Sandi Thom and Ukelele Orchestra at Alban Arena

EVERYTHING you have ever wanted to know about playing the ukulele will be revealed at the Alban Arena next Tuesday, June 21.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is returning to the St Albans theatre, tackling all genres of music provided they are played on the instrument.

There are no drums, pianos, backing tracks or banjos – just the orchestration afforded by ukuleles with singing and a bit of whistling.

Sitting in chamber group format dressed in formal evening wear, the orchestra uses small and large instruments in high and low registers in a show which is both moving and amusing.

The show begins at 8pm and tickets are �17.50 with concessions �2.50 off, available from the box office on 01727 844488 or go to www.alban-arena.co.uk

Former G4 front man and now a successful solo artist who has sold over two million albums, Jonathan Ansell is appearing at the Alban Arena next Thursday, June 23, as part of his first nationwide tour.

Accompanied by three singers and musicians, Jonathan will be performing G4’s greatest hits together with some of pop and opera’s most famous songs.

Since finding fame with G4 on X Factor, Jonathan has released two number one solo albums, Tenor at the Movies and Forever.

Tickets are �32 for premium seats in the first four rows of centre stall which includes a meet and greet before the show, �26 and �24. The performance begins at 8pm.

Sandi Thom, who has spent the last four years touring the globe with her live band, is back in the UK and appearing at the Arena next Friday, June 24.

In 2006, her debut song, I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker, topped the charts in seven countries with her ensuing album selling nearly two million copies to date worldwide.

Her set at the Arena, which starts at 8pm, will include tracks from her new album Merchants and Thieves featuring Joe Bonamassa which was released in May and showcases Sandi’s passion for the blues.

Tickets are �16.50.

n Subtitled French film Adele Blanc-Sec from director Luc Besson comes to the Arena for a matinee and evening showing next Wednesday, June 22.

Based on cartoonist Jacques Tardi’s original stories, it is set in the early part of the 20th Century and follows popular novelist Adele Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) and her dealings with would-be suitors, cops, monsters and other distractions in one of the most tumultuous periods in history.

Tickets for the matinee, which starts at 1.30pm, are �4 and for the evening showing at 7.30pm, �6 with concessions �2 off.