Your guide to what's on this weekend

Don't make any plans until you have checked out our essential guide to what's on in and around Exeter this weekend:

THEATRE

English Touring Opera: Agrippina
Friday & Saturday, 7.30pm, Northcott Theatre, Exeter
Widely regarded as Handel’s first operatic masterpiece, Agrippina stands out for the quality of its music, full of freshness and musical invention. Sung in English. Tickets: £17-£32.  www.exeternorthcott.co.uk

A Fool's Proof
Friday & Saturday, The Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter
A Fool’s Proof takes inspiration from the true story of Jessica McClure, who at 18 months old was trapped for 56 hours in a water well in Midland, Texas in 1987. Performances at 7.30pm on Friday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday. Tickets: £5. Box office: 01392434169. www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk

Exeter Musical Society present Footloose
Friday & Saturday, Barnfield Theatre, Exeter
Footloose the musical tells the story of Ren McCormack who is forced to move from Chicago to a small town nobody has ever heard of – Bomont.
He soon finds himself at odds with the repressive atmosphere there where the spiritual life of the community is overseen by the power local minister Reverend Moore. Footloose is packed full of electrifying dance routines and classic 80′s anthems including Holding Out For A Hero and, of course, Footloose. 7.30pm daily with a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm. Tickets: £14 (children under 16 £12). Saturday matinee all tickets £12. Box office: 01392 271808. www.barnfieldtheatre.org.uk

MUSIC

Adrian Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds
Friday, 8pm, The Exeter Daily Auditorium, Exeter Phoenix
Adrian Edmondson’s celebrated folk-punkoutfit The Bad Shepherds play punk classics and alternative songs reimagined by The Bad Shepherds in their distinctive folk style. Tickets: £19. Book here: www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

EMG Symphony Orchestra Concert
Saturday, 7.30pm, The Great Hall, Exeter University
The EMG Symphony Orchestra is putting on a concert in aid of FORCE Cancer Charity on Saturday 23 November at the Great Hall, Exeter University, starting at 7.30pm. Conducted by Marion Wood, and led by Clare Smith, the orchestra will be performing Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet (selections from Suites 1 & 2), Symphony No 4 by Brahms, and Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves by David Bedford. Tickets range from £8-£15; students and under 16s £5, and are available by calling 01392 665 885 or from Devon Strings Workshop, 1 Bartholomew St West, Exeter (10am-6pm, Wednesday to Saturday - cash and cheques only).

Mallory Knox
Saturday, 8pm, The Exeter Daily Auditorium, Exeter Phoenix
This five-piece from Cambridge have covered a lot of ground in a short space of time, generating regular airtime on BBC’s Radio 1. This is emotive and powerful rock music that sits perfectly alongside the similarly spacious sounds of Deaf Havana and Lower than Atlantis. Tickets: £10.50. www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

Assemble: All We Are with The Livework Unit
Sunday, 7.30pm, The Bike Shed Theatre Bar, Exeter
Assemble present All We Are with support from The Livework Unit. Doors open 7pm, music from 7.30pm. Tickets: £6 advance, £8 on the door. Box office 01392 434169. www.bikeshedtheatre.co.uk

MARKETS AND FAIRS

Exeter Christmas Market
Cathedral Green, Exeter
You’ll find stalls offering unique, handmade and unusual gifts, decorations and food items – everything needed for a perfect Christmas celebration and to create a real Christmas buzz at the heart of the city. Open 9am-7pm, the market is on Cathedral Green until 19 December.

Hospiscare Christmas Fayre
Saturday, 10am, Pine Lodge, Tiverton EX16 4ND
Christmas gifts, festive food and Father Christmas can all be found at the Hospiscare fayre which runs from 10am-2pm. More than £1,800 was raised at the fayre last year and the Support Group is hoping that people will come along again this year to support the local charity.

Christmas Fayre
Saturday, 2pm, Clyst St Mary Village Hall
Support the RSPCA Little Valley Animal Shelter by going along to their Christmas Fayre from 2pm-4pm.  There will be bric-a-brac, prize draw, pet accessories, books and toys, jewellery, Christmas cards and lots more. http://www.rspca-littlevalley.org.uk

International Westpoint Antiques & Collectors Fair
Saturday & Sunday, Westpoint, Exeter
With up to 400 stands from all over the UK offering an extensive range of antiques and collectables, this fair provides a great day out for people who love all things antique. Open 10am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday. Admission: £5 adults, children under 16 free. Adults: £5, children under 16 free.

