Curated Culture 02.09.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s what’s on casserole.
Time to sharpen your pencils and dust off the lunchboxes – it’s back-to-school season.
I mean I (Sam) say that, but in reality, it’s me who is back at the chalk (wipeable marker?) face, while Dave has just gone on his holidays. He’s an absolute maverick.
So while Whetstone is chasing ice creams, I’m handing out timetables and homework - of the cultural variety, at least.
Whether you’re waving kids off through the school/uni gates or just enjoying the shift into September mode, the North East’s cultural diary is brimming with things to look forward to.
As ever, we’re here with your regular Tuesday round-up of:
🗓️ Top Picks – standout events across the next couple of weeks
📌 Still Showing – highlights we’ve served up which you can still catch
📅 Now Booking – dates to whack in the diary before they sell out
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week: one pair of tickets to Bad Lads at Live Theatre, Newcastle on October 3.
Summer may be fading, but the cultural calendar is only just hitting its stride. Consider this your homework: pick something, get it in the diary, and give yourself full marks for attendance.
Sam (Wonfor) & Dave (Whetstone)
Like Chas and Dave, but with less hair and better accents
PS: If you haven’t liked/followed/high fived us on our socials, you can rectify that on Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky
THEATRE: The Awkward Squad
Where: The Customs House
When: September 14
Bookings and info: customshouse.co.uk
For one night only, Karin Young’s The Awkward Squad returns in a staged reading that promises more than just scripts in hand. Lorna, Pam, Sandy and Sarah - four women who weathered the Miners’ Strike of 1984/85 - are back to reflect on what has, or hasn’t, changed since.
The evening brings together a stellar cast including Phillipa Wilson, Chelsea Halfpenny, Libby Davison and Judi Earl, with Christina Berriman-Dawson as MC. Expect politics, humour and plenty of sharp observation in this lively revisiting of The BAFTA-winning writer’s state-of-the-nation comedy.
THEATRE: War Horse
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: September 10-20
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
One of the most celebrated plays of the 21st century, War Horse gallops back onto a North East stage this month in a powerful and moving touring production (which has been hosted by the Sunderland Empire).
Adapted by Nick Stafford from Michael Morpurgo’s best-selling novel, the play has won more than 25 major awards and been seen by over 8.4 million people worldwide.
Set against the backdrop of the First World War, it tells the moving story of Albert and his beloved horse Joey, separated by conflict and reunited only through courage and determination. The production is famed for its breathtaking puppetry, which brings life-sized horses to astonishing, galloping life on stage.
If you’ve already seen it, you’ll likely want to see it again. If you haven’t seen it, trot yourself over to the Theatre Royal website and see if there’s any tickets left.
MUSIC: Classic Albums Live performs The Beatles’ White Album
Where: Sage One, The Glasshouse
When: September 11
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
What if you could hear The Beatles’ White Album played live? There’s no what ifs about it if you take Classic Albums Live at their word - or maybe their chord?
Taking iconic albums and recreating them on stage is what they do - every riff, every harmony, every unexpected twist - ‘note for note, cut for cut’.
Their latest show tackles the Fab Four’s most daring release. From the pounding chaos of Helter Skelter to the fragile beauty of Blackbird - and even the experimental swirl of Revolution 9 - it’s all on the setlist.
What’s not on the agenda are costumes or gimmicks. This is simply excellent musicians performing a pretty important long player. Yes please. Goo-goo g'joob!
EXHIBITION: Miners’ Weekend School (1984)
Where: The Burr of Berwick Film Library, 22 Bridge Street, Berwick
When: Saturdays, 12-4pm until October 31
Bookings and info: bfmaf.org
A new exhibition opened in Berwick at the end of last month (August), marking 40 years since the Miners’ Strike of 1984–85.
The Burr of Berwick Film Library - a community video archive and exhibition series - launched its latest show with a focus on Miners’ Weekend School (1984) – a six-part documentary created by Amber Films’ Current Affairs Unit.
Filmed in Ashington at the height of the strike, the tapes capture a weekend of grassroots political education, where miners, families and supporters came together to share strategies, discuss legal rights, challenge media narratives, and build solidarity networks. The issues they grappled with - policing, bias, community resilience - remain sharply relevant today.
The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the power of mutual aid and working-class organising, as well as Amber’s radical legacy in British cinema.
EVENT: Heritage Open Days
Where: All over the North East
When: September 12-21
Bookings and info: heritageopendays.org.uk
Heritage Open Days returns this month (September), throwing open doors and telling the stories that make our region special – and it’s all free.
Hidden treasures will be uncovered; there will be dives into archives; and much-loved landmarks will be explored and even more adored. We tried to pick out some highlights, but in all honesty, it felt like picking out a favourite child.
The theme for 2025 is Architecture with the programme looking at the ways we’ve designed and built the world around us. There are talks, tours, exhibitions, parties and many chances to go behind the scenes at some of the region’s favourite attractions.
