News: Christopher Biggins set to make a flying return to Darlington this Christmas!

 

The Grande Dame of panto, Christopher Biggins set to make a flying return to Darlington this Christmas!

 

Darlington Hippodrome has announced that stage, screen and pantomime legend, the one-and-only Christopher Biggins, will be returning to where it all began as he stars in The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan as Mrs Smee this Christmas from Friday 9^th December.

A mainstay of entertainment over the last five decades, Biggins first started his panto Dame career back in Darlington over 45 years ago where he starred in Mother Goose, Dick Whittington and Jack and the Beanstalk at Darlington Civic Theatre, before forging a highly successful career in show business. Best-known for his numerous iconic television appearances, Biggins appeared opposite the late Ronnie Barker in the BBC sitcom Porridge, held roles in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, appeared alongside Michael Crawford in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and played Nero in the critically acclaimed dramatisation of I, Claudius.

Biggins is also known and well-loved for his hosting credits, including co-hosting Surprise, Surprise, On Safari, appearing on numerous celebrity specials and as King of the Jungle having won ITV’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2007. On stage he has starred as The Baker in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, played Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar and the Baron in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the West End.

It is pantomime for which Biggins is most-loved, entertaining thousands of festive theatregoers each year. From Glasgow to Plymouth, Biggins has donned a host of outrageous frocks and had audiences in fits of laughter year-after-year.

Biggins said: “I did my first ever pantomime as Dame in Mother Goose at the Civic Theatre in Darlington and I loved it. I’m thrilled to be coming back to Darlington this year as Mrs Smee in The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan at the Hippodrome. I can’t wait, I’m so looking forward to it!”

Chief Executive of Crossroads Pantomimes Michael Harrison said: “We’re delighted that Biggins will be starring as the comical Mrs Smee in this year’s production of The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan. Not only is he pantomime royalty and a stalwart of the artform, but he’s hilariously entertaining and sure to make this season very special for our Darlington Hippodrome audiences.”

Speaking on the casting, Heather Tarran-Jones, Programming and Development Director of Darlington Hippodrome said: “We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Biggins will be with us for pantomime this year. I am sure he will be a great hit with audiences of all ages making a welcome return to the Hippodrome where his panto Dame career began.”

The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan will be a fun-filled Christmas extravaganza with a fabulous cast and orchestra, laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery and of course, plenty of audience participation.

Join Biggins on a swashbuckling trip this Christmas at Darlington Hippodrome where laughter is guaranteed by the barrel-load. Be part of the panto magic and hook your tickets today!

 

Tickets:

The Pantomime Adventures of Peter Pan runs from Friday 9 to Saturday 31 December. Tickets are on sale now with early booking advised. For full details and to book visit www.darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk or call the box office on 01325 405405

Preview: School of Rock at Newcastle Theatre Royal

  School of Rock is coming to Newcastle!

 

School of Rock - The Musical

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Monday 28 March – Saturday 2 April 2022

School of Rock - The Musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit, award-winning West End show is set to rock out Newcastle Theatre Royal.

Jake Sharp is getting the band back together and he will lead the cast as Dewey Finn having previously performed the role in the West End. Alex Tomkins will perform in the role at certain performances. They are joined by Rebecca Lock as Rosalie Mullins, Matthew Rowland as Ned Schneebly and Nadia Violet Johnson as Patty Di Marco.

The remaining adult cast comprise Ryan Bearpark, James Bisp, Joanna O'Hare, Samuel Haughton,  Tom Hext, Harveen Mann, Richard Morse, Annell Odartey, Amy Oxley, Helena Pipe, Michaela Powell, Richard Vorster and Craig Watson.

One of three incredibly talented teams of twelve children will perform live alongside Dewey each night.

Based on the hilarious hit movie, this new musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school. There he turns a class of straight-A students into a guitar-shredding, bass-slapping, mind-blowing rock band – sensationally performed live by the production’s young actors every night with roof-raising energy!

