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The season includes the new comedy Immaculate by Oliver Lansley (29 November to 1 December) and a stage adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents (6 to 8 December), both performed by the Youth Company.

Immaculate

First performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2005, Immaculate is the story of a woman who hasn't had sex for 11 months, but wakes up one morning to find herself pregnant!

"It's a new twist on the whole idea of Christmas and the immaculate conception," said Jo Reil, deputy director of the arts course.

"Mia, who's a 20-something waking up one morning realising she's six months pregnant after not having sex for a year, is obviously quite shocked.

"After a while the angel Gabriel turns up claiming it's his, then Lucifer turns up claiming it's his and then an ex-boyfriend turns up claiming it's his – so they all come together in one room and argue it out. It does have a feeling of Jerry Springer about it.

"I just think they [the company] can relate beautifully to the modern writing, they can put themselves there and link to it so it just always works well for me," she added.

A rat's tale

Jack Bannon takes the lead in The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.

Written by Terry Pratchett and adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs, the tale puts a smart spin on the story of the Pied Piper.

"I think it's good to be in a piece by Terry Pratchett, he's an acclaimed writer and I think he reaches out to quite a wide audience," said Jack, a drama student a Norwich City College.

"I don't really know why I want to do it [perform]. I've been prancing around the living rooms since I was about five and mum chucked me off to the Dusmagrik Young People's Theatre Company in Gorleston.

"I came to the arts course when I was seven and have been here ever since.

"I love being on stage. It's just standing in front of a crowd and entertaining them.

Mixed programme

A mixed programme of work is important to the make-up of the season, both in terms of the range of material on offer to the audience and in trying to offer the members of the arts courses a role.

"Because we've got such a large youth company now we have to try and provide as many parts as possible for the hundreds of young people we've got. We have to try and stretch them as well," said David Lambert, director of the arts courses.

"There are lot of people who didn't manage to get parts when we auditioned at the start of this term. The competition gets stiffer and the youth company just gets bigger - but it means we've got more choice on who we can cast," he added.

Studio Theatre Company

The winter season also features productions from the adult Studio Theatre Company.

They'll be performing Peter Shaffer's Amadeus (13 to 15 December) and the annual New Year Music Hall (29 to 31 December).

Last seen at The Maddermarket Theatre in 2004, Amadeus is the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told, or possibly invented, by rival composer Antonio Salieri.Ìý

The annual New Year Music Hall mixes traditional Victorian and Edwardian songs and sketches, providing a bawdy and salacious way to see in 2008.

Tickets for all performances are available from the Norwich Theatre Royal on 01603 630000. Shows will be staged at The Garage on Chapelfield North, Norwich.