FIFTEEN brand new and world travelled shows will be touring across rural County Durham this autumn.

As the dark nights draw in, village halls will be hosting a range of productions from across the UK and Canada with some of the finest touring companies bringing performances to small communities.

Remarkable true-life stories, Sci-fi, Dicken’s classics and shows from the Edinburgh Fringe will be appearing alongside festive family shows, music and this year’s Contemporary Craft Tour, Craft & Conflict.

In all, 18 performances can be seen in 14 villages across Teesdale and Wear Valley between September and December as part of the Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.

Northern Stage relocate H. G. Well’s iconic sci-Fi novel to the North-East in War of the Words at Hamsterley; Box Tale Soup return with Oscar Wilde’s classic tale about debauchery and scandal in The Picture of Dorian Gray at Upper Weardale; Canada’s Theatre Newfoundland Labrador perform their play about the extraordinary life and heroism of Frances Cluet VAD in a run of dates at Whorlton, Stanhope and Middleton-in-Teesdale: and, from her prison cell awaiting execution, one of history’s most infamous spies, Mata Hari, tells her story at Mickleton.

Middleton-in-Teesdale and Staindrop are catering to the youngest audiences with two adaptations of old favourites, The Wind in the Willows and Jack and the Beans Talk.

Music offers a cross-culture, cross-genre mix of French Canadian roots music, jazz, folk, County and Blues.

The North East’s James Birkett and Emma Fisk will share the programme with Canada’s Bon Debarras, Cheshire’s Jaywalkers and London’s comedic string quartet, Bowjangles while County Durhams’s Katie Doherty from Blanchland, Consett starts off the season with folk inspired music in Edmundbyers and the season draws to a close with a Christmas Cabaret from ShooShooBaby at Upper Weardale Town Hall.

And finally, Highlights' annual Contemporary Craft Tour this year presents Craft & Conflict – an exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The exhibition will showcase the work of 12 contemporary artists from Syria, Sweden, Sri Lanka and the UK whose work uses an exciting variety of media including ceramic, textiles, enamel, resin and film.

Craft & Conflict is showing at Bowlees Visitor Centre, The Witham in Barnard Castle and St Thomas Church Hall, in Stanhope.

Working across County Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland, Highlights is geographically one of the largest of the rural touring schemes in England and Wales. Each year it brings over 160 performances from national touring companies into the heart of rural villages and subsidise performances.

Highlights is supported and developed in association with Arts Council England, South Lakeland District Council, The County Councils of Cumbria, Durham and Northumberland, and is sponsored by Reeds Printers.

Full listings can be seen at highlightsnorth.co.uk