This really is the perfect time to get curious about your surroundings and celebrate the incredible stories on your doorstep - so dig into the website and get some stuff booked in!
THEATRE: Inside No. 9 Stage/Fright
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: September 16-20
Bookings and info: atgtickets.com
Who fancies stepping into the strange and unsettling world of Inside Number 9?
The acclaimed BBC series has successfully leapt from the screen to stage and - fresh from from a sell-out West End run and Olivier Award nomination - is coming to Wearside.
Blending the familiar with the unexpected, creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith not only pen the twisted tales but also star in this theatrical incarnation, mixing new stories with clever nods to fan favourites.
Expect black humour, razor-sharp writing, and the trademark mash up of comedy and horror that has made the TV series a cult hit. You should also expect to be kept guessing until the final curtain.
FESTIVAL: Northern Festival of Illustration 2025
Where: Various venues in Hartlepool
When: September 13 to November 1
Bookings and info: thefestivalofillustration.com
The Northern Festival of Illustration returns with its biggest programme to date, celebrating storytelling through illustration, comics, animation and digital design.
The centrepiece Stories of Home exhibition at Hartlepool Art Gallery will feature more than 70 works by international illustrators, alongside shortlisted entries to the Northern Illustration Prize.
Highlights include Supermundane, Jonny Hannah, Bee Illustrates and BAFTA-winner Mikey Please. Events include an Artists’ Makers Market, a professional symposium, animation screenings, family workshops and school sessions.
MUSIC/SCREEN: Songs of the North East – A Century of Coalmining
Where: Redhills Miners’ Hall, Durham
When: September 6.
Bookings and info:
Following a £14 million restoration - which has added a new extension with a public entrance and function room - Redhills Miners’ Hall is opening its doors with an autumn programme of events and tours. Among them is Songs of the North East – A Century of Coalmining, a stirring evening of music and film celebrating the region’s coalfield heritage.
Internationally acclaimed singers Graeme Danby and Valerie Reid will perform songs and ballads spanning 100 years, from Blaydon Races and With Me Pit Claes On to Sting’s The Last Ship. The concert also features In The Veins, a powerful short film using rare archive footage to tell the story of mining life across the North East.
Produced by Graeme Thompson and Tom Kelly, the evening offers an evocative homecoming and a moving tribute to the region’s proud history.
COMEDY: Carl Hutchinson - Greatest Hits
Where: Gala Theatre, Durham
When: September 12-13
Bookings and info: galadurham.co.uk
North East standup, Carl Hutchinson is celebrating a decade on the comedy stage with a tour comprising some of his best and favourite routines… and fans have been involved in the selecting, so laughs are pretty much nailed on.
SCREEN: I Fought The Law
Where: On ITVX
When: Available now
Info: itv.com
Sheridan Smith stars in I Fought The Law, a gripping new ITV drama based on the extraordinary true story of Teesside mother Ann Ming.
After her daughter Julie Hogg was murdered in 1989, Ann faced the devastating reality that her killer could not be retried under the centuries-old double jeopardy law - even after he confessed. Refusing to give up, she spent 17 years fighting for justice, eventually changing the law in 2003 and securing a conviction that made legal history.
Filmed entirely in the North East with support from North East Screen, the series dramatises Ann’s tireless campaign with authenticity and respect, highlighting her resilience and courage.
Sheridan, who attended a North East screening at the Gala Theatre alongside Ann last week, says: “These are the stories that need to be told – a lovely, ordinary, working-class lady from up north who achieved so much.”
A companion documentary, I Fought The Law: The Ann Ming Story, will follow.
STILL SHOWING
Art: Hadrian’s Wall Art Trail – FOLK, The Threshing Barn, Green Croft On The Wall; Field Shelter, Bridge House, Shield Hill, Haltwhistle; and Abbey Mill, Lanercost, Sept 5-7; 12-14; and 19-21
Theatre: The Shawshank Redemption, Darlington Hippodrome, Sept 9-13
Screen: The Ballad of the Crocodile and the Underpass – Stories of Washington New Town, Arts Centre Washington, Sept 4
Music: Dave Stewart - Dave Does Dylan, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Sept 5 and 7
Comedy: Jason Cook’s Comedy Club, The Customs House, South Shields, Sept 5 and 6
Event: Stranger Than Fiction: True Crime with Jennifer Rees, Sunderland Empire,
Sept 7
Music: Hue and Cry, ARC, Stockton, Sept 5
Words: WRITE Festival 2025, The Word, South Shields and other South Tyneside venues, until Sept 27
Event: Great North Run 2025, from Newcastle to South Shields, Sept 7, from 9.30am
Theatre: Walk Like a Man, Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay, Sept 9-20
Theatre: Done To Death, By Jove! Queen’s Hall, Hexham, Sept 5
Music: Songs of the North East – A Century of Coalmining, Redhills, Durham Miners’ Hall, Sept 6
Festival: Last Train Home ’25, Darlington, various venues, Sept 6
Comedy: Peter Kay Live, Newcastle Utilita Arena, Sept 5-6
Dance: Art of Andalucia, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Sept 5
Screen: Transaction, ITV X, Full series available to stream.
