Preview: Bay Tales at Whitley Bay Playhouse

 “Friendliest crime fiction festival” returns to Whitley Bay for fourth year running.

Bay Tales, Whitley Bay’s annual crime fiction festival, returns to Playhouse Whitley Bay on Saturday 1st March 2025, bringing fans of the ever-popular genre to the seaside town for the fourth year running.

Hailed as “the book festival with heart” and “the friendliest crime fiction festival”, the event has quickly become a firm favourite of readers and writers alike. In addition to seeing authors on-stage and in conversation, audience members get the opportunity to meet the creators of some of their favourite characters at the signing table. 

Festival organiser, Vic Watson, with patron Ann Cleeves

Authors appearing at the one day event this year include Sleepyhead author Mark Billingham, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor and the mastermind behind ‘The Appeal’, Janice Hallett.

From L-R: Oskar Jensen, Janice Hallett, Guy Morpuss, Emma Kavanagh, Ann Cleeves, John Sutherland, Tim Rideout, Mari Hannah and Sarah Hilary.

Festival organiser, Vic Watson, said: “There’s a real sense of friendship at the festival. Our patron, Vera creator Ann Cleeves, greets people at the door and participating authors sit in the audience when they’re not on stage. There’ve been plenty of people who attend on their own but come away having made new friends.”

Ellery Lloyd is a pseudonym used by husband and wife
writing team, Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos.

Not only have the team of Cleeves and Watson brought readers and writers together, though, they have forged relationships with local businesses to offer discounts to festival-goers as well as working with The Bound, Whitley’s independent bookshop, to ensure that the whole town can benefit from the influx of visitors.

From L-R: Emma Flint, Chris McDonald, C.L. Taylor, Mark Billingham, Steph McGovern, Tariq Ashkanani, Anna Mazzola, William Shaw & Tracy Whitwell.

‘Businesses that have offered ticket holders a discount have, in previous years, reported a 30% increase in bookings over the festival weekend,’ explains Watson. ‘And it’s lovely to see people from all over the UK and beyond, chatting on social media, making plans to meet up in certain cafes, bars and restaurants when they come to Whitley for our festival.’

Full List of Confirmed Authors:

Ann Cleeves, William Shaw, Tim Rideout, Janice Hallett, Guy Morpuss, Tariq Ashkanani, Oskar Jensen, Emma Flint, Tracy Whitwell, Ellery Lloyd, Sarah Hilary, Steph McGovern, Emma Kavanagh, Mari Hannah, John Sutherland, Anna Mazzola, Chris McDonald, Mark Billingham & C.L. Taylor.

On The Web

To see the full line-up visit https://baytales.com/2024/07/14/live2025/

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Tickets:

When: Saturday March 1st, Doors Open 08:45. Show Starts: 09:30. All Day Event, expected end time 6pm.

Where: Whitley Bay Playhouse, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ.

Tickets Available: from the official Playhouse ticket provider AXS: https://axs-uk.sjv.io/aOKA5Q or in person at the box office at Whitley Bay Playhouse.

Preview: Kim’s Convenience at Newcastle Northern Stage

Everyone’s favourite convenience store packs up shop to hit the road as Kim’s Convenience and lands in Newcastle

Kim’s Convenience

Newcastle Northern Stage

Tuesday 29 April – Saturday 3 May 2025 

 

After critically-acclaimed runs at Park Theatre and Riverside Studios, the hit production Kim’s Convenience is packing up and heading on a UK tour.  Taking charge as the new patriarchic figure of the family will be star of the CBC and Netflix adaptation James Yi.  As well as being known for Kim's Convenience, Netflix, he has also been seen in The Interview and Gabby Duran & The Unsittables and has played Appa in previous productions. 

Well versed in the complex and shifting family dynamics within the story’s narrative, having been involved in both stage and screen, Yi will explore the growing separation between traditional first-generation immigrant values and those of his second-generation children in this heart-warming tale of the Korean-Canadian family.  James Yi comments, Kim's Convenience has literally changed my life.  This play continues to open new doors for me, like getting to go all the way to the UK to tour the show with an amazing cast and production team!  I feel like I'm in a dream that I never want to wake up from. 

