Curated Culture 27.05.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello! Hope your short week has started beautifully and you’re making the most of that Bank Holiday bounce.
As per all the Tuesdays, we are here to deliver your weekly and carefully selected round up of gigs, theatre, exhibitions, festivals, and whatever else we’ve spotted that will make your diary sing that little bit louder.
Think of us as your culture-obsessed pal who has no interest in keeping the good stuff to themselves.
If you’ve just joined us, hello and hooray! Here’s what you’ll find inside the Tuesday mailout:
🗓️ Fresh picks for the fortnight ahead
📌 STILL SHOWING – things we’ve flagged before that you can still catch
📅 NOW BOOKING – advance notice for come of the good stuff coming up
🎁 Our weekly prize draw – this week, TWO pairs of tickets for Havisham at Gosforth Civic Theatre on June 12 at 7.30pm - all details at the end of the newsletter.
So, settle in, have a scroll, and let us help you find your next cultural fix.
And as always, thanks for reading, sharing, and generally being great.
Sam (Wonfor) and 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
MUSIC: A Special Evening with Spike
Where: The Cluny 2, Newcastle
When: May 30
Bookings and info: thecluny.com
Quireboys frontman Spike returns to home turf for a special night of songs, stories and surprises at The Cluny.
Joined by long-time collaborator Willie Dowling on piano - and a few mystery Geordie guests - the intimate evening in Cluny 2 promises a mix of old favourites, new material and plenty of rock ’n’ roll spirit.
Expect stripped-back versions, big laughs, and a chance to catch one of Tyneside’s most distinctive voices close up.
THEATRE: Homebake
Where: Gosforth Civic Theatre
When: June 5, 2025, 7–9pm
Bookings and info: gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk
Homebake is a night for curious audiences and bold ideas. Hosted by theatre-maker Lindsay Nicholson, this new platform invites local writers, performers and creatives to share early-stage or experimental work in a friendly, supportive space.
For audiences, it’s a chance to experience something raw, honest and full of potential - a behind-the-scenes creative process curtain raiser. Expect a mix of short performances, conversation, and the kind of work you might just see fully formed in the future. Sounds like a great night out if you love theatre and discovering what’s next.
EXHIBITION: Guiding Entities
Where: MIMA, Middlesbrough
When: until November 23
Bookings and info: mima.art
This solo exhibition by Glasgow-based artist Zoë Tumika, who works under the names Zoë Zo, Zoë Tumika & Zoë Guthrie, is part of a three-year programme called 20/20 led by the University of the Arts London.
It has involved 20 emerging and mid-career artists of colour working with 20 public art collections across the country, resulting in 20 new acquisitions.
At the heart of the exhibition are three ceramic vessels called The Trickster, The Friend and The Protector whose forms were influenced by the images, sounds and texts Tumika encountered during research.
There’s also a film which blends footage from Middlesbrough, Glasgow and Australia with digital animation and invites viewers to reflect on colonial legacies.
MUSIC: Martha Wainwright – 20th Anniversary Tour
Where: The Fire Station, Sunderland
When: Tuesday 3 June 2025
Bookings and info: thefirestation.org.uk
To mark two decades since her breakthrough eponymous debut, Martha Wainwright is out on a celebratory tour, arriving in Sunderland next week.
Known for its raw honesty and emotional punch, the album launched her distinctive voice and songwriting onto the world stage.
This anniversary tour, which is supported by the album’s first release on vinyl, offers fans a rare chance to hear the long player live from start to finish, alongside some new material and unreleased tracks from the early years.
A special night is pretty much nailed on.
COMEDY: Greg Davies – Full Fat Legend
Where: O2 City Hall Newcastle
When: Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 May 2025, 7:30pm
Bookings and info: academymusicgroup.com
Greg Davies is back on stage with his first stand-up tour in seven years - and it’s his biggest yet. The towering Taskmaster host and star of The Inbetweeners, Man Down, and The Cleaner brings his new show to Newcastle’s O2 City Hall for four nights of full-throttle comedy.
Expect oversized anecdotes, sharp observations, and a healthy dose of self-deprecating chaos.
MUSIC: Cat Power Sings Dylan ‘66
Where: Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: June 4
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
Chan Marshall, known as Cat Power is bringing her acclaimed tribute to Bob Dylan’s 1966 ‘Royal Albert Hall’ concert to Tyneside, promising a powerful and evocative night of music.
The original show - actually held at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall (blame a mislabeled bootleg for the confusion) - marked Dylan’s dramatic shift from acoustic folk to electric rock, a moment that stunned fans and reshaped music history.
