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.

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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: The Rod Stewart Story at Whitley Bay Playhouse

Some Guys Have All the Luck -

The Rod Stewart Story

Whitley Bay Playhouse

NEW DATE: Wednesday 23rd September 2015

Some Guys Have All the Luck is a brand new theatrical production celebrating the career of one of rocks greatest icons, Rod Stewart – from street busker through to international superstar!

Marking Rod’s 70th birthday year in 2015, Paul Metcalfe delivers an authentic and charismatic performance. Metcalfe assumes the persona of the legendary singer-songwriter and performer right down to the last details - from the distinctive vocals, swaggering showmanship and sheer fun that has made Rod Stewart one of the most loved performers of all time.

The show includes all the massive hits from Rod’s incredible career, classic rockers like Maggie May, Baby Jane and Da Ya Think I’m Sexy through to big ballads such as Sailing, You’re In My Heart, and Tonight The Night. Favourites from his days with the Faces such as Stay With Me and Twistin The Night Away and timeless Motown tunes from the album Soulbook will also feature throughout the night that is for certain, one not to be missed for any Rod Stewart fan.

Tickets

Tickets are priced £18.50, £17.50 conc.

Box Office open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10.30am-2.30pm plus until show start on event days. Tickets can also be purchased on the booking hotline 0844 248 1588 or online at www.playhousewhitleybay.co.uk.

Preview: Dead Simple at Newcastle Theatre Royal

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UP FOR THEATRE THRILLER

Dead Simple

Newcastle Theatre Royal

Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30 May 2015

One of the UK’s best-selling novels, from chart-topping author Peter James, has been turned into a gripping play set to thrill audiences at Newcastle Theatre Royal next month.

Jamie Lomas as Michael Harrison

and Tina Hobley as Ashley Harper

in Dead Simple Photo: Alastair Muir

Dead Simple features an all-star cast led by Tina Hobley, who returns to the stage having graced TV screens for the last 12 years as ward sister Chrissie Williams in the BBC 1’s Holby City as well as roles in Coronation Street and Harbour Lights before that and was seen earlier this year in Celebrity Master Chef. She currently presents the prime time Sunday morning programme on Smooth Radio.

Tina leads the cast in an edge-of-your-seat plot, where a stag-do prank goes wrong, leaving the groom buried in a coffin with everyone who knows his whereabouts dead. Everyone but one person… and Detective Roy Grace must race against the clock to find that person and rescue the victim before it’s too late!

Jamie Lomas as Michael Harrison

and 'friends' in Dead Simple

Photo: Alastair Muir

Dead Simple also stars award-winning TV heartthrob, Jamie Lomas who appeared recently in EastEndersas the murderous Jake Stone and before that played bad boy Warren Fox for five years in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks. Jamie plays alongside Rik Makarem who played Nikhil Sharma in Emmerdale and previously appeared in Torchwood and Michael McKell who played Dr Nick West in Doctors as well as DC Nick Henshall in Emmerdale.

The role of the famous Detective Roy Grace is played by Gray O’Brien, the award-winning star of Coronation Street, TV series Titanic, Peak Practice and Casualtyas well as Sleuth in the West End. He will follow up his critically acclaimed performance in previous Peter James adaptation, The Perfect Murder, by playing the detective in this gripping, chilling, thriller that has all the classic suspense, twists and turns of a best-selling Peter James novel.

Peter James has gone straight in at number one in the Sunday Times bestseller charts seven times in the last four years with his Roy Grace series. The international bestselling crime thriller novelist has won numerous awards both in the UK and in the USA, Peter has sold over 15 million books of his Roy Grace series, and is published in 36 languages. Dead Simple has itself sold over 2 million copies around the word and has been a number one best seller in the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Holland and Russia

Dead Simple is the second of James’ novels to be adapted for the stage and Peter said: “From the age of eight, when my parents first took me to the Theatre Royal in Brighton, it had been my dream that one day the curtains would rise in a theatre and a play of my work would be performed.  That dream came true after a chance meeting with my old friend, producer, Joshua Andrews, at a party in November 2012.  

Gray O'Brien as Detective Roy  Grace

& Tina Hobley in Dead Simple

Photo: Alastair Muir

“Josh had seen first-hand the success of the recent Agatha Christie stage productions and he joked that I was the nearest thing to a living modern day Agatha Christie – so he asked if I had any novels that I felt might adapt well to the stage. The result was the first run of The Perfect Murder, over 16 weeks from early January this year, and to my delight it played to packed houses, enthusiastic audiences and a great critical response around the country and has just started its second tour this autumn!

“It is a real thrill now for Josh and I to be launching our second collaboration, an adaptation by the brilliant Shaun McKenna, of my first Roy Grace novel, Dead Simple. It’s a tale of treachery and deceit, which seems to touch a nerve in everyone who reads it and has been one of my best-selling books to date.”

