Curated Culture 14.10.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s Curated Culture – your Tuesday round-up of the gigs, shows, exhibitions, events and cultural happenings we think are well worth your time and attention.
Each week we pull together a handpicked mix of what’s on, what’s still running, and what you might want to get firmed up, so you can spend less time scrolling and more time planning your next outing.
If you’ve just joined us, here’s the lay of the land:
🗓️ Top Picks – standout events from the coming fortnight
📌 Still Showing – favourites from earlier mailouts still worth catching
📅 Now Booking – ones to thank yourself later for securing
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, a pair of tickets to see Briana Corrigan (Beautiful South) at The Fire Station, Sunderland on October 27. Details at the end.
Thanks, as ever, for reading and spreading the word – it makes all the difference.
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
EVENT: Mercury Music Prize
Where: Utilita Arena Newcastle
When: October 16
Bookings and info: utilitaarena.co.uk
For the first time in its history, the Mercury Prize will be staged outside London – and Newcastle is taking centre stage.
The prestigious celebration of the year’s best British and Irish albums arrives at the Utilita Arena on Thursday (Oct 16), with an incredible live line-up confirmed.
Performing on the night will be nine of the 12 shortlisted artists, including North East hypersonic superstar Sam Fender, alongside Emma-Jean Thackray, FKA twigs, Jacob Alon, Joe Webb, Martin Carthy, Pa Salieu, Pulp and Wolf Alice. Performances from nominees Fontaines D.C., PinkPantheress and CMAT will feature via screens.
Hosted by Sunderland’s Lauren Laverne, the event will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Sounds, with TV coverage on BBC Four and iPlayer from 9.30pm.
In the lead-up, the Mercury Prize Newcastle Fringe - which runs until October 15 - has peppered venues across the region with gigs, workshops and industry events.
THEATRE: Mother Courage
Where: Live Theatre, Newcastle
When: October 23 to Nov 1
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
Tickets are selling fast for the return run of Ensemble 84’s debut production which premiered at Horden Methodist Church to rave reviews (see David Whetstone’s here) in May this year.
The new theatre company based in Horden comprising local people and with a team headed by artistic director Mark Dornford-May performed Lee Hall’s adapted version of the timeless Bertolt Brecht classic.
You couldn’t get a ticket for love nor money, so it was very good news when a run of performances were confirmed in Live Theatre’s autumn brochure.
The Ensemble 84 performers will once again be joined on stage by members of the Isango Ensemble, Mark’s award-winning South African theatre company.
Brecht wrote the play in 1939, with help from collaborator and sometime lover Margarete Steffin, and although it’s set during the Thirty Years’ War of the 17th Century it was one of several that reflected his bitter opposition to the rise of Nazisim.
Mother Courage, who sells provisions from her cart to soldiers, is a survivor of war although she loses her nearest and dearest in tragic circumstances. The play in which she features is considered one of the greatest pieces of anti-war theatre.
Sadly, the rare performances of it are always timely – none more so than today.
MUSIC: Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox - From the Horses Mouth
Where: Various venues across the North East
When: October 16 to November 1
Bookings and info: billymitchell.co.uk
Long-time collaborators Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox - two of the North East’s most cherished folk musicians – hit the road again this week (October 16 at the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth) with a new show.
From the Horse’s Mouth sees the much-loved duo reimagining their musical journeys in a fresh, story-driven format that blends performance, conversation and plenty of laughs as well as quality tunes.
While Billy and Bob have shared countless stages over the years, this new tour takes audiences deeper into the songs and stories that shaped their lives – from Lindisfarne and War Horse to The Pitmen Poets and beyond. Each half of the show has its own flavour: the first tracing their paths through the folk scene, the second packed with fan favourites, from Meet Me on the Corner to Rambling Rover and The Jolly Waggoner.
Expect top-class musicianship, wry storytelling and the kind of easy camaraderie only decades of friendship can produce.
