FILM star Charles Laughton and his highly unusual relationship with his actress wife . . .

The story of how prom dances have infiltrated Scottish life and left their mark on so many people – and not in a good way . . .

What two couples are really up to when they have an affair in a motorway budget hotel . . .

Yes, the curtain is set to rise on the spring season of Oran Mor’s Play, Pie and a Pint lunchtime theatre.

And as always, there’s a range of plays on offer that will surprise and delight.

The season begins on January 25 with Causeway by Victoria Bianchi. And it manages to combine the suffragette movement and Robert Burns.

“It’s the true story of how a couple of suffragettes tried to blow up Burns’ cottage,” says producer Susannah Armitage.

“It’s very much an Oran Mor-style play with comedy and some Burns music thrown in, and we hope that will get our season off to a great start.”

The debate about Burns’ view of women – played out by Beth Marshall and Stephanie McGregor is in the very least intriguing.

But of course Oran Mor loves variety and the following play on February 1 offers great contrast.

It features Judy Garland and the relationship with her mother.

Frances and Ethel is a dark tale offering a real showbiz insight, with gifted vocalist Frances Thorburn as Judy and Alison Peebles playing the showbiz mum who lives vicariously.

John Kielty plays a range of roles in the play, as well as the piano.

The next play on Ferbruary however breaks new ground for Oran Mor. Face – Isobel, and Face – Morag are two concurrent plays by writer Peter Arnott, both featuring Janette Foggo as middle-aged twin sisters.

“The plays stand alone as monologue pieces, but they also connect. One sister has left her husband and spends her money on cruises and toyboys. The other, Morag, is single and has spent her life looking after her ailing mother.

“It will be really interesting to see how the double-play concept works.”

Another highlight is Mr and Mrs Laughton, the tale of Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester.

“The writer Michael-Alan Read wanted to come up with this play because it mirrors his own story, of a gay man who marries a woman, and then meets a man.

“But it’s also a great insight into the showbiz world of the period.”

Casting is not complete for most of the new season, but the storylines alone are grabbing.

That’s certainly the case with Prom, running March 21, and it focuses on the Americanisation of Scottish schools’ final celebration.

“It’s written from the perspective of a group of thirtysomethings looking back and it’s quite dark in places,” says Susannah.

“It looks at how school kids set up these layers, like castes almost, who judge others who are not in their clique.

“And the delight is adults are talking about the prom, which gives it real resonance.”

Writer actress Anita Vettesse has already proved she can write a play that grabs an audience by the neck.

Her new comedy play Ring Road features a female who lures her brother-in-law to a Travelodge so she can be impregnated.

As you do.

What is different about this year’s Oran Mor offerings however is that there is no season of foreign plays. It seems the pie and pint theatre goers didn’t have the appetite for a clutch of works from the likes of China or Eastern Europe.

That’s not to say there’s a cultural xenophobia creeping it; quality control is key, and from April 11, feature a new Brazilian play There Is Someone Who Hates Us.

On April 25, Selkie features the tale of a young man who goes home to the islands to see his dad. So far so normal.

But Role Shift, beginning May 16 is “completely bonkers.”

The co-production with Birds of Paradise Theatre Company is a romantic comedy set on a cruise ship.

It features a couple played by Robert Softley Gale (who has cerebral palsy) and Louise Ludgate, who have an affair.

“There is also a mischievious fairy godmother who become involved in the goings-on,” says Susannah, with a revealing grin.

“But I don’t want to say anymore because it will spoil it.”

The final play of the season is by Hector Macmillan, who created The Sash.

Jessie’s Viola is a gentle play about a viola maker and the true value of music.

“Hopefully there’s a lot of variety in the mix,” says Susannah of the plays revealed.

“We want to offer something for everybody, and keep the standard high.”