“I had myself locked in a coffin for 30 minutes as part of my research, and it was one of the scariest moments of my life. It's so many people's worst nightmare to be buried alive and I'm looking forward to recreating some of that terror in the theatres soon with another incredible cast of actors!”

Tickets:

Dead Simple appears at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 26 – Sat 30 May 2015 (Evenings: 7.30pm, Matinees: Wed and Thur 2.30pm).

Tickets from £14 (online price) Tickets can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk

Preview: Pitmen Poets at Newcastle Tyne Theatre and Opera House

The Pitmen Poets

Newcastle Tyne Theatre and Opera House  

Saturday 30th January 2016

Tyne Theatre and Opera House are very excited to be welcoming The Pitmen Poets on Saturday 30th January 2016

The four members of the Pitmen Poets have been busy since their last UK tour. Bob Fox joined the cast of Warhorse in the West End, Billy Mitchell has been touring UK theatres with The Lindisfarne Story. Benny Graham has been writing music for film and theatre and Jez Lowe has been nominated by BBC Radio 2 for Best Folk Song of the year for his composition - 'The Pitmen Poets'.

Since the first Pitmen Poets tour in 2011, Sam West's revival of the seminal “Close the Coalhouse Door” has completed a triumphant UK tour and Lee Hall's “Pitman Painters” has been a hit in the West End and also on Broadway. Interest in Britain's and specifically the North East's mining tradition has never been more intense. The Pitmen Poets will be touring the UK again in January 2016.

The Pitmen Poets celebrate the songs and culture of North East England's Coal Mining tradition, bringing together four of the region's leading champions of it's musical heritage. Ex-Lindisfarne singer and songwriter Billy Mitchell, renowned singer and instrumentalist Bob Fox, leading exponent of Tyneside song Benny Graham, and much-covered Durham songwriter Jez Lowe - individually and collectively, The Pitmen Poets.

The show features music, song and spoken word and is illustrated with archive photographs.

“The historic setting of New Hartley's Memorial Hall was transformed into an emotional hothouse during the concert by the Pitmen Poets. The audience sang along, laughed and also shared moments of sadness as the combined talents of Billy Mitchell, Jez Lowe, Benny Graham and Bob Fox took them on an epic journey through the life and times of the people who made their living in the Northumberland and Durham coalfields. What a memorable night!” Brian Coles – Rock of the North.

Tickets

Tickets are priced at £16.50 cons. £17.50. Groups: Buy 10 get 1 free. (plus booking fees when booking online and over the phone)

The Tyne Theatre & Opera House Box Office is open 10am-3:30pm Monday to Friday and event days

Booking and Information Line: 0844 2491 000 (10am – 6pm Monday to Friday)

Website: www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk

Preview: Swan Lake at Newcastle Tyne Theatre

Swan Lake

Newcastle Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Presented by the Russian State Ballet and Opera House

Wednesday18th November 2015

The Tyne Theatre & Opera House is proud to announce that the Russian State Ballet and Opera will be bringing Swan Lake, to its stage on Wednesday 18th November 2015.

Featuring an impressive cast and accompanied by a large live Orchestra with over 30 musicians

“Always top quality shows from this producer” Stage Talk Magazine

After sold-out premieres of Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo & Juliet last year, The Russian State Ballet and Opera House is bringing a new and vibrant production from the rich culture of Astrakhan.

Swan Lake transforms the classical ballet into a fairy-tale.

Featuring timeless score from incredible composer Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake is a certified Russian classic, replete with evocative music and beautiful dance.

There is no score more successful in supporting the full range of ballet than those by Tchaikovsky. The romance and verve with which Tchaikovsky infused classical dancing makes his scores unsurpassed to this day: in terms not only of music but also of theatre, they are masterpieces.

The story of Swan Lake is a compelling legend of tragic romance which tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil curse, with choreography that allows the very best dancers to show how impressive they can be.

This ballet, full of mystery and romance, has captured the imagination of many generations over the years and continues to attract audiences worldwide.

This is an opportunity for ballet lovers to see Swan Lake performed by an established and long standing Russian theatre in a new production that will enthrall and delight the whole family.

For more information, please go to www.amande-concerts.co.uk

Tickets:

Tickets are priced from £22.00 to £30.00 (plus booking fees when booking online and over the phone)

The Tyne Theatre & Opera House Box Office is open 10am-3:30pm Monday to Friday and event days

Booking and Information Line: 0844 2491 000 (10am – 6pm Monday to Friday)

Website: www.tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk

Preview: The Show Must Go On! at Whitley Bay Playhouse

The Show Must Go On!

Whitley Bay Playhouse

Saturday 11^th April 2015

For one night only The Show Must Go On, comes to Playhouse this week; Featuring Tynemouth Amateur Operatic Society, Whitley Bay Operatic Society, Whitley Bay Theatre Company, Whitley Bay Pantomime Society, Saturday Stage Schools and Gillian Quinn School of Theatre Dance.

