Local performers take centre stage in a new season of shows and events at Norwich arts venue The Garage.

Eastern Daily Press: The Garage new shows: Tim Bell and Havoc Theatre present Dame Nature - The Magnificent Bearded Lady. Photo: supplied.The Garage new shows: Tim Bell and Havoc Theatre present Dame Nature - The Magnificent Bearded Lady. Photo: supplied. (Image: supplied)

An eclectic mix of work is included in the new programme of entertainment which kicks off in April and features performers and theatre-makers from across the region, including Norwich, Great Yarmouth and slightly further afield in Cambridge.

Adam Taylor, The Garage's executive director, said: 'I am proud to be able to present and support such a range of talented local artists, by hosting performances and nurturing companies to create new work. I believe this is absolutely key to the future artistic success of The Garage, and for the cultural success of the region as a whole.'

Highlights in April include Idiots, a reimagining of the life and works of author Dostoyevsky by the company Caligula's Alibi, and ThisEgg's Goggles [A work-in-progress] which is described as a heart-warming show about the awkwardness of love. There is also a new Scratch Night, in association with All-In Productions and REDuck ProDUCKtions and supported by Arts Council England, which will showcase four local companies.

Moving into May, Limbik Theatre will look into the future and wonder where we might be heading in The Forecast [A work-in-progress]. Curious Directive will also be performing the company's new sailing-inspired show, Spindrift, at The Garage during the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.

Eastern Daily Press: The Garage new shows: Limbik Theatre presents The Forecast (a work-in-progress). Photo: supplied.The Garage new shows: Limbik Theatre presents The Forecast (a work-in-progress). Photo: supplied. (Image: supplied)

In June, Artemis Theatre Company will present Rights of Passage, a performance created from interviews with LGBT asylum seekers. The following month Tim Bell and Havoc Theatre will be taking the audience on a backstage tour of some of life's big questions in Dame Nature – The Magnificent Bearded Lady, meanwhile The Sun Apparatus Theatre Company is returning with The ME, a dark comedy about a woman who is terrified of ageing.

There are also a whole host of events and opportunities for people to take part in. These include an Actor-Musician Summer Academy by DumbWise and The Garage's big summer production for young performers which this year will be The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. Young people can also get involved in performances at the Royal Norfolk Show and for the Young Norfolk Arts Festival.

For more information about these shows and opportunities visit www.thegarage.org.uk or call 01603 283382.

Do you have a Norwich arts story? Email arts correspondent Emma Knights at emma.knights@archant.co.uk