MARCH 22 - 24, BATH: PERFORMANCE poet Francesca Beard brings her quickfire scattergun wit to the Ustinov Theatre in Bath at the end of the month.

In a show called Chinese Whispers, Francesca summons a world where arguments of cultural identity are settled by a showdown between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the ghost of a Chinese ancestor.

Francesca appears in Bath as part of the This Way Up season from Monday, March 22 to Wednesday, March 24 at 8pm.

This Way Up is a group of four up and coming performance acts, which will play in Bath in the next four weeks. The group is touring the country, and also includes I am Thicker Than Water, by Simon Farnaby, a show about growing up with gamblers, (March 25-27) and Adam's Apple by the Sharpwire Theatre company (March 29-31), which retells the creation story.

The fourth group is Trio Con Brio presenting In The Beginning (April 1-3), a comedy about sibling rivalry in the Mediterranean.

Tickets are £10 and £7 concessions, and can be booked on 01225 448844.