Curated Culture 10.03.26
Our weekly round up of recommendations from stages and cultural venues across the North East
Welcome to Curated Culture – your regular wander through the North East’s theatres, galleries, gig rooms and other cultural corners.
Every Tuesday, we bring you:
🗓️ Top Picks – a freshly gathered batch of featured listings for the coming fortnight
📌 Still Showing – earlier highlights that can still be enjoyed
📅 Now Booking – further-ahead dates worth getting in the diary
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – win a pair of tickets to see something excellent. This week, a pair of tickets to see Oysterband’s John Jones with Ray Cooper and Al Scott at Gosforth Civic Theatre on April 23. (details at the end).
As ever, thanks for supporting what we’re doing - and don’t forget to tell your friends!
Sam (Wonfor) & Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally preoccupied with North East culture
MUSIC: Sandi Thom
Where: The Bowes Museum
When: March 22
Bookings and info: thebowesmuseum.org.uk
Scottish singer-songwriter Sandi Thom is bringing an intimate acoustic show to Barnard Castle ahead of the release of her seventh studio album.
Nearly two decades after the chart-topping I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker, and more than 90 million Spotify streams to date, this special performance promises the chance to hear new material alongside familiar favourites in the museum’s atmospheric surroundings… and as final preparations are made for the opening of new exhibition, Vivienne Westwood: Rebel - Storyteller - Visionary on March 28.
EXHIBITION: Rebel Women of Sunderland
Where: Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens
When: Until August 1
Booking and info: sunderlandculture.org.uk
A new exhibition on Wearside celebrates the bold, brilliant and boundary-breaking women who have shaped the city’s past and present.
Free to visit, Rebel Women of Sunderland is on show at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens until August and brings together activists, artists, pioneers and campaigners through immersive storytelling, vivid visuals and a companion podcast series.
At its heart are striking illustrated portraits by Sunderland artist Kathryn Robertson, capturing the resilience and individuality of each subject. Creative responses from local artists and community groups add further depth, offering fresh perspectives on women’s work, creativity and influence across the city.
DANCE: RONiN
Where: Dance City, Newcastle
When: Friday, March 13, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: dancecity.co.uk
This is a preview performance of an exciting new production by award-winning choreographer Yukiko Masui (Tokyo-born, London-based) which invites us to enter the world of the ronin.
These were the masterless samurai warriors in feudal Japan who lived by their own code.
Via dance, swordplay and cutting edge digital projections, we follow the fortunes of a lone female swordfighter who must navigate a demanding patriarchal world in order to survive.
Taking us through the four seasons, each reflecting a new chapter in the heroine’s story, the production aims to immerse audiences in an anime-inspired realm, merging ancient traditions with modern visual storytelling.
Yukiko Masui, we are told, combines contemporary dance with martial precision to embody the fierce spirit of a warrior, aided by Barret Hodgson’s dynamic projection mapping.
Three dancers, Cher Nicolette, Jacob Lang and Nathan Bartman, will perform what promises to be a gripping performance ahead of the official premiere at Dance East, Ipswich, later in the month.
MUSIC: Happy Mondays
Where: Newcastle o2 City Hall
When: March 13
Bookings and info: academymusicgroup.com
‘Madchester’ icons Happy Mondays kick off their 2026 UK tour on Tyneside, marking 35 years of the era-defining album Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches.
Expect a set packed with nostalgic anthems (for those of a certain vintage) including Step On, Kinky Afro and Loose Fit, alongside fan favourites such as Hallelujah and 24 Hour Party People.
With special guests The Farm and Northside recreating a classic early-90s bill, it promises a memorable opening night.
OPERA NORTH: ‘Figaro’ & ‘Grimes’
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: March 19 to 21
Booking & Info: theatreroyal.co.uk
They may sound like an unctuous firm of lawyers but opera buffs will know them to be among the most famous works of Mozart and Benjamin Britten.
The Marriage of Figaro is a comic masterpiece while Peter Grimes, though inarguably a masterpiece, is anything but funny (trigger warnings include “bullying, child abuse and child death”).
