Culture digest 25.10.24
A weekly round up of some of the arts and culture stories from across the North East which have caught our attention
Maxine Peake at Live Theatre
A Live Encounter with excellent actress, Maxine Peake has been booked for November 2 at Live Theatre in Newcastle.
Maxine, whose back catalogue of roles stretches from Dinnerladies and Shameless to Black Mirror and Hamlet, will be in conversation with Live’s artistic director, Jack McNamara ahead of the final performance of Saint Maud.
Tickets via the website
Read more: Newcastle Gateshead Music City plan to enrich everyone’s lives
Finalists unveiled for the North East Culture Awards 2024
Celebrations are going on all over the region’s arts and culture communities after the shortlists for this year’s North East Culture Awards were revealed this week.
Nominees include Hannah Walker, Natalie MacGillvray and Rachel Stockdale in the Performing Artist of the Year category; Daniel Hinds, Hannah Walker (doing the double) and Isabel Maria who are in the running for the Newcomer nod; and Alexandra Carr & Colin Rennie, Lady Kitt and Lewis Hobson who have been shortlisted for the Visual Artist award.
Other categories include Performance of the Year, Best Event or Exhibition, the Special Award For Young Achievement and the Outstanding Contribution Award.
All the winners will be revealed at what is always a smashing ceremony, on November 28.
The awards are returning to The Fire Station, Sunderland and tickets are still available for anyone who wants to join in with the applause.
Congratulations to all the nominated finalists… we look forward to back-patting you in person at the ceremony, where Cultured. North East will be presenting an award.
The full list of runners and riders can be found here.
North East writer’s play to open new season at The New Vic
An innovative and immersive play which blends apocalyptic drama with a pub quiz has been snapped up by the New Vic Theatre for its new season.
Written by Newcastle playwright, Alison Carr, The Last Quiz Night on Earth, which has had a number of successful outings since it debuted in 2020, will play the London venue from February 8-March 1, 2025.
So if you’re planning a visit to the capital, get it on your list. Tickets, which go on sale today (Oct 25) are available here.
Read more: Helen Russell, 1924-2024
How chimps are benefiting from the art of the Biro
An exhibition initiated by Jane Lee McCracken, Northumberland-based ballpoint artist and founder of the charity Drawing for the Planet, has opened at the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham.
It is called Chimpanzee Community and it features drawings – in ballpoint pen, naturally – by more than 500 schoolchildren in America, the UK (including Belsay School and Ponteland Primary in the North East) and Liberia.
It was organised in partnership with Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue and Protection (LCRP) and Born Free, the international wildlife charity.
Liberia has one of Africa’s largest surviving western chimpanzee populations but the species is nevertheless dangerously close to extinction.
The Hexham exhibition also features a new picture by Jane herself, Gardener of the Forest, an intricate Biro portrait of a chimpanzee which took her many hours to complete. Read more here.
Read more: Writers urge Government to sign off on writing centre scheme
David Almond in the international running for big literary prize
North East author, David Almond has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
This is a global honour, which is annually recognises a person or organisation’s outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature.
Named after the beloved Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays who created Pippy Longstocking among many other beloved stories for children, the award was established in 2002 by the Swedish government to ‘promote every child’s right to great stories’ and is bestowed on those “who continue to work in her spirit: with imagination, bravery, respect and empathy, and maintaining the highest level of artistic excellence”.
It also comes with a prize of five million Swedish kronor - translating to more than £350k - which is the largest award of its kind.
Since 1998 when he gave Skellig to the world, David, who lives in Tynemouth with fellow author, his wife Julia Green, hasn’t stopped delivering acclaimed stories for children and young adults, including Kit’s Wilderness, Heaven Eyes, My Name Is Mina, Clay, The Fire Eaters and Jackdaw Summer.
Having won a cabinet full of prestigious honours, including the Carnegie Medal for Writing; Hans Christian Andersen Award; two Whitbread awards; the Nonino International Prize; and an OBE, David will doubtless be hoping to have to find a space for this one.
There are 265 authors in the mix from all over the world. Others representing the UK include Julia Donaldon, Quentin Blake, Malorie Blackman, Michael Rosen and Juno Dawson. The recipient will be announced in April 2025.
Read more: Review - Saint Maud at Live Theatre
The door(s) are about to open on Doomgate
Nine darkly comic stories, which take place on the same street, are coming to the stage just in time for Halloween.
Doomgate is the collective name for the anthology of tales set to be told at Laurels Theatre in Whitley Bay next week (Oct 29-Nov 2).
