Immersive Van Gogh show to be summer attraction in Newcastle
Box office opens for 'pre-sale' tickets
Thousands of people in the North East could be spending the summer amid sunflowers as Utilita Arena Newcastle offers to immerse us in the world of Van Gogh – or at least a technologically inflated version of it.
The first tickets go on sale today (Monday, March 9 at 10am) for Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience which will take over the Arena from Sunday, July 12 to Sunday, August 9.
Rather than framed paintings (the conventional way of experiencing an artist’s work), every inch of the towering walls plus 10,000 square feet of Arena floor will be saturated with colour and light.
And as Van Gogh imagery, on a giant scale, shimmers around and beneath its milling audience, a “specially curated musical soundtrack” will make it an experience for ears and eyes.
You can see how the Dutch painter’s work would lend itself to this sort of treatment with its vivid colours, swirling brushstrokes and simple (perhaps deceptively simple) yet impactful subject matter.
Equally you can understand how it might not be for everyone.
But just as you can love a recording and a live band, or a book and an audiobook, perhaps even an art purist can be seduced by a high tech homage in lieu of the real thing.
And I’ve not heard that an exhibition of Van Gogh paintings is coming to the North East any time soon.
Caroline James, general manager of Utilita Arena Newcastle said she’s thrilled by the prospect of hosting Beyond Van Gogh.
“It’s a visually stunning production that transforms the space in a completely different way and will draw visitors from across the North East and beyond.”
Anna Parry, in charge of UK business development at Annerin Productions, is equally enthusiastic.
“We’re incredibly excited to bring Beyond Van Gogh to Newcastle,” she said.
“The North East has such a strong cultural identity and this experience allows visitors to step directly inside Vincent’s extraordinary world.
“More than seven million people globally have experienced the show so far and we can’t wait for audiences here to immerse themselves in these powerful, beautiful works in a completely new way.”
Beyond Van Gogh is co-produced by Annerin Productions and Paquin Entertainment Group, Canadian entertainment enterprises founded in the 1980s.
Theirs isn’t the only immersive Van Gogh show to have transformed big spaces. One from another company was such a popular attraction in London that its 2022 run was extended into 2023.
The show we’ll see in Newcastle premiered in Liverpool in 2024, attracting 60,000 visitors, and returned the following year, running alternately with a new immersive Monet show.
More than 300 Van Gogh paintings will feature in the work.
The promoters say: “Visitors will be able to meander through masterpieces including The Starry Night, Sunflowers and Café Terrace at Night as the artworks come to life, swirling and blooming across walls and floors, creating an awe-inspiring and fully immersive experience.”
They will depart through “a beautifully designed reflection space” which includes a sunflower alley inspired by some of Van Gogh’s most celebrated works.
It seems ironic that Van Gogh lived for much of his short and troubled life in poverty, dying in 1890, aged 37, after shooting himself in the chest.
He never sold a painting but now his paintings, when on the rare occasions they appear at auction, sell for many millions – and many thousands of people flock to shows like this.
But he could find delight in his painting, explaining with delight that Café Terrace at Night was “a night painting without black, with nothing but beautiful blue and violet and green…”.
The artist is long gone, the art and the beauty live on.
Throughout the Newcastle run there will be special SEND-friendly sessions, adult-only evening viewings and what are being billed as ‘weekend immersive yoga experiences’.
Tickets go on ‘pre-sale’ from 10am today (Monday, March 9) until Wednesday, March 11, offering early bookers a special saving.
The pre-sale also allows access to exclusive offers and first pick of the best available days and time slots ahead of the general sale which opens on Friday, March 13.
Buy tickets via the Beyond Van Gogh website.