The award-winning play from Ins Choi which inspired the CBC and Netflix’s TV comedy adaptation debuted in 2011 at Toronto Fringe festival, where the play won the Best New Play award and the Patron's Pick.  Kim’s Convenience continues to champion East Asian representation and remains a reflective and universal story that resonates with audiences from any culture.  Tackling persistent issues surrounding community, family and intergenerational relationships, this production’s rich tapestry of modern life will now be shared with wider UK audiences.   

Producer Adam Blanshay comments, We’re delighted that Kim’s Convenience continues to capture the hearts of its audiences and that people around the United Kingdom will get to experience this universally beautiful story, which embraces family, cultural heritage, and the legacies we leave behind. 

Park Theatre’s Artistic Director Jez Bond also comments, I am thrilled that after the success of its sell-out run with us and subsequent transfer to Riverside Studios, Kim’s Convenience will be touring the county - enabling audiences in the regions to enjoy this funny, poignant and entertaining show. 

Previous praise for Kim’s Convenience: 

Masterfully directed by Esther Jun, this is popcorn theatre: we could go on watching and watching – ★★★★ The Guardian 

Entertaining, keenly observed piece that believably depicts the experiences of many first- and second-generation immigrants – ★★★★ The Stage 

Kim’s Convenience is a store of wisdom – ★★★★ Financial Times 

The rest of the cast taking this familial story on tour is soon to be announced.  

Tickets:    

Kim’s Convenience appears from 29th April – 3rd May 2025 at Northern Stage, Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, 

Box office: https://northernstage.co.uk/whats-on/kims-convenience/  

News: Lee from Steps to take to Newcastle Theatre Royal stage in & JULIET in June 2025

Lee from Steps to take to Newcastle Theatre Royal stage in & JULIET in June

The producers of the global sensation & JULIET have today announced that Steps star Lee Latchford-Evans will play Lance at Newcastle Theatre Royal between Tuesday 2 – Saturday 7 June 2025.

Lee Latchford-Evans

Lee, who is one fifth of the UK’s most successful mixed-gender pop group of all time, will join the cast of the hilarious new musical that flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks, what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? 

He is set to alternate the role with Ranj Singh, who is performing at Wimbledon, Dublin, Bradford, Birmingham, Sheffield and Cardiff, with Lee performing at Bristol, Aberdeen, Leicester, Woking, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Southend, Stoke, Newcastle and Truro. 

Lee will co-star alongside current tour cast members Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet, Lara Denning as Anne, Sandra Marvin as Angelique, Jack Danson as Romeo, Kyle Cox as Francois and Jordan Broatch as May. 

Also in the cast are Harriet Caplan-Dean as Eleanor, Alexander Kranz as Lennox, Andilé Mabhena as Augustine / Dance Team, Liam Morris as Richard, Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid as Lucy/Alternate Juliet, Michael Nelson as Henry, Toni Paise as Violet, Katie Ramshaw as Nell / Lady C Rosie Singha as Judith, Aaron Shales as Gregory / Dance Team, Nia Stephen as Imogen and Samuel Wilson-Freeman as Fletcher / Resident Director and Dance Captain. 

Lee and his fellow Steps band-mates achieved 14 top five singles, over 22 million record sales, 500 million streams, 11 sold out national tours, achieving numerous awards including the prestigious Brit Award, Attitude’s ‘Icon’ award and are now making history by becoming the first British mixed gender group to achieve a No1 in four consecutive decades. In 2024 Lee and his fellow band mates co-produced their own Musical Here & Now breaking all box office records at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham where it played a limited run in November 2024. After its huge success, the musical will come to Newcastle Theatre Royal (28 October – 2 November) as part of its UK and Ireland tour in September 2025. 

