Puccini’s capacity to revise and rewrite his operas (possibly prompted by some surprising criticism – “Madame Butterfly” had been a decided failure at its 1904 premiere) was exercised in full with “La Rondine”, of which there are four variant versions wit…

Think of Verdi and the word “comedy” doesn’t immediately come to mind (though an early operatic attempt, “Un Giorno di Regno”, is still occasionally revived.) Towards the end of his life, however, he composed a final opera that is big on belly laughs (del…

Not, mercifully, the Disney version but a new ballet created by David Nixon, this dazzling production was high on characterisation, narrative and nifty sets/lighting effects. With a score pieced together from classical orchestral favourites it might perh…

It’s difficult to believe that performance company Frantic Assembly was founded nearly thirty years ago, though their notion of addressing the possibilities of a physical mode of theatre which could headline movement and music yet which still convey the s…

Watching Fascinating Aida is like suddenly meeting up, at some otherwise unexciting family event, with that sharp-tongued, sharp-witted aunt who your more staid relatives consider a mite too outspoken but whose caustic, sweary humour suddenly lifts everyt…

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was founded in 1958 and it still carries a hint of the best of that post-war decade, reaching out to consolidate and integrate new and existing trends in modern dance while reflecting the Afro-American traditions of…

This must be the absolute classic back-stage/on stage/ all-singing/all-dancing musical comedy extravaganza, often imitated but never surpassed, with wall to wall tap dancing feet, a retro Art Deco set that extends even to the proscenium arch and plenty …

If I knew what the word “laconic” meant, I’m sure I’d apply it to Rich Hall, whose laid-back approach to the comedy of contemporary anxiety sheds a murky light on those trivial details and connections that add flavour to the business of being alive. Just…

Friday the 13th is a polemic date for most, even more so during Halloween season. re:imagine, the new Arts Council England funded co-creation art project for adults in the North-East of England who are looking to enter the creative industries, chose this …

Graham Nash warmly greeted the audience, ‘Gateshead, we’ve got a lot of good music for you - it will be a good night for sure.” The concert was part of the ‘Sixty Years of Songs and Stories’ tour. So, I expected material from Nash’s early days in the 1960…

Back in the distant mid-twentieth century there used to be a popular theatrical phenomenon on called the Whitehall farce. These comedies, (very) mildly risqué for the time, involved stage sets where an unfeasible number of doors facilitated the appearanc…

Any avid reader of Diana Henry’s food writing can practically taste her passion for food between the lines of her words, and upon her evening at The Biscuit Factory to celebrate the new edition of Roast Figs, Sugar Snow that passion felt almost infectious…

In the bygone age before the aux and bluetooth audio, Dizzee Rascal’s album ‘Tongue N’ Cheek’ was the only CD that was played in our family car for at least a year after it came out and we still play his track ‘Holiday’ literally every time we drive into …

In a stunning retelling of the classic fairytale, The Customs House brought magic to the stage in their summer production of Cinderella. Directed and Starring South Shields icon Davey Hopper as Arbuthnot in his farewell show after a gleaming eight years; …

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is arguably Shakespeare’s most entertaining plays – a far cry from some of his other dark and tragic plays, it offers a little bit of fun for the audience in a mystical setting they’re not quite familiar with. Daniel Bradford’s i…

Having not interacted with any of Shakespeare’s plays since school, I was half expecting to go to the opening night of Macbeth at Durham’s Assembly Rooms and be haunted with the same confusion I felt trying to translate his words in a grey classroom back …

Like any theatre buff, I’m a sucker for a huge production with a cast that fills the entire stage and an excessive set that is just as busy. However, I must admit that nothing impresses me more than a performer that can command space and silence in a pair…

I spent my teenage years fangirling over The Vamps, so I had to get myself along to South Tyneside Festival and relive my teenage dreams. I was screaming and the nostalgia hit me like a brick at South Tyneside Festival. The Vamps played some of their upbe…

It takes a talented and confident writer to set a story that takes place in a modern setting. It requires tackling the pleasure and torment of social media, as well as the constant and vast political and social change; if the extraordinary success of her …

Local composer and puppeteer, Kerrin Tatman, is one of the 2022-23 Artists in Residence at the Sage, and they ended their residency with the emotive and masterful ‘Requiem For A Fading World’. The piece tells the story of the separate journeys of a mother…

Through the doors of Alphabetti Theatre tonight awaited a man and a suitcase. As the Kasabian song Wasted blasted on the radio, we would come to find out that man is Peter. He might be staying for a few days if his ex-girlfriend Rose will alone it. And th…

If you were one of the more than 25,000 fans lucky enough to make the three-hour pilgrimage over the luscious green mountains of Washington State to the Gorge Amphitheater to see Joni Mitchell, chances are you’re still processing the pure and resplendent …

Local lad made good and high-profile Toon Army member Sam Fender playing a homecoming stadium gig at St James’ Park was always going to be a ‘thing’. That this is taking place shortly after Newcastle United’s qualification for the Champions League elevate…

Josie Long is no stranger to funny, first performing stand up at the age of just fourteen years old. If you’re a fan of Josie’s work you’ll know that her character naturally makes a room full of people feel at ease, which was exactly the case at the eveni…

The mighty Matthew Bourne has a way with ballet, and it isn’t simply to do with innovative choreography, great though that is. He can look at a classic dance narrative and spot the nuances, clues and implications that can spark off a whole new take on the…

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen are usually less about fairies and more about forces of Nature, human behaviour, grotesquely powerful inanimate objects and the need for some universal (and ultimately Christian) code of morals to make sense o…

South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo has already made a huge splash in the world of dance with her fresh and exciting re-imaginings of ballet favourites “Swan Lake” and “Giselle”, but this take on Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” offers an…

As the long awaited warmth of spring prepares to make a comeback, Richard Chappell’s Hot House is a welcomed blazing commentary of the energy currently circulating society. Performing against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis and political unrest,…