A leading local accordion player will go head to head with an internationally-renowned teenage musician in this year's British accordion championships.

Local people can compare Robert Thorn and Larysa Bodell's playing styles during a concert tomorrow at Glusburn Institute.

Robert, a student of Cross Hills music teacher Harry Hinchcliffe, will perform Scottish, Irish and continental music with his band.

He recently took the highest marks in both the recent Irish and North of England Accordion Championships.

Support comes from the Craven School of Music Concert Orchestra -- also taught by Harry -- starting at 7.30pm.

Larysa is one of the UK's highest-profile players and has represented her country many times in world championships and overseas events.

She has played classical accordion music at festivals in Italy, Andorra, Las Vegas, Slovakia and Hungary, and has taken masterclasses in France, Croatia and Lithuania.

Book tickets costing £4 for adults and £2.50 for concessions, by phoning 01535 635074.

n Denise van Outen went from TV's Big Breakfast to rave reviews for West End shows like Chicago.

Her well-received role in one-woman show Tell Me on a Sunday is now being taken by former EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer.

Red-head Patsy plays a young Englishwoman seeking and losing love in New York, at Bradford Alhambra from Monday to Saturday.

She sings a succession of Andrew Lloyd Webber songs included Take That Look Off Your Face and Unexpected Song.

Book at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall or phone 01274 432000.

n Getting into the swing of things will be Charlie Cheesecake, as the National Clown Spectacular comes to Victoria Hall.

Charlie Cheesecake's circus team performs on Monday (2pm). Tickets cost £4.50 (under-threes free) on the door, or by phoning 07906 854 269.

n Following the success of last year's exhibition, Haworth artists Sheila Ball and Jack Cuthbert will be displaying their paintings at Haworth Tourist Information Centre from April 5-18.

n The author of rock musical, Nell's Belles, will be among the audience for youth drama group Kaleidoscope's second production.

Kjartan Poskitt will be at Bingley Arts Centre on opening night to watch the historical pantomime, mixed with comedy and rock songs.

Kjartan, from York, said: "My musicals are my babies and I love to see them performed, but it's not often that happens within striking distance of my home."

Nell's Belles is set in the swinging 1660s. It tells the story of the love story between Charles II and Nell Gwyn following the opening of Drury Lane Theatre, where a bunch of girls hoped to find an escape from life in the nearby bawdy house.

Directed by Rosemary Grainger, from Keighley, it is the group's second production following their presentation of Our Day Out last year.

Performances start at 7.30pm from April 15-17. Tickets cost £4 and £2 for under 16s.

They are available on the door or from Bingley Little Theatre from 7pm on 01274 564069.

n If you're running out of ideas to keep the children entertained over Easter, why not let supercharged robot, Robo Rat, come to the rescue.

His fun packed show will be coming to Settle Victoria Hall on April 16 at 2.30pm, and is the perfect introduction to theatre for children.

Robo Rat to the Rescue includes songs, puppets and adventure and will appeal to 4-8 year olds and their families. Robo Rat will be talking to the audience at the interval and will pose for photographs.

Tickets cost £3 for children and £6.50 for adults. To book tickets call the Victoria Hall box office on 01729 825718

n Northern Broadsides returns to the region this month following its national tour of Shakespeare's tragedy The Merchant of Venice.

Barrie Rutter plays the notorious moneylender Shylock in the tale of justice, hypocrisy and racial hatred.

Natural Northern voices are said to make the "riveting drama" easily understood and refreshingly unpretentious.

Book tickets for the April 5-17 play at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, by phoning 0113 213-7700, or at Keighley Information Centre.

n One of the Nolan Sisters stars in hit musical Blood Brothers as it returns to Bradford Alhambra on April 12-24.

Linda Nolan plays a poverty-stricken mother who sells one of her twin babies to her middle-class employer.

The boys grow up as best friends, unaware of their true relationship, setting the scene for tragedy.

Book for the dramatic and emotional show at Keighley Information Centre or phone 01274 432000.

n TV shows such as Mind Control and Russian Roulette have brought Derren Brown fame and fans.

He applies the same psychological illusion, perceptual manipulation and persuasive technique in his new live show.

The "powerful, provocative and thrilling" entertainment comes to St George's Hall, Bradford, on April 13.

Book at Keighley Information Centre or phone 01274432000.

n Gilbert and Sullivan's swashbuckling romance Pirates of Penzance is presented by Bingley G&S Society on April 19-24.

Tickets for the comic operetta at Bingley Arts Centre cost £5 to £9.90 per by phoning 01274 567 294, or 01274 567983 from Monday.

n A classic suspense thriller by Stephen King comes to the stage in Keighley Playhouse's next production on April 26-May 1.

Misery tells how a demented nurse rescues her favourite writer from a car crash and forces him to rewrite his latest novel.

Tickets will be on sale later this month at Keighley Information Centre.

n Culpability, retribution, universal responsibility and the possibility of evil are explored by Bingley Little Theatre on May 10-15.

The Handyman is set in the English countryside where a couple's comfortable life is threatened by the arrival of the police.

Detectives are interested in the past of their elderly odd-job man Romka. Book by phoning 01274 432000.

n Sons and Lodgers is the sequel to Halifax woman Jill Robinson's comic novel Berringden Brow -- Memoirs of a Single Parent with a Crush.

The book is on sale at Reid's bookshop in Keighley.