AN EVENING of the supernatural, the uncanny and the bizarre is on the cards in Off The Rock Productions' winter spread of short plays, The Trove Of Curiosities, at Krumbs Kitchen, Tanner Row, York.

From December 12 to 15, new pieces by Alexander King, Anna Rogers, Richard Shaw Johnston, Matthew Wignall and Alison Young will be staged at 7.30pm nightly by the York company.

York Press:

Matthew Wignall as David in Twenty-Nine. Picture: Hannah Argyle

Let company founder Matthew Wignall set the scene: "Yuletide in York. A miasma of spices pervades the icy evening air; commuters, consumers and revellers alike bustle through the labyrinthine streets; hot breath, illuminated by gaudily-lit shop windows, hangs suspended in the air.

"Nearby, in a snug corner of a snug room in a snug building the Inheritor welcomes some guests to his humble abode. The air is alive with smell of mulled wine and hot mince pies as the guests warm themselves against the winter chill. Scarves, hats and overcoats are discarded as people take their seats. Hot drinks are cradled. An expectant hush descends upon the group and the Inheritor begins to speak.

York Press:

Keir Brown, Natalie-Clare Brimicombe and Victoria Delaney as the Armitage family in Here's Hoping. Picture: Hannah Argyle

"Haunted portraits, Anglo-Saxon curses and radio messages from beyond the grave: there is all this and more in our evening of five new, plays exploring the paranormal"

Alexander King will take the role of The Inheritor in The Trove Of Curiosities before his play Security is performed by Paul Stonehouse (Monday) and Paul Osborne (Tuesday to Thursday) in the role of Cliff and Stu Freestone as Danny, under the direction of Alison Young.

York Press:

Jess Murray as Margot in The Boy With Marbles For Eyes

Alan Jonesy directs Richard Shaw Johnston's A Bridge Too Far?, which features Alexander Clark as Cameron; Samantha Hindman as the Police Officer; Catherine Dunn's Ellen and Clancy McMullan's Natasha. McMullan, in turn, directs Anna Rogers's new work, The Boy With Marbles For Eyes, in which Jess Murray plays Margot and Mick Liversidge, Jez.

Alexander King adds a third string to his bow, directing Matthew Wignall's Twenty-Nine, in which Wignall himself plays David, Alison Young, Stacey, and Lucinda Rennison, Reverend Allsop.

York Press:

Catherine Dunn as Ellen in A Bridge Too Far? Picture: Hannah Argyle

Alison Young's Here's Hoping has a cast of Keir Brown as Sergeant Armitage, Natalie-Clare Brimicombe, Mona, and Victoria Delaney, Mrs Armitage, under Mike Hickman's direction.

Linking material has been written by producer Matthew Wignall and directed by Alison Young and Alexander King has yet another credit to his name as stage manager.

Tickets for Monday to Thursday's performances cost £10, concessions £8, online at ticketsource.co.uk/offtherockproductions