Lee has had a successful career on stage with some of his theatre credits including Teen Angel in Grease (West End), Christian in Wolfboy (Edinbrugh Fringe Festival), Ade in A Charmed Life (West End), Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small (UK Tour), Bob in Rita Sue & Bob Too (St Helens Theatre) and Niko Nikovsky in Eurobeat Moldova (Edinburgh Fringe Festival). 

Tickets: & Juliet plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Tuesday 2 – Saturday 7 June 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.  

Preview: Hadaway Harry on tour

 Once more for the row…

Hadaway Harry – 10th Anniversary Tour

5 - 22 February 2025 – North East Tour

Written by Ed Waugh

Starring Jamie Brown

After 10 years the show is going to complete a farewell tour in February.

From humble beginnings (a workbench-turned-stage at the North East Maritime Trust in South Shields) to the main stage at Newcastle Theatre Royal in front of audiences of thousands, Hadaway Harry - the epic tale of the life and times of Victorian world champion rower Harry Clasper - will have captivated audience for a decade in 2025. Something of an epic journey itself, the play has seen Clasper recognised by way of a commemorative blue plague at the base of the High Level Bridge for the first time, has earned actor Jamie Brown the accolade of ‘Performing Artist of the Year’ at the North East Culture Awards, and has paved the way for works in a similar vein, such as The Cramlington Train Wreckers, Wor Bella, Carrying David and more, that have shone a light on perhaps lesser-known figures and episodes from the area’s rich history.

From working-class pitman in Jarrow, to multiple Rowing Champion of the World, Harry Clasper was rightly dubbed ‘King of the Thames and the Tyne’, North East anthem ‘The Blaydon Races’ was written for him, and later 130,000 people would attend his funeral.

Weaving a socio-political, historical trail with high-octane story-telling and puppetry, this one-man show has garnered standing ovations across the country and is often branded a ‘tour-de-force’ – not least due to an arduous second act showdown that leaves many on the edge of their seats. 

The North East Theatre Guide reviewed the show back in 2017 (Link:http://www.northeasttheatreguide.co.uk/2017/02/review-hadaway-harry-at-newcastle.html) and said “Jamie Brown shows his versatility as he both narrates and acts his way through Harry’s life. It takes real skill to have the Theatre Royal hanging on to your every word as you describe a rowing race. The applause that follows was as much a spontaneous appreciation of his performance as it was in recognition of Harry Clasper’s achievement.”

In February, the show will take to stages around the region for the final time with its original line-up, with actor Jamie Brown deciding that 2025 marks the right time to sail (or row) off into the sunset.  “It’s been an unbelievable journey, but anyone who has seen the show will know that it is genuinely incredibly difficult to perform…and I’m 40 in February! So, with the show marking its 10th anniversary and me marking my 40th it seems like the perfect opportunity to celebrate what we’ve achieved and bring to an end a wonderful chapter for which I’ll forever be thankful.”

Tickets:

The tour opens at Alnwick Playhouse on Wednesday 5 February and visits multiple venues around the region until the Saturday 22 February. Tickets for all venues can be found at www.hadawayharry.com.

Tour dates:

5-6 February - Alnwick Playhouse

7-8 February - Gosforth Civic Theatre

13 February - Whitley Bay Playhouse #ad Tickets: https://axs-uk.sjv.io/55jkyL 

14 February - The Witham, Barnard Castle

15 February - Bishop Auckland Town Hall

16 February - Gateshead Rowing Club

19 February - Hamsterley Village Hall

20-21 February - Customs House, South Shields

22 February - The Maltings, Berwick

Preview: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Sunderland Empire

Casting announced for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ahead of the tour arriving in Sunderland in April

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 

Sunderland Empire 

Tuesday 22 – Sunday 27 April 2025

The most fantasmagorical musical of all time flies into Sunderland Empire for one week only.

Charlie Brooks will play the role of The Childcatcher in the new production of the most fantasmagorical musical of all time, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang opening at Sunderland Empire on Tuesday 22 April where it plays until Sunday 27 April 2025 as part of a UK tour. 

