Curated Culture 22.10.24
Our weekly signpost to a selection of picks from what's currently on offer from venues and attractions across North East England
Hello and welcome to our latest spotlight selection from North East stages and cultural attractions.
This is the weekly mailout which we recommend you read with your preferred method of time planning close at hand, because you’re going to be beautifully bombarded with ideas for excellent ways to spend your time over the next couple of weeks.
And just in case you’ve forgotten something we mentioned in a previous Curated Culture round-up, you can also find a rundown of everything which has been mentioned and is STILL SHOWING.
Meanwhile if you’re the kind of character who likes to plan ahead, the NOW BOOKING section offers a crowd of stuff from a bit further ahead in the calendar.
Please keep your suggestions coming… rest assured we read and consider them all.
For this week’s newsletter prizedraw, which exists to give Cultured. North East subscribers an exclusive chance to win tickets to something from the top drawer, we’ve got a pair of tickets for Opera North’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Newcastle Theatre Royal on November 6 at 7pm. More information and details of how to enter can be found at the end.
Thanks as always for your support and for contributing to the metaphorical megaphone which is spreading the word about what we’re doing at Cultured. North East. We clocked up our 3,000th subscriber this week.*
*imagine a celebratory party popper right here
See you soon
Sam and Dave*
*Like Chas and Dave but with less hair and better accents
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MUSIC: Leo Sayer: Still Just a Boy Tour
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: October 25
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Leo Sayer will be hoping everyone feels like dancing when he brings his latest show to Wearside this week.
The tour coincides with the release of his autobiography, Just A Boy.
Expect a hit-filled, high-energy conveyor belt including Thunder In My Heart, Moonlighting, One Man Band, I Can’t Stop Loving You, More Than I Can Say, Have You Ever Been in Love, The Show Must Go On, When I Need You, and - of course - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing.
DANCE: Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: October 29-November 2
Bookings and info: www.atgtickets.com
Fans of the hit BBC drama will be lining up for Rambert’s thrilling stage telling of The Redemption of Thomas Shelby, which uniquely captures the ‘Peaky’ story.
Combining top notch performances from the company’s dancers and a classic soundtrack from a live on-stage band (tracks from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Last Shadow Puppets and Radiohead are all in there), this adaptation has been written by series creator, Steven Knight.
The production sees the unfolding of a story in post-war industrial Birmingham as empire-builder Tommy Shelby finds himself intoxicated by mysterious newcomer (and undercover Special Branch operator), Grace.
THEATRE: Nightmares
Where: Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle
When: October 31
Bookings and info: gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
A trio of classic gothic ghost stories promise to bring ‘every horror imaginable’ to the stage.
The Judge’s House by Bram Stoker; The Kit-Bag by Algernon Blackwood; and John Charrington’s Wedding by E Nesbit will all be told by ghost tale gurus, The Book of Darkness & Light. Suitable for 14+
CLASSICAL: Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’
Where: The Glasshouse , Gateshead
When: November 8, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
Austrian Thomas Zehetmair returns to a familiar stage to conduct Royal Northern Sinfonia, of which he was music director and chief conductor until 2014 and is now conductor laureate.
The second part of the programme is dedicated to Beethoven’s sixth symphony, the ‘Pastoral’, whose associations with summer (a cuckoo and folk dancing) will have a nostalgic ring in autumn.
Before that come Overture in C Major by Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Mozart’s ‘Paris’ Symphony, No. 31.
The concert will be repeated at the Sands Centre, Carlisle, on November 9.
THEATRE: Many Happy Returns!
Where: Northumberland, various
When: November 15-22
Bookings and info: eventbrite.com
A new show celebrating 100 years of Northumberland Library Service devised by members of Queen’s Hall Adult Drama Group in Hexham. Directed by the professionals of Théâtre Sans Frontières, it features original music by Janet Longbottom, visuals by Ken Patterson and a set by Alison Ashton (also responsible for Saint Maud at Live Theatre).
Music will be performed by Bridget Enever and Maxine Tomney. See it at Bellingham Town Hall (November 15, 7pm), Rothbury Jubilee Institute (Nov 17, 2.30pm), Allendale Village Hall (Nov 21, 2.30pm) or Haltwhistle Library (Nov 22, 7pm).
EXHIBITION: Framing Fashion
Where: Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle
When: Until March 2, 2025
Bookings and info: thebowesmuseum.org.uk
This exhibition, whose full name is Framing Fashion: Art and Inspiration from a Private Collection of Vivienne Westwood, showcases some of the late fashion designer’s creations on loan from the collection of Peter Smithson.
Set alongside these eye-catching garments are objects from the Bowes collections, showing how Westwood took inspiration from paintings and the techniques used by artists.
