Curated Culture 27.01.26
Our regular round-up of recommendations from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s Curated Culture - a fresh crop of arts and culture happenings from across the North East, carefully chosen with a decent amount of deliberation.
If this is your first newsletter from us - here’s bit of admin with regard to how things usually unfold on Tuesdays.
🗓️ Top Picks – featured listings from the next couple of weeks
📌 Still Showing – things we’ve flagged before that are still very much available to enjoy
📅 Now Booking – dates further down the line worth locking down early
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, a pair of tickets to see renowned US hip hop artist, Talib Kweli at The Cluny, Newcastle, on February 12.
All the info you need to get your cap in the ring can be found at the end of the newsletter. But please do take a slow scroll past all the excellent signposts and spotlights which you’ll find between here and there.
Thanks as always for the reads, shares, clicks and messages of support. They’re all very welcome.
Sam (Wonfor) & Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally preoccupied with North East culture
You can like/follow/high five us on our socials, on Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky
TALK/SCREENINGS: Kendal Mountain Tour 2026
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland (and touring)
When: Thursday February 5, 7pm
Bookings and info: kendalmountainevents.com
Whether you’re an adventurer, someone who dreams of adventure or a couch potato happy to get your kicks vicariously, there’s something for you in the adrenaline-stirring Kendal Mountain Tour.
It’s a spin-off from the Kendal Mountain Festival which began more than 40 years ago and takes place in the Lake District every autumn, focusing on adventure.
From February the following year some of the best short films submitted to the festival are taken around the country.
As well as the screenings you’ll hear from a special guest on stage, someone who has experienced real-life adventure.
Speaking in Sunderland will be former Royal Marine and triathlete Mitch Hutchcraft who recently swam the English Channel, cycled 10,000 km from France to India and trekked 900 km from the coast of India to Kathmandu – and then climbed Everest.
And he did it all in aid of a nature conservation organisation which also provides mental health support to veterans.
Other speakers will be on stage when the tour rocks up at Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle (February 6), Alnwick Playhouse (February 7) and Saltburn Arts (March 3). The tour begins at Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, on February 4.
THEATRE: Celebrating 100 Years of Laurel and Hardy - The Centenary Tour
Where: Bishop Auckland Town Hall
When: February 7
Bookings and info: laurelandhardypresentedbyneilbrand.co.uk
The 100th anniversary of Laurel & Hardy’s rise to fame is being celebrated with a live tour, coming to Bishop Auckland next month.
An Evening with Laurel & Hardy: Centenary Tour is being presented by silent film expert Neil Brand and promises to recreate the early cinema experience, with live, improvised piano accompaniment alongside newly restored films and clips.
Two shorts, The Finishing Touch and You’re Darn Tootin’, will be screened in full, followed by further restored footage and a Q&A.
The date in at the Town Hall will be extra special given Stan Laurel’s strong links to Bishop Auckland - he spent part of his childhood living on Princes Street while his father worked at the Eden Theatre.
Speaking of the tour, Neil said: “Every show on this tour will be different because – just as one hundred years ago – the music will be improvised. I am going to take audiences back in time: we’ll run the films and I will improvise dramatic music at the piano.”
If you’d like to, but can’t make the Bishop Auckland date, Neil will bring the tour back to the North East with a date at The Fire Station, Sunderland on March 10.
MUSIC & LIGHT: Litany for the Border
Where: Berwick (various locations)
When: February 7 to 22
Booking & Info: maltingsberwick.co.uk
Matthew Rosier’s Berwick Parade, comprising film projections and live music, was a regional cultural highlight of 2025.
Now comes the second of three planned commissions for the Berwick Shines programme run by The Living Barracks regeneration project.
It’s a new light and sound work by artists Gareth Hudson and Toby Thirling, with music by composer Eleanor Cully Boehringer.
Memories of a remarkable installation by Hudson and Thirling at the Globe Gallery, when still on Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street, suggest this will be special.
Throughout Litany for the Border, choreographed beams of light will shine into the sky from Berwick Barracks, Berwick Sports & Leisure Centre and Berwick Infirmary.
Eleanor’s musical accompaniment, accessible by spectators online, was formed from three choral motets and recalls conversations with members of the public and research into local sacred music.