While teaching these pint-sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the school’s beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within.

Featuring new songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and all the original songs from the movie, this high-octane smash delivers face-melting guitar riffs and touching romance in equally awesome doses.

Photos: Paul Coltas

 Tickets:

School of Rock plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday 28 March – Saturday 2 April 2022. Tickets are priced from £20.00 and can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

Preview: Strictly Presents: Keeep Dancing at Stockton Globe

 A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Celebrity and Professional Dancer Line-Up Announced for New Official UK Tour Created by Strictly Come Dancing

 

Strictly Presents: Keeep Dancing.

Stockton Globe

Friday 1^st July 2022

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/StrictyINStockton

Strictly Come Dancing fans will be thrilled to learn the fabulous line-up of celebrities and dancers announced earlier this week for the UK tour of Strictly Presents: Keeep Dancing. The 35 date tour will make its way to Stockton Globe on Friday 1^st July.

This spectacular new touring show will feature Strictly 2020 finalist and EastEnders star Maisie Smith, together with Strictly 2021 semi-finalist and CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson. They will be joined by the incredible Strictly professional dancers Neil Jones, Jowita Przystal and Nancy Xu. And, as an extra special treat for Strictly fans, live music will be performed by The Wanted’s Max George, who competed in the 2020 series of the smash hit BBC One show.

Maisie Smith says: “I’m very excited to continue my Strictly journey once more.  Especially as this show will be very different from the arena tour.  And to be giving audiences a unique glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at the Strictly TV show is a real treat.“ 

Rhys Stephenson says: “I have absolutely loved every moment of my Strictly experience so far, so I’m thrilled to be appearing in Strictly Presents. I can’t wait to dance again and give fans an insight into my dancing journey on the show.“

Max George says: “I can’t wait to tour with Strictly again, as I had such a blast on the arena tour. Although this time I’ll mainly be singing, I’m sure it won’t take too much to get me back on the dancefloor every night!  See you there.

Strictly Presents: Keeep Dancing will give audiences a chance to go behind the glitterball and into the wonderful sparkly world of Strictly - with the celebrities and professional dancers giving a unique insight into the TV show via stunning choreography and fascinating storytelling.

The celebrities who compete on the TV show are all very used to being in the limelight and come from many different worlds - acting, presenting, sport and singing - but nothing quite prepares them for entering the glittery Strictly bubble. Fans will hear some of their fascinating stories as they relive their amazing experiences on the TV show. 

In 2008, the first Strictly Live tour took place featuring professionals from the TV show and their celebrity partners. Two years later, the pro dancers also started touring the UK. Both tours have been taking place ever since – Covid excepted – filling arenas and theatres respectively.

This year, Strictly Presents: Keeeep Dancing adds another arm to the body of the phenomenon that is Strictly. What makes this one different is that it offers an insight into what goes on behind the scenes and the impact of being in the nation’s sitting rooms on a Saturday night has had on both the professional dancers and the celebrities involved.

Pro dancer Neil Jones says: “From the first phone call offering them a regular berth on the show, you’re taken through what it’s like for a professional dancer or a celebrity learning a new dance routine, perfecting it all week, performing it on a Saturday and so on.”

How was it for Neil? “For two years, I’d been working away from the cameras helping to choreograph various aspects of the show and then, in 2016, came the most nerve-wracking phone call of my life.

“I was thrown into a world of photo shoots and group numbers – I didn’t have a celeb partner in the early days – and then came the launch show. I’ll never forget it. 

It’s been a giddy ride since. Any low points? “In 2019, I tore a muscle in my leg during Halloween week. Because I exercise such a lot and like to think I’m really fit, it healed in about half the time predicted but it’s every dancer’s nightmare.”

