WORKS by giants of British contemporary literature and drama, a powerful Greek tragedy and a new stage version of a hugely successful 1980s British film go together in the new-season programme of Westacre River Studios.

WORKS by giants of British contemporary literature and drama, a powerful Greek tragedy and a new stage version of a hugely successful 1980s British film go together in the new-season programme of Westacre River Studios.

Music and drama from the studios' own stable of performers abound in the first half of 2008, and these productions will be complemented by visiting companies offering everything from shows specially for youngsters to a play for grown-ups about a much-loved children's author.

Alan Bennett's Talking Heads series of monologues is seldom out of the repertoire at the studios, at West Acre. In the latest offerings, to be presented in February and March, Issy Huckle stars as the precise and punctilious Peggy in A Woman of No Importance, while Irma Bullough reprises her role as the widowed Muriel in Soldiering On.

March sees the launch of an occasional series celebrating the one-act plays of the Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Harold Pinter. A double-bill running for four performances features his 1996 work, Ashes to Ashes, while the darkly comic The Dumb Waiter is a 1960 play dating from Pinter's earlier writing days.

The studios spring into April with their home-grown production of Gregory's Girl, a stage adaptation of Bill Forsyth's wonderful comedy movie about gawky young Scot Gregory and the object of his teenage desires, the football-mad Dorothy.

But the stage atmosphere is transformed in May, when the studios' Andy Naylor offers a new adaptation of the Euripedes classic play, Trojan Women. The ancient city lies in ruins, its conquerors divide the spoils, but the human spirit is not so easy to conquer…

And May 3 sees a one-off performance of Rohan McCullogh's sensitive biographical play, The Tale of Beatrix Potter. Rohan's own mother was Miss Potter's cousin, and the visiting production touches on aspects of the author's life from her solitary childhood to the success of Peter Rabbit.

The studios welcome Pandora's Box Children's Theatre Company for three separate shows for younger theatregoers on February 15, March 27 and May 31. Burglar Bill, Pirate School and Katy and the Nurgla are all under an hour long, and there will be morning and afternoon performances of each.

The new season also features another session of the studios' Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Anyway? quiz nights on Saturday, February 9 and a Valentine Special lunchtime session by the Cocktail Jazz Band on Sunday, February 17.

Westacre River Studios are a few miles off the A1065 Swaffham to Fakenham road at West Acre. For full programme information or to reserve seats, call 01760 755800 or visit www.westacreriverstudios.co.uk