Comedy

POOFS & A PIANO Mill Arts Centre, Banbury Tonight 01295 279002 4 Poofs & a Piano captured the hearts of BBC viewers during their nine-year tenure as the house band on The Jonathan Ross Show. And now you can see them for yourselves and enjoy their enormously engaging live spectacle, filled with irreverent and self-deprecating musical humour – the musical version of a nudge and a wink. They’re camp, high-octane and naughty, and their original songs, musical parodies, pop standards, dance, comedy and light-hearted banter will have you in stitches.

Space talk

A down to earth guide to the cosmos

Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford Wednesday, February 20, 7pm Tickets £3, 01865 792792 To most of us the star-filled sky at night is probably as mysterious as it was to our cavemen ancestors. But with TV astronomer Mark Thompson as a guide, the awesome nature of the cosmos is brought down to earth. Mark will be taking you to the final frontier and discussing his new book, A Down to Earth Guide to the Cosmos.

Stand-up

Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro The Theatre, Chipping Norton Wednesday, February 20, 7.45pm Call 01608 642350 The UK’s favourite political activist and comedian, Mark Thomas, boasts a new show Bravo Figaro, about putting on an opera for his dad in his bungalow — no mean feat as it turns out.

Drama

Illusions North Wall Arts Centre, Oxford Tomorrow (Friday), February 15, 8pm Call 01865 319450 This exploration into the nature of true love by Russia’s foremost contemporary playwright is the perfect accompaniment to the Valentine’s season. Illusions explores passion and death, loyalty and betrayal, truth and fiction, hope and despair, and is an enticing comedy that takes us on a journey through what true love is. It playfully unravels the lives and loves of two couples as they look back over the years, and highlights the dangers of saying certain thoughts while leaving others unsaid. Thoughtful and poignant.