Curated Culture 30.09.25
Our weekly recommendations round up from North East stages and cultural venues
Hello and welcome to this week’s Curated Culture - your weekly serving of events, gigs, shows and other cultural goings-on we reckon are worth getting in front of, over the next couple of weeks.
Think of it as your members-only briefing – hand-delivered every Tuesday, so you’re never left wondering what you might have missed… or what to do of an evening. Or lunchtime.
For newcomers - lovely to have you - around this time each week, we drop the following into your inbox:
🗓️ Top Picks – stuff that deserves a gold star on your calendar over the next fortnight
📌 Still Showing – things we’ve signposted in Curated Cultures gone by which are still catchable
📅 Now Booking – A look further ahead to dates you’ll want to get booked in
🎁 Subscriber Prize Draw – this week, two tickets for Angela Barnes: Angst at The Stand Newcastle, on Oct 21.
Thanks for being part of the club – keep reading, sharing, and letting us in on what’s on your radar.
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
MUSIC: Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir
Where: Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: October 3
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
The Big Show returns to The Glasshouse on Friday promising an evening of joy, harmony and uplift as the full ensemble of Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir - and their dynamic band - take to the Sage Two stage.
With powerful voices, heartfelt songs and fresh new melodies alongside familiar favourites, the lifting of spirits is pretty much nailed on.
They call it ‘a night where every note sounds like good news’ - and who doesn’t want some of that?
VISUAL ART: Gaia
Where: Hexham Abbey
When: Friday, October 3 to November 16
Bookings and info: hexhamabbey.org.uk
Luke Jerram’s enormous Earth sculpture was seen by 140,000 people when it was displayed in Durham Cathedral in 2023.
If you missed it then, or fancy a repeat viewing, it’s now to be shown in Hexham Abbey, adding to the spectacular charms of another of the region’s historic places of worship.
This is the second of Jerram’s astronomical sculptures to be displayed at the abbey. His Museum of the Moon was a major attraction there in 2023 (as it was at Durham Cathedral in 2021).
Gaia, a name used historically to personify the Earth, measures 7m in diameter and comprises detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface. It is designed to revolve slowly, accompanied by a soundtrack created by BAFTA-winning composer Dan Jones.
A programme of events has been put together to complement Gaia’s stay in Hexham including yoga sessions, talks, exhibitions, concerts and a gala dinner beneath the installation on October 10 featuring a talk by polar explorer Conrad Dickinson.
MUSIC: Deacon Blue
Where: Utilita Arena Newcastle
When: October 6
Bookings and info: utilitaarena.co.uk
Deacon Blue return to Newcastle next week part of a milestone year marking 40 years since Ricky Ross and Dougie Vipond first began the journey that would become one of Scotland’s most enduring bands.
But this isn’t just a tour looking back over four decades. In the spring, they released The Great Western Road, an album that reflects on the road travelled and the path ahead.
Still an arena-filling act long after their late-80s heyday, audiences should expect new material alongside classics when they take over the Utilita Arena for what promises to be a special Monday night.
THEATRE: Bad Lads
Where: Live Theatre
When: October 2-11
Bookings and info: live.org.uk
Created from the testimonies of men who spent time as detainees in Medomsley Youth Detention Centre in County Durham, Bad Lads premieres in Newcastle later this week ahead of a national tour.
Produced by Graeae Theatre Company’ in association with Live Theatre, the new play is written by Mike Kenny and directed by Jenny Sealey.
Between 1961 and 1987 more than 24,000 young men passed through Medomsley, serving short custodial sentences designed by Margaret Thatcher’s government to “short, sharp, shock” them out of offending.
Instead, more than 1,800 have since reported being physically or sexually abused while inside. Many more are believed never to have spoken out.
The play asks audiences not just to bear witness to what happened inside Medomsley in the 1980s, but to confront the legacy of a system that failed thousands of working-class boys and has yet to be fully acknowledged.
The production is back in the region for two dates at ARC Stockton on November 14 and 15.
COMEDY: John Shuttleworth - Raise the Oof
Where: Gala Durham
When: October 8
Bookings and info: galadurham.co.uk
Comedy legend and Radio 4 favourite John Shuttleworth returns with Raise The Oof, celebrating an ‘unlikely’ 40 years in showbiz.
Armed with his trusty Yamaha organ (auto accompaniment included), John will share songs, stories and musings on a career that began in 1985 with neighbour and “Clarinet Man” Ken Worthington.
Expect tales of CurlyWurlys, failed chart success, and the odd singalong – all delivered with his trademark warmth and deadpan wit. From Comet’s audio department to the hospice circuit, Shuttleworth has seen it all. Now he’s ready to mark four decades in his inimitable style.
