Curated Culture 05.05.26
Our weekly round-up of recommendations from North East stages and cultural venues
Welcome to our weekly mailout devoted to what we think is well worth getting in front of, across the North East.
A gentle scroll will serve up a dozen featured listings for the next fortnight, a reminder of what’s Still Showing from newsletter’s gone by, and a selection of Now Booking nudges for your diary.
Plus, this week’s subscriber draw offers tickets to Strictly Smokin’ Big Band
& IKS Big Band at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on June 5.
Let’s get straight into it.
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally pre-occupied with North East culture
SCREEN: Smoggie Queens
Where: BBC Three and BBC iPlayer
When: From May 15
Info: bbc.co.uk
Glitter, heels and hometown pride filled Middlesbrough Town Hall last week as nearly 300 guests gathered for the launch of series two of Smoggie Queens.
Created, written by and starring Middlesbrough native Phil Dunning, the show has struck a chord for its unapologetic humour, big-hearted chaos and its affectionate portrayal of Teesside life via a chosen family of LGBTQ+ friends navigating life, love, drag, eyebrow pencils and Dickie’s latest drama.
Series two promises new relationships, revived tensions and plenty of beautifully barbed one-liners, with Monica Dolan joining the established cast (Mark Benton, Elijah Young, Alexandra Mardell and Pasty Lowe) and guest appearances once again from the likes of Michelle Visage and Steph McGovern.
With BAFTA recognition already under its belt, and a spin-off chat show for Dickie, Smoggies continues to champion LGBTQ+ joy and Teesside identity.
Backed by the North East Production Fund and buckets of local TV-making talent, this second series cements Smoggie Queens as a loud and proud North East success story with shining national sparkle.
You can watch all episodes of series one (trailer above) here.
DANCE: Breakin’ Convention 2026
Where: Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
When: Tuesday, May 12, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
The annual celebration of hip hop culture was launched in 2004 and it has a big following. This year’s edition began at Sadler’s Wells in London earlier this month but is now heading our way.
“Prepare to be blown away by high-energy, world-class performances from celebrated poppers, lockers, b-boys and b-girls,” goes the suitably pumped up spiel.
Headliners include TRAPLORD, the Olivier Award-winning creation by Ivan Michael Blackstock, who has choreographed for Beyoncé, and which explores masculinity and mental health.
Then there’s the trio known as Femme Fatale, known for their musicality, precision and technique, and also members of the trailblazing ILL-Abilities, described as an all-star crew of differently abled b-boys.
Hosted by UK hip hop legend and Breakin’ Convention artistic director Jonzi D, this wallow in the wilder side of dance will fill the old theatre with DJs, graffiti artists, freestyle dance sessions and more.
Also look out for the local talent in the form of Gribz, Dance Jam and Ruff Diamond.
FESTIVAL: ClassicsFest
Where: Lit & Phil and various
When: May 14-16
Bookings and info: litandphil.org.uk
Food & Feasting in Antiquity is the tantalising title of this year’s festival looking afresh at life in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Several sessions, both during and leading up to the festival, are already sold out but it’s worth looking at the programme because others – notably Trimalchio’s Dinner Party (Tyneside Cinema, May 15, 3-5pm) – are not.
This is an afternoon fashioned around a passage from The Satyricon, a boisterous work of fiction attributed to Gaius Petronius and dating from the 1st Century AD.
The audience will be served afternoon tea while the story is brought to life around them by professional actors working from a script by Kirsten Luckins, Teesside-based winner of the inaugural ClassicsFest playwriting competition in 2024.
Dr Kathryn Tempest, a lecturer in Roman history, will talk about the original Latin text and the afternoon will conclude with a screening of Federico Fellini’s 1969 film, Satyricon, which was also inspired by the Petronius text.
Later the same day Alphabetti Theatre hosts the first of two performances (May 15 and 16, 7.30pm) of Great Granda Apicius by Abby Walker, from Bishop Auckland, winner of this year’s ClassicsFest playwriting competition.
COMEDY: Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf
Where: Stockton Globe
When: May 16
Bookings and info: stocktonglobe.co.uk
In his latest show, the world’s ‘41st best stand up ever’, Stewart Lee shares the stage with a snarling alter ego: a werewolf comedian from the subconscious who despises humanity.
