THE autumn season at the Alban Arena gets into full swing next week with both stage performances and film.

Comedienne, novelist, actor, broadcaster and national treasure Sandi Toksvig makes her first visit to the Arena next Tuesday, September 18.

Her visit at 7.30pm is to celebrate the publication of her new novel Valentine Grey and is a brand-new, one-woman evening of stand-up, offering up a mix of stories and facts.

Sandi is a familiar voice for BBC Radio 4 listeners as the chair of The News Quiz and continues to be the main presenter of its travel programme Excess Baggage. She is also working on the West End transfer of her play Bully Boy about the lack of mental health care for returning soldiers.

Valentine Grey, copies of which Sandi will be signing, tells the story of a young British woman who dresses as a man and travels to South Africa to fight in the Boer War.

Tickets are �18.50, available from the box office on 01727 844488 or go to the website www.alban-arena.co.uk

Yorkshire’s soulful folk singing star Kate Rusby returns to the Alban Arena at 7.30pm on Thursday, September 20.

The defining voice of contemporary English folk music, she has won an audience that reaches beyond the genre.

2012 heralds a landmark year for Kate as it is her 20th year in the music industry. After a quiet first half of the year concentrating on recording her new album Twenty and taking a little time out for the arrival of her second child, she is back on stage.

Kate will be joined on stage by the musicians who form part of her band.

Tickets are �19.50.

Classics of the golden years come to the Arena at 8pm next Friday, September 21, when Motown & Philadelphia on Tour returns to the theatre.

Multi-award winning Roy G Hemmings and his 15-strong show deliver memories of a twin era of music that lives on today.

It spans the hits of The O’Jays, The Tramps, Billy Paul, Candi Staton and The Stylistics together with the sounds of Detroit and old favourites such as The Four Tops, Supremes, The Temptations and Marvin Gaye.

Tickets are �22.50 and �19.50.

Jim Davidson, firmly established as one of Britain’s top stand-up comedians, is back at the Arena next Saturday, September 22.

Well-known to TV viewers as host of BBC TV game shows The Generation Game and Big Break, he received an OBE for his services to charity and has three Showbusiness Personality of The Year Awards.

Jim recently wrote and starred in his debut play Stand Up And Be Counted – a no holds-barred comedy about the meeting of two opposite ends of the comedy spectrum colliding at a charity fundraising event. He is currently in talks with West End producers with a view to transferring the play to the London stage at a future date. In the meantime, he has just completed his first novel, Joined At The Hip.

Tickets are �20.

Amateur Transplants frontman, Adam Kay, has packed up his piano, a case of vintage wine and is bringing his brand of smutty songs to The Arena at 8pm next Sunday, September 23.

In the 10 years since Adam began performing, Amateur Transplants have developed a huge fan base. With sell-out tours and Edinburgh Fringe seasons his cutting-edge re-imaginings of modern day pop and rock classics have gained him a cult following across the UK.

The iconic London Underground Song has been in the iTunes comedy top 10 continuously since 2008 and scored more than seven million hits on the internet.

Tickets are �16.

n Dramatic thriller 360 is being shown on screen at the Alban Arena at 1.30pm and 7.30pm next Wednesday, September 19.

Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler’s classic La Ronde, screenwriter Peter Morgan and director Fernando Meirelles’ 360 brings together an array of stories into one, linking characters from different cities and countries in a tale of love in the 21st Century.

Starting in Vienna, the film weaves through Paris, London, Bratislava, Rio, Denver and Phoenix into a single narrative. It stars Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz and Ben Foster.

Tickets for film matinees are �5 and for evenings are �7 or �5 for concessions.