Our pick includes Alan Bennett's monologues, a tale of 21st Century life, songs, puppetry and a real gingerbread man and a talk from veteran stargazer Patrick Moore.

THE GINGERBREAD MAN, Komedia, Brighton, February 2.

In this climate of Harry Potter and the wizard Gandalf comes different magic from the Cleveland Theatre Company in the shape of Mrs Magg the cook.

She deals not with dragons but with ingredients. Watch her rustle up a recipe of songs and puppetry and witness the plot unfold into a never-seen-before climax - a real gingerbread man.

Show starts at 2pm, tickets cost £4.50, call 01273 647100.

LEAVE NO TRACE, The Hawth, Crawley, February 3-4.

The pressures of the 21st Century may be hard for many of us to bear but what would happen if one day you left for work and carried on travelling?

Alice gets into her car and drives off, leaving the rest of the world behind for 96 hours.

She cannot recall her escape, yet she can trace a hazy memory of freedom and is compelled to recover the lost hours in search of comfort.

Show starts at 7.45pm, tickets cost £8.50/ £6.50, call 01293 553636.

TALKING HEADS, The Barn Theatre, February 5-8.

Alan Bennett's cherished collection of monologues is interpreted by the Wick Theatre Company in a touching trio of self-contained stories.

Kicking off is middle-aged Graham in A Chip In The Sugar. In A Lady Of Letters is Irene, whose writing lands her in hot waters, while Bed Among the Lentils portrays a vicar's wife with a taste for communion wine.

Show starts 7.45pm, tickets cost £5, call 01273 597094.

PATRICK MOORE, Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton, February 6.

The charismatic, monocled one shares his stargazing knowledge in celebration of his 80th birthday.

His subject is Mars, the red planet that has fascinated us for centuries while remaining uncharted. Using colour slide projections, Patrick tells the latest knowledge of conditions there and discusses manned missions and eventual colonies.

Show starts at 7.30pm, tickets cost £10/£8, call 01273 643012.