Curated Culture 21.04.26
Our regular round-up of recommendations from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to the latest Curated Culture - a weekly guide to a carefully chosen mix of arts and culture doings from across the North East.
If you’re new here, or just dipping back in, here’s what’s in store:
🗓️ Top Picks – a handpicked run of standout events landing over the next couple of weeks
📌 Still Showing – previous highlights you can still catch
📅 Now Booking – a handy heads-up on what’s worth planning ahead for
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, win a pair of tickets to see Midnight Callers at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on May 8.
You’ll find everything you need to enter at the end - enjoy the browse en route.
As always, thanks for reading, sharing and sending us your thoughts
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally occupied with North East Culture
FILM: Underland
Where: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle; Forum, Hexham
When: April 24-30 (Tyneside); April 22 and 23 (Forum)
Booking & Info: tynesidecinema.co.uk and forumhexham.com
A new cinema documentary (79 minutes, cert. 12A) exploring underground spaces based on the book by nature writer and poet Robert Macfarlane.
It should strike a chord across the North East with its history of coal, lead and fluorspar mining, although natural as well as man-made voids feature in the film directed by Rob Petit.
“We know so little of the world beneath our feet,” say the makers.
“To most it is a place only of fear and darkness, though to a brave few it is one of knowledge and wonder to be found nowhere else.”
The film, with a poetic approach and narration by actress Sandra Hüller, is, they add, “a cinematic documentary that voyages into worlds rarely glimpsed by human eyes.
“Beginning in the shallow soils beneath an old ash tree, the film follows several ‘astronauts of the underworld’ as they travel into ancient sacred caves, flooded storm drains, melting glaciers, underwater burial chambers and a deep underground laboratory built to solve the mysteries of the universe.”
The Tyneside Cinema screenings on April 26 and 28 will be followed by a pre-corded Q&A session.
EVENT: The Hearth Spring Art Fair
Where: The Hearth Centre, Horsley
When: April 25-26, 10am-4pm
Bookings and info: thehearth.co.uk
This relaxed open studios event is a chance to see artists at work, chat about what they do and maybe pick up something you won’t find anywhere else.
Across the Northumberland village, 22 makers are taking part, including textile artists Mandy Pattullo and Jessica Kinnersley; printmakers Rebecca Vincent and Cathy Duncan; ceramicists Melanie Hopwood and Becky Mackenzie; jewellery makers Diane Stewardson and Ruby Jones; and painters David Holliday and Jina Gelder.
Everything from bold prints to delicate handmade pieces will be on offer, plus outdoor exhibits and guest stalls. There’s food at the Hearth Café, live music in the church and no pressure to hurry. Oh, and it’s free entry. What’s not to love?
COMEDY: Al Murray The Pub Landlord - All You Need Is Guv
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: April 23
Bookings and info: thepublandlord.com
Pub Landlord, Al Murray is back on the road and promising Sunderland an evening of no-nonsense comedy.
With the world in a state, the self-styled ‘Guv’ is more than ready to dish out his trademark “common sense” takes, equal parts rant, satire and pint-fuelled cheer.
Look forward to quick-fire gags, crowd interaction and plenty of patriotic bluster along the way… and if you’ve bagged a ticket for the ‘Splash Zone’, maybe take a poncho.
The show will be back in the region for a sold out date at Newcastle‘s Tyne Theatre and Opera House on June 5. Always worth getting on the waiting list for returns though.
MUSIC: Kate Rusby - The Springshine Tour
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: April 28
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Folk favourite Kate Rusby returns to Sunderland to celebrate the turn of the season in an intimate show which brings Rusby’s unmistakable, crystal-clear voice with her Singy Songy Session Band.
A carefully woven set of beloved songs and newer material has been trailed, and it’s fair to assume they’ll all be delivered with signature disarming charm and gentle humour.
Long celebrated as one of the finest voices in British folk, this tour sounds like it has all the ingredients for a captivating evening of connection, melody, and renewal.
CLASSICAL: Sibelius’ Second Symphony
Where: The Glasshouse & Middlesbrough Town Hall
When: April 24 (7.30pm) and April 26 (3pm) respectively
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
The region welcomes an old friend this weekend when Thomas Zehetmair returns to conduct Royal Northern Sinfonia in two gorgeous but very different venues.
