If the plot sounds familiar…. well, that’s hardly surprising. Gerry and Sewell, two footie-mad Tyneside teenagers, are the protagonists in Johnathan Tulloch’s 2000 novel “The Season Ticket”, which was adapted the same year into the movie “Strictly Belter”…

Fontaines D.C. played two shows in Newcastle on the same day, such was the demand to see them. We were at the second, and, thankfully, they didn’t show any signs of flagging. The Dublin band were celebrating the release of their new album ‘Romance’ and, a…

In one of only 2 UK tour dates, Jo Nesbo’s visit to The Biscuit Factory to talk about his new crime thriller Blood Ties last Tuesday was cozy and conversational - a real pleasant evening and an outright treat. Fans attending were able to glean insights i…

1927 isn’t just a date, it’s also a theatre company (drawing influence from the visual power of silent, Expressionist movies, which might just put their choice of name in perspective.) Based in Margate (but with a burgeoning international reputation) they…

This is the third time Isobel McArthur’s irreverent dramatic take on our perpetually favourite regency love story has played Newcastle, and it’s still packing in gleefully enthusiastic audiences. Not really surprising – what could be jollier than watching…

I’ve grown up watching Strictly Come Dancing with my mam pretty much as long as I can remember, so I was really excited to hear that Janette Manrara - a staple of the show since 2013 - was coming to along to The Bound in Whitley Bay to talk about her new …

Of course, the big draw here was to have been Sir Ian McKellan performing probably the only mature male Shakespearean lead he’d never attempted, Sir John Falstaff. The dramatic vehicle for this virtuoso personification, “Player Kings”, offered a mash-up b…

Put together as much through a rehearsal process of improvisation and experimentation as through a set script, director/playwright Mike Leigh’s “Abigail’s Party” was the London stage hit of the season in 1977, with the production revived within the same y…

The Theatre Royal, a Victorian-era music hall with cherubs painted on the walls and red velvet everywhere, was made for spectacular productions. Heathers the Musical is exactly that, featuring an elaborate set, a larger-than-average cast, a live orchestra…

Do you ever hear about a historical figure for the first time, and wonder how on earth they’re not a household name? That’s how I felt watching All White, Everything But Me at the Live Theatre. This one-woman show chronicles the life of Althea Gibson, the…

What’s better than going to summer camp? Watching movies where other people get murdered at summer camp! At the volunteer-run Star and Shadow Cinema, where anybody can bring their passion project to life, a pair of slasher movie enthusiasts organised a su…