Curated Culture 23.09.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s Curated Culture - your regular signpost to some of the events, performances and other cultural delights we think are worth getting in front of over the next couple of weeks.
We like to think of it as a treat-filled pick ‘n’ mix of inspiration, scheduled to land helpfully in your inbox every Tuesday…
🗓️ Top Picks – standout events we reckon deserve a spot in your plans
📌 Still Showing – smashers from earlier editions you can still catch
📅 Now Booking – ones to secure early
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, a pair of tickets for Rock and Raise Country Night at Wylam Brewery, Newcastle on September 30.
Thanks, as always, for reading, passing it on, and letting us know what’s on your radar. Keep those tips and shares coming!
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
PPS: This is the last Curated Culture of my (Sam’s) forties… paid subscriptions would be an excellent half century present!
THEATRE: Miss Saigon
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: October 4-25
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
Miss Saigon returns in a new production from Wallsend’s Michael Harrison and Cameron Mackintosh, opening at the top of Grey Street at the beginning of next month before a major UK tour.
Boublil and Schönberg’s Vietnam-set epic follows 17-year-old Kim, a bar girl who falls for American GI Chris as Saigon collapses around them - a love story fractured by war, survival and secrets.
The soaring score includes The Movie in My Mind, Last Night of the World and The American Dream. Seann Miley Moore reprises their acclaimed Engineer alongside newcomer Julianne Pundan as Kim and Jack Kane as Chris, heading a striking, international ensemble.
MUSIC: The Friday Night Club with The Unthanks
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: September 26
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
A new cabaret-style venture hosted by folk music legends The Unthanks begins on Friday, marking the group’s recently acquired status as Artistic Partners of the Gateshead international music centre.
It’s intended to be a quarterly celebration of words and music with an eclectic line-up and plenty of surprises along the way. “Come curious – leave inspired,” they say.
Joining The Unthanks for this inaugural get-together will be ‘almost folk’ artist Clara Mann, prize-winning author Fiona Mozley, the one-and-only Tim Dalling, man of music and laughter, and the Royal Northern Sinfonia Ensemble playing a powerful piece by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Meanwhile, next door in Sage One, this being a pretty bumper weekend at The Glasshouse, Manchester’s splendid Hallé orchestra will be performing Debussy’s La Mer along with Wagner’s Tannhäuser overture and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2.
On the podium will be the orchestra’s new principal conductor, the Singaporean Kahchun Wong, previously with the Dresden Philharmonic.
THEATRE: Mary Poppins
Where: Sunderland Empire:
When: October 1-25
Bookings and info: atgtickets.com
When Mary Poppins arrives at Sunderland Empire next month, she’ll do so with her trademark poise: umbrella aloft, carpet bag in hand, and a glint of mischief in her eye.
Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers reprise their acclaimed Australian performances as Mary and Bert in the classic musical, guiding audiences from Cherry Tree Lane to London’s rooftops in a production that thrives on spectacle and sleight of hand.
Expect the Sherman brothers’ beloved songs – Jolly Holiday, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and more – reframed with theatrical wizardry, plus new material from Stiles and Drewe.
THEATRE: TV Pilot Scratch Night
Where: Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
When: September 24
Bookings and info: eventbrite.co.uk
Four North East screenwriters will put their work in front of an audience this week, as part of a New Writing North event spotlighting aspiring TV talent at Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre.
Audiences will hear script-in-hand readings of the opening pages of a quartet of new TV pilots, followed by live feedback from a panel of industry producers and script executives.
Funded by Channel 4 Skills, it promises to be a rare chance to see the script development process in action, offering invaluable insight for both aspiring and experienced writers.
The evening will showcase work by Becky Glendenning-Laycock, Alex Oates, Lindsay Rodden and Hannah Walker. Their scripts will be discussed by producers from Quay Street Productions (After The Flood, Fool Me Once, The Red King), Lonesome Pine Productions (The Inheritance, The Feud) and Boudica Entertainment (Three Little Birds, Top Boy), offering an inside look at how television stories are shaped.