In last year’s Strictly, he was partnered with actress Nina Wadia. They were eliminated the first week. Was he disappointed? ”For her, yes. She was quite talented and a quick learner but the nerves just got to her. I felt she could have gone further.”

Neil’s 40, the veteran among the professionals now that Anton Du Beke has become a full-time judge. “I still feel in really good shape,” he says. “The younger dancers struggle to keep up with me!”

Although young South African Cameron Lombard didn’t join Strictly until last year, he’s already now done the Live Tour. “It was incredible. We were performing every afternoon and evening in front of about 10,000 people. Daunting and thrilling at the same time.”

This latest tour is something unusual. “I’d describe it as a boutique experience – in other words, much more intimate. That suits the insight it gives into the Strictly bubble. It also means we can talk to the show’s fans more directly both through our dancing and our personal stories.”

In 2020, Polish-born Jowita Przystal, 27, won the Greatest Dancer Show on BBC1, one of the prizes being to perform on Strictly. She was then quickly signed up as a professional. The Live arena tour followed (“such great experience”) and now this latest UK tour.

“I’ll be dancing with the other professionals but also with celebrities like Rhys Stephenson and Maisie Smith, both of them amazing dancers. Truly, I still feel like I’m living in a fairy tale.”

CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson, 28, got to the semi-finals of Strictly last year with his Chinese dancing partner Nancy Xu. “It was a particular thrill because we survived three dance-offs including for the jive.

“I’d been through all the frustration and fear and then, on the Saturday, I kicked in the wrong direction. It felt like I’d wasted a whole week of work.”

So, what’s a dance-off like? “The worst element is that you can’t help thinking people don’t like you. But it’s not that. People vote for couples to stay not leave. It’s positive love. 

“So it’s great when you’re told you can come back next week – until, that is, you turn to your left and see the other couple who’ve been voted off. Being on Strictly is a very bonding experience so it’s sad for everyone when you realise you’re not going to see two of the contestants again.”

He only has good things to say about Strictly. “Most of all, it’s nice to be recognised by someone who’s over 10. Now kids’ parents stop me, say how much they enjoyed watching me dance. And that feels good.”

Nancy Xu, 30, had been touring with Kevin Clifton when she was spotted by the Strictly producers and invited to join the show. She’s loved the experience with the exception of the dance-offs. 

“I was OK but I was conscious of keeping Rhys’s spirits up. You don’t get that happening on tour, though, because now it’s entertainment not competition.”

She went to dance classes on a Saturday but, that apart, Maisie Smith, 20, set her heart on being an actress. “As a dancer, I was always put at the back because I stuck out like a sore thumb.” Aged six, she joined the cast of EastEnders as Bianca and Ricky’s daughter, Tiffany Butcher, and appeared on the soap on and off until 2020. 

Life took another turn when she was invited on to Strictly in 2020 as a contestant partnered by professional Gorka Marquez. “It was terrifying. People thought I was a lot more confident than I felt but then, as an actress, I know how to put on a front.

“Saturday was the best night on Strictly – and the worst. Even today, if I hear the Strictly theme tune, my stomach does a somersault. And yet, it was the best thing I’ve ever done.

“I don’t think anyone watching would have spotted my mistakes but I’d point my toe or spin in the wrong way and then I’d be sure I’d be in the dance-off. I put a lot of pressure on myself, much too much, I now realise. But Gorka helped: he stopped me from falling over.”

Strictly has had quite an impact on Maisie’s career. “It’s opened so many doors. After this latest show, I’m touring the UK opposite Kevin Clifton in a new production of Strictly Ballroom. We start in September and don’t finish until next July.”   

The Strictly professional dancers have become a fixture in our living rooms on Saturday nights and we love to watch how competitive they are. But the competition in the professional dancing world from which they herald is even fiercer. The Strictly Pros - all of them champions - will give you a taste of their worlds.

