Preview: And Now: The World! at Washington Arts Centre

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English Translation of an Award Winning German Play comes to Washington.

 

And Now: The World!

Washington Arts Centre

Thursday 12^th November 2015

The English language premiere of an award-winning German play, that questions the effects of the internet on our behavior, comes to Arts Centre Washington on Thursday 12^thNovember at 7.30pm.

The internet is a world of possibilities, but what happens to us when we get information overload?   And Now: The World! uncovers the harsh anonymity of a life lived online; and asks are human relationships sacrificed in return for a digital existence?  What does social media do to our minds?

Winner of the Theater Heute’s German Play of the Year Award, this solo performance examines what it means to be a young woman in a digital world. Written by Award-winning German playwright Sybille Berg, who was nominated for the most prestigious award for German speaking playwrights, the Mulheim Dramatists’ Award as well as winner of the 2008 Wolfgang-Koeppen-Literaturpreis, the performance dissects a human response to an online world of possibilities.

The play is presented by OpenWorks who are dedicated to creating theatre for new and young audiences.

OpenWorks’ Artistic Director, Abigail Graham said, “I’m thrilled that we are bringing this amazing award-winning German text to the UK. It's an important, thought-provoking play that tackles the most urgent issues of our times - digital culture, activism, feminism, human relationships. Sybille Berg is one of the best playwrights I have come across and I can't wait to share her work with British audiences.”

On The Web
@OpenWorksTweets

@anglescompany

www.openworkstheatre.co.uk

www.companyofangels.co.uk

 

Creatives

Performed by Jennifer Jackson                      Directed by Abigail Graham

Written by Sybille Berg                                     Dramaturge Clara Brennan

Designed by Sarah Beaton                             Translated by Ben Knight

Tickets
And Now: The World comes to Arts Centre Washington on Thursday 12 November at 7.30pm.  Tickets cost £6 and are available  from www.artscentrewashington.co.ukor by calling 0191 219 3455.

Running Time: 60 minutes

Suitable for ages 14⁺ 

Preview: DieHard Gateshead

DieHard Gateshead

Newcastle Alphabetti Theatre - Tuesday 14^th July 2015

Washington Arts Centre - Wednesday 15^th July 2015

Gateshead Caedmon Hall - Thursday 16^th July 2015

There’s enough drama at the Women’s Group and some people are losing the plot.  If  Noel Edmonds and Bruce Willis can’t help, who can?

A women's group is closing and Leslie, the leader, is under pressure. She wants to tell them but things keep getting in the way. Time is running out. If Geordie Bruce Willis can’t help, and Noel Edmonds is no good either, who will save the day? 

Based on the real-life story of a Tyneside women’s group, Ruth Raynor’s new play DieHard Gatesheadis about finding light through the rubble and the mess. It’s about avoiding promises of a better life that actually makes things worse. It’s about searching for moments of laughter and understanding in the noise and confusion. It’s about women’s lives in an age of austerity…

Ruth Raynor uses drama to understand womens lives in the context of austerity. She is a PhD student in the Geography Department at The University of Durham and she has previously worked in theatre and arts management as a designer, writer and facilitator, and translates this experience into her research.

  

Directed by Neil Armstrong who Neil is an award winning actor, writer and director from Seaham Harbour.  He has directed for companies such as Cloud Nine Theatre, The Customs House South Shields, and his own company Theatre of Moths.  His plays have been performed across the region and include Remember Jim, The Dark Side of the Half Moonand Nefairyus.  As an actor he has appeared in all of the regions theatres and his TV credits include George Gently (BBC), Vera (ITV) and, Wolfblood (CBBC) among others.  This year Neil is also co-writing, directing and starring as the Baddie in Durham’s Gala Theatre’s pantomime, Cinderella.

This show is produced by Christina Berriman Dawson who has appeared in George Gently, Electricity and The Magdalene Sisters as well as appearing in many theatre productions across the region. She will be appearing in Key Change (Open Clasp) at Summerhall with Northern Stage at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Christina also runs Stage Tynemouth which provides Performing Arts training for young people aged 5-18.

Cast

DieHard Gateshead features a cast of five of the region’s leading actresses:

Zoe Lambert

Christina Berriman Dawson

Judi Earl

Arabella Arnott

Jessica Johnson

Tickets:
Tuesday 14^th July

Alphabetti Theatre

8pm (Bar 6.30pm)

Tickets £7/£5

www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk

(With a post-show discussion)

Wednesday 15^th July

Arts Centre Washington

7.30pm

Tickets £8.50/£6

0191 219 3455

http://www.artscentrewashington.co.uk/production-details.aspx?id=705

(With spoken word and poetry)

Thursday 16^th July

Caedmon Hall, Gateshead

7.30pm

Pay what you can on the door

(With music from Joe Solo, Ribbon Road and Another Penny.)

