A NEW season at the Palace Theatre is set to kick-start with a cocktail of sounds, songs and dances from all over the world, opening the theatre up to Redditch's diverse community.

Redditch Council's theatre and arts development manager Jonathan Cochrane said funding from the council and Worcestershire County Council was set aside to present the theatre to a wider audience, showing performances from different ethnic groups.

The council had drawn on support from partners Redditch Pakistani Community and the Descendants of Windrush, as representatives of the town's largest ethnic groups, to compile a programme of events.

"Each performance is rich in its own culture and tradition and while we aim to profile different artists, we are also hoping to appeal to a wider audience, exposing people to the different cultures which make up the Redditch community," said Mr Cochrane.

Next month's The Story of C will feature authentic Indian Dancers, while Ting a Ling Caribbean Roots takes the form of a documentary with youngsters interviewing Caribbean people who came to live in the Redditch community about 50 years ago.

Some of the funding would be spent on audience development work, such as school workshops, and engaging with young people and adults in the community.

"We want to offer the audience something they can tap into, which is far more powerful than words," he said.

"People no longer want to sit still and watch in silence - they want to participate and engage with what is happening onstage."