SPECTACLE: S&DR200 anniversary
Where: Shildon, Darlington and Stockton
When: September 26-28
Bookings and info: sdr200.co.uk
The Stockton & Darlington Railway opened on September 27, 1825, which means the months-long bicentenary celebrations build up a head of steam this weekend.
From Friday to Sunday, a newly renovated replica of the pioneering Locomotion No. 1, pulling a passenger carriage called Experiment, will travel along sections of the old line.
Spectators will be able to see it at designated locations, starting on Friday (9am to 11.45am) at Locomotion, the Shildon railway museum.
On Saturday (12 noon to 1.40pm) the replica can be seen passing over Skerne Bridge, Darlington, the world’s oldest railway bridge still in continuous use.
See the full itinerary, with times and parking and ticketing information, on the website.
Also this weekend there will be two performances of STEAM, a new commission from Southpaw Dance Company recalling the achievements of railway pioneers including George Stephenson and Edward Pease.
See it in Shildon’s Hackworth Park (Saturday, 12.30pm) where it is to be a highlight of a free S&DR200 anniversary picnic (12pm to 4pm) also featuring Easington Brass Band, Sam Slatcher, the Auckland Shanty Singers and the Railway Institute Singers.
There will be repeat performances of STEAM on Stockton High Street (Sunday, 2pm and 4pm).
CLASSICAL: Orchestral Qawwali Project
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Saturday, September 27, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
Two recommendations for weekend attractions at The Glasshouse but no apologies for that. It’s a bumper weekend and this really does look a bit special.
The Orchestral Qawwali Project was launched five years ago by composer Rushil Ranjan and vocalist Abi Sampa whose fusion of Western and Indian Classical, choral and Sufi music has wowed audiences around the world.
It all began with their 2020 debut single, Man Kunto Maula, an orchestral interpretation of an ancient Sufi poem.
After the pandemic they made their orchestral debut in Glasgow alongside the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
They made their London debut in 2022 and last year performed at the Royal Albert Hall where the pair were made Associate Artists of the venue and the critic for The Times wrote glowingly of their “transportingly beautiful tapestry of sound”.
Saturday’s concert will be their first in the North East although possibly not the last.
Meanwhile, squeezed (you might think) into Sage Two will be musicians of Royal Northern Sinfonia, led by Glasshouse Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska, and guest soprano Hilary Cronin to perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 plus pieces by Richard Strauss.
The Mahler, along with Strauss’s Metamorphosen, has been specially arranged for a chamber ensemble, which makes sense of the smaller venue.
DANCE: Se Gaest/The Guest
Where: Middlesbrough Town Hall and touring
When: Wednesday, September 24, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: boxoffice.middlesbrough.gov.uk
The latest from North Tyneside-based dance artist and choreographer Anthony Lo-Giudice looks back in time to address issues that seem startlingly current.
It begins with a stranger washed up on an English shore to be greeted by a community that seems far from united.
The theme is reflected in the title, Se Gaest apparently being old English for The Guest, and attitudes such as tolerance and blame are explored though dance, live music, puppetry and storytelling.
Who are we, exactly, who call England home? It’s a big question, a lot to do with nostalgia and survival.
This piece, following the equally ambitious Roma, in which Anthony reflected on his upbringing, follows discussions with communities across the country.
It is blessed with a talented cast of dancers and on-stage musicians
It is also touring to Seaton Delaval Hall (September 27), York Minster (October 9), Queen’s Hall, Hexham (October 18), North Shields Fish Market (October 25), Auckland Palace (November 2) and Dance City, Newcastle (December 11).
THEATRE: Home, I’m Darling
Where: People’s Theatre, Newcastle
When: September 30 to October 4
Bookings and info: peoplestheatre.co.uk
Laura Wade’s play is billed as “an award-winning comedy about gender roles, rebellion and cake”.