Cat Power has long been celebrated for her soulful interpretations, and this song-for-song recreation is no exception. First captured on her live album Cat Power Sings Dylan, the performance has been praised for its emotional depth and respectful reinvention of a truly iconic set.
TALK: Concrete Dreams – The Modernist City in the 21st Century
Where: Farrell Centre, Newcastle
When: May 28, 2025, 6–8pm
Bookings and info: farrellcentre.org.uk
As part of its Concrete Dreams exhibition, which runs to June 1, Newcastle’s Farrell Centre hosts a free discussion event exploring Newcastle’s post-war urban transformation.
With voices from architecture, art and local history, this is a chance to reflect on the legacy of modernist design and how it continues to shape Newcastle today.
Speakers at the event in the Herschel Building at 6pm are Richard Brook author and professor in architecture at Lancaster University; Catherine Croft – director of the Twentieth Century Society and author of Concrete Architecture; and Owen Hopkins, director of the Farrell Centre, and author of Lost Futures: The Disappearing Architecture of Post-War Britain and The Brutalists.
Free to attend, but booking is advised.
EXHIBITION: Cedric Morris, Artist, Plantsman & Traveller
Where: Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed
When: June 7 to October 12
Bookings and info: maltingsberwick.co.uk
This feast for the eyes is billed as the first major exhibition of Cedric Morris’s work in the north of England and it includes loans from the National Portrait Gallery, Tate and private collections.
Morris, born in Swansea in 1889, studied at the Royal College of Music before turning to painting.
Declared medically unfit to fight during the First World War, he spent time preparing horses and mules at an Army remount centre.
Having moved to Cornwall, he studied plants and did watercolour paintings, remaining there for some years with lifelong partner and fellow artist Arthur Lett-Haines whom he’d met on Armistice Day, 1918.
After spells in Paris and London, the pair settled in Suffolk where they founded the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in a 16th Century property called Benton End. Students included Lucian Freud and Maggi Hambling.
In the school gardens Morris furthered his interest in horticulture and grew exotic irises.
The exhibition focuses on his relationship with Lett-Haines and Benton End, where he lived until his death in 1982, his travels across Europe to find and paint plants and his love of the natural world.
CONCERT: Shakespeare’s Music
Where: St Mary’s Church, Wooler
When: Sunday, June 8, 3pm
Bookings and info: woolerarts.org.uk
The great British baritone Roderick Williams, seen at The Glasshouse earlier this year in Fauré’s Requiem, was one of the big names secured by artistic director John Casken for this year’s Wooler Arts Summer Concerts programme.
He will be accompanied by pianist Julius Drake (a professor at London’s Guildhall School of Music) and actor Ben Boskovic for a programme of music inspired by Shakespeare.
It includes Purcell’s If music be the food of love (Twelfth Night), Cole Porter’s Brush up your Shakespeare (from Kiss Me Kate, inspired by The Taming of the Shrew), Vaughan Williams’ Orpheus and his lute (Henry VIII) and much more.
Looking ahead a little further, Wooler Arts, founded by local people, is celebrating its fifth anniversary over the weekend of June 14 and 15 with a variety of events and displays.
A tapestry called Murmuration will be displayed in the Cheviot Centre and the second day finale will be a special outdoor event in the Cheviot Centre garden. Visit the website above for details.
EXHIBITION: The Coal Town Collection – Mik Critchlow Gallery
Where: Woodhorn Museum, Ashington
When: Permanent exhibition opened May 24
Bookings and info: museumsnorthumberland.org.uk
A dedicated new gallery at Woodhorn Museum showcases the work of acclaimed late photographer Mik Critchlow.
Featuring more than 100 powerful images from his Coal Town archive, the display spans four decades and offers an intimate portrait of Ashington’s mining community during a time of huge social and political change.
An important record of life in a town shaped by coal, this newly opened permanent space honours both his rich legacy and the people whose stories he captured.
THEATRE: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show
Where: Northern Stage, Newcastle
When: 28 May – 1 June 2025
Bookings and info: northernstage.co.uk
Eric Carle’s beloved books spring to life on stage in this colourful, puppet-filled production perfect for little ones (and nostalgic grown-ups who will undoubtedly be able to recite what the snacky little caterpillar scoffed for the rest of time).
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show brings four classic stories - Brown Bear, Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Busy Spider and the ever-hungry star himself - to Northern Stage, using a crowd of more than 75 puppets to recreate Carle’s distinctive illustrations.
