Curated Culture 28.07.26
Our weekly what's on recommendations and signposts from the North East's cultural stages, events and attractions
Hello, and welcome to another edition of Curated Culture.
Whether you’re filling the diary or simply looking for an excuse to get out and about, we’ve assembled another selection of North East cultural highlights for the weeks ahead.
You’ll also find our usual reminder of events we’ve recommended previously which are still available to enjoy, along with a handful of things it’s worth getting in the diary sooner rather than later. Festival Watch continues too.
You’ll find details of this week’s subscriber prize draw - a pair of tickets to see The Anastacia File at Newcastle Theatre Royal on September 18 - at the end of the newsletter.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Sam (Wonfor) and Dave (Whetstone)
Professionally pre-occupied with North East culture
🌻🌻🌻 Reminder: Due to annual leave - aka Sam soaking up sunshine, olives, sunflowers and Van Gogh walking tours for a fortnight - Friday’s Culture Digests will be lighter than usual and Cultured. On Sunday will be on a break until August 9.
Ooh and next week’s Curated Culture will be delivered on Wednesday, August 5 when the summer disruption will come to an end. 🌻🌻🌻
EVENT: NOVUM Festival
Where: Newcastle city centre
When: August 7-9
Bookings and info: novumnewcastle.com
Newcastle's NOVUM Festival returns this August with another invitation to look at the city a little differently.
Across three days, streets, squares and public spaces will host free performances, installations, music and family activities, alongside some striking large-scale artworks.
This year’s programme includes Motionhouse’s gravity-defying BLOCK, the percussion-led energy of Possê, North East collaboration The Fabric of Us and the much-anticipated Dominoes Newcastle finale, which will see thousands of breeze blocks topple through the city in an extraordinary chain reaction.
You'll also find Bird Rave, silent disco walking tours, interactive art, roaming brass bands, family play zones and creative workshops, making it easy to dip in for an hour or spend a whole day exploring.
In short, it’s not to be missed.
Read David Whetstone’s interview with Station House Opera’s Julian Maynard Smith
FESTIVAL: GlastonAbbey 2026
Where: Hexham Abbey cloister lawn
When: Friday, July 31; Saturday, August 1
Booking & Info: hexhamabbey.org.uk
There’s no Glastonbury Festival this summer so into the breach steps… Hexham Abbey!
Actually this will be the third GlastonAbbey, an outdoor showcase for tribute bands and other local acts in a beautiful setting.
Fleeting Rumours are the Friday evening headliners but local favourite Jason Arnup will be first on stage with his country rock sound to stoke the atmosphere, as he did last year.
Also on the bill is Geordie Cinnamon who will perform a setlist of hits by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Cinnamon.
Oasis 96 closed the festival last year and will be back on August 1 along with Jack Bowater and his Ed Sheeran Songbook along with Arctic Flunkies.
The site will have bars and food vans and both indoor and outdoor toilets. Children under 12 will not be admitted.
As a weekend bonus there’s to be a screening of The Glastonbury Movie at the Forum Cinema at 7.30pm on Sunday, August 2. It was shot in 1993 and purports to show “the real festival, not the headline acts”.
FOOD: Seaham Food Festival
Where: Seaham seafront (next to the Tommy Statue)
When: August 1-2
Bookings and info: seahamfoodfestival.co.uk
Celebrity chefs, artisan producers and street food traders return to the County Durham coast as Seaham Food Festival serves up another packed weekend by the sea. TV chef Matt Tebbutt headlines the cookery demonstrations, joined by Cherish Finden, Shelina Permalloo, Cyrus Todiwala, Francesco Mattana, Oli The Choc and presenter Chris Bavin.
Away from the kitchens, nearly 140 traders, live music, family theatre, workshops and outdoor performances promise plenty to keep visitors entertained. Admission is free, making it an ideal excuse to spend a summer weekend exploring one of the North East’s most popular food festivals.
EVENT: Yeavering Festival of Archaeology: A Palace in its Landscape
Where: Ad Gefrin
When: July 31- August 1
Bookings and info: gefrintrust.org
A festival will celebrate one of the most historic sites in Northumberland which was the location of a Royal summer palace for four kings of Northumbria for a century from 575AD.
Yeavering Festival of Archaeology: A Palace in its Landscape, will take place on the site near Wooler on Friday July 31 and Saturday August 1 and on Sunday at the town’s Ad Gefrin whisky distillery.