Preview: The Life & Loves of a Nobody at Arts Centre Washington

The Life & Loves of a Nobody – new show finds beautiful in the seemingly ordinary

Third Angel and Sheffield Theatres present

The Life & Loves of a Nobody
Thursday 21 + Friday 22 May, 7.30pm

Arts Centre Washington

Following its premiere in Sheffield last year, The Life & Loves of a Nobody is now entertaining audiences on a national tour.

Rachel always wanted to be a star. Rachel wanted to run away with the circus. And have her name in lights. And escape from this house. And she dreamed of the future.

But people can be ugly. The closer they are the uglier they get. And there’s nobody closer to yourself than yourself. Life is a juggling act. Love is a highwire. Try to do both at once, and it's a long way down. But even if the act goes wrong, you can still be famous for the fall.

This visually stunning show about an ordinary woman journeys along a tightrope wire of dreams and realities, exploring the differences between the future we want to create for ourselves and the legacy that we leave behind.

With beguiling staging and beautifully crafted moments, addressing the ideas of destiny, celebrity, beauty and fame, this brand new show asks the question: how far will someone go to achieve their dreams, and at what cost?

The Life & Loves of a Nobody is a Sheffield Theatres and Third Angel co-production. Written by Third Angel Co-Artistic Director Rachael Walton, with contributions from award-winning writer and Third Angel artist Chris Thorpe, the show is performed by Rachael Walton and Nick Chambers.

Third Angel is a critically acclaimed company, creating theatre that is challenging, energetic and engaging about everyday people and life. Recent successes include What I Heard About The World and Cape Wrath.

Tickets:

The Life & Loves of a Nobody is on at Arts Centre Washington, Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington.  NE38 8AB on Thursday 21 + Friday 22 May, 7.30pm.  Tickets are £8.50 / £6 (conc) and are available from www.artscentrewashington.co.uk or by calling 0191 219 3455.

Preview: May 2015 at Washington Arts Centre

May Preview at Arts Centre Washington.

Arts Centre Washington is located in the new town of Washington which sits in a position of equal distance between Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham.  The area has its roots in mining, the last pit closing in the area in the 1980’s.  Going even further back, the ancestors of George Washington who lived locally gave the area its name and one of the most famous north east legends, The Lambton Worm, supposedly took place a stones throw from the arts centre.

The arts centre itself is a converted 19^th century farm, a ruin rescued at the time of the development of the new town in 1972 when it was decided that a centre for arts and culture should be included in the vision for the area.  Originally called Biddick Farm Arts Centre, it has gone through several incarnations to become what is now a vibrant multi-arts centre that hosts a theatre, gallery, rehearsal rooms, artist’s studios, recording studio, café and award winning bar.  It is now owned and managed by Sunderland City Council.

Arts Centre Washington has a very distinct character.  The Gallery, which forms the central creative hub of the building, is a light and airy raftered space whilst the 110 seat theatre is converted from the main barn and retains its original stone walls and unique atmosphere.  Another barn has been converted into a multifunctional space that is used for a variety of purposes whilst the cowsheds now serve as a block of artist’s studios.  The café/bar in the courtyard allows customers to spill out into the sunshine on hot, summer days.

Arts Centre Washington exists to provide a mixed programme of artistic events and activities for all members of its community to experience and participate in the arts.  Events include theatre, music, dance and comedy with Saturday nights in the Low Barn playing host to the award winning Davy LampFolk Club.  There is also a packed programme of Classes andCourses - activities for all ages to take part in from salsa to sequence dancing; model making to messy play.

Arts Centre Washington’s main funder is Sunderland City Council with funding for special programmes and projects provided by Arts Council England and the Northern Rock Foundation.

Theatre Productions Coming up In May 2015:

Cloud 9, Saturday 2 May, 7.30pm, Tickets £6.50 / £5
Caryl Churchill's controversial and sexually explicit play deals with gender, role conditioning, sexual repression and the British Empire.

.

Oresteia, Friday 8 + Saturday 9 May, 7.30pm, Tickets £6.50 / £5

The House of Atreus is drowning in blood. Vengeance begets vengeance in a vicious cycle as alluring as it is affronting. And from out the groaning carrion, something very old rises...

Macbeth, Thursday 14 May, 7.30pm, Tickets £6.50 / £5

An abridged version of Shakespeare's famous Scottish tragedy. An encounter with three witches, a desire for greed and a provocation from his wife begins Macbeth's tragic descent into madness. A drum, a drum, Macbeth doth come!

Measure for Measure, Saturday 16 May, 7.30pm, Tickets £6.50 / £5

An abridged version of one of Shakespeare’s greatest works. Combining comedy and tragedy, Shakespeare asks us to consider whether or not morality can or should be legislated.

