Britain’s best-known mountaineer and one of the most successful expedition leaders in history, Chris Bonington, will be talking about his life when he appears at the Alban Arena next Thursday, October 10.

An Evening With Chris Bonington, which starts at 7.30pm, recounts how he started climbing at the age of 16 and has been on 19 Himalayan expeditions including four to Everest.

He is renowned for having made many first ascents in the Alps and all the greater ranges of the world.

Chris was the first mountaineer on the lecture circuit but it has been 20 years since he last toured regularly. He has written 17 books, fronted numerous television programmes and has lectured to the public and corporate audiences all over the world. He received a knighthood in 1996 for services to mountaineering.

Tickets are £18 with concessions £2 off, available from the Arena box office 01727 844488 or online at www.alban-arena.co.uk

The Sensational 60’s Experience will be visiting the Arena at 7.30pm the following night, Friday, October 11.

A brand-new production for 2013 it will feature all the original hits performed by such popular acts of the 60s as Marmalade, Herman’s Hermits, Steve Ellis and Love Affair and Chris Farlow.

There will be a total of 25 hits in the show and tickets are £24 with concessions £2 off.

Father Ted star Ardal O’Hanlon is appearing at the Arena next Saturday, October 12.

Lurking beneath Ardal’s mild-mannered demeanour resides a sharp and probing – and fairly mild-mannered – comic brain. In a comprehensive set, he talks about not just the things that matter but also about the things that don’t matter at all.

Although best known for his starring roles in the sitcoms, Father Ted (for which he won a British Comedy Award and a BAFTA nomination) and My Hero, Ardal’s other TV comedy dramas include Big Bad World, Blessed, Skins and Dr Who.

He has appeared on Live At The Apollo and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy and has even found the time to write a book, his best-selling novel Talk Of The Town.

The performance begins at 8pm and tickets are £20.

The unique career of the King of Rock’n’Roll is recaptured in The Elvis Years 1954-1977 at the Arena next Sunday, October 13.

The concert tour production of the West End Show Jailhouse Rock features original star Mario Kombou and Ivor Novello award-winning musical director David Mackay.

The two-hour concert features over 40 hits from the early, innovative days of That’s Alright Mama, appearances on TV’s Ed Sullivan Show, the movie years with GI Blues and Jailhouse Rock, the famous ’68 Comeback Special and finishing with Elvis’s performances in Las Vegas.

Tickets are £20 with concessions £1.50 off.

Children are not forgotten in a busy week at the Arena with Erth’s Dinosaur Zoo bringing the prehistoric creatures to the Arena stage next Monday and Tuesday, October 7 and 8. Dinosaur Zoo creators Erth use puppetry to bring dinosaurs to life in an interactive live show which is suitable for children aged three and upwards.

The show has played to family and school audiences all over the world and performances are at 1.30pm and 4.30pm on Monday and at 10.30am and 4.30pm on Tuesday.

Tickets are £12.50 except for the danger zone – the front three rows – where they are £15.

n Western action movie The Lone Ranger screens at the Arena at 1.30pm and 7.30pm next Wednesday, October9.

Native American warrior Tonto is played by Johnny Depp, the narrator of the events, and Armie Hammer is John Reid aka The Lone Ranger. The film relates Tonto’s memories of the duo’s earliest efforts to subdue the immoral actions of the corrupt and bring justice in the American Old West.

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