ENJOY an overflowing cornucopia of Christmassy storytelling, music and theatre at Dorchester Arts this festive season.

There will be music from Mad Dog Mcrea, Living Spit's wonderfully irreverent take on the Nativity, two madcap and heart-warming performances of A Little Match Girl, the festive fun of Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings, breath-taking and enchanting story-telling around the fire at Wolfeton Riding House and a Beauty and the Beast Sing-A-Long.

This Friday, December 7, Mad Dog Mcrea return to shake the Corn Exchange with their unique mixture of folk rock, pop, gypsy jazz, bluegrass and 'shake-your-ass' music.

After their triumphant take on Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol in 2016m Living Spit are back to tackle the Nativity on Saturday 8 December. Expect their usual mix of songs, pitiful puppetry and more Biblical befuddlement than you can shake a figgy pudding at!

The Little Match Girl on Sunday December 16 is a touching, mad-cap and heart-warming Christmas show. We meet talking turkeys, dancing rats, Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their chattering Christmas Tree in this take on Hans Christian Andersen's classic winter tale.

Dorchester Art's associate amateur theatre group, Somerleigh Players guarantee festive fun on Thursday December 20, Friday December 21 and Saturday December 22 with Alan Ayckbourn's comedy Season Greetings. With limited sofa seating and eight-seater tables with festive treats available, bring your friends and make a party of it!

Be enchanted by Lost Tail Theatre's Lost Lore on Friday December 21 and Saturday December 22 as they transport you into a world of witches, princesses, tricksters and sorcery. Wrap up warm and gather round the fire for these special performances at Wolfeton Riding House and prepare for a spellbinding and unforgettable journey into the world of Lost Lore.

Banish the post-Christmas blues on Thursday January 3 and come and join in with a special sing-a-long screening of Disney's latest spectacular version of a "tale as old as time" with Beauty and the Beast.

Tickets are available from the Dorchester Arts box office on 01305 266926, in person at the Corn Exchange (weekdays 10am - 4pm) or via www.dorchesterarts.org.uk.