Strictly Presents audiences will also find out how it really feels to be in the dreaded dance off; just how long it takes to create the incredible dance routines - from the first day of learning the choreography, right through to the TV show performance, and how the amazing 'theme weeks' are produced, as the celebrities and pros recreate some of their favourite moments from the movies, musicals and Halloween weeks.

Strictly Presents...Keeep Dancing will take you into the Strictly ballroom and beyond with incredible dances, group routines, songs and stories. The show will be directed and choreographed by former Strictly professional dancer Trent Whiddon and his wife and dance partner Gordana Grandosek.

Tickets:

Strictly Presents: Keeep Dancing at Stockton Globe

Friday 1^st July 2022, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Tickets from £40.15 (subject to a transaction fee of £3.65)

Tickets available from ATG Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/StrictyINStockton

0844 8717615

REVIEW: Steffen Peddie: Ridiculous Man at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre

Steffen Peddie: Ridiculous Man

Seaton Delaval Arts Centre

Saturday 19 March 2022

Steffen Peddie is many things. He has hosted Night Owls on Metro Radio. He was in the sitcom Hebburn too. But currently, to many, he is the host of BBC Radio Newcastle's late night phone in show. Tonight he returned to his stand up comic roots with the first night of his new show.

Steffen is blessed with being both naturally very funny and being a natural raconteur. He is able to captivate an audience with tales of life's rich experiences and then make them laugh too.

His previous show "99 Problems"  was very popular as the audience were able to interact by writing their problems down for Steffen to pick out and solve. By popular demand, the second half of the show had similar interactions which saw Steffen performing without any safety net. Clearly the experience of not knowing what the callers are going to come up with has helped build up the techniques of not knowing what the audience are going to ask next.

This show is different in that the first act gave Steffen a chance to recount his experiences as the host of two popular radio shows. The rich tapestry of life is laid bare to very funny effect. 

The show was finished with a tale  about appearing as Santa which helped tie together the evening's loose ends so well. 

It is great to see Steffen Peddie back with a new show. He is well worth catching on tour..

Review: Stephen Oliver

Preview: Beauty and the Beast at Playhouse Whitley Bay

 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

 ‘Beauty’ of a Panto at the Playhouse!

 

Beauty and the Beast

Playhouse Whitley Bay

Wednesday 3^rd – Sunday 7^th August 2022

Tickets: https://ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net/qnob0N

 

The Playhouse Whitley Bay has announce the return of a summertime spectacular showing this August with a fun-filled family tale as old as time. Beauty and the Beast is set to be the biggest and best Panto at the Playhouse with the most ambitious surprises in store.

From the Producers of summer smash-hits ‘The Wizard of Oz’, ‘Rapunzel’ and 2021’s ‘Treasure Island’. This year’s beast of a show features toe-tapping tunes, glittering costumes, sensational scenery and more laughs than ever before. Casting to be announced.

Producers, Reece Sibbald Productions commented: “We can’t wait to bring this spectacular show to the Playhouse this summer. Every year, it’s a huge hit with the audience and cast alike. In the current climate we all need some fun to look forward to and what better than two and a half hours of adventure, magic and comedy?

We assure you Beauty and the Beast will be the hottest ticket in town for a fun-filled night with all of the family. We annually entertain audiences from 2-102! Be our guest for the show you won’t want to miss.

Book your tickets before the final petal falls!”

Beauty and the Beast will play for a strictly limited run from 3^rd – 7^th August 2022 at the Playhouse Whitley Bay.

Tickets:

Beauty and the Beast

Playhouse Whitley Bay

Wednesday 3^rd – Sunday 7^th August 2022

Tickets: https://ticketmaster-uk.tm7559.net/qnob0N

Box office: 0844 248 1588*

 *Calls costs 7p per minute, plus your phone company’s access charge 

News: County Durham’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid remains on track

 

County Durham’s 

UK City of Culture 2025 

bid remains on track

 

County Durham is now a step closer to being named UK City of Culture 2025 and securing the colossal social and economic benefits this would bring.