It’s a gorgeous programme, too, opening with Finlandia, Sibelius’s rousing hymn to Finnish patriotism, and climaxing with the composer’s Second Symphony, premiered in 1902 and described by the composer as “a confession of the soul”.
“From its warm and welcoming opening to its expansive sense of scale, the symphony builds in intensity before arriving at a blazing, triumphant conclusion,” say the classical team at The Glasshouse.
In the middle of this Jean Sibelius celebration comes a rare performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor, dating from 1822 when the composer was just 13.
Zehetmair, formerly music director of Royal Northern Sinfonia and now conductor laureate, will perform as soloist and conductor.
“What a pleasure to return to my beloved North East,” remarked the Austrian.
“Two hugely popular, and musically as well as historically important, symphonic pieces frame a seldomly played jewel of a concerto. I look forward to performing this special programme and to meeting my friends again.”
EVENT: Monty Don - A Journey Through British Gardens
Where: Stockton Globe
When: April 24
Bookings and info: stocktonglobe.co.uk
Garden guru Monty Don returns to the stage with a show rooted in his British Gardens series, turning his attention to what our gardens say about us.
Drawing on travels across the UK, in this show he will take the audience from Alnwick Garden to Hill Top and the rewilded grounds of Knepp Estate, reflecting on the character and quirks found in these spaces.
Doubtless bringing the warmth and insight he’s become known for, Monty will consider how gardens reflect our habits, histories and connection to the natural world.
THEATRE: The Unfriend
Where: People’s Theatre, Newcastle
When: April 28 to May 2
Booking & Info: www.peoplestheatre.co.uk
You might be able to ‘unfriend’ someone on Facebook but it isn’t so easy in real life, as Peter and Debbie realise, to their discomfort, after a brash American woman they met on a cruise takes up their invitation to stay.
Steven Moffat’s comedy arrives pretty hot off the press at the People’s, having only had its (admittedly Covid-delayed) Chichester premiere in 2022 before a transfer to the West End.
Directed for the accomplished amateurs by Ian Willis, it is billed as a “razor-edged comedy of manners” packed with “laugh-out-loud moments, fast-paced dialogue and outrageous misunderstandings”.
Peter (to be played by Daniel Magee) and Debbie (Helen Parker) are tortured by ingrained politeness, even though it hardly eases communication with their teenage offspring, and their world is made more strained when a Google search reveals their unwanted guest, Elsa (Ann Zunder), might have a sinister past.
Frances Barber played Elsa in two West End runs while the roles of Debbie and Peter were played first by Amanda Abbington and Reece Shearsmith, and then by Sarah Alexander and Lee Mack.
MUSIC: Hollywood Musicals
Where: Gala Durham
When: Saturday, April 25, 2pm and 7pm
Booking & Info: galadurham.co.uk
Still pretty new on the North East arts and culture scene is the North East Film Orchestra, founded only in October 2024 by director Lewis Wilkinson.
Lewis tells us it “brings together 65 fabulous musicians from across the North East performing high quality music”, and adds: “Many of our musicians have dedicated their lives to music and music education and are some of the most inspiring artists in our region.”
The orchestra’s debut concert last May concluded in rousing style with music from Star Wars.
There will be similarly iconic sounds from the world of cinema at Saturday’s brace of concerts in Durham.
Say the Gala publicists: “From the golden age charm of The Wizard of Oz to the heart-pounding drama of West Side Story and the sweeping score of Phantom of the Opera, plus many more, this is your chance to relive the splendour of the greatest movie musicals in Technicolor symphonic sound.
“Expect soaring melodies, luscious orchestrations, and a few surprises along the way.”
MUSIC: LYR
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Thursday, April 23, 8pm
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
Still some tickets left for this encounter with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, producer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Pearson and singer-songwriter Richard Walters on tour as LYR.
As Simon explained on Front Row (BBC Radio Four) this week, the band started just before the pandemic when Richard asked if he could use one of his poems as a song lyric.
They made a track called Redwoods and then Richard wondered if he wanted to take the collaboration further.
Patrick got involved “and before I knew what was happening really we had a manager and a label and an agent and an accountant and a lawyer and a name and it turned out we were a band”.
