Preview: Luke Wright Brings Deeply Personal "Later Life Letter" to the North East

 

Luke Wright Brings Deeply Personal "Later Life Letter" to the North East

Later Life Letter

Northern Stage, Newcastle | 4 March 2026

ARC Stockton | 5 March 2026

Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham | 22 May 2026

Award-winning poet and performer Luke Wright arrives in the North East with his most personal show to date, Later Life Letter—a strikingly honest, funny and deeply moving exploration of adoption, identity and belonging that blends poetic stand-up with memoir and myth.

This autobiographical production unpicks the true story of Wright's adoption through a script brimming with life and the lives he could have had. What's it like to stumble across your birth mother on Facebook? How do you honour the parents who raised you while satisfying a curiosity about where you came from? What does it mean that you married a social worker? These are the questions Wright unpacks within a captivating hour of storytelling.

The title refers to a letter written by a social worker to an adopted child for them to read when older. In this production, Wright directs audiences through moments where a poem can hold more truth than a paragraph ever could, creating a magnificently vulnerable tale of family and the strange coincidences that connect us.

Luke Wright Later Life Letter
Photo: Emily Fae

Wright comments: "Later Life Letter grew out of a need to understand where I came from, and why the idea of belonging still preoccupies me well into middle age. I've always known I was adopted, but only recently started to explore what that really means—not just for me, but for anyone trying to piece together a sense of self from incomplete stories. The show blends poetry, memoir, and stand-up to tell a story about family, privilege, and love in modern Britain. It's about how we edit our pasts to make our presents bearable—and what happens when the old stories no longer fit."

Recognised for his blistering live performances and heartfelt writing, Luke Wright has toured internationally, supported John Cooper Clarke, and MC'd for The Libertines. A regular voice on BBC Radio 4, his work delves into themes of family, politics and modern masculinity. His writing and performance have earned him a Fringe First, a Stage Award, and the 2021 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year.

Later Life Letter is about looking for meaning and the role luck has in shaping our lives, offering a frank account of what it means to be someone's child. The show is touring the UK throughout 2026 and is also being published as a full memoir in poetry by Little, Brown Book Group, where no emotion is simple or expected.

What the critics say:

"A streetwise panache and a sardonic comic verve to rival Stewart Lee" ★★★★★ Telegraph

"Honesty, humour, ire and wonder. He is at the peak of his powers" ★★★★★ Stage

"His poems shoot arrows through the heart, or leave you dazzled by their virtuosity" ★★★★★ The List

Running time: 60 minutes

Recommended: 14+

Tickets:

• Northern Stage, Newcastle: northernstage.co.uk
• ARC Stockton: arconline.co.uk
• Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham: queenshall.co.uk

Preview: Teechers at Gala Durham

 

John Godber's Classic Comedy "Teechers" Returns in Fresh 2026 Revival

Teechers

Gala Durham

Monday 30 & Tuesday 31 March 2026

The John Godber Company brings its vibrant new production of the beloved comedy Teechers to Gala Durham, offering a sharply funny and fast-paced celebration of school life viewed through the eyes of three ambitious students navigating the chaos of their secondary education.

Written by award-winning playwright John Godber, this much-loved classic arrives in Durham as part of its 2026 tour, re-energised and re-imagined for a new generation. Directed by Jane Thornton, the production updates the rhythm and storytelling of the original while preserving the wit, honesty and anarchic spirit that have made Teechers a firm favourite for four decades.

The show charts the misadventures of three drama-loving pupils as they perform their end-of-term play about life at Whitewall Academy, complete with terrifying teachers, inspirational mentors, and the daily triumphs and humiliations of school corridors. Told with minimal props, comic physicality and lightning-fast character changes, the piece showcases the talent and agility of a tight-knit ensemble cast in trademark Godber style—blending sharp satire with heartfelt humanity.

The production reflects The John Godber Company's ongoing commitment to staging high-quality, accessible theatre in the North and championing regional venues with strong community connections.

Tickets: Available at galadurham.co.uk/galapost/teechers

Preview: Laffs4Kids Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Laffs4Kids Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Utilita Arena Newcastle

Sunday 14 December 2025 | Doors 6:00PM | Ages 16+

The North East's beloved comedy charity event returns for a landmark tenth year, bringing laughter and Christmas spirit back to Utilita Arena Newcastle. Since 2015, Laffs4Kids has collected an incredible 113,000 toys for local children in need, establishing itself as one of the region's most cherished festive traditions.

This anniversary show promises to be the biggest yet, with a stellar line-up already confirmed including Chris Ramsey, Adam Rowe, Scott Bennett, MC Hammersmith, Gary Delaney, Joe McElderry, Glen Roughead, and Jason Cook, with more acts to be announced throughout the year.