The music in both cases, however, is sublime.
This new production of the Mozart opera is directed by Louisa Muller and has a cast including Emyr Wyn Jones as Figaro and Hera Hyesang Park as Susanna, his fiancée.
Interestingly, it also has a modern country house setting.
There are performances on March 19 and 21 at 7pm and tickets are already in short supply.
Dividing them, with a single performance on Friday, March 20 (also 7pm) is Peter Grimes in an acclaimed production directed by Phyllida Lloyd and with British tenor John Findon in the title role as the fisherman suspected of ill-treating a young boy lost at sea.
Gallery and amphitheatre seats are all that remain but this being Opera North, backed by its splendid orchestra and chorus, the music will carry.
THEATRE: I, Daniel Blake
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: March 20 to April 4
Bookings and info: northernstage.co.uk
A powerful stage adaptation of I, Daniel Blake returns to Northern Stage this spring before heading out on a UK tour.
Adapted by Dave Johns (who put in an award-winning turn as the titular character in the film by Ken Loach and Paul Laverty), the production once again shines a light on life at the sharp end of Britain’s welfare system.
David Nellist reprises his acclaimed role as Daniel alongside Jessica Johnson as Katie and Kema Sikazwe as China in a revival that asks whether anything has really changed. Stark, compassionate and deeply human, the story sadly remains as urgent as ever.
Director Mark Calvert said: “The story of I, Daniel Blake remains as necessary as ever. Whilst working on the original production I regularly visited the Newcastle food banks and witnessed first-hand the extraordinary work of their teams.
“This production stands as a testament to the need for realignment - a call to keep telling these stories until our country truly supports its most vulnerable, rather than protecting the privileged few and demonising those in need.”
CHORAL: The Creation
Where: Newcastle Civic Centre Banqueting Suite
When: Saturday, March 21, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: newcastlechoralsociety.org.uk
Newcastle Choral Society will perform the whole of Haydn’s popular oratorio, first performed publicly in 1899, in Vienna, and in London the following year at Covent Garden.
The Society tell us this is unusual for an amateur choir but it comes at the suggestion of Tim Cranfield who took up his position as musical director a year ago and clearly doesn’t lack ambition.
It will be Tim’s first major concert with the Society, conducting the choir and also Orchestra North East led, on this occasion, by Bradley Creswick, leader emeritus of Royal Northern Sinfonia and one of the country’s most accomplished – and popular – violinists.
“The work is conceived on a grand scale with three soloists singing beautiful, lyrical, music while greatly uplifting choruses celebrate each stage of God’s creation,” the Society informs us.
“Highly imaginative orchestral tone colouring accompanies passages describing the various natural phenomena, perhaps best known of which is The Representation of Chaos which opens the proceedings.
“Its shifting, vague, unresolved harmonies depict the shapeless void before the creation of the physical universe and lead to the explosive introduction of light.”
The soloists will be Anna Dias (soprano), Tom Klafkowski (tenor) and Andri Björn Róbertsson (bass), singing the parts of archangels Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael, and, later, in the case of the bass and the soprano, Adam and Eve.
COMEDY: Matt Forde - Defying Calamity
Where: Various North East dates
When: March 20-27
Bookings and info: mattforde.com
Political comedian Matt Forde heads to the North East as part of his biggest tour to date.
Known for his rapid-fire impressions and forensic dissection of Westminster absurdities, in this show, Matt will mix his signature topical satire with reflections on life beyond politics, including his own recent health battles.
A familiar face from Have I Got News for You and voice from Spitting Image, he remains one of the UK’s most incisive political comics, finding surprising flashes of optimism amid the chaos. And that’s some skill at the moment.
His North East dates are: Gala Durham (Mar 20); The Fire Station, Sunderland (Mar 25); Alnwick Playhouse (Mar 26); and The Witham, Barnard Castle (Mar 27).
FILM: Kinoteka Polish Film Festival on tour
Where: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
When: March 14 and 25
Bookings and info: tynesidecinema.co.uk
Running alongside the main Kinoteka Polish Film Festival in London, a touring programme arrives at Tyneside Cinema celebrating the centenary of legendary director Andrzej Wajda.
