The Crack #386 - March 2022 by The Crack

March 2022 #386

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 1

22/02/2022 11:18

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 2

22/02/2022 15:43

CRACK STAFF

Publisher: Mandy Baxter Editor: Robert Meddes

rob@thecrackmagazine.com

Advertising Sales: Deb Snell Eden Chapman-Maurice Listings Editor: Christie Alexander listings@thecrackmagazine.com

4 8

CHOICE CUTS

Design: Rachel Childs design@thecrackmagazine.com

Office Manager: Loraine Biggins

CONTRIBUTERS Gail Nina Anderson Leonie Bellini Molly Greeves Cait Jobson Jennifer Lax Steve Long Kenzie Millar Barbara Palliser Diana Peterson Faith Richardson Molly Taylor Leanna Thomson Scarlett Welch David Willoughby

THE CRACK Crack House Unit 2, Woods Pottery Stepney Bank Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2NP thecrackmagazine.com 0191 2303038

Wor Bella. See page 44

Chad McCail, from ‘That Was Then And This Is Now’. See pages 33-40.

TONGUE & GROOVE

deb@thecrackmagazine.com eden@thecrackmagazine.com

COVER IMAGE

New artwork from Chad McCail; A Disney house that’ll cost you a packet; a colourful monograph about Camille Walala; and how do you fancy winning a Lomo camera?

Keswick Film Festial; GemArts is back; Elevator Festival at Live Theatre; The Blue Stones; Peggy Seegar; Durham’s bid for City of Culture; and much, much more.

CONTENTS

The Boulet Brothers. See page 58

PULSE

We’re enraptured by the work of Dana Goh.

THE IGNORANT ART SCHOOL

TYNE VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

An interactive exhibition examining art education, which is coming to the Hatton.

There’s a plethora of amazing films coming to a wide variety of venues in the Tyne Valley.

WHAT & WEAR

WHAT’S ON

Tank tops - they’re back! Shopping responsibly! Sustainable fashion!

Grab yourself a fistful of music, stage, queer, art, clubs, books and live stuff.

That Was Then and This is now

HOROSCOPES

A storyboard about Britain’s post-war development from artist Chad McCail.

If you want spoilers for the month ahead, then this is the page for you.

40 Women and Girls, See page 32

Polar States. See page 24 www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 3

22/02/2022 15:43

TONGUE&GROOVE WHAT FRESH IS THIS?

CHAD, CHAD, CHAD, CHAD

How do you fancy spending the next two years making a Disney Dolls’ House? (Or would you rather use that time doing something more useful. Like descaling the kettle.) I’m fascinated by magazine part works. You know, those magazines that week by week build up into a complete warehouse worth of irrelevance. The magazines invariably come with a ‘free’ gift – which can be anything from models of superheroes, to Bob Dylan albums. But the one that caught my attention recently was the ‘Disney Dolls’ House’. Each issue features articles about Disney ﬁlms, but let’s be honest, no kid is going to want this so they can read about who was responsible for the concept art on ‘Lilo & Stitch’. No, they’re going to want Mickey Mouse’s chair, Winnie the Pooh’s mirror, and The Little Mermaid’s bog – along with all the other ‘free’ gifts that go together to make up the Disney Dolls’ House. But a cursory glance at the publisher’s website will tell you just how many weeks this magazine is set to run before you’ll have the full set. It’s 120. 120! At 10 quid a pop, that adds up to £1200. £1200! You could pay a quarterly gas bill with that. Another downside is the time factor. Your little Johnny or Jemima might be all over this when they get their ﬁrst magazine, but by the time they’ve collected them all, a lot of time will have elapsed. By then they’ll probably be less interested in Disney and more into Squid Game. RM

Chad McCail is an internationally renowned artist whose work asks many questions, not least about the world around us and how society is ordered. This month he’s created a new piece of work, in association with The Crack, which you will ﬁnd within these very pages. We interviewed Chad McCail back in 2003. It was in advance of a major showing of his work in the region, both at BALTIC and a number of advertising sites in the centres of Newcastle and Gateshead. That exhibition marked the ﬁrst time we’d had an opportunity to see his work in the north-east, but it certainly wasn’t the last. For, despite being born in Manchester, McCail is no stranger to our part of the world. Since 2003, he’s had several shows in the region, most notably at the Northern Gallery for

Is there anything worse than a paedophile? Probably not, which makes paedophilia the go-to crime for far-right goons and conspiracy theorists. Followers of QAnon – the US movement centred on ludicrous claims – are super hot on the subject, claiming that paedophiles are operating a global sex traﬃcking ring that is conspiring against Donald Trump. (Mind you, they’re the very worst kind of paedophile – the kind that also does a bit of cannibalism on the side.)

Contemporary Art who, in 2020, hosted ‘Toy’. This exhibition presented visitors with an enormous three-dimensional cityscape that managed to fill the entire gallery. Like most cityscapes, it featured schools, factories, offices, hospitals and more. Unlike most cityscapes, its very soul was being fought over by gigantic creatures. This latest piece of work, entitled ‘That Was Then And This Is Now’, is a storyboard about Britain’s post-war development. It looks at how financial interests came to dominate policy at the expense of the most vulnerable. It is a story about how successive governments surrendered their responsibilities to the largest sections of society and encouraged a small minority to make themselves fantastically rich. RM You can see ‘That Was Then And This Is Now’ on pages 33-40. You will also find a QR Code on page 33, which will let you download – for free – large scale images of McCail’s work.

Closer to home, the likes of Jack(boot) the lad, Tommy Robinson, is forever banging on about ‘paedos’, and I’ve also seen anti-vaxx marchers waving round home-made signs that mention paedophiles. And then there’s Boris Johnson, who recently thought it would be top larks to link Kier Starmer to Jimmy Savile. Risible, of course, and I didn’t think for one minute the PM gave a second’s thought to Savile’s victims. To him, and others like him, they’re just pawns. Collateral damage to help them further their cause. RM

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 4

22/02/2022 11:18

The Lomo’ Instant Automat Glass is the ﬁrst instant camera with wide-angle glass lens (which means bolder and sharper instant masterpieces than ever before). Fancy nabbing one for nowt?

WIN

I’ve always maintained that there is nothing as eye-poppingly pleasing as a photograph taken with a Lomo camera. And the latest iteration of their hardware is the best yet. The press release states that it is made of six elements, set in four groups, and multi-coated to reduce reflections, which, to you and me, means that the pocket-sized prints that come out of this camera are bursting with vibrant colours and beautiful, crisp detail. The camera also performs exceptionally well in low-light situations – even without the flash. From shadowy sunsets to brightly lit beaches, your camera will automatically measure the ideal shutter speed, aperture and flash output to expose your shot flawlessly every single time. Fancy that! RM WIN: To be in with a chance of trousering one of these most covetable of items, simply tell us who had a hit in the 1980s with ‘My Camera Never Lies’. Email your answer to eden@thecrackmagazine.com (put ‘Lomo comp’ in the subject matter). Seek: shop.lomography.com

JOY

Camille Walala’s first monograph – entitled ‘Taking Joy Seriously’ and available in several eye-catching cover designs – documents the designer’s ground-breaking projects, right up to her recent revamp of an entire east London street. It might seem a big leap, from selling cushions on a market stall (resplendent with your own patterns), to being commissioned to paint the exterior of a London office block (the ‘Dream Come True Building’), but it’s a leap that Camille Walala took with typical chutzpah. The designer is known for work that is both visceral and immediate. Bold colours, geometric patterns and playful shapes are her stock in trade as she transforms anything that catches her eye with circles, stripes and zig-zags. ‘Taking Joy Seriously’ documents her rise over the last ten years and includes many of her key projects such as the London Design Festival zebra crossing, her three-dimensional Now Gallery show, and her Walala Lounge – a Memphis makeover of a street in London’s Mayfair. The book is a fitting tribute to this most singular of designers, and it will instantly elevate even the drabbest of coffee tables. RM ‘Taking Joy Seriously’ is published by Counter-Print and available now.

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 5

22/02/2022 15:43

C h o i c e cuts We the people who’ve never had it so good. We the people who are expected to respect our elders and betters in the Tory Party. We the people who submit to Tory Party experiment with an expectation that the Nasty Party know what’s good for us. We the people who are pawns in their game and are expected to be happy about it. We the people who never get tax breaks; the people who never get government contracts; the people whose homes are often rented. We the people who never get a pay rise. We the people who have zero-hour contracts. We the people who are blacklisted by employers. We the people whose partners are undercover policemen rather than what we thought they were. We the people who are tracked and monitored. We the people who are beaten up for protesting against the very forces who should be serving to protect. We the people.

for Michael Gove. We the people who never voted for Jacob Rees-Mogg. We the people who never voted for the ghastly gargoyles and ne’er do wells scraped up from heaps of public school and Oxbridge rubbish. We the people who never voted for posh wrong-uns and weirdos to be allowed within fifty miles of the Houses of Parliament. We the people who never voted for Michael Fabricant. We the people. We the people. We the people whose entertainment comes in the form of bread and circuses. We the people who nonetheless understand that the odd trip to a ground, an arena or the countryside doesn’t mean we are obliged to vote for the Nasty Party at the next election. We the people who try our best to educate those who should know better. We the people whose Tory Party report card is often full of endemic and systematic failure. We the people can’t wait for the next election. We the people.

We the people who are pawns in their game… We the people. We the people who are living in a climate emergency. We the people who have been advised to walk rather than drive. We the people who have been advised to drive rather than fly. We the people who don’t fly to the moon. We the people who have never owned the means of production. We the people who aren’t shareholders. We the people who need to rid ourselves of diesel vehicles and should not expect government compensation when we do. We the people who don’t own a rocket. We the people who are responsible for the climate emergency, nonetheless. We the people are liable. We the people who get the blame, when there’s blame to be apportioned and government or big business are too cowardly to accept responsibility. We the people. We the people. We the people who followed the rules. We the people who didn’t go to parties. We the people who never went to Eton or Harrow or Oxbridge. We the people who never voted for Boris Johnson. We the people who never voted

Handyside Arcade! Newcastle’s fondly remembered Handyside Arcade is back, Back, BACK! Kind of... I loved the Handyside Arcade. Packed full of independent traders it used to be THE place to be seen in Newcastle (and was where I used to buy all my The Specials and The Beat badges). And the organisers of the Handyside Arcade Market are hoping to capture something of its spirit with an event that is coming to Newcastle City Library in March. But just because it’s taking place in the library, don’t expect this to be a po-faced affair. It’s all taking place in the light filled atrium, over two floors, and will feature a DJ spinning the best in indie, new wave, mod, ska and punk tunes. And, naturally, there will be plenty of vinyl to buy along with all manner of fashion items and other cool stuff. Save the date! Handyside Arcade Market, Saturday 5 March, Newcastle City Library. thehandysidearcade.co.uk

The Stones The Blue Stones that is, an alt-rock duo from Canada whose current tour will see them making big noises in intimate venues.

The Blues Stones are an outfit worth getting very excited about, particularly if you like your alt-indie-rock to be served with a certain amount of anthemic bluesy goodness. Their second album, ‘Hidden Gems’ came out last year and was greeted with all sorts of acclaim from tastemakers such as BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Jack Saunders. For a band that numbers only two members it is quite miraculous how they manage to create such a monumentally full sound. But they’re not one of those ‘more heat than light’ bands. Indeed, on tracks such as ‘One By One’ and ‘Careless’ they display a melodic know-how that is utterly bewitching. In short: they don’t need to slap on layers of bluster in order to achieve lift off. “It’s been far too long since we’ve seen the stage,” says frontman Tarek Jafar. “We plan on hitting these European shows with every last drop of pent up energy.” Sounds like a plan I can get behind. DP The Blue Stones, Friday 18 March, St. Dominics Catholic Club (next to Tanners pub), Newcastle, 7pm, £11. seetickets.com

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 6

22/02/2022 11:18

The Stones The Blue Stones that is, an alt-rock duo from Canada whose current tour will see them making big noises in intimate venues.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 6

22/02/2022 15:44

Keswick goes The 22nd Keswick Film Festival is taking place from 24-27 March and toting the kind of programme that will leave cinema fans weak at the knees. If I had a hat I’d raise it in the general direction of the programmers of this year’s Keswick Film Festival, because they’ve got screenings from some of the hottest directors around. I’m talking Joanna Hogg, whose semiautobiographical The Souvenir: Part II is every bit as good as The Souvenir. Then there is Julia Ducournau (whose luridly beautiful Titane was the 2021’s Palme d’Or winner), Pedro Almodovar (his Parallel Mothers is his best in ages), and Francois Ozon with Everything Went Fine (if anyone can make a comedy drama about euthanasia and assisted dying, it’s Ozon). The programme also features plenty of films we’ve recently raved about, not least Belle, which was

arthouse

our Film of the Month in February. This quite brilliant animated film from Japan concerns Suzu, a shy high school student who escapes into a massive virtual world. It’s a work that demands to be seen on the big screen. A couple of our Top Ten Films of 2021 are also being screened in the shape of Drive My Car (adapted from a Haruki Murakami short story, this is a perfectly calibrated study of loss and acceptance) and Petite Mamam (Céline Sciamma’s profoundly touching fantasy chronicles a surprising encounter for a little girl following the death of her mother). Other highlights include Hive (which scooped all the biggies at the Sundance Festival) and Playground (Belgium’s outstanding Oscar nomination). Screenings take place at the Alhambra Cinema and Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, as well as the Rheged Centre in Penrith. Full programme from the website, right.

Keswick Film Festival, 24-27 March. keswickfilm.org

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 7

22/02/2022 15:44

C h o i c e cuts Rising

GemArts are back!

The award-winning GemArts are bringing the very best of South Asian culture to the north-east over the coming months with a programme overflowing with goodies.

Of course, GemArts didn’t shut up shop during the pandemic, but it’s in the live arena where they really thrive. This year they’ve already staged Bollywood dance workshops and a Mini Mela, but over the following months there’s plenty more to see and get involved with. The Pagrav Dance Company will be presenting ‘Kattam Katti’, which will transport you to Uttarayan, the world-famous festival where millions of people from different cities, religions and social classes comes together (5 March, Dance City). Next up is the

Holi Festival of Colours, which is a free event hosted in partnership with BALTIC (19 March, BALTIC). Naturally, music fans will also be well catered for and we’d particularly draw you attention to Divergence, a double bill featuring Giuliano Modarelli (guitar) and Kitha Balakirishnan (violin) who will be exploring South Asian music in flux with a bold diversity of ideas (29 April, Sage Gateshead). Also set to play is the award-winning clarinettist Arun Ghosh, returning to Newcastle to perform as part of International Jazz Day (30 April, The Globe), and Roopa Panesar (pictured), who is considered one of Europe’s finest sitarists. She will be accompanied by tabla virtuoso Shahbaz Hussain (21 May, Sage Gateshead). Full details from their website. JL Seek: gemarts.org

Stamp

When Will Jackson finds himself with 300 secondclass stamps, he embarks on a letter-writing odyssey like no other. Brace yourself for ‘Yours Sincerely’, THE breakout show of the Fringe, now coming to Gala Durham.

Live Theatre’s Elevator Festival is bringing us hot new plays by hot new writers. I’m in. This event is always amazing, but this year’s looks extra special. Taking centre stage will be two new plays by north-east writers including Alison Scurfield who has penned Intergalactic (Petals and Constellations). This witty and tender tale is about grief, growing up gay, and the wider universe (16-19 March). Next up will by The Twenty Seven Club (pictured) by Lucy Nicol and Chris Connel. Based on Nicol’s novel of the same name, which tackled mental health issues, it concerns Emma, who is upset after the recent death of Kurt Cobain. Just why do so many rock stars die aged 27? (23-26 March). The festival will also feature the hugely popular Scratch Night (five local writers presenting works in progress – 21 march); Kailey (a play reading of Kerry’s Wright’s semi-autobiographical comedy drama – 19 March); Artists’ Question Time (artists and audiences putting questions to a panel – 15 March); and insightful workshops on directing. Full details from the website, below. GM Elevator Festival, 16-26 March, Live Theatre, Newcastle. www.live.org.uk/elevator

Rising star Will Jackson won himself a whole bunch of glittering notices when he performed ‘Yours Sincerely’ at the Edinburgh Fringe, with everyone from The Skinny (“An escalating comedy that takes you on a wild ride”) to Broadway Baby (“One of the funniest, most moving shows of the entire fringe”) weighing in with the plaudits. The premise is simple enough. Will Jackson accidentally steals 300 second-class stamps. He then sets about writing letters to old friends, ex-boyfriends and John Lewis (specifically their marketing department…). Based on real-life correspondences, this is storytelling (and lipsync cabaret) at its finest. Beg, accidentally steal, or borrow a ticket. (Legal note: don’t steal a ticket. Stealing is bad. Mostly.) RM Yours Sincerely, Friday 8 April, Gala, Durham, 8pm, £12. galadurham.co.uk

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 8

22/02/2022 11:18

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 9

22/02/2022 15:45

C H O I C E CUTS What’s this

SOARING

An inflatable ‘D2025’ inside Durham Cathedral? It looks like Durham are bidding for UK City of Culture status. First thing’s first. It’s not just the city of Durham that is trying to claim this title, but the county. And, if successful, it will be the first time an entire county will have achieved UK City of Culture status. Needless to say, if they’re successful it would be a boon for the north-east with 15 million visitors expected to visit the region, many of whom would stay overnight, helping to bring an additional visitor spend of £700 million and supporting the creation of a further 1,800 jobs in the tourism sector. At the heart of the bid is a year-long programme of arts, culture, sport, science and economics, including spectacular opening and closing events, a 12-month celebration of Durham’s history, an international celebration of the bicentenary of the railways, and a travelling fair that asks big questions about the local economy. Stop press: We’ve just found out that Sting is backing the bid! He reckons that Durham is the historic heart of the north-east! We’re not arguing. DP Find out more about Durham’s bid by visiting: durham2025.co.uk

The Magpies are one of the hottest new folk bands in the UK, and their latest tour sees them touching base with The Cluny in Newcastle. The Magpies’ latest single ‘Undertow’ (released on 8 March – International Women’s Day) explores drug addiction and the exploitation of women. It’s an incredible piece of work and features driving clawhammer banjo, punchy guitar, soaring fiddle and poignant three-part harmonies. And it’s just the latest feather in the cap of this trio who, since they first starting winning critical plaudits for their debut album ‘Tidings’ in 2020, have really made their mark on the healthy UK folk scene. It’s a truly fantastic release and speaks of the band’s spirit of adventure, featuring, as it does, Celtic, Appalachian and Balkan influences, as well as all that is good about English folk. It’s an album that continues to unfurl its charms to me, and I can’t wait to see them singing songs from it - live. JL The Magpies, Tuesday 15 March, Cluny 2, Newcastle, 7.30pm, £12. thecluny.com

PEGGY

Folk royalty Peggy Seegar has embarked upon her ‘First Farewell’ tour, which includes two north-east dates. Peggy Seeger is undoubtedly the undisputed queen of folk and political song, and on her latest tour she’s performing with her son, Calum MacColl, a gifted professional musician in his own right and producer of many of her albums including ‘First Farewell’. That album, which nabbed Mojo magazine’s Folk Album of the Year title in 2021, sees Seegar at her very best, bluntly irreverent and tackling everything from digital communication to feminism to love and the passing of

time. “First Farewell is an odd title for a CD or a tour,” she says, “but it looks both forward and back as I have tried to do in my life. I have toured all over the globe since I was twenty and it is always a delight, a new adventure. I am an activist, an advocate, a leftwinger, an eco-feminist, a singer of traditional and topical songs, trying to speak in my own way for my own time. This may be the last time, but then again, it may not…” DP Peggy Seegar + Calum MacColl: Saturday 5 March, Old Cinema Launderette, Durham, 7pm, £22, oldcinemalaunderette.uk; Thursday 10 March, Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle, 7.30pm, £20, gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 10

22/02/2022 11:18

C H O I C E CUTS What’s this

SOARING

PEGGY

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 10

22/02/2022 15:45

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 11

22/02/2022 15:45

C H O I C E CUTS

WELCOME

Are Hebden’s Bridge’s The Lounge Society the gobful of nitrous oxide you need in your life right now? (Answer: yes.) They’re coming to Sunderland. “Our lyrics are a call-to-arms for people who share our dismay at the dismal future being carved out for people like us. We want each line to be a brick through the window of just the right people. There is anger in the lyrics because we are angry, but we are angry at how fucked the world has become. Our anger is not just speculative. We want to do our part in setting things right, little my little.” That’s The Lounge Society, slapping down a calling card of sort. Naturally, such words would be meaningless if they didn’t have the spikey songs to back them up, but they do – in spades. You can ﬁnd traces of everyone from The Fall to Savages, Idles to Talking Heads in their sound, which melds post-punk and punk-funk to new wave jerky beats. A bracing brew, then, which simply demands to be heard live. DP The Lounge Society, Thursday 31 March, Independent, Sunderland, 7.30pm, £8. independentsunderland.com

vex

Nathan Caton is one of the most exciting stand-up talents working in the UK today, and he’s bringing his latest show ‘Let’s Talk About Vex’ to The Stand in Newcastle.

