Culture Digest 28.03.25
Our regular round up of some of the arts and culture stories from across the North East, which caught our attention over the past seven days
Smoggie Queens gets a (very sparkly) green light for series two
Glitter pens and sequin-decked diaries at the ready… the glorious Smoggie Queens are coming back later this year!
The award-winning BBC Three comedy, which won an army of fans when it debuted at the end of 2024, has been recommissioned for a second series.
Written by and starring Middlesbrough-born Phil Dunning - who won Best Newcomer at the region’s Royal Television Society awards while also joining the rest of the team on stage to collect the trophy for Best Comedy - the series will once again be set and shot on Teesside.
And if that wasn’t enough good news for the Teesside queens this week, Phil also secured a trio of BAFTA nominations in the categories of Best Male Performance in a Comedy; Writer: Comedy; and Emerging Talent: Fiction.
Music queen, Self Esteem books date with Tyneside
Newcastle 02 City Hall will host award-winning artist, Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor) when she embarks on a UK tour in the autumn.
Tickets for the September 18 date are now on sale (we really wouldn’t hang around if you’re wanting one).
The tour announcement coincided with the release of new single, If Not Now, It’s Soon - the third from her eagerly-anticipated album A Complicated Woman, out on April 25.
New sculptures celebrate Sunderland’s industrial heritage
Two artworks by Durham sculptor Ray Lonsdale have been unveiled on the banks of the River Wear.
Years in the making, It Says Here stands almost three metres high, depicting two shipyard workers eating their lunch and reading about the closure of the yards.
The second piece, Launch Day is set decades later and showcases a young girl and her grandfather - one of the men from the first sculpture - as he looks out over the river and reminisces about his days in the shipyards.
Both have been installed at the University of Sunderland's St Peter’s Campus and are part of the city’s Sculpture Trail, which. runs along the final part of the Coast to Coast route.
Late Shows programme confirmed
The details of Newcastle and Gateshead’s after hours culture crawl have been released.
Now in its 17th year, The Late Shows 2025 will take place across more than 70 music and performance venues, art studios, galleries, and museums across Newcastle and Gateshead on the evenings of May 16 and 17.
May 16 events will be confined to the Ouseburn while May 17 will see locations in Gateshead and Newcastle city centre getting involved.
As ever, free bus shuttle services will make sure people can get around to everything they want to see.
The full programme is available to view on the website.
A new chapter starts for The Lindisfarne Story
A new chapter of The Lindisfarne Story opened this week with a raft of North East shows still to come.
We had a chat with Ray Laidlaw and Billy Mitchell who are chatting all things Nicely Out of Tune for 2025.
Pit disaster centenary to be commemorated
A memorial day will take place this weekend to mark the centenary of a Newcastle mining disaster which claimed 38 lives.
The event tomorrow (Saturday) will recall the catastrophe on March 30, 1925, which struck the Montagu Pit in Scotswood.
Local organisations have joined to hold a 2pm memorial service preceded by a drop-in from 10.30am-1pm at St Margaret’s, the parish church of Scotswood, with displays of old photographs, maps, documents, paintings, poetry, digital story, pottery models and access to a memorial garden.
Laughter and life stories in store at Laurels
Three women. Three walks of life. One levelling disease.
Find out more about the upcoming premiere production at the Whitley Bay venue.
'An incredible once in a lifetime archaeological find'
Details of a vast hoard of items which have opened up a window on to Iron Age life and society have been revealed by North East archaeologists.
A team from Durham University, with specialist support from the British Museum, has spent two months meticulously excavating what is one of the largest and most important Iron Age finds ever made in the UK.
Around 800 items buried in two deposits in a field are providing insights into northern Iron Age society, technology, wealth, power and travel.
Read more: It’s a deal! 17th century playing card sells for £250
Lauren Laverne on the relief of being cancer free
Broadcaster and Wearside treasure, Lauren Laverne has spoken about her cancer journey, following an emotional return to the BBC Radio 6 airwaves earlier this year.
The Sunderland presenter has given an extensive interview with Good Housekeeping magazine in which she talks about how her experience has given her a new appreciation of the ‘music of family life’.
