ACTOR Anton Rodgers kicks off The Birmingham Repertory Theatre's new winter programme by starring in acclaimed playwright Alan Bennett's award winning play The History Boys.

The show, which is about a bunch of unruly sixth form boys who are in pursuit of sex, sport and a place in university, starts a high profile national tour at The Rep from August 31.

While the pupils have things other than academic achievement on their minds the teachers aren't that much better with in-fighting, staff room rivalry and oodles of angst.

Rodgers is one of Britain's most accomplished actors and has starred in popular situation comedies French Fields and May to December and has acted alongside Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The History Boys has scooped numerous prizes, including the coveted Laurence Olivier, Evening Stands and Critics' Circle awards for best new play and South Bank Show Award for Theatre. The show has also scooped six Tony Awards.

Alan Bennett is one of Britain's greatest playwrights, with such stage classics as The Madness of King George II turned into an Oscar winning movie and Forty Years On winning rave reviews on the stage.

The History Boys is just the start of a star studded line up of productions coming to The Rep over the winter months.

Well respected actors such as Belinda Bellingham, Roger Allam and Peter Polycarpou all grace the theatre's stages.

Bellingham, famous for her performance on the Oxo adverts, appears in Sugar Mummies, which follows pitfalls of sex tourism in Jamaica.

Pravda is a comedy centred on Fleet Street at the height of Thatcherism and stars Allam, while Duncan Preston, better known for his performances in the Victoria Wood comedy Dinner Ladies, plays Atticus Finch in the hard hitting To Kill A Mockingbird.

The Door Theatre is the showcase for up and coming talent and will feature black comedy Gizmo Love and Deadeye, written by Birmingham's Amber Lone. Go to www.the-door.co.uk to find out more.

The Rep ends 2006 with the magical Alice in Wonderland, which starts on November 29, and starts 2007 with the haunting childhood tale The Snowman.

l The History Boys runs until September 16 and tickets cost between £11 and £25. Tickets for all the shows in the winter programme can be bought by calling the box office on 0121 2364455.