Curated Culture 26.05.26
Our weekly round-up of recommendations from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and thanks for cracking opem this week’s what’s on casserole - especially when you could be applying suncream/aftersun*.
*Delete depending on time of reading
As ever, we’ve rounded up a fresh selection of cultural doings we reckon are worth your attention across the North East over the next fortnight - plus a reminder of listings from Curated Cultures gone by still available to enjoy and some suggestions for things you might want to get booked in before everyone else does.
Ooh, and this week’s subscriber prize draw is for a pair of tickets to see Gerry & Sewell at Newcastle Theatre Royal on June 9. The Tyneside-grown production is back on home turf (from June 9-13) following a triumphant away leg in the West End back in January.
Right then, on we scroll.
Thanks for your continued support
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally pre-occupied with North East culture
COMEDY: Richard Ayoade - Afterthoughts
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: June 9
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Richard Ayoade has a unique knack of sounding simultaneously baffled, deeply unimpressed and utterly hilarious.
Best known to many for The IT Crowd, Travel Man, films including Submarine and being Bob Mortimer’s biggest challenge on the first season of Amazon Prime’s Last One Laughing, Richard is out on tour discussing his latest book, Afterthoughts, or Some Pistachios Won’t Open: Wisdom for the Unreflective.
Part book event, part extended monologue, the evening promises sharp tangents, unnecessary overthinking and plenty of beautifully dry humour. We’re betting fans of awkward brilliance will feel very much at home.
CONCERT: Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Thursday, June 4, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
There’s a good story behind Postmodern Jukebox and it’s told in the book published in 2018 by Scott Bradlee, one-time struggling New York jazz musician.
Actually, the essence of it is in the title: Outside the Jukebox: How I Turned My Vintage Music Obsession into My Dream Gig.
It all began when Bradlee and some college friends started making basement videos of themselves performing modern music reworked into vintage genres such as swing and jazz.
YouTube videos attracted attention and Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, with a collective membership of singers, dancers and instrumentalists, has since become a popular live act.
The group returns to Gateshead on its The Future Is Vintage world tour, featuring a new show with a retro spin put on 1970s rock classics, 1980s Britpop hits and even video game soundtracks.
The Glasshouse promises “a heavy dose of danceable numbers plus jaw-dropping showstoppers” and urges concert-goers to dress in their “vintage best” (nothing else in my wardrobe – DW).
THEATRE: From Dialogue to Monologue
Where: Tyneside Irish Centre
When: June 5
Bookings and info: nufcmatters.co.uk
Lockdown provided the spark for veteran North East writer Arthur Mackenzie to create From Dialogue to Monologue – a series of pieces inspired by the lives, anxieties and characters glimpsed through windows and across quiet streets during the pandemic.
Now, for the first time, all of the monologues will be performed together in a staged reading by Alison Stanley, Sharon Percy, Jayne Mackenzie, Libby Walker and Dawn Wilkinson.
The evening promises humour, poignancy and recognisable slices of everyday life meanwhile all proceeds from the event will go to Age UK North Tyneside to support dementia patients across the region.
COMEDY: Rich Hall - Chin Music
Where: Queen’s Hall, Hexham; The Fire Station, Sunderland; Alnwick Playhouse; and Darlington Hippodrome
When: June 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively
Bookings and info: offthekerb.com
“Chin Music” can mean idle chatter - or a fast ball aimed a little too close for comfort. Both fit Rich Hall pretty well.
His comedy has always mixed laid-back rambling with sharp left turns, political jabs and gloriously unpredictable improvisation.
Decades into his career, the 71-year-old remains one of the most reliably funny and original stand-ups around. He’s bringing Chin Music to four North East venues next month, giving audiences across the region a very decent chance to spend an evening in the company of one of comedy’s great oddballs.
And if you can’t sort yourself out to get to one of those dates, he’s back in the region on October 16 and 17 gigs at Gosforth Civic Theatre and Durham Gala Theatre, respectively.
