JournalLive - Culture - Theatre

Interview: Actress Melanie Hill on new play Nativities

JournalLive — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

SHE may have been living in London for the past 30 years but Sunderland-born actress Melanie Hill still calls the North East home. Which is why she’s delighted to be back in the region in new play Nativities which launches at Live Theatre next Tuesday.

Review: Strictly Come Dancing: The Live Tour 2012, Metro Radio Arena

JournalLive — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

STRICTLY strutted into Newcastle bringing glitz and glamour and a liberal sprinkling of sequins in its wake.

Review: Rambert Dance Company, Newcastle Theatre Royal

JournalLive — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

THIS was a night to expect the unexpected from Rambert. For it wasn’t the beautiful Roses nor the playful Seven For a Secret, Never to be Told that won the night, but the powerful Monolith.

Preview: What I Heard About The World at Northern Stage

JournalLive — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

WHILE working for a Sunday tabloid I recall being asked to rip weird and wonderful stories out of magazines such as The National Enquirer and rewrite them as amusing short stories. It was probably journalism in one of its lowest forms but quite harmless, despite the lack of ‘facts’.

Curtain rises on Theatre Royal Newcastle 175th birthday celebrations

JournalLive — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:30:00 GMT

THE Theatre Royal, standing proud at the top of Newcastle’s Grey Street, has touched the lives of more people than there are seats in the auditorium.

Review: Sting’s The Last Ship musical at Live Theatre

JournalLive — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

IT is possible Sting’s musical The Last Ship will never leave the harbour, yet alone dock in a major theatre.

Consett Empire Theatre centenary celebrations planned for spring season

JournalLive — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:30:00 GMT

WITH 2012 gearing up to be a special year for Empire Theatre in Consett, as it turns 100 years old, its new season is out to make an impact.

Review: Blood Brothers at Sunderland Empire

JournalLive — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

YOU just can’t keep a good show down. Since its 1983 debut, Willy Russell’s award-winner has been faithfully doing the rounds and, nearly 30 years on, fans could probably claim to know these brothers better than their own.

Poignant drama poses important questions

JournalLive — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A PLAY inspired by 155 older women and carers is all set to tour the region and, as Barbara Hodgson discovers, it poses questions for us all.

Review: Sleeping Beauty at the Theatre Royal

JournalLive — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

THERE is no sneaky rose thorn to lay Aurora low in SB artistic director Ashley Page’s engaging take on what for many is the greatest of the 19th Century ballet greats.

Playwright Zoe gives the old blokes a run for their money

JournalLive — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:29:00 GMT

AT the launch of Live Theatre’s new season, artistic director Max Roberts joked that much of the past two years seemed to have been dedicated to “old blokes”.

Preview: Sleeping Beauty by Scottish Ballet at Newcastle Theatre Royal

JournalLive — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

FAIRYTALES from north of the border have proved a hit in the North East and the visit of Scottish Ballet this week will underline the point.

Interview: Actor Simon Callow

JournalLive — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:30:00 GMT

TO many people, Simon Callow is the voice of Dickens. In his one-man stage shows the ebullient actor brings to life the stories, sweeping from Victorian sentimentality to galloping high drama, of Britain’s best-loved author.

Preview: Simon Munnery at The Stand, Newcastle

JournalLive — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:01:00 GMT

THE curious world of experimental comedian Simon Munnery will unfold tomorrow night at The Stand comedy club in Newcastle.

Mousetrap will have audience gripped

JournalLive — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

IT holds the record as the world’s longest-running play, having been part a fixture of the London theatre scene for an extraordinary 60 years, and now, for the first time, The Mousetrap is coming to Newcastle.

The King And I at Newcastle Theatre Royal

JournalLive — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

A PACKED house testified to the enduring popularity of a show that premiered on Broadway back in 1951.

Interview: comedian Dave Johns

JournalLive — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

AMONG the gales of laughter he hopes to generate at Live Theatre this week, a few ripples of nostalgia might be discernible. It will be 21 years since Dave Johns made his stand-up debut.

Review: Donna Disco at Live Theatre

JournalLive — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

WE’RE handed a party popper, an envelope and a pair of oversize glasses before taking our seats to join Donna, the amiable and awkward star of this short play – a sell-out at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival – by local writer Lee Mattinson.

Preview: Northern Stage new season

JournalLive — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

NORTHERN spirit captures the mood of a Newcastle theatre’s new spring season which features the return of North East classic Close the Coalhouse Door.

From box office to the stage

JournalLive — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

HE’S off to Corrie. But before he left, Tyneside writer Lee Mattinson told David Whetstone about his latest play.