Among the headline artists is Kings patron Dillie Keane, the Fascinating Aida star who grew up at Southsea and spent many happy hours working at the Kings.

She will perform Geraldine Aron's poignant one-woman comedy, My Brilliant Divorce (September 22).

Other stars include Cornish comedian Jethro (September 30, singer and comedian Gary Wilmot (October 3), singer Mari< correct> Wilson (October 28), all-round entertainer Des O'Connor (October 29), X-Factor discovery Andy Abraham (October 31), American comedian Stephen Lynch (November 17) and veteran pop star Gerry Marsden (November 19).

But the season both begins and ends with shows featuring a familiar Portsmouth performer.

Jack Edwards, who appeared in Guys And Dolls in the West End, is one of the 3Js who made a successful Kings debut last year and now return with a strong local cast in a programme of song and dance (September 20-21).

The other two Js are dance professionals Janet Williams and Jack's wife Jacqueline Willis.

Jack will then return as one of the ugly sisters in Cinderella, the pantomime starring Charlene Tilton (Lucy Ewing in Dallas), Syd Little and CBBC's Simon Grant (December 10 to January 4).

And now for two things completely different.

In The Big Ballet, The Size Does Matter Tour (October 1), all the dancers weigh a minimum of 17 stone and are committed to not losing so much as a pound.

Then in Ha Ha Hamlet (October 7), three Covent Garden street-theatre performers offer an original take on Shakespeare - including all the well-known quotes and some new ones.

As usual, the season also includes performances by Portsmouth Players (Crazy For You, October 14-18) and South Downe Musical Society (My Fair Lady, November 4-8), and a wide range of tribute shows - to U2, T-Rex, Flanders and Swann, Eric Clapton, Abba, Elvis Presley and the Eagles.

There is also an opportunity to Sing-a-Long-a Sound Of Music, and Opera Della Luna will perform The Mikado.

Looking forward to February, the Kings has announced productions of Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, starring Steven Houghton and Susan McFadden, and The Full Monty.
*For full details and tickets, call (023) 9282 8282 or visit www.kings-southsea.com.