They are the work of Hannah Sowerby, Jamie McLeish and Lynne Patrick - aka Carpet Time Productions, a new theatre company formed by the trio who met on BBC Newcastle’s sketch show, Grin Up North.
Taking inspiration from cult staples Inside No. 9, League of Gentlemen and Tales of the Unexpected, Doomgate is set on the Northumbrian town of Mould-on-the-Wall.
Read our interview with the Hannah, Jamie and Lynne here… and you can book tickets for Doomgate via the Laurels website.
Read more: Miners’ banners on display in Durham
Big move for North Tyneside Ukulele Festival
If you can’t resist a ukulele, the best place to be on two red letter November days is North Shields.
The town’s burgeoning Cultural Quarter has nabbed the North Tyneside Ukulele Festival – or at least two thirds of it.
The first two days of the festival, November 8 and 9, will be aiming to raise the roof at the beautifully refurbished Exchange 1856 on Howard Street.
The third and final day, November 10, is scheduled for The Globe, the music venue near Newcastle’s Utilita Arena.
This is the fifth iteration of the festival which was established in 2018 by Bay Uke, the community music group based in Cullercoats which has an 80-strong membership of ukulele players.
Read more here.
Read more: Sketching the past with the present on Hadrian’s Wall
Sugababes book Newcastle date for 2025
Pop trio Sugababes will be going Round Round in Newcastle’s Utilita Arena next spring, having included a Tyneside date on their 2025 tour.
The band, which has become a synonym for changing personnel, has reverted to its origins in recent years, with Siobhan Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan coming back together in 2019.
Since then, there’s been new music to add to back catalogue smashers such as Freak Like Me, Round Round, Hole In The Head and Push The Button as well as live tours… but this one is the biggest yet.
April 16 is the date for the diaries of North East Sugababes fans, who can pick up tickets from today (October 25) from LiveNation’s website.
Read more: Curated Culture 22.10.24 - What’s On recommendations
Django Django book date with North Shields working men’s club
British art rock band Django Django have announced they will play their only gig of 2024 at King Street Social Club in North Shields.
The Are You Affiliated event will take place on December 7 and will feature support from up-and-coming North East-based artist, Lizzie Esau.
Are You Affiliated is an independent music venue operated by North Tyneside-based international DJ Man Power (aka Geoff Kirkwood) who has attracted some big names to North Tyneside over the past couple of years, including Caribou, Skream, Daniel Avery, Optimo, Paranoid London and many more.
Django Django’s appearance signals a new live music era for the venue following a sound system upgrade.
Read more here.
Read more: Review - Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde at People’s Theatre
How Sycamore Gap is printed on the memory at Baltic
It was a natural artwork in the landscape until its sad demise and now the Sycamore Gap tree has a presence at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.
Five prints by artist printmaker Shona Branigan, taken from an almost heart-shaped cross-section of the felled sycamore, have gone on display under the heading Heartwood (Sycamore Gap).
They were commissioned by the National Trust and funded by the North East Combined Authority, with the involvement also of Northumberland National Park Authority, the Hadrian’s Wall Partnership and Historic England.
Read more here.
Read more: WordFest Weekend in Weardale
Dates confirmed for Bishop Auckland Food Festival 2025
North East foodies might want to crack open their 2025 diaries early to make a note of the freshly-announced dates for the next Bishop Auckland Food Festival.
August 12 and 13 will see thousands of people descending on the County Durham market town to wander among a crowd of stalls and street food vans, enjoy guest appearances and get some culinary tips courtesy of live demonstrations.
More than 140 independent traders will set up for the event… and 2025 applications are now open. (Deadline is January 10, 2025)
Cllr Elizabeth Scott, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economy and partnerships, said: “Festival season may have finished for the year, but here in County Durham we are already looking ahead and making exciting preparations for the return of Bishop Auckland Food Festival next year.”
For more information and applications, visit the website.
Hachette Children’s Novel Awards open for entries
Debut writers of middle-grade children’s fiction and early teen fiction should listen up!
The Hachette Children’s Novel Award is accepting entries for a prize which will offer two writers £3k each alongside a programme of mentoring opportunities, a children’s publishing agent and lots of other associated sprinkles.
One award will be given for Middle-grade fiction (approx 8-11 years) and the other for teen fiction (approx 11+).
While not wanting to straight jacket your inspiration, the awards blurb cites romance, comedy, historical fiction, crime, mystery and fantasy to get your started.
The deadline for entries is January 13, 2025. More details here.