Roundabout, the world’s first pop-up, plug-in and play theatre returns to Dorset at the end of September.

From September 27 to 30 September children and grown-ups can enjoy an exciting programme of theatre and comedy.

Lighthouse partners for the first time with Bournemouth’s Arts by the Sea Festival to bring the unique and intimate Roundabout tent to the Pavilion Dance South West terrace in the Lower Gardens, where it will host five plays, a Coastal Comedy night with three professional stand ups and a comedy club for kids.

Combining comfortable seating with cutting edge sound and lighting technology, this pop-up theatre-in-the-round is an unmissable chance to experience plays from some of the brightest up-and-coming writers in the country.

Three brand new plays from Paines Plough and Theatr Clwyd form the main Roundabout programme. Sticks and Stones (27,29 & 30 September) is a razor-sharp satire about the search for a sure footing in an uncertain world from BAFTA nominated Vinay Patel. When a misfiring joke turns their life upside down, B sets off on a surreal journey looking for answers. In an age when technology multiplies every mistake, can we find a way to understand each other?

What do you do if you think your aunt is an alien? In How To Spot An Alien (29 & 30 September) twelve-year-old Jelly and her brother Jonjo have their suspicions. She won’t let them leave the house. Or ask questions. And she definitely won’t let them in the attic. Join Jelly and Jonjo on their quest to discover the truth in a rip-roaring adventure through space full of friendship, fun and flying saucers.

Island Town (29 & 30 September) is a bittersweet story about friendship, hope and dreams of an escape. Kate, Sam and Pete are stuck. The town they live in doesn’t have much going on. But they don’t really care about that when they’ve got cheap cider and their whole lives ahead of them. And they’re going to break away anyway. Someone’s about to get a car. And all roads go somewhere else. Right?

Coastal Comedy (29 September) offers you the chance to see a famous comedian up close and personal in the intimate setting of Roundabout. The line-up (yet to be confirmed) features three professional comedians including a TV headliner as seen on programmes such as Mock the Week (BBC2), 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4) or Live at the Apollo (BBC1) as well as a fantastic host.

There are laughs aplenty for young visitors to Roundabout as well – Comedy Club 4 Kids (29 September) features the circuit’s best stand-up and comedy acts doing their thing for a family audience. It’s just like a normal comedy club … but without the rude bits!

Following a sold-out performance at Lighthouse in January, Doppelganger Productions perform their play Ride! on 28 September. Based on a true story, Ride! is about racism and highlights the 1998 incident in which the African-American James Byrd Jr was taken by three members of the Ku Klux Klan and murdered.

Rounding off the festival, students from Bournemouth & Poole College will perform a new work entitled Life and Death in an Ocean Full of Hope on 30 September.

Roundabout will be at the Arts by the Sea Festival from September 27 to 30. Once inside the tent you’ll be seated around the stage with a great view of the actors for a unique theatrical experience.

Tickets for all events are on sale now at the Lighthouse box office.