Spanning six decades of politically engaged filmmaking, the retrospective includes the revered classic Ashes and Diamonds - screened from a 35mm print - alongside Wajda’s final film, Afterimage. It’s a rare chance to revisit the work of one of European cinema’s most influential storytellers.
BRASS: North of England Championships
Where: Gala Theatre, Durham
When: March 21 and 22
Booking & Info: galadurham.co.uk
It’s 30 years since the film Brassed Off alerted many to the thrills and challenges of brass band music, an artform so competitive it almost ventures into the realm of sport.
To experience the adrenaline rush and the spine-tingling sounds, get along to the Gala for this regional qualifying contest for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.
Forty bands will be competing in four sections (as in football) plus a championship (akin to the Premier League) over the two days in front of expert adjudicators.
Sections two, four and one will compete in that order on Saturday, with an 11am start, followed by section three and the championship bands on Sunday, beginning at 10.30am.
Two from each will be invited to the National Brass Band Championships at York Barbican (for sections one to four) and London’s Royal Albert Hall (for the championship contenders), representing the North of England.
Among those competing for championship honours will be the Easington Colliery Brass Band, the EverReady Band, the Fishburn Band and last year’s regional championship winner, the NASUWT Riverside Band.
Day and weekend tickets are available with under 16s admitted free when accompanied by an adult.
THEATRE: Because We Said We Would
Where: Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
When: March 24 and 25, 7pm
Booking & Info: queenshall.co.uk
This is the latest from Fox and Hound Theatre which is based in Dumfries & Galloway and was founded in 2015 as a disabled and/or neurodiverse touring company by the versatile Helen Fox (artistic director) and soldier-turned-actor Codge Crawford.
Written by Fox, it follows the friendship of Tam (Crawford) and Jeanie (Fox) over the years.
We meet them first as seven-year-olds with a mutual love of music who make a pact to reunite every five years. This they then feel bound to do in honour of their childhood pledge, “because we said we would”.
The pair grow up through the changing music scenes of the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s and the bond between them deepens into something not easy to define.
Having already garnered good reviews on the road, it is billed as “a dynamic, working-class story of friendship and music, tracing decades of love, loss and loyalty that unfolds with humour and heart”.
It’s a comedy but, it seems, not without tears. It is directed by Ellie Jay Stevens who trained at Bristol Old Vic and has expressed an interest in “gritty and thought-provoking” work.
CLASSICAL: Imogen Cooper & Sarah Connolly
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Sunday, March 15, 3pm
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
This recital is part of the Piano Greats season and there are few greater than Dame Imogen Cooper who, at the age of 76, has spent a life in music.
Aged 12 she was sent to a famous Paris conservatoire to learn from some of the best piano teachers. At 17 she won its coveted first prize diploma.
Subsequently she studied in Vienna with Alfred Brendel, the renowned Czech-born Austrian composer who died last year at the age of 94, which is rather neat for North East concert-goers.
In 2008 Brendel performed in this very hall on his farewell tour, a standing ovation prompting two encores.
This concert, according to a Sunday Times interview, is part of Dame Imogen’s farewell tour, albeit an extended one that includes a series of concerts in China, starting the next weekend.
Explaining her retirement decision, she spoke of “this strange fantasy of leading a normal life”.
Joining her in Sage One will be another classical star and another Dame, the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly who grew up near Darlington.
A mixed programme will include pieces by Robert Schumann, Debussy and Benjamin Britten. It should be quite an occasion.
