A TASTE of Victorian life comes to the Maltings Arts Theatre in St Albans next week with an adaptation of the classic tale The Diary of a Nobody.

Looking After the Pooters by Brian Edwards is being performed by Endpaper Theatre next Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29, at the Maltings which is currently in the custodianship of theatre company OVO.

The adaptation of George and Weedon Grossmith’s famous comic novel tells the tale of luckless Charles Pooter from the viewpoint of his housemaid Sarah, putting a very different comic spin on everyday events at the family residence in Holloway.

Endpaper Theatre was set up by Dominique Gerrard and Tawny Cortes to create innovative theatre productions based on literary works and is supported by Waterstones. The bookshop in St Peter’s Street will play host to short previews from the show this Saturday, October 22, to whet the potential audience appetite for life in Victorian times.

Tickets for Looking After the Pooters, which is being performed at 8pm each night, are available in person at St Albans Tourist and Information Centre or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/ovo

n The award-winning play by Conor McPherson, The Weir, is being performed at the arts theatre by OVO this week and again in November.

Widely regarded as a modern theatre classic, it is a haunting tale in which the local men trade ghost stories in the pub until they meet their match in a young woman who arrives in the area.

The play is a timely revival as The Veil, McPherson’s newest work is currently wowing audiences at the National Theatre.

Director Jo Emery said: “What he does so well as a playwright is use simple story-telling, albeit of a supernatural nature, in order to explore the darker mysteries of life.”

The Weir can be seen from tonight (Thursday) until Sunday and again from November 2 to 5. Tickets at �12.50/�7.50 are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk/ovo