Clearly there was a gap in the market waiting to be filled – possibly with perfectly concocted buttercream.
It tells of Judy and Johnny who are striving to live a perfect 1950s lifestyle in the 21st Century, which means Judy doing an awful lot of cleaning and baking.
How sweet can that be, and how sustainable and enjoyable in the long run given the pressures of modern life?
We’ll find out as the People’s amateurs give us a first sight of the play judged best comedy at the 2019 Lawrence Olivier Awards.
MUSIC: Mystery Park - new album from Kathryn Williams
Where: Wherever you get your music, but do remember that independent record shops are tip top
When: September 26
Bookings and info: kathryn-williams.lnk.to
Mercury Prize–nominated singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams returns with her fifteenth studio album, Mystery Park, released on Friday.
Marking 27 years of music-making, the Newcastle-based singer says it’s one of her most intimate and personal works to date - a record shaped by motherhood, memory, and the slow passage of time.
Produced with long-time collaborator Leo Abrahams and featuring contributions from Paul Weller, Polly Paulusma, Neill MacColl and more, the album draws on the sparse, delicate textures that first won Kathryn wider acclaim with Little Black Numbers.
Kathryn, who shared Goodbye to Summer (above Youtube link) in the run up to the release brings the album to life on a UK tour this autumn, with a special North East date at The Glasshouse, Gateshead, on October 30.
THEATRE: Edgecity - Monologues from the Street by gobscure
Where: Live Theatre, Newcastle
When: September 25-27
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
A powerful new production exploring homelessness takes centre stage at Newcastle’s Live Theatre this week, featuring Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson in a rare live performance and Bridget Marumo.
Edgecity, a new work by North East playwright gobscure, who will also perform.
Known for their “brokenword” style and radical edge, gobscure has drawn from their own lived experience of homelessness to deliver six uncompromising monologues performed by a cast of three, including the post punk outfit’s lead singer.
Titles of the monologues include Mind The Reality Gap, Die Like Chekhov, and yu cants start revolutions sitting on yr arse. The show will also feature live music from Geordie turntablist Mariam Rezaei.
POETRY & MUSIC: Briggflatts
Where: Great Hall, Hexham Abbey
When: September 25, 3pm
Bookings and info: hexhamabbeyfestival.org.uk
This is a rare public reading of Basil Bunting’s famous long poem, aptly described by the festival organisers as an evocative 20th Century masterpiece.
And who better to read it than Sean O’Brien, one of the region’s most celebrated poets who can be relied on to convey its subtle nuances?
Sean, as well as being a multi-award-winning poet, critic, playwright and writer of short stories, is professor emeritus of creative writing at Newcastle University.
The reading will be interspersed with the music of Domenico Scarlatti performed on harpsichord by John Green, a former director of music at Hexham Abbey.
Basil Bunting was born in Scotswood, Newcastle, in 1900 and spent his last years in Northumberland (he died in Hexham General Hospital in 1985). But his was a life of adventure with surprising twists and turns.
The poem by which he is best remembered, subtitled ‘An Autobiography’, was published in 1966 and hailed by leading critics as following in the tradition of Ezra Pound and TS Eliot.
This year’s Hexham Abbey Festival runs from Wednesday, September 24, until Sunday, September 28 and promises many good things.
THEATRE: Little Women
Where: Darlington Hippodrome
When: September 30-October 4
Bookings and info: darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
Louisa May Alcott’s novel has been cherished for more than 150 years – but Anne-Marie Casey’s new adaptation doesn’t just retell the March sisters’ story; it digs into why it still matters.
Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy face the upheaval of the American Civil War while also wrestling with timeless themes of ambition, love, loss and growing up. Their different paths - Jo’s refusal to fit into society’s mould, Beth’s quiet resilience, Amy’s determination, Meg’s search for stability - continue to feel instantly recognisable.