Today, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced the county was one of just four locations from across the UK to be shortlisted for the prestigious title out of the 20 places that originally applied.

The impact of securing UK City of Culture 2025 cannot be overestimated. As well as creating thousands of jobs and boosting the county’s creative and visitor economies by millions of pounds, it would empower residents and help to improve community wellbeing.

And these benefits would spread beyond County Durham to the wider region, with the title supporting levelling up aspirations by acting as a catalyst for further government and private sector investment across the North East.

Following the announcement, Durham County Council, Durham University and Culture Durham – the partners spearheading the Durham 2025 campaign - expressed their thanks to the thousands of individuals, businesses and organisations that have not only backed the campaign, but helped to shape the bid itself.

They also issued a rallying cry to the entire region, urging people to continue to support the campaign as it moves into the crucial final stage.

From left, Tony Harrington, chair of Culture Durham; Dr Sarah Price, head of Locomotion; Alison Clark, head of culture, sport and tourism at Durham County Council; Liz Waller, director of university library and collections at Durham University; Amy Harhoff, corporate director of regeneration, economy and growth at Durham County Council; and Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, at Locomotion in Shildon. 

Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Leader of Durham County Council, said: “We are absolutely thrilled County Durham has been shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2025. Our success at making it this far is of course testament to our county’s incredible heritage, landscapes and vibrant cultural offer. However, I think it is our ambition, and our tradition of coming together to achieve something incredible, that really set us apart.

“Securing this title would place our extraordinary people and places at the heart of an unforgettable and inclusive programme of events and activities. It would attract more visitors, boost our economy and strengthen our reputation nationally and internationally as a place to live, work, visit and invest – all of which are crucial for levelling up.

“County Durham’s bid recognises all of this, and we are proud it incorporates the ideas and ambitions of hundreds of residents, creative practitioners and cultural organisations. It is thanks to them that we have made it this far and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has backed the Durham 2025 campaign. Together, we can bring this title home to County Durham.”

The council submitted the bid, with principal partner Durham University, last month, on behalf of Culture Durham, a partnership of more than 20 cultural organisations from across the county including Durham Cathedral, Beamish and Locomotion. The shortlisted locations will be visited by the judging panel in May ahead of the winner announcement later that month.

Tony Harrington, chair of Culture Durham, said: “All of our partners are delighted County Durham is a step closer to being crowned UK City of Culture 2025.

“If successful, we will make history as the first county to secure the title – a title we truly deserve. County Durham is no ordinary county and there is a strong feeling across the region that the time is right for the UK’s City of Culture to be in the North East. It truly is our time to shine.

“As we move into this critical final stage, it’s vital we keep the momentum going and shout from the rooftops about the talent and ambition that exists in all corners of our county.”

Professor Karen O’Brien, Vice-Chancellor of Durham University, said: “We are thrilled Durham has been shortlisted for UK City of Culture 2025. Gaining City of Culture status would be transformative for the County and open up new opportunities for us to foster and build relationships between the university and communities across County Durham.

“Being shortlisted is a wonderful achievement which recognises the wealth of cultural opportunities Durham has to offer. As a principal partner on the bid we are proud that the university’s museums, collections, visitor attractions and cultural activities form an important part.

“We are excited to continue our work with Culture Durham Partnership, Durham County Council and other partners over the coming weeks as the judges visit the shortlisted cities and make their final decision. We look forward to welcoming them to see everything that County Durham has to offer.”

Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “I’m delighted that County Durham is on the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2025. This has been a tough competition with a record 20 initial applications and eight outstanding longlist candidates, so this accolade is a real tribute to the quality of creativity on display in the region. I look forward to seeing what County Durham’s bid has in store next!”

Durham 2025 will centre around themes that will illuminate and energise the county and inspire people to congregate. It will build on Durham’s track record for major events such as Lumiere, the UK’s leading light festival, which will be bigger than ever in 2025.