It is being organised by the distillery, which includes a museum devoted to the royal site, the Gefrin Trust and Durham University which has been carrying out excavations.
On Friday there will be a light show by Walk the Plank from 9pm-10.30pm (ticket £5) on the Palace field, which brings the ancient palace and its story to life. Also book day tickets.
The festival includes living history encampment and demonstrations, expert tours and talks, hands on skills activities, and family craft sessions.
THEATRE: Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape
Where: Gala Durham
When: August 11, 12, 13 (daytime)
Bookings and info: galadurham.co.uk
Billed as a brand new family musical for everyone over five, this action-packed (the clue’s in the title) musical show is based on the 2017 children’s book by Dermot O’Leary.
You might know him as a co-presenter of This Morning or remember him fronting The X Factor.
This show comes from London-based Little Angel Theatre which has been producing family shows with live action and puppets since 1961.
Toto, the feline star of this new production, is no ordinary feline. She’s almost blind but has incredible ninja skills, a big heart and a nose for adventure.
By day, she naps, but by night she’s out on daring missions with her cheeky brother, Silver.
In their first adventure, a deadly snake has escaped and it’s up to Toto to use her courage and cunning to save the day.
There are to be five performances in Durham, all in the morning or afternoon, and the show lasts about 55 minutes,
ROCK: When Rivers Meet
Where: The Witham, Barnard Castle; Cluny 2, Newcastle
When: Friday, August 7, 7.30pm; Saturday, August 8 (doors: 7pm)
Bookings and info: whenriversmeet.co.uk
When Rivers Meet is husband-and-wife duo Grace and Aaron Bond who started performing under that name in 2016 and have just released their sixth studio album, Rhythm Rust & Static.
Grace (vocals, mandolin and violin) and Aaron (vocals, guitar) declare themselves proud to be an independent blues-rock band, having built a career with neither record label nor management.
Their fourth album, Aces Are High, made history in 2023 as the first independent rock/blues release to break into the UK Official Albums Chart Top 10. Follow-up Addicted To You (2025) did even better, getting to number four.
They began their touring career in a converted VW camper van and build up their audience during the Covid pandemic by livestreaming.
They first met in a pub in Downham Market, Norfolk, where Aaron was born. Grace is from Ely, Cambridgeshire. Together since 2004, they are now based in Essex.
On their current tour they will play all 10 tracks from the new album along with some from the back catalogue.
FESTIVAL: Stockton International Riverside Festival
Where: Waterfront Park and High Street, Stockton
When: July 31-August 2
Bookings and info:
Stockton International Riverside Festival (SIRF) returns for its 39th year with another packed weekend of free outdoor performance, transforming the town centre into a stage for street theatre, circus, dance and music.
More than 100 performances will unfold across the High Street and the new Waterfront park, featuring artists from the Tees Valley alongside companies from across the UK, Europe, Australia and South Korea.
Audiences can do more than watch too, with community casts and plenty of opportunities to get involved. The ever-popular Community Carnival rounds off the festival on Sunday with a colourful celebration of creativity. Lovely stuff.
Read more about 2026 SIRF commission, The Market Inspector, here.
FESTIVAL: Durham Fringe Festival
Where: Various venues across Durham city centre
When: July 29-August 2
Bookings and info: durhamfringe.co.uk
Durham Fringe Festival returns with its biggest programme yet, bringing five days of theatre, comedy, music, circus, dance, cabaret and spoken word to venues across the city. More than 130 shows and almost 300 performances will take place between July 29 and August 2, featuring artists from the North East, across the UK and overseas.
Among the many highlights is comedian Harriet Kemsley, previewing new stand-up at Gala Theatre, alongside work from Taiwan-based physical theatre company Sun Son Theatre and a ‘cartoon draw along’ with Viz legend, Alex Collier.
With performances taking place everywhere from theatres and bars to a stretch tent on Palace Green, there's plenty to discover. Check out the website and dive into the full programme.
LECTURE: The 1826 Northumberland Election
Where: Lit & Phil, Newcastle
When: Monday, August 10, 1pm
Booking & Info: litandphil.org.uk
Elections – or the lack of them – have been in the news so it’s interesting to see a window opened on an election which became notorious nationally for the nature of the campaigning.
Lecturer Keith Jewitt will take us back to the Regency era when contested elections were relatively rare.
He will reflect on the boozy dinners and undertow of bad temper and rowdiness, and – arguably worst of all – the staggering level of expense involved.
