Cover Artist & Illustrations by @Lizzie_Lovejoy_illustration



Brochure design by @aimeej_design


Cover Artist & Illustrations by @Lizzie_Lovejoy_illustration
Brochure design by @aimeej_design
Alphabetti Theatre is committed to creating an environment where everyone can enjoy great art. This includes making our building as accessible as possible, making ticket prices affordable and adapting performances to suit different needs. We’re always looking to improve and encourage feedback, so please do get in touch if you think you can help us improve our access.
Here are some useful logos that you’ll see throughout the brochure:
You pay what you feel you can afford. Why? We believe everyone should be able to enjoy great art, no matter their financial situation. You pay at the end of the show, it’s anonymous and you can pay with cash or card.
This system relies on your honesty, so thank you in advance.
It is also vital that if you have booked a ticket but then cannot attend the performance that you tell us as soon as possible.
RELAXED PERF. RELAXED PERF. Relaxed performance
What it means at Alphabetti: A space where there isn’t the pressure to sit still or stay quiet.
House lights will be dimmed but kept on.
Music levels will be kept low with no sudden loud noises.
Theatrical lighting will not include flashing lights or sudden special effects.
Family performance
Suitable for kids and families (and adults!)
Babes in arms welcome
Afternoon performances, usually relaxed
Audio described performance
Alphabetti will provide audio description for certain performances for blind/visually impaired audience members.
Captioned performance
Alphabetti will provide captions for certain performances during the run for D/deaf, hard of hearing audience members.
BSL BSL
Thanks for picking up this brochure, and welcome to Alphabetti Theatre. If you’re new – where have you been? And if you’re returning – welcome back. You’ve all been missed, you’re in for a treat. This brochure is but a smattering of what we have to offer; over the next 7 months we have a planned 235 performances! We can’t fit it all in here, otherwise we’d be distributing an encyclopaedia and not just a brochure. So, visit our website to keep up-to-date. We believe great art should be for everyone, regardless of financial situation. And that’s why – out of our 235 performances – 43% are being charged at Pay What You Feel, with the remaining 57% being ticketed. We have three price categories: General, Concession (Suitable for Over 65, Under 18, Student, Artist, Unemployment Benefit, Disability Benefit. Please note proof of concession eligibility may be asked for upon arrival at the box office. Complimentary tickets are available for PAs supporting those with access requirements, please contact the theatre) and No Questions (If you can't afford any of the other tickets and cannot attend a pay what you feel performance this price bracket is for you – no questions will be asked).
At the time of writing this welcome (December 2022), we’ve finally eased all pandemic restrictions and are quietly hopeful the worst of Covid-19 is behind us: we have just begun to welcome back full-capacity audiences, wa-hoo! However, we are reviewing our Covid policy fortnightly and publishing any changes on our website, so please continue to check there for new information.
It’s no secret that operating a small-scale arts organisation is a delicate balance, and has become more so over the last few years, with the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis affecting every corner of our community. In these times, we continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude for every artist, audience member and funder who has supported us. My biggest thanks go to the incredible team that keeps Alphabetti going. From our General Assistants all the way to the Trustees, everyone has gone above and beyond – to not just keep the theatre open – but to continue improving it, by sticking to our aims of entertaining, challenging, and improving lives for our artists, audiences and participants. If you would like to support the work we do then please see the back of this brochure or visit our website.
It’s mighty cold out so we are now open 11am – 11pm Tuesday to Saturday, with free heat, wi-fi, darts and arts and crafts – with no pressure to spend any money.
With the continued uncertainty that now plagues our day-to-day lives, you, our audience, are more vital than ever. Please book tickets and champion the work you are excited to experience. If you do book your ticket but for some reason cannot make the show, please contact us as soon as possible so we can release your place. Our Pay What You Feel ticketing policy relies on your honesty and your social integrity.
Alphabetti will provide British sign language performances for certain performances during the run.
For full details visit the Alphabetti website www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk
I say this every season, but I think this is one of the best Alphabetti has ever put together! We hope to see you all very soon. You’re in for some real treats. Until then, you stay ‘Betti!