Charlie Brooks will join Ore Oduba as Caractacus Potts, Emmerdale star Liam Fox as Grandpa Potts, Ellie Nunn as Truly Scrumptious, Martin Callaghan as Baron, Jenny Gayner as Baroness, Adam Stafford as Boris, Michael Joseph as Goran and John Macaulay as The Toymaker. The cast also includes Charlie Bishop, Ruaraidh Blackwood, Hadrian Delacey, Belle Kizzy Green, Tia Gyngell, Kirsty Ingram, Bibi Jay, Isabella Mason, Joe Press, Theo UK Rose, Molly Rees Howe, Callum Train and Luke Woollaston.

 

Charlie Brooks is a seasoned actor with a long list of television and theatre credits to her name. Charlie is well known for playing the iconic role of Janine in BBC’s EastEnders, for which she won several British Soap awards. Her other television credits include BBC’s Bleak House, alongside Carey Mulligan and Gillian Anderson, ITV’s Wired, starring Sacha Dhawan and Jodie Whittaker, and Channel 5’s crime thriller Lie With Me, which was nominated for Best Television Script at the Australian Writers Guild awards. She has also recently wrapped on a major recurring role in ITV’s Broken News directed by Lewis Arnold and written by Jack Thorne. On stage, Charlie most recently played the role of Ursula in the National Theatre’s West End run of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Charlie’s other theatre credits include leading roles in All in a Row at the Southwark Playhouse, Monogamy at the Park Theatre, Beautiful Thing at the Arts Theatre (West End) and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire at Curve, Leicester.

Ore Oduba was most recently seen as Happy Man/Mr Thompson in the UK and Ireland tour of Pretty Woman. His previous theatre credits include Brad Majors in the West End and UK tour of the 50th anniversary production of The Rocky Horror Show, Aaron Fox in Curtains on tour and in the West End, and Teen Angel in Grease on a UK tour. Ore was crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion in 2016 and more recently made it to the final of Channel 4’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Liam Fox

 

Liam Fox is probably best known for playing the role of Dan Spencer in ITV’s Emmerdale, where he featured in more than a thousand episodes. His many other TV credits include Stephen Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge, Cold Feet, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Clocking Off, A Touch of Frost, Always and Everyone, At Home with the Braithwaites and Dinnerladies. His many theatre credits include The Collector and Tuesday’s Class, both at The Lowry Studio and Iron at Manchester’s Royal Exchange.

Ellie Nunn

Ellie Nunn’s many theatre credits include Identical at Nottingham Playhouse, the UK tour of Posh, Shakespeare in Love at the Noel Coward Theare, Twelfth Night at Leicester Square Theatre, The Game of Love and Chance and Daughter in Law, both at the Arcola Theatre, Honk! at the Union Theatre and on tour and Gatsby at the Arts Theatre.

 

Based on Ian Fleming’s timeless story for children and later made into the famous 1968 film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang features the unforgettable songs by the Sherman Brothers including Toot Sweets, Hushabye Mountain, Truly Scrumptious and the Academy Award-nominated title song, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

This new production is directed by Thom Southerland (Titanic, Parade), choreographed by Karen Bruce (BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, The Bodyguard) with Set and Costume design by Morgan Large (Newsies, Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat), Lighting design by Ben Cracknell, Sound design by Gareth Tucker, Musical Supervision by George Dyer (The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Billy Elliot) and casting by Debbie O’Brien.

In Chitty Chitty Bang Bang we meet absent-minded inventor Caractacus Potts who restores a broken-down old racing car with the help of his children Jemima and Jeremy. Soon the family discover the car has magical powers, and along with the delectable Truly Scrumptious, the family end up on a hilarious fantastical adventure to far off lands.

 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Music by Special Arrangement with Sony/ATV Publishing and is Adapted for the Stage by Jeremy Sams. Based on the MGM Motion Picture the Licensed Script is adapted by Ray Roderick. It was Originally produced by Eon Productions, Dana Broccoli, Frederick Zollo, Nicholas Paleologos, Jeffrey Sine, Miriam Productions and Michael Rose at The London Palladium.

