Culture Digest 06.06.26
Beastie Boys, big tops and belated bulletins... this week's accidentally rescheduled round up of some of the arts and culture stories from across the North East which caught our attention
A short note to explain the late arrival of Culture Digest. Following this week's 'bonus' Midge Ure mailout, we thought we'd round things off by incorrectly scheduling last night's Culture Digest for June 5, 2027. Excellent. Sorry about that.
It seems sensible to encourage a collective finger-crossing for the safe and timely delivery of this weekend’s Cultured. On Sunday.
North East writers land TV mentorship
Congratulations are due to North East writers Abby Walker and Alex Oates, who have been selected for a screenwriting mentorship programme from Quay Street Productions (Fool Me Once, After the Flood, Tip Toe) and New Writing North.
Over the next six months, the pair will be paid to develop original screen projects with mentoring and support from industry professionals, thanks to funding from the award-winning production company and the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.
County Durham writer Abby Walker is a former winner of Live Theatre’s North East Playwriting Young Writer’s Award and the 2025 Alfred Bradley Bursary Award, while Cambois-based Alex Oates has built an acclaimed career across television, radio, film and theatre.
Northern mayors unite behind pioneering music export scheme
A new initiative designed to help North East and Tees Valley musicians build international careers has been officially launched at SXSW London.
The Northern Music Export Office, which was first announced at SXSW in Austin, Texas earlier this year, brings together partners from the North East, Tees Valley, Liverpool City Region and West Yorkshire to support artists, managers, labels and music businesses looking to reach audiences beyond the UK.
Delivered by North East-based music development organisation Generator, the programme will offer touring support, mentoring, export training and development opportunities aimed at helping Northern talent compete on the global stage.
Artists involved in the launch, which was hosted by Washington-born Radio One DJ, Maia Beth, included South Shields singer-songwriter Nadine Shah, while the initiative’s backers hope it will help create new international opportunities for the next generation of Northern talent.
Speaking of Maia Beth...
This is your official notice to be on your best behaviour between June 15 and 17… because the world (sort of) will be watching.
Maia will be helping welcome more than 100 travel writers, editors, influencers and tourism figures to the North East for Media Getaway.
The three-day event will see delegates from titles including Lonely Planet, BBC Travel, National Geographic Traveller and Condé Nast Traveller exploring the region’s food, culture, landscapes and attractions.
Back in black (and white): Rehearsals for Gerry & Sewell’s final season get underway
This week, Cultured. North East was invited into the rehearsal room for the first day of preparations for what is being billed as the final production of Gerry & Sewell at Newcastle Theatre Royal (June 9-13)
The venue was already wrapped in black and white at the top of Grey Street as the latest cast assembled for the table read of a play which has travelled from Whitley Bay to the West End, while maintaining every last bit of its Geordie heart. Read more
Ushaw invites visitors to discover literary treasures
A special series of events at Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens in County Durham will offer visitors a rare chance to explore one of Britain’s most remarkable historic libraries.
Part of celebrations marking its 175th anniversary, from July to December, the attraction’s Big Library - home to more than 50,000 volumes - will open on the first Friday of each month
The library contains rare books, manuscripts and historic first editions, including a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, a 1493 edition of The Nuremberg Chronicle, an early edition of Sir Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica and the medieval Esh Missal.
Alongside these headline items, a changing selection of books and manuscripts will be displayed each month, offering returning visitors something new to discover.
More information on the website.
Metro train pioneers preserved for future generations
As Tyne and Wear Metro’s old trains enter their final weeks in service, two have been saved from the breaker’s yard as heritage exhibits which will illustrate their part in the region’s railway history.
Metro’s original Class 599 trains have carried 1.7 billion customer journeys since entering service in August 1980 (when a ticket was just eight pence) and have clocked up half a billion kilometres.
Only a handful of the old trains remain in service and their last official week of service will begin on Monday June 22, with an old train operating on both the Yellow and Green Metro lines from 9.30am to 5.30pm all week, until the early evening of Friday June 26.