Armitage said of their hard-to-define material: “We’re interested in beauty and harmony and we try and make melodious and powerful and thoughtful music.”
As for the band title, those initials stand for Land Yacht Regatta, apparently. Suitably enigmatic, then, but evidently finding an enthusiastic audience for the trio’s blend of music and spoken word.
Catch them in Sage Two with support from Scottish folk musician Memphis Gerald.
MUSIC: Heartbreak – The Tom Petty Show
Where: Alnwick Playhouse
When: Friday, April 24, 7.30pm
Booking & Info: alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
American singer-songwriter and guitarist Tom Petty is remembered for fronting Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and for his membership of ‘supergroup’ the Traveling Wilburys (founded in LA, 1988).
He shifted more than 80 million records during his lifetime, making him one of the bestselling artists of all time.
He died in 2017, aged 66, after an accidental drug overdose (he was in a lot of pain at the time). Rock music lost a legend and legends can’t be replaced.
But Pete Wade is said to be able to conjure “the look and sound” of Tom and is on the road with other experienced professional musicians to pay tribute to the great man.
The tour is to mark the 50th anniversary of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (formed as a fivesome in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976) and the 35th anniversary of Into the Great Wide Open, the band’s eighth studio album, released in 1991.
Audiences are told to expect “a career-spanning set-list filled with Tom Petty’s most loved songs” and including a couple of Traveling Wilburys tracks.
STILL SHOWING
Exhibition: Foundation Press – Starting Lines, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, until Aug 30
Festival: Hexham Book Festival, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, Apr 24-May 3
Exhibition: The Sheer Brass Neck, Newcastle Contemporary Art, 39 High Bridge, until May 9
Theatre: To Kill A Mockingbird, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until Apr 25
Theatre: Hold The Line, Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle, Apr 29-May 2
Theatre: Bus Stop Goths, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Apr 24
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
Exhibition: Women Behind Bars: Life in Newcastle Prison, 1828-1925, until Apr 27. Read our preview
Exhibition: Northumberland Open Exhibition, Woodhorn Museum, until May 10. Read more.
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
Event: A Hard Day’s Night + Samira Ahmed Book Signing, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, May 16
Music: Tinariwen, Sage One, The Glasshouse, May 19
Music: Lily Allen, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Jun 16
Music: Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Darlington Hippodrome, June 19
Comedy: Lenny Henry - Still at Large, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, Jun 24
Theatre: The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jul 7-11
Music: The Proclaimers, Sunderland Empire, Jul 23
Festival: Durham Fringe, various venues across the city, Jul 29-Aug 2
Comedy: Harriet Kemsley - Work in Progress, Gala Theatre Durham, Aug 1
Music: Gary Stewart Presents Graceland - A 40th Anniversary Celebration, The Cluny, Newcastle, Aug 21
Music: Maximo Park plus Special Guests, The Parade Ground, Sunderland (presented by The Fire Station), Aug 28
Comedy: Catherine Bohart - Borrowing Trouble, The Stand Newcastle, Oct 8
Music: Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Oct 17
Theatre: It Walks Around the House at Night, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Oct 29-31
Event: Prof Alice Roberts - From Cell to Civilisation, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Nov 7
Comedy: The End of the World According to Jonathan Pie, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Nov 12 and Newcastle City Hall, Nov 14
2027
Comedy: Jason Cook - Nothing But Happy Bits, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Feb 27
Comedy: Fascinating Aida, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Mar 13
Theatre: The Mousetrap, Sunderland Empire, Mar 22-27
Theatre: Paranormal Activity, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 13-17
Classical: Thomas Zehetmair conducts Mozart, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Jun 4
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 Midnight Callers at Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle on May 8.
If you’ve not had the considerable pleasure before, this is an evening which brings together the record collections of two of the North East’s top music makers: Paul Smith of Maxïmo Park and Field Music’s Peter Brewis.
Another genre-spanning DJ set is firmly on the menu where those on the dancefloor can expect everything from Depeche Mode to Destiny's Child, Kate Bush to Kraftwerk.
Returning for its fourth outing of wall-to-wall alternative classics, all those attending need to do is dance… and then enjoy being home before midnight safe in the knowledge you’ve had a belter of a night.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: I feel like dancing by 5pm on Sunday (April 26)
The winner, who will be selected at random, will be notified within 24 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.