At the heart of County Durham’s bid is a year-long programme of arts, culture, sport, science and economics, including: spectacular opening and closing events; an international celebration of the bicentenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway with events at Locomotion in Shildon and other locations across the region; and a travelling fair that asks big questions about the local economy.

Lightyear, a 12-month space programme, will celebrate the region’s 1,300-year history of astronomy and space science. And a series of broadcast and digital programmes will bring the county and its stories into front rooms and festivals across the whole of the UK.

The impact on the region’s economy would be significant and long lasting. This includes the creation of an additional 2,500 jobs in Durham’s creative industries and an extra 200 creative enterprises in the county by 2029; directly supporting almost 1,000 businesses and organisations; and creating a £41.5 million spend with at least 50 per cent of contracts going to local suppliers.

It would attract more than 15 million visitors to the region, many of whom would stay overnight, helping to bring an additional visitor spend of £700 million and supporting the creation a further 1,800 jobs in the tourism sector.

And with the county’s profile and appeal raised nationally and internationally, the benefits of being UK City of Culture 2025 would be felt for years to follow.

A rich and vibrant cultural scene is also a key factor in the council’s inclusive approach to the economy. The authority is asking more than half a million residents to join its big econ-versation on issues which matter to them most, helping to create a new and ambitious economic strategy for the future that provides opportunities for everyone. To take part, visit www.durhamecon-versation.co.uk/

 

To find out more about the bid, visit www.durham2025.co.uk  or follow the Durham 2025 social media accounts at www.facebook.com/Durham2025, www.twitter.com/durham_2025 or www.instagram.com/Durham2025_

Preview: Red Ellen at Newcastle Northern Stage

 Cast and creative team announced for Red Ellen

Red Ellen

Newcastle Northern Stage

Tuesday 29 March - Saturday 9 April 2022

**Message from the producers: "Sadly, due to Covid-19, we will be postponing the opening of Red Ellen until Tues 29 March. 

Customers with tickets for the 25-28 March shows have been contacted and invited to attend an alternative performance."**

A new play from multi award-winning poet and playwright Caroline Bird, Red Ellen tells the remarkable story of Ellen Wilkinson, the revolutionary Labour MP who fought with an unstoppable, reckless energy for a better world. 

Photo: Von Fox

A working class woman in a man’s world, Ellen Wilkinson campaigned tirelessly for social change - bringing in free school meals and leading the Jarrow March from the North East to London through York, Nottingham and the Midlands to deliver a petition to reduce unemployment and poverty. She was the only female minister in Attlee’s government, and served as a vital member of Churchill's cabinet, taking sole charge of air raid shelters during the war. Further afield, she campaigned for Britain to aid the fight against Franco’s Fascists in Spain, battled to save Jewish refugees in Nazi Germany and published some of the first anti-fascist literature in the UK. Running (often quite literally) into the likes of Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, she had affairs with communist spies and government ministers. But, despite all of this, she still found herself - somehow - on the outside looking in. 

Caroline Bird says, “Ellen was a complex person by anyone’s standards and she never stopped, but despite her herculean efforts, she is largely forgotten by history. The irony, of course, about ‘forgotten women of history’ is invariably the facts of their lives turn out to be acutely memorable: they’re not forgotten because they’re forgettable. I’ve been living with Ellen Wilkinson in my head for about six years now and I can honestly say, after writing this play, Ellen has done the impossible: she has given me back a glimmer of faith in politics. We need politicians like Ellen... and we also need to look after them, and support them. She failed at so many things, and yet she was a total, stonking, miraculous, life-affirming, bloody wonderful triumph. A bright and particular star.  I hope that some of Ellen’s light can still reach us all the way down here, and that this play might reignite a spark or two.” 

