Curated Culture 12.11.24
Our weekly cultural casserole featuring our what's on selection from venues and attractions across North East England
Hello and welcome to this week’s serving of suggestions and selections from the North East’s stages and cultural venues.
This is the inbox drop which tables at least a double handful of things which we think are worth your time over the next fortnight or so.
It’s also a handy recap for everything we’ve highlighted in previous Curated Culture newsletters, which is STILL SHOWING, as well as an excellent forward planning tool thanks to our NOW BOOKING section.
Thanks for chipping in with your own recommendations - it’s always great to hear what you’re looking forward to!
For this week’s newsletter prizedraw, which offers Cultured. North East subscribers the exclusive chance to win tickets to something great, we’ve got a pair of tickets for Robin Morgan: The Spark at The Stand Newcastle on December 8 at 5pm.
More information and details of how to enter can be found at the end… but make sure you take a slow scroll through everything between here and there before you do anything else!
Thanks as always for your support and shares… it’s very much appreciated.
See you soon
Sam and Dave*
*Like Chas and Dave but with less hair and better accents
PS: If you haven’t liked/followed/high fived us on our socials, you can rectify that on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter
EVENT: AGLOW at Auckland Palace
Where: Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland
When: November 22-December 31
Bookings and info: aucklandproject.org
The festive trail which saw Bishop Auckland basking in thousands of lights is back this November and December with a range of new installations and an updated route.
Organised by The Auckland Project, AGLOW will feature 22 glittering installations guiding visitors of all ages through the parkland.
There will also be a new indoor event inside the historic confines of Auckland Castle. Christmas at the Palace will see 12 of the Castle’s rooms all dressed up for the festivities.
THEATRE: Only Fools and Horses - The Musical
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: November 25-30
Bookings and info: Sunderland Empire website
This time next week Rodders… we’ll be preparing to see a smash hit musical production of a beloved sitcom institution.
Del Boy, Rodney, Grandad, Raquel, Marlene, Boycie, Trigger, Denzil are among the iconic TV characters taking to the stage in the musical, which boasts a script and original score written by Jim Sullivan - the son of TV series creator, John - and comedy treasure, Paul Whitehouse, who played the role of Grandad in the hit West End run.
The production will be back in the region - at Newcastle Theatre Royal - from Feb 10-22, 2025.*
*While Paul Whitehouse is joining the UK tour for some dates, Sunderland and Newcastle aren’t among them.
Read more: Review - Hairspray at Newcastle Theatre Royal
MUSIC: Waves Festival
Where: The Fire Station and other Sunderland venues
When: November 16
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Wearside singer Tom A. Smith, Miles Kane (Last Shadow Puppets) and Red Rum Club are headlining this year’s WAVES Festival, which returns to Sunderland city centre for the fourth time at the weekend.
The all-day, multi-venue event will see around 40 local, national and international acts take to eight stages.
Promoter, Ben Richardson, says: “For the first time since starting Waves, we feel that we have something to really build on and can have a year of consolidation, another good lineup and hopefully another good day rather than drastically growing the festival each year. The rest of this year's line-up is really good and as always I’ll encourage people to get a wristband and head out as early as possible, bounce between the venues and find your new favourite band.”
The Fire Station, Pop Recs and Independent are among the eight venues taking part.
SCREEN: Mycelial
Where: Online screenings
When: November 25-December 17
Bookings and info: openclasp.ticketco.events
Newcastle-based all-woman theatre company, Open Clasp brings its first major international co-production to the screen later this month.
Co-created with sex worker activists from Aotearoa/New Zealand, Ireland and the UK, Mycelial - which played Northern Stage last October - is about an underground community of sex workers scattered across the globe and ‘rooted in their fight for justice, standing together, deciding enough is enough’.
Billed as ‘activism and theatre at its best’, a film of Catrina McHugh and Laura Lindow’s production will be available to watch online from November 25 - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women to December 17.
EVENT: Ouseburn Open Studios
Where: Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle
When: November 23 and 24
Bookings and info: ouseburnopenstudios.org
Preparations are underway* for the cast-iron loveliness which is Ouseburn Open Studios.
