THE autumn season at Worcester's Swan Theatre promises a wide variety of theatrical experiences for all ages, mixing plays specially created for the venue with the most interesting national productions.

The season kicks off on Wednesday (September 13) with Off The Wall, a show for anyone aged over eight, in which famous artworks from the Tate Gallery come to life and tell their stories in an extraordinary spectacle.

Three more touring productions follow in quick succession, starting with The Pastoral Symphony, from the Custard Factory Theatre Company (Monday, September 18), a Pygmalion-like tale in which a country pastor adopts a blind orphan.

On Wednesday, September 20, Gareth Armstrong presents his award-winning one-man show Shylock, which has toured to huge acclaim. The popular classic The Barretts of Wimpole Street is staged by the Trestle Theatre Company on Friday and Saturday, September 22 and 23.

From Thursday, September 28, until Saturday, October 14, Worcester Theatre Company presents The Mystery of Father Brown, adapted from G K Chesterton's ever-popular stories about the ecclesiastical detective. Rumble Fish, which many know as the film starring Mickey Rourke and Mall Dillon, is brought to the stage by Pilot Theatre Company on October 17-21.

On October 26-November 11, Worcester Theatre Company presents To Be A Farmer's Boy, about three generations of farming life in the Worcestershire countryside.

Three more touring companies are visiting during November. Kaos Theatre presents Renaissance on November 14, Shysters Theatre Company is putting on Fallen Angels on November 16 and Red Shift Theatre is staging Nosferatu The Visitor on November 17-18. Middle Ground Theatre Company are coming on November 20-25, with The Holly and the Ivy, a winter drama set in the late 1940s.

The Christmas show is Worcester Theatre Company's The Adventures of Robin Hood, which is on from December 6 to January 6. For more information, ring 01905 27322.