STILL SHOWING
Theatre: Shuggy Boats, Live Theatre Newcastle, until Mar 21
Film: Tyne Valley Film Festival, Hexham and various North East venues, Mar 13-27
Theatre: Glitch – The True Story of the Post Office Scandal, Northern Stage, Mar Poetry: Dr John Cooper Clarke with special guests, ARC, Stockton, Mar 14
Comedy: Russell Howard - Don’t Tell The Algorithm, Sunderland Empire, Mar 14
Classical: John Wilson and Sinfonia of London, The Glasshouse, Mar 13
Event: Holi Festival of Colours, Baltic, Gateshead, Mar 14, 12-4pm
Exhibition: Women Behind Bars: Life in Newcastle Prison, 1828-1925, until Apr 27. Read our preview
Film: Blyth Festival of Film, Various venues across the town, until March 21
Exhibition: Voices for Truth Exhibition, City Library, Newcastle, until Apr 2
Theatre: TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until Mar 18. Read our review
Exhibition: Lady Kitt – Lines of Legitimacy, Hartlepool Art Gallery, Apr 18
Exhibition: Northumberland Open Exhibition, Woodhorn Museum, until May 10. Read more.
Comedy: Sara Pascoe - I Am A Strange Gloop, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Gala Theatre Durham on Mar 27
Exhibition: Feeling Into The Unknown, Hartlepool Art Gallery, until Apr 18
Theatre: Hidden Biscuit, Queen’s Hall Hexham and Live Theatre, Newcastle, Mar 20 and Apr 2, respectively
Screen: Torvill and Dean - The Last Dance, streaming on ITVX,
Theatre: I, Daniel Blake, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Mar 20 to April 4
Theatre: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 6-11
Exhibition: Desire Lines, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until Apr 12
Theatre: Sunny Afternoon, Stockton Globe, April 14-18
Comedy: Chris Ramsey - Here Man, Newcastle 02 City April 17-19
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
Film: North Sea Surf Film Festival, Tynemouth and North Shields, Mar 26-28
Music Festival: Stockton Calling, Various venues, Apr 4
Theatre: Mean Girls, Sunderland Empire, Apr 6-11
Food/Event: Felicity Cloake’s Adventures in Food, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Apr 14
Music: Tori Amos, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Apr 16
Music: Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, The Glasshouse, Apr 25-26
Music: The Prodigy, Utilita Arena Newcastle, May 2
Theatre: Glorious!, Darlington Hippodrome, May 12-16
Music: Kiefer Sutherland, Boiler Shop Newcastle, May 17
Comedy: Elaine Robertson - Delulu, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, May 23 (also at Alnwick Playhouse on May 6)
Music: The Fire Doors, The Cluny, Newcastle, Jun 12
Theatre: Smack Family Robinson (Reading), Live Theatre, Newcastle, Jun 19
Music: The Pitmen Poets, various North East dates, June 26 to July 12
Exhibition: Beyond Van Gogh Immersive Experience, Newcastle Utilita Arena, Jul 12 to Aug 9
Comedy: Flo and Joan, Gala Durham (Sept 19); and Tyne Theatre and Opera House (Nov 27)
Comedy: Rachel Fairburn - Vexy Beasts, ARC, Stockton, Oct 3
Comedy: Catherine Bohart - Borrowing Trouble, The Stand Newcastle, Oct 8
Music: The Legends in Vegas - After Hours, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Oct 31
Theatre: Billy Elliot, Sunderland Empire, Nov 4-28
Music: Bootleg Beatles, Alnwick Playhouse, Dec 11
2027
Comedy: Romesh Ranganathan Will Change Your Life, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Feb 4-6
Music/Film: E.T The Extra Terrestrial in Concert, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Feb 21
Theatre: The Most Famous Tree in the World, Live Theatre, Newcastle, May 6-29
Theatre: Jersey Boys, Sunderland Empire, May 25-Jun 5
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 see Oysterband’s John Jones with Ray Cooper and Al Scott at Gosforth Civic Theatre on April 23.
Folk mainstay John Jones is on the road with The Song Goes On Tour, marking a new chapter following Oysterband’s farewell run.
Best known for his powerful voice and decades at the heart of the folk and roots scene, Jones is joined by long-time collaborators Ray Cooper and Al Scott.
Between them they bring a small orchestra of instruments and a shared musical history stretching back decades.
Expect songs and tunes drawn from across their back catalogues, alongside new material and traditional favourites - proof that, even as one era ends, the music very much goes on.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Jones, Cooper, Scott and ME! by noon, (5pm) on Sunday (March 15, 2026).
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.