AS the doors open for the new season at Helmsley Arts Centre (HAC), there is plenty on offer across the broadest spectrum of the arts.

Brightening up the long winter evenings and taking audiences right up to the end of April, the new spring programme has just got under way with a whole host of concerts, shows, films, live screenings, talks and workshops to suit all ages and tastes.

The remarkable duo The Hut People bring their global rhythms and folk tunes from around the world on Saturday, February 6, while fans of Edith Piaf shouldn’t miss the superb Eve Loiseau who performs Piaf: The Songs with top live musicians on Friday, February 12.

Gilbert and Sullivan fans will be entertained by the Aireborough G & S Society’s concert version of The Gondoliers, while classical music devotees should book early for the world class Brodsky String Quartet on Thursday, February 11.

Philip Dukes and the internationally-renowned pianist Anna Tilbrook give a concert of romantic chamber music and piano solos of works by Schumann, Brahms, Chopin and Elgar on Saturday, March 12. Award-winning jazz vocalist Liane Carroll performs on Saturday, April 16, as part of Colman, Carroll and Bancroft: Unleashed! with Sophie Bancroft and Sara Colman, both established singers in their own right, in a rare appearance as a trio.

Legendary saxman Snake Davis makes a welcome return to HAC, with a string quartet, in SnakeStrings on Saturday, April 30 , while evocative singer songwriter Beccy Owen brings a solo set and one of her choirs, Sing Meanwood! to the Night of 1000 Voices on Thursday, March 24.

Live theatre is always a key part of Helmsley’s programme, and this season’s dramatic offer opens with a brave retelling of a Shakespeare classic. Plesion Theatre’s Goodnight Macbeth, adapted and directed by emerging director Jolley Gosnold, is staged on Saturday, February 13, while the Arts Centre’s resident 1812 Theatre Company presents a Studio production of Neil Simon’s sizzling comedy Last of the Red Hot Lovers from Thursday, 25 to Sunday, February 28 and a main house production of the hilarious Daisy Pulls it Off from Wednesday, 20 – Sunday, April 24.

Dogstar Theatre’s phenomenal and award-winning play The Tailor of Inverness comes to Helmsley on Friday, March 11. This unforgettable true story, performed by Matthew Zajac, which tells of his search for his Polish father across war-torn Eastern Europe, has entranced audiences in ten countries. The award-winning Dyad Productions brings a stunning adaptation of a Virginia Woolf classic on Friday, April 15, Dalloway offers a compellingly feminine response to the aftermath of the First World War, while a moving and witty show telling the story of the renowned contralto Kathleen Ferrier: Whattalife! weaves together text from her diaries and songs from her repertoire in a show that has a great sense of fun.

Live screenings from world-class theatres include the National Theatre Live production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses screened live from London’s Donmar Warehouse on Thursday, January 28, As You Like It captured live on Thursday. March 3, with other NT Live dates to be confirmed later in the season. Bolshoi Ballet’s The Taming of the Shrew is screened live on Sunday, January 24, while the extraordinary and ever-popular Spartacus is captured live on Sunday, March 13.

Comedy fans must not miss the Sitting Room Comedy Club on Saturday, March 19, which brings a full line-up of top stand-up comics including Alfie Crow, writer and star of Radio 4’s It’s a Fair Cop, with support from Harriet Dyer, BBC Radio New Comedy Award finalist Peter Brush and compere Barry Dodds (Stewart Francis tour support).

Writing is celebrated this Spring with a fascinating talk on Friday, March 18 by author Andrew Lownie about his compelling new book Stalin’s Englishman, which sheds new light on the life of Guy Burgess, the most important, complex and interesting of the Cambridge Spies.

Northern Voices, on Sunday, February 7, produced by the Arts Council-funded Northern Accent, in partnership with the Small Venues Network, brings together readings and conversation with acclaimed writers John Godber, Helen Cross and Peter Sansom.

Workshops are always popular in Helmsley, and this season actor and trainer Josie Campbell offers three full-day workshops for actors and aspiring performers. The Craft of Acting, on Sundays January 31, February 28 and March 20 gives over-16s the opportunity to explore an exciting range of acting techniques under the guidance of a professional actor and experienced teacher.

For details phone the box office on 01439 771700 or book online at helmsleyarts.co.uk