THEATRE & COMEDY (October 15-24)

Cabaret

Bolton Catholic MCS present a spectacular production of the musical drama set in 1930s Berlin where liberation and promiscuity were bywords and lewd cabaret clubs flourished.

Runs Tuesday to Saturday, 7.15pm, £7 and £6 conc. (£8 on Saturday)

BOLTON LITTLE THEATRE, Hanover Street, Bolton

Corpse!

A murder mystery comedy thriller about the lives of two brothers.

Runs Saturday to Saturday

CONTACT THEATRE, Oxford Road, Manchester

Inside Out

Affy and Di are two teenage schoolgirls who yearn to escape their violent family for a better life. But when Affy gets the chance to join a new family she leaves Di behind to deal with the consequences on her own, causing a devastating effect which can only be repaired when the sisters meet up again years later.

Tuesday to Saturday, 8pm, £8 and £5 conc.

LIBRARY THEATRE, Manchester

The Odd Couple

Pillow-plumping, curtain-straightening, tidiness freak Felix moves in with happy-go-lucky slob Oscar so there's bound to be fireworks as they try to live with each other's lifestyles.

Runs until Saturday, 7.30pm, £9

OCTAGON THEATRE, Bolton

Ratpack Confidential

Set in Las Vegas during the 1960s and featuring a live band with songs that made the era including Pennies From Heaven, Get Happy and My Way.

Runs until Saturday, 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2pm, £6.50 to £14.75

Joking Apart

Richard and Anthea are an ideal couple with a charming and successful life, but such beautiful people can be dangerous as their friends soon discover...

Tuesday until Saturday, November 2, various performance times, £6.75 to £14.75

Snake in the Grass

For Annabel and her sister Miriam their sunlit garden is filled with deeply buried childhood memories which come back to haunt them when night begins to fall.

Thursday until Saturday, November2, various performance times, £6.75 to £14.75

Score

It's Dingbat's 15th birthday and in the car park of a motorway service station, four boys fuelled with bravado swap their tales of sex, girls and scoring.

Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm, £7 and £4.50 conc.

PALACE THEATRE, Manchester

Sunset Boulevard

The story of the half-forgotten Hollywood movie star Norma Desmond who becomes dangerously infatuated with Joe, the handsome young writer she enlists to help with her comeback script.

Runs until Saturday, 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm, £8.50 to £27.50

Beauty and the Beast

One of the most popular and enchantingly romantic stories ever told is brought to life in Disney's award-winning musical.

Runs Thursday until 8 February 2003, 7.30pm, Wed & Sat Mat 2.30pm, £13 to £33.50

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE, Market Street, West, Preston

The Exorcism

Rachel and Edmund have just moved into a small 17th century country cottage and receive a somewhat primitive and violent African carving fertility symbol as a Christmas present from friends, but soon afterwards a sinister feeling descends on the cottage.

Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm, £5

RADCLIFFE CIVIC SUITE, Radcliffe

Whitefield AODS present the musical Chess.

Tuesday until Saturday, 7.30pm, Sat Mat 2.30pm

ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE, Manchester

Othello

The unlikely union between Othello, a powerful military general and the young and beautiful Desdemona.

Runs until Saturday, November 2, 7.30pm and Sat 8pm, Wed Mat 2.30pm and Sat Mat 4pm, £7 to £24.75

Mandela's Land

A season of plays celebrating the vibrancy of theatre writing in the new South Africa today starting with The Dead Wait and On My Birthday. The Dead Wait follows the life of a young white South African athlete who finds himself fighting in the army and On My Birthday shows the chaos of the townships in the new South Africa.

Runs until Saturday, October 26, various performance times, £8 and £5.50 conc.

THE MET, Market Street, Bury

Hansel & Gretel

Enjoy the classic tale of children, witches and gingerbread in the Krazy Kat Theatre Company's own uniquely zany style of acting.

Tuesday, 2pm, £7 and £5 conc.

COMEDY

THE COMEDY STORE, Deansgate Locks, Whitworth Street, Manchester

The Best in Stand Up

John Moloney, Simon Bligh, Steve Rawlings, Andre Vincent and Gavin Webster

Tonight, 8pm, £13 and £6 conc.

The Best in Stand Up

John Moloney, Simon Bligh, Steve Rawlings, Andre Vincent and Gavin Webster

Saturday, 8pm, £14 and £6

Men At work

Wednesday, 8pm, £7 and £6 conc.

The Comedy Store Players

Jim Sweeney, Andy Smart, Richard Vranch, Stephen Frost and Suki Webster

Thursday, 8pm, £12 and £6

THE FROG & BUCKET, Oldham Street, Manchester

Red Hot Raw + Curry and Quips

Stu Who performs, joined by six hopefuls, with balti supper available.

Thursday, £5, with balti £7, NUS £2, with balti £4

Barrel Of Laughs

A minimum of three top comedians and compere.

Friday, £10 and £6 NUS, Saturday, £12 and £6 NUS