ACTOR Timothy West, whose recent performance as King Lear was widely acclaimed in the region, is now wearing his director's hat for a new production of HMS Pinafore which forms part of the autumn season at Darlington Civic Theatre.

Two members of the company, Mark Siney and Lesley Cox, gave a musical foretaste this week when the latest programme for the Civic and the arts centre was launched in the garden bar at the latter.

Miss Cox, whose rendering of an aria from act two appeared at one moment to threaten the ceiling in this rather confined space, spoke enthusiastically about the Carl Rosa Company tour which, it is hoped, will attract new audiences to Gilbert and Sullivan.

The leading role of Sir Joseph Porter has gone to Colin Baker, new to opera and musicals, she said, but someone with a "marvellous voice". He is, perhaps, best known for his TV role of Dr Who.

Timothy West, though no stranger to directing - he was artistic director of the Forum Theatre, Billingham, in 1973, and has directed both at the Old Vic in London and the Bristol Old Vic Company - is making his G&S debut. Miss Cox said he had placed fresh emphasis on the lyrics and had worked to bring out the drama of the work.

Mark Siney also gave a flavour of the opera by singing one of the best-known songs, the satirical When I Was a Lad, which, he explained, was inspired by the appointment in the nineteenth century of W H Smith, a man with no experience of matters nautical, as First Lord of the Admiralty.

The production had its premiere last week and comes to Darlington Civic on September 16 for five nights.

Carl Rosa has an excellent track record and its musicality is second to none. The idea of bringing in well-known actors to add their expertise is similar to the ethos behind the production a couple of seasons ago of Pirates of Penzance, starring Su Pollard and Gary Wilmot, which had a successful run at the Civic, attracting many families to the Saturday matinee who were experiencing this kind of theatre for the first time.

The Civic Theatre season starts on September 1 with The Roy Orbison Story featuring all the singer's hits while charting the story of his rise to fame, British tour with the Beatles and triumphant come-back years.

Anne Charleston, best known for her role in Neighbours, appears alongside the husband-and-wife team of Michele Dotrice and Edward Woodward, along with Shirley Anne Field, in The Cemetery Club (September 9-13) an American story of three golden girls who decide to re-enter the dating game.

After the G&S, the tempo switches to rock and roll for a return visit by the cult classic The Rocky Horror Show (September 22-27), now celebrating 30 years of fulfilling fishnet fantasies. Later in the season (October 20-25) there is a lavish new production of Saturday Night Fever with a 30-strong cast and nine-piece band.

Four compelling dramas, offered at a discount for the full quartet, start with a stage adaptation of Rosamund Pilcher's best-selling novel, The Shell Seekers, starring Stephanie Cole (September 29-October 4)

This is followed by summer rep Ian Dickens' production of an Edward Taylor thriller, Murder by Misadventure (October 7-11), the award-winning West End and Broadway comedy Stones in the Pockets, by Marie Jones (November 11-15), and a moving play by Ronald Harwood Taking Sides (November 18-22), about the post-war interrogation of a Nazi officer which resonates with parallels for the present.

Moscow Ballet makes another visit to the Civic to stage The Nutcracker Suite for two nights in October. Ken Dodd is also back this autumn with his Happiness Show - tickets may well have already gone such is his popularity.

Darlington Operatic Society takes residence from October 29 to November 8 with Kiss Me Kate. Lisa Riley then arrives to head the cast in Goldilocks and the Three Bears which opens on December 4 and runs until January 18.

For tickets and further information, contact the box office on 01325 486 555. Pru Farrier