In addition to the showcase popular vintage group The Darling Dollies will perform. The Darling Dollies are a professional female vocal trio who specialise in 1940s close harmony singing with a vintage vibe. Their repertoire contains a mixture of classic 1940s songs, golden hits from the 50s and 60s as well as more modern favorites, but with a vintage twist! 

Guest band Watson and the Elements are a young but experienced 4 piece band whobring an exceptional vibrancy to all performances.  Playing well known soul, blues and Motown as well as all your favourite party songs which will fill the theatre and  get everyone dancing! They perform a mix of classics including I Feel Good, Proud Mary, My Girl, Johnny B Goode, I’m a Believer and Stuck In The Middle with a sprinkling of more modern hits including Just The Way You Are, Forget You and Moves Like Jagger.

The Show Must Go On is a spectacular showcase of variety entertainment, bringing together local community groups and featuring home-grown talent that has previously appeared on the Playhouse stage. With glimpses of future productions, and an orchestra put together specifically for the occasion, this event is not to be missed.

Tickets:

Tickets are priced at £12
Box Office open Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm, Saturday 10.30am -2.30pm plus until show start on event days. Tickets can also be purchased on the booking hotline 0844 248 1588 or online at www.playhousewhitleybay.co.uk.

Review: Stone Cold Murder at South Shields Customs House

Stone Cold Murder

by James Cawood

South Shields Customs House

Tuesday 31^stMarch – Wednesday 1^st April 2015

Freya Copeland & Nick Barclay

in Stone Cold Murder

Photo: Frazer Ashford

Olivia married Robert after a whirlwind month long relationship. They decided to buy a Hotel in a quiet spot in the Lake District surrounded by stunning steep cliffs.  It was an opportunity to leave their previous lives behind.

The show opens in the living room of the hotel. The furniture is pretty much what one would expect, the slightly tired Chesterfield sofa, oddments of brown wooden shelves and cupboards. The phone rings and Olivia (Freya Copeland) goes off to answer it. She can tell it is a mobile in a windy place but the call quickly becomes disconnected. Husband Robert (Nick Barclay) appears and puts her mind at rest.

James Cawood has written an exciting and tense thriller based upon what happens on the first night without any guests at the end of their first season. It becomes quickly apparent that in the first rushes of their love life there is lot of history in their past lives that they haven’t had chance to discuss.

David Callister in Stone Cold Murder

Photo: Frazer Ashford

When a lost hiker called Ramsey (David Callister) appears and asks to spend the night the hosts are less than comfortable with the idea. Ramsey seems overtly familiar with Olivia when Robert heads off for some wood for the fire.  This leads to some tension on stage between the three characters.  The proprietors head off to bed after a night cap and leave Ramsey to enjoy the wood fire. When Olivia’s former boyfriend Sam (Gary Turner) appears the story quickly picks up pace.

Gary Turner & Freya Copeland in Stone Cold Murder

Photo: Frazer Ashford

The show is like a rollercoaster and it starts off fairly slowly as the scenario is set up but the momentum soon picks up.  Under Patric Kearns direction, the audience are given plenty of jumps, loud bangs and laughs. On more than one occasion the play doffs a cap to the work of Alfred Hitcock. Stone Cold Murder is less of a whodunnit and more of a whataretheyreallyupto? The cast do a tremendous job as they keep everyone guessing. Unlike an Agatha Christie story, the play is refreshingly set in our modern times. 

The show is intriguing thriller which has more twists than a fairground corkscrew.

This review was written by Stephen Oliver for Jowheretogo PR (www.jowheretogo.com). Follow Jo on twitter @jowheretogo, Stephen @panic_c_button or like Jowheretogo on Facebook www.facebook.com/Jowheretogo

Original Jowheretogo Preview Link

Cast

Olivia: Freya Copeland

Robert: Nick Barclay

Ramsay: David Callister

Sam: Gary Turner

Creatives:

Director: Patric Kearns

Designer: Geoff Gilder

Lighting Designer: Keith Tuttle

Sound Designer: Patric Kearns

Tickets:

Talking Scarlet presents Stone Cold Murder

It finishes its run at The Customs House on Wednesday 1st April 2015 at 7.45pm

Price: £16 / £15 Conc.

Box Office: 0191 454 1234 Website: www.customshouse.co.uk

Tour:

15-18 April Buxton Opera house

20-22 April Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage

23-25 April Grove Theatre, Dunstable

12-13 May Marina Theatre, Lowestoft

18-20 May Orchard Theatre, Dartford

15-20 June Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

22-27 June Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne

14-15 July Towngate Theatre, Basildon

4-8 August Grand Theatre, Swansea