EVENT: Sunderland History Fair
Where: Bethany City Church, Bede Tower, Burdon Road SR2 7EA
When: Saturday, May 30, 10am to 4pm
Booking & Info: facebook.com
Prolific writer Terry Deary (out this month in paperback: Revolting – a riotous history of rebellions and revolutions) will join the Mayor of Sunderland to open the free event which promises to whisk visitors back in time.
So far back that arriving by car is not advised (there’s no public parking). Organisers say there’s a bus stop outside the venue and it’s a 10-minute walk from the city centre.
More than 40 heritage societies, organisations, writers and traders will attend, history talks are promised throughout the day, there will be musical entertainment from The Silver Shantymen and Sunderland Maritime Heritage will present their scale model of warship HMS Venerable.
Roman, Viking and Norman re-enactment groups have promised to give an edge to proceedings and refreshments will be available.
Vintage bus tours will be on offer and visitors are advised that the nearby offices of Sunderland Antiquarian Society will be open, as will the Wearside Masonic Temple.
THEATRE: A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List
Where: Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle
When: Jun 3-4
Bookings and info: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Lists, deadlines, intrusive thoughts and a pink fluffy monster under the duvet all collide in the latest darkly comic solo show from Sheffield writer and performer Eleanor May Blackburn.
Heading to Newcastle as part of a UK tour, the 60-minute production follows journalist Phoebe, whose obsession with lists begins to spiral into fears about mortality, identity and control. Tackling OCD, toxic productivity and neurodivergence with warmth and humour, the show has already picked up a string of four-star reviews following runs at the Edinburgh Fringe.
If you’ve ever added “have a shower” to a to-do list, you’ll find this particularly relatable.
SCREEN: The Fortune
Where: Channel 5
When: From June 2, 9pm
Info: channel5.com
Inheritance, secrets and psychological twists are heading to screens courtesy of The Fortune.
Produced by Newcastle-based Lonesome Pine Productions, the four-part thriller was filmed entirely across the North East.
Locations around Hartlepool and the wider Northumbrian landscape provided the backdrop for the story of Amanda Blakefield (Eleanor Tomlinson), whose life is transformed after inheriting a mysterious fortune from a man she has never met.
Also starring Teesside actors Callum Woodhouse and Stephen Tompkinson, as well as Paula Wilcox, Rebecca Front and Denis Lawson, the drama is written by Aschlin Ditta, creator of hit 5 and Netflix series, The Feud.
THEATRE: Tales from Acorn Wood
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: May 28-31
Bookings and info: northernstage.co.uk
The popular stories of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (of Gruffalo fame) are brought to life on stage by Stafford-based Norwell Lapley Productions.
Being a show deemed suitable for “all ages”, tots can bring any number of elder siblings and grown-ups to those 11am and 2pm performances spread over the four days.
The bill promises a thoroughly engaging four-hander - Rabbit’s Nap, Fox’s Socks, Hide-and-Seek Pig and Postman Bear.
Toe-tapping songs and puppetry are on the cards from the team that has also entertained young audiences with shows including Dear Zoo Live and Dear Santa.
CONCERT: Hollywood’s Golden Age
Where: The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: Saturday, May 30, 7.30pm
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
Local boy John Wilson, the maestro who has made the Sinfonia of London a guarantee of a good night out, is back on home turf this weekend with his orchestra and something a bit different.
On Sunday (May 31), for the first time, he and the dance band at the heart of the orchestra will be performing at a tea dance on the concourse, aiming to get people moving to music with a foot-tapping tempo.
It’s something of an experiment and it arises from the three -year residency which makes John and the orchestra artistic partners of The Glasshouse.
Tickets for the tea dance were free which will go some way towards explaining why they’re all gone, although it might be worth checking for returns.
The concert on the Saturday, with John and the orchestra joined by singer Kim Criswell, will be another exploration of some of the great soundtracks to come out of Hollywood’s dream factory.
Korngold’s theme for The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (a 1939 film starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn) is one John especially favours, along with Max Steiner’s Suite from Casablanca (a 1942 vehicle for Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman).
