Culture Digest 08.08.25
A round up of some arts and culture stories from across the North East which caught our attention this week
Hello!
Before we tuck into this week’s box of fun-size cultural chocolate bites, we just wanted to give you the heads up that we’re taking a short summer breather*.
So, there will be a (bumper) Curated Culture on Tuesday (August 12) and then no more newsletters until the week commencing August 25.
That said, there will be a steady stream of new stories popping up on the website, so don’t be shy - pencil us in for a regular online meander and get clicky!
See you soon
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Like Chas and Dave but with more vowels and fewer pub singalongs
*I (Sam) am well aware that I’ve not long been back on these shores since my last Greek holiday… but that was a summer jaunt with Cultured. North East newsletters baked in - alongside my crispy shoulders. This one is very much an out of office - and on a Cretian beach - situation. Am determined to be 30% fig by the time I return.
North Shields artwork makes waves in global contest
One of the large-scale artworks created as part of a town’s 800th anniversary celebrations is in the running for an international award.
Nina Valkhoff's mural, The Chase, in Norfolk Street in North Shields is currently in top position in the votes for the International Street Art Cities ‘Best of July’ Award.
It is competing against 150 murals from Australia to Argentina.
Nina is a muralist from Rotterdam who has been painting for 23 years. Her murals highlight flora and fauna, often featuring local species.
The mural she has created in North Shields depicts an underwater chase between two gannets and a cormorant, capturing drama beneath the waves, where the River Tyne meets the North Sea.
Public voting closes on Sunday, August 10 at streetartcities.com
Got two left feet? balletLORENT's dancefloor is OPEN
A Newcastle dance company is on the hunt for people whose moves are more heartfelt than polished.
balletLORENT is inviting awkward TikTok performers, extreme wedding boogiers, Dad dancers and after-hours kitchen disco stars to take part in its new pilot show – a celebration of the unique ways we all move through life.
Whether you’ve got two left feet or your freestyle has no identifiable style, you could find yourself sharing the floor with professional performers this November at the company’s studio in the John Marley Centre.
Flying the flag for Berwick as Maltings plan approved
Berwick’s cultural aspirations have received a major boost with Northumberland County Council’s planning committee approving ambitious plans to transform The Maltings arts centre.
Berwick’s cultural aspirations have received a major boost with Northumberland County Council’s planning committee approving ambitious plans to transform The Maltings arts centre.
The project, costed at £25.9 million, will see the venue on Eastern Lane dramatically upgraded.
Plans include a new and more flexible theatre space, two new cinema screens, a rehearsal studio, improved facilities for audiences, performers and staff, and additional spaces for community and cultural activities.
Mack-em Noise
Sunderland’s creative spirit will take centre stage on Tuesday (August 12) as part of National Mackem Day, with a special evening of live music, spoken word and visual arts at the city’s Sheepfolds Stables.
Hosted by Sunderland Music City in partnership with A Love Supreme and The Mackem Dictionary and Cookbook, the event is part of the wider Sunderland Year of Music, a city-wide celebration featuring over 500 events throughout 2025.
Next week’s line-up features a stellar cast of local talent, including Barry Hyde (The Futureheads) David Brewis (Field Music), Sunderland Symphony Orchestra, The Lake Poets, Small Town Brass, Tom A. Smith, This Little Bird, King Ink, Patrick Gosling, Eve Simpson, and Ani Sandwith.
North East comedy secures Radio 4 return
In a first for the region, a North East-produced radio comedy is returning for a second series.
In a first for the region, a North East-produced radio comedy is returning for a second series.
Production company Candle & Bell’s Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT! - written and performed by Tom Machell and Lauren Pattison - will begin recording its second series this summer, following a successful debut on BBC Radio 4 in 2024.
The show’s return marks the first time an independent North East company has secured a re-commission for a radio comedy on the national broadcaster.
“I’m delighted that we’ve been trusted with a series two for Tom and Lauren,” said Lauren.
“We had so much fun writing the first series and bringing these characters to life, and it’s great to see people backing great comedy made in the North East.”
Help at hand for historic North East structures at risk
Wildly different buildings and structures in Northumberland, Newcastle and Sunderland are to benefit from repair grants from the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund.
Grants totalling £15 million have been allocated from the fund – led by Historic England and with money from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – to 37 sites across England.
Of that sum (earmarked for rescuing listed buildings and sites threatened with dereliction or demolition) £2 million is heading for projects in the North East.
Twilight falls at High Force
There’s a new reason to stick around a little longer at one of County Durham’s most iconic beauty spots this summer - High Force Waterfall is staying open late.
For the first time, the circular woodland walk to the base of the falls is open until 8pm, giving visitors a chance to see the waterfall - and the surrounding Upper Teesdale countryside - in a completely different light.
It is thought the extended hours, which run until Sunday, September 7, will offer a quieter window to explore - whether you’re calling in after work, on a day out with the kids, or just fancy seeing a different side of the site.
More information and tickets: www.raby.co.uk/high-force
Region is ready for its close up
When ITV sitcom Transaction wrapped its first series with a final episode at the end of last month (July), it marked a milestone for the North East.
It was the first scripted ITV sitcom to be filmed entirely in the region using Hartlepool’s The Northern Studios - and the latest high-profile beneficiary of the North East Production Fund.
With a cast led by comedian and writer Jordan Gray and a huge slice of the crew coming from the region, the show - which is set after hours in a supermarket and also stars Nick Frost - offers the perfect example of how the region is turning ambition into industry reality.
