THERE is an eclectic mix of entertainment awaiting audiences at Stockton Arc this autumn.

Whether taste inclines to Chas and Dave, the classic theatre of Sophocles or an evening in the company of a legendary North-East footballer, there is something to be found within the pages of the arts centre's brochure for the autumn and winter season.

September 3 and 4 sees a visit by the Northern Broadsides theatre company with Oedipus Rex - one of the greatest and most enduring tragedies ever written.

The company is renowned for presenting classic theatre with the rhythm and dialect of the Northern verncaular and for this production is teaming up with poet Blake Morrison for a new version of the tale of patricide and incest.

Loonon Classic theatre brings John Osborne's ruthlessly accurate portrayal of disaffected youth, Look Back in Anger, to the arc on September 11 and 12.

And the Arc's very own youth theatre tackles Arthur Miller's The Crucible in one of its biggest tests to date on September 21 and 22.

A musical highlight for the month is a performance by acid-country cowboys Alabama 3, the combo responsible for the moody theme to The Sopranos, Woke Up This Morning. The date for the diary is September 28.

Theatre Sans Frontieres brings L'Enfant Peul to Stockton on October 16. The story of a young boy of the Peul tribe growing up in Mali in the early 1900s will be performed in French, marking the first time the autobiographical tale has been brought life for a British audience.

Themes of love and betrayal are explored in Big Picture Company's A Dark River, a piece of work which crosses the boundaries between theatre, dance and music. Performances are on October 23 and 24.

And October 11 sees a visit from the James Taylor Quartet, renowned for film and TV themes, including Gotcha! from Starsky and Hutch.

The award-winning Kaos theatre presents Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, the bard's most relevant political masterpiece of revenge, from November 8-10, while Anton Rodgers and Elizabeth Garvie star in The Brownings, a production bringing together the letters and poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, on November 25.

In November, there is also the chance to enjoy audiences with Jack Charlton, on the 21st, and Pete Best, the "lost Beatle," who invites everyone on a trip down the long and winding road from the pop supergroup's humble beginnings to the very top, on the 15th.

December offers a range of seasonal fair, including the Salvation Army's Christmas concert, the Wildcats of Kilkenny's Christmas Eve party and carols and capers from Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band.

There are also performances by evergreen Cockney cheeky chappies Chas and Dave and The Blockheads and Friends, sadly now without the legendary Ian Dury.

Details of the new season are available from the Arc on 01642 666600 or via the web on www.arconline.co.uk.