A right Royal night out!

Mental health, how to learn to deal with dark and wobbly times, and how to work with the grey matter to achieve great things –just some of the shows coming to the ‘fampton this month. There’s also comedy, a look at the spooky side, joy from Strictly ace Johannes, and Fireman Sam is parking his engine in the town.

Sammy Jones has the best of this month’s fire-y and fiery shows...

When not doing their respective day jobs, sports broadcaster Jake Humphrey and psychologist

Professor Damian Hughes have found further success with their podcast, High Performance, and now they are taking it to the stage.

This is all about being invested in improving your mindset and they’ll share the secrets used by the world’s remarkable athletes and entrepreneurs to excel, before teaching you how to follow their lead. Check in at the Derngate (May 7).

And you can check in to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (May 9-13) with a plethora of pros delivering writer Deborah Moggach’s work; Paul Nicholas, Tessa Peake- Jones, Belinda Lang and Graham Seed head up the casting for this warm, leisurely delivery.

Joe Tracini visits The Royal (May 9) to discuss what living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is like.

The statistics are dark; 15% of people with BPD take their own lives, and 40% try – Joe is one of them. But being alive has taught him loads and he wants to share it with others dealing with challenging mental illnesses.

He’s already put his experience down in words with a decidedly honest page-tuner, Ten Things I Hate About Me, and Joe’s videos about his ‘broken brain’ have clocked up more than 90 million views so far. Which says lots about what is happening in society.

Self harm and suicide will be discussed in this essential show. Thank you for doing this, Joe.

Fox (Underground, May 13 & 14) is Katie Guicciardi’s brutally honest exploration of new motherhood in an increasingly isolating society, which What’s On Stage declared to be ‘a brave, eye-opening show’ after they caught a performance.

Sunday’s matinee is for grown ups to bring their babes in arms to – a ‘baby friendly’ seating set up will be in play and the performance will be relaxed, so there’s no need to squirm if they grizzle!

The hour-long show is one filled with adult content which will cover postnatal depression and has mentions of baby loss. Therefore, it’s not suitable for babies over the age of 12 months.

Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan team up for twice the laughter (Derngate, May 15), Ben Fogle (Derngate, May 17) returns with Wild, a show full of hope, simplicity and harmony, and Jimmy Carr is back on May 19. It sold out months ago. Not so funny now, huh?! Northampton Musical Theatre Company are back (May 20) with Guys and Dolls at The Royal. Speaking of royal things, historian, broadcaster and Chief Curator of The Tower of London, Tracy Borman will take you on an audio visual tour of 1000 years of Kings and Queens, the good, the bad, the great and the mad (Derngate, May 21).

From William the Conqueror to Charles III, this show will pack plenty in; birth, romance, beheading, coronation, abdication, marriage, divorce, disaster and triumph.

In 2022, Johannes Radebe came to Northampton and sizzled in his first solo show. The tour was a smash hit, and now the Strictly star is back for more full-on roar, in Freedom Unleashed

A colourful melting pot of South African rhythms and party anthems will pulsate in this celebration of culture, passion and freedom with a man who is every bit as down-to-earth and lovely as he is talented.

The folks behind the experiential evening Do You Believe in Ghosts? promise to raise the hairs on your arms and send chills down the back of your neck with a dark night of spooky stories at The Old Savoy (May 26), and then everyone’ favourite blaze quencher, Fireman Sam will visit (May 31, midday and 3pm).

This time Fireman Sam Saves The Circus in Pontypandy, and he’ll be joined by some familiar faces; Penny, Elvis, Station Officer Steele and Norman will all play their part in the action-packed hour-long show. Get the kids a ticket for this, and you’ll definitely be in their good books.