AN exciting autumn season of shows is now on sale at Chester's Storyhouse – starting with comedian Alan Carr.

The new season is filled with drama, comedy, music, and a celebration of the spoken – and written – word.

It opens on Friday, August 27 when funnyman Alan Carr takes centre stage in the city to try out new material.

The evening will also include a support act and is one of a series of nights at Storyhouse featuring some of the best-known names in the comedy world.

Sarah Millican arrives with her latest touring show 'Bobby Dazzler' on October 28 and 30.

If you want to learn about what happens when your mouth seals shut, how to throw poo over a wall and how truly awful a flotation tank can actually be then you won’t want to miss it.

Storytelling, stand-up and subversion combine in one irresistible evening in the company of Mark Thomas on Friday, October 29.

His '50 Things About Us' is a show full of songs, gongs, loot, tradition, wigs, nicking, statues, art and identity.

Luisa Omielan follows a successful Off-Broadway run by returning to live performing in Britain and brings her hotly anticipated new show 'God Is a Woman' to Storyhouse on Sunday, October 31.

The global pandemic has changed many things, but Jimmy Carr is still 'Terribly Funny' as Chester audiences will find out on Wednesday, November 3 when he performs not once but twice on the same evening, while the multi award-winning Omid Djalili promises to bring back the 'Good Times' on Friday, November 5.

Meanwhile, comedy and drama combine when the hugely popular Mischief Theatre (The Play That Goes Wrong) returns to Hunter Street, this time with its latest stage show 'Groan Ups', running from August 31 to September 5.

Follow an unruly classroom of six-year-olds as they embark on a journey which takes them through anarchic high school teenage years and on to the challenges of adulthood.

Groan Ups is followed by a pair of productions which celebrate the transformative power of theatre and storytelling.

Bill Kenwright presents Willy Russell’s legendary musical tale of nature verses nurture, Blood Brothers, from September 28 to October 2.

And then Storyhouse Originals and Triple-C brings Sophocles’ deadly masterpiece Antigone to Chester in a thrilling new adaptation by award-winning poet Hollie McNish.

The production will be staged from October 13-23 at Storyhouse – and will also be live streamed.

Mercury award-winning singer-songwriter, folk song collector and conservationist Sam Lee presents music from his compelling new album Old Wow on Monday, October 18.

And the autumn also heralds the return of the Chester Literature Festival with a host of events being staged in spaces at Storyhouse during November.

The festival opens on Saturday, November 9 when lexicographer and Countdown dictionary corner expert Susie Dent presents The Secret Life of Words.

Join her on a journey into the world of words and the curious, unexpected and sometimes surreal origins of those we use every day – along with the fate of some that have become lost in the mists of time.

Regency players Austentatious make a welcome return to the theatre on Monday, November 11 as part of a tour marking their 10th anniversary and promise a riotously funny evening of improvised comedy storytelling, inspired by Jane Austen and based on nothing more than a title suggested by the audience.

Stellar performance poet Dr John Cooper Clarke arrives on Tuesday, November 12 with his I Wanna Be Yours Tour. Expect a mix of classic verse, extraordinary new material, hilarious ponderings on modern life, good honest gags, riffs and chat – and a chance to witness a living legend at the top of his game.

Join Radio 4 broadcasters and podcasters Fi Glover and Jane Garvey on Wednesday, November 17 to celebrate the publication of their new book Did I Say That Out Loud?

The pair will be joined by a special guest yet to be announced, and together they promise to take modern life by its elasticated waist and give it a brisk going over with a stiff brush.

Superstar food writer and TV cook Nigella Lawson invites Chester audiences to an Evening With…. on Thursday, November 18 to coincide with the launch of her latest book Cook, Eat, Repeat, a combination of delicious recipes and essays about food.

And then on Saturday, November 20, the Garret Theatre hosts an evening of pure escape with stories, jokes and poems courtesy of Henry Normal – The Escape Plan.

The BAFTA-winning writer, poet and TV and film producer has written seven poetry collections while his screen co-writing credits include The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan’s Run and The Parole Officer.

New season shows which are currently on sale are all configured to play to a full audience apart from Antigone.

But Storyhouse is retaining a series of extra Covid-secure measures including 100% fresh air circulating in both the theatre and cinema, extra aisles in the theatre to make it easier to move around the space, and a requirement to still wear a mask when you enter the building – and in queues, loos and on the move.

They are also actively encouraging people to wear face coverings while our in theatre and cinema spaces.

Storyhouse’s CEO Andrew Bentley said: "Storyhouse has remained probably the busiest cultural building in the UK throughout the pandemic, and we’re really pleased to continue that by moving into the autumn with such a strong and varied programme for both our loyal audiences and new visitors.

"There’s a great line-up of big comedy names, a pair of brilliant touring shows, a really fascinating and diverse literature festival programme, a wonderful evening of songwriting and, of course, our own homegrown production of Antigone which promises to be a bold and ambitious new take on a Greek classic."