MAKING a choice between treats is as tricky a business in the arts as it is in the rest of life.

For example at Swindon's two main theatres, the last day of October offers a difficult decision for anyone who loves drama as much as they do dance.

At the Arts Centre, the nationally-acclaimed Watermill Theatre presents The Dreamer, a dramatisation of the life of Martin Luther King. This new play, which is both passionate and informative, examines the relationships of one of the great visionaries of the 20th century.

Meanwhile, on the same night at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon Dance celebrates that most significant of birthdays with its Dancemix 21 Gala.

This all-action evening will feature not only regular dance class participants but also former students, famous choreographers, and the Royal Ballet's allround dancer-writer star, Deborah Bull.

As we move into November the choosing continues and gets no easier.

If it's poetry you prefer and literature you like, then an evening of poems performed in a pub can be had on the first of the month, or two weeks later, in cool company and convivial surroundings, there's friendly and informative book talk with the new Swindon Reading Group.

Or you could make a sequence of outings on successive nights to the same venue, when the Arts Centre hosts two unusual events. The first is Bach to Basics, in which one Rainer Hersch blends stand up comedy and classical music into a mix that will make you laugh or cry.

The next night a very old, very funny, very drunk Jamaican entertainer hosts a talent quest where the winner can go on to win two grand!

If, by way of antidote, you want something more serious, like say a discussion about the arts and arts venues in Swindon, go along to the New Mechanic's afternoon titled Looking at Swindon Together.

Or if you simply fancy listening to a lecture on what contemporary artists might learn from their predecessors, the new University's GULP lecture by former keeper of the Tate's Modern Collection, Richard Mor-phet, will serve you up a treat of a talk.

But if you would rather be doing your art than talking about it, check out the Creative Crafts Weekend, with assorted but sorted re-usable materials, in the rural urban setting of Lower Shaw Farm.

However, if your real preference is to be in the audience rather than on the stage, there's plenty more for your diary in November.

Swindon's own homegrown talent will be on show when Tanwood Dance present Step Into the Smoke.

More home-honed writing and acting skills will be on show when the Bradford Players perform their two new poignant plays, Reluctance and Acceptance.

And if it's music you want, you can have it with Sax Appeal, which includes no less than five feisty young jazz saxophonists and a rhythm section to make your toes twinkle!

Last but not least, if you don't want to leave the comfort of your armchair but would nevertheless like to see the work of a local artist and film maker, tune in to late night ITV on November 3 and see Barbara Dixon's Crossing Over, which portrays town and country as lovers and through pictures and poetry, shows Swindon as a place of beauty, tranquility and spirituality!

Matt Holland.