Digital deconstructions of some elaborate Westwood creations, showing how the fabric was cut and stitched, were made by tutors and technicians at Northumbria University’s fashion department and provide detailed insight.
SCREEN: Tees Valley International Film Festival
Where: ARC, Stockton
When: November 6-9
Bookings and info: www.tviff.co.uk
The third TVIFF takes place at the beginning of next month, offering a four-day programme of gala screenings, up and coming talent showcases, live events and a parade of well known North East faces.
Actors Mark Benton and Stephen Tompkinson are headlining the festival.
An Evening With… Jill Halfpenny is also on the cards featuring Maimie McCoy (The Three Musketeers and Van Der Valk and Coronation Street’s Bill Fellows.
Meanwhile Auf Wiedersehen, Pet creator Franc Roddam will also be sharing tales from half a century in the film and TV industry including signing on as the director of Quadrophenia and Game of Thrones star Ben Crompton will be talking with Shaun Dooler (Mr Bates and the Post Office).
MUSIC: An intimate night evening with Martin Fry
Where: Queen’s Hall, Hexham
When: November 3
Bookings and info: queenshall.co.uk
Following a sold out theatre tour, ABC’s frontman, Martin Fry is inviting an audience in Hexham to a night filled with stripped back music and conversation.
We’re betting nostalgia-soaked tracks like Poison Arrow, The Look Of Love, All Of My Heart and When Smokey Sings will all be on the setlist along with more from the debut album Lexicon of Love, which put the band on the 80s map on both sides of the Atlantic.
Read more: Preview - Doomgate at Laurels Theatre
MUSIC: Pierrot in the Moonlight
Where: The Glasshouse
When: November 2
Bookings and Info: theglasshouseicm.org
Claire Booth’s fluid and strikingly individual interpretation of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire was the big highlight of this summer’s Corbridge Chamber Music festival – and there’s another chance to catch this strange mix of song, speech and cabaret speech known as sprechgesang in the region this autumn, as well as on disc and download.
Pierrot is a character from the Commedia Del Arte - a combination of innocence, cunning and vice that has inspired many composers. He has also become a calling card for soprano Booth, and a performance she is now taking from the intimate surroundings of St Andrew’s church to Hall 2 at The Glasshouse on 2 November.
THEATRE: An Audience with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: October 28
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Acclaimed historian and TV treasure, Lucy Worsley is following up her sell out Agatha Christie tour with a deep dive into the life of English literature’s most beloved figures.
Using the houses, places and possession which mattered most to her, Lucy explores ‘what home meant’ to Jane and the women like her who we meet among the pages of timeless novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion.
FILM & MUSIC: Psycho in Concert
Where: The Glasshouse
When: October 31 (of course!)
Bookings and Info: theglasshouseicm.org
Hearing a live orchestra play as you enjoy a classic film is a unique thrill the Royal Northern Sinfonia have made their own in recent years.
Performances of The Snowman are firmly established as a North East Christmas Eve family tradition, to which Home Alone with its sumptuous John Williams soundtrack has joyfully been added this year – but for Halloween the Sinfonia has a very grown-up experience planned.
Psycho is coming to The Glasshouse on October 31 … and we bet you can already hear those spine-tingling strings in the back of your head as you are reading this. Not surprising, with that score once voted the scariest film music of all time. Ben Palmer will be the conductor as the Sinfonia keeps up with the on-screen action beat by beat.
MUSIC: The Vaccines
Where: Middlesbrough Town Hall
When: October 29
Bookings and info: boxoffice.middlesbrough.gov.uk
Indie rock band, The Vaccines are returning to the region following a storming headline end-of-the-summer set at Lindisfarne Festival.
They’re touring in support of their sixth album, Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations - which clocks up 10 tracks inside half an hour - so expect a packed setlist featuring back catalogue favourites like Wrekin’ Bar and If You Wanna alongside new favourites-to-be.
Read more: Big Move for North Tyneside Ukulele Festival
THEATRE: The Cramlington Trainwreckers
Where: Various venues all over the North East
When: November 7 to 16
Bookings and info: cramlingtontrainwreckers.co.uk
The story, which started with the infamous derailment of the Flying Scotsman in May 1926, is coming to stages all over the region.
The incident happened a week into the General Strike and resulted in eight Cramlington miners being jailed after their plan to derail a coal train went wrong, resulting in passenger carriages coming off the tracks.
COMEDY: Mark Thomas - Gaffa Tapes
Where: The Stand, Newcastle
When: October 27 (4pm and 8.30pm shows)
Bookings and info: thestand.co.uk
There will be jokes, rants, politics, lots of fun and the odd sing song.