A workshop led by artist Adam James, in which he asked residents to imagine the Tweed’s distant future, contributes to the third motet.
The music was sung by local choirs, including the new Berwick Shines community choir.
The show isn’t ticketed and can be experienced from vantage points around Berwick.
COMEDY: Sara Pascoe - I Am A Strange Gloop
Where: Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
When: February 5
Bookings and info: tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Insomniac thoughts, domestic chaos and ideas that feel brilliant at 3am and questionable by breakfast sit at the heart of I Am A Strange Gloop, the latest show from Sara Pascoe.
Blending stand-up with surreal reflection, the comedian you will recognise from the likes of Taskmaster, Mock The Week, QI, Live at the Apollo and The Great Sewing Bee will explore parenthood, relationships and the oddness of everyday life.
Sara will be back in the North East on March 27 for a tour date at Gala Theatre Durham.
BALLET: Little Red Riding Hood
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: Saturday, February 7
Booking & Info: northernstage.co.uk
Northern Ballet’s 40-minute version of a much-loved fairytale (straight through, no interval) is aimed at family audiences and sounds like the perfect introduction to ballet on stage.
It’s a relatively rare beast, too, as fans of the artform will tell you.
Should you be in any doubt as to its family friendliness, rest assured this is not in the vein of Company of Wolves, Neil Jordan’s Angela Carter-inspired gothic horror film of 40 years ago.
It is, according to the billing, a “playful retelling” of the classic fairytale in which “a little kindness goes a long way”.
“Little Red Riding Hood is a kind little girl who loves her family,” we’re told.
“On the way to visit her grandmother, she meets a very hungry wolf in the woods – but is he really as ‘big and bad’ as the stories say?”
The answer would seem to be implied in the question.
There are to be two performances in Newcastle, at 2pm and 4pm, the second of which is relaxed (so definitely not Company of Wolves). Tickets are selling fast, apparently, so don’t sit on your tutus.
The production can also be seen at Durham’s Gala Theatre on April 11.
MUSIC: James Arthur - The Pisces World Tour
Where: Utilita Arena Newcastle
When: February 6
Bookings and info: utilitaarena.co.uk
Middlesbrough singer songwriter James Arthur brings his latest tour to Tyneside for a big arena date.
Having first come to prominence as the winner of The X Factor in 2012, the 37-year-old has amassed a back catalogue of platinum-plated and chart-topping singles and albums - the latest of which shares its title with this tour.
Having already taken in dates across Europe, James is back in UK for a string of big gigs - and will doubtless get an extra wave of rowdy appreciation from an enthusiastic North East crowd.
TALK: Jenny Uglow – A Year with Gilbert White
Where: Lit & Phil, Newcastle
When: Wednesday, February 4, 6pm
Booking & Info: litandphil.org.uk
It has been 20 years since Jenny Uglow’s brilliant biography of Thomas Bewick was published and now she has a new one out.
In some respects, she’s ploughing a familiar furrow. Like Bewick, the North East’s celebrated wood engraver, Gilbert White was a great observer of nature.
Indeed, the full title of Jenny’s latest book is A Year with Gilbert White: The First Great Nature Writer.
White was a curate and pioneering naturalist whose writings were published in 1789 – just four years before his death - as Natural Histories and Antiquities of Selborne.
Bewick would have been in his thirties at the time.
Jenny Uglow, whose other books include biographies of George Eliot, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry Fielding and William Hogarth, is an engaging writer and speaker – so the perfect champion of a man who wrote with passion and humour about earthworms and snails.
In the book she focuses on one year in the life of Gilbert White who put the Hampshire village of Selborne firmly on the map.
Like Bewick’s work, Gilbert White’s has stood the test of time. His book has never been out of print.
THEATRE: Fawlty Towers - The Play
Where: Sunderland Empire
When: February 3-7
Bookings and info: atgtickets.com
Fifty years after it first aired on BBC Two, the magic of Fawlty Towers has been revived on stage - first for a sell out West End run and then for a UK tour, which has a double date with the North East. First up is Sunderland Empire.
Adapted by the series’ co-creator John Cleese, the production weaves classic storylines together from three original episodes - The Hotel Inspectors, Communication Problems and The Germans - while adding a new finale.
