WITH a line-up ranging from a latter day Tommy Cooper to a poignant dance portrayal of family life, July at Huntingdon Arts' city arenas should be sunny with a smattering of showers.

On Thursday, 15, funnymen John Moloney and Jim Tavare present a double bill of entertainment at Huntingdon Hall, entertaining fans of both quick-fire sketches and classic silly shenanigans.

Moloney has been a professional performer for the past decade, delighting audiences in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, USA, Germany, Hong Kong and China with a skirmish of wry and ridiculous routines.

Winner of the Best Live Performer award for two years running at the London Comedy Festival, he is also a regular at The Comedy Store, The Jongleurs and the Edinburgh Festival.

Moloney might also be applauded for his spot-on, in-your-face observational work on Harry Hill's TV Burp.

Tavare, meanwhile, has performed his unique and alternative brand of comedy all over the world, but was particularly acclaimed for his role in the BAFTA award-winning series The Sketch Show on ITV.

Described as the natural heir to the Tommy Cooper Fez, Harry Potter fans might also get a buzz out of seeing Tavare live after his recent role in The Prisoner of Azkaban as Tom, the innkeeper of The Leaky Cauldron.

Tickets are £14 (concessions £12).

Across the city, the Swan Theatre will play host on Thursday, 8, and Friday, 9, to Swansea's Ballet Russe, which pledges to enthral theatregoers with the captivating Copplia as part of its 2004 national tour.

The fantastic tale of Dr Coppelius and his desire to bring his beautiful doll Copplia to life is interwoven with the love affair of Swanhilda and Franz.

Confusion erupts, however, when Franz falls in love with the doll, believing her to be a woman.

The dynamic young ballet troupe consists of professional dancers, nearly all of whom trained in the classical Russian style at the prestigious Kirov or Bolshoi Academies.

Arriving in Britain in 1998, Ballet Russe is the only resident Russian ballet company in the UK, performing all over England and Wales to audiences who desire the opportunity to experience classical Russian ballet of a world-class standard.

With beautiful scenery and colourful costumes, Copplia is billed as a "truly delightful production" to charm audiences of all ages.

Tickets cost £16 (concessions £14).

On Thursday, July 22 at 7.30pm, the complexities of family life are explored through the medium of dance with Mobius Dance Company's Clan The Buffet Tour.

Set at a family buffet, the piece looks at the roller coaster of life behind the net curtain, taking audiences on a heart-rending ride of emotion as relationships blossom and break.

According to the programme, this will appeal to anyone over 11 who enjoys diverse styles, fused together with contemporary dance and theatre.

Tickets are £7 (concessions £5).

Bookings for all the above are available on 01905 611427.

Cluster of plays set for Kidderminster debut

A CLUSTER of diverse plays focusing on children, old age and medicine are being premiered in Kidderminster after winning a dramatic competition.

Six monologues, duologues and three-handers, all entered in The Rose Theatre's 1,2,3 competition, will be performed by amateurs and professionals on Friday, July 9 and Saturday, 10.

Following their move from Worcester's Swan Theatre, Swan playwrights joined forces with the Rose's Nonentities and The Youth Group to put on the selection of moving works.

Professional actress Bella Merlin, seen recently at the Birmingham Rep and London's National Theatre, directs the pieces, one of which is by Worcester playwright, David Keyworth.

Wish You Were Here by Lyz Harvey focuses on Della as she struggles to deal with the fact her late husband is no longer the centre of her life.

Weight by Alicia Davis, Hannah Cooper and Hope Chester follows three teenagers who joke about the problem pages but realise they are not so different from the letter writers.

The Very Thought of You by Nick Corder features War and Peace, a bed-ridden wife, Ella Fitzgerald on the radio, a new pair of hips and big bosomed Annie - intriguing.

Nibbling Away by Martin Drury concentrates on love, Lyme, the theatre, power, deception and independence in the Victorian era.

My Generation by David Keyworth tells the story of Roger, a child of the 1960s who visits his young "fogey" grandson at university, discovering what they have in common.

Closure by Nigel Knowles shows how three people are affected by a hospital closing.

Tickets, costing £7 on Friday (concessions £6.50) and £7.50 on Saturday, are available on 01562 743745.