The Man-Wulf taunts Lee as culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled, challenging whether his once BAFTA-winning, critically acclaimed style can still bite.
Nearing sixty, with health issues and a fading TV profile, the acclaimed comic asks if he can silence the beast within - or embrace it to stand alongside ‘Netflix-endorsed comedy of anger’.
This is the last of a few dates in the region, so if you’ve kicked yourself for missing one of them, this is your final chance.
MUSIC: Tom Smith
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: May 8
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
After two decades with Editors (who were originally signed to Newcastle label, Kitchenware, trivia fans), lead singer Tom Smith is on a solo tour on the back of album release There Is Nothing In The Dark That Isn’t There In The Light.
Following a sold-out 2025 tour, Tom is offering a stripped-back version of the songs to smaller UK venues, including the Tyne Theatre.
In related news, Editors have also announced a major return, with a date at Newcastle City Hall on March 7, 2027.
THEATRE: Little Shop of Horrors
Where: Northern Stage
When: May 8-23
Bookings and info: northernstage.co.uk
A cult classic with a darkly comic edge, a new production of Little Shop of Horrors comes from Northern Stage and Derby Theatre.
The story follows Seymour (played in the 1986 film by Rick Moranis), a struggling florist whose discovery of a mysterious plant brings unexpected success – and unsettling (to say the least) consequences.
Audiences can expect a killer soundtrack, including Suddenly Seymour and Feed Me, alongside the tongue-in-cheek tale of Seymour and his bloodthirsty houseplant.
Blending sci-fi, horror and offbeat humour, the production features music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman.
THEATRE: Astell & Woolf
Where: Live Theatre
When: May 14 to June 6
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
Shelagh Stephenson’s third play for Live Theatre is a comedy imagining Mary Astell and Virginia Woolf meeting in a waiting room after death.
We might not find out exactly what they’re waiting for but it seems pretty certain this will be an amusing encounter.
Phillippa Wilson plays Astell, the Newcastle-born proto-feminist whose life spanned the end of the 17th Century and the beginning of the 18th and who is remembered (though by how many?) for championing the cause of women.
They were men’s intellectual equals, she argued at a time when it was widely disputed, while questioning the principles of marriage, an institution she steered clear of all her life.
Virginia Woolf, the novelist, who did get married but eloquently put the case for women’s rights 200 years later, is played by Tessa Parr.
Stephenson makes no claim for this being a strictly biographical account of their lives but it is described by Live Theatre as “deep, funny and unapologetically smart”.
It is directed by Karen Traynor and also features a dog and a parrot (though not real ones).
Read our interview with Shelagh Stephenson
CONCERT: Dvořák and Mozart Serenades
Where: St George’s Church, Cullercoats; The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: May 9, 7.30pm; May 10, 3pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
The Liverpool Philharmonic may be on the big stage at The Glasshouse this weekend but it doesn’t mean our own Royal Northern Sinfonia musicians are sitting idle.
They’re out and about again, with the brass and woodwind sections performing a pair of heart-warming compositions in two contrasting venues.
Dvořák’s Serenade for Winds, according to The Glasshouse classical team, is “warm-hearted music that feels like it’s been written for friends… a proper comfort listen”.
Mozart, in his Serenade No. 10 ‘Gran Partita’, threw 13 players and seven movements into his composer’s pot, conjuring up “one great big expression of joy”.
The piece featured in Peter Shaffer’s 1979 stage play, Amadeus, and in the subsequent Oscar-winning film of 1984.
Meanwhile, RNS string players are bound for County Durham to perform pieces by Haydn (a selection from The Seven Last Words of Christ) and Schubert (String Quintet in C Major) at two other venues.
Catch them at Elvet Methodist Church, Durham, on Friday, May 8 (7.30pm) and The Witham, Barnard Castle, on Sunday, May 10 (2pm).
THEATRE: The Prince of Egypt
Where: Gala Durham
When: May 12-16
Booking & Info: galadurham.co.uk
Durham Musical Theatre Company present the North East premiere of The Prince of Egypt, getting in quick to be one of the first amateur groups to stage it.
