Curated Culture 07.01.25
Our weekly cultural round-up featuring stuff-to-see recommendations from venues and attractions all over North East England
Hello, happy new year and welcome to the first Curated Culture of 2025!
While a new year has begun, you’ll hopefully be pleased to hear that some things are staying the same - namely this newsletter, which exists to signpost our subscribers to things we think are worth your time and attention across the region’s cultural stages, venues and attractions.
Basically, this is the mailout which does its best to make sure the phrase ‘ah man! I wished I’d known that was on’ is banished from your vocabulary.
Tuesdays are the day where we bring together a fulsome collection of featured listings - events, shows, gigs and more that we reckon are worth getting in front of over the next couple of weeks.
Not only that but the STILL SHOWING section rounds up everything which has been highlighted in previous Curated Culture newsletters and remains available to enjoy; further down, the NOW BOOKING section looks further into the future to spotlight some stuff you might want to get nailed down and in your diaries well ahead of time.
For this week’s newsletter prizedraw - which always offers Cultured. North East subscribers an exclusive chance to win tickets to something great - we’ve got a pair of tickets to see Birdsong at Newcastle Theatre Royal on January 21.
All the info and details of how to be in with a chance of winning can be found at the end… but don’t forget to have a gentle scroll through all the good stuff between here and there.
See you soon and thanks as ever for all your support
Sam and Dave*
*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, X/Twitter and Blue Sky
COMEDY: Tony Law - The Law Also Rises
Where: The Stand Newcastle
When: January 11, 5pm
Bookings and info: thestand.co.uk
What better way to combat the January blues than a big dose of nonsense and absurdity, courtesy of multi-award-winning Canadian comic and storyteller, Tony Law.
Joyful, silly, wonderfully childish and as surreal as all giddy-up, strap in for some ‘farm boy hardcore whimsy’.
CONCERT: Brundibár Arts Festival opener
Where: St James’s United Reformed Church, Northumberland Road NE1 8JF
When: January 18, 7pm
Bookings and info: brundibarartsfestival.com
The first concert of this year’s festival dedicated to the music and arts of the Holocaust features works by composers who fled to America to escape the Nazis.
They are: the Italian Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 Sephardic Songs); Franz Waxman, a German of Jewish descent who composed Oscar-winning film scores (Memories of Childhood); Darius Milhaud, who was born into a Jewish family in France (Quartet no. 13); and Austrians Ernst Krenek (Clarinet Trio op. 108), Ernst Toch (Adagio for clarinet & piano) and Arnold Schoenberg (Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte).
Violinist Alexandra Raikhlina, festival founder, will perform along with fellow violinist Jack Liebeck, Benjamin Roskams (viola), Adrian Brendel (cello), Jessica Lee (clarinet) and pianists Yoshie Kawamura and Danny Driver.
Also performing will be tenor Alex Aldren, a doctor who returned to hospital work during the Covid pandemic and whose impromptu performance of Nessun Dorma was a social media hit.
Read more: Baked in highlights for 2025
COMEDY: Mark Thomas – Gaffa Tapes
Where: Alnwick Playhouse
When: January 31, 8pm
Bookings and info: alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
One of the most experienced performers on the stand-up circuit (getting on for 40 years now) brings his particular brand of comic outrage to the North East with this gig and a follow-up at The Witham, Barnard Castle, on February 1 (also 8pm).
“Less about unique insight than distilling what we know into little balls of rage, eloquently expressed and delivered with fervour,” wrote one critic after last summer’s appearance on the Edinburgh Fringe.
“Jumping between punchline and rant, Thomas powers through an hour of material with a glorious manic energy,” wrote another.
Famous for having a go at the Tories, you would have thought he’d find few fans here – but north Northumberland voters did replace a Conservative with a Labour MP in the last general election. Not that anyone’s immune from being a Thomas target.
Whatever your politics, though, as one of those critics acknowledged, he is the “consummate stand-up” and “here to make you laugh and fight the good fight at the same time”.
THEATRE: Murder on the Orient Express
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: January 14-18
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
Following a marathon stint of under-the-sea pantomime drama, the Theatre Royal’s preparations for a murder mystery are right on track.
Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of one of Agatha Christie’s most beloved whodunits will see Michael Maloney (Truly, Madly, Deeply; Belfast; Young Victoria; The Crown) star as Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot who is tasked with finding the murderer on The Orient Express. How many icons can one stage hold?
