Curated Culture 05.08.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello there and hope all of your garden gates, trees and hair extensions have held up following Storm Floris’ dramatic visit.
It’s August, somehow - the kind of month where everything slows down just a notch, but the region still manages to pack the calendar with excelleny things to see, do, eat, and stumble across.
Whether you’re making the most of the long evenings or just enjoying the quieter streets while everyone's away, there’s plenty happening if you know where to look.
Which, conveniently, is exactly why we’re here.
If you’re new to the list, welcome! Each Tuesday, this little round-up drops into your inbox with:
🗓️ Top Picks – standout events we think are worth your time over the next couple of weeks
📌 Still Showing – listings we’ve previously shouted about that are still going strong
📅 Now Booking – stuff further into the calendar you might want to get firmed up
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – a little thank-you treat at the end
This week’s prize? A pair of tickets to Nick Helm - Nobody Gets Out Alive at The Stand Newcastle on November 4. Scroll to the bottom to find out how to enter. But don’t rush. The good stuff’s just getting started.
Thanks, as always, for reading - and for keeping the inbox full of your brilliant tips and enthusiastic back pats. Keep ’em coming.
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
FESTIVAL: Hardwick Live
Where: Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield
When: August 15-17
Bookings and info: hardwickfestival.co.uk
Now in its 11th year, Hardwick Festival returns to the scenic grounds of Hardwick Hall with a mix of big-name pop and indie favourites, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.
A trio of main stage headliners this year see the Pet Shop Boys (Saturday), Scissor Sisters (Friday), and Olly Murs (Sunday) lead the charge alongside a sizeable melting pot of crowd-pleasing acts.
Among them: chart-topping singer-songwriter Tom Walker, fast-rising indie outfit The K’s, genre-blurring cult favourites Alabama 3, and Toploader, still presumably primed to get everyone dancing in the moonlight.
Other acts on the bill include The Brand New Heavies, K-Klass, D-Dream, Newcastle singer Andrew Cushin, Everything Everything and Scouting for Girls. There’s also a set from tribute band Definitely Oasis, because of course there is.
Three days, multiple stages, and something for most tastes – whether you're going for the music, the food, or just the general summer festival atmos.
THEATRE: SIX
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: August 12-23
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
What if Henry VIII’s wives ditched the history books and formed a girl band? That’s the basic pitch of SIX, the whip-smart, high-energy musical that’s taken over stages from the West End to Broadway - and is now back on Tyneside for a summer stay.
In just 80 punchy, interval-free minutes, the six Queens take turns at the mic to tell their side of the story - remixing 500 years of heartbreak into a sparkly, defiant, chart-ready pop concert. Expect power ballads, dancefloor anthems, killer costumes, and plenty of sass.
Even if you’re not usually a musicals person, this one’s hard to resist. It’s clever, tight, and totally self-aware - like a Spice Girls x Horrible Histories mash-up with real vocal firepower.
EVENT: National Mackem Day
Where: Sheepfolds, Sunderland
When: August 12
Bookings and info: musiccity.uk/whats-on
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.
All performances will be original works written about – or inspired by – Sunderland.
Read more here.
THEATRE: Pits, People and Players
Where: Ensemble ’84, Horden Methodist Church
When: August 21 to 23
Bookings and info: ensemble84.com
Mark Dornford-May’s new theatre company landed with a terrific splash earlier in the year with its rip-roaring production of Mother Courage.
That inaugural show – absolutely not to be missed – was a co-production with South Africa’s Isango Ensemble (another Dornford-May creation) and it’s returning to Live Theatre, Newcastle, from October 23 to November 1 (tickets are on sale now and they’re sure to sell out).
But this second production from the new Ensemble ’84, a company rooted in the local area, celebrates the 125th anniversary of Horden – a County Durham village, they say, “forged in coal, carved by industry and transformed by change”.
Directed once again by Dornford-May, it’s a show “rooted in the lived experience of local people and crafted from a tapestry of testimony, memory and imagination” and “a tribute to the power of place, the endurance of stories, and the necessity of hope”.
The setting is Horden Methodist Church, on Blackhills Road, which is now the home of Ensemble ’84 and hence a North East theatre hotspot.