The company (founded in 1908 as Durham Amateur Operatic Society; the name change came in 2003) is known for embracing rather than shirking challenges.
If they can stage the northern premiere of Titanic, which they did in 2006, they can do this.
The show is based on the 1998 DreamWorks Animation film which in turn was inspired by the Biblical Book of Exodus, telling of the flight of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
DMTC call it “a sweeping epic of a musical” featuring two young men raised as brothers, Rameses and Moses, who find themselves suddenly divided by a secret past.
The musical premiered in California in 2017 and then had a Covid-interrupted run in the West End.
DMTC’s Luke McGarey, playing Moses, the titular Prince of Egypt, says: “The scale of the production is extraordinary, everything is impressive. It’ll absolutely be a feast for the eyes and the ears, as the score is absolutely fantastic.”
CONCERT: Elijah
Where: Hexham Abbey
When: Saturday, May 9, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: hexham-orpheus-choir.org.uk
Mendelssohn’s famous oratorio, telling of the prophet Elijah as related in the Old Testament, is given a spring airing by the Hexham Orpheus Choir, conducted by its musical director, Mark Edwards.
Graeme Danby, the popular operatic bass, sings the part of the prophet while the other soloists are Valerie Reid, Alice Johnston, Cameron Robertson and, as The Youth, 14-year-old Charlotte Reynaud, head chorister at Hexham Abbey.
Mendelssohn’s work, billed as his masterpiece, was premiered in Birmingham in 1846 – it had been commissioned for the Birmingham Festival – although there was also a German version which was first performed a couple of years later.
The critic for The Times wrote after the first performance in English: “Never was there a more complete triumph, never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art.”
Hexham Orpheus Choir is non-auditioned and brings together people of different musical backgrounds to perform choral music.
Under Mark Edwards, it has an experienced and accomplished musical guide.
Looking further ahead, the choir’s summer concert will take place on July 8 in Hexham Methodist Church Hall.
THEATRE: Split Ends
Where: Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
When: May 13-14
Bookings and info: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
One-woman show Split Ends by Claudia Shnier arrives on Tyneside later in May, following multiple award nominations and international acclaim.
The multimedia production, which takes inspiration from Claudia’s own experiences, promises a exploration of OCD, coercive control and toxic relationships – with a hoover as its unexpected central figure.
Blending puppetry, video and autobiographical storytelling, the show aims to spark conversation around mental health and emotional manipulation.
CLASSICAL: Mahler’s Ninth Symphony
Where: The Glasshouse
When: Friday, May 8, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) takes the big stage this week to perform Mahler’s final symphony under its conductor Domingo Hindoyan.
“Violent, twisted, heart-stoppingly beautiful,” say The Glasshouse team, with surely unintended irony since the composer died of heart disease in 1911, a year before its Vienna premiere.
Written when mourning the death of one of his young daughters, the Ninth Symphony has been called Mahler’s farewell to life – although this has been disputed since he was working on his Tenth when he died, aged just 50.
It’s the only piece on Friday evening’s programme which means 90 minutes with no interval (you’ve been warned).
The RLPO say: “The very first notes of Mahler’s Ninth seem to stumble. The stricken composer put the rhythm of his failing heart into the orchestra and his Ninth Symphony opens with a sigh of farewell.
“But that’s the beginning, not the end, and throughout the piece Mahler wrings every last drop of sweetness, terror and beauty from all of life’s twists and turns.
“Each performance is a unique occasion and, make no mistake, chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan will have something powerful – and very personal – to say.”
STILL SHOWING
Screen: This Is Not A Murder Mystery, UTV and streaming on Channel Four, available now.