The mission remains unchanged: attendees are invited to bring new, unwrapped gifts suitable for children aged 0-18. All donations are collected at the arena and distributed through Cash for Kids: Mission Christmas to families across the North East.

Chris Ramsey shares his excitement: "I can't wait for this years show. The atmosphere is unlike anything else and it's the people of the north east getting together to do the best thing in the world: laugh. And all while helping the most vulnerable children in our community."

Jason Cook adds: "I can't believe it's only been a year! Laffs is such a special thing, the most Christmassy night of the year filled with laughter, singing, dancing and stupidity. And all of this helps kids living in poverty right here where we live."

Tickets: Available through the Utilita Arena website, with standard tickets and hospitality packages on offer. Groups of 10+ receive 20% off.

Ticket link - https://axs-uk.sjv.io/4GQkEM 

REVIEW: Kinky Boots at Sunderland Empire

Kinky Boots

Sunderland Empire

Until Saturday 6 December 

A fun-filled, feel-good and flamboyant show that is guaranteed to make you smile

It may be panto season, but the Sunderland Empire is holding off on the festivities for just one week longer, bringing Kinky Boots back to the region. Whilst it may not be your traditional festive show, this production is guaranteed to get you smiling and feeling all of the joy and love associated with the Christmas season. With plenty of humour, heart and a fine helping of glitter, this show is exactly what you need on a cold December evening. 

Based on the 2005 film, Kinky Boots is the story of Charlie, an unwilling successor to a failing shoe company, who meets the wonderfully loud Lola, a flamboyant drag queen who opens Charlie’s eyes to a whole new world. The original West End show won several Olivier awards in 2016, including Best New Musical, and, almost ten years on, the show still manages to bring a lot of love and pride. 

Taking on the role of Charlie was Dan Partridge, who manoeuvred Charlie’s complex mood changes with style and confident vocals. Wavering between motivation and disaffection as he struggles to live up to what he believed his father expected of him, Charlie is the good guy, the bad guy, and everything in between. Whilst this largely came across as genuine, the show did at times rush through some of the complexities of Charlie’s character, leaving the audience slightly less sympathetic to his plight than they perhaps could be. 

When it comes to the role of Lola, the words fierce, powerful and fabulous come to mind, and all three are entirely embodied by Tosh Wanogho-Maud, who was absolutely electric as the drag queen. Wanogho-Maud stole the stage in every scene as Lola, with killer moves and a remarkable vocal range, he very much embodied the sparkle and joy of drag. Sex is in the Heel was a particular highlight, a riotous affair that was drowning in sensuality and sparkle. 

My one (very small) gripe was that Wanogho-Maud’s flamboyance as Lola seemed to spill over into his musical performance as Simon. Perhaps this comes down to personal preference as someone who has listened to the original Broadway recording many times, but I’m Not My Father’s Son seemed to just fall short of the emotional showstopper that it is, leaning more towards Lola’s penchant for performance than a baring of Simon’s wounded soul. 

Outside of the two leads, Courtney Bowman stole the show with her effervescent portrayal of unlucky in love Lauren. Bowman managed to effortlessly negotiate the comedic side of Lauren, whilst also helping bring the chaotic Charlie back on track whenever needed. Scott Paige also brought his wonderful sense of comedic timing to the show, whilst Billy Roberts (Don), Joanna O’Hare (Nicola) and Liam Doyle (Harry) also performed some impressive musical numbers.

Jonathan Dryden Taylor performed a stellar opening number, showcasing his substantial singing ability. However, the real spark of genius was casting him in a dual role, seeing him return to the stage as one of the drag queens, or Angels. There’s something genuinely heart-warming to see a slightly older, more demure drag queen, dressed in frumpier frocks and square-shouldered jackets, alongside the short shorts and crop tops of the younger Angels. And my absolute respect to Dryden Taylor - he commits to every dance move and, whilst he lacks the finesse of some of the other performers, there is something wonderfully charming about his performance. I found myself watching him in every scene, so compelling was his commitment to the part.

The set, whilst fairly simplistic, allowed the show to move smoothly between drag performances and shoe-making, with carefully choreographed moves allowing the actors to seamlessly swap their work tables for dance stages. There were also some particularly nice lighting choices, from the sunlight drifting through a ventilation fan in the factory, allowing the light to catch the dust and create a genuinely peaceful moment as Charlie slept in his office, to the lighting up of the iron girders of the factory, turning them from industrial chic to full blown rave. 

As mentioned, I am someone who knows the soundtrack reasonably well, which was just as well, as, not for the first time in Sunderland, the mixing of the music and vocals didn’t seem to be quite right, meaning that the audience missed some crucial lyrics of certain songs. At times, it felt like you had to be concentrating fully on hearing the words, which took you out of the moment somewhat, but admittedly was not problematic or frequent enough to make any real dent on the experience. 

