A packed programme kicks off with The Lost World by the highly acclaimed Paper Cinema (January 21-22).

Featuring live musical accompaniment from Little Boat, Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tale is brought to life with beautifully hand-drawn marionettes, which are projected onto a white screen and animated.

Paper Cinema, discovered at Battersea Arts Centre, created a massive stir with their debut show at Edinburgh's Forest Fringe and are now touring the country with their unique blend of puppetry, art, film and music.

Tickets are already flying out for the season's big names, including a return to stand-up for Julian Clary, who brings his show Lord of the Mince to the Carriageworks on Febuary 20, as well as BBC presenter and
Celebrity Masterchef finalist Hardeep Singh Kohli on April 23.

The ever-popular Hull Truck Theatre Company is back at Easter with Me and My Dad by Nick Lane (April 7-9) and West End star Linda Marlowe performs The World's Wife (February 25), a stage version of poems by the new Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Paper Birds started their career in Leeds and will be making a triumphant return home for a run of their Fringe First Award winning show In A Thousand Pieces (February 2-3), a critically-acclaimed exploration of the British sex trade.

Other highlights include the unique story-telling styles of Herald Award winner Ben Moor with Coelacanth (March 11) and Glasgow's Kieran Hurley with Hitch (February 16), a show developed in Leeds as part of a mentoring programme with local company PLaY.

As ever, The Carriageworks provides a range of shows for children and young people during the spring.

Half-term means there's lots to do for parents wanting to entertain their kids, as Unpacked Theatre present lively adventure in the form of The Jumping Mouse (February 16, suitable for four-11 year olds), and Lyngo Theatre bring the beautiful and charming Fish's Wishes (February 17, suitable for age three and above and their families).

A fun-packed week is rounded off by Blunderbus, with a superbly inventive adaptation of modern children's classic Giraffes Can't Dance (February 20, suitable for all the family).

For details of the full season go to www.carriageworkstheatre.org.uk