Culture Digest 15.11.25
A round up of the arts and culture stories which caught our attention over the past week or so...
Note from Sam: Apologies for landing in your inbox a day late — I’ve been shouldering some shoulder trouble which slowed things down a touch. But what a week it’s been to catch up on: West End transfers, the final Lumiere, Sunderland’s music heroes getting their due… the North East culture scene never seems to sit still, does it?
Howay the lads! Gerry and Sewell score a West End run
The January transfer window may be weeks away, but one big North East move to London is already a done deal.
Gerry & Sewell - the Geordie-soaked stage hit that began life in a 60-seat attic theatre in Whitley Bay - is heading to the capital’s Aldwych Theatre for a two-week West End run in the New Year.
Written, directed and produced by Blyth-born and Olivier Award winning Jamie Eastlake, co-produced by Newcastle Theatre Royal and supported by Newcastle United Football Club, Gerry & Sewell’s transfer is a genuine coup for regional theatre: a locally created play leaping from a fringe stage to West End in just three years.
Walking to New Orleans - again
This Sunday night, BBC Four is opening its vaults as part of a two-hour celebration of the music and magic of New Orleans - and a film made by a group of Geordies which captured it in award-winning fashion.
First broadcast in 1985 on Channel 4 as one of The Tube’s spin off specials Walking to New Orleans offered a unique portrait of the iconic and culturally-rich city.
Part travelogue, part musical pilgrimage, the film followed a 26-year-old Jools Holland as he drove a self-customised Oldsmobile across Louisiana in search of the spirit of New Orleans rhythm and blues.
Along the way he encountered his heroes – Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Dr John, Lee Dorsey (who helped him take the roof off the car before a memorable rendition of Working in a Coal Mine) and The Neville Brothers – as well as a cameo from Sting as a busker and appearances by Robbie Coltrane and Paula Yates.
The film, made by a Tyne Tees crew for The Tube – the groundbreaking music show created and produced in Newcastle – was directed by my late dad, Geoff Wonfor. Its executive producer was Andrea Wonfor, my mum, who was director of programmes and, as Jools recalls, simply asked him one day: “What’s the music you really love?” When he said “New Orleans,” she replied: “Then you should go there.”
And so they did.
Curtain comes down on Laurels’ first act
After four lively years above a Whitley Bay chicken shop, Laurels Theatre has announced it will leave its original home on Whitley Road at the end of November - but the team assure au this is far from the final curtain.
Co-founded by Jamie Eastlake and Steve Robertson, Laurels opened in 2021 in the midst of the pandemic and immediately made its mark.
From new writing and fringe theatre to stand-up comedy and live music, it brought a raw, independent energy to the region’s cultural scene. Jamie moved on to other projects earlier this year, making way for theatre maker Alison Stanley who now heads up theatre programming.
The intimate venue became the founding home of Gerry & Sewell, which went on to enjoy sell-out runs at Live Theatre and Newcastle Theatre Royal - and has just announced a two-week West End run in January (see above).
“When we moved into that semi-derelict old social club (in the middle of a global pandemic), the plan was simple: open the doors, serve a few drinks, and let people stumble across something unexpected,” the team said in a statement.
“Theatre done differently - a place for everyone, a bit rough around the edges maybe but it was home.”
Now a registered charity, Steve says it has outgrown its first space and is seeking a new, more accessible and sustainable venue.
Countdown to Futureheads festive album and Sunderland shows
The Futureheads will release their first-ever Christmas album on November 21, bringing their distinctive sound to a collection of seasonal favourites and original songs.
Christmas features reworkings of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, The Pretenders’ 2000 Miles, Jona Lewie’s Stop The Cavalry and Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime.
Alongside the covers are two original tracks - The Coldest Winter in 100 Years, a new song, and Christmas Was Better in the 80s, first released by the band in 2010.
To coincide with the release, the band will perform a series of December dates, including two home turf shows at The Fire Station in Sunderland on December 19 and 20.
balletLORENT spreads the love with Best Worst Dances
Glitter ball, mirrors, lights, bar, jukebox… the unmistakable signs of balletLORENT in After Dark mode.
Then an hour’s worth of uninhibited dancing, veering at times towards the slightly unhinged but always joyfully exuberant and wonderfully watchable.
Friday night at the John Marley Centre (balletLORENT HQ in Newcastle’s West End) saw the first public performance of Best Worst Dances by a cast of 10 professional dancers and 16 people who had auditioned in response to a public call-out.
It wasn’t a one-off performance because there’s another tonight (Saturday, November 15) but after that… who knows?
Liv Lorent, company founder, didn’t seem to. She described it as a “love project” done for fun, an experiment and something of a work-in-progress.
But she must know she’s onto something, elevating dad dancing and its myriad eccentric cousins to artform status.
Creativity and community spirit to fuel Festival of Energy
Blyth will be transformed into a stage for large-scale artworks, performances and light installations next spring when the town hosts its first Festival of Energy.
Running from March 5-8, 2026 the free four-day event will be presented by Blyth Celebrates and produced by renowned outdoor arts company Walk the Plank.
Large-scale artworks, performances, and immersive experiences inspired by the sea, wind, moon, and earth are all lined up to play their part in celebrating the town’s maritime heritage and its growing reputation as a world leader in renewable energy.
The festival, which will spread across the town’s streets, quayside and public spaces will bring together artists, scientists and local people to explore themes of energy, light, and transformation, working in partnership with Port of Blyth, The Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, Energy Central Campus and Newcastle University.
Among the headline attractions is a world-first installation by celebrated artist Luke Jerram, whose Museum of the Moon and Gaia (the Earth) - two seven-metre diameter artworks created from detailed NASA imagery - will be displayed together for the first time inside ORE Catapult’s unique testing facilities.