Bettrys Jones will play Ellen Wilkinson. The rest of the cast are Helen Katamba who plays Ellen’s sister, Annie Wilkinson; Laura Evelyn plays British Communist activist Isabel Brown; Sandy Batchelor plays Czech agent Otto Katz; Kevin Lennon plays Labour politician and Leader of London County Council Herbert Morrison; Mercedes Assad plays Mr Ansley, a representative for the Jarrow Labour Exchange; and Jim Kitson plays David - a local man from Jarrow.

Director Wils Wilson, whose last production was the critically acclaimed Life is a Dream at The Lyceum, says, “I am excited to be telling Ellen’s story - she had an incredible life and achieved so much, against the odds. Her story deserves to be known far and wide and I’m very happy to be part of bringing her to a wider public. I’m also very excited to work on Caroline’s brilliant script – it’s full of life, compassion and humour. Ellen’s life was a whirl of action and passion and the play takes the audience on quite a ride.”

Set and costume design is by Linbury Prize-winning designer Camilla Clarke who has worked with the Royal Court, Gate Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, Soho Theatre, The Unicorn Theatre and the Royal Lyceum Theatre. Music and sound design is by Jasmin Kent Rodgman whose music and live productions have been performed across the UK and internationally with partners including London Fashion Week, World Music Festival Shanghai, Edinburgh International Festival, Wilderness Festival, Roundhouse, Shoreditch Town Hall, Barbican, Oxford Playhouse and the Royal Albert Hall. The Felling Male Voice Choir will perform the Jarrow March song written by Jasmin Kent Rodgman with lyrics by Caroline Bird. Lighting design is by Kai Fischer (The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other/Royal Lyceum Theatre). Movement direction is by Patricia Suarez (Orpheus in the Record Shop/Leeds Playhouse and BBC), and intimacy director is Vanessa Coffey. Bex Bowsher is RTYDS Resident Assistant Director on the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme.

Red Ellen will be published by Nick Hern Books on 31 March 2022, and was shortlisted for the 2021 George Devine Award, recognising new writing and powerful voices.

Caroline says, “What’s made me sad and reflective in terms of writing the play, is just how pertinent it is today. There’s a feeling that Ellen spent her whole life walking, marching down a moving walkway that was going in the opposite direction. She had the wind in her face. Sometimes she was having to fight just to stay still. And sometimes it feels like that now. We have to fight to keep what we’ve got before we can even move further along. And there was so much further to go on this march, so much further to go. 

“And the left is divided. That’s the other thing that Ellen really fought for. She wanted unity. She was like, if we’re going to embody any kind of energy we need to have a team rather than factions. And she was right that squabbling on the left does strengthen the right. And so many of the speeches and the questions and the trouble that she was trying to illuminate are exactly the same now.”

Red Ellen is a Northern Stage, Nottingham Playhouse and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh co-production and will tour to Nottingham (13-30 April), Edinburgh (4-21 May), and York (24-28 May) after its Newcastle premiere (25 March - 9 April).

Cast 

Ellen Bettrys Jones

Annie / as cast Helen Katamba

David / as cast Jim Kitson

Isabel / as cast Laura Evelyn

Otto / as cast Sandy Batchelor

Herbert / as cast Kevin Lennon

Mr Ansley / as cast Mercedes Assad

Creatives

Director             Wils Wilson

Writer     Caroline Bird

Set & Costume Design        Camilla Clarke

Music & Sound Designer     Jasmin Kent Rodgman

Lighting Design      Kai Fischer

Movement Director      Patricia Suarez

Intimacy Director     Vanessa Coffey

Wardrobe Supervisor     Naomi Daley

Assistant Director (RTYDS) Bex Bowsher

Production/Stage Management 

Production Manager Marty Moore

Stage Manager Alec Reece

Deputy Stage Manager     Nichola Reilly

Assistant Stage Manager Grace Branch

Dresser         Laura Jane Aitman

Tickets:

For more information or to book tickets visit https://www.northernstage.co.uk/Event/red-ellen