This weeks entertainment roundup!

Here are some events coming up in Monmouthshire, Brecon and the Forest of Dean you don’t want to miss.

For more upcoming events, please email: [email protected]

Resident doctor on BBC One's Morning Live, award-wining presenter on Operation Ouch and host on the weekly BBC Sounds podcast What's Up, Docs? Xand van Tulleken will talk about his first book, Make Me Well at the Blake Theatre, Monmouth on Wednesday 28th October 7pm.

He takes a deep dive into the wellness industry, covering supplements, wearable technology, consumer genomics, and more. Full of original reporting, colourful characters and actionable answers to individual health questions, Make Me Well shines a light on how people can take care of themselves better in this new and overwhelming world of wellness.

Tickets for the event can be purchased from any Rossiter Books branch or from rossiterbooks.co.uk and 01600 775 572.

Contact Carol Bloomfield [email protected] for more information.

A POPULAR off-road cycling challenge is returning to entertain the Forest of Dean and its visitors for another year.

The challenge, known as the Wild Boar Chase, will be heading to Speech House Field on Sunday, September 20 in its 14th running of the event.

It is organised entirely by volunteers from Severn Dean Lions Club and Forest of Dean Lions Club. Every penny of profit goes to good causes in the Forest of Dean. Many tracks used are ones you may not see on the road.

Organisers said that since its inception, the two Lions clubs have raised over £150,000 for local charities, youth groups and families in need.

More information can be found on the Wild Boar Chase website.

FORESTERS will rock Cinderford in October, as a charity fundraiser comes to the Miners Welfare Hall.

The event from 7pm on Saturday, October 17, called 60 Diamond Years of Forest Rock, looks to raise funds for charity Hope For Tomorrow, towards its mobile cancer care units (MCCU).

The cause is one close to the heart of many Foresters. One of these MCCUs stops in the Forest of Dean, typically on Wednesdays at Cinderford’s Community Hospital, and is ideal for locals who cannot travel to Cheltenham Oncology.

The event itself has an intriguing history, with the first of its kind launching in 1991. Organisers explained it initially happened as during the 1960’s and 1970’s, live entertainment in local pubs, clubs and halls was the ‘in-thing’.

Bands like The Castelles, Kilgaron, Network, Rob and The Zeroes, Sundown and Tanglefoot, Dancing at the Discotheque, and Pete's Beat Disco were all out entertaining people in the Forest of Dean and beyond.

Mountaineer Simon Yates will share stories from decades of expeditions around the world when he brings his talk, My Mountain Life, to Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells.

Yates is best known for his involvement in the dramatic 1985 expedition to Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, where he cut the rope connecting him to his injured climbing partner Joe Simpson, who was left dangling 50 metres below.

The decision played a crucial part in their survival and was later recounted in Simpson’s bestselling book Touching the Void, which was also made into a film and stage production.

The experience did not put Yates off mountaineering. He has continued to climb and guide in some of the world’s most remote mountain ranges, travelling from the Arctic and Antarctic to Alaska and Central Asia.

His evening in Builth Wells will feature photographs and film from his expeditions, alongside stories of the drama, challenges and rewards of modern lightweight alpinism.

Organisers describe the event as a humorous and fascinating evening suitable for both regular theatre-goers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Simon Yates: My Mountain Life takes place at Wyeside Arts Centre on Sunday, October 25, at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £20, plus a £1 administration fee. Wyeside Gen Z members can attend for £5, with limited availability for the offer.

Tickets are available through the Wyeside Arts Centre box office, with the Gen Z offer available for a limited time.

A taste of Victorian music hall entertainment is coming to Llandrindod Wells as part of this year’s Victorian Festival.

“A Trip to the Music Hall” will take place at The Albert Hall at 7.30pm on Wednesday, August 26, with Andrew McKay and Carole Etherton bringing the sights and sounds of the Victorian stage to the town.

The costumed performance will feature familiar songs, less well-known numbers and plenty of audience participation, with a watchful chairman keeping proceedings in order.

McKay and Etherton have years of experience in stage vocals and will also bring the concertina, an instrument which became popular during the Victorian era, to the performance.

Audience members are encouraged to dress in Victorian-style clothing, although costumes are not essential.

The performance will last approximately two hours, including an interval. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over.

Tickets cost £12, with unreserved seating.

The event forms part of the 2026 Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival, which runs from August 24 to 30.