And if that’s not enough from a night at a comedy club, then I don’t think we can help you. Award-winning stand up and world record holding activist, Mark Thomas is back on the road after a hit Edinburgh Fringe run.
STILL SHOWING
Theatre: Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Night 2024, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Oct 24
Event: Led By Donkeys - Adventures in Art, The Exchange 1856, North Shields
Music: Paul Weller, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Oct 24-25
Exhibition: Solidarity Forever: Banners of the Durham Mining Community, Durham Cathedral, Oct 22-Nov 7
Comedy: Dom Joly - The Conspiracy Tour, The Fire Station, Sunderland; The Witham, Barnard Castle; and ARC, Stockton; Oct 23, 24 and November 7, respectively
Exhibition: Illuminated Sheep, Newcastle Cathedral, Oct 22-24
Classical: Beethoven and the Jupiter Symphony, The Glasshouse, Oct 27
Theatre: Chicago, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Oct 28-Nov 2
Comedy: Henry Normal and Nigel Planer, The Witham, Barnard Castle, Oct 24
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: The Human Spaceship – Sea of the Edge, VANE, Gateshead, until Oct 26
Theatre: My Name Is Rachel Corrie, Alphabetti Theatre, until Oct 26 (read our review, here)
Theatre: Saint Maud at Live Theatre, Oct 10-Nov 2 (read our review here)
Events: The Pumpkin Forest at Auckland Castle, until Oct 31
Events: The Glittering North, Raby Castle, Oct 26, 27, 30, 31 and Nov 1-3
Festival: Williams Shield Festival, Lit and Phil and other venues, until Nov 28
Exhibition: Joanne Coates - Middle of Somewhere, BALTIC, until Nov 17
Exhibition: Hannah Perry - Manual Labour, BALTIC, until Jan 19, 2025
Screen: Prima Facie: National Theatre Live, various North East cinemas, until Dec 5
NOW BOOKING
Nov 12-16: Blood Brothers, Darlington Hippodrome
Nov 15: Squeeze 50th Anniversary Tour, Stockton Globe
Nov 15: The Corrs, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Nov 19-23: Dear Evan Hansen, Sunderland Empire
Nov 6, 20 and 21: Milton Jones - HA!Milton, The Forum Billingham, Middlesbrough Town Hall and The Fire Station, Sunderland respectively
Nov 26: All Killa No Filla, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
Nov 28: Screen One Comedy Club, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
Nov 30: Jesterval Comedy, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Nov 30: Adam Kay - Undoctored, Darlington Hippodrome
Dec 8-24: It’s A Wonderful Life with festive afternoon tea, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
Dec 3-24: Cloud Man, Theatre Hullabaloo, Darlington
Dec 9: Paul Heaton, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Dec 12: Christmas at the Cathedral, Newcastle Cathedral
Dec 13: The Suggestibles - Impro Pantso, Queen’s Hall, Hexham (also dates at Northern Stage) on Dec 19 and 20; and The Cumberland Arms on Dec 21)
Dec 15: Laffs for Kids, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Dec 18: Kate Rusby - Winter Light Tour, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
December 20-22: balletLORENT’s The Velveteen Rabbit, Gosforth Civic Theatre (also two performances at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Jan 25)
Dec 30: Elf the Musical, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
2025
Jan 29 and Sept 30: Chris McCausland - Yonks!, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle (also Middlesbrough Town Hall on Jan 28)
Feb 4-8: Calamity Jane, Sunderland Empire
Feb 5-22: Hadaway Harry, various venues all over the North East
Feb 5: Wet Wet Wet with Heather Small, Stockton Globe
Feb 23 and Mar 7: Ahir Shah - Ends, The Stand Newcastle and Gala Theatre Durham, respectively
Mar 2: Jack Savoretti, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
Mar 3: The Irish House Party, The Fire Station, Sunderland
Mar 26-Apr 5: Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, Sunderland Empire
Apr 16: Sugababes, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Sept 20: Dara O’Briain - Re: Creation, Stockton Globe (also playing Newcastle 02 City Hall on Nov 7).
Sept 23: Level 42, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
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 Opera North’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Newcastle Theatre Royal on Wednesday, November 6 at 7pm.
An operatic adaptation of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, ‘magic, mischief and mayhem’ are guaranteed as we meet the feuding Fairy King and Queen in the woods and a confused quartet of lovers in Athens.
Britten’s music sets the scene perfectly for what is billed as ‘a light-hearted and enchanting romp’.
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: BOTTOM before midday (12pm) on Sunday, October 27, 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 and at least one member of the winning party must be over 18. Tickets will be emailed to the winner prior to the day of the performance. The Editor’s decision is final.