CHESIL Theatre present their Golden Jubilee season this year.

A comedy of no manners, God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, opens on September 17th at the Winchester venue.

An altercation between two 11-year-old boys brings their parents together to resolve the matter. As the meeting progresses civilities are forgotten, the gloves come off, leaving the couples with more than just their liberal principles in tatters.

Christmas comes early with one of Alan Ayckbourn's classic dissections of suburban life and marriage, Season's Greetings from November 19th. Family and friends come together to celebrate but squabbles over the lights, fraught rehearsals for a puppet show, an amorous couple attempting to fulfil their passion and all is not going well.

Blood and Ice, by Liz Lochead, the story behind the creation of Frankenstein, is the choice for January. One stormy night four young romantics compete to write a spine-chilling tale. When events are overtaken by tragedy, the shadows consume Mary Shelley and give birth to the most famous Gothic horror of them all.

An atmospheric and menacing psychological thriller, Gaslight by Patrick Hamilton, is the choice for April. This classic drama is the origin of the word gaslighting, the sinister and subtle methods of one person gaining complete control over another's mind. Set in 1890 it retains its power to thrill and excite.

Choices can change lives forever and this is portrayed in After Electra by April de Angelis, the May production. On Virgie's 84th birthday she makes a shocking announcement but she has not reckoned on the determination of others close to her to thwart her plans.

The season ends with the much loved Persuasion by Jane Austen adapted by Mark Healy. In this tribute to mark the 200th anniversary of her death, we meet Jane in her last days in Winchester, as she transmutes her own ill-fated love affair and that of her heroine, Anne Elliot, into a bittersweet tale of loneliness and longing. See chesiltheatre.org.uk