In Northumberland in 1826, four candidates contested two seats.
There was no shortage of key political issues around which debate might have swirled.
They included the abolition of slavery, Catholic emancipation, electoral reform and the choice between free trade and protectionism. Furthermore, the election took place after a massive economic crisis.
But none of these talking points really lit the blue touchpaper in Alnwick.
Two hundred years after the event, Keith will explain that the strong feelings generated by the election were the product of personal differences and the candidates’ tactical decisions.
FAMILY: Wallace & Gromit – All Systems Go AR Trail
Where: Hopetown Darlington
When: August 1 to 31, 10am to 4pm
Booking & Info: hopetowndarlington.co.uk
Hopetown Darlington is steeped in history, named after the foundry works associated with the railways and previously – and for the best part of 20 years – known as Head of Steam: Darlington Railway Museum.
After a £35 million transformation, the 7.5-acre site was reopened as a brand new visitor attraction with a new name and dedicated to the innovations of past and present.
Visitors throughout August will be able to experience this Wallace & Gromit “reality trail experience” by downloading a free app – available on iOS and Android – and entering location code 1825 ahead of arrival.
A resulting “brilliantly bonkers day out” is promised, characterised by “invention, imagination and adventure” in the company of Wallace & Gromit as they embark on their latest mission.
It involves finding and following trail markers to help the Plasticene pair prepare their rocket for blast off.
Each marker – apparently - will unlock an interactive augmented reality scene, challenging you to complete various tasks and tick off Wallace’s check list.
Best check the website for the technical niceties for what sounds like a fun 21st Century experience.
THEATRE: The HandleBards’ As You Like It
Where: The Straw Yard, Berwick Barracks (and elsewhere)
When: Wednesday, August 5, 3pm and 7pm (see below)
Bookings and info: maltingsberwick.co.uk
The HandleBards began, as they say, as four friends with a sense of adventure, a love of Shakespeare and a nifty little pun.
The latter’s in the company name, for these intrepid thespians cycle the length of the country every summer to perform Shakespeare in beautiful locations.
The founders were drama students who found a novel way of making their own luck. Others have since followed in their tyre tracks.
Since the company first hit the road in 2013, they have garnered many great reviews – and each’s summer’s pedalling cast must also develop equally impressive leg muscles.
They’re touring two shows this year, As You Like It and Macbeth.
You can also catch As You Like It at: Northumberlandia, near Cramlington (August 8, 6pm); Hexham Abbey (August 9, 5pm); All Saints’ Church, Gosforth (August 12, 6pm); Wharton Park, Durham (August 13, 6.30pm); Raby Castle (August 14, 6.30pm); and Kiplin Hall, near Richmond (August 15, 6.30pm).
Macbeth you can see at: Berwick Parish Church (August 18, 3pm and 7pm); Alnwick Castle (August 19, 6.30pm); or Bolton Castle, near Leyburn (August 20, 6.30pm).
Find full tour details at handlebards.com
EXHIBITION: Things That Go!
Where: Discovery Museum, Newcastle
When: August 1 until February 28, 2027
Bookings and info: northeastmuseums.org.uk
Discovery Museum's newly transformed Special Exhibitions Gallery opens with Things That Go!, a family-friendly celebration of transport in all its forms.
Inspired by the classic children's books, the exhibition brings together rarely seen objects from the museum's collection, from boats, bicycles and tractors to trains, prams and a surfboard belonging to champion surfer Gabe Davies.
Interactive displays include a life-sized Lumo play train, hands-on activities and a storytelling corner, while models and historic vehicles trace the North East's rich transport heritage.
As museum director Keith Merrin says: "Things That Go! is a fun way to bring out items from the collection that relate to the theme of transport and, whilst it has been created with younger families in mind, there are some fascinating and evocative objects on display for all generations to explore.
