an 11-week tour, preceded by Mike Leigh's Two Thousand Years, with its original National Theatre cast.

A revival of Jane Eyre by the successful and inventive Shared Experience theatre company (February 21-15) will please those who missed it when it appeared in 1997.

The season's first play features Ian Richardson, making his first visit to Malvern in Pauline Macaulay's The Creeper - a dark psychological thriller with a cast of five that visits Malvern pre-West End (January 30-February 4).

A week later, Belinda Lang returns, along with Julian Wadham in Noel Coward's comedy Private Lives (February 6-11). A second Coward comedy features later in the season with Simon Callow taking the lead in Present Laughter (March 20-25).

Another evening of laughs is promised by Alison Steadman and David Horavitch starring in Losing Louis (April 24-29), direct from the sell-out West End season.

Lovers of music and dance will be happy to see the return of the Russian State Ballet following their sell-out performances last March.

This year, they bring two more full-length ballets from their repertoire - Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (March 27-April 1).

The season also includes new work from both Random Dance and Henri Oguike and a first visit for the OperaBabes and for European Chamber Orchestra with solo clarinettist Emma Johnson.

For a brochure, call the box office on 01684 892277.