I caught Nathan Caton’s last show, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’, a couple of years ago, and it was a set in which he instantly put the audience at ease with his warm charm. I loved his storytelling style as he chatted about getting on the property ladder, neighbourhood watch teams, and how if felt to live on his own. Throw in few sharp topical gags (which he did) and I was laughing – quite literally. For ages. This latest show – ‘Let’s Talk About Vex’ – sees him tackling all the biggies

including race, politics and his passion for scented candles. And there’s also a more than even chance he’ll talk about how he fared during lockdown with his girlfriend. Caton has appeared on everything from Live at the Apollo to Mock the Week, but if you’ve not had the chance to see him live, then consider this your own golden opportunity. DP Nathan Caton: Let’s Talk About Vex, Monday 7 March, The Stand, Newcastle, 7pm, £12. thestand.co.uk

Ruby! It looks like Ruby Turner, one of the UK’s greatest ever gospel and R&B singers, is coming to Yarm. Oh, yeah! I ﬁrst caught Ruby Turner when she was fronting up Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, and she blew the whole auditorium away. Oh, man! She was really something special that night. But it’s not just Jools who is forever beating a path to her door. Everyone from Mick Jagger to Bryan Ferry, Steve Winwood to UB40 have worked with Turner and it’s no surprise why. She has the kind of voice that can lift any song – whether she’s belting out a real groover, or bringing bags of soul to a big ballad. She’s had chart success in the past (and scored a number one hit on the US R&B chart with ‘It’s Gonna Be Alright’) but it’s on stage where she really sparkles. She absolutely smashed it the last time she was in Yarm, and the bookies have already stopped taking bets on her doing it all over again. GM Ruby Turner, Thursday 7 April, Princess Alexandra Auditorium, Yarm, 7.30pm, £25. thepaaonline.org

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 12

22/02/2022 11:19

C H O I C E CUTS

WELCOME

vex

Nathan Caton is one of the most exciting stand-up talents working in the UK today, and he’s bringing his latest show ‘Let’s Talk About Vex’ to The Stand in Newcastle.

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 12

22/02/2022 15:46

P U L S E

DANA GOH Interpreting and re-representing the natural ﬂoral beauty that encompasses us in the wilderness, my art goes through a cycle of translation that eventually achieves a new existence. The harmony of graceful shapes and lines come together to capture imaginative plants that ﬂourish in my imaginative sphere. Through my work, I rerepresent that reality of the world that lives in my mind through mainly sculpture and drawing - but at most, it can only be a one-sided interpretation. @daiyart

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 13

22/02/2022 11:19

Five Sit-ins Towards Creative Emancipation

Image courtesy of the Demarco Archive Trust & Demarco Digital Archive, DJCAD, University of Dundee

Jakob Jakobsen and AntiHistory

Image courtesy of the Demarco Archive Trust & Demarco Digital Archive, DJCAD, University of Dundee

2008 students performance workshop

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 14

22/02/2022 15:46

Image courtesy of Jin Panji and Gudskul

egun in Dundee, now bringing stage two to The Hatton Gallery, “The Ignorant Art School” invites you to explore in all its creative and radical possibilities, “the potential of artistic practice as pedagogy to intervene and problematise political and social conditions.” Now pedagogy isn’t a word that’s been much flung about of late, but we could loosely think of it as the theory and method of education, practice and ideas coming together with an aim in mind – which aim is usually predicated on the context of the times but which can suddenly surprise us when any institution or practitioner rethinks the game and reinvents the process. Cue splendid quote from democratic intellectual and reformer John Dewey, which sums it up with quiet dignity: “The purpose of education should not revolve around the acquisition of a pre-determined set of skills, but rather the realization of one’s full potential and the ability to use those skills for the greater good.” (“My Pedagogic Creed”, Dewey, 1897). Of course, defining that greater good is like juggling fish, so let’s cut to more words of wisdom from author/activist Bell Hooks (recently deceased and much to be missed): “The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is – it’s to imagine what is possible.” Well “art” there must implicate art education, and so we’re back to the Cooper Art Gallery at the University of Dundee, which operates an integrated, Inherently transdisciplinary programme

that transforms exhibitions into models of creative and critical enquiry supportive of artistic production and audience engagement. Placing emphasis on knowledge as a collective experience and communal act isn’t a new idea, and last year’s events/interventions/ exhibition programme “Sit-in #2: To Be Potential” set out boldly to occupy and extend the social and political implications of radical pedagogies from the early 20th century to the present, including the Bauhaus, the Basic Course in Newcastle, Anti-university London, Copenhagen Free University, the Environmental Art course at Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh Arts Summer School, Free University New York, GUDSKUL in Jakarta, The Hedgeschoolproject in Ireland, the Hornsey Sit-in of 1968, The White Room in Reading, Womanifesto in Thailand, and The Rooftop Institute in Hong Kong, amongst many others. Did you get the local reference slipped in there? Let’s quote and be proud: “Basic Course emerged in the 1950s and 60s in Britain as a new approach for artistic training in the UK. Challenging traditional and 19th Century pedagogical methods in art educational practice that had continued into the post-war period, Basic Course was a loose dissemination of educational ideas and principles that drew influence from the German Bauhaus of the 1920s and the thinking of the artist and educator William Johnstone (1897–1981) - Principal

of Camberwell School of Art (1938–46) and then of the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1947–60) in London. The key proponents of Basic Course each took up and shaped the movement different ways, and as a teaching philosophy it crystalized in the North of England, where it was notably led by Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton in Newcastle-on-Tyne and Harry Thubron and Tom Hudson in Leeds. Basic Course represented a distinct shift from technique, medium-based teaching, towards one which encouraged experimental and critical attitudes. The focus on subjectivity gave greater weight to students’ input, and in some cases they became seen as collaborators – fellow artists - rather than students.” So where else for the next stage of the project than our own Hatton Gallery? As you’d expect, this will include reference to revolutionary practitioners (and pedagogues) Victor Pasmore and Richard Hamilton, but we’re also promised a series of events, interventions, discussions, workshops and performances that will activate the gallery space throughout an exhibition that positions the radical philosophy of the University’s own Fine Art Department in a larger history of art educational experimentation and social impact. Gail Nina Anderson Hatton Gallery, 19th March – 21st May 2022

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 15

22/02/2022 15:46

reel thing The Tyne Valley Film Festival is one of the best events of its kind in the UK, and it’s returning in March with a 10-day celebration of all that is good about, yep, film.

h, man! Of all the events we’ve been deprived of over the last couple of years, The Tyne Valley Film Festival has been one of those that has hit me most. But – this March – it’s back and they’re making up for lost time with 35 screenings taking place across 17 unique venues in the Tyne Valley. And boy, are they packing some heat with a truly diverse programme that takes in the entire history of cinema, from silent classics right up to new releases. The hub, once again, will be the wonderful Forum Cinema in Hexham, with screenings every day, but the festival also spans the entire Tyne Valley, from Ryton to Haltwhistle, with screenings taking place at unique locations including The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre, Hexham Abbey, Forum Books, The Vault, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, The Old Booking Hall at Haltwhistle Train Station – and more besides. Highlights? I was immediately drawn to the 1925 silent classic The Phantom of the Opera, which is being shown at the beautiful Hexham Abbey. This film is a true classic, with Lon Chaney in his most famous role skulking about in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House. And this screening should be extra special as it’s been accompanied by a live organ score from Jonathon Eyre (19 March). And if you’re a fan of silent classics then make sure you check in with Hexham’s Queen’s Hall Arts Centre as they’re screening a series of short films starring the legendary Buster Keaton – again accompanied by live piano performance (23 March). Another ‘must-see’ is Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy Blache. Narrated by Jodie Foster, this documentary shines a light on the life and career of the first female filmmaker and will be followed by some of her short films that were made between 1912-1916 (20 March – Forum Cinema). Opening the festival will be a special ‘party screening’ of David Byrne’s American Utopia. This concert film will be screened simultaneously in the Forum’s auditorium and Café Bar, with audiences encouraged to come and go between the two as they like, providing a unique and immersive cinematic and musical experience (19 March). There will also be a party in the offing when Saturday Night Fever gets a screening at The Vault, which will be followed – of course – by a disco (26 March). Among the classic films I’m particularly looking forward to are Kind Hearts and Coronets (this pitch black comedy is one of the greatest British films of

all time – 26 March, Forum Cinema) and Will Hay’s best film Oh, Mr Porter!, which will be screened inside the Old Booking Hall at Haltwhistle’s train station (21 March). To celebrate 1900 years since the building of Hadrian’s Wall, on both 20 and 27 March, you will be able to join the Northumberland National Park team at The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre for a screening of archive film The Living Wall, which depicts life on Hadrian’s Wall in the 1970s. This will be followed by a guided walk along the wall itself – such a fantastic opportunity to learn about one of the region’s greatest historical assets. History buffs should also check out Hexham on Film, an unmissable presentation of archive films and clips of and about Hexham and Tynedale. Classic children’s film Bambi is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year and will be screened at the festival at Hexham Community Centre – which will also include a facepainting session beforehand (27 March). The recently founded Newbrough Film Club will also be on hand with a screening of The Great White Silence, which was made in 1924. This much lauded work has been newly restored and features a new musical score by Simon Fisher Turner. It captures Captain’s Scott’s legendary expedition to the South Pole in breath-taking details. There is also an option here for a pre-film meal (18 March, Newbrough Town Hall). And if you’d like to make it a South Pole double bill then the Tarset First Thursday Film Club are screening South from 1919 at Tarset Village Hall (24 March). I’d also pick out Miles Davis: The Birth of Cool (25 March, Forum Cinema), which will be followed by some live jazz from Swing Bridge in the cinema’s Café Bar; Singing in the Rain (a dementia friendly screening – 23 March, Forum Cinema); and the superb The Motorcycle Diaries, which details the formative years of Che Guevara (21 March, Allendale Village Hall). Oh – and throughout the festival you will be able to watch Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal French New Wave classic Breathless from the comfort of your own home via Forum Cinema’s online streaming platform – Forum Cinema at Home (visit athome. forumhexham.com for more information on the cinema’s exciting new online streaming service). Grab the full programme, from the website, below. DP Tyne Valley Film Festival, 18-27 March. tynevalleyfilmfestival.com

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 16

22/02/2022 11:21

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 17

22/02/2022 11:21

What &

wear

Spring

for a Sweater Vest Finding it difficult to know where to shop responsibly?

Sweater vests, sleeveless jumpers, tank tops – whatever you want to call them, they’re here to stay.

Back on the scene as a nod to fashion’s current love of all things 70s, you’d be forgiven for cringing at the flashback to science teachers donning them with some cords and thick framed glasses. However, they’re actually the ideal wardrobe staple when it comes to getting more out of your clothes. They make a great layering piece, for a start. You can wear them over shirts, dresses, high neck jumpers, or even on their own, and they can instantly make an overworn outfit look new again. They’re also a handy piece for transitional dressing – which we know sounds pretentious but hear us out. Basically, they’re the perfect in-between piece whatever the weather. Too cold to just wear a jumper? Layer a sweater vest over it for added warmth. Too hot for a jumper but not quite warm enough for just a top? Sweater vest to the rescue. So banish those thoughts of 70s ‘tashes and corduroy, and embrace fashion’s new favourite in-between staple – the humble sweater vest. FR

Get an Eyeful If there’s one thing we love proving to you, it’s that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to be dull.

Throw away everything you think you know about bland colours and things being made of hemp, and embrace the bright colours and in-your-face prints that Peach Eyes have to offer. Based in Barnard Castle, this north-east brand has created retro-inspired pieces designed to be worn by all ages, while still embracing a slow fashion ethos. You can choose from accessories like tights and scarves or make a statement with pieces like their Lady Jane trench coat, and each item is made in small batches, using fabrics and dyes that are kinder to the planet and sent out in recycled packaging. FR

Luckily, there’s an app for that. Helping to connect you with hundreds of brands from around the world, Renoon only displays items that meet their sustainability framework, so you can shop without having to worry about where your clothes are being made. You can use search parameters like fabric type, vegan, secondhand or carbon-neutral, or search through their categories to help you find brands that are having a positive impact on the planet. It gives you the power to do your bit, without spending hours trying to track down where that dress you love is actually being made. Making the way you shop easier and more sustainable, Renoon lets you enjoy shopping without having to weed out those pesky greenwashing claims. What’s more, it’s totally free, so you can do your bit and find clothes you love without breaking the bank. FR Download the app from your app store, or visit their website www. renoon.com

Shop now at www.peacheyes.com

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 18

22/02/2022 11:21

Some action at NEWCASTLE

Gillian Job: Medical receptionist Check Coat Best thing about Newcastle? Diversity

Kia Job: Server at Wetherspoons Cream fur coat Best type of music? Rap

Harry Job: Student Black dungarees Something you are looking forward to? Graduating

Dave Job: Art and Design Education Grey Coat Where have you been to today? Cider and Sausage Festival

Jess Job: Student Brown Coat Favourite type of food? Sushi

Hannah Job: Student Rainbow Jumper Best part of you day? Lunch

Photography by Eden Chapman-Maurice www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 19

22/02/2022 15:47

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 20

22/02/2022 15:47

LISTINGS

In association with

THE FEMALE GAZE REVISITED BY ALICE HAWKINS

UNTIL 23RD APRIL Established artist-photographer Alice Hawkins presents an extraordinary panoramic portrait of women around the world, taken across the last 20 years. Hawkins works between the worlds of ﬁne art and fashion, and is known for having brought new subjects and situations into fashion photography, and ﬁne art alike. Often, she captures people who embody what fellow photographer Nick Knight calls “the everyday burlesque” – the theatrical, the outrageous or the larger-than-life

Hartlepool Art Gallery, Church Square, Hartlepool, Open Tue-Sat: 10am-5pm, Free.

RECOMMENDED

CLUBS MUSIC LOCAL ART STAGE & EVENTS

50 54 56 58 60

FILM BOOKS ALBUMS & SINGLES QUEER POSTMORTEM

THEATRE/DANCE/OPERA/ KIDS/TALKS & SHOWS

Full listings online: www.thecrackmagazine.com Upload your listings at: thecrackmagazine.com/addevent or email them to: listings/@thecrackmagazine.com

HIGHLIGHTS

THE CHILDREN

OXIDE GHOSTS

SONICA GLASGOW 2022

Tuesday 1st Saturday 19th March Two retired nuclear scientists in an isolated cottage by the sea as the world around them crumbles. Together they are going to live forever on yogurt and yoga, until an old friend arrives with a frightening request. Hailed as one of the top 3 in The Guardian’s recent “Best Theatre shows of the 21st Century”, The Children premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2016 and now receives its Scottish Premiere.

2nd March - 1st April A rare opportunity to see this cult ﬁlm, which will only ever be screened at these live events. Made from hundreds of hours of unseen and behind the scenes footage from his personal archive, Michael Cumming’s ﬁlm shares insights into the process of making the legendary TV series Brass Eye. Michael directed the series and both pilots and witnessed the highs and lows from a very personal perspective.

Thursday 10th March – Sunday 20th March Sonica is an 11-day biennial festival dedicated to world class visual sonic arts, presenting exceptional international artists alongside UK talent in diverse venues throughout Glasgow. Highlights include Kinemancia, a love letter to the tape cassette’s cultural legacy; Liminal, a playful interactive artwork by Louis-Philippe Rondeau investigating transformation, mutation and portals into the unknown; and Creation, a new audio work by musician and composer Alex Smoke performed in Paisley Abbey.

Dundee Rep Theatre, Tay Square, Dundee DD1 1PB, £11-£25. dundeerep.co.uk

22 24 30 32 44

Touring Lancaster, Kendal, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, York, Manchester, Liverpool, Bangor, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Halifax, Wigan, Derby, Oxford, London, Bristol, Southampton, Brighton, Worthing, Cambridge. michaelcumming.co.uk

Various Venues in Glasgow. sonic-a.co.uk

BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL Wednesday 16th March – Sunday 27th March One of the world’s most significant and long-standing queer film events, this year’s festival opens with the UK premiere of Alli Haapasalo’s award-winning coming-ofage drama Girl Picture, about three girls on the cusp of womanhood, which won Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award. The festival closes with the world premiere of Kevin Hegge’s feature documentary TRAMPS!, looking at 1980s London and the unique crossfertilisation of British art, fashion, music and film that culminated in the “The New Romantics”.

BFI Southbank, London and online via BFI Player. whatson.bfi.org.uk/flare

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 21

22/02/2022 11:23

LISTINGS

In association with

THE FEMALE GAZE REVISITED UNTIL 23RD APRIL Established artistphotographer Alice Hawkins presents an extraordinary panoramic portrait of women around the world, taken across the last 20 years. Hawkins works between

RECOMMENDED

CLUBS MUSIC LOCAL ART STAGE & EVENTS

50 54 56 58 60

FILM BOOKS ALBUMS & SINGLES QUEER POSTMORTEM

THEATRE/DANCE/OPERA/ KIDS/TALKS & SHOWS

the worlds of ﬁne art and fashion, and is known for having brought new subjects and situations into fashion photography, and ﬁne art alike. Often, she captures people who embody what fellow photographer Nick

Knight calls “the everyday burlesque” – the theatrical, the outrageous or the largerthan-life

Hartlepool Art Gallery, Church Square, Hartlepool, Open Tue-Sat: 10am-5pm, Free.

Full listings online: www.thecrackmagazine.com Upload your listings at: thecrackmagazine.com/addevent or email them to: listings/@thecrackmagazine.com

HIGHLIGHTS

THE CHILDREN

OXIDE GHOSTS

SONICA GLASGOW 2022

Dundee Rep Theatre, Tay Square, Dundee DD1 1PB, £11-£25. dundeerep.co.uk

22 24 30 32 44

Various Venues in Glasgow. sonic-a.co.uk

BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL Wednesday 16th March – Sunday 27th March One of the world’s most significant and long-standing queer film events, this year’s festival opens with the UK premiere of Alli Haapasalo’s award-winning coming-of-age drama Girl Picture, about three girls on the cusp of womanhood, which won Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award. The festival closes with the world premiere of Kevin Hegge’s feature documentary TRAMPS!, looking at 1980s London and the unique cross-fertilisation of British art, fashion, music and film that culminated in the “The New Romantics”.

BFI Southbank, London and online via BFI Player. whatson.bfi.org.uk/flare

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 21

22/02/2022 15:48

CLUB PREVIEWS The Reunion – which will thrum to classic hits of yore – is returning to Hedworth Hall in South Shields this March.

THE REUNION

Dance music has decades of good stuff to call on and, rest assured, the DJs at the next Reunion will be creaming off only the good stuff when they play their first event of 2022. It’s taking place over two rooms and you’ll need to head to room one if you’re in the mood for nothing but party music from the 1980s and 1990s. Room two,

SUNSHINE

MASTER

A club night celebrating the 2010s called ‘Call Me Maybe’? Carly Rae Jespen is bound to be on the menu. The 2010s is now over, apparently. Remember them? It was the decade that brought us the delights of Netﬂix and Chill, Snapchat ﬁlters (“You look like a Disney cat! Oh my! Does life get any better!”), Instagram and Miley Cyrus swinging around on a wrecking ball in her scanties. And you’re sure to hear a few choice cuts from Miley

One half of Masters At Work – Louie Vega – is heading to Newcastle this March. Woo hoo! Masters At Work – in the shape of “Little” Louie Vega and Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez – came together in 1990 and were swiftly established in the US, and the UK, and the wider world, as THE benchmark when it came all things house and Nuyorican soul. The pair would also go on to becomes kings of the remix, sprinkling their magic over

What is ‘The Deﬁnition of Bounce’? It’s a club night coming to Middlesbrough in March, that’s what.

