Hotels near the Northampton Royal & Derngate

Northampton's adjacent Victorian Royal and 1983-built Derngate Theatres have operated under one umbrella since 1999, with success that has seen shows transfer to London's National Theatre. It's not just passive participation either, as 20,000 locals get actively involved each year.

There are eight home-grown shows in 2011. At the Royal, Daphne du Maurier's wartime drama The Year's Between (4-26 February) is followed by centenary-boy Terence Rattigan's In Praise of Love (1-23 April), before mayhem ensues in Hamlet The Musical (6-21 May).

JB Priestly's Edwardian-set Eden End (3-25 June) makes way for Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona (30 September-22 October) and LP Hartley's The Go Between (1-19 November). Seasonal offerings, Alice in Wonderland (starts 30 November) and Aladdin (Derngate from 9 December), both end on 8 January.