FILM and theatre events are taking place across a town as part of an annual arts festival hoping to showcase the town’s culture.

Darlington Arts Festival is staging events from May 18, showing west-end hits, Shakespeare plays, and a screening of 2015 film Suffragette. The film will be shown as part of the National Council of Women’s Centenary Celebration.

It follows the story of the early feminist movement and was honoured in the British Independent Film Awards.

James Watson, who runs Darlington Film Club said: "We are happy to be a part of the Darlington Arts Festival again, to celebrate the year of the woman we are screening the 2015 film Suffragette on May 21.

“The arts festival is a great opportunity for Darlington to showcase all the groups and clubs that we have to offer and promote the arts.”

Alongside the film, the festival will show three productions of critically acclaimed shows at Crown Street Library. The first show to take to the stage is an an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, performed by Hogarth Players on May 22 and 23.

Jo Potter, Chair of Darlington for Culture, said: 'I am delighted that the gallery in Crown Street Library is continuing to be used for community drama. I very much hope that people will support Darlington’s drama groups by coming to see these productions, being promoted as a ‘mini drama festival’ within the arts festival.”