Additional venues on the tour include Hexham, Queen’s Hall (Oct 17); Bishop Auckland Town Hall (Oct 18); The Glasshouse (Oct 23); Saltburn Community Theatre (Oct 30); and The Crescent Club, Cullercoats (Nov 1). Full dates and details on the website.
COMEDY: Jen Brister - Reactive
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: October 22
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Critically acclaimed comedian Jen Brister brings her new show Reactive to Tyneside later this month. Known for her sharp wit and explosive delivery, Jen will be tackling life’s daily irritations and the modern world’s endless nonsense with trademark fury and humour.
Following a sold-out 2022 tour, the Live at the Apollo, QI and Mock the Week favourite asks whether it’s really possible to “chill out” - or if being reactive might actually make the most sense in today’s world.
Expect biting observations, big laughs and full-throttle honesty. Ooh, and excellent hair.
FESTIVAL: WOW North East
Where: Gala Durham
When: October 17 and 18
Bookings and info: galadurham.co.uk
WOW stands for Women of the World and it was established in 2010 by Jude Kelly when she was artistic director of London’s South Bank Centre – venue for that year’s inaugural WOW Festival.
More than 150 WOW festivals have been held since then on six continents with more than 5.3 million people taking part. This, the first in the North East, is presented in partnership with S&DR200.
WOW festivals are designed to celebrate women and girls while taking account of the obstacles they face.
Jude Kelly, who left the South Bank Centre in 2018 to focus on The WOW Foundation (although she recently took a post at Oxford University), will be on stage at Gala Durham on Friday (7pm) for a session called Keeping Sane (-ish) with comedians Athena Kugblenu and Jordan Gray.
Saturday will see a day-long programme of talks and events at Gala Durham and in Clayport Library, with speakers are to include former Lioness Jill Scott. There will be workshops from The Consent Collective and Urban Kaos and a closing performance by singer-songwriter Amelia Coburn.
From 7pm at Gala Durham, as part of WOW Festival, there will be An Evening with Ashley James, the broadcaster and DJ.
EVENT: Unity in the Community Weekender
Where: Sunderland Minster & Beacon of Light, Sunderland
When: October 18-19
Bookings and info: musiccity.uk
After the success of last year’s event, Sunderland’s Unity in the Community festival returns this weekend with an expanded two-day programme of live music, arts, food and family activity.
Organised by VCAS, Sunderland Minster and Sunderland Music City, the free weekender has been organised to celebrate the city’s vibrant mix of cultures and communities through creativity and connection.
Saturday’s festivities (11am–2pm) at Sunderland Minster feature arts and crafts, family workshops, and performances, while Sunday (12–5pm) sees the Beacon of Light host an afternoon of live music from Small Town Brass, Bethany Gospel Choir, jazz duo After Evensong, Stephen Elms, Charlie Lally, Manny 234 and DJ Banko, who’ll be spinning afrobeats throughout the day.
Visitors can also enjoy sports activities, community stalls, creative sessions and live performances from local artists including muralist Frank Styles and stilt performer Penella B.
Revd Canon Clare MacLaren, Canon Provost of Sunderland Minster, said: “Unity in the Community Weekender is about much more than entertainment – it’s about belonging.
“It’s a chance for everyone, from every background, to come together and celebrate what makes Sunderland such a warm, creative and welcoming city.”
THEATRE: Ordinary Decent Criminal
Where: ARC, Stockton
When: October 29
Bookings and info: arconline.co.uk
This new play by Ed Edwards, writer of England & Son and A Political History of Smack & Crack is back in the region following a run at Live Theatre in Newcastle early in the summer.
Presented by Paines Plough, Live Theatre and Ellie Keel Productions, in association with Synergy Theatre Project, it is set in the aftermath of the Strangeways Prison Riot and follows recovering addict Frankie as he enters a liberal prison experiment where not everything – or everyone – is quite what they seem.
Performed by political comedian Mark Thomas and directed by Charlotte Bennett, the play explores ideas of revolution, freedom and unlikely love in unexpected places.
