Curated Culture 21.07.26
This week's what's on recommendations from stages and attractions across the North East
Hello, and thanks for dipping into this week’s Curated Culture.
Below you’ll find another carefully chosen mix of things to see, hear and experience across the North East over the coming fortnight, from theatre and live music to exhibitions, comedy and all manner of summer happenings.
As always, we’ve also rounded up recommendations from previous editions which are still available to catch, plus some events you’ll thank yourself for booking ahead.
Festival Watch is back too, with another look at what’s happening across the region.
Details of this week’s subscriber prize draw - a pair of tickets to see a new production of Othello at Northern Stage on September 17, can be found at the end of the newsletter.
Enjoy the scroll.
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally pre-occupied with North East culture
🌻🌻🌻 Reminder: Due to annual leave - aka Sam drinking rosé wine and sniffing lavender for a couple of weeks - Friday’s Culture Digests will be lighter than usual and Cultured. On Sunday will be on a break until August 9.🌻🌻🌻
BBC Proms: The Unthanks & friends with Royal Northern Sinfonia
Where: Middlesbrough Town Hall
When: Thursday, July 23
Booking & Info: theglasshouseicm.org
BBC Proms in the North East gets underway in Middlesbrough when The Unthanks will oversee an eclectic and inspiring programme.
“At the heart of the concert are voices rooted in place – authentic, honest, and full of character,” we’re told
“Around them, the orchestra transforms the landscape. Strings swell. Brass glows like a furnace. Hushed moments are given the space to breathe.
“Music that knows where it’s from, but isn’t afraid to expand into something immense.”
Those ‘friends’ are Leeds band English Teacher, led by singer, guitarist and pianist Lily Fontaine, and Conor O’Brien, songwriter, singer and creative force behind Villagers, described as one of Ireland’s most distinctive and celebrated musical projects.
The players of Royal Northern Sinfonia will perform with all of them, conducted by Ellie Slorach.
And those lucky enough to be in the audience will also be treated to Darlington singer-songwriter Jodie Nicholson performing her brilliantly hypnotic Move.
The concert will be recorded for a future airing on BBC Radio 3.
THEATRE/COMEDY: Edinburgh Fringe Previews
Where: Live Theatre, Newcastle
When: July 28-August 1
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
Heading to the Edinburgh Fringe? Or simply curious about what's making the journey north? Live Theatre's new Fringe Preview season offers the chance to catch a varied programme of comedy, theatre and music before the shows arrive in Scotland.
Running over five days, the line-up includes stand-up from Kate Hammer and Freya Parker, new work from North East performers including Scott Turnbull, Emma Crowley-Bennett and Metroland Live, plus musician Tom Oakes and theatre-maker Tessa Parr.
With two performances most evenings and discounted tickets for double bills, it's an ideal way to sample some of this year's Fringe-bound work without leaving Newcastle. Read more
SCREENING: Ish (+ Q&A)
Where: Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
When: Saturday, July 25, 5.40pm
Booking & Info: tynesidecinema.co.uk
Director Imran Perretta will be at the Tyneside to talk about his first feature film along with producer Dhiraj Mahey.
Ish is described as “a tender, deeply observant and lyrical coming-of-age drama” set in the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities of Luton and focusing on the friendship of 12-year-olds Ish and Maram.
The boys’ carefree summer, characterised by football and video games, is upended then they fall foul of racial profiling during a police ‘stop and search’.
Nearly 1,000 boys were auditioned for the parts which eventually went to Farhan Hasnat and Yahya Kitana who happened to be close friends in real life.
The film, co-written with playwright Enda Walsh, was commissioned by the BBC and the British Film Institute and won the Audience Award during Critics’ Week at last year’s International Venice Film Festival.
Imran Perretta, born in London of Bangladeshi heritage, is also a visual artist, writer and composer.
His film installation the destructors, inspired by a Graham Greene story, has been presented in major art institutions, including Baltic in Gateshead where its scheduled showing coincided with the pandemic.
FESTIVAL: Gosforth Beer Festival
Where: Gosforth Civic Theatre
When: July 31-August 2
Bookings and info: gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
Gosforth Civic Theatre's popular Beer Festival returns for a special edition this summer as the venue celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Across three days, visitors can sample more than 30 guest beers alongside street food from Hizzys Pizza and Meat:Stack, live music and family-friendly activities. T
he weekend's line-up includes TWIG, Jamagotchi, Phantom Bagman and The Early Purple, with retro gaming and children's crafts rounding out the programme.
Entry costs £8 for adults (children go free) and includes a commemorative pint glass plus unlimited entry across the weekend, with proceeds supporting the theatre's community and cultural work. No booking required (or possible) - just turn up on the door prepared to have a lovely time.
CLASSICAL: Sasha and Khyrystyna Mykhailichenko
Where: Alnwick Playhouse
When: Saturday, August 8, 1.30pm
Booking & Info: alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
The musical sisters from Ukraine will perform an afternoon concert organised by Alnwick Society and it promises to be a moving occasion.
The Mykhailichenko family fled from Crimea to Kyiv in 2014 after the Russians invaded and then fled to Poland after the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Eventually Khrystyna (a pianist) and her younger sister Sasha (violinist) came to settle in Northumberland after first going to live with a family in Corbridge… although their musical studies have taken them away again.
Two years ago Khrystyna became a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying with Joanna MacGregor, and Sasha is now a pupil at the Purcell School for young musicians in Hertfordshire.
Last August Khrystyna gave a brilliant recital at Alnwick Playhouse which was loudly applauded.
This August will see the two prodigiously talented sisters on stage together performing a programme featuring music by Beethoven, Chausson, Clara Schumann, Brahms, Gershwin and the Belgian Eugène Ysaye.
EXHIBITION: MOXIE: Generation Alpha Curates the Middlesbrough Collection
Where: MIMA, Middlesbrough
When: July 25-March 28, 2027
Bookings and info: mima.art
Young people take centre stage at MIMA this summer as members of its Saturday Club curate a new exhibition from the Middlesbrough Collection.
Moxie sees nine Generation Alpha curators select works spanning more than two centuries before creating their own artistic responses, which visitors can explore via QR codes.
The aim is a fresh conversation between established artists and a new generation of creative voices, exploring everything from identity and technology to imagination and popular culture.
Opening as part of the Turner on Tees programme, the exhibition promises to offer a different perspective on what museum collections can mean today.
THEATRE: Guys and Dolls
Where: Theatre Royal, Newcastle
When: Tuesday, July 21 to Saturday, July 25
Booking & Info: theatreroyal.co.uk
It’s time for the amateurs to tread the boards of the Theatre Royal as Newcastle Musical Theatre Company (NMTC) aims to bring the house down with one of the great Broadway shows.
Set in 1950s New York and owing much to the stories of Damon Runyon, it has a plot involving two love stories and a load of shenanigans plus a cast of colourful characters.
Skint gambler Nathan Detroit needs to fund an illegal craps game but is busy hiding from his longtime fiancée, Miss Adelaide.
In a bid to secure the money he needs, he bets suave high-roller Sky Masterson that he cannot take Sarah Brown, a prim mission worker, to Havana.
The show opened on Broadway in 1950 (Tony Award, best musical) and then in London just days before the coronation of Elizabeth II, who was among those who saw it during its long run.
NMTC has a longer history than the show, having been founded more than 120 years ago.
Having reportedly “brought their A-game” to the auditions, the cast will now be out to wow Grey Street audiences as they did with Shrek The Musical last year.
🎉 FESTIVAL WATCH 🎉
Newcastle Pride, Newcastle City Centre, July 25-26
Durham Fringe Festival, various venues, July 29-August 2
Kendal Calling, Lowther Deer Park, July 30-August 2
GCT Beer Festival, Gosforth Civic Theatre, July 31-August 2
NOVUM, Newcastle city centre, August 7-9
Saltburn Folk Festival, various venues, August 7-9
Cosmic Frequencies Festival, Forum Cinema, Hexham, August 8-9
New Horizons, The Grove, Newcastle, August 14-16
Berwick Food and Beer Festival, August 14-16
Derwent Fest, near Consett, August 14-15
Coast Fest, North Shields, Aug 28-30
Noughty 90s Festival, Leazes Park, Newcastle, August 29
Newcastle Mela, August 29-31, Grey’s Monument and Exhibition Park
Northern and Modern Soul All Dayer, The Glasshouse, August 30
Lindisfarne Festival, Beal Farm, Northumberland, September 3-5
Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage, Tees Valley, various locations, September 11-13
Hexham Abbey Festival of Music and Arts, Hexham, Northumberland, September 23-26
Beyond the Moor, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Oct 10
Can’t see your festival here? Send us the details
MUSIC: The Pale Waves
Where: Parade Ground, The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: August 1
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
Pale Waves bring their soaring indie-pop anthems and gothic-tinged aesthetic to Sunderland as part of The Fire Station’s Summer Parties series.
Fronted by Heather Baron-Gracie, the Manchester band have built a loyal following with emotionally charged songs that balance shimmering melodies with darker themes, earning a reputation as one of the UK’s most distinctive alternative acts.
Fresh from arena dates with Louis Tomlinson and appearances at major festivals, they’re set to arrive with plenty of momentum - and new music on the horizon. Support comes from Cortney Dixon, Esmeralda Road and Venus Grrrls.
THEATRE: Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life
Where: Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
When: Wednesday, July 29
Bookings and info: queenshall.co.uk
Keith Alessi’s “inspirational true story” was a sell-out here in 2023, as it has been around the world.
As of January this year, it has also raised about $1.2 million for local charities and theatres.
The beneficiaries here will be Queen’s Hall Arts and Hexham-based Core Music CIC which aims to empower people and strengthen communities through music.
Keith was a high-powered businessman in North America before quitting the corporate world at the age of 61 to concentrate on his collection of banjos.