EVERY OUNCE 22

That’s what it called: The Definition of Bounce. Do you see? And who doesn’t love a bit of bounce? This night promises to go off like an alarm clock in a biscuit tin with a line-up that should have aficionados frothing at the mouth at the prospect. Heading up the whole shebang will be Andy Whitby (pictured). This fella is a really big cheese on the

meanwhile, will be transformed into The White Island itself and rocked to its very foundations by only the best in Ibiza trance anthems. DJs set to play include Wayne Webb – who will be hitting up with a B2B trance set with his partner in crime Clara D (pictured) – along with luminaries Paul Stanton and Shaun Darcy. Expect this one to go oﬀ like a Roman candle. GM The Reunion, Saturday 26 March, Hedworth Hall, South Shields, 7pm-1am, from £10. skiddle.com

at this night along with all the other big hitters of the decade including One Direction, Taylor Swift (if they don’t play ‘Shake It Oﬀ’ I’m going to run amok), Katy Perry, Drake, Justin Beiber, Ariana Grande, Ava Max, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Little Mix, Selena Gomez, Billie Eilish, Avril Lavigne, and, well, you get the picture. Chunky soles at the ready. RM Call Me Maybe, Friday 25 March Riverside, Newcastle, Riverside, Newcastle, 11pm-3am, £5. skiddle.com

cuts from Michael Jackson, Madonna, Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire and many more. Louie Vega, meanwhile, has been nominated seven times for a Grammy (winning once) and shows no signs of slowing down. One of the best house DJs around, his sets draw deep from the wells of salsa, disco, afro-beat, jazz, hip-hop, gospel and soul to take revellers on a journey like no other. Our advice: skip to this Lou. JL Bliss: Louie Vega, Saturday 19 March, The Lofts, Newcastle, 10pm-3am, from £6. skiddle.com scene with over 300,000+ streams per week (he’s also the mover and groover behind Bounce Heaven). The other headliners will be Klubﬁller (FYI: amazing) and John Neal (FYI: amazing). They’ll be backed by an exciting clutch of DJs (including Alan Benn, Lukey G and Fergie) and onthe-money MCs such as Tazo, Ben Rushin and Buzzin MC. Ready, steady, bounce! GM Deﬁnition of Bounce, Friday 11 March, Stereo, Middlesbrough, 8pm-4am, £20. skiddle.com

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 22

22/02/2022 11:23

CLUB one offs Friday• 4

Blanc – The first ever blanc uk tour - Newcastle Line up TBA. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, £10-£15. Franky Wah: All Night Long

– Yorkshire Producer / DJ- House and Techno with a chance of Disco. Cosmic Ballroom, Stowell Street, Newcastle, NE1 4XQ, 0191 232 0860, 10pm, £12.

Saturday• 5

Ape-x presents Dr Banana B2B Lukas Wigflex – World

Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, £10-£13. Bliss w/ Oliver Dollar – The past few years have seen Oliver Dollar’s star rise to be a recognisable staple within house music. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, £5-£12.50.

Curves - History of Drum & Bass – One of the

City’s longest running underground drum and bass nights makes its anticipated return. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 10pm, £5.

Thursday• 10

Dazzlers Break presents Down The Rabbit Hole – Dazzlers

Break take you down the Rabbit Hole. Mystical wonders await in their second installment. World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, From £6.

Friday• 11

Definition of Bounce – Back

in Teesside For Another Night Of Bounce Anthems. STEREO, Zetland Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 1EH, 8pm, From £10.

Dilate 8th Bday w/ K Motionz, Traumatik, Notion, Higgo, IC3 –

Dilate celebrate their 8th Birthday, taking over the full club with a huge line up of bass acts. World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, £16.

Kings Of Disco ,Dave Lee (aka Joey Negro) – Dave Lee aka

needs no introduction if you are a fan of Disco or House music. Hoochie Coochie, 54 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, NE1 6SF, 0191 222 0130, 9.30pm, £25.

Saturday• 12

Bliss w/ Michael Gray,

Moodena – This week Bliss

welcomes Glitterbox regular Michael Gray and Tropical Disco head honcho Moodena. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, £5-£12.50.

Kind & Kinky Zoo + DJ Jelly Jels – In 2005, a new zoo

opened in Lausanne, Switzerland. It’s wild animals have been going bananas in their quest to create a more dance floor friendly world. Now released, the zoo residents can be tracked by their heavy funk smells. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1AP, 07977 201596 / 0191 2323553, 7pm, £7-£11.

World HQ presents Ewan McVicar

– Ewan McVicar makes his World HQ debut this March for a headline outing alongside Ape-X resident Luke Scott. World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, £15..

Friday• 18

DnB Allstars Presents: Turno b2b Hedex – Plus

Aries b2b Kelvin 373 b2b Crossy, Alcemist, Vibe Chemistry, EJ Kitto, Flo. Hosted by Ragga Twins & Skywalker. Digital, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4EP, 0191 2619755, 10pm, £13.50-£22.50.

Fridays At The Lofts: Moxy Muzik w/ Darius Syrossian – Darius

is a pivotal figure in the house scene. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, From £7.50.

Saturday• 19

Ape-X presents Special Request & Chloé Robinson – World

Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, £5-£12. Bliss; Louie Vega – Louie Vega, Grammy winner and 6x nominee, with a career spanning over 20 years comes to Newcastle for a very special night. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, £5-£12.50.

Stereo 45 Presents: Planet 3000 // Fracture & Sheba Q – Stereo 45 returns to

Cobalt after the sell-out Genesis Chapter 160 event. This time, things are being taken into the outer reaches of the Stereoverse. Planet 3000 is a world where hypersonic breaks meet inter-dimensional bass on an unfathomable scale. Cobalt Studios

Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1AP, 07977 201596 / 0191 2323553, 10pm, £6-£14.

Friday• 25

Call Me Maybe – A club night

celebrating the 2010s. Riverside, 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, 11pm, £5.

Full Force - Vladimir Dubyshkin (Hybrid Live Set) – Full Force

present their first party in the venue with an exciting live hybrid set from Vladimir Dubyshkin. World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, From £12.

Motion Sickness: Critical XX - Enei, Kasra & Jakes – Motion

Sickness bring Critical Music’s 20th Anniversary tour to World Headquarters with guests Enei, Kasra & Jakes. World Headquarters, Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6UQ, 0191 2813445, 11pm, £10-£15. WAH Presents: Shy FX – Shy FX crashed the British charts in mid-1994 with “Original Nuttah“, one of the most infectious Ragga-Jungle anthems of all time and quickly became one of Jungle’s most respected producers. Digital, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4EP, 0191 2619755, 10pm, £19-£24.75.

Saturday• 26

Bliss: Idris Elba – A huge night for Bliss, they welcome the TV, film and theatre legend who is also a DJ and house music producer. The Lofts, Newgate Street, Newcastle, NE1 5RE, 10pm, £5-£12.50. Huey Morgan (6 Music / Fun Lovin’ Criminals) DJ Set – Huey

brings his block rocking beats to the Palace, rocking the Grand Hall in his own inimitable party style, Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, NE2 4PZ, 01661 853377, 7pm, £10.

Municipal Presents: Schwefelgelb Live + Charlton – Schwefel-

gelb is a Techno duo from Berlin. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 07977 201596 / 0191 2323553, 10pm, £15. The Reunion – Room one: 80’s and 90’s party music. Room two: Ibiza Trance Anthems. Hedworth Hall, 35 Dean Road, South Shields, NE33 4EA, 0191 456 3112, 7pm, From £10.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 23

22/02/2022 15:48

MUSIC

GOOD GOLLY Oklahoma’s Skating Polly are coming to the UK to shove a metaphorical rocket up our collective (and metaphorical) bums. I’m in! Skating Polly were formed by stepsiblings Kelli Drew Mayo and Peyton Mckenna Bighorse when they were only nine and fourteen years old respectively. As they developed their sound – which has run the gamut from riot grrrl to grunge to indie-pop – they acquired a drummer in the shape of brother Kurtis Mayo. The band are now ﬁve albums in and their latest ‘The Make it All Show’ won them incredible reviews and with little wonder. It’s a release that deals in everything from full-on power-

pop to more reﬂective tracks such as ‘Little Girl Blue and the Battle Envy’, which has shades of Regina Spektor. They’re a band who deftly mine rich seems of both sweet and sour, but they’re also a band who know how to locate those big catchy hooks, which they chuck at you with plenty of vim and no little vigour. They’ve previously toured Europe with the likes of Babes in Toyland, but now they’re stepping out from the shadows and taking on that headliners mantle. It is, I believe, where they belong. DP Skating Polly, Saturday 26 March, The Cluny, Newcastle, 7.30pm, £10. thecluny.com

STORYTELLING Folk star Rowan Rheingans’ extraordinary show ‘Dispatches on the Red Dress’ was a wow at the Edinburgh Fringe, and now she’s bringing it to Sunderland. The Edinburgh critics were unanimous in their praise when it came to dishing out garlands for Rowan Rheingans’ ‘Dispatches on the Red Dress’ show with The Scotsman frothing: “Utterly spellbinding singing and narration… and as the red dress’s true origin unfolds, the revelation will leave you quietly breathless.” Rowan Rheingans has already won two BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards but this show sees her spreading her wings for a performance like no other. Unravelling the joy and

pain from a story of her grandmother’s youth in 1940s Germany, Rheingans celebrates the small acts of resistance and boldly asks a troubling question for our times: can hope for our future be found in the very darkest pockets of our history? The set – featuring live ﬁddle and banjo – sees Rheingan playing songs from her ‘The Lines We Draw Together’ album (Folk Album of the Month in the Guardian), while also weaving stories into her performance in a unique, one-woman show. DP Rowan Rheigans: Dispatches on the Red Dress, Sunday 27 March, The Fire Station, Sunderland, 7.30pm, from £11. sunderlandculture.org.uk/ our-venues/the-ﬁre-station

POLAR STATES!

This Liverpool four-piece look like they’ve just been told they’ve got to support David Grey on a 44 date tour of Belarus. But they haven’t! If there’s an indie-rock-soft-loudpop hole in your life, then there’s a good chance that Polar States will be able to fill it. I’ve certainly enjoyed their clutch of singles, which have displayed a rare melodic flare, and I reckon they could be one of the great new indie hopes of 2022. The band came together around two years ago where they soon got to work writing stuff and refining their sound. It didn’t take long before there was an Instagram buzz around them, which led to a cult following with fans lapping up their songs that documented their immediate surroundings and honest experiences. That buzz eventually saw the band catching the attention of Coldplay producer, John Withnall, as well as BBC Introducing Merseyside’s Dave Monks, who quickly pushed the bands’ first official release onto BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music. If you want to see what’s getting everyone in the north-west excited then all roads lead to the Ku Bar in Stockton. JL Polar States, Friday 25 March, Ku Bar, Stockton, 8pm, £9. seetickets.com

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 24

22/02/2022 11:23

MUSIC

POLAR STATES!

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 24

22/02/2022 15:48

The cat

Thundercat is coming to Newcastle, which, obviously, is good news. Trying to pigeonhole Thundercat is like trying to herd, well, Thundercats. Is he funk? Is he progressive R&B? Is he soul? Is he nu-soul? Is he electronica? Is he acid jazz? Is he crossover psychedelic thrash? He’s all these things, and more. He’s also, undeniably, a bass player and he served up plenty of good stuff on Kendrick Lamar’s monumental 2015 album ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’. And Thundercat’s bass-playing has been more to the fore on his solo stuff, particularly 2020’s

‘It Is What It Is’, his fourth studio album, which saw him trouser a Grammy award. His fleetness of playing is a joy to behold, which, coupled with lyrical concerns that see him getting so wasted that he can’t find his shoes, make for a wholly unique listen. (I also like his shout outs to his cat.) He’s a man who just won’t be penned in, which, needless to say, always makes for a bracing live show. Get ready for literally anything when he plays Newcastle. DP Thundercat, Wednesday 30 March, Northumbria Institute, Newcastle, 7pm, £28.12. ents24.com

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 25

22/02/2022 15:48

Jack’s

hitting

Music Roll out

the Farrell

Music Tuesday• 1

Alkaline Trio & Taking Back Sunday

– O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £33.95adv. Satinder Sartaaj – Renowned Sufi singer and poet performing with his live band. Tyne Theatre and Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 7.30pm, From £30.

Wednesday• 2

Battle of the Bands Heat 2 – Featuring Undivine

Lucy Farrell is one of the UK’s most indemand folk stars and with little wonder: she’s amazing. Find out just how amazing when she plays Gosforth Civic Theatre in March.

The very brilliant and very rootsy Jack Blackman is currently touring the UK and he’s got two north-east dates. Get in! Whispering Bob Harris had no qualms when it came to describing the unique talent that is Jack Blackman labelling him “exceptional”. (And, as usual in these matters, Bob knows.) Over two albums, Blackman has displayed a rare talent, melding blues and folk with country, rock and pop for a collection of songs that not only show off his vocals and virtuoso playing, but also his incredible way with a melody. Music just flows out of this fella, and, indeed when he was still in his teens he was trading licks with luminaries such as Paul Jones and The Blues Band. Other artists to sing his praises have included the likes of Tony Joe White and folk legend Martin Simpson who opined: “At last! A brilliant young guitarist coming through.” Live, Blackman really knows how to hold a room rapt and he’ll be doing just that when he plays two dates in the north-east this March. Our advice: see both! GM Jack Blackman + Steve Pledger: Saturday 19 March, Claypath Deli, Durham, 7pm, £10/£8; Sunday 20 March, The Engine Room, North Shields, 6pm, £8.50. downbytheriver9.com

When I say that Lucy Farrell is in-demand, I’m not joking. Everyone from Eliza Carthy and the Wayward Band, to Gluepot, to Modern Fairies have beaten a path to her door, eager to grab some of that bewitching, poetic and sophisticated song-writing magic. Farrell has been steeped in folk culture and traditions from birth, via her Morris-dancing, folk-club running 7th century family home in Kent, but she also has a strong connection with this region as she studied folk and traditional music at Newcastle University. She picked up a prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Award in 2017 and was heralded not just as a renowned composer and singer, but also as a viola/ fiddle/tenor guitar player. She is excellent live, very warm, very funny and very self-deprecating, and she has that rare ability of being able to hold a room in the palm of her hand. I reckon this show has every chance of being slapped with March’s ‘Gig of the Month’ rosette. DP Lucy Farrell, Sunday 13 March, Gosforth Civic Centre, 8pm, £11. gosforthcivictheatre.co.uk

Telephone Line, Donny Jevs, Arachnarok and Hotel Art. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Casey Lowry – London residing solo indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Northumbria Institute, 2 Ellison Place, Newcastle, NE1 8ST, 7pm, £10. Cheap Teeth – The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £8. Fairport Convention – The band that launched British folk-rock. Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £32.60. Four: Jazz – Cool jazz from the 1930s to the 1960s. Every Wednesday. The Exchange, 1 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1SE, 0191 258 4111, 9pm, Free. Grayscale – Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £14. Nouvelle Vague – Bossa Nova = Nouvelle Vague = New Wave. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £30.25. Tom Odell – Brit and Ivor Novello award winning songwriter. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £32.85.

Thursday• 3

Battalion of Flies – Trillians

Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Ensemble Pro Victoria – The Tudor Music Afterlives Project. Online via Newcastle University, www.ncl.ac.uk/events, 1.15pm, Free.

Fresh: Astrid Williamson + India Arkin – Two compelling

female singer song writers making emotionally vivid alt-folk. Cobalt

Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £7/£10 including dinner.

Gregory Alan Isakov

– Horticulturist-turnedmusician who casts an impressive presence on the indie-rock and folk worlds. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, 7.30pm, From £16.50. Maverick Sabre – Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, NE2 4PZ, 01661 853377, 7pm, £18.50. Peter Bruntnell – One of Jumpin’ Hot Club’s favourite Americana singer-songwriters. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £12adv. Rhoda Dakar – Best known as lead vocalist with all female 2-Tone band, The Bodysnatchers. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £17.50. Status Quo – Britain’s best-loved rockers. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7pm, From £42.65. Texas – O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 6.30pm, £32.85.

The Magic E’s + Docksuns + Philip Jonathan – NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd.

Friday• 4

A Concert of French Song

– Lunchtime Classical Concert with soprano Colette Boushell and pianist Adam Johnson. The Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle, 0191 2320192, 1pm, Free. Altered Images – One of the brightest stars in the 80s new wave sky. The Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1AE, 01642 674115, 7.30pm, £22.50. Blair Dunlop – “One Of The UK’s Finest Songwriters“ tours first new studio release since 2018. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £14. Bon Jovi Forever UK – The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7.30pm, £13. Emma-Jean Thackray – Composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, bandleader and DJ. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £14.30.

Go Now! The Music of the

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 26

22/02/2022 15:49

Moody Blues – The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7.30pm, From £16.50. Macka B & The Roots Ragga Band

– One of Britain’s most influential reggae artists. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £17.50. Mark Chadwick – Levellers frontman. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £15. Nadedja – Nadedja’s dreamy sound emerges from beautiful alt-pop soundscapes, mellow keys, intoxicating electronics and breathtaking vocals. The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 7pm, £8. Niko B – An English musician, rapper, social media personality and YouTuber. Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £12.

RNS: Zehetmair plays Mozart

– The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 7.30pm, £16-£39.50. Sarsaparilla – A pretty & gritty alternative to new wave Rock. Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 7pm, £6. Stone Cold Abyss – NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-onTees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd.

The Rocket Man - A Tribute To Elton John – Darlington

Hippodrome, Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, 01325 405405, 7.30pm, £16.50-£32. The Wanted – One of Britain’s biggest pop bands after forming in 2009. Utilita Arena, Arena Way, Newcastle, 0844 493 6666, 6pm, £30.95£56.25. The West Coast Band – The Hilltop, East Street, Stanley, County Durham, 01207 233217, 9pm, Free. TUSK North – A two-day festival featuring Yao Bobby & Simon Grab, Apartment House, Jim O’Rourke, Supriya Nagarajan, Strangeness Of Dub, Mariam Rezaei, Larry Zazzo and more. The Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE, 0191 2320192, Time tbc, Full 2-day pass £20. Friday 4th £10, Saturday 5th £15.

Saturday• 5

80’s Mania – 1980s

tribute show. Darlington

Hippodrome, Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, 01325 405405, 7.30pm, £16.50-£29. Beans on Toast – With special guest Kitty Liv. Tyne Bank Brewery, 375 Walker Road, Newcastle, NE6 2AB, 7pm, £15. Dana Gavanski – Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £10.

castle University, Queen Victoria Road, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, 0191 222 8463, 3.30pm, £tbc. Roxanne de Bastion – Deep and delicate songs that dance between left-of-themiddle pop and 60’s inspired rock. Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £tbc.

– The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 7.30pm, £33. Gang of Youths – Alt-rock five-piece from Sydney, Australia. Riverside, 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, 7pm, £17.50.

Randall-Davis and pianist Ingrid Sawers with a heart-warming and enjoyable mix of operatic arias, art song, music theatre and folk songs celebrating female experience. The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 2pm, £10-£12.

Faith: The George Michael Legacy

Sunday Classics: A Woman’s Lot – Soprano Penelope

Go Now! The Music of The Moody Blues – Arc, Dovecot

The Foundry Jazz Ensemble

Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £24.50.

International Women’s Day All-Dayer: Women In Music –

Featuring Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons + PussyWillowFurryVenus + Not Now Norman + Hivemind + Holly Rees + Parissa Zarifi + Charlotte Grayson. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £7adv/£9otd. Mark Chadwick – Levellers, frontman. The Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1AE, 01642 674115, 8pm, £15adv. Random Hand – Ferocious, in your face ska-punk-metal mashup. Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £15.

Peggy Seeger and Callum MacColl

– The undisputed queen of folk and political song. Old Cinema Launderette, 38 Marshall Terrace, Gilesgate Moor, Durham, DH1 2HX, 0191 384 1412, 8pm, £24.20.

The Rocket Man - A Tribute to Elton John – O2 City Hall,

Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 6.30pm, £27.70.

Sunday• 6

Enola Gay – Belfast-based Irish post-punk/noise rock 4-piece. Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 7.30pm, £8. Gojira – A progressive metal band formed in 1996 in Bayonne, France. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £37.90adv. Newcastle Bach Choir Concert

– King’s Hall, Armstrong Building, New-

– Join the Foundry Jazz Ensemble as they play and sing cool Jazz, Blues, Ballads and Bossas. Every Sunday. The Exchange, 1 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1SE, 0191 258 4111, 3pm, Free. Villagers – A brooding collection of fragile, emotional, dark and heartfelt songs blending acoustic, modern folk and alt-rock elements. Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, NE2 4PZ, 01661 853377, 7pm, £22.50.

Monday• 7

Enola Gay – Belfast based Irish noise rock/ post-punk 4-piece. Independent, 27/28 Holmeside, Sunderland, SR1 3JE, 0191 5689770, 7.30pm, £8. Frank Carducci – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Stephen Fretwell – The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £17.50.

Tuesday• 8

Cleopatrick – Canadian Indie-Rock duo Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 0191 239 3900, 6.30pm, £13. James Arthur – Singer/ songwriter James was the winner of X Factor 2012. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7pm, From £33.65. Jazz: Acoustic Infusion + Rich Emmerson – The Forum

Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7pm, £7.

Sunderland Pianoforte Society Recital: Cristian

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 27

22/02/2022 15:49

Music Sandrin – Playing Bach,

Beethoven, Chopin, Granados, Mompou and Ravel. Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens, Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, SR1 1PP, 0191 5532323, 7.15pm, £12.50/£6/under 16s Free. The Cribs – Back with their unique blend of bittersweet melody, brutal lyrical honesty and riffs for days. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £25.85.

Wednesday• 9

An Evening With Halestorm – Hard rock juggernaut. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £32.25. Battle of the Bands Heat 3 – Featuring Gone Tomorrow, The Undaclass, The Secrets That Kill Us, Edge of Obsidian. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Gun – One of Britain’s best loved rock bands. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7pm, £18. Millennium / Snatch Back – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Tangerine Dream – Forefathers of the German synth rock sound. Riverside, 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, 7pm, £29.15.