CLASSICAL: Sinfonia of London
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Friday, October 17, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
John Wilson conducts his orchestra on home turf in a programme that arguably does more to summon the spirit of England than any number of fluttering flags.
The Glasshouse may be an International Centre for Music but its roots are on English soil and this concert is being billed as feast of English music – although these are compositions known throughout the world.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis rubs shoulders with Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Arthur Bliss’s Music for Strings, Frederick Delius’s Late Swallows and Edward Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro.
Wilson, perhaps best known on this stage for his re-orchestrated MGM film scores, is to be aided in his homage to these great English composers (all but Britten born in the reign of Victorian) by the tenor Laurence Kilsby and the horn player Christopher Parkes.
A stirring concert is in prospect for John Wilson and his orchestra, recently welcomed ‘in house’ as Artistic Partners of The Glasshouse.
MAGIC: South Tyneside International Magic Festival
Where: Customs House, South Shields
When: October 17-19
Bookings and info: customshouse.co.uk
This annual institution is now in its 21st year so it’s hardly surprising there are vanishingly few tickets left for the two evening performances featuring some of the best of the best.
You might have to resort to a bit of sleight of hand!
Friday night’s public entertainment comes under the banner of Family Magic Extravaganza and it starts at 7pm with a line-up including Mattricks Illusion (stars of Britain’s Got Talent in 2022), Newcastle’s own Graeme Shaw and Tom Bolton of Durham’s The Magic Corner.
On Saturday (7.30pm) it’s the Gala Variety Show with an international superstar line-up including Ben Hart (Britain’s Got Talent finalist in 2019), Kay Dyson, who styles herself Miss Magic, the aptly-named Tom Brace who can saw himself in half and, from South Korea, America’s Got Talent star Jeki Yoo.
The two day convention happening on Saturday and Sunday, meanwhile, is an opportunity for magicians and serious magic enthusiasts to attend masterclasses, talks, dealer stalls and live performances – but you’ll need a convention ticket for that.
SCREEN: Snow White: The Sacrifice (15)
Where: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
When: October 21, 8.15pm
Bookings and info: tynesidecinema.co.uk
Of its two recent stage versions of the old Grimm fairytale, this was the ‘after dark’ edition aimed at slightly older and presumably less nervous fans of balletLORENT’s famously flamboyant dance shows.
This was the one the company chose to make into a film, directed by Ben Crompton but with Liv Lorent’s choreography, Carol Ann Duffy’s poetic narration (voiced by Sarah Parish) and with Murray Gold’s stirring score.
The dance company, based at the John Marley Centre in Newcastle’s West End, calls it a “Newcastle-made grindhouse horror dance version” of the classic fairytale for Halloween.
The Tyneside Cinema say it strips that tale to the bone, leaving “a story of envy, obsession and the terror of being forgotten”.
The stage show premiered at Northern Stage last Halloween. Now’s the chance to see if its grim and gory charms transfer well to the screen. Catch it in the Roxy at the Tyneside where it will be followed by a Q&A featuring Ben Crompton, Liv Lorent and balletLORENT filmmaker Alex Ayre.
CLASSICAL: Royal Northern Sinfonia: Brahms’ Violin Concerto
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: October 16
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Royal Northern Sinfonia, directed by violinist Maria Włoszczowska, are on Wearside this week with a programme steeped in Romantic-era emotion and musical storytelling.
Puccini’s I crisantemi offers an intimate glimpse of the opera composer at his most restrained – a brief, poignant elegy for a lost friend. Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence follows, a string work alive with Russian intensity and flashes of Mediterranean warmth.
The evening closes with Brahms’ Violin Concerto, a monumental and deeply expressive work that balances lyrical grace with symphonic power.