Exhibition: The Coal Town Collection – Mik Critchlow Gallery, Woodhorn Museum, Ashington, permanent display
Exhibition: Unpicking Memories, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, until Sept 6
Exhibition: Shorelines, The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle, until Sept 7
Event: Kynren - An Epic Tale of England, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, Saturdays from until September 13
Exhibition: With These Hands, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until September 27
Exhibition: Pursued By Bulldozers, Gateshead Central Library, until Sept 27
Exhibition: Richard Hobson retrospective, South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, until Nov 2
Exhibition: Ali Cherri/Laura and Lancaster, BALTIC, until Oct 12
Exhibition: Joséphine: A Woman of Taste and Fashion, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until March 2026
Music: Nick Cope – I’ve Lost My Bobble Hat, The Glasshouse, Gateshead at 11am on Oct 29
Theatre: Mary Poppins, Sunderland Empire, Oct 1-25
Exhibition: Cedric Morris, Artist, Plantsman & Traveller, Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, until Oct 12
Exhibition: Shakespeare Recovered, Palace Green Library, Durham, until Nov 2
Exhibition: Magna Carta and the North, Durham Cathedral, until Nov 2
Exhibition: The Words That Bind Us, Durham Cathedral, until Nov 2
Music: The Young’uns Big Boro Bash, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Nov 15
Exhibition: Guiding Entities, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until Nov 23
Exhibition: The Art of Conservation, South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, until Dec 6
Big screen: Expo Sunderland Pavilion, Keel Square, Sunderland, throughout 2025
Exhibition: Three artists, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until January 10, 2026
Exhibition: Works by Nathan Coley, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 1, 2026
Exhibition: Pippa Hale: Pet Project, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until March 1, 2026
NOW BOOKING
Comedy: Northern Stage Comedy Gala, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Sept 19
Event: An Evening with Ann Cleeves, The Exchange 1856, North Shields, Oct 1
Festival: Berwick Literary Festival, various venues,
Theatre: Party’s Over, Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay, Oct 9-10
Festival: Beyond the Moor, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 11
Comedy: Metroland Live, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 15-18
Music: Tunde, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Oct 24
Podcast: Two Pints Podcast, Stockton Globe, Nov 8
Theatre: Dear England, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nov 11-15
Music: Howard Jones - Dream into Action, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Nov 19
Theatre: Fiddler on the Roof, Sunderland Empire, Nov 25-29
Music: Mumford and Sons, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Nov 29
Music: Martin Stephenson presents Frank & Jim - North East Legends, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Dec 14
2026
Music: Florence and the Machine, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Feb 11. Tickets on sale soon.
Theatre: Mamma Mia, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 11-28
Music: 10cc in Concert, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Mar 5
Comedy/Screen: Celebrating 100 Years of Laurel and Hardy, The Fire Station, Mar 10
Theatre: Mean Girls, Sunderland Empire, Apr 6-11 (Tickets for Newcastle Theatre Royal dates - Jan 18-30, 2027 - will be on sale soon)
Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, Northern Stage, Newcastle, May 8-23
Music: Otis Gibbs, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, May 22
COMPETITION TIME
Welcome to our latest newsletter prizedraw, offering our subscribers an exclusive opportunity to win tickets to see or do something great.
This week, we’ve got a pair of tickets to see Bad Lads at Live Theatre, Newcastle on October 3.
A powerful new production from Graeae and Live Theatre, Bad Lads lays bare the shocking true story of the boys held at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre in County Durham during the 1980s.
Promoted as a “short, sharp shock” for troubled youth, the centre concealed years of abuse and trauma. Drawing on the testimonies of the Medomsley Boys, writer Mike Kenny and director Jenny Sealey are promising a raw and compelling piece of theatre about oppression, resilience, and the urgent need for justice.
Performed by Robin Paley Yorke and Danny Raynor, with performance interpreter Craig Painting, Bad Lads will demand remembrance of these working-class men’s experiences and resonate strongly in today’s climate of accountability.
A post-show discussion will follow the performance on Thursday, October 9, with Jenny Sealey, Mike Kenny and Dr Susan O’Rourke.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Bad Lads by noon, (12pm) on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
The winner, who will be selected at random, will be notified within 48 hours of the entry deadline.
Terms and conditions: Only subscribers to the Cultured. North East newsletter are eligible to enter the Newsletter Prize Draw competition. Prizes are as stated - subject to availability - and non-transferable. No cash alternatives will be offered. You must be over 18 years of age to enter. The Editor’s decision is final.