Can you handle an axe? The Shoebox Theatre is holding a three-day intensive stage combat course in axe fighting from Friday to Sunday, leading to an industry-recognised qualification. The course provides all you need to perform a gripping armed fight safely and dramatically, whether you are a beginner or continuing to develop your skills. The course, from 10am to 5.30pm each day, costs £125 and is suitable for ages 18 plus. To book, visit shoebox.org.uk.

Comedian Paul Foot presents his new show Image Conscious at the Swindon Arts Centre tonight. Suitable for ages 14 plus, Paul's show ponders the predicament of the soft-shell crab and the catering arrangements for a suburban orgy. Tickets are £16.50.

Two Magpies Theatre presents Ventoux at the Swindon Arts Centre on Friday and Saturday. Ventoux is the most feared mountain on the Tour de France, and the play is the story of Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantini, and their 2000 race. Tickets are £16.50, with concessions available.

The Swindon Recital Series continues on Sunday at the Swindon Arts Centre with Paul Turner, the SRS artistic director, on piano, playing Schubert's monumental Wanderer Fantasy, alongside Beethoven's early Sonata in C and first Ballade by Chopin. The recital begins at 7.30pm and tickets are £16, with concessions available.

The Devil's Bridge, a play based on the chilling story by classic Victorian gothic horror writer Sheridan Le Fanu, is coming to the Swindon Arts Centre on Monday at 7.30pm. The story of 17th century painter Godfried Schalken, it tells how he seeks an apprenticeship with famous artist Gerard Douw and falls in love with his niece Rose. Tickets for the play, presented by Rumpus Theatre Company, cost £15 with concessions available.

Rip It Up brings an explosion of song and dance to the soundtrack of the 1960s at the Wyvern Theatre at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Sunday, featuring Strictly champions Harry Judd, Louis Smith and Aston Merrygold. Tickets are £24.50-£39.50.

The Simon and Garfunkel Story comes to the Wyvern Theatre tonight, direct from its success at the London Lyric Theatre and a sold-out world tour. Using huge projection photographs and original film footage, this 50th anniversary celebration features a full live band performing all the hits, such as Mrs Robinson, Cecilia and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Tickets are £25.50.