STILL SHOWING
Performance: The Spirits of Newcastle, Lit & Phil, Newcastle, Oct 24
Theatre: Enlightenment, People’s Theatre Studio, until Oct 18
Festival: Mercury Music Prize Fringe, various venues across Newcastle and Gateshead, until Oct 15
Exhibition: What the Others Built, VANE, Gateshead NE8 2AP, until Nov 1
Screen and Music: Hugo Max Performs Live Soundtrack to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, Oct 18
Theatre: The Chaos That Has been and Will No Doubt Return, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 21
Visual Art: Gaia, Hexham Abbey, until Nov 16
Theatre: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde + The Body Snatcher, various venues, touring until Nov 1
Theatre: Shore Lines from the Border Readers, various venues all over the North East until Dec 4
Dance: Se Gaest/The Guest, Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Oct 18), North Shields Fish Market (Oct 25), Auckland Palace (Nov 2) and Dance City, Newcastle (Dec 11) Read our review
Theatre: Mary Poppins, Sunderland Empire, until Oct 25. Read our review
Theatre: Miss Saigon, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until Oct 25
Exhibition: Three Artists: Zac Weinberg, Joanna Manousis, and Anthony Amoako-Attah, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until Jan 10, 2026
Screen: I Fought The Law, on ITVX, available to stream now. Read our report from the screening at the Gala Theatre with Sheridan Smith and Ann Ming.
Exhibition: Miners’ Weekend School (1984), The Burr of Berwick Film Library, Saturdays, 12-4pm until October 31
Festival: Northern Festival of Illustration 2025, various venues in Hartlepool, until Nov 1
Screen: Transaction, ITV X, Full series available to stream.
Exhibition: Richard Hobson retrospective, South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, until Nov 2
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
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
Family: Disney on Ice - Find Your Hero, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Nov 19-23
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
Music: Kathryn Tickell and the Darkening, Gala Theatre Durham, Oct 25
Event: An Evening with Tim Healy (Tees Valley International Film Festival), ARC Stockton, Nov 6
Music: O’Hooley and Tidow - So Long For Now, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Nov 6
Theatre: Big Ange, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Nov 6-22
Dance: Poppy (Eliot Smith Dance), Alnwick Playhouse (Nov 9 ); Queen’s Hall Hexham (Feb 12); Warkworth Memorial Hall (Feb 14); Newbiggin Maritime Centre (Feb 18); Gosforth Civic Theatre (Feb 19); Spennymoor Settlement Theatre (Feb 28)
Theatre: Dear England, Newcastle Theatre Royal , Nov 11-15
Theatre: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sunderland Empire, Nov 11-15
Comedy: Josh Widdicombe - Not My Cup of Tea, Stockton Globe, Nov 18
Comedy: Laffs 4 Kids, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Dec 15
2026
Comedy: Scummy Mummies - Hot Mess, Alnwick Playhouse, Jan 27 and Darlington Hippodrome, Jan 29
Theatre: Uncanny - Fear of the Dark, Darlington Hippodrome, Feb 8
Event: Sunday for Sammy, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Feb 15
Theatre: Woman in Mind, Sunderland Empire, Mar 4-7
Dance: Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 28-May 9
Theatre: Derren Brown - Only Human, The Stockton Globe, July 7-11
Music: The Pitmen Poets, Gala Theatre Durham, Jul 11
Comedy: Laura Smyth - Born Aggy, ARC, Stockton (Nov 13) and The Stand Newcastle (Nov 14)
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 Briana Corrigan (Beautiful South) at The Fire Station in Sunderland on October 27.
The Belfast-born singer is bringing her spellbinding new live show to Wearside after a decade-long break from the live stage.
As the band’s first female lead vocalist, Briana’s unmistakable tone helped define The Beautiful South’s early success, featuring on multi-million-selling albums and lending unforgettable power to hits including A Little Time, Song for Whoever and You Keep It All In.
Now a celebrated songwriter in her own right, with two critically praised solo albums to her name, at The Fire Station, she’ll blend Beautiful South favourites with her own songs and a few inspired takes on traditional classics.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: I need a little… Ticket by noon, (12pm) on Friday, October 17, 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.