This marks the last guaranteed week to travel on one of the Class 599 trains.
Of the two “heritage” trains, one has been gifted to the Stephenson Railway Museum in North Tyneside and talks are being held with another North East museum as a home for the other. Read more
From wall watching to nest building
It was the wildlife equivalent of watching paint dry.
Volunteers have been “wall watching” at a purpose-built artificial sand martin nesting bank at the mouth of the Ouseburn in Newcastle near the Free Trade Inn.
The structure, with 48 nesting holes to mimic the birds’ natural burrows in sand faces, has been created by Newcastle-based conservation body Wild Intrigue and Northumbrian Water, and was backed by a successful crowdfunding appeal.
The structure was installed after nine pairs of sand martins nested in spaces in an old sandstone wall in 2023 at the Ouseburn in the hope the new addition would help create a nesting colony for the species in the city.
But last year the birds, which fly 4,000km from their wintering grounds in Africa, did not use the facility and volunteers have been taking part in watching shifts at the nesting wall for signs of the birds.
“With people offering to stare at a wall, I wanted them to have some excitement,” said Wild Intrigue’s Heather Devey. “Knowing the sand martins had been active at the Free Trade wall, I assigned those lovely folk to this area.
“Little did I know that the new nest bank would lead to me jumping up and down for joy. Read more
Unthanks among Durham honorary doctorate recipients
Folk singers Rachel and Becky Unthank and actor Nick Mohammed are among those set to receive honorary doctorates from Durham University this summer.
“If you had told our younger selves, who used to come busking on Elvet Bridge, that we would receive an honorary degree from such a prestigious university we wouldn’t have believed you,” said Rachel and Becky.
Meanwhile Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, Mr Swallow and Celebrity Traitors star Mohammed, who studied geophysics at Durham, described the honour as “such a huge privilege”.
The honorary degrees will be awarded during the university’s Summer Congregation ceremonies in July.
Volunteers invited to play starring role in NOVUM 2026
A call has gone out for more than 300 volunteers to help bring a summer festival in Newcastle to life.
Launched as part of Volunteers’ Week, the recruitment drive is seeking people to support the return of the NOVUM Festival and its headline event, Dominoes Newcastle, which will take across the city centre from August 7-9.
Delivered by the city council’s cultural events team, NOVUM promises a packed programme of free performances, music, creativity and family-friendly activities, transforming the city into what organisers describe as a “bold, joyful playground” of culture and community celebration.
Dominoes Newcastle will be at the heart of proceedings - a large-scale public artwork from internationally acclaimed artists Station House Opera.
The ambitious project will see thousands of breezeblocks cascade through the city centre in a giant domino run connecting streets, landmarks and communities.
Volunteers will play a key role across the weekend, helping to welcome audiences, support artists, provide information and assist with the delivery of events throughout the city. Read more
From stage to screen for T*ts Up
A North East stage comedy inspired by the realities of breast cancer is being adapted for the big screen.
Filming on Tits Up will begin across the region in August, bringing together a cast featuring Crissy Rock, Cheryl Fergison, Leah Bell, Alison Stanley, Katie Potts and veteran UK comedy star, Tommy Cannon.
Based on the stage play of the same name, the film will centre on a group of women from very different backgrounds who find themselves brought together by a breast cancer diagnosis - and sitting in an oncology waiting room.
In a statement Alison and Leah - writers, stars and co-founders of production company, Broke and Knackered Films which will make the film - said: “Anyone who’s lived through breast cancer knows there are tears, but there are also belly laughs.
“We wanted to tell the truth about what women go through, and sometimes the truth is hilarious. Tits Up is about friendship, survival and finding humour when life gives you a kicking. We’re proud to be making it here in the North East with an incredible cast and crew.
Expected to be released in 2027, the film will be directed by actor and filmmaker Craig Conway in association with Runway Rooms.