Adventurer and explorer Benedict Allen will tell an audience in Swindon the whole unvarnished truth of his most recent adventure – a solo expedition to Papua New Guinea when he hit the headlines for seeming to disappear.

He was filming his journey to visit a community he had befriended thirty years earlier – but when he failed too turn up for a flight to Hong Kong, his friends and family, and eventually the world media, became concerned for his wellbeing.

Benedict will recall the highs and lows of this awe-inspiring trip, tell exhilarating tales from his life as an explorer and show never-before-seen material from his travels across the globe.

The son of a test pilot, Benedict shares his father's desire to get out there on a clear mission, then report back. He believes that we all, in our own way, share this explorer instinct to investigate the unknown and that it is part of what makes us human.

Aged 24, for example, he decided to undergo a harrowing 'crocodile' male initiation ceremony in Papua New Guinea in order to understand something of the forest world of the Niowra.

He and the indigenous initiates were locked away, force-fed, extensively scarified over their chest and back, and beaten everyday (often four times a day) for six weeks.

Tickets for the show at the Wyvern Theatre on Tuesday cost £21. To book, call 01793 524481 or visit swindontheatres.co.uk.