1854. Actresses Emily and Fanny excitedly await the arrival of Julia St George, star of the Victorian stage, as she returns from London to her hometown to tread the boards at Newcastle Theatre Royal. Full of dreams, aspirations and the odd secret, Limelight explores life backstage, set against a dramatic night in the city’s history.

 

Brimming with humour and humanity, Limelight is based on the career of Julia St George, a real-life star of the stage.

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Venues: Limelight toured to theatres and and community spaces across the North East of England.

Dates: April & May 2024

‘This house isn’t unfit for habitation. We’re inhabiting it. It’s been habitated for 100 years!’

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1951 saw a third of County Durham’s villages classified as ‘D’. They were no longer deemed worthy of investment and were expected to die quietly. But they wouldn’t.

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A Way Home was a new play rooted in the stories and memories of the very people who called those D villages home. A County-wide fight lasting over 25 years becomes a 12-month journey at Bet’s kitchen table as she confronts what loss really looks like.
 

Venues: Theatres across the North East of England and community venues across County Durham.
Dates: June 2022 ​

When Lennox found herself sent to stay in Northumberland after being excluded from her city comp, she was certain there was nothing there for her. Far away from home, with a family she barely knows, she rediscovered herself and in doing so uncovered the mystery of the long-hidden secret garden.

 

With brand new folk songs, performed by the cast, this beautiful reimagining introduced a new generation to the transformational magic of the garden.

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Venues: Spiegeltent, Hexham Book Festival, Arts Centre Washington, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Fishburn Youth & Community Centre, Stockton, Gala Durham, The Word, Coundon & Leeholme Community Centre and Lady Waterford Hall.

Dates: June & July 2022

“Says here, there’s a lass gone missing. It’s on the Twitter.”

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It’s a busy night at Frankie’s Chippy, as always. From lasses heading out on the town, to those just passing through and the regulars who have been coming here for years. But when reports start coming in of a little girl gone missing, the community must pull together to find her before it’s too late. Will they see what was under their noses all along?

 

Funny and heart-warming, Haddock & Chips is a timely play about community and how, in the hardest of times, we can find hope in humanity.

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Venues: Toured venues across the North East of England
Dates: October & November 2021 ​

A delightful evening of needlepoint and music with a scintillating selection of the lost knitting songs of WWI and WWII from Canada, Britain, America and France. Audiences are encouraged to bring their own knitting (or crochet) and stitch along to these funny, poignant, toe-tapping, needle-clicking tunes.

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Venues: Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham, Lit & Phil, Newcastle, Ushaw House, Chapels and Historic Gardens, Alnwick Playhouse, Arts Centre Washington, The Witham, Barnard Castle. 
Dates: March & April 2022 ​

Judy is an icon - loved by generations as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. But in the 1930s, Deanna Durbin was a far bigger star. A favourite of Roosevelt, Churchill, even Mussolini, her first kiss was front page news. At 27, she disappeared to a life of obscurity in France. The true tale of the lifelong friendship and rivalry of two great stars of Old Hollywood. 

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Venues: Lit & Phil & Ushaw Historic House, Chapels & Gardens
Dates: March 2022

Britain is going South!

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In 1912 Captain Scott lost a race to the bottom of the world, and his life.

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But Apsley Cherry-Garrad survived, and he’s here to tell the tragic tale of heroic failure. Between amateur juggling and accidental burlesque one man attempts to expose himself to the dangerous elements of the outside world with comedy, clowning and song.

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Venue: Newcastle's Lit & Phil

Date: Jan 2020

Escape in to the Realms of Warquest, where you can level up, complete quests and defeat monsters. The audience are brought in to his world by getting to direct quests, but ultimately the show is a hilarious but also and unique and moving one.

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Date: February 2020

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​Phil Odgers of The Men They Couldn't Hang with accomplice Bobby Valentino (remember that rift from The Bluebell's Young at Heart!?)

 

Story telling, beautiful musicianship and virtuoso fiddle and guitar accompaniment! 

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With support from The Archie Brown Trio

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Dates: September 2019

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Set in the summer of 1919 during preparations for a ‘Peace Tea’ garden party, Hold Your Peace tells a thought-provoking tale of the impact of the Great War (1914-1918) on the lives and loves of the residents of The Orchards, and the untold stories of the lives of learning disabled people during the Great War. Excellent workshop packages available.

 

Venues: Various

Dates: 2019 Tour

A subversive comedy (physical theatre, storytelling & dance) based on real life testimonies from Britain's unsung war heroes, those women doing their bit for the war effort in a cordite fuelled journey through euphoric emancipation, hidden friendships and anarchic dreams

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Venues: Various

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A slick, fast-paced show for young children and families with lots of fun and giggles. join the invincible Captain Cauliflower and his faithful companion Marvin on an unforgettable adventure, filled with extreme silliness and unquestionable danger

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Dates: 21st February 2019

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Welcome to Britain’s worst school, taunt the nervous supply teacher, bunk of PE and get caught smoking behind the bike sheds. Award-winning comedians Dan Lees and Neil Frost take you back to school for a very silly and hilarious history lesson.