The popular two-day event, which sees artists and makers open up their creative studio spaces, has stitched, painted, printed, sculpted and crafted its way into Tyneside’s cultural – and shopping – calendar as artists and makers invite the public in to see what they do, and hopefully take some of it home with them.
The pre-Christmas incarnation (there’s one in the Spring too) always offers a chance for some festive shopping – but at the same time, it should also serve as a reminder that there is an army of artists and creators working hard and selling the results all year round. Ouseburn Open Studios are not just for Christmas!
*We’re assuming this translates to a period of frantic tidying akin to the activity seen by students during the days between an all-night party and a parental visit.
Read more: Review - Fixing at Alphabetti Theatre
THEATRE: It’s A Wonderful Life
Where: People’s Theatre, Newcastle
When: November 19 to 23
Bookings and info: peoplestheatre.co.uk
Cinema screenings of Frank Capra’s classic film of 1946 have become part of the Christmas scene. But how many people knew there was a play?
Mary Elliott Nelson’s adaptation was first performed in 2000. Reading Rep Theatre revived it last Christmas and a production opens in Liverpool on the same night as this.
The plot, taken from a short story loosely based on A Christmas Carol, begins with honest George Bailey contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve until a guardian angel, Clarence, intervenes.
In the film, incidentally, Clarence was played by Henry Travers (starring opposite James Stewart as George) who was born in Prudhoe.
Sam Hinton plays George in this amateur production with Clarence assigned to Tony Sehgal.
FESTIVAL: Books on Tyne - John Suchet
Where: Lit & Phil, Newcastle
When: November 28, 6pm
Bookings and info: litandphil.org.uk
John Suchet will be at the annual book festival in Newcastle to talk about his latest homage to his favourite composer, In Search of Beethoven.
With the subtitle A Personal Journey, it tells as much about the author as it does about Beethoven, about whom Suchet has written extensively over many years.
Suchet, now 80, can look back over a varied life as journalist, broadcaster, author and lover of classical music. It’s there in the book and should make for an entertaining session at the Lit & Phil.
Read more: ‘You shouldn’t have to put yourself into debt to tell a story about debt’
THEATRE: Wolf!
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: November 23 to January 4, 2025
Bookings and info: northernstage.co.uk
Kitchen Zoo have taken inspiration from Aesop’s Fable for this family production - recommended for under fives - which is presented in association with Northern Stage.
A wintery adventure is in store exploring the fall out when Jack - who couldn’t be more bored of sheep - cries WOLF! (aka the word the village folk won’t even whisper).
Expect original music, puppetry and ‘a tale you thought you knew’.
MUSIC: Glen Matlock
Where: Gosforth Civic Theatre
When: November 23
Bookings and info: gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
The Sex Pistols’ original bassist, who co-wrote a lion’s share of Never Mind the Bollocks… (including God Save The Queen and Anarchy in the UK, has booked an autumn date with Newcastle.
Glen Matlock, who went on to form Rich Kids with Midge Ure, Rusty Egan and Steve New before beginning his solo career, was on the book promo trail last year, introducing his memoir, Triggers: A Life in Music. But now he’s back on stage living the life which gave him all the stories.
Read more: Exhibition explores the changing face of photography
FAMILY: Disney on Ice - Road Trip Adventures
Where: Utilita Arena, Newcastle
When: November 20-24
Bookings and info: utilitaarena.co.uk
The annual arrival of a Disney cast, who all bring their ice skates - and some serious on-ice skills - never fails to draw parades of thousands of mini Disney character devotees to the Arena in Newcastle as winter starts to creep in.
This year, under the loose narrative of a roadtrip, Mickey, Minnie and pals will invite audiences to drop in on scenes from a host of Disney tales including Frozen, Toy Story 4, Moana, Incredibles 2, Aladdin, The Lion King and Mary Poppins Returns.