THEATRE: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde + The Body Snatcher
Where: Various venues
When: Touring until November 1
Bookings and info: northumberlandtheatre.co.uk
Northumberland Theatre Company is back out on the road with its latest production - making sure venues all over the North East get a chance to catch a haunting Robert Louis Stevenson double bill.
Stewart Howson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - first seen at Durham Fringe in 2021 - uses physical theatre to explore themes of duality and inner darkness. Alongside it sits Philip Harrison’s adaptation of The Body Snatcher, a tale rooted in the murky world of grave robbing and the moral ambiguities of science.
The autumn tour will see performances taken to 20 venues across the region including The Witham, Barnard Castle (Oct 2); Stamfordham Village Hall (Oct 3); Laurels Theatre, Whitley Bay (Oct 5); Bishop Auckland Town Hall (Oct 23); and The Dovecote Centre, Amble (Nov 1).
THEATRE: Honestly
Where: Hullabaloo Theatre, Darlington; Saltburn Arts; and Everyman Theatre, Spennymoor
When: October 3, 7 and 10, respectively
Bookings and info: dogwoodproductions.co.uk
Award-winning company Dogwood Productions, brings a sharp, timely new drama that probes the slippery nature of truth.
Chloe is in trouble: already found guilty, her fate rests on a psychologist’s report. Emma, tasked with writing it, faces an impossible question – can a compulsive liar ever tell the truth?
Villain or victim, patient or pretender, Chloe slips between identities, keeping everyone guessing. As Emma unravels Chloe’s stories, her own life and honesty are called into question.
Billed as both entertaining and unsettling, this play - which bagged Shona Maule a Best Lead Performance nomination at the Fringe Theatre Awards - asks what truth means in a post-truth era, and whether stepping outside accepted boundaries is liberation - or chaos.
COMEDY: Round the Horne Anniversary Tour
Where: Darlington Hippodrome
When: October 6
Bookings and info: darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
Audiences are being invited to step back to the golden age of radio comedy as Round the Horne returns to the stage.
Between 1965 and 1968, Kenneth Horne and his irreverent team drew in millions every Sunday afternoon with their witty sketches, saucy innuendo and larger-than-life characters.
From Rambling Sid Rumpo to Julian and Sandy, the show became a cornerstone of British comedy, poking fun at popular culture while slipping in subversive humour that still sparkles today.
This live recreation, from the team behind the touring Hancock’s Half Hour, celebrates one of the best-loved radio comedies of all time.
THEATRE: Here Be Dragons
Where: The Tute, Cambois NE24 1QS
When: Saturday, October 4, 1.30pm
Bookings and info: thetute.uk
This children’s show from Newcastle’s Unfolding Theatre is one of the early events in Rude Health 2025, the annual arts and community festival run by the quirky cultural organisation based in the former Cambois Miners’ Welfare Hall on Ridley Terrace.
Described as being “for everyone up for mighty adventure”, Here Be Dragons – written by Lindsay Rodden and directed by Unfolding Theatre founder Annie Rigby – tells of 10-year-old Em who really, really isn’t scared of stuff in made-up stories.
But then she finds something magical to believe in.
The show is performed by Bridget Marumo, Hannabiell Sanders and Tim Dalling, which tells us it will be full of music. (It’s also to be performed at The Cowshed, Cowgate, NE5 3UT on Monday, October 6 at 4pm.)
Rude Health 2025 actually begins on Friday, October 3, with a 7.30pm performance at The Tute of Ajayu Transitorio, billed as a multicultural live performance inspired by the traditional Day of the Dead celebrations in Bolivia.
On stage will be Newcastle-based dance artist Yuvel Soria along with Payal Ramchamdani, Brendan Murphy and Khadijah Ibrahiim. Recommended for ages eight and over.
MUSIC: Lulu - If Only You Knew
Where: Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead
When: October 9
Bookings and info: theglasshouseicm.org
The legend that is Lulu is promising to light up The Glasshouse’s Sage One stage with six decades of glittering showbiz magic in this touring two-hour show, which coincides with her recently released memoir If Only You Knew.
At 76, the Grammy-nominated singer, pop icon and actress has an evening of music, memories and mischievous storytelling in store - telling candid tales featuring everyone from the Beatles to Bowie, belting out the hits that made her a star, and taking the odd question from the crowd… who will presumably be encouraged to Shout them out. Apologies.
From Eurovision glory to Bond themes and chart-toppers, Lulu is not short on material. Keeping it down to two hours might be an issue.
