ORIGINAL members of The Animals join new additions to the line-up when the band return to the Alban Arena on Saturday night.

John Steel, Micky Gallagher, John E Williamson and Peter Barton will be performing The Animals’ greatest hits including The House of the Rising Sun, We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place and Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.

Joining them on stage will be US blues guitarist Steve Cropper who has been part of Booker T and The MGs and has backed Otis Redding, Sam and Dave and Rufus Thomas before finding fame as a member of The Blues Brothers Band,

In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine named him among the top 100 guitarists of all time.

The performance starts at 7.30pm and tickets at �19.50 and �18 are available from the Arena box office on 01727 844488 or go to www.alban-arena.co.uk

Cirque Du Ciel brings a two-hour extravaganza of acrobatics, modern dance, original music, martial arts and many other Chinese elements to their show at the Arena next weekend.

ShangHi, as the show is called, can be seen at 8pm next Saturday, September 10, and at 2pm and 6pm on Sunday, September 11.

The production with its dramatic costumes, sets and lighting showcases the skills of not only the performers but the team behind the scenes.

In addition to traditional Chinese stunts such as the aerial silks and the Monkey Poles, ShangHi also features a storyline aimed at all ages.

Tickets are �23.50 and �21 with the Sunday matinee �21 and �18.50. Family tickets are available for all performances.

n The new film season at the Arena gets underway with one of the hits of the summer Bridesmaids which follows Annie (Kristen Wiig) and friends of a wild ride down the road to matrimony.

Although Annie’s life is a mess, when she finds out her lifelong best friend Lilian (Maya Rudolph) is getting married, she is delighted to act as her maid of honour. Lovelorn and broke, she bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals which accompany a wedding.

Bridesmaids is being shown at 7.30pm next Tuesday, September 6, and tickets are �6 with concessions �2 off.

Holy Rollers is being shown as a matinee at 1.30pm and evening performance at 7.30pm next Wednesday, September 7.

Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg), a young Hasid from an Orthodox Brooklyn community, reluctantly follows the path his family has chosen for him including an arranged marriage and studying to become a rabbi.

But through a charming neighbour, he is exposed to the gritty worlds of Manhattan and Amsterdam nightlife and, finding himself caught between life as a smuggler and the path back to God, he goes on the run and is forced to make a fatal decision.

Tickets for the matinee are �4 and for the evening showing �6 with concessions �2 off.

A Separation is the film of choice at the Arena at 7.30pm next Thursday, September 8. When his wife (Leila Hatami) leaves him, Nader (Peyman Moadi) hires a young woman (Sareh Bayat) to take care of his suffering father.

But he does not know his new maid is not only pregnant but also working without her unstable husband’s permission.

Tickets are �6 with concessions �2 off.