 

This production is presented by permission of Music Theatre International.

On The Web:

www.chittyontour.com 

 

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Tickets:

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will fly into Sunderland Empire from Tuesday 22 – Sunday 27 April 2025. Tickets available online now at ATGTickets.com/ Sunderland *

* A £3.95 transaction fee may apply to online bookings.

Preview: The Bench on tour

Award-winning journalist Jeff Brown’s play The Bench to Tour North East & Cumbria in 2025

A CaroleW Productions & Gala Durham Co-Production

The Bench - A moving tale of love, loss and football

Touring the North East & Cumbria

Thursday 22 May - Saturday 21 June 2025

Written by Jeff Brown 

Directed by Olivia Millar-Ross

CaroleW Productions and Gala Durham are thrilled to announce that The Bench, the highly acclaimed play by award-winning sports reporter and former BBC Look North presenter Jeff Brown, will tour the North East and Cumbria in Spring 2025.

This captivating work brings to the stage a touching and humorous tale about love, loss…and football. Set against the darker side of the beautiful game and life on the economic edge, The Bench is a poignant, heartwarming and sensitive love story about two young people struggling to survive against the odds. Vicky is a single mum overwhelmed by the pressures of everyday life, while Adi - the local team’s new signing - is struggling to find his place both on and off the pitch.

Seemingly worlds apart, the pair discover they have more in common than they might have at first imagined.

Informed by his nearly 40 years covering news and sport in the North East, Jeff’s rich storytelling brings authenticity and depth to the play. As he explains, "I wanted to shine a light on the pressures faced by young people trying to survive and pursue their dreams in today’s world—whether they’re dealing with family responsibilities or the intense scrutiny that comes with professional sport. It’s a football setting, but it's a universal story.”

Jeff Brown

For the character of Vicky, Jeff drew on his role as a patron of Sunderland Carers - hearing stories of young people who sacrifice their own childhood to look after others. Adi was inspired, in part, by Middlesbrough footballer Britt Assombalonga, who was born in the Congo and left his home country to pursue a football career.

Co-producer Carole Wears from CaroleW Productions said: “Working with Jeff and Gala Durham to bring this show to life is a match made in heaven (if you’ll pardon the pun). This play is everything CaroleW Productions strives to achieve - a compelling, well-told story that we can’t wait to share with audiences. The Bench is a play rooted in the North East but with universal appeal. It’s a beautiful piece in which Jeff has masterfully tackled global issues of displacement, racism in sports, and life on the breadline, weaving them into a tender, funny, and heart-warming love story.

Previous production of The Bench.
Photo: Wycombe 89 Media 

We’ve assembled a wonderful creative team to do justice to this beautiful work, and we’re excited to tour the region and share it with audiences far and wide.”

The Bench is Jeff’s second play. Following a successful debut at The Customs House in South Shields in 2023, the production is now set for a long-anticipated regional tour. Starting on Thursday, 22 May 2025, at Gala Durham, the play will travel to theatres and community venues across the North East and Cumbria until Saturday, 21 June 2025. With stops from Alnwick Playhouse in the north to Saltburn Community Theatre in the south, the tour will also bring performances to community spaces across County Durham, Cumbria, and Northumberland as part of the Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.

Audiences can look forward to a mix of humour, warmth, and social insights that will appeal to football fans and non-fans alike.

The North East & Cumbria tour of The Bench is supported by Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity, which will have a presence at every performance and participate in post-show discussions.

