HAVING recently celebrated its first birthday, the Riverfront, Newport is looking forward to an exciting second year with a spectacular spring programme.

Family entertainment is off to a side-splitting start with Paddy the clown; hilarious and widely regarded as one of Britain's top clowns.

He is followed by Sixth's Sense production of Toad's Great Western Railway Adventure, a new adventure from literature's rascal Toad and The People's Theatre Company with Bink and the Giant Whizz Pop.

For the theatre lovers out there, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the theatre, the popular-as-ever Reduced Shakespeare Company pay a return visit with Completely Hollywood and a visit to Tinseltown. Rabbi Lionel Blue drops in with his offbeat sense of humour and Cwmni Theater Arad Goch with Tafliad Carreg for Welsh speakers.

Shylock, the tragic, funny and often unbelievable life of fiction's most famous Jew will be performed by Gareth Armstrong, followed by The Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds performance of Showstopper, a comedy about love, glamour and The Sound of Music! Theatr Y Byd in association with the Riverfront will then present Butterfly, followed by The Torch Theatre Company and Only a Matter of Time by Alan Platter; notorious for taking serious issues and kicking them around the stage until the stuffing falls out.

A production of East is East also promises to be a highlight and for those who like to laugh out loud, the popular Comedy Shed is back on the last Friday of every month, as well as well-known stand-ups such as Jeremy Hardy.

Gordon Peters will present his celebration of Flanders and Swann and rocking into the city will be The Fab Beatles, Think Floyd, The Barron Knights and the marvellous Elkie Brooks promising one of her most spectacular performances ever.

TV's mind controller Derren Brown is also visiting Newport as part of a UK tour.

Opera della Luna will be in party mood for Moonstruck, a gala evening of opera, musical comedy and cabaret and Swansea City Opera, some of the finest singers and orchestral players in the country, bring Rossini's most famous opera, The Barber of Seville.

Classical music lovers haven't been forgotten either, the increasingly popular First Wednesday lunchtime recitals will continue into a second year and Sinfonia Cymru pay a return visit with a magnificent programme that will include Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

Tickets for all events at The Riverfront are on sale from the central box office booking line on 01633 656757. For further information visit the website: www.newport.gov.uk/riverfront.