Putting Sunderland on the Record
Blending live music, dance, and community storytelling, National Theatre project, Public Record will see more than 100 community performers - along with their city - taking centre stage
A bold new theatrical event will see Sunderland sing its heart out.
Public Record, a major new production from the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme, delivered in collaboration with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland Empire, will transform city centre venue The Fire Station into a live recording studio from April 25-27.
Over four performances, a company of more than 100 local community members will join forces with professional musicians and dancers to create something truly original - a musical portrait of Sunderland and its people.
At the centre of Public Record lies a powerful idea: that communities have the right to shape how they’re seen, heard and remembered. What we choose to preserve - what we choose to record - matters.
“What does it mean to have agency over your own history and identity?” reflects Emily Lim, director of Public Acts. “As well as an amazing performance, Public Record represents a deeper statement about who we are as a community - how we remember ourselves, how we write our stories, and how we imagine the future we want to create together.”
Conceived through 18 months of deep listening, collaboration, and community engagement, Public Record is built on stories, experiences and music gathered from across the city.
Fittingly, the performance will be recorded live, pressed onto vinyl, and archived by both the British Library and Sunderland Museum - ensuring this celebration of Sunderland’s collective voice becomes part of the official record.
“It’s such a luxury to work on a project with a long gestation,” says co-director and choreographer Dan Canham. “But it was also a necessity. We needed time to really understand the people and this place.”
Emily and Dan began making regular trips to Wearside in 2023, forging connections with cultural leaders, grassroots organisations, and local residents. The project grew organically from these relationships, with stories emerging naturally from conversations about music, place, and identity.
The show is structured around 13 tracks, each exploring a different theme - birth, love, identity, loss, celebration - through song, dance, and spoken word.
North East writer Stewart Pringle (The Bounds, Live Theatre/Royal Court), provides the narrative spine with reflective monologues between the tracks, which Emily says are “filled with autobiography” thanks to the generosity of the community company.
Introductory track, Welcome to Sunderland offers a tour of the city through ambient sound and movement. Later in the show, Here and Now will bring the cast together with an explosion of collective energy.
There are also rumours of a disco-ball and ABBA-fuelled karaoke energy… but Emily doesn’t want to give too much away.
As you may have picked up, the Public Record soundtrack is as eclectic as the city’s identity.
Sunderland native Ross Millard, of The Futureheads, leads the show as composer and musical director. Alongside him, a standout house band features Field Music’s Peter and David Brewis, Northumberland keyboardist and flautist Sarah Hayes, and talented teenage twins Arthur and Elliott Gledhill from the Young Musicians Project (YMP).
Barry Hyde, also of The Futureheads, is involved as a music producer as well as performing a solo track… although he won’t be alone on stage for long. Again, we’re not revealing the details here.
“Emily, Dan and Stewart have worked hard to produce an authentic voice for Sunderland,” says Ross.
“The community performers aren’t really playing characters – they’re just being themselves. There are so many different musical styles and genres involved – something for everyone. The performers have brought some great personal stories, which the creative team has weaved into the show.
“It’s going to be spectacular, a special moment for Sunderland and a real celebration of the city. The audience will be put through a whole gamut of emotions and I’m sure they’ll feel very proud of their city.”
As well as the house band and community company, a roster of guest artists have also signed on to further reflect Sunderland’s cultural diversity and energy.
There’s folk legend Dave Murray, whose decades of youth music work helped shape generations of Sunderland artists - including many of the house band themselves.
There’s also the electrifying presence of Afrobeats DJs, DJ Bykonz and DJ Banko who were cheered into the rehearsal room on the evening I was there.
And from the city’s rave and club scene, Makina DJ, DJ Infinite and the unique flair of artist Sophie Lisa Beresford promise to amplify Sunderland’s rich rave and club culture.
Public Record builds on the legacy of The Odyssey, the ambitious 2023 National Theatre Public Acts production that brought communities from across the UK together to reimagine Homer’s epic in five episodes.
Sunderland played a key role in that project, hosting The Island of the Sun at The Fire Station with a company of local performers.
For Ray Hopkins, a member of the community company, being part of Public Record has already been a deeply rewarding experience. “It’s joyful to be in a room which is just brimming with positivity,” he says.
Ray first stepped onto a stage in 2023 with Unfolding Theatre’s community production A Street Like This and is delighted to be embarking on another creative journey.
“They asked us for our memories and perceptions of Sunderland… I wrote four or five pages’ worth,” he laughs. “I’ve loved every minute. The dancing has taken me a bit out of my comfort zone, mind you, but it’s been wonderful and we’re all looking forward to sharing it on stage.”
Stories like Ray’s are at the core of Public Record. The cast includes members of local groups such as Back on the Map, Connect Company and Sunderland Nigerian Family Support Group.
Many of those who took part in The Odyssey have also returned to continue their creative development and deepen ties to the city’s cultural life meanwhile Dance JAM and YMP bring even more variety to the ensemble.
YMP’s contribution is particularly heartfelt. Led by Laura Brewis, the project supports musicians aged 13-19 across Sunderland. Several YMP artists appear in the show, including Lily Mac, who will open the production with an a capella performance and five drummers who will bring some rhythmic heat later in the show.
One of the most poignant moments in the production will undoubtedly come during a tribute to the late Sunderland singer songwriter Faye Fantarrow, who died in 2023 from a brain tumour.
“Faye was a hugely popular and talented member of YMP and she is still sadly missed,” says Laura. “As part of Public Record, four of our alumni, who came through the ranks of YMP with Faye, will perform one of her songs in tribute to her.
“We worked with Faye’s family and Emily and Dan to choose her song Midas. Faye was such a core part of YMP and I know the tribute to her will be a key part of the show.”
The timing of Public Record feels significant. Sunderland has recently joined the global Music Cities Network - a milestone that celebrates the city’s musical legacy and its future potential. Public Record couldn’t be better placed to reflect that pride.
“This show doesn’t just celebrate what Sunderland has been - it shows what it can be,” says Anthony Hope, senior creative learning manager at Sunderland Empire. “It proves that a shared community experience can be both deeply personal and absolutely epic.”
Rehearsals have been taking place across the city, including at Southpaw Dance Company’s studio at The Sheepfolds. “At any one time, there are two things happening,” Emily says during a break from the studio space. “There’s the creation of the show, and there’s the creation of the community.”
Dan adds: “We’re making a portrait of these people. And we’re doing it by celebrating the wide variety of journeys that have brought them here - to this city, to this stage.”
That spirit of inclusion is what makes Public Record more than a piece of theatre - it’s an act of community building. “Public Acts is built on the belief that everyone can thrive in a culture of care,” says Emily. “When people feel safe and like they belong, they start to see themselves - and their potential - differently. That’s when extraordinary things happen.”
Sounds like Sunderland’s song is about to be heard loud and clear.
Four performances of Public Record will take place from April 25-27 at The Fire Station, Sunderland. Tickets are available at www.thefirestation.org.uk.
The project is supported by Arts Council England’s Strategic Touring Fund, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The CareTech Charitable Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, The Mosawi Foundation and The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust.