Curated Culture 21.10.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s Curated Culture – your Tuesday inbox drop of the gigs, theatre, exhibitions and cultural goings-on that we think deserve a spot on your wall planner.
Each week we strive to bring you a considered mix of what’s new, what’s continuing, and what’s coming soon – so your next great night out or day trip is always in the offing.
If you’re new to the list, here’s what you get as the week hits its stride:
🗓️ Top Picks – some standout events lighting up the next fortnight
📌 Still Showing – highlights from recent editions still available to enjoy
📅 Now Booking – a heads-up on the shows worth getting in early for
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, win a pair of tickets for Sunny Afternoon, the hit Kinks musical, at Sunderland Empire on November 4.
Details of how to enter are at the bottom… but you’d be silly not to dig into all the lovely stuff between here and there on your way down!
Thanks for reading, sharing, and helping spread the word.
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
Theatre: ROBBED
Where: Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay
When: November 4-8
Bookings and info: Via Laurels’ website
It’s midnight in Whitley Bay and Simon’s quiet night in is shattered by a break-in — but the intruder isn’t what he seems, and Simon’s sister has a few surprises of her own. Robbed, written and directed by Ian Smith (Juggling, DIG), is billed as a one-act comedy thriller about inheritance, provenance, and the pitfalls of family ties.
Featuring a cast of familiar North East faces - Donald McBride, Becky Clayburn and Kylie Ann Ford - this new play promises laughs, twists and a few unexpected revelations.
MUSIC: Kathryn Williams
Where: Sage Two, The Glasshouse
When: October 30
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
Newcastle-based singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams brings her UK to cosy confines of The Glasshouse’s Sage Two next week.
The gig is part of a UK tour supporting her fifteenth studio album, Mystery Park, which was released at the end of September and marks 27 years of music-making via a reflective new collection exploring memory, motherhood and the passage of time.
A couple of weeks after Sam Fender picked up the Mercury Prize on Tyneside for People Watching, this former Mercury Prize nominated artist (Kathryn was in the running with Little Black Numbers in 2000) continues to delight her fans with beautifully crafted songs sung with a voice to match.
EXHIBITION: The Light of Days Past
Where: Granary Gallery, Berwick
When: Saturday, October 25 until Feb 22, 2006
Booking and info: maltingsberwick.co.uk
The subtitle of this fascinating exhibition is Photography in Berwick 1840-1980, which pretty much spans the history of photography.
We learn that Berwick’s first photographic studio opened in 1849 but travelling photographers would stop in the town throughout the 19th Century.
No doubt the dramatic landscapes attracted them but another draw would have been the affluent holidaymakers who might have money to spend on a family portrait.
One of these photographers was William De Lan who was born in Bradford but gravitated to the North East and eventually established a studio in Tweedmouth.
He photographed royalty – taking the Prince of Wales’s portrait at Blagdon Hall in 1887 - and his three daughters all became photographers in their turn.
The exhibition, featuring over 100 images of Berwick, is described as a journey of exploration into how the town and its people have been captured by the photographer’s lens.
It has been developed in partnership with Berwick Record Office and curated by photograph collector and researcher Cameron Robertson.
MUSIC: Andrew Cushin
Where: Newcastle 02 City Hall
When: October 25
Bookings and info: academymusicgroup.com
There aren’t many tickets left for this homecoming gig from Newcastle singer songwriter, Andrew Cushin (95% had been snapped up at the last count earlier this evening).
The City Hall gig follows a busy summer of festivals including performances at Hardwick Live and Come Together in his home region.
It also serves as the finale for his UK dates before the former pupil of Heaton Manor School, who has supported Noel Gallagher and Louis Tomlinson, sets off on a headline tour of North America.
Anyone fancy a fiver on him booking the Arena for his next home gig?
EVENT: GHOSTNorthEast Paranormal Investigation
Where: Live Theatre, Newcastle
When: October 30, 9.15pm to 1am
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
GHOSTNorthEast return to Live Theatre for a late-night investigation of one of the Quayside’s oldest and most atmospheric buildings.
From 9.15pm to 1am, a small group of participants will explore the theatre’s backstage areas, cellars and corridors in search of signs of paranormal activity - as the first minutes of Hallowe’en tick by.
Using a mix of scientific and spiritual tools - from K-2 meters and dowsing rods to night-vision cameras - the team will share techniques and stories gathered from years of investigating historic North East sites.
