Another year, another action-packed schedule from Oxfordshire’s busy theatres who have excelled themselves with a stellar line-up. Katherine MacAlister brings you a guide to their pick of 2014’s best shows for you to book and enjoy

North Wall, South Parade, Oxford 01865 319450, thenorthwall.com
April 4: Austentatious: An Improvised Novel

Undoubtedly one of the most talked-about shows on the UK comedy scene, this funny play is spun in the inimitable style of Jane Austen and based entirely on audience suggestions. Performed in period costume with live cello accompaniment, Austentatious is an immersive and hilarious treat for fans of Austen and improvised comedy alike. Book early.

Thursday, July 10 – Saturday, July 12: The Circus is Coming!

Nicole et Martin present Three European Fairy Tales Roll up, roll up and join Nicole & Martin in their beautiful white tent for an unforgettable experience at this their Oxford debut. These three classic fairy tales are brought to life with a colourful, musical mix of theatre, dance, juggling and acrobatics. The show has played to packed houses and standing ovations all over Europe and is fun for whole family.

Chipping Norton Theatre, Spring Street, Chipping Norton, 01608 642350, chippingnortontheatre.com
February 27 – March 12: Alarms and Excursions by Michael Frayn

Alarms and Excursions is the first Chipping Norton in-house production of 2014. It’s a riotous farce on all the gizmos and gadgets which plague us in the modern world. Michael Frayn, the multi award-winning author of Noises Off, has created hilarious comic scenarios unpicking the headaches of the technological age in this glorious comedy. The show is directed by John Terry, whose notable successes last year at the theatre include, Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune, The Glass Menagerie and Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me.

Wednesday, April 30: War Correspondents

Real-life testimony, songs and dance are used to mesmeric effect in this stunning, memorable song-theatre performance. It tells the story of a journalist who is held at gunpoint at the outbreak of war and caught in the no-man’s land between two nations.

Pegasus Magdalen Road, Oxford, 01865 812150, pegasustheatre.org.uk
January 23-30: KEPOW!

Theatre return with Whose Crown is it Anyway? At each performance 16 improvisers will be given a whole host of games and sketches to act out in front of a live audience. They will be competing for the Golden Crown of Improv and scored for their wit, ingenuity, acting and sheer bravado.

The performers’ names will be selected at random by KEPOW! director Kevin Tomlinson. After each scene, the audience will score the scene (using a clap-o-meter) and the performers (with the lowest scores) will gradually be eliminated. The improviser with the highest score will be crowned the King or Queen of Improv.

April 1-5: Stories for Survival

A whole week dedicated to the re-interpretation of the Arabian Nights told through theatre, dance, music and film by approximately 220 performers, designers and technicians aged six years-old and upwards, set in locations ranging from contemporary to classic, from the UK to the Middle and Far East.

January 25: Margam

Oxford-based Indian dance company Kala Arpan perform a new repertoire of traditional Bharatanatyam dance, one of the most popular and widely performed dance styles practiced by male and female dancers all over the world. It is said to be a manifestation of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the physical body.

February 28 – March 10: Dancin’ Oxford 2014

This annual festival features opportunities to watch and get involved for everyone over the age of two. Highlights include sampling sessions, where people can try new dance forms, a free showcases for host dance companies and, for the first time, there will be a night ball at the Town Hall. There will alsol a Family Dance week in October.

New Theatre, George Street, Oxford, 0844 8713020 or atgtickets.com/oxford
July 7-12: Tonight’s The Night, The Rod Stewart Musical

The smash-hit musical comedy inspired by the songs of Rod Stewart comes here straight from the West End with an all-singing, all-dancing feel-good show about the famous rock star.

February 14: Brendan Cole – Licence To Thrill

Strictly Come Dancing’s most charismatic choreographers and performers will treat you to an evening of ballroom magic and Latin excitement in Brendan Cole’s live dance extravaganza.

April 17-19: Dinosaur Zoo

Another show direct from the West End, Dinosaur Zoo is a tyrannosauric treat for ages three and over, which brings these awesome prehistoric creatures to the stage as you’ve never seen them before.

From cute baby dinos to teeth-gnashing giants, observe and interact with these extraordinary life-like dinosaurs, and then enjoy a meet and greet with the dinosaurs afterwards.

Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford, 01865 305305, oxfordplayhouse.com
January 21-25: Twelfth Night

An enormously funny, fast-paced production of Shakespeare’s much-loved comedy, this is undoubtedly one of the freshest and most acclaimed Shakespeare productions of recent years.

January 27 - February 1: The Play that Goes Wrong

Noises Off meets Fawlty Towers in this West End smash-hit comedy about accident prone thespians battling on against all the odds to get to their final curtain call.

Cornerstone Arts Centre, Station Road, Didcot, 01235 515144, cornerstone-arts.org
January 25: Eric and Little Ern

This show is so popular that following sell-out dates in Edinburgh it has gone to the West End for a second extended run. The affectionate and fantastically funny homage to the greatest comedy double act Britain has arguably ever seen, vividly brings back warm memories of a bygone era by recreating some of the finest moments of Eric Morecombe and Ernie Wise’s television and stage performances.

Glee Club, Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford 0871 472 0400, glee.co.uk/oxford
March 13: Lucy Porter, Northern Soul

Born in Croydon to a Northern Irish dad and a Midlander mum (who met in Africa), Lucy never felt that she belonged down South. She tried moving to Manchester, marrying a Welshman and travelling the world... This show is all about where she fits in as she seeks her spiritual home.

Burton Taylor Theatre, Beaumont Street, OXFORD 01865 305305, oxfordplayhouse.com
Januray 18: Grisly Tales from Tumblewater
 

January Caspian Prye, the twisted landowner, controls everything and everyone in Tumblewater; even the police. Into this world stumbles Daniel Dorey, a fearless orphan armed only with his wits and a satchel of spine-chilling stories. Think Dickens meets Roald Dahl via Horrible Histories with laughs, frights and live music in this one-man adaptation of Bruno Vincent’s deliciously dark novel.