Curated Culture 19.05.26
Our weekly round-up of recommendations from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and thanks for joining us for this week’s Curated Culture.
This edition has been assembled from slightly sunnier surroundings than usual, with me (Sam) currently filing from Rome - although I’ve resisted the urge to fill the newsletter with recommendations for gelato, piazzas and impossibly beautiful churches.
Instead, below you’ll find the usual handpicked mix of gigs, theatre shows, festivals and assorted cultural distractions from across the North East, plus a look at what’s Still Showing and a few things worth getting booked in sharpish.
There’s also a subscriber prize draw to win one of three family tickets to Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which comes to Utilita Arena Newcastle from July 12 to August 9, 2026.
We’ll leave you to the good kind of scrolling to find out all the details
Thanks as ever for your attention and support
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally pre-occupied with North East culture
EVENT: Radio One’s Big Weekend Watch Party
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: May 22-24 (Friday from 2pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am)
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2026 returns to Sunderland for the first time since 2005 this coming weekend, bringing around 100 acts to Herrington Country Park across three days.
Headliners include Olivia Dean, Zara Larsson, Louis Tomlinson and Fatboy Slim, with tens of thousands expected to descend on Wearside.
If you missed out on festival tickets, The Fire Station is hosting a free watch party in its festival marquee, screening the action live on a giant 4K screen with themed food, drinks and plenty of seating. It’s ticketed, but entry is first come, first served – so arrive early.
THEATRE: The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet
Where: The Playhouse, Horden, County Durham
When: May 26 to June 6
Bookings and info: ensemble84.com
Ensemble ’84, a potent new force in North East theatre, invites its first audiences to The Playhouse (opened at the weekend by Sir Ian McKellen) with the version of Hamlet as published in Shakespeare’s First Quarto.
You’ll have gathered this is not the best known First Folio version. It’s half the length and with glaring textual differences, as in Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be…” soliloquy.
Mark Dornford-May has worked wonders to build a strong company of local actors, many with scant previous experience, and to transform the village’s old Roman Catholic church into a fabulous theatre.
Judging by past encounters with the company’s work – Mother Courage and the locally inspired Pits, People and Players – we can expect a robust telling of the tale.
Joseph Hammal, bound for a Costa Coffee job when the theatre claimed him, plays Hamlet while Willow Pearson, from Peterlee, is Ophelia.
But in keeping with the company name, this will be an ensemble piece – and one, no doubt, firing on all cylinders.
COMEDY: Your Aunt Fanny - Time of the Month
Where: The Stand Newcastle
When: May 24
Bookings and info: thestand.co.uk
North East sketch comedy favourites Your Aunt Fanny are back at The Stand with another edition of their much-loved Time of The Month residency.
Expect a mix of sharp new material, revived audience favourites and the gloriously chaotic energy which has made the troupe a pink-boilersuited fixture on the region’s comedy scene.
There’ll also be support from two TBC female stand-ups to complete the bill.
THEATRE: Les Ballets Trockadero
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: May 26-27
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
Celebrating 50 years of being the world’s foremost gender-skewing comic ballet company, Les Ballets Trockadero are marking the half-century milestone with a programme that balances razor-sharp technique and affectionate satire.
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo – affectionately known as The Trocks – delight in playfully upending the grand traditions of classical dance, from Swan Lake to The Dying Swan and Paquita, with immaculate timing and formidable skill.
Alongside these lovingly reimagined classics, the anniversary tour includes excerpts from Metal Garden, a contemporary work by Seán Curran, adding a fresh edge to the repertoire. High camp meets high art in a performance that’s as technically impressive as it is knowingly ridiculous.
MUSIC: BAFTA Games in Concert
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Saturday, May 23, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
The games industry, once seen as peripheral and experimental, has long since been a major player in economic terms but it’s interesting to see its influence expanding culturally.