A rare chance to experience the theatre after dark, when its history feels closest to the surface.
MUSIC: Martin McAloon of Prefab Sprout – Two Wheels Good Tour
Where: Pop Recs, Sunderland
When: October 24
Bookings and info: martinmcaloon.com
Founding member of Prefab Sprout, Martin McAloon, brings his tour to Sunderland to mark the 40th anniversary of Steve McQueen – the band’s acclaimed album that cemented their place in pop history.
Martin will be performing the full record live, including classics When Love Breaks Down, Appetite and Faron Young. He will also revisit favourites from brother Paddy’s remarkable songbook.
A celebration of one of the most sophisticated and heartfelt albums of the 1980s, the gig offers a rare chance to hear a special collection of timeless songs performed with the warmth that first made them shine.
COMEDY: Cally Beaton - Namaste Mother f***ers
Where: The Witham, Barnard Castle
When: October 29
Bookings and info: thewitham.org.uk
Comedian and writer Cally Beaton (QI, Live at the Apollo) brings her latest show to the North East - promising an honest, funny and occasionally fierce look at midlife and what comes after.
Drawing on stories from her book of the same name, Cally will reflect on swapping the corporate boardroom for the comedy circuit after an encounter with Joan Rivers. Part memoir, part stand-up, the show explores ageing, ambition and reinvention with humour and humanity.
The evening also includes a Q&A and meet-and-greet — and, if you’re lucky, an appearance from Jeff the wonder dog.
The tour will have Cally back in the region in 2026 for dates at Northern Stage (Feb 7); Alnwick Playhouse (Feb 17); and Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Feb 19). Details on her website.
MUSIC & POETRY: Beneath This Ground
Where: Jesmond Library, St George’s Terrace, Newcastle
When: Saturday, November 1, 7pm
Bookings and info: jesmondlibrary.org
Musicians Marina Dodgson (fiddle) and Maurice Condie (guitar), of the Miggins Fiddle Ceilidh Band, join with Cullercoats poet Harry Gallagher for an evening inspired by Ballast Hill.
This is the tranquil spot overlooking the Ouseburn Valley whose history is deeper and darker than you might imagine.
It was formed, according to the Ouseburn Heritage Trust plaque on the railings, by ballast dumped by returning colliers but then, from the 17th Century until closure in 1853, served as a nonconformist burial ground.
Some 40,000 bodies are believed to have been buried here and the pathways are formed by old gravestones.
This is the story of Ballast Hills in words and music – and there’s an accompanying album and also an illustrated book if you want to live with it beyond the live performance.
MUSIC: Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening
Where: Gala Durham
When: Saturday, October 24, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: galadurham.co.uk
Following a headline turn at Gosforth Civic Theatre’s Beyond the Moor festival earlier this month, this is a last chance to catch Kathryn Tickell and her accomplished band of musical companions before their tour takes them off around the country.
It promises to be a seasonal gig in at least one sense, ‘darkening’ being the old Northumbrian word for twilight which is making its presence felt as the nights draw in.
The Darkening are Amy Thatcher (accordion, clogs, synth, vocals), Heather Cartright (guitar, vocals), Joe Truswell (drums), Stef Conner (vocals, lyres) – and, of course, the maestro herself on Northumbria smallpipes, fiddle and vocals.
There will be music, dancing if Thatcher dons the clogs and lots of warm and invigorating Northumbrian chat.
This is an experienced band – seasoned rather than seasonal - that never disappoints and the music comes from the turf we tread and the air we breathe.
Kathryn Tickell and The Darkening are also due to perform at the Musicport Festival in Whitby on Sunday, October 26.
THEATRE: Private Lives
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: November 4 to 8
Booking and info: northernstage.co.uk
This would seem to be something of a homecoming for director Tanuja Amarasuriya who grew up in Durham. The first play she ever saw, aged 12, was at this very theatre, then called Newcastle Playhouse.
She says she never imagined “someone like me” could have a career in theatre but she’s doing OK. She chose to direct Noel Coward’s comedy after winning last year’s RTST (Royal Theatrical Support Trust) Sir Peter Hall Director Award.
It opened in September at Bolton’s Octogon Theatre (it’s a three-theatre co-production in association with Northern Stage) 90 years after it was first staged with a cast headed by Coward and Gertrude Lawrence.
The current cast perhaps includes others who never imagined a theatre career could be for them.