All in all, whilst not perfect, Kinky Boots is a feel-good show that gives us a little bit of what we all need during the cold, dark winter. The songs are fun, the performances are entertaining and the show itself reminds you of the real joy of being yourself, whatever that looks like. To paraphrase the great Nancy Sinatra, these boots are very much made for watchin’.

Review: Hannah Daglish

Photos: Pamela Raith 

Tickets:

Sunderland audiences can catch this glitzy, feel-good musical from 2 to 6 December 2025. Tickets are on sale now at ATGTickets.com/Sunderland.

REVIEW: Goldilocks and the Three Bears at South Shields Customs House

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

South Shields Customs House

Until Saturday 3 January 2026

The circus themed pantomime with a big heart has landed in South Shields with its usual dollop of thoughtful storytelling, songs and jokes in a show that is written just for this show. The talented cast deliver a traditional panto that is up to date with its humour.

Always central to the show is co-writer Ray Spencer as Dame Bella Ballcock, who is, this year running a circus that has hit hard times. The character naturally leads themselves as the ring master. They are supported once again by Dennis (Glen Richard Townsend) who dutifully grows in his role as a comic. The Dame also has Goldilocks (Zoe Allan) and Colin (Jonathan Iceton) as acts but is in desperate need for another act.

Meanwhile Three Bears have escaped a rival zoo. Daddy Bear (Jonathan Deakin), Mammy Bear (Jess Brady) and Baby Bear (Nancy Dowling) hide in a forest and raise their child until Goldilocks appears to sample their porridge. The zoo that they escaped is run by Oli Garch, who is aiming to swallow up any rival circus and he has his eyes on Dame Bella's affair. Steven Lee Hamilton is absolutely fabulous in his role as the evil megalomaniac, partly done to his brilliant singing. You find yourself applauding rather than booing the character. Hamilton continues to grow in stature and is a highlight of the show. Having said that, we should also mention Nancy Dowling - whose Baby Bear character had a substantial role and lots of lines, for such a young character, which were executed with charm. They are going to be one to watch in the future.

The young dancers threw themselves into the dance routines and added needed energy into the many dance routines. The downside to the songs was a sound that made it pretty difficult to work out the lyrics for certain performers as the bass levels usually drowned out the vocal performance on stage.

The show's second act had more energy than the first in the Sunday tea-time performance that we attended. Ray Spencer noted a credit to "Aunty - Biotics" at the end which suggests that the cast are going through the health wars. Perhaps the cast could feel the finishing line before a couple of well earnt days off as the show reached its conclusion.  

Regular readers will know that we prefer a panto that stick to story telling rather than an unconnected variety show. The Customs House panto delivers in that respect and includes the traditional elements such as the take off scene, messy scene and community singing. It remains a show that makes the audience feel a part of the experience rather than a show that is "done to them". Perhaps a couple of songs could be cut from act one in order to boost the pace and shorten the first act for the wriggling youngsters.

If memory serves us right, we first saw director Natasha Haws on a panto stage as Little Red Riding Hood (was that 2014?) and it is great to see her gain another director's credit in a local show where it all began.

Goldilocks is a panto, with a local feel, that doesn't forget to tell a story.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Photos: Behind the Eyez Media 

Tickets:

https://www.customshouse.co.uk/theatre/goldilocks-and-the-three-bears/

Access Information:

Audio Described – Sat 6 Dec @ 2:30pm
Relaxed Performance – Sun 28 Dec @ 10:30am
Signed Performance – Mon 29 Dec @ 6:30pm

REVIEW: Cinderella at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre

Cinderella

Seaton Delaval Arts Centre

Until Saturday 6 December 2025

A fun-filled pantomime is pleasing packed houses in North Tyneside proving that satisfying pantomimes don't need to break the bank of the audience. An engaging cast and live band bring the Tom Whalley script to life.

This show also represents a big panto anniversary as the shows Director (and also appearing in the comic role as Buttons) Stu Bennett reaches his 20th year with the panto society here in Seaton Delaval.

This is a classic pantomime that believes in telling a story rather than stroking the cast's egos. Zoe Buckthorp is poor Cinderella who has been relegated to the role of maid after her Dad, the Baron Hardup (Jennifer Foulkes) marries Baroness Vindicta (Ellee Jacobson) after Cinder's mother had died. Vindicta is more interested in her own personal wealth and advancing her daughters Dannie (Chris Orchard) and Fannie (Sam Kennedy). Thus, when the Prince's servant Dandini (Zach Hardy) announces a ball for Prince Charming (Lewis Hill) in order to find a wife, Vindicta is keen that her daughters scoop the prize and Cinderella is made to stay at home in a humiliating way. Fortunately for Cinders, she has a Fairy Godmother (Katie Jackson) who can help level the field.