Here the versatile players of Royal Northern Sinfonia, conducted by Adrián Ronda-Sampayo and alongside the choir London Voices, will perform soundtracks from BAFTA Games Awards winners and nominees over the past 20 years.
Move over Mozart, Bach and the other classical greats.
Here come Assassin’s Creed by Jesper Kyd, Tomb Raider: Legend by Troels, the work of Brun Folmann, and Baldur’s Gate 3 by Borislav Slavov – and many more like them.
The concert is presented by Kilimanjaro, esk and Nibbs Events who say: We’re thrilled to be adding Helldivers 2, Fallout 4, Far Cry 4 and Returnal to the line-up, further showcasing the creative power of the games industry and the authenticity of its music.
“Each will feature exclusive orchestral suites arranged by the original composers exclusively for these concerts.”
THEATRE: Moonlight – The Philip Lynott Enigma
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: May 21
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott is the focus of Moonlight – The Philip Lynott Enigma, coming to the Tyne Theatre this week.
Bringing the story to the city where the band landed one of their earliest major support slots in 1972, the production looks beyond the familiar rock mythology to explore Lynott’s life, writing and influence.
Dublin actor Peter M. Smith takes the lead role, joined by a live band performing Thin Lizzy favourites alongside original material. A guest appearance from founding guitarist Eric Bell is also trailed.
CLASSICAL: The Dream of Gerontius
Where: Hexham Abbey
When: June 6, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: newcastlebachchoir.org.uk
Newcastle Bach Choir returns to a favourite venue while conductor Dr Eric Cross revisits a work that holds particular significance for him.
Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius featured in the first concert he conducted in 1984 after taking over as the choir’s music director.
The composer’s setting of a poem by Catholic theologian John Henry Newman had what choir publicist Paul Hardy calls a “disastrous” premiere at the 1900 Birmingham Festival.
The fault, however, lay in the performance rather than the piece and “it soon became one of the best loved choral works in the repertory, with its masterly blend of powerful choral writing, dramatic solo passages and sensitive orchestration”.
Newcastle Bach Choir is to be joined by members of German partner choir Städtische Musikverein Gelsenkirchen and members of Newcastle University Symphony Orchestra.
Writes Paul: “We are thrilled to be joined once again by international tenor Robert Murray, a graduate of Newcastle University who has sung leading roles at English National Opera and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, alongside young mezzo-soprano Frances Gregory, an alumna of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Rising Stars Scheme, and acclaimed North East baritone Andri Björn Róbertsson.”
Tickets for students and those on benefits are just £5 while under 18s get in free.
MUSIC: Tauseef Akhtar
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Friday, May 22, 7pm
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
Gateshead-based GemArts, champions of South Asian culture in the North East, present a concert led by one of the most celebrated singers of ghazals.
It is, to give the concert its full title, Riverside Ragas: An Evening of Ghazals with Tauseef Akhtar.
Ghazals are poems – to be spoken or sung – which consist of rhyming couplets and a refrain. A staple of South Asian music, a ghazal typically deals with romantic themes of love, longing and loss.
Akhtar, one of the genre’s best known performers, will present work by the man known as the King of Ghazals, Jagjit Singh, from whom he learned directly.
The concert, for which he will be joined by a top class ensemble, will also feature his own compositions.
It is billed as a concert for ghazal connoisseurs and for those prepared to try something new.
THEATRE: The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?
Where: People’s Theatre, Newcastle
When: May 25-30
Bookings and info: peoplestheatre.co.uk
Next up at the People’s Theatre, where the plays come thick and fast, is Edward Albee’s play about a man who falls in love with someone/something other than his wife.
The clue’s in the title, the latter part of which echoes a song in Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona.
It has been called an absurdist drama. The People’s call it “provocative, tragic and hilarious”, and also “a modern classic”.
It was first staged on Broadway in 2002 when it won the Tony Award for best play (as had his Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 40 years earlier). It transferred to London two years later.
