The Government Inspector

One of the plays currently running is The Government Inspector, one of the best-known plays in world theatre.

Written by Nikolai Gogol in 1836, the play is set in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Corruption is rife and the mayor and his cronies have got it made.

Then they learn they're going to be subject to an undercover government inspection and panic. Mistaking a penniless nobody for the inspector they swiftly fall victims to their own stupidity and greed.The play stars Alistair McGowan, who will be familiar to television audiences thanks to his multi-award-winning programme, Big Impression.

The other plays currently showing as part of the theatre's festival season are How to Succeed in business Without Really Trying, King Lear, Scapino or the Trickster and Six Pictures of Lee Miller.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying stars James Bolam in a viscous satire on sharp practice and ruthless ambition in the world of big business.

David Warner stars in Shakespeare's King Lear as the ageing king who sets out to test his daughters' affection.

The farce Scapino or the Trickster was written by Moliere in 1671. It tells the story of two young men who have each found the love of their life. Unfortunately their fathers have other ideas. So the boys turn for help to Scapino, king of con men.

But the old men's obstinacy tests Scapino's ingenuity to breaking point and he is driven to evermore elaborate and ludicrous schemes to ensure that love will win the day.

Six Pictures of Lee Miller tells the story of the muse, model, war photographer and surrealist, bringing together the different strands of the amazing life of this unusual woman.

Box office: 01243 781312.