With Love and Thanks
Ali Pritchard Founder & Artistic / Executive Director since 2012.Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (31st Jan – 4th Feb)
£15 – £3 (7th – 18th Feb)
Age Recommendation: 14+
tickets:
alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Access: Captioned performance
Wednesday 8th February
BSL performance
Thursday 9th February 7.30pm,
Saturday 11th February 1pm,
Thursday 16th February 7.30pm,
Audio Described performance
Wednesday 15th February, Relaxed performances each Saturday matinee.
Elsa’s life has never been boring, though it’s often been a struggle. She doesn’t know why she never quite fits in, perhaps it’s just the way she’s made? She’s quirky and kind and clever and funny, but school was always a nightmare, and romance was a mystery; until now.
Elsa meets Carmen who just seems to ‘get her’. Carmen sets her on the road to finding the key to who she is, and why it feels like there’s an octopus living inside her head.
Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light is an immersive, interactive exploration of one woman’s journey of self-discovery, and a celebration of the joy and freedom that comes when we live as we truly are.
TUES 28 TH FEBRUARY – SAT 18 TH MARCH 2023
Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (28th Feb – 4th Mar)
£15 – £3 (7th – 18th Mar)
Age Recommendation: 16+
tickets: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Access: Captioned performance
Wednesday 8 th March
Audio Described performance
Wednesday 15 th March
Relaxed performances each Saturday matinee.
Entry policy: Latecomers admitted; re-admittance accepted.
THIS IS NOT A NORMAL THEATRE SHOW. IT IS A JOB INTERVIEW. AND YOU ARE THE PANEL. Prepare to meet the next energised and highly-motivated job candidate, applying for an exciting new work opportunity. They’ve worked hard to reach the final stage of the interview process, and it’s time for you to help them succeed… or not.
Zantion Recruitment unlocks potential candidates on their creative and professional precipice, helping them become "the CEO of their own lives". And they need your help.
They want you to maximally evolve, self-disrupt, and autoconference at this unique event. With Zantion, you will discover and design tomorrow’s workforce, today*.
The interviewees can't wait to meet you.
All you need to bring is your enthusiasm for their success (and a valid ticket).
Optional dress code: Business Magnate Megastar.
*Failure to attend will result in exclusion from future Zantion schemes.
ON FOREST SOUNDS THEATRE’S THE CHURCH OF JIM:
“WEIRD, WONDERFUL AND SOMEWHAT OUTRAGEOUS … WITH A GENUINE INTENTION FOR POSITIVITY AND COMMUNITY… FROM TERRIFYING AND BIZARRE, TO BEAUTIFUL AND HYPNOTIC.” STATE OF THE ARTS
“I DON’T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME I LAUGHED SO HARD.”
AMANDA MUNRO, ARTSDEPOT
Cardboard Citizens, Alphabetti Theatre & Theatre503 present a WORLD PREMIERE of FAUN
by Vinnie HeavenTUES 28
Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (28th £15 – £3 (4th – 15th April) £1 tickets available for those experiencing poverty & homelessness (limited availability 4th – 15
Ace is 22, trans, queer and sofa surfing – currently – just for now – only at the moment!
They’ve actually just sorted out sofa number 13.
To keep a sofa requires you to act small, smiling, and polite. But no one is perfect and eventually everyone messes up – which would be a lot easier for Ace if they weren’t also unexpectedly growing fluffy ears, and a tiny tail!
It turns out people pleasing has a price and there’s only one place left for Ace to go…
Cardboard Citizens creates theatre with, for and about people with lived experience of homelessness, poverty, or inequity. They use theatre, art and training to empower individuals to make change in their own lives, and in their communities.
Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm
Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (25th – 29th April)
£15 – £3 (2nd – 13th May)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Access: Captioned performance
Wednesday 3rd May
Audio Described performance
Wednesday 10th May
All Saturday matinee performances will be relaxed.
tickets: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Kay is building a soapbox car in her dad’s garage as a Grand Gesture. When the love of your life dumps you for your best (and only) friend, do you sit down and take it? No! You race down a hill in a matchbox with wheels decorated with their love-notes and mushy doodles and invite them to watch! That’ll definitely win both of them back! Won’t it?
Soapbox Racer is the story of a teenage girl building a soapbox car in a wild attempt to win back her ex, accidentally reconnecting with her estranged Dad in the process, and finding her inner daredevil.