The show works because it sticks to the the story, whilst the cast are cracking jokes with almost every interaction, it is not at the expense of the pace of the show. We have a few songs accompanied by the live band, under musical director Gareth Miller, and a large (for the size of the stage) ensemble of dancers. The music spanned the decades, classics juxtaposed with current trending hits - with some rewritten to fit in with the story.

But here's an observation. I'm lucky in that I get to see most pantomimes in our region and I get to compare shows. Whilst the bigger shows have upped their game - so have the smaller shows. The quality of sets, costumes, lighting and sound has improved massively in the past decade. The pace of the direction and set changes in shows such as this one shows that the lessons learnt in the bigger shows is having an effect on the smaller shows and, as such, the gap is not as big as you think.

Then add the freshness of the Tom Whalley script, in which the jokes work - without offending - and keep the show local. This is the first show that we have seen this season to have a classic "take off" scene or the 12 Days of Christmas.  It is also the first show to run with the peril of bringing the kids out of the audience to assist with the community singing - Stu Bennet was able to adapt really professionally as the larger than expected group of kids added the chaos that comes from unrehearsed members of the public to create something that was charming. 

This show is fun. The cast appear to get on and are having fun - the audience likewise had a fun couple of hours too. The "ugly sisters" had fun with Owen, a good sport at the front of the audience, Buttons got to soak the audience and roam around the hall with his microphone to encourage engagement during the community singing. The Baron comes across as being on a run of bad luck, rather than a total loser (as happens in some shows). 

Cinderella is an entertaining pantomime that hits the right note and those involved in the show should be proud of what they have achieved.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Tickets:

This year's show: https://seatondelavalartscentre.com/whats-on/cinderella/

Next year's show will be Mother Goose and tickets are already on sale: 

https://seatondelavalartscentre.com/whats-on/mother-goose/

REVIEW: Aladdin at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Aladdin

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Until Sunday 18 January 2026

The Theatre Royal Christmas show is something unique amongst the shows in the North East. It is a spectacular variety performance that has the audience laughing, clapping and cheering throughout its 2 hour run. At its core is the dynamo with the funny bones - Mr Danny Adams and his father Mr Clive Webb. They know how to make the silliest moment become a memorable joke.

This is a show in which you are immediately struck by the lavish set, fresh lighting and hanging clouds - and the show has not even started yet. When it starts you also witness the sublime costumes and special effects.  

This year is different in one respect though... it is Danny and Clive's 20th (along with writer/director/writer - Wallsend's very own Michael Harrison). It opens with the Spirit of the Ring, South Shield's Joe McElderry singing about the 20 years of productions. The ensemble, and Mick Potts, appear as a variety of characters from Snow White and Hook through to the Beast as Joe works through the impressive back catalogue. Even one of the big special effects appears during the number. I'm going to suggest that the budget on the opening number was possibly greater than some entire shows. This is going to be a special event.

Danny and Clive then make their entrance. Danny is Aladdin - though he immediately points out there's not going to be much of the usual story as he introduces his Dad as Mr Goose. Here's the thing - there is not much plot at all. Aladdin still wants to date the Princess Jemima (Billie-Kay) and her Dad Old King Cole (Wayne Smith) isn't interested as Aladdin is poor. We have the evil Wicked Witch of Wallsend (Rachel Stanley) wanting a lamp that only the chosen one (Aladdin) can retrieve but that's about it for the normal story, as this show is replete with Geordie references, centred as it is around the Royal Kingdom of Pantomania - and the Theatre Royal. That's right, there's no laundry in this show. But there is a flying carpet.

Mick Potts appears as the Genie as uses his unique physical comedy to create a lot of laughs. Another non-speaking part is Priscilla the Goose (Oliver Moriarty) who, again , is funny by the use of physical theatre.

That leaves one final ingredient that makes the Theatre Royal experience different. Chris Hayward has been as much a part of the success of these shows as the front two. Amazingly quick costume changes means that this dame, Mother Goose, can spring up at any time in a completely different - and spectacular - outfit. Chris is also the element that brings the audience closer to the performance.

So, as is often the case, chaos ensues - Danny cracks jokes, Joe sings, Clive does some magic, occasionally a bit of story begins.. but not for long before we have another song, more jokes and more effects that make you go "wow". 

This is not a show for the fans of storytelling or the traditional elements of pantomime. This is a show for those who want a funny, sensational show that celebrates the positivity of the region. It is a grand affair that considers its mission is to make the audience leave with a smile on their face and a warm feeling as they leave. It is also a show that makes you wonder where the intentional "mistakes" are in he script - and where the genuine mishaps are.

This is a celebration is two decades of entertaining the Geordie nation - and long may it continue.

Review: Stephen Oliver

Photos: Paul Coltas   

Tickets:

Aladdin plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Tue 25 Nov 2025 – Sun 18 Jan 2026. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.