The 18-strong cast includes Danny Bayne as the best worst hotel manager Basil Fawlty, Paul Nicholas who reprises his role as the permanently confused Major and Strictly Come Dancing’s Joanne Clifton as the ever level-headed Polly.
They’ll all be back in the region from June 30 to July 4 for a run at Newcastle Theatre Royal.
DANCE: The Monocle
Where: ARC Stockton
When: January 31
Bookings and info: arconline.co.uk
Rendez-Vous Dance kick off a new tour of The Monocle in the North East at the end of the month.
Created by award-winning French choreographer Mathieu Geffré, the show, which starts its UK wanderings at ARC, Stockton is inspired by Le Monocle, a rare and vibrant safe space for lesbian women in 1930s Paris.
Originally a Made In The North East commission and following sell-out performances in 2023 and 2024, the production returns to the region after demand for a fresh tour.
Performed by a seven-strong cast led by singer Imogen Banks, the show blends sensual choreography, dramatic storytelling and live early-jazz vocals, with songs made famous by Edith Piaf, Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone.
The tour will return to the region for a performance at Newcastle’s Dance City on March 6.
EXHIBITION: Feeling Into The Unknown
Where: Hartlepool Art Gallery
When: January 31 to April 18
Booking & Info: teesvalleymuseums.org
The gallery’s new exhibition features abstract paintings by Emily Carter who loves colour and the natural world.
She says her latest work explores grief and the threads, physical and spiritual, that link us with those no longer with us.
Originally from West Yorkshire, Emily has lived in Hartlepool for more than 20 years and has been painting since childhood.
While her dad, John, found solace in photography after experiencing the trauma of war as a child, mum Christine enrolled on an art course after retiring from nursing.
Emily studied at The Northern School of Art and returned to full-time painting after working as an art teacher.
Some of her recent pieces were created after her mother’s death. Emily painted with her eyes closed, guided, she says, by ancestral energies, elemental forces and “the quiet pull of the celestial, especially the moon”.
At the end of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to write a message to a loved one. These messages will be held until April when the writers will be invited to take part in a fire ceremony on the beach, releasing the words as an act of remembrance.
THEATRE: Inspector Morse: The House of Ghosts
Where: Newcastle Theatre Royal
When: February 3-7
Bookings and info: theatreroyal.co.uk
The original stage adaptation of one of British telly’s most iconic detectives (no, not Vera) arrives on Tyneside next week.
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts, offers a and gripping story, written for the stage, and sees Tom Chambers taking the role of Morse.
The chilling mystery unfolds when a young actress dies during a performance. When an old acquaintance becomes the lead suspect in the murder case, Morse and DS Lewis are drawn into an investigation that uncovers disturbing links to events from Morse’s distant past.
MUSIC: Miles Kane
Where: NX, Newcastle
When: February 3, from 7pm
Bookings and info: ticketmaster.co.uk
Indie rock royalty Miles has a new Nashville-recorded album under his belt and believes life begins at 40 (he reaches the landmark later this year).
The singer songwriter heads to Newcastle promising to showcase the very best of his Dan Auerbach-produced Sunlight In The Shadows and he’s bringing the fast-rising Villanelle, featuring Liam Gallagher’s son Gene, along for the ride.
Expect great songs, good craic and a glimpse of the future as the former Rascals and Last Shadow Puppets frontman gets back to doing what he does best.