Read David Whetstone’s interview with Michael Maloney
EVENT: Day Fever
Where: Boiler Shop, Newcastle
When: January 18, 3pm (also Feb 15)
Bookings and info: boilershop.net
Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure, filmmaker Jonny Owen and Reverend and the Makers frontman, Jon McClure are bringing their popular Day Fever events to Newcastle.
Two dates have been booked for the Boiler Shop (January 18 and February 15) - each promising a ‘joyous celebration’ offering people the chance to relive the magic of big nights out… but all between the hours of 3pm and 8pm.
Read more: SDR200 Festival on track for special year
THEATRE: The Whirligig of Time
Where: Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
When: January 31, February 1, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: queenshall.co.uk
Much of the laughter in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night comes at the expense of Malvolio, Countess Olivia’s loyal and po-faced steward who is duped into believing that, if he acts completely out of character, he will win her heart.
Who hasn’t laughed without feeling also a trifle ashamed? Mocking Malvolio, not that drunken tormentors Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek have ever cared, is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Berwick-based Tortive Theatre, who had a hit with Shakespeare’s Fool, take up the story of Malvolio six weeks later in this new one-man play written by Richard Curnow, directed by Oli Brooks and performed by Robin Leetham who also played the fool (one Will Kempe) in the earlier play.
A reviewer on the Edinburgh Fringe, where it premiered last August, called Leetham’s performance “extraordinary”, a portrayal of repressed energy before finally breaking out in rage and despair.
MUSIC: The Pasadena Roof Orchestra
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: January 22
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Following a fabulous debut in 2023, the Pasadena Roof Orchestra return to The Fire Station to once again take audiences back into the glamorous world of the Roaring 1920s and ‘30s.
Expect to hear classics from the pens of Irving Berlin, Ray Noble and Cole Porter, as well as electrifying hot jazz from the likes of Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington.
THEATRE: And Then There Were None
Where: People’s Theatre, Newcastle
When: January 14-18
Bookings and info: peoplestheatre.co.uk
There’s something murderous in the air in Newcastle this month… at the same time Poirot is investigating a crime in a train carriage at the Theatre Royal (see above), The People’s Theatre is kicking off its new year with another world famous murder mystery…
A stage-telling of Agatha Christie’s international best-seller will invite audiences to watch (hopefully from the edge of their seats) as the wicked back stories of 10 strangers unravel on a remote island.
Every one of them is hiding a secret which has them marked for murder… and there is a killer amongst them.
THEATRE: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: January 15-19
Bookings and info: Sunderland Empire website
Anyone who keeps an eye on Joe McElderry’s socials will have noticed the South Shields performer has been keeping particularly busy over the Christmas period.
Not only has he been starring as Dishy Fishy in The Little Mermaid at Newcastle Theatre Royal - he’s also been working hard at rehearsals, preparing to play the roof-raising Pharaoh in the multi-award-winning production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s enduring and much-loved musical.
Featuring sing-a-long pop and musical theatre classics, including Any Dream Will Do, Close Every Door, There’s One More Angel In Heaven and Go, Go, Go Joseph, Sunderland audiences get the first visit from the UK tour - the production will be back in the region at the Theatre Royal in June.
MUSIC: The London Symphonic Rock Orchestra
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: January 18
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
The Tyne Theatre is the place to be for anyone looking to blow the cobwebs off and get 2025 started in rocking style.
A dozen classically trained artists joined by their love of rock music formed the orchestra in 2018 to start creating a wall of sound audiences don’t forget.
Since then London Symphonic Rock Orchestra have buily a big reputation for fusing orchestral beauty with raucous rebellion to deliver iconic rock hits.
Prepare for memorable performances of classics from the likes of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Guns N Roses, Evanescence, Motörhead, Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine and System of a Down.
MUSIC: Tyneside Americana Blues Festival
Where: The Exchange 1856, North Shields
When: January 10-12
Bookings and info: americanabluesevent.com
Following a successful debut in 2024, the Tyneside Americana Blues Festival is back and setting up camp for three days at The Exchange 1856 in North Shields.
Promising to celebrate the best of Americana and Blues music, the 2025 line up includes Medicine Head, the Deborah Bonham Band and The Animals and Friends with John Steele.