Tickets:
To find out more and book tickets, visit www.carolewproductions.com/the-bench

Suitability: Approx. 2 hours including an interval

Duration: 14+


Tour Dates & Venues (more dates to be announced in 2025)

Thursday 22 May - Saturday 24 May – Gala Durham
Tuesday 27 May - Coundon & Leeholme Community Centre
Wednesday 28 May – The Exchange 1856, North Shields
Wednesday 4 June – Middlesbrough Town Hall
Thursday 5 June – Arts Centre Washington
Friday 6 June - Alnwick Playhouse
Sunday 8 June – St Johns Hall Meadowfield
Tuesday 10 June – Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham
Wednesday 18 June – Bishop Auckland Town Hall
Thursday 19 June - Saltburn Community Theatre
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 June – The Customs House, South Shields




More dates will be announced in 2025 including additional rural and community venues in County

Durham, Cumbria, and Northumberland presented as part of the Highlights Rural Touring Scheme.

Preview: Fawlty Towers – The Play at Sunderland Empire

 Direct from the west end: the critically acclaimed production of John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play

Arriving at Sunderland Empire February 2026

 

Currently playing to sold-out houses at London’s Apollo Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play, announces a major theatre tour for 2025 and 2026. 

 

Following the hugely successful West End run – which has seen the show extend twice - “the funniest show in town” (Daily Express) will embark on the 10-month tour across the UK and Ireland on 30 September 2025 through to July 2026, visiting Sunderland Empire from Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 February 2026.

Based on three of the original BBC TV episodes of the “greatest British sitcom of all time” (Radio Times), Fawlty Towers – The Play has been adapted for the stage by original co-creator John Cleese into a two-hour play, complete with a new finale. Casting will be announced in due course.

Theatre goers across the country are in for a treat as this “comedy masterpiece makes a seamless transition to the stage” (The Arts Desk) to deliver “an indisputably funny evening” (Daily Telegraph), as “from the moment Basil walks on stage, the audience start laughing” (Daily Mail) whilst watching “some of the best punchlines ever written” (London Theatre). To quote Broadway World; “if you loved the original TV series, you will adore this show”.

John Cleese said: “When we came up with the idea of bringing Fawlty Towers to the stage, I never thought it would get the reception that it has. On 23 December it will be 50 years to the day since we recorded the pilot at BBC Television Centre, and I’m delighted that the audiences we’ve had in the West End still think it’s as funny as ever. The announcement of the tour means many more people will now have the chance to laugh themselves helpless.”

Following a tip off that hotel inspectors may be visiting and eager to impress, Basil attempts to ingratiate himself with guests that he suspects are there to critique the establishment. The situation is further plagued by a party of Germans, the deaf and dotty guest-from-hell, Mrs Richards, whose infuriating complaints prevent him from hiding a gambling win from his ever vigilant and bossy wife, Sybil. Together they run their hotel with a little help from the unflappable Polly, and very little help at all from Manuel, the trainee waiter from Barcelona who is the butt of Fawlty’s frustration.

Fawlty Towers was first broadcast on BBC Two on 19 September 1975. The iconic TV show went on to win many awards and plaudits including two BAFTAS for Best Situation Comedy and in 2000 it was voted the best British programme of all time in a British Film Institute poll. Set in a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, just 12 half hour episodes of the iconic comedy were made.

The sitcom is based on a real-life hotel owner, Donald Sinclair. John Cleese came up with the idea for the character Basil Fawlty when he stayed at Sinclair’s Gleneagles Hotel in Torquay and became fascinated with his incredibly rude behaviour.

John Cleese. Photo: David J Hogan. 

On The Web:

Website: FawltyTowersTour.co.uk

Instagram: @FawltyTowersWestEnd

Facebook: @FawltyTowersWestend

X: @FawltyTowersWE

Creatives: 

Written by John Cleese & Connie Booth

Adapted for the stage by John Cleese

Directed by Caroline Jay Ranger

 

Set and Costume Designer – Liz Ascroft

Lighting Designer – Ian Scott

Casting Director – Anne Vosser

Assistant Director – Denise Ranger

 

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Tickets:

John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play will hit Sunderland Empire’s stage from Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 February 2026. Tickets available online now at ATGTickets.com/ Sunderland *

* A £3.95 transaction fee may apply to online bookings.