Thursday• 10

Animals and Friends – One

of the most iconic Pop, Rhythm and Blues bands of the 1960’s. The Forum Theatre, Queensway, Billingham, Stockton-onTees, TS23 2LJ, 01642 552 663, 7.30pm, £27.50. Buzzcocks – English punk rock band. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £20.

Byker Grave presents King Witch

– Little Buildings, 3-5 Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2PW, 7pm, £10.

Eddie & the Wolves/Alexa de Strange – Trillians Rock

Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc.

Fresh: Spindle Ensemble + David De La Haye – Cobalt Studios

Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £7/£10 including dinner. Lola Young – Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm,

£12.

Peggy Seeger and Calum MacColl

– The undisputed queen of folk and political song. Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, NE3 3HD, 0191 284 3700, 7.30pm, £20.

The O’Blimeys in A Not Quite St. Patrick’s Night Night – NE

Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-onTees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, Free. This Is The Kit – Listen as Kate rips forward with her hypnotic twang pattern and a voice of rare, unaffected beauty. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 8pm, From £16.50.

Friday• 11

Battle of the Bands – Trillians

Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Billy Mitchell & Bob Fox – Two of the UK’s best known and loved singers - Billy Mitchell (Lindisfarne, Jack the Lad, Pitmen Poets) and Bob Fox (Warhorse Songman, Fox and Luckley, Pitmen Poets). The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £17.40.

Darlington RnB Club: The Blue Bishops – Hard hitting

original Rock, Blues and Rhythm and Blues band. The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7.30pm, £13. David Ford – Award-winning songwriter, David Ford has a brand new show with some old-school values. Old Cinema Launderette, 38 Marshall Terrace, Gilesgate Moor, Durham, DH1 2HX, 0191 384 1412, 8.15pm, £22. Dub Pistols – Simply one of the best live bands in the UK. Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £16.50. K.O.G. + Grey Tapes – K.O.G is an afro-futurist tour de force & riotous performer. Support from local beat-maker and producer collective Grey Tapes. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 8pm, £10-£14.

RNS and RNS Moves: Sounds of the Sea – Mendelssohn, Vivaldi

and Handel. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 7.30pm, £16-£39.50. The Force – Brilliant band, A must see. Cullercoats Crescent Club, Victoria Crescent, Cullercoats, NE30 4QS, 0191 280 2625, Time tbc, £6.

The West Coast Band – The

Lambton Arms Hotel, Front Street, Chester Le Street, DH3 3BJ, 0191 388 3265, 9pm, Free.

Uncle Dudeman + Electric Circus + Last Case Scenario – NE

Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-onTees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd.

Saturday• 12

90’s Live – The music of

a generation brought to life. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £23.75adv.

An Evening with Kissed and Bridie Jackson for International Women’s Day – The

Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 7.30pm, £8-£9.

BBC Radio 3 New Music Show – A late-night gig of

cutting-edge avant-garde music and sound art by leading artists from the North East. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 8pm, Free. Calling Planet Earth – A journey through the Electrifying 80’s. Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 7.30pm, £27. Cut Capers – Mixing a heavy 4-piece brasssection with funk, dance and hip-hop. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12. David Ford – Old Cinema Launderette, 38 Marshall Terrace, Gilesgate Moor, Durham, DH1 2HX, 0191 384 1412, 8.15pm, £22. Elkie Brooks – Performing some of her classic hits, blues and jazz. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7.30pm, From £13. Glenn Tilbrook – One of our most cherished singers, guitarists and songwriters. Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £20. Gong – Psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes. The Georgian Theatre, Stockton, TS18 1AE, 01642 674115, 8pm, £17adv. Komparrison – Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 8pm, £8.

Newcastle Chamber Music Society: Marmen Quartet – This young

London-based quartet will be playing Haydn and Brahms. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 7.30pm, £7-£22.

NOPRISM – Taking in the sounds of Talking Heads with the 70s New York disco scene via Justice and Ed Banger records, Carpenter Brut and Todd Terje. Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £tbc. SAHB experience – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Sons of The City + Ninebanks + Endless Season – NE Volume

Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, Free. The Leylines – A west-country based group with a genre-defying, violin & guitar driven sound. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £10.

The London African Gospel Choir present ‘Marley’ - The Bob Marley Songbook – Wylam Brewery,

Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, NE2 4PZ, 01661 853377, 7pm, £20-£25. The Rising – Scotland’s only Springsteen tribute band. KU Bar, Prince Regent Street, Stockton, TS18 1DB, 01642 860068, 7pm, £10.

The Voices Of Virtue Gospel Choir

– One of the Northeast’s leading Gospel Choirs. The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7pm, £12. Tommy Emmanuel – Guitar playing doesn’t get any better than Tommy Emmanuel. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £30-£40.90. Wiegedood – Black metal three-piece from Belgium. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12.

Sunday• 13

Carpenters Gold – The

Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES, 0191 4541234, 7.30pm, From £22.50. Lucy Farrell – Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, NE3 3HD, 0191 284 3700, 8pm, £11. Mark Williams Trio – The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £10adv/£12otd/ livestream from £7.50. Orlando Weeks – Former Maccabees frontman. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7.30pm, From £16.50.

Ricky Warwick & The Fighting Hearts – A four piece rock

band based in LA. Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 0191 239 3900, 7pm, £19.80. Tank – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. The Animals and Friends – One of the most iconic Pop, Rhythm and Blues bands of the 1960’s. Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £32.05. The Skinner Brothers – Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Centre For Life, Newcastle, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £10. Wandering Oak: Yin Yin (NL) – A unique concoction of disco, funk, psych and traditional Southeast Asian music. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £8.

Monday• 14

Jake Bugg – One of the

most prolific singersongwriters of his time. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £30.

Tuesday• 15

Charlie Simpson – Fightstar frontman and Busted band member. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £20. CHVRCHES – Chart-topping electro-indie trio. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 6.30pm, £34.50. DITZ – Forward-thinking noise rock/post-punk. Independent, 27/28 Holmeside, Sunderland, SR1 3JE, 0191 5689770, 7.30pm, £9. Master Musicians: Mark Viner (Piano) – One of the most

exciting British concert pianists of his generation. Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 2pm, £7. Simon McBride Trio – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Stormzy – A rapper and global icon. Utilita Arena, Arena Way, Newcastle, NE4 7NA, 0844 493 6666, 6pm, £39.40-£47.75. The Brothers Gillespie – Northumbrian duo singing songs of great lyrical power. Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 7pm, £12. The Magpies – A unique blend

of transatlantic folk. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12.

Wednesday• 16

Battle of the Bands Heat 4 – Featuring Stone Cold

Abyss, No Time for Reason, Monkey Brain, The Gentleman Busker. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stocktonon-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Big Country – Scotland’s anthemic rock pioneers. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £27.50.

Thursday• 17

Clean Cut Kid – Livepool Indie/Alternative four-piece. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £15. Fresh: Levitation Orchestra + Riviera Effect – Cobalt

Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £7/£10 including dinner. Gong – Psychedelia, space rock, jazz, avant-garde, krautrock and surreal soundscapes. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7pm, £18. Langkammer + Eades – NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-onTees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Scuffy Bear – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, Free.

The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars Present ‘The Ronnie Scott Story – A unique evening

celebrating one of the world’s most famous jazz venues, its music, and history. Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 7.30pm, £25.

The Sound of Science: Soapbox Science + Rebecca Nash Quintet – A series of concerts and discussions drawing connections between science and music. Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, NE3 3HD, 0191 284 3700, 6.30pm, £tbc.

Friday• 18

An Evening with Randy Newman – American singer-

songwriter, arranger, composer and pianist known for his distinctive voice, mordant pop songs and film scores. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 7.30pm, £27.30-£54.50.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 28

22/02/2022 15:49

Bandit – Head of Steam, 2

Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 7.30pm, £8. Barenaked Ladies – Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 0191 239 3900, 7pm, £30. Battle of the Bands – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Big Country – Scotland’s anthemic rock pioneers. The Middlesbrough Empire, Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2RT, 01642 253553, 7pm, £25. Binker Golding Quartet – Binker Golding truly is the saxophonist of the moment. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £13.40.

Circuit ft. Caro, Deep.Sleep and Post Rome – Live sets from

Leeds alt-rock trio Caro, Sunderland’s atmospheric pop-rock outfit Post Rome + Newcastle based indie-pop fast risers Deep.Sleep. Independent, 27/28 Holmeside, Sunderland, SR1 3JE, 7.30pm, £7. Discography – One of the hottest and most musically capable live 11-piece bands based in the North East. Hoochie Coochie, 54 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, NE1 6SF, 0191 222 0130, 9pm, £10. Glenn Tilbrook – Best known as a the lead singer of new wave band Squeeze,. Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £23.25.

James Leonard Hewitson

– Hartlepool’s finest returns to launch a new single. Base Camp, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough, Teesside, TS1 1DB, 07415 685007, 7pm, £6. Kit Sebastian – Londonbased duo captivating their audiences with moments of pure pop bliss. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12. Nearly Elton – Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 7.30pm, £29.50. Nephilim + Fyresky + Aonia – NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-onTees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, Free. Northern Tape 2022 – Featuring Blamire, Vigilance State, and Holy Braille. The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 7.30pm,

£6adv/£8otd.

Ponyland + Honeyflux + Feed the Elk – Cobalt Studios

Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 8pm, £10. Rebecca Downes Band – An award winning, original Blues Rock artist. The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7.30pm, £12. Stars in Their Eyes – Featuring Ten Eighty Trees as The Foo Fighters, Ruled By Raptors as Jimmy Eat World, Valley 59 as Blink 182. Little Buildings, 3-5 Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2PW, 7pm, £5. Stiff Little Fingers – Legendary Northern Irish rockers. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 7pm, £26.10. The Blue Stones – Alt-indierock to be served with a certain amount of anthemic bluesy goodness. St Dominics Catholic Club, Crawhall Road, (opposite The Tanners), Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2BX, 7pm, £11.

The House And Garage Orchestra

– The ultimate live celebration of UK House & Garage. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7pm, From £23.65.

The Sound of Science: Lauren Kinsella Trio + Graeme Wilson & Faye MacCalman Gosforth

Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, 0191 284 3700, 6.30pm, £tbc.

The West Coast Band

– Cleveland Bay, 718 Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton On Tees, TS16 0JE, 01642 780275, 9pm, Free. The Wilson Family – The glorious, powerful, vocal harmony of The Wilson Family has rung out in folk clubs for over 40 years. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7.30pm, From £11.

Toodles & The Hectic Pity + Live, Do Nothing – A beloved

folk-punk-emo three-piece from Bristol and an esoteric indie-pop collective based out of Cardiff. The Green Room, Green Dragon Studios, Theatre Yard, (off High Street), Stockton on Tees, TS18 1JZ, 01642 606525, 7.30pm, £5.

Wattyboys: St Patrick’s Day Shenanigans – The Witham,

3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £8-£12.

Saturday• 19

China Crisis – Liverpool

music royalty celebrate their 40th anniversary.

The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7.30pm, From £22. Cydonia Knights – Muse tribute. The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7.30pm, £10. Finn Forster – A new and exciting mix of Indie Pop, Rock with a huge folk influence. The Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1AE, 7pm, £9adv. Hector Gannet – Aka North Shields singer/songwriter Aaron Duff. Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 8pm, £12. Jack Blackman – One of the country’s finest exports of acoustic roots. Claypath Delicatessen, Claypath, Durham, DH1 1QS, 01913407209, 7pm, £8.50. John Otway – An English singer-songwriter with a sizeable cult audience. The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £15adv/£18otd. M60 – Indie rock from Manchester. Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £8/£6. Midlight – Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 7.30pm, £8.

NEWISM (North East Women In Soul Music) – A night of the

region’s best current and upcoming female soul artists. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £5.

North of England Brass Band Championships 2022 (Saturday) –

Gala Theatre, Millennium Place, Durham, DH1 1WA, 03000 266 600, 10am, £8adv/£9otd/ weekend ticket £15. Northern Tape 2022 – Featuring Badger, Squarms and Gonzo Dog. The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 8pm, £6adv/£8otd. Passion Music - Will Todd – Durham-born composer and friend of the choir Will Todd will be directing the performance from the piano. Also featured are members of Newcastle’s esteemed Strictly Smokin’ Big Band and their wonderful jazz vocalist Alice Grace. All Saints Church, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, NE1 2ES, 7.30pm, £15.. Roxy Magic – Middlesbrough Theatre, The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, TS5 6SA, 01642

815181, 7.30pm, £18.50.

Saltburn Blues Club: Teresa Watson Band – Teresa Wat-

son Tyneside’s Queen Of The Blues. New Marske Institute, 29 Gurney St, New Marske, Redcar, TS11 8EG, 7.30pm, £10.

The Collectors + Sonderminds

– NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stocktonon-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. The Guns N Roses Experience – KU Bar, Prince Regent Street, Stockton, TS18 1DB, 8pm, £9. The Illicits – Essential guitar band whose music has been described as “terrace punk“. Independent, 27/28 Holmeside, Sunderland, SR1 3JE, 7.30pm, £8.

The Sound of Science: Han-EarlPark + Johnny Hunter - Pale Blue Dot A series of concerts

and discussions drawing connections between science and music. Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, 0191 284 3700, 6.30pm, £tbc. The West Coast Band – Bebside Inn, Front Street, Bebside, Bedlington, NE24 4HT, 01670 828883, 9pm, Free. Wille & The Bandits – A classic blues rock three piece. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 7.30pm, £15.

Sunday• 20

Bodega – Brooklyn art-rock five piece. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £14.

Heather Small: The Voice of M People – The Princess

Alexandra Auditorium, Yarm School, The Friarage, Yarm, Durham, TS15 9EJ, 01642 792587, 7.30pm, £30.50.

Howlin’ Ric and The Rocketeers

– Vibrant and authentic rock and roll. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7pm, £10. Jack Blackman – One of the country’s finest exports of acoustic roots. The Engine Room, Tanners Bank, North Shields, Tyneside, NE301JH, 07470695351, 6pm, £8.50. Killed a Fox – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. Midge Ure – Celebrating 40 years since the release of Ultravox’s Rage In Eden and Quartet albums. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 7pm, £29.45.

North of England Brass Band Championships 2022 (Sunday) –

Gala Theatre, Millennium

Place, Durham, DH1 1WA, 03000 266 600, 10.30am, £8adv/£9otd/ weekend ticket £15.

The Sound of Science: David de la Haye + Mark Haanstra / Oene Van Geel Gosforth Civic

Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, 0191 284 3700, 6.30pm, £tbc. Tony Hadley – Performing tracks from across his career both as the voice of Spandau Ballet, and as a solo artist. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7pm, From £31.65.

Monday• 21

Kris Barras Band – The UK’s most exciting Blues-Rock Guitarist. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £19.80. S.T. Manville & Elkyn – S.T. Manville is a singersongwriter from the Midlands UK. The Engine Room, Tanners Bank, North Shields, NE301JH, 07470695351, 7.45pm, £8. Slowthai – One of Britain’s most revered and loved alternative rappers. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 7pm, £28.90. Tom McGuire & the Brassholes – A funk soul powerhouse from Glasgow. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12.

Tuesday• 22

A Flock Of Seagulls – British

Grammy Award winning band known for their 80’s song ‘I Ran (So Far Away)’. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 8pm, £22. Mithras Trio – One of the next generation’s most exciting piano trios. Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 7.30pm, £17.50/£8 student. Rosalie Cunningham – A mélange of classic psych rock, prog and folk dappled with cabaret-like chutzpah. Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, 7.30pm, £10. Will Joseph Cook – Captivating singer-songwriter. Think Tank?, Digital, Times Square, Newcastle-, NE1 4EP, 0191 261 9755, 7pm, £10.

Wednesday• 23

Battle of the Bands Heat 5 – Featuring

Floral Detectives, Electric Circus, Bottlerocket and Poison Moon. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees,

TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. BC Camplight – One of indie music’s most forwardthinking artists. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £15. Bill Laurance Trio – Awardwinning pianist and composer who came to prominence with Snarky Puppy. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7.30pm, From £13.20. James Arthur – Singersongwriter performing songs from his latest album. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, From £43.45adv. Just a Ride – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc.

Tudor Church Music - Short Evening Concert – A concert

exploring works by Herbert Howells and his connection to R.R. Terry and the Tudor Church Music series of the 1920s. Online via Newcastle University, 6pm, Free.

Thursday• 24

Callaghan – Callaghan

performs on piano and guitar and offers a stunning voice which earns frequent comparisons with artists like Sarah McLachlan, Eva Cassidy and Carly Simon. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £17.60. Fresh: Balimaya Project – “A 16-piece supergroup of driving polyrhythms, blazing horns and virtuosic kora”. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £10-£15. Iceage – A punk rock band from Copenhagen. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £15. M Huncho – Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 0191 239 3900, 7pm, £20. Romeo’s Daughter – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor: Kitchen Disco Tour 2021 – O2 City Hall,

Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £31.70. Stereophonics – A band woven into the fabric of popular music. Utilita Arena, Arena Way, Newcastle, NE4 7NA, 0844 493 6666, 6.30pm, www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 29

22/02/2022 15:49

MUSIC

EVE

South Shields’ Eve Simpson is a rare talent and she’s just released her first material in years in the shape of a new single. It’s a belter. Eve Simpson first hovered onto our radar back in 2016 with a clutch of folky tracks that were elevated by interesting bits of instrumentation and her gorgeous vocals. She’s been quiet for around three years – certainly as regards to releasing new stuff – but her new single ‘I Can See A Face’ is her best yet. She speaks of a “new, matured sound” and this track, certainly, has been sophistically, and subtly, arranged, but Simpson has also retained that spark, that fragility/strength dynamic, that made her so special in the first place. Her press release says of the track: “One winter’s eve, childhood configurations of nightmare and temptation begin to dance up Salisbury Crags as isolation evokes feelings of nostalgia and escapism.” Now, if that makes you think of ethereal folk that has more than a lick of mysticism about it, in the manner of Joni Mitchell et al, then you’d be right on the money. DP Seek: facebook.com/evesimpsonmusic

First thing’s ﬁrst: Teesside’s Megson are not some wet-behind-the-ears newcomers. Indeed, the band have been nominated for numerous BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and have been feted by everyone from The Sunday Times (where they picked up a ‘Folk Album of the Week’ nod) to Mojo (who frothed: “Stu and Debbie Hanna are in the upper echelons of Brit folk songwriters.”) Their latest album, ‘Unknown Waters’, sees the pair 30

WANDERING OAK: MOLLY LINEN & CLEMENTINE MARCH – The

Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 7.30pm, £8.

FRIDAY• 25

ALY BAIN & PHIL CUNNINGHAM – Award-winning folk duo. Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £20. BECCY OWEN AND THE REFUGE – An all-female collective led by ex-Joy Atlas frontwoman and acclaimed singer/songwriter Beccy Owen. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £10adv/£12otd/ livestream from £7.50. BELINDA O’HOOLEY – An exceptionally gifted pianist, singer, songwriter and composer. The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 8pm, £17/£14. DOWN FOR THE COUNT SWING ORCHESTRA – A mini big band

MEGSON The wife and husband duo of Debs and Stu Hanna have just released their new album – Unknown Waters – and it’s taken up residency on my turntable.

£38.25-£66.40. THE CORAL – 20th Anniversary UK Tour. Riverside, 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, Time tbc, £tbc. THE ELO TRIBUTE SHOW – Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £27.65.

who bring the sounds of the Swing Era back to life. Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £28.50.

FOLKWORKS: RACHAEL MCSHANE AND THE CARTOGRAPHERS – Rachael

tackling nine songs that have been written by some of their favourite songwriters, including Chris Rea (‘Road to Hell (Part 2)’), Martin Stephenson (‘Rain’), Vin Garbutt (‘Not For The First Time’) and Alun Hull (‘Marshall Riley’s Army’). Everything has been arranged for guitars, mandolin, banjo, ﬁddle and accordion and all tracks have been dusted with that Megson magic. What else? A bonus song on the CD called ‘Through The Winter’ – written by Megson themselves – which speaks of struggling through the worst that winter can throw at you and then coming out the other side? You got it! DP Seek: megsonmusic.co.uk

is a singer, cellist, fiddle,viola player and original member of folk big band Bellowhead. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £15.30. HEIDI TALBOT – Heidi slips effortlessly between musical worlds but retains a personal modesty rooted in traditional folk. The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 8pm, £15adv/£17otd. JAMES LEONARD HEWITSON – Hartlepool’s finest singersongwriter. Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 8pm, £8. JAMES MORRISON – A soulful singer-songwriter wh broke onto the scene in 2006. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 7pm, From £26.65. PAINTING LINES FESTIVAL – Two day festival featuring

Logoz, Even in a Day, Midnight Chic, Mother Fireﬂy, Nomad Anthem, James Hattersley, One Million Motors and more. Little Buildings, 3-5 Stepney Bank, Newcastle, NE1 2PW, 7pm, £7.50 day ticket.. POLAR STATES – A dark pop rock band based in Liverpool. KU Bar, Prince Regent Street, Stockton, TS18 1DB, 01642 860068, 9pm, £9. RNS: ERIC LU PLAYS BEETHOVEN – Royal Northern Sinfonia and pianist Eric Lu plays Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 7.30pm, £16-£39.50. S!NK + GROUP LISTENING – Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 8pm, £9-£13. STEVE IGNORANT – Co-founder of the anarcho-punk band Crass. Newcastle University Students Union, Kings Road, Newcastle, NE2 4NL, 0191 239 3900, 7pm, £17.60. SUGAR ROULETTE – A band looking to coin the genre ‘Funk Punk’ with their funky basslines and punky guitars. Base Camp, Exchange House, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough, Teesside, TS1 1DB, 07415 685007, 7pm, £8. SUPERSUCKERS – The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £22. TENACIOUS G – Trillians Rock Bar, Princess Square, Newcastle, NE1 8ER, 0191 2321619, Time tbc, £tbc. THE CHATS – “dropkick drongos from the Sunshine Coast of Australia“. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £19.80. THE CHICAGO BLUES BROTHERS – Bringing you the greatest movie anthems of all time, performed live in concert. The Princess Alexandra Auditorium, Yarm School, The Friarage, Yarm, Durham, TS15 9EJ, 01642 792587, 7.30pm, £24/£22. THE HOOTEN HALLERS – A high-energy blues-rock band. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £12. THE LINDISFARNE STORY – Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their classic album ‘Fog on the Tyne’. The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES, 0191 4541234, 7.30pm, From £22.