Read more: ‘Mega’ musical Miss Saigon a coup for Newcastle Theatre Royal
THEATRE: A Play and a Pasty
Where: Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay
When: November 14, 21 and 28
Bookings and info: laurelswhitley.co.uk
If you’re looking for a lovely, fulfilling - and thrifty - way to spend a Thursday afternoon, then you’ve found it.
Laurels in Whitely Bay launched its Play and Pasty sessions earlier this year - offering audiences the chance to sit back and enjoy something to eat, something to drink and something to watch - namely a rehearsed ready of a play - all for a fiver.
You might see the beginnings of the next big thing, a star of the stage or a revival of a classic story from the past(y).
CLASSICAL: A Child of Our Time
Where: The Glasshouse Gateshead
When: November 24
Bookings and Info: theglasshouseicm.org
Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time blends African-American spirituals into a giant classical work for chorus and orchestra with echoes of Bach and Handel. Written at the outbreak of World War Two it is a much-needed warning from history in these uncertain times: It is a piece of music about oppression that carried a universal, connecting resonance today.
An all-star cast includes veteran bass-baritone Sir Willard White, County Durham-born Dame Sarah Connolly and 2021 Cardiff Singer of the World Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha. They team up with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and massed choral forces under Denis Souza to make this the musical event of the autumn.
EXHIBITION : Sheila Fell – Cumberland on Canvas
Where: Tullie House, Carlisle
When: November 23 to March 16, 2025
Bookings and info: tullie.org.uk
There are unlikely to be many North East art lovers who won’t want to see this first major retrospective of Sheila Fell’s work for more than 30 years.
It brings together 100 works from private and public collections including Tate, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Academy, Abbot Hall and the Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton where Sheila was a pupil.
It has been curated by Eleanor and Andrew Bradley who have compiled a comprehensive catalogue of Fell’s work due to be published in the spring.
Fell (1931-79) is regarded as a significant artist of the 20th Century and one of Cumbria’s finest. She grew up in Aspatria and the landscape inspired her for all of her relatively short life. LS Lowry was an admirer of her work.
If you can wait, the exhibition is to transfer to Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens after it closes in Carlisle.
STILL SHOWING
Festival: Being Human, multiple venues, until Nov 16
Theatre: War Horse, Sunderland Empire, Nov 5-16
Theatre: The Cramlington Trainwreckers, various venues regionwide, Nov 7-16
Theatre: The Watch House, various North East venues, Nov 13-16
Theatre: Gwyneth Goes Skiing, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Nov 13-16
Classical: Electric Arcade, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Nov 14
Spoken Word: Remembering Victoria Wood, The Witham, Barnard Castle, Nov 15
Theatre: Many Happy Returns!, various Northumberland venues, Nov 15-22
Comedy: The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot, Dance City, Newcastle, Nov 16
Music: Newcastle upon Tyne Bach Choir, King’s Hall, Newcastle University, Nov 17
Music: The Libertines, Stockton Globe, Nov 18
Exhibition: Framing Fashion, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 2, 2025
Exhibition: Romance to Realities: The Northern Landscapes and Shifting Identities, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until April 26, 2025
Exhibition: Brian Hutchinson: A Retrospective, ARC, Stockton until Nov 16
Exhibition: Joanne Coates - Middle of Somewhere, BALTIC, until Nov 17
Comedy: Stand Up For Changing Lives, The Stand Newcastle, Nov 19
Dance: Play, Pause, Repeat, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Nov 21
Festival: Williams Shield Festival, Lit and Phil and other venues, until Nov 28
Exhibition: Hannah Perry - Manual Labour, BALTIC, until Jan 19, 2025
Screen: Prima Facie: National Theatre Live, various North East cinemas, until Dec 5
Exhibition: Ted Holloway - A Bevin Boy Remembered, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until June 8, 2025