Sam Fender uses Mercury win to back grassroots venues
Sam Fender has donated his £25,000 Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venue Trust (MVT) to help protect the UK’s grassroots music venues.
The North Shields singer-songwriter was awarded the Mercury Prize in October at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle for his critically acclaimed album People Watching and chose to give the prize money to MVT in recognition of the small venues that helped launch his career.
“I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing today if it wasn’t for all the gigs I played around the North East, and beyond, when I was starting out,” he said. “These venues are legendary, but they are struggling.”
Mark Davyd, CEO of MVT, described the gesture as “incredible”.
Exhibition highlights wonders and ills of our oceans
Art and science have long been treated as uneasy bedfellows, kept apart in school curriculums as if the one had nothing to offer the other.
But Baltic’s new Level 4 exhibition shows that’s nonsense.
Here you can hear an artist interviewing a marine biologist about the decline in fish stocks off Hartlepool.
You can learn how a rock – actually a polymetallic nodule – from the Pacific Ocean has challenged assumptions about life on earth.
And you can do so amid things of beauty.
Field Music honoured on Sunderland’s Music Wall of Fame
Field Music have been announced as the latest inductees into Sunderland’s Music Wall of Fame, joining the ranks of the city’s most influential and celebrated musical talents.
A mural depicting the band’s original line-up – brothers Peter and David Brewis with drummer Andrew Moore – was unveiled at The Fire Station ahead of the group’s sold-out 20th anniversary performance last night (November 14), marking two decades since the release of their acclaimed self-titled debut album.
Blyth hosts fiery spectacle
Blyth’s Ridley Park is being transformed into a glowing installation of fire, light and performance this weekend as the latest element to the Blyth Celebrates programme heats up.
Earth, Wind & Fire Garden runs from 5pm to 9pm on Friday and Saturday (November 14 and 15), reimagining the park as a landscape of flickering flames, fiery sculptures and surreal, illuminated creatures, courtesy of outdoor performance company, Walk the Plank.
A community lantern parade was due to kick off proceedings last night (Friday) featuring more than 100 handmade lanterns created by local schools and community groups and led by two towering illuminated figures – The Sun & Sky Spirit and The Wind & Wave Sprite – designed by Blyth-based artist Alison Walton-Robson of Headway Arts.
“Earth, Wind & Fire Garden is a truly unique experience for Blyth, offering a spectacular free night of wonder for all ages,” said Cllr Wendy Pattison, Cabinet Member for Sport and Culture at Northumberland County Council. “It’s a chance to see our town transformed in a way that will stay with visitors long after the night is over.”
Northumberland hosts world’s top space photography exhibition
A heavenly exhibition in Northumberland will offer the only chance currently to view the display outside London.
The spectacular collection of images from the world’s leading astrophotography competition is set to go on show at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre in Northumberland National Park from Saturday (November 15).
Curated by Royal Museums Greenwich, and in association with BBC Sky at Night Magazine, the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 16 exhibition features 31 breathtaking images, including prize-winning entries and commended works.
Previously shown only at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the Northumberland Centre exhibition is currently its sole venue in the North of England.
From slavery to sanctuary: sculpture to honour Mary Ann Macham in North Shields
The unveiling is to take place of a bronze sculpture of an enslaved woman in the Tyneside town where she made a new life after fleeing from America.
The image of Mary Ann Macham will be installed above the new Riverside Embankment Walkway linking North Shields town centre with the Fish Quay and views out to sea.
The artwork will be officially unveiled on November 20 at 1pm by the Elected Mayor of North Tyneside, Karen Clark.
The three-metre-high bronze figure, created by North Shields artist Keith Barrett, will be sited close to where Mary Ann once lived. The project is supported by the North East Combined Authority through the Transforming Cities Fund.
It portrays a moment of freedom and resilience and is part of the North Shields 800 celebrations, a year-long programme recognising the town’s diverse history.
Literary treasure draws thousands of visitors to Durham as exhibition is extended
An exhibition based on the theft of a 400-year-old Shakespeare First Folio and its eventual return to the North East is to be extended following a hugely successful first six months.
The folio went on show in April this year in a display which tells the story of how it was stolen in 1998 from Durham University, damaged, taken to the United States for sale, recovered and returned in 2010, and finally restored.
The exhibition will now run until April 6, 2026. It has welcomed over 9,000 visitors and has involved more than 2,000 school pupils and families.
It has also been used for academic study and been part of major international visits and conferences at the university.
The Feud makes friends on Netflix
A domestic thriller shot across the North East for Channel 5 made it debut on Netflix recently and was trending at number one.
With a cast including Jill Halfpenny, Larry Lamb, Rupert Penry-Jones, Amy Nuttall and James Fleet, The Feud follows the chilling unravelling of a group of neighbours after Jill’s character decides to get a kitchen extension.
The six-part series, which debuted in April this year, was supported by the North East Production Fund - administered by North East Screen - which exists to attract more productions to the region, bringing job opportunities for local crew and inward investment with with them.
And talking of Jill Halfpenny…
Viewers enjoying three-part documentary Girlbands Forever on BBC iPlayer have been enjoying Jill’s distinctive voice over as she leads us through the ups and downs of the groups of lasses who scaled the charts and filled the front pages throughout the 90s and beyond.
Made by Louis Theroux’s production company, this is easy and fun nostalgic viewing for anyone who lived and danced through those times… but I’m still none the wiser as to why the only mention of Girls Aloud was made by South Shields’ Jade Thirlwall during her Brits acceptance speech with Little Mix. Crackers!