Culture Digest 21.11.25
A round up of the arts and culture stories which caught our attention over the past week or so...
Another ‘acciduurnt’ waiting to happen at Theatre Royal
David Whetstone reports on two decades of perfectly planned panto chaos at the top of Grey Street
Beaming down from the Theatre Royal’s seasonal panto banners are four familiar faces – those of comedy double act Danny and Clive, panto dame Chris Hayward and singer Joe McElderry.
For Danny and Clive (Adams and Webb respectively: different surnames, same lineage being father and son, though not in that order), this year’s Aladdin is a notable achievement.
It’s their 20th Theatre Royal panto in succession (and the landmark would have been reached last year had it not been for the Covid theatre shutdown in 2020).
Nobody could have predicted that marathon run, surely not even theatre genius Michael Harrison who saw them in Stoke and hired them as the comedy element of the panto he was to produce in Newcastle the following season.
Libraries ancient and modern unite for Books on Tyne
With thousands of stories kept safe beneath each roof, the best story this month is of Newcastle’s two contrasting city centre libraries coming together again to host one festival.
The 13th Books on Tyne Festival – lucky for readers – unites the Lit & Phil, an independent library founded 200 years ago, and the council-run City Library, opened by Queen Elizabeth II on the site of its predecessor in 2009.
Old and young, chalk and cheese in many ways, they both serve book lovers and enrich cultural life in city and region.
The programme is put together each year by Kay Easson, librarian at the Lit & Phil, and Derek Tree, publications manager for Newcastle Libraries.
Survivors of domestic abuse use art to communicate their trauma
A new exhibition opening in County Durham next week (November 25) will showcase artwork created by survivors of abuse to communicate their experiences.
Red Flags: Art as a Voice, it is described as a survivor-led initiative.
The event at Consett Heart Heritage & Arts Centre will also see the launch of Victims’ Voice Durham community interest company, which will offer help and support to sufferers.
It will feature artwork created by survivors of abuse, violence, and systemic injustice to portray the red flags which it is claimed are too often ignored.
Squeeze bring biggest-ever UK tour to Newcastle in 2026
Squeeze are heading back to the North East next autumn as part of their most ambitious UK tour to date with support from Billy Bragg.
The legendary band will play Newcastle’s O2 City Hall on November 16, bringing their Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour to the region as they prepare to release their first new studio album in eight years.
Formed by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook in 1973, Squeeze are behind some of pop’s most enduring hits, including Up The Junction, Tempted and Cool For Cats, and remain a formidable live draw.
Glenn said: “The reaction to the 50th anniversary tour in 2024 was amazing. We have never sounded better and it feels really special to be looking forward to playing the biggest headline shows of our career. And having Billy Bragg on the same bill, what’s not to love!”
As on previous tours, Squeeze will support the charity Trussell, inviting fans to bring food donations to venues. £1 from every ticket will also go to grassroots music venues, a cause Glenn - now a Music Venue Trust patron - says is vital to “protect these venues and nurture the artists” at the start of their careers.
The Tried, Tested and Trixies Tour arrives in Newcastle on November 16, 2026. Tickets on sale from 9.30am on November 28 (2025, obvs).
Discovery Museum retires long-running gallery space to make room for major revamp
The working life of a museum’s gallery is coming to an end after more than 20 years of telling the story of how people have earned a living on Tyneside.
The gallery at Newcastle Discovery Museum has explored how working life has changed over the last 300 years.
Exhibits range from a welder’s protective clothing from John Readhead Limited of South Shields in the 1970s to a National Health Insurance contribution card from 1919, belonging to William Steel of Stephen Street, Byker in Newcastle.
The Working Lives gallery will be replaced by a new exhibition space following a £193,000 award by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
This will pay for the development of a flexible space to host high-profile temporary exhibitions.
The first exhibition in the new space will be a family exhibition next summer called Things That Go.
Football heritage takes centre stage
Football and fortress are to be combined to represent the heart of Newcastle.
For centuries it has been the Castle which gave the city its name and which sits on top of the Roman fort of Pons Aelius and an Anglo-Saxon graveyard.
But more than 130 years ago a new kid on the block, Newcastle United, arrived to stake its claim.
Now the two are to forge a pairing which will see an exhibition open on Saturday (November 22) at the Castle Keep titled Brave Defence, Heraldry, History & Heart, which will run until November 30…
… Meanwhile, another city could be on to a winner with its latest museum venture.
A pop-up football museum has opened in the heart of Durham City after council grant funding.
Fans Museum CIC, which currently operates a football museum in Sunderland, has opened a similar but smaller venue in Unit 41 to 42 at Prince Bishops Place Shopping Centre.
Regionwide effort for major screen-industry skills drive
Universities across the region have joined forces with North East Screen to launch a major new initiative designed to strengthen pathways into the North East’s fast-growing film, TV and digital production sectors.
North East Screen, working in partnership with the North East Universities Screen Network (NEUSN), recently unveiled Connected Campus@NEUSN, an ambitious programme aimed at bridging the gap between academic study and the realities of working in the screen industries.
The collaboration brings together Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside universities, building on the recently established Connected Campus partnership between North East Screen and The Northern School of Art.
Lindisfarne dig uncovers vast early medieval cemetery
Around 100 burials have been uncovered in a decade of digs on Lindisfarne.
This year saw the last of 10 years of excavation seasons on the Northumberland island and now bone analysis will begin at Durham University to discover details of the early medieval population and their lives.
In addition to the 100 burials, the combined university and DigVentures project has resulted in 20,000 fragments of disarticulated remains spanning the 7th–11th centuries.
“Our excavations have revealed that the Lindisfarne cemetery was huge, stretching from the priory ruins down to the edge of the early harbour,” said a DigVentures spokesperson.
“Based on the extent of the cemetery, and where we now think the boundaries were, we estimate that the cemetery may hold around 3,000 individuals.”
Duchess brings Lilidorei’s hidden world to life with first children’s book
The Duchess of Northumberland has released the first children’s book inspired by Lilidorei, the vast magical play village at The Alnwick Garden. Amanita, the opening title in The Legends of Lilidorei series, marks the first time the attraction’s mysterious inhabitants and hidden stories have been formally explored in print.
The book follows a young girl who discovers a world “filled with magic, mushrooms, and mayhem”, offering readers a new route into the lore behind one of the region’s most visited family destinations. It is published alongside An Illustrated Guide to Lilidorei, which introduces the clans, creatures and customs that underpin the fantasy world.
Jane Northumberland said the stories predate the attraction itself. “When I began to create Lilidorei, its story and inhabitants were alive in my mind, long before the village existed in reality.
“I designed the attraction, with its winding paths and hidden houses, to encourage children to immerse themselves in their imagination. My hope is that these novels will fuel this even further.”
