Bawdy comedy, magical adventure and hard-hitting drama are all on the bill in the autumn/ winter season at West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Rouge, lipstick, bawdy humour and camp song-and-dance numbers bring the Malayan jungle to life in artistic director Ian Brown’s revival of Privates On Parade.

Set in 1948, the exuberant musical centres on the British men making up the Combined Services Entertainment Corps in Singapore, whose task was to bring a spot of light relief to troops stationed in Malaya fighting the Communists.

The exploits of SADUSEA (Song and Dance Unit South East Asia) are based on playwright Peter Nichols’s own experiences as part of the Corps in Singapore, where his theatrical colleagues included Kenneth Williams and Stanley Baxter.

Jelly Roll Morton and Tony Jackson were two of the early pioneers of jazz music. A powerful and moving new play, Don’t You Leave Me Here, chronicles the turbulent early years of the two men whose musical genius was hugely influential in jazz music.

As a young man in 1906, the charismatic, flamboyant Creole-born Ferd Morton played piano in the brothels of New Orleans alongside his friend Tony Jackson. The pair were regarded as two of the finest pianists in the city in the early 20th century.

Despite their musical talents, life wasn’t easy for them in turn-of-the-century New Orleans.

Set to Morton’s beautifully evocative jazz melodies, Don’t You Leave Me Here portrays a forgotten world where the late-night atmosphere of down-at-heel jazz joints in New Orleans and hot clubs of Chicago jostle for attention alongside the racial and sexual prejudices, poverty and ill-health that plagued the two young musicians.

When first produced in 1984, one critic described Peter Hall’s musical version of George Orwell’s political satire Animal Farm as almost better than the book. Now the celebrated stage adaptation receives a new production at the Playhouse.

Family audiences are invited to fly off to Neverland this Christmas with a thrilling musical version of Peter Pan. J M Barrie’s classic adventure has delighted generations of theatregoers with its swashbuckling flying and fantasy scenes.

And for children aged four-plus, there’s enchanting adventure The Snow Queen.

A story that shook Leeds in the early 1970s unfolds on stage in The Hounding Of David Oluwale. The documentary-drama, adapted from Kester Aspden’s book, is based on events surrounding the investigation into the death of Nigerian immigrant Oluwale.

The production will be staged at the Playhouse in the 40th anniversary year of his death which led to an investigation of Leeds Police, resulting in criminal charges for two of its officers.

Making a return this autumn is Peepolykus With Spyski! (or The Importance of Being Honest), a comedy spy thriller described as ‘gut-bustingly hilarious.’ Audiences are asked to come with an open mind – and wear a disguise! Visiting productions include Northern Ballet Theatre’s A Tale Of Two Cities and Hull Truck Theatre’s Ladies Down Under, about the exploits of fish factory girls Pearl, Jan, Linda and Shelley who, after scooping the top prize at Royal Ascot, swap their factory hairnets for flight socks and jet off to Australia.

The National Theatre’s production of Waves is a tale of loss, identity and love tracing a band of friends from childhood to old age and death. The dreamlike narrative of Virginia Woolf’s novel is evoked using film and musicians.

Opera North returns with Mercy And Grand: The Tom Waits Project, bringing together ten songs by Waits, a handful of numbers by Kurt Weill, a sea shanty, a hymn, instrumental gipsy tangos and a Fellini film score, all played by a versatile ‘circus band’ ensemble.

The concert evokes the heart of Tom Waits’s music, placing it in the contexts of the great European and American songwriting traditions.

Opera North also present America Over The Water with Shirley Collins, a talk featuring folk singer Collins recounting her travels across the southern states of America with legendary song archivist Alan Lomax, through story, photographs and archive recordings, some of which were used by the Coen Brothers in their film O Brother Where Art Thou?

Edward Gorey was an American cult icon famous for his dark, sinister, books and intricately-drawn illustrations, including some for Edward Lear’s nonsense poetry.

His sneakily sinister The Doubtful Guest inspired the latest production from Hoipolloi which is suitable for children over eight. It’s the macabre story of a visitor with a ‘peculiar appearance’ who turns up on the Bishop family’s doorstep, wreaking havoc on their seemingly ordered life.

Mine is a thought-provoking new drama exploring the subject of adoption. A couple with an all-consuming desire for parenthood find that once they get a baby their troubles start.

Making his Playhouse debut is Tom Dalton Bidwell with his darkly-comic new play Company Along The Mile, set in Blackpool. Stella, a transvestite, and George have found an odd comfort in each other, meeting every Wednesday afternoon in a Blackpool hotel room for sandwiches and a quick flick through the obituaries.

But this odd couple’s unlikely relationship is turned on its head by a single mysterious knock at the door.

As well as drama, there will be laughs a-plenty with four nights of comedy, compered by popular comic Silky.

For tickets and more information about the autumn/winter season ring (0113) 2137700 or visit wyp.org.uk