WINNER BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION AT BUXTON FRINGE
“AN UTTERLY CHARMING PLAY, A FUNNY SCRIPT, CARRIED OFF WITH GREAT APLOMB BY A WONDERFUL PERFORMER. I’D RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE”
Soapbox Racer was originally produced by Ameena Hamid, Louisa Sanfey, and Ben Schwarz. It was performed in 2019 at the Local Theatre in Sheffield and the Buxton Fringe, starring Grace Cordell, and directed by Louisa Sanfey. The set and costume was designed by Connie Burley, with sound design from Sam Glossop, and was stage managed by Becky Brown and Andrea Scrimshaw.
Come and build a soapbox car with us! Sign up via our website – you will have three days across three weeks to build your soapbox cars (Saturday afternoons 22nd April – 6th May 14:00 – 18:00) with a time trial competition on Saturday 13th May 16:00 – 18:00. Grab your family, your handiest friends, or go it alone and build a car to rival Kay’s!
Alphabetti Theatre & Degna Stone present a WORLD PREMIERE of
TUES 23 RD MAY – SAT 10 TH JUNE
Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (23rd – 27th May)
£15 – £3 (30th May – 10th June)
Age Recommendation: 14+
tickets: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Access: Captioned performance
Wednesday 31st May
Audio Described performance
Wednesday 7th June
All Saturday matinee performances will be relaxed.
FOR ANYONE WHO LIES AND EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN LIED TO. NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE TOOTH FAIRY.
We’ve been lying to ourselves forever. We create mythical beings to shield our children from the dark realities of life – the Easter Bunny, Santa, the Tooth Fairy – but was it ever about the magic of childhood? Or was it always just a form of control?
The people you thought would never lie to you have been lying all along. Everything you thought was true is open to interpretation. Words matter but language shifts and meanings change all the time…How do you even begin a conversation with someone who believes a different theory of truth?
Praise for Degna’s previous work:
“What a joy, at last, to hold Degna Stone’s debut. They are a spellbinding poet: passionate, political and precise. Their poems lay bare the human heart and what it means to love and be loved in a world full of trouble. Unafraid of the ragged seams of life, they hold us, all our sorrows and failings, with the deepest compassion, urging us to be bold, take the risk and make the world better.”
Liz Berry on Proof of Life on Earth, 2022
Join The Liar as she unravels how we fell into the trap of accepting lies as part of everyday life. From the little white lies we tell our children to the great big whoppers we tell ourselves about who we are as a nation.
We’re all complicit, so when are you going to stop lying to yourself?
Degna Stone is a poet and poetry editor based in North East England. They are co-founder and former Managing Editor of Butcher’s Dog poetry magazine and an associate artist with D6: Culture in Transit and The Poetry Exchange.
THE STAGE, 2019 ON PROBABLY
“A SHARPLY WRITTEN MEDITATION ON AGE, RACE, AND FEAR.”
Directed by Paul James
TUES 20 TH JUNE – SAT 8 TH JULY
Time: 7:30pm plus 1:00pm
Saturday matinees
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (20th – 24th Jun)
£15 – £3 (27th Jun – 8th Jul)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Access: All performances include in-built captioning, audio description and BSL All Saturday matinee performances will be relaxed.
Peter and Rose are old uni mates. Actually, more than mates. 21 years later, their lives converge once again, and the area around Rose’s flat is teeming with police. There’s been a serious incident. Surely the poor, vulnerable, inspirational disabled people can’t be involved?
Chop, Dissolve, Burn is a black comedy that relentlessly pokes fun at society’s attitudes towards disability, whilst exposing the terrifying truth about the impacts of inequality on disabled people’s lives. It's also a love story – two former lovers separated by circumstance and a hasty note written on the back of a receipt are brought back together by a pandemic. After a year of shielding, how far will they go to be together again?
Be prepared for macabre humour, the absurd, a soaring soundtrack, a guide dog with a taste for flesh, and a ghostly granny.
Chop, Dissolve, Burn was initially created through a seed pot commission from Newcastle Fringe Festival in 2021, and has been developed for this co-production.
tickets: alphabettitheatre.co.uk
TUES 18 TH – SAT 29 TH JULY
Performance Time: Various, please check www.newcastlefringe.co.uk for more details
Tickets: £3 – £10
Running Time: Various, please check the website
Age Recommendation: Various, please check the website
Access: Various, please check the website
Content Warnings: Varies, please check www.newcastlefringe.co.uk for more details
Newcastle Fringe Festival brings the best of UK touring performing arts to the city. Newcastle Fringe Festival hub is at Alphabetti Theatre, but there are venues across the city, giving audiences time and space to enjoy and be inspired by the incredible programme of work. The accompanying ‘Invigorate’ programme offers a rich menu of workshops, talks and paid opportunities to develop artists in the region.