Celebrated architect Martin seems to live a perfect life with his wife and teenage son but chaos ensues when his weird secret is exposed.
The play, it has been said, challenges audience members to question their attitude to social taboos.
The latest production in the studio at the People’s Theatre, it comes with a warning of “very strong language”.
MUSIC: Bobby Rush
Where: The Cluny, Ouseburn
When: May 28
Bookings and info: thecluny.com
Blues giant Bobby Rush brings decades of rhythm, storytelling and showmanship to the North East for a live appearance.
Now in his late 80s and still performing with astonishing energy, the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and harmonica player remains one of the most influential figures in American blues.
From Louisiana cotton fields to Chicago clubs, Netflix cameos and Blues Hall of Fame recognition, Rush’s career spans generations and genres.
STILL SHOWING
Music: Tinariwen, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, May 19
Comedy: Washy Comedy Festival, Arts Centre Washington, May 21-23
Festival: A Stone’s Throw Festival, venues across North Shields, May 23, from 12pm
Music: Finn Forster, Independent, Sunderland, May 23
Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, Northern Stage, until May 23
Theatre: Astell & Woolf, Live Theatre, until Jun 6
Screen: Smoggie Queens, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, available now
Screen: This Is Not A Murder Mystery, UTV and streaming on Channel Four, available now.
Exhibition: Eugene Schlumberger, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth, until June 13
Theatre: Long Day’s Journey Into Night, 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 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
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
Theatre: Fawlty Towers, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 30-Jul 4
Comedy: James Acaster, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Jun 7-9
Music: Lily Allen, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Jun 16
Event: Terry Deary book launch, Actually I’m A Corpse, ARC Stockton, Jun 19
Music: The Pitmen Poets, multiple North East dates from Jun 26 to Jul 12
Theatre: Lasses X The Girlie Show, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Jul 4
Music: Have Mercy, The Cluny, Jul 7
Music: Nik Kershaw, Boiler Shop, Newcastle, Jul 10
Theatre: An Orchestral Tribute to Tim Burton, Sunderland Empire, Sept 14
Event: Enter The Castle with Jon Ronson, Gala Theatre Durham, Sept 17
Theatre, Bairns, Northern Stage (Stage Three), Sept 30
Music: The Blow Monkeys, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Oct 7
Comedy: Sam Campbell - Kid Giblet, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, Oct 15
Music: Soul II Soul, Newcaste o2 City Hall, Oct 23
Music: The Proclaimers, The Globe Stockton and Newcastle 02 City Hall, October 24 and 25, respectively
Music: Megson, The Witham, Barnard Castle, Oct 29
Music: Bellowhead: 20th Anniversary Burlesque, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Nov 11
Comedy: Laura Smyth - Born Aggy, The Stand Newcastle, Nov 14
2027
Music: Gabrielle, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Apr 3
Dance: Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 20-May 1
Comedy: Alan Carr - Have I Said Too Much?, Stockton Globe (Nov 12) and Newcastle 02 City Hall, Nov 13-14
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 3 x family tickets to see Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, which comes to Utilita Arena Newcastle from July 12 to August 9, 2026.
Billed as a “breathtaking immersive art experience which brings the work of Vincent Van Gogh to life in mesmerising and moving fashion” the installation will use cutting-edge projection technology, music and more than 300 of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings to transform 10,000 square feet of arena space into a moving world of colour, light and sound.
Visitors can wander through iconic works including Sunflowers, The Starry Night and Café Terrace at Night as the paintings ripple, swirl and bloom across walls and floors around them.
Already seen by millions around the world, the exhibition promises a striking new way to experience Van Gogh’s work - whether you’re a lifelong art lover or introducing younger family members to it for the first time during the school holidays.
Alongside the main immersive gallery, visitors will exit through a “beautifully designed” reflection space, including a striking Sunflower Alley.
Tickets can be for any time during the show run - subject to availability.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Sunflowers everywhere, by 5pm on Sunday (May 24)
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.