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 30

22/02/2022 15:50

Saturday• 26

10CCLO – The Greatest Hits

of 10CC and ELO. The Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES, 0191 4541234, 7.30pm, From £23.50. 90’s Live – 90’s tribute show. Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 7.30pm, £28.50. Andy Fairweather Low – Vocalist and leader of the pop group Amen Corner. Arc, Dovecot Street, Stockton, TS18 1LL, 8pm, £23.50. Flats & Sharps – A four-piece bluegrass outfit from Penzance, Cornwall. The Globe, 11 Railway Street, Newcastle, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £14adv/£16otd. Gretchen Peters – One of Nashville’s most beloved and respected artists. The Sage Gateshead, Gateshead Quays, NE8 2YR, 0191 443 4661, 8pm, £25.30-£28.60. House Classics – The best 90s house tracks are reimagined by the National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra with original, authentic vocalists live onstage. Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 8pm, From £34.75. Negul Neshai – A five-piece alternative band from Newcastle. Bobik’s, The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £tbc. Odyssey – One of the most successful soul/disco acts of their era. Hoochie Coochie, 54 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle, NE1 6SF, 0191 222 0130, 10pm, £40.

Patrick Jordan Album Launch

– NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stocktonon-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Skating Polly – American rock band noted for its members alternating instruments. The Cluny, 36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £10.

The Bowie Experience + Meiosis

– Newcastle University, King’s Road, Newcastle, NE1 7RU, 7pm, £20. The Fureys – Legends of Irish music & song. Middlesbrough Theatre, The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, TS5 6SA, 01642 815181, 7.30pm, £24.50. The Lindisfarne Story – Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 7.30pm, £22.50. The Stones – The Forum Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 01325 363 135, 7.30pm, £13.

The Ultimate Stone Roses – KU

Bar, Prince Regent Street, Stockton, TS18 1DB, 01642 860068, 9.30pm, £10.45adv. The West Coast Band – The Old Fox, Carlisle Street, Felling, Gateshead, NE10 0HQ, 0191 423 0357, 9pm, Free.

Sunday• 27

Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra – A classical programme of works by Bruch and Borodin. Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 3pm, £12. Rosalie Cunningham – The Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1AE, 01642 674115, 7.30pm, £12adv.

Sambroso All Stars present The Buena Vista – Leading Cuban

musicians and heirs to Buena Vista Social Club. Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, NE2 4PZ, 7pm, £17.50.

The Fureys - The Legends of Irish Music & Song – Whitley

Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £19.55. The Lindisfarne Story – Celebrating the 50th anniversary of their classic album ‘Fog on the Tyne’. Darlington Hippodrome, Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, 01325 405405, 7.30pm, £14.50-£26.50. The Twang – Birmingham indie-rock five piece. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £22.

The West Coast Band

– Hartlepool Supporters Club, Sandringham Road, Hartlepool, TS26 8PS, 8.30pm, Free.

Monday• 28

Sam Outlaw and his Nashville Band – Singer-songwriter from LA. Gosforth Civic Theatre, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, NE3 3HD, 0191 284 3700, 8pm, £tbc.

Tuesday• 29

The Fratellis – Indie heroes. O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7pm, £26.10.

Wednesday• 30

Battle of the Bands Heat 6 – Featuring Tired of

Fighting, Succour, Brass Eyed Dragons and Darren Wilde. NE Volume Music Bar, 21d Yarm Lane, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 3DR, Time tbc, £5adv/£7otd. Thundercat – LA bass virtuoso. Northumbria Institute, 2 Ellison Place,

Newcastle, NE1 8ST, 7pm, £25.

Thursday• 31

Alistair McGowan: The Piano Show – Alistair plays

classical gems by Glass, Chopin, Gershwin, Grieg, Debussy, Tiersen and Satie. Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 7.30pm, £22.

Fresh: mamilah + nadedja – Warm, energetic

Nu-soul and dreamy alt-pop singer songwriter soundscapes. Cobalt Studios Ltd, 10-16 Boyd Street, Newcastle, NE2 1AP, 0191 2323553, 7pm, £7/£10 including dinner Jack Savoretti – O2 City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 7.30pm, £35.70. Kokoroko – A collective of young musicians brought together by a love for Afrobeat. Riverside, 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, 7pm, £19.80. Mr. Bruce – The former frontman of The Correspondents has gone solo in spectacular style. Head of Steam, 2 Neville Street, Newcastle, NE1 5EN, 8pm, £12. Pictish Trail – Svelt, intelligent, adorable balladeer, trapped inside the body of an oversized, oft-bearded folk ogre. The Cluny 2, 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £14.

Royal Northern Sinfonia - String Classics – An evening

celebrating the variety and versatility of music for string orchestra. The Fire Station, High Street West, Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 7pm, From £11. The Alarm – Eighties punk popsters from North Wales. Wylam Brewery, Palace of Arts, Exhibition Park, Newcastle, 01661 853377, 7pm, £24.75. The Lounge Society – Infectious bursts of sound, forged in the darkest underbelly of Post Punk, New Wave and Funk-Punk. Independent, 27/28 Holmeside, Sunderland, SR1 3JE, 0191 5689770, 7.30pm, £8.

The Undertones / Hugh Cornwell Electric – The Northern

Irish post-punk legends. Plus Hugh Cornwell from The Stranglers. Boiler Shop, 20 South Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £28.60.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 31

22/02/2022 15:50

Art

The West End Women and Girls Centre are celebrating their 40th anniversary with an exhibition entitled ‘40 Women and Girls’. Imagine! The West End Women and Girls Centre is Newcastle’s first and only open access women and girls centre. And to mark their 40th anniversary they’re presenting a landmark exhibition featuring stories and photographs of 40 women and girls who have been instrumental in their communities and the living history of

The always popular Open Exhibition is back at Woodhorn Museum again this spring (after missing out in 2021). Hooray!

Open

Returning

Oh, how I missed this wonderful show last year! These exhibitions are always brilliant and, thankfully, Woodhorn are once again all set to hit us up with plenty of good art this spring. This year’s theme is ‘A Portrait of Northumberland’, which was actually planned before the pandemic, but the organisers feel it still resonates well with the situation we found ourselves in over the past 18

‘Return’ is a solo exhibition from north-east artist Tess Denman-Cleaver, and you can see it at Workplace Gallery. Tess Denman-Cleaver works across performance, writing, workshops and installations (she’s also Programme Manager (Participation & Young People) at New Writing North). Her latest exhibition brings together a series of texts and photographs that she has been developing since 2016. The collection of texts are written

Religious

A new artwork explores the connection between colonisation and the growth of Christianity in African countries. The artwork, titled ‘Colonial Ghost’, is by Cameroon-born artist Pascale Marthine Tayou and features 25 crosses each made up of five human figures held in place by prominent nails. The exhibition is part of a wider project called Glass Exchange, which will see four high-profile contemporary artists commissioned to create new work in

the centre. Writer Catrina McHugh and photojournalist Phyllis Christopher were commissioned to gather stories and portraits for the exhibition and accompanying book. Centre Coordinator, Huffty McHugh: “As we reach this milestone, we want this project to shine a light on the often unnoticed, underrepresented and undervalued contribution of women and girls, marking the significant role they play in their communities.” DP 40 Women and Girls, 9-31 March, West End Women and Girls Centre, Newcastle. westendwomenandgirls.co.uk

months. Over that terrible period many people found themselves in a position where they were limited to creating self-portraits, portraits of lockdown companions, portraits of what they saw through their windows, or portraits of thoughts and feelings. Creativity helped many through some tough months and, following an open call, 140 pieces of artwork have been selected for display at this exhibition, which is a proper tonic for both heart and soul. DP Open Exhibition 2022, until 24 April, Woodhorn Museum, Ashington. museumsnorthumberland.org.uk

with a performative sensibility and relate to unseen photographs and film documentation belonging to the artist. They are each grounded in friendships between women. Alongside these texts are a series of hand printed silver gelatin photographs of a fragment of a broken pot, referring to the object, place, materiality and time. The title ‘Return’ comes from one of DenmanCleaver’s texts that conveys a return to birthplace. JL Return, until 9 April, Workplace Gallery, Newcastle. workplacefoundation.art

glass. The commissions will be created at National Glass Centre and then exhibited at venues including Durham Cathedral. ‘Colonial Ghost’ was originally shown at Sunderland Minister where the Rev Stuart Bain commented: “The figures are very beautiful and the exhibition thought provoking.” Now all the pieces are being made available to view at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland. Colonial Ghost, 26 March-11 September, National Glass Centre, Sunderland. nationalglasscentre.com

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 32

22/02/2022 11:24

the People

That Was Then the Government

the Bank

and

This Is Now the Army

the Judiciary

by Chad McCail in association with the Crack. For further information and free, poster-size files scan the QR code.

the Debts

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 33

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 34

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 35

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 36

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 37

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 38

22/02/2022 11:24

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 39

22/02/2022 11:25

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 40

22/02/2022 11:25

Art exhibitions 36 Lime Street

10am-4pm

Bringing to Light: Adventures in Geology and Art (until 27th

36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle Spring Open Studios (19th20th March: 10am-5pm). Free. Buy direct from the makers - art, design, jewellery, furniture, architecture, music, installations, printmaking, painting, pottery, ceramics, textiles, and more!

March 2022). £4/£3 conc/5-16 £1/under 5s Free. Ian Patience’s exhibition will investigate and celebrate the meeting of the science of geology with the art of painting; exploring the depths and origins of the Northumberland landscape and our place within it.

Alnwick Playhouse

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, 01665 660550

Harry Bell: Home Thoughts of Abroad (until 6th March

2022). Free. After two years of enforced isolation in the north east of England, this lover of European travel keenly feels the loss of strolling in the sun-filled streets of Greece, Italy and Spain, and even the chillier streets encountered on a visit to the Czech Republic. To ease that heartfelt need, he’s put together a collection of his favourite paintings of those places in the hope they’ll cheer us through the winter months and hint at what we might regain.

Arc

Dovecot Street, Stocktonon-Tees, 01642 525 199, Wed-Sat: 10am-8pm; Mon: 12pm-4pm; Tue: 10am-4pm

Jo Lovejoy presents Books and Tea (from 2nd March

until 9th April 2022). Free. Printmaker Jo Lovejoy has amassed her own collection of books, which she happily reads with a mug of tea, When she gets the chance of it! She has developed a range of lino and drypoint prints which explore the aesthetics and narratives surrounding the world of ‘Books & Tea’. This Is Going To Sting (from 2nd March until 9th April 2022). Free. An exhibition which explores disordered eating. The embroidered pieces are separated into either internal or external experiences, which those with eating disorders may have. Internal experiences refer to the inward thoughts, feelings and compulsions when recovering, whereas external in this instance refers to triggers from outside of the self.

Bailiffgate Museum

14 Bailiffgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, 01665 605 847, Tue-Sun:

South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, Gateshead, 0191 4781810, Daily: 10am-6pm

Ad Minoliti: Biosfera Peluche / Biosphere Plush (until 8th

May 2022). Free. Minoliti uses feminist and queer theory to generate alternative interpretations of painting, design, architecture, art history and visual language. Minoliti’s work has been influenced by the work of the Argentinian constructivist avant-garde groups Arte Madí - founded in 1944 to express the reality of modern life through non-figurative concrete art and a playful approach to painting. Albert Potrony: Equal Play (until 1st October 2022). Free. Exploring the principles of non-hierarchical play environments, EQUAL PLAY is a new commission by artist and educator Albert Potrony. The project explores themes of non-gendered and non-prescriptive play, and will take inspiration from Dutch architect, Aldo van Eyck, to specifically consider the role of men and childcare in relation to feminism.

Baltic & Travelling Gallery: What’s For Tea? (until 18th

July 2022). Free. In its twentieth year as a free admission art gallery in Gateshead, BALTIC partners with Travelling Gallery, Scotland, on a new exhibition that will travel to communities across the North East of England. The group exhibition What’s for Tea? will be grounded within the history of BALTIC as a working flour mill opened in 1950 by Rank Hovis. It will explore food production from the perspective of local and community initiatives and their contrast with global mass production.

Phyllis Christopher: Contacts

(until 20th March 2022). Free. Contacts is an intimate glimpse at lesbian community in

San Francisco in the ‘90s through the archive of photographer Phyllis Christopher. Belonging to a politicised tradition of documentary photography, Christopher’s handprinted and tinted images reflect how the camera participated in the performance of queer identities and feminist politics in the club and in the streets. Sutapa Biswas: Lumen (until 20th March 2022). Free. This major solo exhibition by Sutapa Biswas will span the artist’s extensive career. Biswas was a vital contributor to the Black Arts Movement in Britain and to shifting understanding of postwar British art. Biswas’ works visually disrupt, challenge and reimagine our present time.

Base Camp

Exchange House, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough, Teesside, 07415 685007 Outset (9th-11th March). Free. Presented by The Northern School of Art’s Level 5 Fine Art Students. They will be showing work they have created this year. Opening night will start at 5pm till late on the 9th of March with drinks and a DJ (a proper party!).

Consett Library

Consett, County Durham, 01207 503606, Mon, Thu: 9.30am-4.30pm; Tue: 9.30am-5.30pm; Wed, Fri: 9.30am-1pm; Sat: 9.30am-12.30pm Consett Shirt Tales (until 27th April 2022). Free. A specially-created installation of unique tailored worker’s shirts and an accompanying soundtrack. The three shirts, created by artist/tailor Richard Bliss, and the soundtrack of recordings made by former Metro Radio presenter and photographer Brian Clough, celebrate all the people who have kept the Empire Theatre in Consett alive for over 100 years.

Discovery Museum

(Closed on all Bank Holidays) Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 2326789, Mon-Fri: 10am-4pm; Sat-Sun: 11am-4pm

Making Waves: Turning up the volume on Tyneside’s hidden history (until 27th

March 2022). Free. An exploration of sound including the science of sound, technology, social impact and design. Sounds featured in the exhibition tell a rich story www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 41

22/02/2022 15:51

Art of the diverse history of our region.

Ex LIbris Gallery

Edward VI Fine Art Building, Newcastle University The Ex Libris Collection (26th27th March: 10am-4pm). Free. Artists: Chad McCail, Peter Doig, Alice Hawkins, William Hogarth, Dan Holdsworth, James Hutchinson, John Kippin, Eduardo Paolozzi, Vinca Petersen, Kelly Richardson, Marjolaine Ryley, Sophie Lisa Smith. An exhibition organised by Art Museum and Gallery Studies MA students at Newcastle University.

Gala Gallery

Gala Theatre, Millennium Place, Durham, Mon-Sat: 10am-8.30pm; Sun: 2.30pm-8.30pm Home Time (until 31st March 2022). Free. A crowd sourced photography exhibition exploring the lockdown experiences of care home residents, shielders and isolated members of our communities throughout County Durham.

Gallagher & Turner

30 St Mary’s Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 261 4465, Tue-Fri: 10am-6pm; Sat: 10am-5pm

Gordon Dalton: Abandon All Hope

(until 5th March 2022). Free. The subject matter of Gordon Dalton’s colourful painting spans industrial and natural landscapes. His paintings have a quiet melancholy that questions their intentions.

Mark Bletcher, Abi Hampsey, Oliver Hoffmeisiter: Three’s a Crowd (until 5th March 2022). Free. An exhibition of recent work by Mark Bletcher, Abi Hampsey and Oliver Hoffmeister. This new group show at Gallagher and Turner continues to explore their joint interest into figurative painting from individual perspectives.

Paul Henery - Wild North: Wild Places, Wild Weather, Wildlife (from 11th March

until 23rd April 2022). Free. Paul Henery is a Northumberland artist who focuses on the landscape/wildlife of the Wild North. Aiming to go beyond the realms of animal portraiture, he immerses himself in the natural environment and intimately knows animals and habitats.

Granary Gallery

Dewar’s Lane, Berwickupon-Tweed, 01289

330 999, Wed-Sun: 11am-5pm The Printed Line (until 8th May 2022). Free. This exhibition showcases the work of nearly 60 artists who have used a variety of printmaking techniques to exploit the potential of the printed line, from the thick velvety line of drypoint and the heavy crosshatching of etching to delicate wood engraving and boldly coloured screenprints.

Great North Museum: Hancock

Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 2086765,

North of Tyne, Under the Stars (10th-13th March:

6.30pm-10pm). Free. Using a fusion of large-scale projection, light and sound, Anthro Zoo takes a nocturnal journey deep into the zoology stores of the Great North Museum - home to a vast and eclectic collection of taxidermy specimens. Using 3D laser scanning technology, lighting and film, a selection of these creatures have been digitally captured and transformed into luminous bodies of light, ready to re-inhabit the city of Newcastle.

Hartlepool Art Gallery

The Tourist Information Centre, Church Square, Hartlepool, 01429 869706, Tue-Sat: 10am-5pm

The Female Gaze Re-visited by Alice Hawkins (until 23rd April

2022). Free. Established artist-photographer Alice Hawkins presents an extraordinary panoramic portrait of women around the world, taken across the last 20 years.

Under the Vapour Trails - Simon Bartram (until 23rd April

2022). Free. This exhibition features paintings and drawings of post industrial men who, somewhat stereotypically, find their identities in the clothes they wear, the haircuts they sport and the football team they follow. Above them, the skies are intersected by the vapour trails of aeroplanes leaving for places far away.

Hatton Gallery

The Quadrangle, University of Newcastle, 6 Kensington Terrace, Newcastle, 0191 208 6059, Mon-Sat: 10am5pm The Ignorant Art School (from 5th March until 21st May 2022). Free. The Ignorant Art School is

a curriculum devised and curated by Cooper Gallery at Duncan Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee which brings together artists, designers, educators, activists, cultural workers, students and other communities to question what art education is and whom it serves. At the Hatton Gallery the Ignorant Art School is presented as a collaborative, interactive exhibition, questioning the nature of ‘knowledge’ and how knowledge is produced and shared.

Instagram @BDG.UK

BBox studios, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear BDG Open Call (1st March - 1st April 2022). Free. Balloon Dog Gallery is hosting a new exhibition on Instagram starting on the 1st March. This is an exhibition showing some of the most promising new artists including many young talented artists from the northeast.

Laing Art Gallery

New Bridge Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 278 1611, Tue-Sat: 10am-5pm; Sun: 2pm-5pm

New Perspectives: Outside In (until 1st May 2022).

Free. Since January 2021, the Laing Art Gallery’s young people’s group LINK, have come together online to engage in a process of creative collaboration with the aim of co-curating a new display. The resultant exhibition here reflects the varied discussions had between the group as they explored issues surrounding identity in relation to domestic spaces within the confines of their own homes. Newcastle in Watercolour (until 31st December 2022). Free. The watercolours and drawings on display open a window on the changing character of Newcastle over the centuries and the lives of people in the past.

Life Science Centre

Centre for Life, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 243 8210, Mon-Sat: 10am-6pm; Sun: 11am-6pm Gaia (permanent). £15/£11 concessions/ child aged 5-17 £8/under 4s Free/family £34. It’s wowed audiences across the globe and now you too can marvel at Gaia a stunning, seven-metre recreation of Planet Earth, and one of only

five permanent exhibits in the world.

Mima

Centre Square, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, 01642 931232, Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat: 10am-4.30pm; Thu: 10am-7pm; Sun: 12pm-4pm Chemical City (until 4th April 2022). Free. Chemical City looks at the legacies of chemical production in the Tees Valley. Starting with a focus on plastics manufacture in the area and in particular the development of synthetic fabrics and dyes, the exhibition travels through broader social, economic, material and ecological themes.