The Life & Loves of a Nobody

Thursday 21 + Friday 22 May, 7.30pm, tickets £8.50 / £6 (Conc)
A story of hope, fame and love gone wrong from internationally acclaimed theatre makers Third Angel.  With their trademark edge-of-the seat storytelling, mixed with some very beautiful design and staging, Third Angel slowly reveal Rachel’s life story. Gripping, funny and moving, this story of an ordinary girl and her extraordinary life is truly spell-binding.

Rapunzel,

Thursday 28 May, 11am + 2pm, Tickets £6 / £20 (family, admits4)

Told in an inventive, visual and physical style with live music and magical design, Rapunzel is a delightful production for children about the curiosity and joys of growing up, risk taking and discovering who you are.  For children aged 3 – 7 years

Tickets:

For tickets and further details: www.artscentrewashington.co.uk

Box Office Opening Times: Monday: 9am - 5pmTuesday - Saturday: 9am - 8pm

Telephone Bookings: 0191 219 3455

Preview: Odyssey at Arts Centre Washington

Odyssey

Arts Centre Washington

Thursday 26 March

An award winning adaption of Homer’s masterpiece ‘The Odyssey’ comes to Arts Centre Washington on Thursday 26 March.  But Theatre Ad Infinitum’s production ‘Odyssey’ is an epic story with a difference… this is a one man show! 

One Actor. One hour. One man’s epic quest to reunite with his family and seek his bloody revenge. Lecoq-trained company Ad Infinitum, ‘Best of the Fringe’ (Observer) reinvent the timeless Greek myth. Passionate, highly physical, and poignant storytelling brings this breath taking adventure to life. A journey that will ignite the imagination and awaken the senses…

The show is performed by George Mann and directed by Nir Paldi.

Director Nir Paldi said: “We wanted to create a dramatic and poetic piece that really works the imagination of the audience: being a one man show this was a big challenge. The magic, characters, spaces, colours, and whole islands are all created by George and I had to push hard to find the precise world of Homer’s Odyssey.”

Odyssey follows the Greek warrior Odysseus in his relentless attempt to get home so he can see his wife and son again before he dies. Up against the God Poseidon and his hurricanes; nymphs that sexually enslave him; countless characters, creatures and ferocious one-eyed monsters; whatever hardship he endures, Odysseus’ tough heart won’t give in. But after twenty year’s away from home will everything be as he left it…?

Odyssey premiered in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was an official Fringe Sell-Out Show receiving critical acclaim and going on to win The Stage ‘Best Solo Performer Award’. It has since toured internationally to sell out audiences in Norway, Italy, Romania, Croatia and Canada but this is the first time that it has been performed here in the North East.

Theatre Ad Infinitum is a multi-award-winning international theatre ensemble based in London who create performances that challenge and inspire by harnessing the universal language of the body.

Tickets:

Odyssey comes to Arts Centre Washington on Thursday 26 March, 7.30pm.  Tickets are £8.50 / £6 (conc) and be bought from www.artscentrewashington.co.ukor by calling 0191 219 3455.

Preview: Lewis Schaffer at Arts Centre Washington

Free Until Famous

Lewis Schaffer

Arts Centre Washington

Friday 10 April

Lewis Schaffer is Free until Famous, is on at Arts Centre Washington on Friday 10 April, 7.30pm, admission is free!

Lewis Schaffer

Photo: Robert Timothy

The New York ​comic returns to Washington. Pronounced "Shay-fer", Lewis Schaffer combines the comedy genes of Joan Rivers and Jackie Mason with the relevance of the freshest British comedians.​

Lewis Schaffer was one of the top comics in the home of stand-up comedy, New York City. But a short visit to London in 2000 went very wrong when love and marriage took him from his beloved New York and gave him children, divorce and heartache in the UK. Now trapped in Nunhead, a suburb of Peckham, Lewis Schaffer is making the worst of a bad situation.

Lewis visits Arts Centre Washington as part of a nationwide tour . Lewis Schaffer isn't a tourist. He isn't here on business. He's a hostage!

Lewis Schaffer's free-wheeling style, often described as "jazz", makes every show different​ and thrilling. Fasten your seat belts!

"An hilarious, cathartic, exhilaratingly

appalling experience" The Scotsman

Lewis Schaffer

Photo: Robert Timothy

He was the house compere of the Comedy Cellar and the Boston Comedy Club in New York.  In London, Lewis Schaffer has the longest-running residency at the prestigious Leicester Square Theatre; he is the regular MC of PeterCook's Establishment Club; and is the star of Nunhead American Radio on Resonance FM London.​

Lewis Schaffer is Free until Famous, is on at Arts Centre Washington on Friday 10 April, 7.30pm.  This event is free of charge, a voluntary contribution is asked for at the end.  Pay if you have laughed!

On The Web:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LewisSchaffer  

Website: www.lewisschaffer.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Lewis-Schaffer

 

Tickets:

For more information or to book your free ticket call 0191 219 3455 or visit www.artscentrewashington.co.uk

Suitable for ages 16+