But here they are headed by Pepter Lunkuse and Chirag Benedict Lobo as Amanda and Elyot, the divorced couple who find themselves inadvertently booked into adjacent rooms at the same hotel with their respective new – and younger – spouses, Victor (Ashley Gerlach) and Sibyl (Sade Malone).
There are seven performances in Newcastle, including two 2.30pm matinees and an early evening one at 6pm.
CHORAL: Samling Academy in Concert
Where: The Glasshouse ICM, Gateshead
When: Sunday, October 26, 3pm
Booking and info: samling.org.uk
Here’s a concert that never disappoints, a display of vocal dexterity by young singers from secondary schools and universities across the region.
What they get as Samling Academy members is expert tuition in classical singing – and what the audience invariably gets is an enjoyable afternoon of burgeoning brilliance.
Who knows where this may lead for some of them?
Last month soprano Louise Alder became the first Samling Artist (they are the slightly more advanced singers who attend Samling masterclass weeks) to headline at The Last Night of the Proms.
These young singers, ahead of this concert, have undergone six days of intensive coaching, learning a range of skills under the direction of Caroline Dowdle, vocal coach at Royal Opera and Ballet.
They will perform a programme of solos, duets and ensemble pieces, accompanied by Samling Artist pianists.
STILL SHOWING
Music: Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox - From the Horses Mouth, various venues across the North East until Nov 1
Comedy: Jen Brister - Reactive, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, Oct 22
Theatre: Mother Courage and Her Children, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 23 to Nov 1
Performance: The Spirits of Newcastle, Lit & Phil, Newcastle, Oct 24
Theatre: Ordinary Decent Criminal, ARC, Stockton, Oct 29
Exhibition: What the Others Built, VANE, Gateshead NE8 2AP, until Nov 1
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, 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: Echobelly - Anniversary Tour, The Cluny, Newcastle, Nov 5
Opera: Opera North - La Boheme, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nov 5, 6 and 8 (also Susanna, Nov 7; and Big Opera Mystery, Nov 8)
Theatre: Top Hat, Sunderland Empire, Nov 18-20
Music: Sheelanagig - 20th anniversary Tour, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Nov 20
Music: Stereophonics, Utilita Arena, Newcastle, Dec 6
Music: Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Dec 3; and Stockton Globe, Dec 4
Comedy: The Suggestibles’ Impro Pantso, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Dec 18-19
2026
Music: The Unthanks at 20 - An Anniversary Special with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Glasshouse, Jan 30
Comedy: Russell Howard - Don’t Tell The Algorithm, The Stockton Globe, Jan 31 to Feb 1; Sunderland Empire, Mar 14; and Newcastle 02 City Hall, Mar 28
Theatre: Inspector Morse - House of Ghosts, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 3-7
Music: Florence and the Machine, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Feb 11
Comedy: Ross Noble - Cranium of Curiosities, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Feb 18-20. Also at Middlesbrough Town Hall, Feb 21
Theatre: Biff to the Future, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Mar 8
Comedy: Emma Doran - Emmaculate, The Stand Newcastle, Mar 22
Music: Suzi Quatro, The Glasshouse, Apr 8
Music: The Steelers Play Steely Dan. Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Jun 19
Music: David Essex, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Sept 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 Sunny Afternoon at Sunderland Empire on November 4 at 7.30pm.
The multi-Olivier Award-winning musical inspired by the life and music of The Kinks, plays on Wearside from November 4-8.
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the brink of the swinging sixties, it tells the story of the Davies brothers and their bandmates as they stumble from North London beginnings to global fame, soundtracked by hits such as You Really Got Me, Lola and All Day and All of the Night.
The 2025/26 touring production has Danny Horn returning as Ray Davies, joined by Oliver Hoare as Dave, Harry Curley as Peter Quaife and Zakarie Stokes as Mick Avory.
Directed by Edward Hall with music and lyrics by Ray Davies and a book by Joe Penhall, the show mixes joy, chaos and heartache in a portrait of a band that defined an era.
Ahead of the UK tour kicking off, Ray Davies said: “I’m pleased that Danny and Oliver are rejoining Sunny Afternoon after their brilliant run in Chicago and look forward to Harry and Zakarie joining the band.
“Well done to everyone involved in making this wonderful Sunny Afternoon musical.”
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Waterloo Sunset in Sunderland by noon, (12pm) on Friday, October 24, 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.