Museum of Archaeology

Museum of Archaeology, Palace Green Library, Palace Green, Durham, County Durham, 0191 334 2932, Mon: 12pm-5pm; Tue-Sun: 10am-5pm;

Museum of Archaeology Gallery

(until 4th June 2022). Free. Enjoy this new special exhibition exploring the rich prehistoric and Roman archaeology of Durham. Come to the family-friendly gallery, and discover the rich archaeological history of Durham from prehistoric times until the 21st century.

Mushroom Works

St Lawrence Road, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, 01912244011 Spring Open Studios (18th20th March: 10am-5pm). Free. Come and meet the artists and designers at Mushroom Works as they throw open their doors and eagerly await your arrival. Find furniture, illustration, jewellery, paintings, prints, leatherworks and more.

National Glass Centre

Liberty Way, Sunderland, 0191 5155555, Daily: 10am-5pm

Colonial Ghost by Pascale Marthine Tayou (from 26th

March until 11th September 2022). Free. This artwork, titled ‘Colonial Ghost’, is by Cameroon-born artist Pascale Marthine Tayou and features 25 crosses each made up of five human figures held in place by prominent nails. Through Colonial Ghost, Pascale aims to invite the viewer to consider connections between colonization and the growth of Christianity in

African countries.

It’s All in the Technique (until

13th March 2022). Free. In 2022, the Contemporary Glass Society (CGS) celebrates 25 years since its foundation as the principal promoter and supporter of both glass artists and collectors of contemporary glass in the UK. In this show, CGS are presenting work from artists that demonstrate the very best in the wide range of techniques that they are working in. NGC Glass Prize (until 2nd May 2022). Free. NGC Glass Prize is a European glass prize delivered by the National Glass Centre which features the work of over 40 artists who work in Europe. It showcases techniques and approaches including using found and mixed media, casting, hot glass, kiln forming, engraving, neon, pâte de verre, and video. Re-Purpose (until 3rd April 2022). Free. This exhibition presents work by a number of artists who work with items made in glass and ceramics. In different ways they each re-purpose objects that have been broken, used, discarded or previously seen as a waste product.

Newbiggin Maritime Centre

Church Point, Newbiggin by the Sea, 01670 811951, Tue-Sat: 10am4pm; Sun: 11am-5pm

An Exhibition of Paintings by Peter Robson (from 1st March until 30th June 2022). Free.

Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art

c/o National Glass Centre, Liberty Way, Sunderland, 0191 515 5555, Daily: 10am-5pm

Graham Dolphin: Gnossiennes

(from 5th March to 3rd May 2022). Free. A newly commissioned two channel digital film produced by Graham Dolphin. Erik Satie’s six works, Gnossiennes, written in the late 19th century, are composed in free time, with no time signatures given just descriptions for the musician to interpret. Dolphin’s film depicts an elongated piano keyboard across two monitors with each of the six Satie compositions playing at once.

Vinca Petersen: Gather Social Honey - A Collective Search for JOY (until 2nd May 2022).

Free. For over 30 years Petersen has created an important body of work that shines a light on Britain’s politically divided society through

her unique position organising and documenting the emerging rave scene across Britain and Europe in the 1990s.

Northern Print

Stepney Bank, Newcastle, 0191 2617000, Wed-Sat: 12pm-4pm Gallery Exhibition: 20:20 (until 26th March 2022). Free. This exhibition presents prints from artists working in print studios and art schools across the UK and overseas, including Northern Print. All prints measure 20cm by 20cm and are available to buy and take home the same day for only £20 each.

Oriental Museum

Elvet Hill, (off South Road), Durham, DH1 3TH, 0191 334 5694, Mon-Fri: 10am-5pm; Sat-Sun: 12pm-5pm

Jericho: An Ancient City Revealed

(until 10th June 2023). Free. This exhibition centres on the Oriental Museum’s collection of objects sent to Durham from pioneering archaeologist Dame Kathleen Kenyon’s excavations at Jericho, which range from the Neolithic to the Iron Age.

Monogatari: the art of storytelling in Japanese woodblock prints (until 15th

May 2022). Free. This exhibition explores how images of famous tales of samurai, travellers and heroes during the 18th and 19th centuries in Japan inspired art created during the real life conflicts at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century.

Platform A Gallery

Middlesbrough Railway Station, Zetland Road, Middlesbrough, 01642 252 061, Tue-Fri: 10am-4pm

Nick Kennedy: Endless Dance

(until 11th March 2022). Free. Kennedy presents recent work in a variety of media including, drawing, painting and sculpture. Kennedy’s work playfully parodies science, the dominant ontological pursuit of our time, sharing its aim to unearth truths about the natural world and our relationship with it.

Preston Park Museum

Yarm Road, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, 01642 527375, Tue-Sun: 10am-4pm Fearsome Craftsmen (from 5th March to 5th June 2022). £5/£3. The Vikings are coming to Preston Park Museum this spring! You are invited to journey

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 42

22/02/2022 15:51

back 1,000 years and experience what life was like in a Viking village.

Queen’s Hall Arts Centre

Beaumont Street, Hexham, 01434 652 477, Mon-Fri: 10am-6pm

Lady Emma Tankerville - A Pioneering Botanist (from

12th March until 30th April 2022). Free. A unique exhibition of twenty-one botanical watercolour illustrations painted by Lady Emma, 4th Countess of Tankerville, (1752-1836), a re-discovered woman of 18th century science.

Shieldfield Art Works

Formerly The Holy Biscuit, Opposite The Biscuit Factory, 1 Clarence Street, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 447 6811, Tue-Thu: 11am-4pm; Sat: 1-4pm Take Over 2022 (until 23rd March 2022). Free. Four exciting exhibitions Take Over the SAW gallery space; each artist inviting you to look at, experience and discuss their work.

South Shields Museum & Art Gallery Ocean Road, South Shields, 0191 211 5599, Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm

Jarrow & Hebburn: Photographs from the Bede Gallery Collection (until 2nd April 2022). Free. This exhibition features photographs of people and places in Jarrow and Hebburn.

Tyne & Tide: John Peace - selected North East paintings (until

7th May 2022). Free. A major exhibition of the art works of the late John Peace, a leading artist in the North East. He had a lifelong career in painting, as well as teaching art, and produced hundreds of paintings, many of which captured the landscape and aspects of social life in the changing region around him.

Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

Mowbray Gardens, Burdon Road, Sunderland, 0191 5532323, Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm; Sun: 2pm-5pm

Where There’s Space to Grow

(until 12th March 2022). Free. An exhibition curated by Celebrate Different Collective, a group of young people living in Sunderland, which creatively reflects on the industrial decline of the 1980s in North East England, while looking ahead to a shared progressive future.

The Bowes Museum

Barnard Castle, County Durham, 01833 690606, Daily: 10am-5pm

Regeneration by Martin Kinnear

(until 25th April). £15.50/ Over 60s £13.50/Students £6/Young people £5. The International award-winning Northern artist Martin Kinnear has produced Regeneration in response to the COVID pandemic. It’s a powerful and moving take on the year the World came to a halt, about what happens when plans are cancelled, futures are placed in doubt and the life-affirming power of change.

The Exchange

1 Howard Street, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, 0191 258 4111, Thu-Sat: 10am-11pm; Mon-Wed: 10am-10.30pm; Sun: 2pm-8pm

A Light Exchange by Dot Steel and Eileen A Saunders (until

2nd March). Free. Dot Steel is an amateur local artist, specializing in landscapes, seascapes and portraits, using soft pastels and oils. Eileen A Saunders is a local artist, born in North Shields and an established member of the Cullercoats Art Club.

The Foyer Gallery

Open only on performance nights, People’s Theatre, Stephenson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 2655020, North of England Painters (8th March until 8th April 2022). Free. The North of England Art Club’s exhibition will reflect the diverse work of its members and demonstrate the restorative value of art practice, whether through capturing exotic memories or drawing interest and beauty from mundane surroundings during isolation.

Sense of Place: Carolyn Earlam and Adrian Swales (until 4th

March 2022). Free. Carolyn and Adrian both work directly from the landscape, both urban and rural, aiming to re-create a sense of the particularities of place.

The Witham

3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, 01833 631 107, Tue-Sat: 10am-4pm

Chris Morse: Mostly Woodland

(2nd-26th March 2022). Free. This is Chris’s first photographic exhibition. He has been building up a large collection of woodland images, from the local woods here in Barnard Castle, over

the different seasons. They’re not all woodland, just mostly.

West End Women and Girls Centre

173 Elswick Road, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, Tel: 0191 273 4942 40 Women and Girls (from 9th March 2022 until 31st March 2022). Free. To mark their 40th anniversary of West End Women and Girls Centre they’re presenting a landmark exhibition featuring stories and photographs of 40 women and girls who have been instrumental in their communities and the living history of the centre.

Woodhorn Museum

Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, 01670 624455, Wed-Sun: 10am-4pm Coal Town: Mik Critchlow (until 6th March 2022). £7/£6/ Under 16s Free. A new exhibition of work made over several decades by social documentary photographer Mik Critchlow (b. 1955). ‘Coal Town’ is a remarkable long form project, through which Mik continues to document his home town of Ashington.

MADE IN THE NORTH EAST JEWELLERY, GIFTS AND ART www.the glamorousowl.com theglamorousowl@gmail.com 0770 101 8657 • 0191 261 7283 the glamorous owl 2 @ theglamorousowl The glamorous owl

2 and 5 Old George Yard, High Bridge, Newcastle NE1 1EZ

Open Exhibition 2022: A Portrait of Northumberland (until 24th

April 2022). £7/£6/Under 16s Free. Woodhorn’s annual open exhibition will return with the theme ‘A Portrait of Northumberland’. As ever, this theme is open to the interpretation of each individual artist and work can be created in any medium.

Workplace Foundation

12 Blandford Square, Newcastle, Tue-Sat: 12pm-6pm

Tess Denman-Cleaver: Return

(until 9th April 2022). Free. This exhibition will bring together a series of texts and photographs that Denman-Cleaver has been developing since 2016. The collection of texts are written with a performative sensibility and relate to unseen photographs and film documentation belonging to the artist. Alongside these texts are a series of hand printed silver gelatin photographs of a fragment of a broken pot, referring back to the object, place, materiality and time.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 43

22/02/2022 15:51

STAGE previews

shoots

Wor Bella tells the incredible story of women’s football in the north-east during WW1 and how Blyth Spartans Ladies won the Munitionettes Cup. Munitionettes? That was the name given to British women who were employed in munitions factories during the First World War. But when they weren’t working 60-hour weeks in shipyards, armaments factories and steel mills etc, some

we’ll always have

of these women were playing football. ‘Wor Bella’, written by Ed Waugh, tells their story with particular regard given to Bella Reay, the Blyth Spartans centre forward. Belle won the cup in 1918 with Blyth Spartans, and, indeed, notched a hat-trick in the final. Back of the net! GM Wor Bella: Friday 25 & 26 March, Blyth Phoenix Theatre, 7.30pm (Fri mat 2.30pm), from £14. The production then tours to Hexham (28 March), Newcastle (29 & 30 March), Alnwick (31 March), Whitley Bay (1 April) and South Shields (2 April). For venues, times, prices etc visit: worbella.co.uk

Parris

The Bafta-nominated comedian Rachel Parris is bringing her brand new show to Middlesbrough in early April. Rachel Parris became something of a viral sensation when her spots on BBC Two’s ‘The Mash Report’ gained traction on social media. And – truth be told – those spots were whipsmart, but it’s her stand-up shows that really see her take flight. Her ‘Best Laid Plans’ show saw her nattering about how, at that stage

I’m sure there will be someone tilting at windmills when Birmingham Royal Ballet bring Don Quixote to Sunderland Empire.

Is she tilting?

If you think that winter has been hanging around that bit too long this year, and spring hasn’t yet delivered t-shirt weather, then take yourself off to ‘Don Quixote’. It’s a real extravaganza of a ballet, which promises to deliver a real explosion of Spanish sunshine, spectacular dance and vivacious comedy for all the family. Directed by Carlos Acosta, and performed by one of the dance troupes in the UK (the much garlanded Birmingham

Ballet Lorent’s ever inventive, and very magical ‘The Lost Happy Endings’, is coming to the Theatre Royal. This is a real MUST SEE (yes, caps).

Fairytale 44

‘The Lost Happy Endings’ has received rave reviews, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing it. It’s an original piece of dance theatre – for all the family – which was penned by former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. It concerns Jub, a magical girl whose job is to guard the

in her life, she expected to have a house, car, husband and kids, but life had refused to play ball. She also talked about a recent break-up in a frank, and above all, very funny way. Her latest show is ‘All Change Please’ in which she will be talking about life’s big changes including sudden love, the highs and lows of relationships, family, weddings, kids, and the baffling state of play in society right now. JL Rachel Parris, Friday 8 April, Middlesbrough Town Hall, 7.30pm, £17.50. middlesbroughtownhall.co.uk

Royal Ballet), this new production sees Cervantes’ famous knight, Don Quixote, joined by his loyal friend and servant, Sancho Panza, for an unlikely adventure replete with romance and dreams. They will be joined by a whole host of supporting characters, including lovers Kitri and Basilio, in this sparkling production, which will make you forget about the grey stuff outside. JL Don Quixote, Thursday 10-Saturday 12 March, Sunderland Empire, Thursday & Friday 7.30pm + Friday and Saturday 2pm, from £13. atgtickets.com/venues/ sunderland-empire

Happy Endings to stories and fairytales. But one day, an otherworldly witch steals them, which means Cinderella’s foot is now too big for the glass slipper, and Little Red Riding Hood is gobbled up by the wolf, among other calamities. Can Jub save the night? (Spoilers: yes!) Packed with spirit, adventure and glorious surprises, this show will delight both young and old alike. JL The Lost Happy Endings, Friday 18 & Saturday 19 March, Theatre Royal, Newcastle, 6pm, from £2. theatreroyal.co.uk

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 44

22/02/2022 11:25

STAGE theatre Alnwick Playhouse

Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, 01665 660550

Cabaret on Broadway

– 23rd - 26th: 2pm, 7.30pm, £14/child £10. Join emcee Peter Brown on a journey through Broadway’s favourite shows. NT Live: Book of Dust – 10th: 7pm, £16.50/child £10. Revisiting Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing. Broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.

Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band – 22nd: 7.15pm,

Adult £10/Child £10. Be enthralled by this exciting and thrilling mystery, featuring a feisty heroine, struggling with and overcoming a domineering presence in her life.

Stitch in Time: A Knitting Cabaret

– 29th: 2pm, £12. A delightful afternoon of needlepoint and music with a scintillating selection of the lost knitting songs of WWI and WWII from Canada, Britain, America and France. Wor Bella – 31st: 7.30pm, £16. Wor Bella is the story of Blyth Spartans Ladies’ remarkable munitionettes’ cup victory in May 1918. A Northumberland triumph!

Arc

Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, 01642 525 199

National Theatre Live: Hex

– 17th - 19th: 2pm, 7pm, £14/£12. A vividly original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, a mythic, big-hearted new musical that goes beyond the waking kiss. Live screening.

NT Live: The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage – 5th: 2pm,

£12. Revisiting Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing. Live screening. Tales from the Smog – 10th: 7pm, Pay what you decide. This rough and ready, sci-fi noir is a futuristic fairy tale that draws inspiration from Bladerunner, Mighty Boosh and Twin Peaks.

Arts Centre Washington

Biddick Lane, Fatfield, Washington, 0191 219 3455 I, Elizabeth – 17th: 7.30pm, £12/£10. Elizabeth I: Queen at 25, political phoenix and famously

unmarried - but who was the woman beneath the crown?

Stitch In Time: A Knitting Cabaret – 30th: 1.30pm,

£9 / £7.50 (conc) / £5 (students). A scintillating afternoon of the lost knitting songs of WWI and WWII from Canada, Britain, America and France. These Hills Are Ours – 3rd: 7.30pm, £9 / £7.50 (conc) / £5 (students). Do you ever want to run away from it all? Dan and Boff did exactly that: they ran a series of routes from the centre of the city in which they found themselves, to the top of the peak overlooking that city.

Berwick Library

Walkergate, Berwick Upon Tweed

Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band – 10th: 7pm, £5-£8.

Delve into the highly deductive mind of a super sleuth in this new production of one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories.

Cramlington Library

Forum Way, Cramlington, 01434 652488

Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band – 26th: 2pm, £5-£8.

Delve into the highly deductive mind of a super sleuth in this new production of one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes stories.

Darlington Hippodrome

(formerly Darlington Civic Theatre), Parkgate, Darlington, 01325 405405 Catch Me If You Can – 14th 19th: 2.30pm, 7.30pm, £15-£34. Inspector Levine is called to a house in the remote Catskill mountains to investigate the disappearance of newly married Elizabeth Corban.

Gala Theatre

Millennium Place, Durham, 03000 266 600 Chess the Musical – 29th Mar - 2nd Apr: 7pm, 2pm, £17-£19.50. The heart-rending love story of a woman torn between two men, who happen to be the world’s greatest chess champions.

National Theatre Live: Hex

– 17th: 7pm, £15/£13. A vividly original retelling of Sleeping Beauty, a mythic, big-hearted new musical that goes beyond the waking kiss. The Invisible Man – 1st: 7.30pm, £16/£14. Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North

East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility.

Gosforth Civic Theatre

Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, 0191 284 3700 The Invisible Man – 12th: 7.30pm, £tbc. An electrifying new production adapted from H.G. Wells’ science fiction classic, featuring a new take on one of the most iconic characters in horror fiction.

Laurels

212 Whitley Road, Whitley Bay Eng-er-land – 5th - 6th: 7.30pm, £15/£10. Lizzie fell in love with the beautiful game that day in 1997, and she’s been obsessed ever since. But then something happens to make her question her place in the stands. Gerry & Sewell – 29th 10th: 7.15pm, £15/£10. Sewell and Gerry live in Gateshead. Theirs seems the perfect partnership. Sewell is physically strong, Gerry is small but crafty. Neither has attended school for a long time. Both are broke, and both love one thing, Newcastle United.

Little Theatre

1-4 Saltwell View, Gateshead, 0191 4781499

And a Nightingale Sang

– 21st - 26th: 7.15pm, £10/£8. A heart-warming play which follows the course of World War Two through the eyes of a working-class family in Newcastle.

Live Theatre

27 Broad Chare, Quayside, Newcastle, 0191 232 1232 Elevator Festival – 16th - 26th: Times(s) tbc. A celebration of the very best new theatre talent. The programme includes: Intergalactic (Petals and Constellations), The Twenty Seven Club, Elevator Festival Scratch Night, Kailey, Artists Question Time and two workshops led by Jack McNamara Introduction to Directing and Directing Through Design.

Middlesbrough Theatre

The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, 01642 815181 A Chorus Line – 9th - 11th: 7.30pm, £16/£13.

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 45

22/02/2022 15:52

STAGE The Musical Theatre Collective present their debut production. Based on real Broadway dancers’ stories, it’s funny, heartbreaking and refreshingly honest Cats – 30th Mar - 2nd Apr: Times(s) tbc, £16/£13. Presented by Middlesbrough Youth Theatre. Grow Up Grandad – 2nd - 5th: 7.30pm, £12/£11. Local author, Gordon Steel has created a poignant yet humorous play about the inter-generational struggle between a grandad and his granddaughter for whom he is expected to provide care.

Mary Rose by J.M. Barrie

– 24th: 7.30pm, £17. A spellbindingly beautiful ghost story about time, love and hope from the creator of Peter Pan. Revenge – 16th: 7.30pm, £17.50. Bill Crayshaw MP leads a charmed life, hailed in the corridors of Parliament, lauded in business, and loved at home. That is until he returns from a business trip to find his party agent has been killed in a terrible, tragic accident - or was it?

Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band – 23rd: 7pm,

£16/£12 under 16s. Be enthralled by this exciting and thrilling mystery, featuring a feisty heroine, struggling with and overcoming a domineering presence in her life.

The Importance of Being Earnest

– 18th: 7.30pm, £16.50. Mistaken identity and romance collide with cucumber sandwiches and a handbag in Oscar Wilde’s much-loved comedy of manners.

Northern Stage

Barras Bridge, Newcastle, 0191 2305151 2065 – 22nd - 23rd: 1.30pm, 11am, £12.50. The year is 2065; the people are stifled under an oppressive regime made up of all-powerful corporations. We follow a group of rebels who live outside the system and believe things can change for the better.

Dialogues from Babel - Rehearsed Reading – 7th: 7pm, From

£5. A rehearsed reading of a new play about how we live with the voices in our heads. Here – 4th - 12th: 7pm, 2pm, £10-£15. Four seasons, four people, from four corners of the world collide. The strange city folds and unfolds around them, a story that opens up like a book to get lost in.