🎉 FESTIVAL WATCH 🎉
Stockton International Riverside Festival, July 31-August 2
Durham Fringe Festival, various venues, July 29-August 2
Kendal Calling, Lowther Deer Park, July 30-August 2
GCT Beer Festival, Gosforth Civic Theatre, July 31-August 2
NOVUM, Newcastle city centre, August 7-9
Saltburn Folk Festival, various venues, August 7-9
Cosmic Frequencies Festival, Forum Cinema, Hexham, August 8-9
New Horizons, The Grove, Newcastle, August 14-16
Berwick Food and Beer Festival, August 14-16
Derwent Fest, near Consett, August 14-15
Coast Fest, North Shields, Aug 28-30
Noughty 90s Festival, Leazes Park, Newcastle, August 29
Newcastle Mela, August 29-31, Grey’s Monument and Exhibition Park
Northern and Modern Soul All Dayer, The Glasshouse, August 30
Lindisfarne Festival, Beal Farm, Northumberland, September 3-5
Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage, Tees Valley, various locations, September 11-13
Hexham Abbey Festival of Music and Arts, Hexham, Northumberland, September 23-26
Beyond the Moor, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Oct 10
Can’t see your festival here? Send us the details
STILL SHOWING
Theatre: Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, Jul 29
Theatre/Comedy: Edinburgh Fringe Previews, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Jul 28-Aug 1
Festival: Gosforth Beer Festival, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Jul 31-Aug 2
Classical: Sasha and Khyrystyna Mykhailichenko, Alnwick Playhouse, Aug 8 (1.30pm)
Exhibition: MOXIE: Generation Alpha Curates the Middlesbrough Collection, MIMA, Middlesbrough, until Mar 28, 2027
Music: The Pale Waves, Parade Ground, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Aug 1
Screen: Screen on the Green, Old Eldon Square, Newcastle, until Aug 31
Event: Happy Rooms, Middlesbrough Town Hall, until Aug 30
Theatre: The Bodyguard, Newcastle Theatre Royal, until Aug 1
Exhibition: Discovering Dark Skies, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, until Sept 19
Screen: Ashington AFC: Saving Our Club, available to stream on BBC iPlayer
Event: Beyond Van Gogh, Utilita Arena, Newcastle, until Aug 9. Read our preview
Event: Kynren – An Epic Tale of England, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, until Sept 12
Exhibition: Norman Cornish – A Life in Sketchbooks, Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, until Jan 3. Read our full report
Exhibition: Mourning Tea Tyne & Lost Frequencies, Globe Gallery, North Shields, ongoing
Exhibition: Joan Eardley, Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed, until Oct 11
Screen: The Fortune, Channel 5, from Jun 2, 9pm
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: 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: Out of the Darkness, Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland, until December
NOW BOOKING
Comedy: Things We Didn’t Know Podcast Live (with Jason Cook and Carl Hutchinson), The Customs House, South Shields, Aug 14.
Music: Northern Soul All Dayer, The Glasshouse concourse, Aug 30
Festival: Lindisfarne Festival, Beal Farm, Northumberland, Sept 3-5
Event: Jon Ronson - Enter the Castle, Gala Durham, Sept 17
Event: Caitlin Moran - How To Be Hopeful, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Sept 27
Music: Crash Test Dummies plus Special Guests, Wylam Brewery, Oct 1
Chartity music fundraiser: Liz Corney & Field Music play Elton John and the Rocketmen, Tyneside Irish Centre, Newcastle, Oct 10
Comedy: Your Aunt Fanny - Crease, ARC Stockton, Oct 10
Music: Soul II Soul, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Oct 23
Music: Megson, The Witham, Barnard Castle, Oct 29
Music: The Script, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Nov 5
Comedy: Harry Enfield and No Chums, Darlington Hippodrome (Nov 11); Stockton Globe (Nov 21); Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle (Mar 20, 2027)
Event: Miriam’s Full English Live, Darlington Hippodrome, Nov 18
2027
Music: Stornoway, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Feb 18
Theatre: Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 23-27
Comedy: Mike Wozniak - The Bench, Gala Durham, Mar 19
Music: Gabrielle, Newcastle o2 City Hall, Apr 3
Theatre: The Most Famous Tree In The World, Live Theatre, May 6-29
Classical: Thomas Zehetmair conducts Mozart, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Jun 4
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 The Anastacia File at Newcastle Theatre Royal (Sept 15-19) on September 18.
Jenny Seagrove returns to one of her most acclaimed stage roles in The Anastasia File, a drama inspired by one of the twentieth century's greatest historical mysteries.
Two years after the execution of the Russian royal family, an unidentified woman rescued from a Berlin canal begins to reveal details suggesting she could be Grand Duchess Anastasia.
Was she really the last surviving Romanov, or an extraordinary imposter? Directed by Roy Marsden and featuring Simon Shepherd, Ashley D. Gayle and Rosie Thomson, Royce Ryton's gripping play promises to explore the blurred lines between truth, memory and myth, leaving audiences to reach their own conclusions.
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: ‘File me under WINNER’ by 5pm on Sunday (August 2)
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.