A joyful, gentle introduction to theatre that’s as charming as the books that inspired it… perfect for a May half term outing.
STILL BOOKING
Comedy: Mark Steel - The Leopard in My House, The Fire Station, Sunderland, May 28
Theatre: The Sunderland Story, Sunderland Empire, until May 31
Music: Smoove and Turrell, The Fire Station, Sunderland, May 31
Theatre: & Juliet, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 2-7
Theatre: The Bench, various North East venues until Jun 21
Music: The Swell Season, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
Exhibition: North East Emerging Artist Award, Seaton Delaval Hall, until June 22
Theatre: Unearthed Festival, Live Theatre, Newcastle, May 20-31 - Read our preview
Exhibition: With These Hands, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, until September 27
Comedy: Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area, Live Theatre, Newcastle, May 29-30
Theatre: RUM, Live Theatre, Jun 6-7
Exhibition: Shakespeare Recovered, Palace Green Library, Durham, until Nov 2
Audio-Visual: The Mother Goose Series, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, until July
Exhibition: Richard Hobson retrospective, South Shields Museum & Art Gallery, until Nov 2
Exhibition: Sheila Fell – Cumberland on Canvas, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, until Jun 28
Exhibition: Ali Cherri/Laura and Lancaster, BALTIC, until Oct 12
Exhibition: Joséphine: A Woman of Taste and Fashion, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until March 2026
Exhibition: Northumberland Open Exhibition, Woodhorn Museum, until June 1. Read David Whetstone’s full preview of the exhibition.
Exhibition: Ted Holloway - A Bevin Boy Remembered, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until June 8, 2025
Exhibition: Magna Carta and the North, Durham Cathedral Museum, Jul 11 until Nov 2
Music: Nick Cope – I’ve Lost My Bobble Hat, The Glasshouse, Gateshead at 11am on Oct 29
Theatre: Mary Poppins, Sunderland Empire, Oct 1-25
Music: The Young’uns Big Boro Bash, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Nov 15
Big screen: Expo Sunderland Pavilion, Keel Square, Sunderland, throughout 2025
NOW BOOKING
Theatre: Carrying David, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 21 and 22
Event: With a Little Help from Their Friends - Stuart Maconie, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle, Jul 15
Music: BBC Proms - Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Jul 24
Event: Keegan book launch, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Sept 4
Comedy: Adam Kay - A Particularly Nasty Case, Northern Stage, Sept 4
Comedy: Angela Barnes - ANGST, The Witham, Barnard Castle, Sept 12
Theatre: Cirque - The Greatest Show Reimagined, Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Sept 28
Music: The Kooks, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Oct 9
Music: Kathryn Williams, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Oct 30
Music: Adam Ant, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Oct 29; and The Globe, Stockton Oct 30
Music: Chris Difford - Not Only But Also, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Oct 31
Theatre: Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks Musical, Sunderland Empire, Nov 4-8
Music: Howard Jones - Dream into Action, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Nov 19
Comedy: Josie Long - Now Is The Time of Monsters, The Stand Newcastle, Dec 4
Music: Cattle and Cane, ARC Stockton, Dec 13
2026
Comedy: Glenn Moore, Gala Theatre Durham, Jan 29
Event: Sunday for Sammy, Utilita Arena, Newcastle, Feb 15
Comedy: Mark Simmons - Jest to Impress, The Fire Station, Mar 13
Family Theatre: Bluey’s Big Play, Sunderland Empire, Mar 25-29
Music: Suzi Quatro, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Apr 8 (Tickets on general sale 10am, May 30)
Theatre: To Kill A Mockingbird, Newcastle Theatre Royal, April 21-25
COMPETITION TIME
Welcome to our latest newsletter prizedraw, offering our subscribers an exclusive opportunity to win tickets to see or do something great.
This week, we’ve TWO pairs of tickets to see Havisham at Gosforth Civic Theatre on June 12 at 7.30pm.
We all know Miss Havisham - the wedding dress, the rotting cake, the heartbreak. But what if there’s more to her story?
Havisham, written and performed by Heather Alexander, gives a voice to one of Dickens’ most famous characters, exploring the life she lived before Great Expectations.
From a troubled childhood to a devastating betrayal, this one-woman show is full of drama, emotion and dark humour. A fresh take on a classic, which should appeal to both Dickens devotees and newcomers alike.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Havisham: The Prequel by noon, (12pm) on Sunday, June 1, 2025.
The winner, who will be selected at random, will be notified within 24 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.