How To Save The Planet When

You’re A Young Carer And Broke

– 18th: 7.30pm, £10-£18. When Lavisha lands at a new school young climate change activist Avril is keen to recruit her to the cause, but, what do you do when you can’t afford solar panels on your house and can’t skip school to attend a protest? Red Ellen – 25th - 31st: 2pm, 7pm, £10-£27. This remarkable new play from Caroline Bird tells the inspiring and epic story of Ellen Wilkinson, Labour MP, who was forever on the right side of history, forever on the wrong side of life. Y’MAM – 25th - 26th: 7.30pm, £10-£18. Combining spoken word, music and brutally honest accounts of his past; Y’MAM is an inspiring, uplifting story about love, appreciation and learning to let things go. Zog & The Flying Doctors – 3rd - 6th: 1.30pm, 10.30am, 4.30pm, £10-£16. With a bit of help from some friends and half a pound of cheese, can Pearl make her uncle better and prove princesses can be doctors too?

Phoenix Theatre

Beaconsfield Street, Blyth, Northumberland, 01670 367228 The Addams Family – 8th - 12th: 5pm, 7.30pm, £15/£14. What happens when the ultimate princess of darkness, Wednesday Addams, grows up and falls in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family? Wor Bella – 25th - 26th: 2.30pm, 7.30pm, £16/£14. The incredible story of WW1 women’s football.

Queen’s Hall Arts Centre

Beaumont Street, Hexham, 01434 652 477

Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band – 8th: 7pm, £10/

under 16s £7.50. Be enthralled by this exciting and thrilling mystery, featuring a feisty heroine, struggling with and overcoming a domineering presence in her life.

The Importance Of Being Earnest

– 17th: 7.30pm, £15. Mistaken identity and romance collide with cucumber sandwiches and a handbag in Oscar Wilde’s much-loved comedy of manners. The Invisible Man – 2nd: 7.30pm, £15. Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside

his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility. Wor Bella – 28th: 7.30pm, £16. The incredible story of WW1 women’s football.

Royalty Theatre

25 The Royalty, off Chester Road, Sunderland, 0191 567 2669

California Suite by Neil Simon

– 21st - 26th: 7.30pm, £9/£7.50. This comedy is composed of four playlets set in Suite 203-04 in The Beverley Hills Hotel.

Sunderland Empire Theatre

High Street West, Sunderland, 0844 871 3022 Dreamgirls – 23rd - 5th: 7.30pm, 2.30pm, Join three friends as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit. Jersey Boys – 22nd - 2nd: 7.30pm, 2.30pm, £13. They were just four guys from Jersey, until they sang their very first note.

The Customs House

Mill Dam, South Shields, 0191 4541234 Black is The Color Of My Voice – 10th: 7.30pm, From £15. Inspired by the life of Nina Simone, and featuring many of her most iconic songs performed live. Apphia Campbell’s acclaimed play follows the successful jazz singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father.

The Importance of Being Earnest

– 16th: 7.30pm, Fom £17.50. Mistaken identity and romance collide with cucumber sandwiches and a handbag in Oscar Wilde’s much-loved comedy of manners.

The Exchange

1 Howard Street, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, 0191 258 4111

A Sherlock Holmes Mystery - The Speckled Band plus Q & A

– 25th: 7pm, £10/£6.50 child. Delve into the highly deductive mind of a super sleuth in an atmospheric and thrilling new production of this popular Sherlock Holmes story.

Knot from Ian Smith and Rebecca Johnston – 11th - 12th:

8pm, £8/£6. A one-act comedy. Jack and Jill are a very close couple - perhaps a little too attached. And they’re certainly not the sort of

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 46

22/02/2022 15:52

people who should be throwing a party. The Invisible Man – 19th: 8pm, £12. Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility.

The Fire Station

High Street West (next to the Sunderland Empire), Sunderland

Rowan Rheingans: Dispatches on the Red Dress – Adventurous

new writing meets the warmth of a folk gig in this heartfelt and personal one woman show. The Fire Station, High Street West (next to the Sunderland Empire), Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 8pm, From £11.

The Smartest Giant in Town

– 29th: 1.30pm, 4.30pm, From £13.75. George wishes he wasn’t the scruffiest giant in town. So when he sees a new shop selling giant-sized clothes, he decides it’s time for a new look.

The Forum Theatre

Queensway, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, 01642 552 663 A Fright In The Museum – 27th: 2.30pm, £16/£14. Danny & Mick & their dad Clive have decided they don’t make enough money from their circus, so they get themselves part time jobs as night watchmen in the museum to make ends meet.

Come What May: The Ultimate Tribute to Moulin Rouge – 13th:

7.30pm, £24.50. An all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza as you enter the secret world of one of the greatest movie-musicals of all time. Father Brown – 8th: 3pm, 7.30pm, £18/£15. When a famous actor is found dead just before the opening of his latest West End production, Father Brown sees at once in the shattered dressing room mirror that all is not as it seems. The Sound Of Music – 2nd - 6th: 1.15pm, 7.15pm, £19.50/under 16s £16.50. An Amateur Production Presented By Stockton Stage Society.

The Lit & Phil

23 Westgate Road, Newcastle, 0191 2320192

Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood – 24th: 7.30pm,

£10/£8. This beautiful musical show tells the true tale of the lifelong friendship - and rivalry - between these two

Hollywood idols.

The Maltings

Eastern Lane, Berwickupon-Tweed, 01289 304005

Here Come the Girls: Let’s Have a Party – 11th - 12th:

7.30pm, £14/£13. Join the immensely talented cast (and Gary) for another wild, hilarious and larger than life night of the best, most catchy pop music and the biggest showtunes musicals have to offer. The Gardener – 16th: 2pm, 7pm, £10/£8.50. Come and meet Frank - he’s just started The Amateur Gardeners Appreciation Society and you’re cordially invited.

The Smartest Giant in Town

– 17th: 4.15pm, £12. George wishes he wasn’t the scruffiest giant in town. So when he sees a new shop selling giant-sized clothes, he decides it’s time for a new look.

Townsend Productions: Yes! Yes! UCS! – 25th: 7pm,

£14/£13. The story of how two women workers on the fringes of an industry facing imminent closure are drawn into the monumental heroic battle to save the jobs of thousands.

The People’s Theatre

Stephenson Road, Heaton, Newcastle, 0191 265 5020 A Northern Odyssey – 8th 12th: 7.30pm, £15/£13. Some of the masterpieces that secured Winslow Homer’s reputation as the greatest American figurative artist of the 19th century were painted in Cullercoats. But what on earth was he doing there? Gaslight – 29th Mar - 2nd Apr: 7.30pm, £15/£13. The suave and confident Jack Manningham seems to live a comfortable life with his wife Bella. But we quickly see that there is a quiet malevolence and casual misogyny in him that lurks beneath the surface of this claustrophobic noirish ménage.

The Witham

3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, 01833 631 107 The Invisible Man (12+) – 3rd: 7.30pm, £12-£14. Griffin is a frustrated young man from the North East, with a troubled past and violent thoughts inside his head. He claims he has discovered the power of invisibility.

Theatre Royal

100 Grey Street, Newcastle, 08448 112 121 Alcina – 24th: 7pm, £20/ under 30s £10. On an island paradise, a young man, Ruggiero, has fallen under the spell of a woman, Alcina, who is experiencing real love for the very first time. School of Rock – 28th Mar - 2nd Apr: 2pm, 7.30pm, From £20. Posing as a substitute music teacher at an elite prep school, Dewey Finn exposes his students to the rock gods he idolises, transforming them into a mindblowing rock band.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – 1st - 5th:

2.30pm, 2pm, 7.30pm, From £15. When fifteenyear-old Christopher falls under suspicion for killing his neighbour’s dog, it takes him on a journey that upturns his world.

The Lost Happy Endings

– 18th - 19th: 6pm, From £10. An original story by Carol Ann Duffy retold as dance theatre for family, narrated by Joanna Lumley. Waitress – 8th - 12th: 7.30pm, 2pm, 2.30pm, From £20. Meet Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of some happiness in her life. When a hot new doctor arrives in town, life gets complicated. Wor Bella – 29th - 30th: 2pm, 7.30pm, From £16. The incredible story of WW1 women’s football.

Tyne Theatre and Opera House

111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, 0844 2491000

The Smartest Giant in Town

– 14th - 15th: 11.30am, 2pm, 4.30pm, £15/£13. George wishes he wasn’t the scruffiest giant in town. So when he sees a new shop selling giant-sized clothes, he decides it’s time for a new look.

Tyne Theatre Productions present: RENT – 23rd - 26th: 7pm,

£16/£14. Set in the East Village of New York City, Rent is about falling in love, finding your voice and living for today.

Tynemouth Priory Theatre

Percy Street, Tynemouth, North Shields, 0191 292 9292 See How They Run – 14th - 19th: 7.30pm, £9. In this furiously fast-paced wartime farce, identities are mistaken and confusion reigns.

Ushaw Historic House

Woodland Road, Durham, 0191 334 5119

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 47

22/02/2022 15:52

EVENT Live Theatre at Ushaw

– 25th: 1pm, £8-£20. Ushaw host two Theatre performances - Ingenue: Deanna Durbin and the Golden Age of Hollywood and Stitch in Time: A Knitting Cabaret.

comedy Tuesday • 1

Mark Thomas: Product – The

Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £15/£12.50. Showing his favourite clips and explaining what went on behind the scenes, Mark now tells the story of his TV show in its fullest glory.

Wednesday • 2

Mark Thomas: Product – Tyne-

side Cinema, 10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6QG, 8pm, £17.50/£14.50. Showing his favourite clips and explaining what went on behind the scenes, Mark now tells the story of his TV show in its fullest glory.

Simon Evans: The Work Of The Devil – The Witham, 3

Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 8pm, £15/£13.

Thursday • 3

Jamali Maddix - King Crud – Arc,

Dovecot Street, Stocktonon-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £16.

Paul Currie: The Chorus of Ghosts Living in my Skull Keep Telling Me To Take a Shit in the Fruit Salad (WIP) – The Stand Comedy

Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £5. An absurdist “non mainstream“ stand-up show.

Simon Evans - The Work Of The Devil – Alnwick Playhouse,

Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1PQ, 01665 660550, 8pm, £15/£13.

Friday • 4

Andy Zaltzman: Satirist for Hire – The Witham, 3

Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £15. One of Britain’s leading political comedians. Rob Beckett: Wallop – Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 7.30pm, £25.50.

Simon Evans: The Work Of The Devil – Queen’s Hall Arts

Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 8pm, £15/£13.

Saturday • 5

Big Mouth Comedy Club –

Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 8pm, £12/£14.50. Starring MC Dave Twentyman, Scott Bennett, Fin Taylor and Dinesh Nathan.

Geoff Norcott: I Blame The Parents

– The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 5pm, £15.

Hilarity Bites Comedy Club feat. Micky P. Kerr, Tom Little, and host Danny Deegan – The Forum

Music Centre, Borough Road, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1SG, 7.30pm, £10. This show features Micky P. Kerr, Tom Little, and host Danny Deegan. Rob Newman: Live – The Maltings, Eastern Lane, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1AJ, 01289 304005, 7.30pm, £16. A hilarious tour-de-force that offers new hopes for a changing world. The Suggestibles – The Cumberland Arms, James Place Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1LD, 0191 265 6151, 8pm, £15/£12. A two-hour improv comedy joyride.

Sunday • 6

Rob Newman – The Stand

Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £15. A hilarious tour-de-force that offers new hopes for a changing world.

Steve Hewlett: One Man Many Friends – The Customs

poke fun at his life living as a disabled person in a post-apocalyptic world.

Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes – The Stand Comedy

Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £15. Made from hundreds of hours of unseen and behind the scenes footage from his personal archive, Michael Cumming’s film shares insights into the process of making the legendary TV series Brass Eye. Tyne To Stand Up – Tyne Theatre and Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 8pm, £10. A gala of the great women comedians in the North East to mark International Women’s Day.

Wednesday • 9

Mark Thomas; Product – Dar-

lington Hippodrome, (formerly Darlington Civic Theatre), Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, 01325 405405, 8pm, £13. Join Mark Thomas as he shows clips from and talks about the ground breaking: The Mark Thomas Comedy Product.

Thursday • 10

Felt Tips – The Globe, 11

Railway Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 7AD, 8pm, £5. Felt Nowt presents new comedians and new material. Starring Dean Moore & Jack Fox, plus many more!

Hilarity Bitesize New Act & New Material Night, with Sam Avery, Rachel Jackson, host Lee Kyle & support – Hops & Cheese,

House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES, 0191 4541234, 4.30pm, From £12. Steve Hewlett has been a ventriloquist since the age of 12. The Comedy Store – Gala Theatre, Millennium Place, Durham, DH1 1WA, 03000 266 600, 7.30pm, £8-£11.

Tower Street, Hartlepool, Co. Durham, TS24 7HH, 7pm, £10. This show features Sam Avery, Rachel Jackson, host Lee Kyle & support from new acts and acts trying new material.

Monday • 7

Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, From £23.

Nathan Caton: Let’s Talk About Vex – The Stand Comedy

Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8pm, £12. A hilarious show, covering topics such as race, politics, his passion for scented candles and being in lockdown with his girlfriend.

Tuesday • 8

Lost Voice Guy: Cerebral LOL-sy – Alnwick Playhouse, Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1PQ, 01665 660550, 8pm, £18/£16. The Britain’s Got Talent winner will

Friday • 11

Reginald D Hunter - Bombe Shuffleur – Arc, Dovecot

Saturday • 12

Adam Rowe - Imperious – The

Customs House, Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES, 0191 4541234, 8pm, From £15. Adam Rowe is back with some stand-up about some stuff. Bobby Mair: Cockroach – The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £14/£12. A Canadian stand-up comedian based in London.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Home

Truths – Gala Theatre, Mil-

lennium Place, Durham, DH1 1WA, 03000 266 600, 7.30pm, £15. Expect jokes about skinny jeans, learning Welsh and white supremacy - something for everyone. Steve Hall & Steve Williams – The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 4pm, £10-£12.

Tuesday • 15

Matt Forde: Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right – The

Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £15.

Wednesday • 16

Lee Kyle - Bits – Bobik’s,

The Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £8. A stand-up comedian from the Northeast of England. Lee is also a writer, kids comedian, game show host, sketch performer, and podcaster. Lost Voice Guy: Cerebral LOLsy – The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 8pm, £14/£22. The Britain’s Got Talent winner will poke fun at his life living as a disabled person in a post-apocalyptic world.

Matt Forde: Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right –

Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 7.30pm, £15.

Thursday • 17

Jason Manford: Like Me – O2

City Hall, Northumberland Road, Newcastle, NE1 8SF, 0844 811 2121, 6.30pm, £34.50.

Matt Forde: Clowns To The Left Of Me, Jokers To The Right –

Alnwick Playhouse, Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1PQ, 01665 660550, 8pm, £17.

Robert Temple: The Hypnotist - Unfinished (Work in Progress Show) – The Stand Comedy

Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £10-£12. Have you ever wondered what a hilarious comedy hypnosis show looks like *before* it hits theatres across the country. The Best Of British Comedy – The Forum Theatre, Queensway, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, TS23 2LJ, 01642 552 663, 8pm, £15. Featuring Paul Eastwood, BGT finalist impressionist Danny Posthill and Cerys Nelmes.

Friday • 18

Beat The Gong with MC Danny McLoughlin – Arc, Dovecot

Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £10. Twelve hot, hilarious, new acts try to beat the dreaded gong and win over the ARC audience!

Saturday • 19

Daliso Chaponda: Apocalypse Not Now – Arc, Dovecot Street,

Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, £15. Finalist of Britain’s Got Talent and star of BBC Radio 4’s Citizen of Nowhere. Nigel NG - The HAIYAA Tour – The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 4pm, £15. The creator of global viral sensation ‘Uncle Roger’ and host of podcast sensation ‘Rice To Meet You’. Nish Kumar - Control – Tyne Theatre and Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 8pm, £21.

Seann Walsh: Back From The Bed – Middlesbrough

Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 8pm, £17.50.

Sunday • 20

Felt Tips – Bobik’s, The

Punch Bowl Hotel, 125 Jesmond Road, Newcastle, NE2 3JY, 0191 284 0490, 7.30pm, £5. A new comedian and new act night with at least 8 acts! Featuring Kelly Edgar & Jake Donaldson.

Matt Reed Doesn’t Ask For Much Just An Hour Of Your Time (And A Small Fee To Get Into The Venue) –

The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £8.

Monday • 21

Tom Houghton ‘Honour Tour’

– The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £15. Hilarious stories and sharp-eyed silver spoon observations.

Tuesday • 22

Mark Thomas: 50 Things About Us – The Stand Comedy

Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8pm, £15. Join Mark Thomas as he shows clips from and talks about the ground breaking: The Mark Thomas Comedy Product.

Wednesday • 23

Dara Ó Briain: So, Where Were We? – Globe Theatre, 153A High St, Stockton, TS18 1PL, 8pm, From £27.40.

Janey Godley: Janey Godley’s Soup

– The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 8pm, £20. Live voice over’s and stand up like you’ve never seen before.

Thursday • 24

Janey Godley’s Soup Pot Tour –

Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 8pm, £20. Live voice over’s and stand up like you’ve never seen before.

Friday • 25

Count Arthur Strong - And This is Me! – Middlesbrough

Theatre, The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, TS5 6SA, 01642 815181, 8pm, £22.50.

Hilarity Bites Comedy Club feat. Duncan Oakley, Kate McCabe, and host Brennan Reece – Bishop

Auckland Town Hall, Market Place, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7NP, 7.30pm, £8 advance / £10 on the door. This show features Duncan Oakley, Kate McCabe, and host Brennan Reece.

Saturday • 26

Gary Delaney : Gary in Punderland

– The Fire Station, High Street West (next to the Sunderland Empire), Sunderland, SR1 3HA, 8pm,

Reginald D Hunter: Bombe Shuffleur – Gala Theatre, Mil-

lennium Place, Durham, DH1 1WA, 03000 266 600, 8pm, £23.

Sunday • 27

Count Arthur Strong - And This is Me! – Tyne Theatre and

Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 8pm, £21.

Jenny Eclair: Sixty! (FFS!)

– Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, 01434 652 477, 7.30pm, £20. Having hit 60 (but still a year younger than Madonna), Jenny Eclair AKA ‘The Face of Vagisan’ confronts a new decade of decrepitude.

Reginald D Hunter: Bomb Shuffleur

– The Stand Comedy Club, 31 High Bridge, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE1 1EW, 0844 693 3336, 8.30pm, £23.

Monday • 28

Jenny Eclair: Sixty! – The Witham, 3 Horsemarket, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8YL, 01833 631 107, 7.30pm, £20. Jenny Eclair AKA ‘The Face of Vagisan’

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 48

22/02/2022 15:52

confronts a new decade of decrepitude.

artists Sita Ostheimer and Alesandra Seutin.

Tuesday • 29

Gala Theatre

Friends: The Musical Parody

– Empire Theatre and Cinema, Front Street, Consett, DH8 5AB, 01207 218171, 7.30pm, £28. An hilarious good-hearted romp through our favourite moments from the hit TV show. Jenny Eclair: Sixty! (FFS!) – Alnwick Playhouse, Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1PQ, 01665 660550, 7.30pm, £22.

Wednesday • 30

Friends! The Musical Parody –

Whitley Bay Playhouse, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, NE26 1LZ, 0844 248 1588, 7.30pm, £32.15.

Thursday • 31

Friends - The Musical Parody –

Tyne Theatre and Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 7.30pm, £30.50.

dance Dance City

Millennium Place, Durham, 03000 266 600

Giovanni Pernice: This Is Me

– 23rd: 7.30pm, £35/£33. Strictly Come Dancing favourite, Giovanni Pernice, is back!

Gosforth Civic Theatre

Regent Farm Road, Newcastle, 0191 284 3700

Liberdade presents Engage

– 25th: 7pm, £tbc. An evening of inclusive dance and physical theatre produced by Liberdade, the organisation that runs Gosforth Civic Theatre.

Northern Stage

Barras Bridge, Newcastle, 0191 2305151 Deluxe – 11th - 12th: 7.30pm, £10-£32. Meet the eight extraordinary young dancers who feature in this explosion of mesmeric dance, fused with the witty and distinctive BalletBoyz trademark use of film and behind the scenes content.

Temple Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 2610505

Sunderland Empire Theatre

£9.50/£8. A night of brand-new commissions from hip hop dance theatre makers in the North East.

Birmingham Royal Ballet - Don Quixote – 10th - 12th: 2pm,

Emerge + See: Breaking Convention – 29th: 6.30pm,

Kattam Katti - Pagrav Dance Company – 5th: 7.30pm,

£8-£13.50. Tales of competition, danger, excitement and unity are vividly brought to life in a joyous and uplifting show. Overflow - Alexander Whitley – 26th: 7.30pm, £8-£16.50. Overflow considers how our desires, fantasies and vulnerabilities are powerfully influenced by social platforms and explores what lurks beneath our compulsions to check, share and like.

Speakeasy - Southpaw Dance Company – 18th - 19th:

7.30pm, £8-£16.50. Speakeasy features a spectacular 1920s themed set, world class projection visuals, a cinematic soundtrack comprising big band classics and contemporary hits, alongside the distinctive Southpaw movement.