Cake and Craft Fair
Saturday, 10.30am, The Hub on the Green, Cathedral Close, Exeter
The Cake and Craft Fair is a fun place to browse, catch up with old friends or meet new ones, relax with tea and cake in the pop-up cafe and try something new. Nina Fenner will be running a making table, as well her handmade books stall. There will be craft stalls, haberdashery table, Sparkly Sonia’s fabulous face-painting, Christmas raffle with fabulous prizes and, by popular demand, acupressure treatments from Sarah Hewlett. Open 10.30am-4pm.

EVENTS

Ashfords' Choir Sing Off
Friday, 6.30pm, Centre Spot Bar, Exeter City Football Club, St James' Park
A number of Devon's finest amateur choirs will go head to head before a panel of local judges to win the opportunity to perform at Exeter Racecourse on 19 December.  A team of four Ashfords' trainees have organised the choir sing-off competition to raise money and awareness in the local community for the charity, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust (Jo's Trust). Why not go along and support your favourite choir. Doors open at 6.30 pm and tickets are only £3 in advance or £5 on the door.

Christmas Treats weekend
Saturday & Sunday, 10am, Escot, Ottery St Mary
Free entry for everyone at our Christmas Treats weekend.  See Santa in his forest grotto (£4 per child), take part in Christmas arts and crafts at Yurt Village, watch the animals receive Christmas gifts and take pony ride.  In the Greenwood Centre you can make your very own Christmas badge out of wood, make a willow wand and listen to stories from our storyteller while you toast marshmallows over the fire.  There is a small charge for some activities. Bookings to see Father Christmas in his forest grotto will be taken on each day on a first come, first served basis.  www.escot-devon.co.uk

Winter woodland walk
Saturday, 10am, Holyford Woods Local Nature Reserve near Colyford
To celebrate the start of National Tree Week, the East Devon District Council Countryside team are organising a Winter Tree Identification walk at Holyford Woods Local Nature Reserve, 10am-12.30pm. The walk will be led by Mike Lock of Axe Vale and District Conservation Society, who will point out exactly what to look for in order to recognise woodland trees in winter.  Places are limited, so booking is essential by calling 01395 517557 or emailing Countryside@eastdevon.gov.uk

Darts Farm Food Festival
Sunday, 10am, Darts Farm, Exeter
Meet the characters behind the wonderful produce that you find in the Darts Farm food hall. Find out how they make their artisan food and drink and experience the tastes an flavours created by their passionate work. Masterchef Peter Gorton will be giving a special demonstration in the AGA Shop and a book signing to celebrate the launch of his new cookery book. 10am-4pm, free entry.

EXHIBITIONS

Valerie Barden: Compositions in oil paint
The Art Room, The Strand, Topsham
Valerie Barden has been exhibiting professionally since 1994. The paintings in this exhibition fit into the genre known as paintings of 'modern life' first explored at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century and which has engaged many artists since. The Art Room is open weekends and Wednesdays only from 11am-5pm and this exhibition runs until 15 December. www.theartroomtopsham.co.uk

Kit Poulson: After the Enlightenment
Exeter Phoenix, Gandy Street, Exeter
Kit Poulson’s practice meanders back and forth from painting, paying visits to installation, video and performance making, via writing fiction, to explore parallels and connections between materiality, imagery and thought.This exhibition will include a series of new paintings using oil and egg tempera, accompanied by a parallel set of short fictions. The exhibition runs until 11 January, 10am-4pm.  Free entry. www.exeterphoenix.org.uk

Christmas Craft Exhibition
Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Riverside Mill, Bovey Tracey
This Christmas craft exhibition is a great place to buy a unique gift. Avoid the high-street crush and choose from a broad and exciting range of items in our gallery, which showcases over 50 of the best contemporary designers from across the UK. The exhibition runs until 5 January and entry is free. Open daily 10am-5.30pm. www.crafts.org.uk