THE Eastgate Theatre is launching its busiest autumn season yet, with more than 60 events and performances taking place.

The schedule will see acclaimed writer-director David Leddy bring his brand new play, Horizontal Collaboration, to Peebles next week.

Sex, power and politics come together as four UN lawyers read startling interview transcripts in a tribunal that examines the volatile story of Judith K, an African warlord’s wife, as she attempts to lead her people in a very different way to men.

Double-billed with this live performance is Leddy’s City of the Blind – a political thriller which follows a UN investigator and whistle-blower as she is caught in a web of surveillance, violence and counter-intelligence.

And in November, the theatre will host the premiere of Our Fathers, the new play from Magnetic North. 

Inspired by Father and Son – Edmund Gosse’s Victorian memoir about growing up in an evangelical Christian family and realising that he couldn’t share his father’s beliefs – the play sees two atheist sons of clergymen on a quest to discover how we disagree with someone we love.

Meanwhile, in Dr John Stewart Muir: The Beloved Doctor, actor John Nichol plays the title role in a self-penned play based on the diaries of a doctor who served the Selkirk Burgh from 1867-1928, during which time he delivered more than 3,000 babies.

But it’s not just drama on offer over the coming months.

A programme of live music is also planned, with Opera Highlights and Music in Peebles concerts as well as gigs from the Paperboys and Martin Taylor and Alison Burns.

And a further highlight will be a performance of Red and the Wolf (October 13) – the culmination of a week-long residency by four professional dancers working with a group of 8-16-year-olds to create a story-telling show based on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

Horizontal Collaboration takes place on October 19 at 7.30pm; Dr John Stewart Muir – The Beloved Doctor will be performed on November 1 at 7.30pm; and the theatre will host Our Fathers on November 18 also at 7.30pm. 

For ticket information, call Box Office on 01721 725777, or online www.eastgatearts.com