Last summer, the 46-year-old revealed that she had been diagnosed with an unspecified cancer during a screening test, adding that it had been caught early and she was expected to make a full recovery.
The full interview appears in the current edition of Good Housekeeping, available now.
Tickets on sale soon for Theatre Royal 2026 shows
Theatre Royal shows come thick and fast with Matthew Bourne fans particularly well catered for, the current run of his famous Swan Lake (tickets in short supply for every performance this week and until April 5) to be followed quite swiftly by The Midnight Bell
In related news, the Theatre Royal will be opening its doors to the public for a special Open Day from 10am to 3pm on April 17, offering visitors the rare chance to explore the venue and meet the team who keep everything running.
Expert tours, history talks, stage management demos, craft workshops and - of course - and Easter egg hunt will be among the loveliness on offer.
This will be the first time walk-in visitors will have been welcomed to the Grey Street theatre since the pandemic.
Look out for our full preview nearer the time.
Read more: Curated Culture 25.03.25 - Our latest what’s on suggestions
Celebrating 10 years since the Old Low Light got a new lease of life
A historic building saved from demolition is now celebrating a decade as a heritage centre.
The listed Old Low Light at North Shields – rebuilt around 1727 - ceased to function as a lighthouse in 1810.
What is now the oldest surviving building on the town’s Fish Quay had several uses over the ensuing years, but after the last occupants left in 2011, the future looked bleak.
But volunteers rallied round and now the restored listed building will celebrate its 10th anniversary tomorrow (Saturday, March 29), as the volunteer-created Old Low Light heritage centre.
Dalek, witch and Spiderman – new at the NGCA
“I’ve a feeling this is going to be a popular show because there’s something in it for everybody,” said Nick Malyan, chief executive of Sunderland Culture, standing beneath a textile picture of two penguins and within extermination range of a Dalek.
Dance grants put a spring in the step
Determined to keep dance on the agenda in the county, Northumberland Dance Development Fund has announced ‘micro grants’ of up to £3,000 to eight professional dance artists and companies.
The fund is managed by The Maltings (Berwick) Trust in partnership with Queen’s Hall, Hexham, and Alnwick Playhouse.
The grants, awarded following an open call in December, are designed to stimulate and develop dance projects and community focused dance activities in Northumberland this year.
Creative Central NCL invites applications for Newcastle Pride commissions
Artists, creatives and performers are being invited to apply for two £2.5K commissions to create work for Newcastle Pride 2025.
All applications should include a performance or event/showcase to happen during Newcastle Pride Fringe (June 6 - July 18) within the Creative Central NCL footprint; table an idea which responds to the theme Unapologetically Visible.
There are also 3 x £750 Get Ready grants available for artists and creatives who want to showcase their work during the Newcastle Pride 2025 Fringe.
The opportunities are being offered in partnership with Northern Pride and Curious Arts. Details and guidelines are available via the Creative Central NCL Commissions page.
Revamped venue well worth a pilgrimage this spring
International DJs, brass-fuelled club classics, fiery funk from north of the border and a bunch of soul brothers back where they belong — that’s just a snapshot of new-look PILGRIM’s packed April programme.
Laurels launches charity gala
Good times (and good cause) seekers are being invited to save the date for Laurels Theatre’s inaugural fundraising summer gala.
Booked for the Grand Hotel in Gosforth Park on July 5, the event has been organised to officially launch Laurels’ charity.
Guests are bring promised “an unforgettable evening of music, entertainment, and fundraising - all in support of our charity’s future”.
Find out all about it - and book tickets if you fancy - via the website.
Connecting through shared heritage
A grant scheme has been launched for community projects at 20 heritage sites in the North East.
British Food Awards to get fired up in Sunderland
The world’s ‘biggest street food competition’ will park up at The Fire Station in May.
Launched in 2009, the event celebrates and recognises the best of the UK’s 10,000 street food sellers and is coming to Wearside for the first time.
The northern heats will take place over the bank holiday weekend from May 23-25 with live music and DJs - coming courtesy of Sunderland Music City - making sure all the amazing tastes are served with top tunes.
Tickets are free, but should be claimed via The Fire Station website.