Newcastle Fringe Festival and Invigorate are produced by Alphabetti Theatre and a team of local freelancers. For more information please visit www.newcastlefringe.co.uk
tickets:
alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Newcastle Fringe Festival Ltd & Alphabetti Theatre presentDirected by Stan Hodgson
Time: 1:00pm plus additional 6:00pm Saturday performances
Tickets:
Pay What You Feel (15th – 19th Aug)
£15 – £3 (22nd Aug – 2nd Sep)
Age Recommendation: 7+
tickets:
alphabettitheatre.co.uk
Access: Captioned performance
Wednesday 23rd August
Audio Described performance
Wednesday 30th August
All performances will be relaxed.
Raven Varmint has a wild heart. Her wild heart allows her to roar, explore, cry, get twigs stuck in her hair…but it also makes her complicated. And forbidden.
From the moment Raven was born, her family were forced to live as Shadows, never to be seen or heard again. She has never known why, but on the eve of her tenth birthday, strange feelings begin to bubble inside her, and she follows her wild heart away from the safety she has always known.
Join Raven on a journey of bravery and discovery as she begins to understand her feelings, learns how to regulate them, and breaks out of the shadows into the beauty and freedom of her wild-hearted self.
A beautiful and mischievous show focused on children’s mental health for children and their adults, filled with live music, puppetry, and a talking gargoyle. Wild hearts encouraged.
Danielle Burn is a writer, theatre maker and facilitator living and working in the North East, predominantly Northumberland. Over the past 10+ years she has built up a portfolio of work with local communities and young people for organisations such as Northern Stage, New Writing North, Live Theatre, Bait (creative people and places) to name a few. In 2017, after working with so many young people who were suffering from low mental health, Danielle's largest writing achievement came from her play Melva (based around children's mental health). After a successful run of sold-out public performances over Christmas 2017 ,the production is now a creative digital tool and platform to support children (and the adults who support them) to understand more about worries and anxieties and learn tools for self-care.
Alphabetti Theatre is a space to experiment, evolve & discover excellence. We have a number of workshops to develop your creative practice, plus opportunities to enter into the professional performing arts ecology. Please check out ‘Opportunities’ on our website for full listings.
Six writing competitions running from January to July 2023 – the winning script will be professionally commissioned, produced, and performed!
Who's it for? Anyone over the age of 16, you could be emerging or established. All plays will be read and judged by the merit of the script.
Is it paid? Yes! Each winning script will receive £500.
How does it work?
Come and watch one of the below plays during the first week of performance (Tuesday – Thursday). When you arrive at the box office, ask for a Writer's Pack. This will contain information about who you're writing for, cast, director, any other conditions of entry, and information about how to submit your script.
You will then have until midnight that Friday to write a complete 15 minute play –responding to any aspect of the production you've seen. What you write is up to you, but you’ll have to follow the instructions in the pack carefully to be considered.
Our Just Write creative team Ben Dickenson, Martin Hylton, Paula Penman will read the submissions and select a winning script. Unfortunately, due to the amount of entries we are anticipating, we are unable to offer notes.
All successful applicants will be notified by the Sunday of that week.
The winning script goes into rehearsal for 1 week.
It will then be professionally performed in a double-bill with the production it is reacting to during the third and final week of the run (Tuesday – Thursday).
There are 6 separate competitions:
1. In response to Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light by Allison Davies
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 3rd Feb 2023
The winning script will be performed on 14th – 16th Feb 2023
2. In response to Person Spec by Forest Sounds
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 3rd Mar 2023
The winning script will be performed on 14th – 16th Mar 2023
3. In response to Faun by Vinnie Heaven
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 31st Mar 2023
The winning script will be performed on 11th – 13th Apr 2023
4. In response to Soapbox Racer by Ben Schwarz
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 28th Apr 2023
The winning script will be performed on 9th – 11th May 2023
5. In response to The Lies by Degna Stone
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 26th May 2023
The winning script will be performed on 6th – 8th Jun 2023
6. In response to Chop, Dissolve, Burn by Richard Boggie & Lisette Auton
Deadline: Midnight on Fri 23rd June 2023
The winning script will be performed on 4th – 6th July 2023
Who's it for? Emerging and early career actors aged 18 and over. We are especially interested to hear from people who identify as LGBTQ+, those who identify from the global majority, and/or identify from working class backgrounds.