This bluegrass instrument is the very essence of America, explains a first generation Italian immigrant. Finally he set about learning how to play it.
A bombshell diagnosis of oesophageal cancer came quickly after his dramatic change of course, attributable, he believes, to the tomato-heavy diet of his childhood.
It gave him focus… and a story. Encouraged by a friend to share it publicly, he has never looked back.
He returned to the North East in 2024 and is back for this one English gig before heading to the Edinburgh Fringe.
FAMILY: In the Night Garden… Live
Where: Tyne Theatre & Opera House
When: July 25, 26 (Saturday, Sunday), various times
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Almost certainly some of the first pre-schoolers who adored Igglepiggle, Upsy Daisy and Makka Pakka on TV now have children of their own.
Maybe some of them – parents and offspring – will be in the audience for one of the performances of the live show (12pm and 3pm on Saturday; 10am and 12pm on Sunday) which has been spreading joy for 16 years.
The story to unfold is Igglepiggle’s Busy Day! and audience members are invited to join him as he seeks his friends in the Night Garden by following their funny sounds.
The characters will be brought to life with colourful costumes, puppets and music – and with a special visit promised from the Pinky Ponk.
If none of this means anything, you might like to know that TV series producer Anne Wood (born in Spennymoor and co-creator with Andrew Davenport of this show and Teletubbies) once said it was designed to tackle tension around bedtime.
“This is a programme about calming things down whereas most children’s TV is about getting everything up,” she said.
Not sure that applies to the live show.
STILL SHOWING
Music: BBC Proms, The Glasshouse, The Fire Station, Sunderland and Middlesbrough Town Hall, Jul 23-25
Screen: Screen on the Green, Old Eldon Square, Newcastle, until Aug 31
Festival: Newcastle Pride 2026, Times Square and various venues, Jul 25-26
Event: Silent Disco on the Beach, Cullercoats, Jul 25
Event: Happy Rooms, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Jul 27-Aug 30
Theatre: The Bodyguard, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jul 27-Aug 1
Exhibition: Discovering Dark Skies, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, until Sept 19
Theatre: Flop! The Best Songs from the Worst Musicals, Hipp Michael Wolff Screen: Ashington AFC: Saving Our Club, available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Event: Beyond Van Gogh, Utilita Arena, Newcastle, until Aug 9. Read our preview
Festival: Music at Paxton, Paxton House, Berwick-upon-Tweed, throughout July)
Event: Kynren – An Epic Tale of England, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, until Sept 12
Exhibition: Norman Cornish – A Life in Sketchbooks, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Jan 3. Read our full report
Exhibition: Mourning Tea Tyne & Lost Frequencies, Globe Gallery, North Shields, ongoing
Exhibition: Joan Eardley, Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, until Oct 11
Screen: The Fortune, Channel 5, from Jun 2, 9pm
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: 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: Out of the Darkness, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until December
NOW BOOKING
Music: Jack White - Live 2026, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Aug 29
Comedy: Barry Casttagnola - The Last of the Barrys, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Sept 11
Theatre: Mrs Doubtfire, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Sept 23-Oct 11
Theatre: All At Sea, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Sept 24-Oct 10
Event: Comic Con North East 2026, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Sept 26-27
Music: Frankie Archer, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Sept 27
Music: An Evening Without Kate Bush, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Oct 2
Comedy: Susan Calman, Tall Tales, Sunderland Empire, Oct 2
Music: Ibibio Sound Machine, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Oct 22
Music: Bellowhead - Burlesque 20th Anniversary Tour, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Nov 11
2027
Comedy: Emma Doran - Emmaculate, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Feb 6
Theatre: Twelve Angry Men, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 16-20
Music: Jon Boden - A Folk Song A Day Solo Tour, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Feb 20
Comedy: The Rachel Parris Songbook, Gala Durham, Apr 10
Comedy: John Bishop, Utilita Arena Newcastle, May 6
Music: Metropolis in Concert, Sage One, The Glasshouse, May 8
Comedy: Ed Gamble - Fresh Hell, Newcastle o2 City Hall, May 28
Theatre: Chicago The Musical, Sunderland Empire, Oct 11-16
Event: Alice Cooper - Devil on My Shoulder, Stockton Globe, Oct 17
Comedy: Joe Lycett, Tyne Theatre and Opera House (Apr 1-2); Stockton Globe (Dec 15-16)
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 a Othello at Northern Stage, Newcastle on September 17.
The new production sees Shakespeare's tale of jealousy, manipulation and betrayal reimagined for 1980s Britain.
Directed by Anthony Almeida, this fresh take on the tragedy places the story against a backdrop of civil unrest and the threat of war, exploring love, identity and insecurity under intense public and private pressure.
Premiering in Newcastle (September 11-26) before embarking on a UK tour, the production is a major co-production between Northern Stage, HOME Manchester and Citizens Theatre.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: ‘I will wear my heart upon my sleeve’ by 5pm on Sunday (July 26)
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.