Theatre: Waitress, Sunderland Empire, until May 9
Festival: What Are Words Worth 2U2?, Northumbria University until May 8
Music: James Morrison, Stockton Globe, May 6 and Newcastle o2 City Hall, May 15
Music: Nigel Kennedy - A Virtuoso Concert Performance, Darlington Hippodrome,
May 8
Event: The Late Shows, Newcastle & Gateshead, May 8 and 9, evenings
Exhibition: Eugene Schlumberger, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, May 9 until June 13
Film: There’s Still Tomorrow, Redhills, Durham, May 10, 7.30pm
Screen: Sunderland Shorts Film Festival, David Puttnam Media Centre and various other venues in the city, May 11-17
Theatre: Legally Blonde - The Musical, Newcastle Theatre Royal, May 12-17
Theatre: Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Queen’s Hall, Hexham, and elsewhere May 12 (Hexham) and on tour to North East venues until May 31
Exhibition: Foundation Press – Starting Lines, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, until Aug 30
Exhibition: The Sheer Brass Neck, Newcastle Contemporary Art, 39 High Bridge, until May 9
Exhibition: The Graduates, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until Jul 31
Radio: Si King on Desert Island Discs, BBC Sounds/iPlayer
Exhibition: Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary, The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Sept 6
Exhibition: Following the Eagle, Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend, until Oct 3
Exhibition: Picture This: Someone Like Me, Great North Museum: Hancock, until Jan 2027
Exhibition: Portrait Award 2025, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until Sept 5
Exhibition: Enigmas, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, ongoing
Exhibition: Rebel Women of Sunderland, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, until Aug 1
Exhibition: Northumberland Open Exhibition, Woodhorn Museum, until May 10. Read more.
Screen: Torvill and Dean - The Last Dance, streaming on ITVX
Screen: Jools Holland’s New Orleans Jukebox, BBC iPlayer
Radio: Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT!, BBC Sounds
Exhibition: For All At Last Return and first major UK exhibition by filmmaker and artist Saodat Ismailova, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, until Jun 7, 2026
Exhibition: Out of the Darkness, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until December
NOW BOOKING
Comedy: Ayoade Bamgboye - Swings and Roundabouts, Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle, May 20
Comedy: James Acaster, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Jun 7-9
Music: Teddy Thompson, The Fire Station, Jun 9
Music: Take That - Circus Live, Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Jun 9
Event: Something in the Water, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 28
Dance: Bulleh Shah: Seeker of Light by Gaurav Bhatti, Dance City, Newcastle, Jul 13
Theatre: Karate Kid The Musical, Sunderland Empire, Jul 14-18
Theatre: The Importance of Being Oscar, Darlington Hippodrome, Jul 14-16
Screen: Off The Rails - Film Screening and Q&A with Sally Phillips & Jules Williamson, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Jul 17
Comedy: Harriet Kemsley - Work in Progress, Gala Durham, Aug 1
Theatre: The Silence of the Lambs, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Aug 18-22 (and Sunderland Empire, Jun 21-26, 2027)
Music: Smoove and Turrell - Singles Tour, Pop Recs, Sunderland, Sept 5
Music: Primal Scream, NX Newcastle, Sept 8
Comedy: Silly Billies Comedy, The Stand Newcastle, Sept 22
Theatre: Black Is The Color Of My Voice, Northern Stage, Sept 29
Comedy: Laura Lexx - Yo-Yo, The Witham, Barnard Castle (Oct 16); ARC Stockton (Oct 17); Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Nov 13)
Music: The Strokes, Newcastle Utilita Arena, Oct 25
Event: My Royal Life - An Audience with Lucy Worsley, Stockton Globe, Nov 2
Music: Jo Whiley’s 90s Anthems, NX Newcastle, Nov 14
2027
Music: The Marty Craggs Band, The Exchange 1856, Jan 2
Theatre: Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 23-27
Music: Gabrielle, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Apr 3
Comedy: Amy Gledhill - Thanks for Having Me, The Stand Newcastle, Apr 22
Comedy: Rhys James - Chop Logic, Northern Stage, Apr 29
COMPETITION TIME
Welcome to our latest newsletter prize draw - 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 Strictly Smokin’ Big Band
& IKS Big Band at Gosforth Civic Theatre, on June 5.
Two big bands for the price of one? Sounds like excellent value to us.
Strictly Smokin’ Big Band welcome Germany’s IKS Big Band to Newcastle for a one-off trans-European jazz night.
Each brings their own full set, from classic swing to contemporary arrangements, before joining forces for a no-holds-barred double big band finale.
Expect serious brass, driving rhythm and a whole lot of sound as two powerhouse ensembles squeeze onto one stage for large-scale and gloriously loud celebration of big band music.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Mine’s a Double (Big Band), by 5pm on Sunday (May 10)
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.