This production promises to lean into both the humour and heartbreak of the novel with the cast bringing together familiar stage and screen faces, with Belinda Lang as formidable Aunt March and Juliet Aubrey as Marmee.
STILL SHOWING
Screen: Whitley Bay Film Festival, various venues in the town, until Oct 3
Choral: The Sixteen, Hexham Abbey, Sept 26
Comedy: Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, Darlington Hippodrome and Gala Theatre, Durham, Sept 24 and 25, respectively
Theatre: Homebake, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Sept 25
Music: Rock and Raise - Country Night, Wylam Brewery, Newcastle, Sept 30
Event: Newcastle’s Dragon Boat Race, Newcastle quayside, Sept 27
Exhibition: Three Artists: Zac Weinberg, Joanna Manousis, and Anthony Amoako-Attah, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, until Jan 10, 2026
Poetry/Theatre: Book of Crow Tour, Lanchester Library; TCR Hub Barnard Castle and Gala Theatre, Sept 25, 26 and Oct 11, respectively
Theatre: Friends! The Musical Parody, Sunderland Empire, until Sept 27
Comedy: David Eagle’s Funny Flim Flam for a Fiver, Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay, Sept 25
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
Words: WRITE Festival 2025, The Word, South Shields and other South Tyneside venues, until Sept 27
Screen: Transaction, ITV X, Full series available to stream.
Exhibition: With These Hands, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until September 27
Exhibition: Pursued By Bulldozers, Gateshead Central Library, until Sept 27
Exhibition: Ali Cherri/Laura and Lancaster, BALTIC, until Oct 12
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: Cedric Morris, Artist, Plantsman & Traveller, Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, until Oct 12
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
Event: Iron Ladies, Redhills, County Durham, Oct 10
Music: Mercury Prize Fringe, various venues across the North East, Oct 10-15
Festival: Beyond The Moor, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Oct 11
Music: Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox - From the Horses Mouth, various North East venues, Oct 16-Nov 6. Read our preview HERE.
Music: Eddi Reader, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Oct 19
Event: An Evening with Mary Beard, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, Oct 20
Theatre: The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon, Sunderland Empire, Nov 4-8 (Also at Stockton Globe, Apr 14-18, 2026)
Music: Echobelly - 30th anniversary tour, The Cluny, Nov 5
Theatre: Big Ange, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Nov 6-22
Theatre: Dear England, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nov 11-15
Music: Fat Boy Sim - Acid Ballroom, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Nov 21
Comedy: Laugh Out Loud, Wylam Brewery, Nov 28
2026
Comedy: Scummy Mummies - Hot Mess, Darlington Hippodrome, Jan 29
Theatre: Fawlty Towers - The Play, Sunderland Empire, Feb 3-7
Theatre: Inspector Morse - House of Ghosts, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 3-7
Comedy: Chris Ramsey - Here Man!, Stockton Globe, Feb 26 and 27
Comedy: Harry Enfield and No Chums, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle, Mar 10
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 Rock & Raise - Country Night at Wylam Brewery, Newcastle on September 30.
Country, folk and Americana will take centre stage as Rock & Raise returns to Wylam Brewery for another night of live music in support of the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust.
Hosted by beloved broadcaster Bob Harris (you can read Simon Rushworth’s excellent interview with him about the event, here), the evening brings together Kezia Gill’s powerful vocals, the heartfelt songwriting of Chanel Yates, and The Often Herd’s award-winning bluegrass sound.
Adding to the mix are Lorraine Crosby, famed for her vocals alongside Meat Loaf and North Riding with their rootsy melodies. All proceeds go straight to the charities involved. And there’s a country BBQ being put on from 6pm. Lovely stuff.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Man! I feel like a night raising money at Wylam Brewery by noon, (12pm) on Thursday, September 25, 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.