Then, to set pulses racing, there’s Tom and Jerry, credited to Scott Bradley. A great night, as ever, is in store.
THEATRE: Toto Kerblammo!
Where: Live Theatre, Newcastle
When: June 9
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
Tim Crouch’s immersive play places audiences right inside the world of Effy - a girl trying to keep her beloved dog Toto hidden in a building where pets aren’t allowed.
Premiering at Unicorn Theatre in 2024, the production uses headphones and 3D binaural sound technology to draw audiences into an intimate story about loneliness, friendship and survival.
As sounds shift and swirl around the audience in real time, everyday moments become strangely vivid and emotionally charged.
STILL SHOWING
Theatre: The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, The Playhouse, Horden, County Durham, until Jun 6
Theatre: The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, People’s Theatre, Newcastle, until May 30
Music: Bobby Rush, The Cluny, Ouseburn, May 28
Theatre: Les Ballets Trockadero, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until May 27
Classical: The Dream of Gerontius, Hexham Abbey, Jun 6
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
Dance: This is Rambert, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 16-17
Theatre: Unearthed Festival, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Jul 2-11
Festival: Durham Brass, various venues, Jul 12-19
Music: The Proclaimers, Sunderland Empire, Jul 23
Festival: Durham Fringe Festival, various venues around Durham City, Jul 29-Aug 2
Festival: GemArts 10th Anniversary Festival, various venues across Newcastle and Gateshead, July 13-19
Music: The Fire Station Summer Parties, The Fire Station Parade Ground, Sunderland, Jul 31, Aug 1, 2, 9, 14, 22, 25, 28 and 30
Theatre: The Last Laugh, Darlington Hippodrome, Aug 18-22
Festival: Lindisfarne Festival, Beal Farm, Northumberland, Sept 3-5
Music: Smoove and Turrell - Singles Tour, Pop Recs, Sunderland, Sept 5
Comedy: Barry Castagnola - The Last of the Barrys, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Sept 11
Comedy: Phil Wang - Uh Oh, Stockton Globe (Sept 26) and Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle (Nov 14)
Music: Frankie Archer, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Sept 27
Music: Alison Moyet, Stockton Globe, Oct 4
Theatre: Black is the Colour of My Voice, Northern Stage, Oct 6-7
Theatre: Murder She Didn’t Write, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Oct 15
Music: Steve Hackett - Best of Genesis and Solo Gems, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Oct 21
Comedy: Laura Smyth - Born Aggy, ARC Stockton (Nov 13) and The Stand Newcastle (Nov 14)
2027
Music: Carl Palmer and An Evening with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Feb 7
Theatre: The Other Side of Murder, Darlington Hippodrome, Feb 16-20
Spoken word: Hollie McNish, Northern Stage, Apr 2
Dance: Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 20-May 1
Theatre: The Most Famous Tree in the World, Live Theatre, Newcastle, May 6-29
Theatre: Starlight Express, Sunderland Empire, Jul 14-31
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 Gerry and Sewell at Newcastle Theatre Royal on June 9. (The production is there June 9-13).
Black and white flags are already flying at the top of Grey Street ahead of the return of the hit Geordie stage show.
Returning to a Tyneside stage following sell-out North East runs and a successful West End transfer, the production reunites Dean Logan and Jack Robertson as the title pair alongside Becky Clayburn (Tyneside) and Erin Mullen (Bridget McCarten) and new cast members Sammy T. Dobson, Angela Lonsdale and David Nellist.
Adapted by Olivier Award winner, Jamie Eastlake from Jonathan Tulloch’s novel The Season Ticket as well as the film it inspired, Purely Belter, the show follows two Gateshead lads from the wrong side of the Metro tracks, determined to get season tickets for Newcastle United.
Featuring live music, lots of laughs, an iconic puppet dog and buckets of heart, producers say this will be the last chance audiences get to see the production which was last on stage at the top of Trafalgar Square. So if you’ve been meaning to catch it - diven’t hang aboot, like.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Back of the Net!, by 5pm on Sunday (May 31)
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.