THE Nuffield’s spring programme includes two highly-anticipated Shakespeare productions, superb new plays, breathtaking theatrical acrobatics, famous stand-up comedians and a delightful programme of children’s theatre.

The season opens with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (February 3-19) – a thrilling new co-production between Rupert Goold’s acclaimed touring company Headlong and The Nuffield Theatre.

Combining the original text with a rich and cutting-edge production, this vivid reimagining uses video, movement and music to relocate Shakespeare’s best-loved comedy to a glamorous 1960s film studio where a Hollywood epic is in the making!

Cheek by Jowl make a welcome return to The Nuffield later in the season with a dynamic new production of The Tempest (March 16-19) – performed by their internationally renowned Russian ensemble (in Russian with English surtitles). Following the success of Cheek By Jowl’s French version of Andromaque, which played at The Nuffield last spring, this fresh and innovative interpretation, which opens in Paris, will perform at just three regional venues before its run in London at The Barbican.

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Douglas Post’s terrific one-man thriller Bloodshot (March 29-31), directed by Patrick Sandford, returns following its premiere at The Nuffield last spring. Simon Slater, well known from TV dramas such as Inspector Morse and Spooks, will have you on the edge of your seat in this thrilling production.

The highly acclaimed Paines Plough bring Love, Love, Love (April 27-30) – a superb new play from Olivier Award winning playwright Mike Bartlett. This uproariously funny and thought-provoking play takes on the baby boomer generation as it retires.

Sandi Toksvig tackles the challenging moral issues of contemporary military occupation and its effects on the mental health of serving soldiers in her enthralling new play Bully Boy (May 10-28) directed by Patrick Sandford. Nationally known and loved as a broadcaster, Sandi Toksvig tells this gripping and story with startling insight and tenderness.

March sees two physical theatre companies on the stage. Ariel theatre company Upswing make their first visit to Southampton with Fallen (March 22-23) – a mix of circus, dance and shadows, with much of the action taking place far above the stage. Benji Reid, pioneer of hip hop theatre and culture, brings The Devil Has Quentin’s Heart (March 24-26), an explosive new production from Breaking Cycles.

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The vibrant Chouf Ouchouf (May 2-4) is brought to you by Groupe Acrobatique de Tangier – a company of twelve highly skilled Moroccan acrobats. Hot on the heels of a London run at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Chouf Ouchouf brings together contemporary performance and traditional Moroccan acrobatics in an explosion of North African culture.

As well as a selection of Saturday children’s shows in the Studio, there are two big productions to keep your little ones aged six plus entertained this season. First up, The Nuffield Theatre Company teams up with Forest Forge to bring you Joan Aiken’s classic children’s tale The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (March 9 – 12). The story follows two brave and determined girls on an enthralling adventure. Then submerge yourself in the swashbuckling underwater adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Studio highlights include the return of Publick Transport with a radical reinterpretation of a Dickens’ classic entitled Very Hard Times (March 7- 8), a tender, comic and inspiring portrayal of one woman’s experience of love and war in You’re Not Like the Other Girls, Chrissy (March 14-15) and the gloriously inappropriate and critically acclaimed musical double-act Bourgeois & Maurice (April 1-2). A casual meal between friends suddenly becomes something far stranger in the atmospheric Exterminating Angel (May 5-7) and Bryony Kimmings gives a funny, honest and unapologetic account of female sexuality in the 21st century in Sex Idiot (May 9- 11).

A season of cutting-edge comedy stars Miles Jupp (February 13), Holly Walsh (February 20), Stephen Carlin (March 27), Mark Thomas (April 10) and Jon Gordillo (April 24) amongst others.

Tickets: 023 8067 1771 or visit nuffieldtheatre.|co.uk.