COMEDY: Bill Bailey – Thoughtifier
Where: Stockton Globe
When: Tuesday 26 August 2025, 8pm
Bookings and info: atgtickets.com
Stand up, TV and Strictly Come Dancing favourite, Bill Bailey returns to the stage with Thoughtifier - a typically surreal, musical and meandering exploration of what makes us human.
In a world increasingly run by machines, this show sounds like a love letter to our imperfect, snack-obsessed, easily distracted selves.
Expect musings on everything from whales to biophilia, unrequited love and the strange corners of the human mind, all delivered with Bailey’s usual mix of stand-up, storytelling and brilliantly weird musical interludes.
If you've ever wondered whether your brain is a little too full of odd thoughts, Bill’s here to celebrate that - and possibly turn it into a jazz number.
MUSIC: The Shires
Where: The Parade Ground, Sunderland
When: August 17, 5pm
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
From open-mic nights to Nashville record deals, The Shires have become one of the UK’s most beloved country acts - and they’re bringing their distinctively beautiful sound to Sunderland this summer.
Expect tight harmonies, heartfelt lyrics, and a setlist that moves between early favourites like Nashville Grey Skies and tracks from their 2022 album Ten Year Plan.
Support comes from Jade Helliwell and Hayley McKay. Seating’s unreserved and first-come-first-served, so get down early if you want to park it.
FESTIVAL: Come Together Festival
Where: Town Moor, Newcastle
When: August 20 and 22
Bookings and info: cometogetherfestival.co.uk
Originally scheduled to take place in Newcastle in early June, the rescheduled dates for the Come Together festival are nearly upon us.
Headliners Robbie Williams and Kings of Leon both signed on for the new dates, as did support acts, which include North East stars Perrie Edwards, Dolder, Du Blonde and Andrew Cushin, Kaiser Chiefs, Courteeners and The Cribs.
Taking place where travelling funfair, The Hoppings was just a few weeks ago, it sounds like the Town Moor is going to need a big dollop of TLC next month.
THEATRE: Bat Out of Hell: The Musical
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: August 18-23
Bookings and info: atgtickets.com
Meat Loaf meets Mad Max in this loud, leather-clad rock musical, packed with Jim Steinman’s power ballads and a dystopian love story that plays out on towering, multi-level sets.
Expect a full-throttle live band, big vocals, and even bigger drama as the show jumps between angsty bedrooms and an underground rebel world where youth is eternal and everything is dialled up to 11.
Songs include I’d Do Anything for Love, Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, and, of course, Bat Out of Hell. It’s big, it’s brash, and it’s not trying to be subtle. If you’re in the mood for a night of theatrical excess, this one sounds like it will fit the bill.
EVENT: Susie Dent - Word Perfect
Where: Darlington Hippodrome
When: August 20
Bookings and info: darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
Susie Dent, our favourite dictionary corner fixture, returns to the stage with Word Perfect - a fresh collection of linguistic oddities and fascinating word stories.
Ever wondered if there’s a proper term for fridge-snacking without success? Or why crows gather in a ‘murder’, while owls meet in a ‘parliament’? The audience at this show will wonder no more.
They’ll also hear punchy examples, head-scratching facts and witty observations on everything from teen slang to all the synonyms we have for being drunk… all delivered with her signature charm, warmth and delightful mischief.
MUSIC: The Undertones
Where: ARC, Stockton
When: August 9
Bookings and info: arconline.co.uk
Formed in Derry in the mid-70s, The Undertones built their sound on mail-order records, bedroom rehearsals and John Peel’s radio show — he famously played Teenage Kicks twice in a row the first time he heard it. Nearly 50 years later, they’re still going strong, with a set packed full of punky guitar-pop classics like Get Over You, Jimmy Jimmy, My Perfect Cousin, and the track that started it all.
This tour sees them out on the road with their first-ever live album, recorded with current frontman Paul McLoone. If you’ve never seen them live (or haven’t in a while), this is your chance. No fuss, no frills, just solid songs and a band that knows exactly what they’re doing.
The band will be back in the North East later this year with a date at Newcastle’s Boiler Shop on December 4.