Is it paid? Yes! Each actor will receive a fee of £600.
We are recruiting 10 emerging actors to perform in productions of new 15 minute plays, matching them with emerging directors from the North East region. Each play will respond to one of the main productions in our programme (listed below) and will have been selected from submissions to our Response Writing competition. Actors will rehearse the play for a week, working with their director in our rehearsal space. They will receive the script at 9.30am on the first day of rehearsals. Support will be provided by a mentor Ben Dickenson, Martin Hylton, Paula Penman – to help the director and actors get the show ready for a professional off-book performance. The play will be performed immediately after the main production for 3 nights (Tuesday to Thursday) during the last week of its run (dates below). This opportunity is supported by Arts Council England.
To be considered for this opportunity we would like you to join a 2 hour workshop with our Just Write Response mentors and workshopping directors (for dates please visit our website). Please email ben@alphabettitheatre.co.uk to express your interest, stating whether morning or afternoon is better for you on your selected date.
Please tell us why you’re interested in this opportunity, a little about your background, and include a short description of your experience to date. We’re not looking for you to have lots of credits, we just want to know a bit about you.
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Varies
Tuesday 25th Jul 2023 Varies Newcastle Fringe Festival Varies Varies
Wednesday 26th Jul 2023 Varies Newcastle Fringe Festival Varies Varies
Thursday 27th Jul 2023 Varies Newcastle Fringe Festival Varies Varies
Friday 28th Jul 2023 Varies Newcastle Fringe Festival Varies Varies
Saturday 29th Jul 2023 Varies Newcastle Fringe Festival Varies Varies
Tuesday 15th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Wednesday 16th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Thursday 17th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Friday 18th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Saturday 19th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family 18:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Tuesday 22nd Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Wednesday 23rd Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed, Captioned Theatre Family
Thursday 24th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Friday 25th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Saturday 26th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family 18:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Tuesday 29th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Wednesday 30th Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed, Audio Described Theatre Family
Thursday 31st Aug 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Friday 1st Sep 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Saturday 2nd Sep 2023 13:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family 18:00 Raven Relaxed Theatre Family
Like what we do? Put your money where your mouth is! If you can. If you can’t, please keep shouting about us.
Alphabetti Theatre is an award-winning independent 80 seat theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne. We believe great art should be for everyone, regardless of financial situation. We are a space to experiment, evolve and discover excellence for artist, audience and participant. Annually we average 300 performances, supporting 1,250 artists and welcoming 12,000 audience members.
We were built out of necessity by artists and the local community. We need your support to continue to develop the North East's performing arts ecology and to better the lives of the people we come into contact with.
Your monthly donation will keep the doors open and the lights on, allowing us to continue the work we do.
Our regular giving scheme is split into 3 tiers:
ALPHABUDDY: £7 per month
ALPHABESTIE: ALPHABOSS: £50 per month
£25 per month
Regular giving benefits:
Handwritten thank you letter from our Artistic/Executive Director when you first sign up
Quarterly exclusive emails
An invite to our Annual General Meeting
Alphabuddy Alphabestie Alphaboss
Opening Hours: Tuesdays – Saturdays 11am – 11pm 0191 261 9125 bar@alphabettitheatre.co.uk
alphabettitheatre.co.uk
DONATE VIA TEXT
A drinks discount card (15% off drinks 5-7pm*) *
Your name listed on the website
Exclusive seasonal pin badges, themed around our programme
An Alphabetti branded tote bag
Your own sponsored seat with a plaque on it
An Alphabetti branded sweatshirt, featuring Rex the theatre dog.
*Alphabesties and Alphabosses may be eligible for discount outside these times, management discretion applies
To donate £10: Text 10BETTI to 70470 (or 10BETTINOINFO to opt out of marketing)
To donate £20: Text 20BETTI to 70470 (or 20BETTINOINFO to opt out of marketing) DONATE
Registered Charity: 1166449
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