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Dates: Thursday 21st Feb 2019

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Alternative Christmas Party night with headliners Scotland's leading improv troupe, The Men with Coconuts and their flagship show culminating in an entirely improvised musical! DJs, Cuban food provided by Cubans, mojitos and a decidedly Latin American theme for the occasion included in your ticket.

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Dates: Fri 21/Sat 22nd December

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Rarely seen Hitchcock Thriller telling of shipwrecks and smugglers on the Cornish Coast in the 1800s - high camp from Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara paired with a rum tasting, trade history and snacks prior to the screening.

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Date: Thursday 1st November

A feast of comedy & romance! Encountering villains and vaudevillians Nathan & Ida serve up a fast-paced, two-hander evoking tantalising glimpses of a glorious bygone era, silent movies, carnival rides and sepia-toned postcards.  Will true love and Ida's secret sauce win the day?

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Served up our own hotdogs with a choice of three secret sauces prior to the show!

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Venue: Gosforth Civic Theatre

Dates: Wed 24th & Thurs 25th October

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A celebration of the legendary Martha Graham

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Classes, screenings, public events and Gala Performance

 

DATES: 23rd - 28th July 2018

VENUES: Dance City and Newcastle College

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1666  Plague

Anna Frith

Heroine and Healer or Wanton and Witch?

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DATES: June 2018

TIMES: Various

VENUE: NW & NE Tour: The Lowry (Salford), Alphabetti Theatre and Lit & Phil (Newcastle), Gala Theatre (Durham)

Subversive and naughty improv - Hermione, Harry and the team as you've never seen them!  ButterBeer on tap and fancy dress prizes galore...

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VENUE: Gosforth Civic Theatre

DATES: Friday 11th May

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A film screening with a difference.

Join North Chocolates and Caruthers & Kent Wine Merchants for a pairing event before the screening of this heart-warming original 1949 Ealing Comedy Whisky Galore!

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VENUE: Gosforth Civic Theatre

DATES: Thursday 19th April

Enjoy the effervescent and heartfelt vocal style of The Men They Couldn't Hang's Phil Odgers with renegade virtuoso Bobby Valentino on the fiddle

 

DATES: Saturday 14th April

VENUE: Cobalt Studios

An interactive show with teeth inspired by computer games, David Lynch movies and Highland Folk Tales. Tiger is a theatrical event full of stories, poems and songs where no two performances are the same.

 

DATES: Tues 10 - Fri 13 Apr 2018

TIME: 9.00pm

VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

Through quick fire poetry and dark comedy Leyla Josephine, takes to the stage wrapped in a duvet eating a full Vienetta and asks whether we can really make a difference or, if in fact, everything is broken beyond repair.

 

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VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

DATES: Tues 10 - Fri 13 Apr 2018

Using beautiful leathers and felts in the palates of Scotland and rural France you will create your own leather purse to take home with you under intuitive guidance of one of Craft Scotland's rising stars

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DATES: Tuesday 20th March 2018

TIME: 6pm

VENUE: Gosforth Civic Theatre

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Fist-thumping, pint-drinking, side-tickling, heart-wrenching poetry packed with humour, energy and depth. Loud Poets! is a dynamic multimedia performance showcasing poetry in a truly innovative light. 

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DATES: Wed 14 & Thu 15 Mar 2018

TIME: 8pm

VENUE: Gosforth Civic Theatre

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The perfect start to your Christmas night out special guests Men With Coconuts present their fully improvised Bond film! Expect villains, gadgets and femme fatales galore - all improvised live on stage with a musical accompaniment.

DATE: Wed 13 to Fri 15 Dec 2017

TIME: 7.30pm

VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

MC Hammersmith (a.k.a. Will Naameh, the tall skinny one from Men With Coconuts) and friends present an hour of white people performing improvised hip hop comedy based on your suggestions.

VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

DATE: Thurs 14 Dec 2017

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Honest poetry, side-splitting stand up story telling exploring Love with a capital "L" with all of its tragic, sweaty, embarrassing parts.

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VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

DATE: Tues 5 - Fri 8 Dec 2017

A dark, seductive tale of love and murder in 1950s America, blending acrobatics, action and a striking visual style.

DATE: Tues 21 - Fri 24 Nov 2017

TIME: 7.30pm

VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre

Side-splittng, stiff upper-lipped hilarity from energetic duo Dan Lees and Neil Frost. The show combines the best of clowning, quick wit and British stiffed lipped eccentricity to bring two ultra-privileged British gents from a bygone era to the stage.

DATE: Tues 7 - Fri 10 Nov 2017

TIME: 7.30pm

VENUE: Alphabetti Theatre