STILL SHOWING
Event: NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week, all over Newcastle city centre, until Aug 10
Theatre: Chicago, Sunderland Empire, until Aug 9
Event: Festival of Books, Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens, Aug 9
Exhibition: Unpicking Memories, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, Aug 9 to Sept 6
Screen: Motherboard + Q & A, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, Aug 11
Theatre: The Book of Mormon, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until Aug 9
Exhibition: The Art of Conservation, South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, Ocean Road, until Dec 6
Exhibition: The Words That Bind Us, Durham Cathedral, until Nov 2
Exhibition: Pippa Hale: Pet Project, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until March 1, 2026
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: Three artists, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until January 10, 2026
Exhibition: Pursued By Bulldozers, Gateshead Central Library, until Sept 27
Exhibition: Magna Carta and the North, Durham Cathedral, until Nov 2
Exhibition: Where Were You Last Summer? Arts Centre Washington, until Aug 30
Screen: Transaction, ITV X, Full series now available
Exhibition: Works by Nathan Coley, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 1, 2026
Exhibition: Light Takes The Tree, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, until Aug 7
Screen: 28 Years Later, Cinemas all over the place, on general release now. 🎥 Read our report from Newcastle gala screening
Exhibition: The Wonderful World of the Ladybird Book Artists, Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens, near Durham, until Aug 31
Exhibition: Guiding Entities, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until Nov 23
Exhibition: Cedric Morris, Artist, Plantsman & Traveller, Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, until Oct 12
Exhibition: The Coal Town Collection – Mik Critchlow Gallery, Woodhorn Museum, Ashington, permanent display
Exhibition: With These Hands, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until September 27
Exhibition: Shakespeare Recovered, Palace Green Library, Durham, until Nov 2
Audio-Visual: The Mother Goose Series, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, until July
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
Music: The Young’uns Big Boro Bash, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Nov 15
Big screen: Expo Sunderland Pavilion, Keel Square, Sunderland, throughout 2025
NOW BOOKING
Theatre: The Shawshank Redemption, Darlington Hippodrome, Sept 9-13
Event: Celebrating 25 years of Billy Elliot, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Sept 19
Dance: Se Gæst I The Guest, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Sept 23; Seaton Delaval Hall, Sept 27; Queen’s Hall Hexham, Oct 18; North Shields Fish Market, Oct 25; Auckland Castle, Nov 2; and Dance City Newcastle, Dec 11
Theatre: Mary Poppins, Sunderland Empire, Oct 1-25
Comedy: Sandy Toksvig, Gala Theatre Durham, Oct 2
Festival: Beyond the Moor, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 11
Music: Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox on Tour, various North East venues, Oct 16-Nov 6
Music: Marti Pellow - Love Is All Around, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Oct 30
Comedy: Nick Helm - Nobody Gets Out Alive, The Stand Newcastle, Nov 4
Music: Heaven 17, Boiler Shop, Newcastle, Nov 17
Music: Crocodile Shoes by Jimmy Nail, Live Theatre Newcastle, Dec 2-13
Music and Comedy: Rob Brydon and His Fabulous Band - A Festive Night of Song and Laughter, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Dec 4
2026
Comedy: Scummy Mummies - Hot Mess, Alnwick Playhouse, Jan 27; Queens Hall Arts Centre, Jan 28; Darlington Hippodrome, Jan 29
Music: The Feeling, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Mar 5
Comedy: Chris Ramsey, Stockton Globe, Feb 27; Newcastle 02 City Hall, Apr 17-19
Music: Bella Hardy, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Feb 28
Music: Seven Drunken Nights - The Story of the Dubliners, Sunderland Empire, Apr 21
Music: Yungblud, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Apr 21
Dance: Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 28 to May 9
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 pair of tickets to Nick Helm - Nobody Gets Out Alive at The Stand Newcastle on November 4.
Back on tour with another hour of chaotic, shouty, oddly moving comedy, Nick’s latest show is billed as part stand-up, part emotional exorcism, and part rock gig - all delivered at full volume by a man who seems genuinely unsure whether he’s here to save you or destroy you.
There will be jokes. There will be songs. There might be tears. And you’ll almost definitely leave the room feeling slightly different to how you went in.
If you’ve seen Helm before, you know the deal. If you haven’t - he’s loud, he’s intense, and somehow, underneath all that, a little bit profound. Over 16s only.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: I wanna be at the Helm, by noon, (12pm) on Sunday, August 10, 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.