Produced by production company big hitters, Big Talk, Transaction is one of several recent productions that highlight an exciting upheaval well underway in the region’s film and TV sector - one being driven by the behind-the-scenes work of North East Screen’s Film Office and its associated North East Production Fund.
Durham Museum finds temporary home in city centre
Items from an extensive collection which tells a city’s story are going back on public show after their previous historic home closed last year.
For more than 50 years, the volunteer-run Durham Museum, which has also been known as Durham Heritage Centre, was based in the Grade I listed Church of St Mary le Bow, near Durham Cathedral.
The accredited museum has told the story of Durham’s history, with a particular focus on life in the city from the 17th century onwards. Durham Heritage Centre was established in the disused church, which closed in 1968, in 1972 and has been an important location to learn about social, cultural and economic life of the city, especially between the 18th and early 20th centuries.
But the costs of maintenance and repairs for the building proved too much for the Bow Trust, the charity which ran the museum.
Now, objects from the collection will be displayed in what was an empty unit in the Prince Bishops shopping centre in Durham, opening on Thursday, August 14, from 10am to 4pm.
Can you write a play for Live Theatre's stage?
The call out has been announced for Live Theatre’s second North East Playwriting Award – looking for a talent to follow Emilie Robson with her inaugural winner, Dogs On The Metro.
There can be no better launchpad for a new play or playwright than the theatre on Newcastle Quayside which has been dedicated to new writing since its foundation in 1973.
And this, by any standards, is a gilt-edged opportunity.
The Award is open to all writers over the age of 16 who are from, living or working in the North East – and the offer to playwrights (budding or otherwise) is a commission fee for a full-length play to be produced for the Live Theatre stage.
Medieval secrets uncovered at quarry site
Soil stripping at a Northumberland quarry site has revealed evidence of a community living at the location up to 1,300 years ago.
During the operation at Divethill Quarry in Capheaton near Great Bavington, remains of around 10 timber buildings, pits and possible ovens or kilns are now being investigated by archaeologists.
Radiocarbon analysis has provided dates from the sixth to seventh centuries and a later date of the 11th to 12th century, shedding light on how people from the early to mid-medieval period lived and worked.
The ‘modern novel’ discussed again – 88 years on
If you like getting your head in a book, a panel discussion at the Lit & Phil called The Modern Novel should make your eyes light up.
It’s scheduled for September 9 and promises a lively hour with panellists DJ Taylor, Rachel Hore, Margaret Wilkinson and George Cochrane batting ideas back and forth.
But will that be long enough? Even defining ‘modern’ in this context might take up chunks of the allotted 60 minutes.
How modern is ‘modern’? Everything was modern once.
The title – in common with other events in this Lit & Phil bicentenary year - is taken from a lecture given at the Lit & Phil in 1937 by novelist Phyllis Bentley when she was something of a literary celebrity.
Step right up! Newcastle’s Quayside turns carnival for a day
Newcastle’s Quayside is getting a carnival makeover this weekend, as NE1 launches a brand-new family event full of colour, chaos and circus skills.
The first Quayside Carnival lands tomorrow (August 9), running from 11am to 3pm, and promises a day of free fun for all ages - from aerial performances and stilt walkers to slime-making, crafts and face painting.
The riverside will be taken over by roaming performers, balloon artists, and pop-up workshops in everything from circus tricks to museum-led activities. There’ll also be a Make and Take Zone, character meet-and-greets, and the chance to get glittered-up or stuck into a science activity, depending on your mood.
The event is a new addition to NE1’s Summer in the City line-up and is being delivered in partnership with circus company Let’s Circus.
“We’re thrilled to launch our very first NE1 Quayside Carnival,” said Rachel Fenwick, NE1’s head of marketing and events. “It’s a new highlight event in our busy Summer in the City programme, created to bring the Quayside to life with free, family-friendly fun for everyone to enjoy and get involved in.”
Some activities need booking in advance. Full details: ne1summerinthecity.co.uk.
Truly immersive dance offered at King Edward's Bay
Dance is an artform generally associated with dry land, with sprung floors and carefully regulated temperatures to ensure muscle flexibility and suppleness.
Company of Others – aptly named, perhaps – does things a little differently, or at least it does with its very special work, Grief Floats, which is back for a third series of performances this month.
It happens at the beach… and not only on the sand but in the North Sea, with audience members accessing the accompanying sound score via a headset issued ahead of performances (and with audio description available).
Masterpieces return to Bishop Auckland
From George Stubbs to Thomas Gainsborough, some of the most celebrated names in art history are back on the walls of the Bishop Trevor Rooms at Auckland Palace - joined by a never-before-seen work.
On display now and available to view until early November, the highlights include Stubbs’ The Grosvenor Hunt, Gainsborough’s Wooded Landscape with a Milkmaid, Rustic Lovers and a Herdsman, painted during his final years in Bath, and a luminous landscape by Claude Lorrain, one of the most influential painters of his time.
The display also features a new addition: a portrait of an unknown man attributed to Stubbs early in his career, painted while he was living in York. This is the first time the work has been seen by the public.
Public asked to shape future of historic Morpeth Chantry
The future of one of the oldest buildings in a Northumberland town is up for debate.
A public consultation is currently underway on the future of the Grade I-listed Morpeth Chantry, which dates from the late 13th century.
The building is adjacent to the site of the 13th-century bridge across the River Wansbeck at Morpeth.
It is home to an extensive bagpipe museum which celebrates Northumberland being the only English county with its own dedicated musical instrument – the Northumbrian pipes.