Rob DesRoches

The honest and thoughtful lyrics, earnest live performances and witty stage banter have earned Rob Des Roches a devoted global fan base. A musical chameleon, DesRoches is able to slip into many genres with ease. As his fans will attest, he is a spontaneous & fearless performer.

Luna Lounge, 7 Church Lane, Leytonstone, E11 1HG, Thursday, November 17, 8.30pm. Details: 07904 525639

The Full Monty

A hilarious and heartfelt production filled with honest affection, engaging melodies and the most highly-anticipated closing number of any show. Six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York, have no cash and no prospects are completely miserable. Whilst spying on their wives at a ‘Girls’ Night Out’, they feel emasculated at the women going crazy over the male strippers. They set out to make some quick cash showing off their ‘real man’ bodies by becoming a team of male strippers. In preparing, they find themselves extremely exposed; not merely physically but emotionally. As the guys work through their fears, self-consciousness and anxieties they find strength as a group and overcome their inner demons.

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Monday, November 14, to Saturday, November 19. Details: 01245 606505

Epping Forest Guardian: V&A to celebrate Shakespeare's 450th birthday

Shakespeare Schools Festival

Local schools perform abridged Shakespeare plays as part of the UK’s largest Youth Drama Festival. Come and celebrate the achievements of local schools whilst experiencing the language and magic of our greatest playwright.

Queen’s Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch, RM11 1QT, Monday, November 14, 7pm. Details: 01708 443333

Buried Child

For the first time, the multi award winning international star Ed Harris will appear on the West End stage in Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Buried Child. Casting a brutal light on disenfranchised Americans, Buried Child is a dark, macabre and painfully funny family drama that is as relevant now as it was during its first run almost 40 years ago. Dodge and Halie are barely hanging on to their farmland and their sanity while looking after their two wayward grown sons. When their grandson Vince arrives with his girlfriend, no one seems to recognize him, and confusion abounds.  As Vince tries to make sense of the chaos, the rest of the family dances around a deep, dark secret.

Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DY, Monday, November 14, to Saturday, February 18. Details: atgtickets.com/shows

Epping Forest Guardian: Rebecca Cook: Acrobatic Gymnastics to ballet

Ballet Black

This production collaborates with three bold and inventive choreographers to present an irresistible trilogy of narrative and abstract dance. Featuring works by Arthur Pita, Christopher Marney and Christopher Hampson, including the wonderful Storyville – a bittersweet fable of farm girl Nola, set in 1920s New Orleans to the haunting music of Kurt Weill. Ballet Black is the UK’s leading dance company for international dancers of black and Asian descent.

Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow, CM20 1LS, Wednesday, November 16, 7.30pm. Details: 01279 431945

The BBC Essex Quest: Live on Stage

BBC Essex is proud to present the first ever Quest Live show to celebrate 30 years of BBC Essex and raise money for BBC Children in Need. Join the programme’s presenters Eric, Liana, Barry, and the Quest Master for an evening of entertainment. Can you help them solve the clues to find Pudsey, who has got himself lost in Essex? There’ll be special guests and games to play… you might even catch a glimpse of the mysterious Quest Master!

Chelmsford City Theatres, Fairfield Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1JG, Tuesday, November 15, 3pm and 7.30pm. Details: 01245 606505

Epping Forest Guardian:

Flaming June: The Making of an Icon

Flaming June: The Making of an Icon is a landmark exhibition for Leighton House Museum, returning Leighton’s most famous and celebrated work to the artist’s house from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico. Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896), was one of the pre-eminent artists of his day. Depicting a sensual, sun-drenched, sleeping female figure wrapped in orange draperies against a Mediterranean backdrop, the exhibition explores the extraordinary story of this picture, from its creation in Leighton’s studio, its first critical reception at the Royal Academy, through its ‘disappearance’ in the middle of the twentieth century, its acquisition by the Governor of Puerto Rico and subsequent rise to international fame as one of the most memorable and reproduced images in the whole of British art.

Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, W14 8LZ, until Sunday, April 2. Details: 020 7602 3316

Docks After Dark

Are you brave enough to enter the 200-year old warehouse after dark and learn its eerie, ghostly secrets? In the spooky atmosphere of the galleries you will hear chilling accounts from museum staff while being guided through the most haunted spots of the building. Follow in the footsteps of the men, women and children who worked in the Docks before meeting their grisly and untimely end.

Museum of London Docklands, India Dock Road, Canary Wharf, E14 4AL, Tuesday, November 15, 6.30pm. Details: 020 7001 9844