Exhibition: Mali Morris - Returning, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle, until Jan 11, 2025
NOW BOOKING
Nov 26: Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Newcastle 02 City Hall
Nov 28: Christmas Choir Concert For Age UK North Tyneside, Playhouse, Whitley Bay
Nov 29: Jamie Cullum, Sage One, The Glasshouse
Nov 29: Will Young, Sage Two, The Glasshouse
Nov 30-Jan 4: A Christmas Carol, Northern Stage, Newcastle
Dec 3-21: Present, Live Theatre, Newcastle
Dec 6: Bad Manners, Boiler Shop, Newcastle
Dec 6: Rob Heron and the Teapad Orchestra, The Cluny, Newcastle
Dec 7: The Great Ouseburn Caper, Ouseburn Valley
Dec 7: Home Alone in Concert, Sage One, The Glasshouse
Dec 7: Culture Club, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Dec 10: PP Arnold, Middlesbrough Town Hall
Dec 11: Sam Ryder, Stockton Globe
Dec 19 to 21: Who Stole the Christmas Pud?, Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
Dec 20 to 22: The Velveteen Rabbit, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Dec 22: The Snowman in concert with The EverReady Band, The Fire Station, Sunderland
2025
Jan 11: Tony Law: The Law Also Rises, The Stand, Newcastle
Jan 24: The Simon and Garfunkel Story, Queen’s Hall Hexham
Jan 30: Jason Manford: A Manford All Seasons, Darlington Hippodrome
Feb 1: David O’Doherty: Tiny Piano Man, Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
Feb 4: James Bay, Newcastle 02 City Hall
Feb 5: Craig David, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Feb 26: George Lewis: The Best Thing You’ll Ever Do, The Fire Station, Sunderland
Feb 15: Elkie Brooks - The Long Farewell Tour, Sage One, The Glasshouse
Mar 2: The Futureheads, BoilerShop, Newcastle
Mar 4 and 6: Alison Moyet, Stockton Globe and Sage One, The Glasshouse, respectively
Mar 5-8: Rupture, Live Theatre, Newcastle
Mar 15: Arthur Smith & Clare Ferguson Walker, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Mar 18: The Shark is Broken, Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Mar 21: Henning Wehn: Acid When, Playhouse, Whitley Bay
Mar 22: Danny & The Champions of the World, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Mar 30: Zoe Lyons: Werewolf, The Stand, Newcastle
Apr 3: North East Football Stole our Hearts - Michael Chaplin & Harry Pearson, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Apr 3: Eddi Reader, The Fire Station, Sunderland
Apr 4: Gabrielle, Newcastle 02 City Hall
Apr 10: Megson, Queen’s Hall Hexham
Apr 22 to 27: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Sunderland Empire
May 22-24: The Bench, Gala Theatre Durham
Jun 17 to Jul 26: Hamilton, Sunderland Empire
Jul 12 to Aug 9: The Book of Mormon, Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Oct 20: An Evening with Mary Beard, Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
2026
Mar 6: Chris McCausland: Yonks!, Darlington Hippodrome
COMPETITION TIME
Welcome to our latest newsletter prizedraw, offering our subscribers an exclusive opportunity to win tickets to see or do something great.
This week, we’ve got a pair of tickets to see stand-up comic Robin Morgan’s latest show, The Spark at The Stand Newcastle on December 8 at 5pm.
You may have seen him on Mock The Week (R.I.P) or heard him on Radio Four’s The News Quiz. You may have laughed at jokes he’s written for Have I Got News For You or enjoyed his hosting of the topical panel show What Just Happened? (if you listen to BBC Radio Wales).
You might not have seen him live though - this latest tour is his biggest to date.
Previous shows have seen him mine his personal life (proposals, marriage, kids, a vasectomy) for laughs. This time he’s delving into the question of how to keep those life-spanning sparks alive.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: SPARKTASTIC before midday (12pm) on Thursday, November 28, 2024.
The winner, who will be selected at random, will be notified within 24 hours of the entry deadline.
Terms and conditions: Only subscribers to the Cultured. North East newsletter are eligible to enter the Newsletter Prize Draw competition. Prizes are as stated - subject to availability - and non-transferable. No cash alternatives will be offered. You must be over 18 years of age to enter. The Editor’s decision is final.