Theatre West

One of the consolations of this time of year, as the nights start drawing in and the wind whistles under the front door, is the return of top-class theatre to BrisBath after its lengthy summer layoff. And foremost among the theatrical thrills is Theatre West's autumn season. TW are a local lot dedicated to staging well-crafted, thought-provoking and often blackly hilarious studio shows: what's more, every autumn they pick out five scripts from an enormous pool sent in by budding young playwrights, and give each a fortnight's runout in the theatre above the Alma Tavern, Clifton. Result: two months of bang-up-to-date, sharp-as-a-knife drama, in a little black box above a pub (you can take your drinks up, too. Aids the critical process, the Theatre Desk likes to think). The season kicks off with (deep breath) 'The Inhabitants Of The Moon Are Noses', a zany Russian farce from Bristol playwright and zany-Russian-farce king Steve Hennessy. It's inspired by 'Diary of a Madman', Nikolai Gogol's insanity-fuelled short story, and asks just where the line is drawn between imagination and madness. And if it's anything like any of Hennessy's previous output, it'll be dark, troubling, atmospheric and extremely funny. Go see.

THE INHABITANTS OF THE MOON ARE NOSES IS AT THE ALMA TAVERN, BRISTOL FROM 19-30 SEPT. THE THEATRE WEST SEASON CONTINUES UNTIL 25 NOV. FFI: (0117) 946 7899 OR WWW.THEATRE-WEST.CO.UK.