STILL SHOWING
Music: Independent Venue Week (IVW), 29 venues across the North East, until Feb 1
Festival: Brundibár Arts Festival, Newcastle, various venues, Jan 31 to Feb 8
Screen: Doppelganger, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer, Feb 1, 9pm and then streaming
Music: John Bramwell (I Am Kloot), Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Jan 31
Screen: R.E.M. x Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr, Tyneside Cinema, Feb 5
Talk: Playing Like A Girl – A History of Women’s Football, Lit & Phil, Newcastle, Jan 28
Classical: Piano Greats - Angela Hewitt, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Feb 1, 3pm
Music: Frankie Archer // ATFK (Vinyl Launch), Pop Recs, Sunderland, Jan 31
Theatre: Grease, Gala Theatre, Durham, until Jan 31
Theatre: Weird, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jan 28, 30 and 31
Music: Joanne Shaw Taylor, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Jan 29
Event: Day Fever, Boiler Shop Newcastle, Jan 31
Music: Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Jan 31
Exhibition: Between Work and Play, Globe Gallery, 97 Howard Street, North Shields, until Feb 14
Exhibition Tours: The Light of Days Past, Granary Gallery, Berwick, Feb 7
Comedy: Sara Pascoe - I Am A Strange Gloop, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle; Gala Theatre Durham, Feb 5 and Mar 27, respectively
Event: Uncanny - Fear of the Dark, Darlington Hippodrome, Feb 8
Theatre: Matilda The Musical, Sunderland Empire, Feb 11-28
Music: The Friday Night Club With The Unthanks, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Feb 13
Event: Sunday for Sammy, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Feb 15
Comedy: Chris Ramsey - Here Man, Stockton Globe and Newcastle 02 City Hall, Feb 26-27 and April 17-19, respectively
Theatre: The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, Mar 5
Theatre: Hidden Biscuit, Queen’s Hall Hexham and Live Theatre, Newcastle, Mar 20 and Apr 2, respectively
Screen: Torvill and Dean - The Last Dance, streaming on ITVX,
Exhibition: Going Back Brockens, Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, until Jan 31 (10am to 5pm)
Exhibition: Desire Lines, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until Apr 12
Theatre: I, Daniel Blake, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Mar 20 to April 4
Theatre: Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Apr 6-11
Theatre: Sunny Afternoon, Stockton Globe, April 14-18
Screen: Jools Holland’s New Orleans Jukebox, BBC iPlayer
Radio: Tom and Lauren Are Going OOT!, BBC Sounds
Exhibition: Miniature Worlds - Little Landscapes from Thomas Bewick to Beatrix Potter, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until Feb 28, 2026. Read our report.
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: The Light of Days Past, Granary Gallery, Berwick, until Feb 22, 2026
Exhibition: Joséphine: A Woman of Taste and Fashion, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until March
Comedy: Cally Beaton - Namaste Mother F*ckers, Northern Stage (Feb 7); Alnwick Playhouse (Feb 17); Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Feb 19)
Exhibition: Works by Nathan Coley, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 1
Exhibition: Pippa Hale: Pet Project, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Mar 1
NOW BOOKING
Screen: Valentyneside 2026, a curated selection of beloved love stories, Feb 6-19
Music: Ron Sexsmith, The Fire Station, February 25
Comedy: Biff to the Future, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Mar 8
Music: The Brand New Heavies, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Mar 18
Comedy: Laurels Charity Comedy Gala, Playhouse Whitley Bay, Mar 22
Theatre: Mean Girls, Sunderland Empire, Apr 6-11 (and Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jan 18-30 2027)
Theatre: Post Traumatic Slay Disorder, Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle, Apr 22-23
Music: The Prodigy with special guest Carl Cox, Utilita Arena Newcastle, May 2
In conversation: John Power - Cast, The LA’s and Me, Gala Theatre Durham, May 8
Comedy: Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, Stockton Globe, May 16
Music: The Manfreds - Get Your Kicks On Tour, Queen’s Hall Hexham, May 16
Theatre: The Ballad of Johnny and June, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 2-6
Comedy: Lee Kyle - I Shot A Man in Chinos Just to Watch Him Die But I Did Not Shoot the Deputy (I Did Shoot the Deputy), Jul 19
Theatre: The Last Laugh, Darlington Hippodrome, Aug 18-22
Music: Soul II Soul, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Oct 23
2027
Music: MILOŠ, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Mar 20
Comedy: John Bishop, Utilita Arena Newcastle, May 6
Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Darlington Hippodrome, May 25-29
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 Talib Kweli at The Cluny, Newcastle on February 12
After nearly 20 years of doing his thing, the US hip hop artist remains respected, influential and still absolutely engaged.
Emerging from Brooklyn in the late 90s, he became widely known through Black Star with Mos Def, alongside projects such as Reflection Eternal with Hi-Tek.
His solo work and collaborations - spanning the likes of Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, J Dilla and Madlib - reflect a career built on lyricism, political awareness and independence.
This is going to be a special night in the Ouseburn.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: TALIB in the Toon by noon, (12pm) on Sunday, February 1, 2026.
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.