CLASSICAL: Deborah Thorne and John Treherne
Where: The Great Hall, Sutherland Building, Northumbria University
When: Tuesday, October 7, 1.15pm
Bookings and info: northumbria.ac.uk
This free lunchtime recital is the opening event of this year’s William Shield Festival, remembering the Gateshead-born composer (1748 to 1829) whose music was respected by the likes of Beethoven and Haydn.
As a young man he was apprenticed to a shipbuilder in South Shields but he continued to study music with Charles Avison, the Newcastle-based composer and church organist.
The Avison Ensemble, named in honour of the Newcastle composer, is a supporter of the annual William Shield Festival, organised through Community Music Whickham and Swalwell, which aims to do the same for the man from across the Tyne – although he is commemorated by a plaque in Westminster Abbey where he is buried.
Deborah Thorne is a respected baroque cellist who has performed with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and has been a member of the Avison Ensemble for many years.
John Treherne, who will perform on the harpsichord, is the widely respected former head of Gateshead’s award-winning music service.
The Northumbria University recital will feature sonatas for ’cello and harpsichord by G.P. Telemann and Geminiani, interspersed with harpsichord solos.
The festival continues until November 16 with two concerts at the Lit & Phil on Friday, October 17 the next to look out for.
The first, at 1pm, will feature Avison Ensemble founder and cellist Gordon Dixon, John Traherne and mezzo soprano Laura Oldfield; the second, at 6pm, will feature vocal group Vox Populi.
STILL SHOWING
Theatre: Little Women, Darlington Hippodrome, Sept 30-Oct 4
Theatre: Home, I’m Darling, People’s Theatre, Newcastle, Sept 30 to Oct 4
Dance: Se Gaest/The Guest, Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Oct 18), North Shields Fish Market (Oct 25), Auckland Palace (Nov 2) and Dance City, Newcastle (Dec 11)
Theatre: Mary Poppins, Sunderland Empire, Oct 1-25
Theatre: Miss Saigon, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Oct 4-25
Screen: Whitley Bay Film Festival, various venues in the town, until Oct 3
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, Gala Theatre Durham, Oct 11
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
Screen: Transaction, ITV X, Full series available to stream.
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
Comedy: Metroland Live, Live Theatre, Newcastle, Oct 15-18
Theatre: SALT, Darlington Hippodrome, Oct 24
Comedy: Rosie Jones - I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Oct 25
Event: Comic Con North East, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Nov 1-2
Opera: The Big Opera Mystery, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Nov 8
Music: BC Camplight, Boiler Shop Newcastle, Nov 12
Music: Declan O’Rourke Since Kyabram 20th Anniversary, Sage Two, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Nov 20
Event: AGLOW, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland, Nov 21 to Dec 31
Theatre: Fiddler on the Roof, Sunderland Empire, Nov 25-29
Theatre: Dickens By Candlelight, Alderman Fenwicks House, Nov 27-Dec 24
Family: Where Do All The Kittiwakes Go at Christmas? Live Theatre, Newcastle, Dec 9-21
2026
Theatre: The Woman in Black, Darlington Hippodrome, Jan 6-10
Music: The Classic Rock Show, Sage One, The Glasshouse, Gateshead, Jan 24-25
Dance: Strictly Come Dancing - Live Tour, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Jan 27-28
Theatre: Fawlty Towers The Play, Sunderland Empire, Feb 3-7; Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 30-Jul 4
Theatre: Mamma Mia! Newcastle Theatre Royal, Feb 11-28
Event: Sunday for Sammy, Utilita Arena Newcastle, Feb 15
Music: Maximo Park, Newcastle 02 City Hall, Feb 21 and 22
Music: Ron Sexsmith, The Fire Station, Sunderland, Feb 25
Theatre: Waitress, Sunderland Empire, May 4-9
Theatre: Gerry & Sewell, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Jun 9-13
Theatre: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare from the Reduced Shakespeare Company, Northern Stage, Newcastle, Jun 19-20
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 new stand up show from excellent comic, Angela Barnes at The Stand Newcastle on October 21.
Her latest outing, Angst, promises a night of sharp wit, self-deprecation and relentless laughs as the Mock The Week regular (who you’ll have also seen on Live at the Apollo and heard lots on The News Quiz) explores her built-in worrying nature.
Angela frets about everything - so we don’t have to - and manages to turn her anxieties into very funny stories of failure, flawed logic and life’s little disasters (with a dash of German thrown in).
HOW TO ENTER:
To be in with a chance of winning, simply email MePlease@culturednortheast.co.uk using the subject line: Barnes-storming giveaway by noon, (12pm) on Friday, October 3, 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.