THEATRE: Jack and the Beanstalk
Where: Beamish Museum, County Durham
When: Weekend performances until February 16
Bookings and info: Beamish website
The Beamish Amateur Dramatic Society are keeping the festive spirit going - staging a 1950s pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk for the next few weeks.
It will be performed in the Museum’s 1950s welfare hall at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays, with audiences treated to the classic tale which sees Jack sell his cow for a handful of magic beans before encountering a blood-thirsty giant, a harp and a hen that lays golden eggs at the top of the resulting beanstalk.
Tickets are £3 per person (Museum admission charges apply) must be booked in advance. Under 5s go free.
STILL SHOWING
Exhibition: We all came here from somewhere, BALTIC, until Feb 9
Exhibition: Sheila Fell - Cumberland on Canvas, Tullie House, Carlisle, until Mar 16, 2025 (coming to Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens after it closes
Exhibition: Framing Fashion, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 2, 2025
Exhibition: Romance to Realities: The Northern Landscapes and Shifting Identities, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until April 26, 2025
Exhibition: Hannah Perry - Manual Labour, BALTIC, until Jan 19, 2025
Exhibition: Ted Holloway - A Bevin Boy Remembered, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until June 8, 2025
Exhibition: Mali Morris - Returning, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle, until Jan 11, 2025
NOW BOOKING
Jan 26: Burns Night at The Cumberland Arms, Ouseburn, Newcastle
Jan 29-Feb 7: DIG, various North East venues
Jan 31: Animal Farm (performed by Guy Masterson), Darlington Hippodrome
Feb 5: Wet Wet Wet with special guest, Heather Small, Stockton Globe
Feb 5-22: Hadaway Harry, various venues all over the North East
Feb 6-21: PITMAN, Eliot Smith Dance, various North East venues
Feb 8: Zoe Lyons: Werewolf, The Witham, Barnard Castle. Also playing The Stand Newcastle on March 30.
Feb 13-Mar 8: Champion, Live Theatre, Newcastle
Feb 16: Fauré Requiem, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
Feb 17: RSC First Encounters - The Tempest, Middlesbrough Town Hall
Feb 18: MOBO Awards, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Feb 19: Fairport Convention, The Fire Station, Sunderland (also at Queen’s Hall Hexham on Feb 14)
Feb 25-Mar 2: The Koala Who Could, Northern Stage, Newcastle
Mar 05: An Evening Shared with Jasper Carrott and Alistair McGowan, Darlington Hippodrome
Mar 13: Vera - End of an era with Brenda Blethyn and Ann Cleeves, Newcastle 02 City Hall
Mar 29: The Delines, Gosforth Civic Theatre
Mar 31: Jake Donaldson - Spectacle, The Stand Newcastle
Apr 23: Joan As Police Woman, Sage Two, The Glasshouse
Apr 24: PlayStation - The Concert, Utilita Arena, Newcastle
Apr 25-27: Public Record, The Fire Station, Sunderland
Apr 30: Shaun Ryder - Happy Mondays, and Fridays, and Saturdays, and Sundays, Queen’s Hall, Hexham
May 10: Stockton Blues, Rhythm and Rock Festival 2025, ARC Stockton
June 19: Royal Northern Sinfonia - Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, The Fire Station, Sunderland
June 25: Father John Misty, Sage One, The Glasshouse
Oct 4-25: Miss Saigon, Newcastle Theatre Royal
Nov 1: Bad Manners, ARC Stockton
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 Birdsong at Newcastle Theatre Royal on January 21, 2025.
A new production telling Sebastian Faulks’s epic story of love and loss marks the 30th anniversary of the best-selling novel.
Beginning in pre-war France, the play follows one man’s journey through an all-consuming love affair and into the horror of the First World War.
Starring award-winning actor Max Bowden, (Eastenders’ Ben Mitchell), James Esler (Litvinenko) and Charlie Russell (BBC’s And Then There Were None), this critically acclaimed play promises a mesmerising story of love and courage.
Look out for David Whetstone’s preview in the coming days.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: BIRDSONG before midday (12pm) on Sunday, January 12, 2025.
The winner, who will be selected at random, will be notified within 24 hours of the entry deadline.
The tickets will be for a performance of your choice, subject to availability,
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.