Verve - Triple Bill

– 9th: 7.30pm, £9.50/£8. VERVE’s exceptional dancers restage Vertical Road by Akram Khan and perform two bold new commissions by acclaimed international

High Street West, Sunderland, 0844 871 3022

7.30pm, From £13. As the Don sets out on a quest to track down his true love, with his loyal friend and servant Sancho Panza at his side, he finds himself embroiled in an unlikely adventure of love and dreams.

Birmingham Royal Ballet - First Steps: Cinderella’s Storybook

– 10th: 4.30pm, From £11. In this hour-long, interactive show, specially adapted for children aged from three, the storyteller and Cinderella share highlights from some of their favourite ballets.

The Forum Theatre

Queensway, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees, 01642 552 663

Ireland The Show

– 7th: 7.30pm, £25. An unmissable journey through the decades of a globally loved culture.

The Maltings

Eastern Lane, Berwickupon-Tweed, 01289 304005

Northern Ballet: Pinocchio

– 26th: 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, £7/children £6. An original retelling of the classic children’s story, Pinocchio is the perfect

opportunity for your little ones to enjoy live ballet, music and theatre.

The Royal Ballet: Romeo & Juliet (ENCORE BROADCAST)

– 3rd: 7.15pm, £16.75 (£15.75 concs), £8.75 child. Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers experience passion and tragedy in this 20th-century ballet masterpiece.

Theatre Royal

100 Grey Street, Newcastle, 08448 112 121 Johannes Radebe - Freedom – 20th: 7.30pm, 3pm, From £28.50. A celebration of the dances that you love, with Johannes’ signature flair and energy. NDT 2 – 15th - 16th: 7.30pm, £15. For their highly anticipated return to the UK, NDT 2 will perform works by celebrated international choreographers: Marco Goecke, Hans van Manen and Johan Inger, featuring two UK premieres.

Whitley Bay Playhouse

Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, 0844 248 1588

Giovanni Pernice: This Is Me

– 22nd: 7.30pm, £32.80. Strictly Come Dancing favourite, Giovanni Pernice, is back.

opera Darlington Hippodrome

(formerly Darlington Civic Theatre), Parkgate, Darlington, DL1 1RR, 01325 405405 Carmen – 1st: 7.30pm, £15-£40. Feel the thrill of fiery passion, jealousy and violence of 19th century Seville Bizet’s most popular opera. Aida – 2nd: 7.30pm, £15-£40. Verdi brings the ancient Egypt on stage with evolving love story at the backdrop of war.

Theatre Royal

100 Grey Street, Newcastle, NE1 6BR, 08448 112 121 Rigoletto – 23rd, 26th: 7pm, £20/under 30s £10. Verdi clothes this hard-hitting masterpiece in some of his most impassioned music. Carmen – 25th: 7pm, £20/£10. Bizet’s masterpiece of sexual obsession and self-destruction is enduringly popular for many reasons, not the least of which is its brilliantly characterful score. Rigoletto – 23rd, 26th: 7pm, £20/under 30s £10. Verdi clothes this hard-hitting masterpiece in some of his most impassioned music. www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 49

22/02/2022 15:53

FILM FILM of the month The Worst Person in the World

Director: Joachim Trier. Stars: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier’s third instalment of his loose ‘Oslo trilogy’ is a masterful character study that is likely to strike a rich chord with millennials – and everyone else. We first encounter Julie (Reinsve), a twenty-nine-yearold single woman, at a party where most of the guests are middle-aged. A woman shares with Julie her supposed insights on the young. With her thirties breathing down her neck, Julie is still weighing up her career options. She has trained in medicine, but is thinking of switching to psychology. Then she meets Aksel (Danielsen Lie), an intensely-focused graphic designer who sees Julie’s indecision as endearingly scatty, in contrast to his well-ordered life. Personal differences mean that Julie drifts towards Eivind (Nordrum) another aimless millennial. Divided into twelve chapters, along with a prologue and epilogue, this is a richly nuanced drama that is in turns archly amusing and melancholic. Reinsve is luminous

as the protagonist who is sure there is a life to be led before she settles down, but not exactly sure what that constitutes, while the richly-layered script, penned by Trier and regular collaborator Eskil Vogt, ensures that all Julie’s decisions are accounted for, whether we concur with her choices or not. Trier’s direction is playfully eclectic but never distracting. In the film’s most audacious sequence, time stands still while Julie traverses Oslo en route to meet with a new lover.

Great Freedom

Ali & Ava

Europa

Hive

Great Freedom

Allies’ victory. New cellmate, the homophobic Viktor, demands, in vain, to be moved to another cell and behaves threateningly towards Hans. He later comes to respect his cellmate’s bravery and uncompromising nature and offers to tattoo over Hans’ concentration camp number. Austrian director Meise locates Genet-style moments of grace in the wretched dank prison setting, while skilfully juggling the chronology (there are also sequences set in the late 50s) with his actors managing to convey the passing of time and the weathering effects of experience with minimal makeup. The always excellent Rogowski, probably better known for playing more softspoken characters, delivers a career-best performance as the defiant Hans, and Friedrich is equally impressive, with Viktor’s gruff, tough exterior belying a real sensitivity and sense of comradeship.

Shaun Thomas, Ellora Torchia Writer-director Barnard sticks to the council estate setting of previous films, experimental debut ‘The Arbor’ and the poetic realist ‘The Selfish Giant’, for this comparatively mainstream Bradford-set story of two disparate souls finding common ground. The always reliable Akhtar is Ali, a kindly landlord (steady now!) and hyperactive music obsessive, recently separated from his wife (Tochia), who is trying to keep the split a secret from his devout family. Ava (Rushbrook) is a down-to-earth, cheerful teacher’s assistant and grandmother living with her twenty-something son. They meet when Ali is picking up one of his tenant’s kids and he offers to give Ava a lift and shelter from the rain. Teasing each other about their music tastes – she likes country and he’s a banging choons dance fan – the two establish a rapport. Problems emerge however when Ava’s son Callum (Thomas), who still misses his father, is resentful and racist towards her

mother’s new acquaintance. Despite a brief running time, the story takes in cultural differences, mental health, and the unacknowledged sexuality of older people, but it feels a little underwritten and over-reliant on, admittedly handsomely-rendered, shots of the protagonists lost in reverie. Nevertheless, it boasts heartfelt and entirely relatable turns from Akhtar and Rushbrook.

Director: Sebasatian Meise Stars: Franz Rogowski, Georg Friedrich, Thomas Prenn, Anton von Lucke Unfolding over three time periods, this deftly-executed drama revolves around the relationship between an imprisoned, unapologetically gay man, and a fellow con. It starts with whirring projector footage of some gay men cottaging in a German bathroom. It is revealed that this is recorded police footage at the 1968 trial of Hans Hoffman (Rogowski). The blasé-seeming Hoffman’s quiet acceptance of the jury’s guilty verdict suggests that this is not his first time he’s been in trouble with the law. In prison he encounters Viktor (Friedrich) an older inmate and murderer with whom Hans shares a history. The film flashes back to their first meeting in 1945 when Hans, a ‘175-er’ (a code given to gay men by the Nazis), is transferred from a concentration camp to civilian prison, following the 50

Ali & Ava Director: Clio Barnard. Stars: Claire Rushbrook, Adeel Akhtar,

Europa Director: Haider Rashid. Stars: Adam Ali, Svetlana Yancheva Based on real accounts and mainly captured in severe, immediate close-ups with minimal dialogue, this gripping, harrowing and alltoo timely picture charts a young Iraqi refugee’s fraught journey on the ‘Balkan route’ to Europe. Introductory title cards spell out how migrants crossing from Turkey to Bulgaria are terrorised by law enforcement officials and selfappointed ‘Migrant Hunter’ >>>

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 50

22/02/2022 11:25

FILM Film Alnwick Playhouse

FILM of the month 2 Red Rocket Director: Sean Baker. Stars: Simon Rex, Suzanna Son, Bree Elrod, Brenda Deiss, Judy Hill A washed-out porn star tries to rebuild his life in Sean Baker’s fantastic and cheekily subversive satire. Covered in bruises and with seemingly no possessions, Mikey Saber (Baker) is riding the bus back to his Texas Gulf Coast hometown after an absence of some sixteen years. He makes his way to the house of his estranged wife Lexi (Elrod) where she lives with her elderly mother Lil (Deiss). Initially they want nothing to do with him, but Mikey eventually cajoles them into letting him stay with the promise of mucking in with the chores and contributing towards the rent. Finding honest work proves impossible with a sixteenyear gap in his resume, even more so after Mikey comes clean about his porno past, so he resorts to dealing weed for local matriarch Leondria (Hill). Later, while treating Lexi and her mother to donuts, he spies pretty seventeen-yearold donut shop employee Raylee (Son), and a business opportunity presents itself. Rex is hilarious and horribly compelling as the hyperactive, constantly hustling Mikey. He is such a magnetic presence that audiences may feel incriminated in warming to him when his true nature is revealed. Set during the US 2016 election, the picture also works as an allegory with Mikey as a Trumpian mountebank figure, full of flash and unswerving selfconfidence, but leaving only damage in his wake.

Bondgate Without, Alnwick, Northumberland, 01665 660550 Death on the Nile – 11th, 12th, 16th: 7pm, £6.75-£9.50. While on vacation on the Nile, Detective Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress when a couples idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Nightmare Alley – 4th: 7pm, £6.75-£9.50. An ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is. Sing 2 2nd: 7pm, £9.50/£9/£6.75. Can-do koala Buster Moon and his all-star cast of animal performers prepare to launch their most dazzling stage extravaganza yet. The Duke 18th - 19th: 1.30pm, 7pm, £6.75-£9.50. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.

Arc

Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, 01642 525 199 Nightmare Alley (15) 2nd - 3rd: 7.30pm, 2pm, £4-£8. An ambitious carny with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychiatrist who is even more dangerous than he is. Parallel Mothers (15) 5th - 10th: 2pm, 7.30pm, £4-£8. Two single women meet in a hospital room where they are both going to give birth. The two women form a strong bond with one another as they both confront motherhood.

hexham abbey

Beaumont Street, Hexham, 01434 603057 Phantom of the Opera 19th: 7.30pm, £10£12.50. Screening of the 1925 film with a live organ score from Jonathan Eyre.

Jam Jar Cinema

18-24 Park Avenue, Whitley Bay. For screening times visit jamjarcinema.com Belfast (12A) 2nd - 3rd: Times(s) tbc, £7-£9. A poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s. Death on the Nile (12A) 1st - 3rd: Times(s) tbc, £7-£9. Hercule Poirot must investigate the murder of a young heiress when a couples idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. The Batman 4th - 16th: Times(s) tbc, £7-£9. Starring Robert Pattinson in the dual role of Gotham City’s vigilante detective and his alter ego, Bruce Wayne. The Duke 1st - 13th: Times(s) tbc, £7-£9. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.

Queen’s Hall Arts Centre

Beaumont Street, Hexham, 01434 652 477

Tyne Valley Film Festival: Buster Keaton Films

23rd: 7.30pm, £7.50/£5. A selection of films starring Buster Keaton. The programme includes Hard Luck, The Goat, The Playhouse and The Boat.

Saltburn community theatre

Albion Terrace, Saltburn, TS12 1JW saltburn film festival 10h-13th. Documentary special featuring ‘Woof! A celebration of dogs in Silent Films’, ‘Sound It Out’,

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 51

22/02/2022 15:54

FILM civilian militia. A nervewracking opening scene filmed in near darkness, has young Iraqi Kamal (British Libyan actor Ali) and his fellow refugees swooped on by the authorities and bullets ring out while panic and confusion reigns. Later, a trafficker tells them he wants more money and a scuffle ensues, sending Kamal fleeing off into the woods. As well as the local migrant hunters who roam the beautiful Bulgarian forest as if on an animalhunting exhibition, Ali also encounter a terrified young woman (Yancheva) who offers him a lift, but then panics after hearing news of the war on the radio. With its disorienting camerawork that keeps an intense focus on the protagonist, and his immediate surroundings out of focus, effectively communicating Ali’s panicked and terrified state, the film feels redolent of harrowing Holocaust drama ‘Son of Saul’ and boasts a similarly unsettling sound design. The running time is slight at just over seventy minutes, but that may be a blessing.

FILM Government, and the revenue generated by her missing husband’s beehives, she decides to start a pickled red pepper business, against the wishes of the other members of the household. Women going to work are still frowned on in this deeply patriarchal society and when she learns to drive, she gets a stone through her window for her trouble, while local men look on impassively. Still, with the valuable help of her laconic and irreverent older friend Naze (Hoxha), the business becomes a success and before long Fahrije has earned the grudging respect of locals and family members alike. Inspired by her determination, other village women are persuaded to join her venture. Basholli’s presentation is unfussy, and despite the upbeat upward trajectory, the director never downplays the seriousness of Fahrije’s situation. An early sequence has her picking through body bags looking for the remains of her missing husband.

Hive Director: Blerta Basholli. Stars: Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Kumrije Hoxha This rousing debut feature from writer-director Blerta Basholli skilfully melds an inspirational feminist tale, based on a true story, to a realistically knotty depiction of the aftermath of war. During the 1998-1999 Kosovo war many women lost their husbands and partners. Fahrije (Gashi) is one such woman, living in rural Kosovo with her rebellious teenage daughter and younger son. She is also looking after her cantankerous wheelchair bound fatherin-law (Lajçi). Struggling to get by on the pittance she receives from the

Paris, 13th District Director: Jacques Audiard. Stars: Noémie Merlant, Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Jehnny Beth This bittersweet look at the lives, loves and ambitions of three Parisian twentysomethings, adapted by Céline Sciamma from the graphic

novels of US cartoonist Adrian Tomine, signals a slight change of gear for the normally intense drama-inclined Audiard. Zhang is Emilie a science graduate who seems happy slumming it in a telesales job. Camille (Samba) is a postgraduate who lodges with Emilie in her Les Olympiades tower block. Fellow Olympiades-dweller, Nora (Merlant) is a shy law student who works with Camille. Nora is horrified when she is mistaken by fellow students for the erotic webcam artiste Amber Sweet (Savages’ singer Beth). It meanders a little, but it’s beautifully rendered in black and white, the flawed but relatable trio of characters are sympathetically played, and in its strongest moments, the picture captures the rhythm and random moments of melancholy, warmth and wonder of big city life. The focus on sex and sex work ensure it’s destined to be described as ‘typically French’.

AND THE REST Robert Pattison is the latest to don the cowl as the moody crime fighter in reboot/ sequel/prequel (delete as appropriate) The Batman; Mark Rylance’s amateur golfer riles the golfing community when he realises his dream of participating in the British Open Golf Championship in Britcom Phantom of the Open; writer-director Catarina Vasconcelos sifts through the memories and dreams of her ancestors in poetic Portuguese documentary/drama The Metamorphosis of Birds. Reviews of the above will appear online.

David Willoughby Follow David on @DWill_Crackfilm

about the popular independent record store in Stockton; ‘Goth Cruise’, presenting the Fourth Annual Goth Cruise around Bermuda and more.

Star & Shadow Cinema

210 Warwick Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Before Sunrise (1995, USA, 15) 10th - 13t. Written

by Linklater and Kim Krizan it’s a movie inspired by personal experience contrasting intimate and subjective perspectives on ‘love’.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018, USA, 15) 24th:

7.30pm. Based on the incredible true story, Can You Ever Forgive Me? follows struggling author Lee Israel as she turns to the art of deception. Celia (1989, Aust, 18) 6th: 7.30pm, £7/£5. Celia, an imaginative and somewhat disturbed young girl fantasizes about evil creatures and other oddities to mask her insecurities while growing up in rural Australia during the Red Scare.

An erotic psychological mystery with Kidman and Cruise playing out the psychic consequences of an empty unfulfilled marriage. Hausu 13th: 2pm, £7/£5. A schoolgirl and six of her classmates travel to her aunt’s country home, which turns out to be haunted.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990, USA, 18) 10th: 7.30pm. A

Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams and delusions.

Midsommar (2019, USA/Swe, 18) 31st: 7.30pm. Friends travel to Sweden to visit a mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into violent and bizarre competition.

Rushmore (1998, USA, 15)

Climax (2018, France, 18)

13th: 7.30pm, £7/£5. Wes Anderson’s second feature film is one of the preeminant coming-of-age comedies of the 1990s.

Derek Jarman Season: Blue

you can. Based on the book by autistic author Naoki Higashida the film explores the experiences of non-speaking autistic people around the world.

20th: 7.30pm, £0-£7. Dancers gather in a remote school building to rehearse, but the all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD. 27th: 7.30pm. His most famous (and final) film is about a colour - International Klein Blue. Narration by the director and some of his long-time collaborators’, soundtrack from Coil.

Derek Jarman Season: Caravaggio 25th: 7.30pm. This

impressionist biopic is as beautiful and vibrant as the paintings of the baroque artist whose life it tries to capture.

Derek Jarman Season: Double Bill 12th: 7.30pm.

Derek - Intimate and poetic portrait of Derek Jarman, and Glitterbug - Collage of Super 8 fragments made by Derek Jarman, assembled by his friends after his death in 1994, soundtrack by Brian Eno.

Derek Jarman Season: Wittgenstein 19th:

7.30pm. Experimental and minimalist comedy-drama, loosely based on the life of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (who lived in Newcastle for a short time).

Eyes Wide Shut (1999, USA-UK,

18) 3rd: 7.30pm, £7/£5.

The Reason I Jump (2001, US-UK, 12A) 6th: 2pm, Pay as

Wolfwalkers (2020, USA, PG)

19th: 2pm. Relaxed Screening. Animated adventure film. Robyn and her father travel to Kilkenny to hunt the last wolf pack.

The Forum Cinema

8-9 Market Place, Hexham, 01434 601144 Ali & Ava (15) 27th: 7pm, £5-£8.50. Ali & Ava, both lonely for different reasons, meet and sparks fly. Over a lunar month a deep connection begins to grow, despite the legacy of Ava’s past relationship, and Ali’s emotional turmoil at the breakdown of his marriage. American Utopia (12A) 18th: 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. A concert film that doubles as a joyously cathartic celebration of the music from former Talking Heads frontman, David Byrne.

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache (PG) 20th:

4.45pm, £5-£8.50. A documentary investigating the full scope of the life and work of cinema’s

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 52

22/02/2022 15:54

first female director, screenwriter, producer, and studio owner. Belle (12A) 8th - 9th: 9.30pm, 1.15pm, £5£8.50. Suzu is a shy high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters U, a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a globally-beloved singer. Cyrano (12A) 25th - 31st: Times(s) tbc, £5-£8.50. Too self-conscious to woo Roxanne himself, wordsmith Cyrano de Bergerac helps young Christian nab her heart through love letters. Drive My Car (15) 15th - 16th: 7pm, 12pm, £5-£8.50. After his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima. There, he begins to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind. Flee (15) 22nd: 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. The extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden

past for the first time.

Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters 23rd: 7.30pm,

£5-£8.50. A documentary shot over a decade with unprecedented access to photographer Gregory Crewdson that bares the artist’s process.

Hunt For The Wilderpeople (12A)

21st: 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (PG)

26th: 4pm, £5-£8.50. A distant poor relative of the Duke D’Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession. Living the Change (12A) 19th: 5pm, £5-£8.50. A featurelength documentary that explores solutions to the global crises we face today. Marry Me (12A) 4th - 9th: 1.15pm, 4.30pm, 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. Music superstars Kat Valdez and Bastian are getting married before a global audience of fans. But when Kat learns, seconds before her vows, that Bastian has been

unfaithful, she decides to marry Charlie, a stranger in the crowd, instead.

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (15) 25th: 7pm, £5-£8.50.

Featuring never-beforeseen archival footage, studio outtakes, and rare photos, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool tells the story of a truly singular talent.

Parallel Mothers (15)

1st - 2nd: 7.30pm, 12.45pm, £5-£8.50. Two single women meet in a hospital room where they are both going to give birth. They form a strong bond with one another as they both confront motherhood. Quant (12A) 22nd: 1.30pm, £5-£8.50. The first official feature documentary celebrating the incredible life of one of the most influential icons of the 20th Century, fashion designer Dame Mary Quant.

Short Films by Alice Guy-Blache (PG) 20th: 7pm, £5. A

selection of short films by Alice Guy-Blaché including: Falling Leaves (1912), The Little Rangers (1912), and The Ocean Waif (1916).

The Beatles: Get Back Rooftop Concert 12th: 7.30pm,

£5-£8.50. The Beatles’

unforgettable final concert featuring footage from Peter Jackson’s fantastic docuseries, Get Back. The Duke (12A) 11th - 24th: Times(s) tbc, £5-£8.50. In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.

The Real Charlie Chaplin (12A)

29th: 7.30pm, 1.15pm, £5-£8.50. A look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin in his own words featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life magazine in 1966. Toni Erdmann (15) 24th: 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. A practical joking father tries to reconnect with his hard working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as her CEO’s life coach.

Tyneside Cinema

10 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 0191 227 5500 Aristocrats 15th: 6pm, £8.25-£10.75. When the paths of Hanako and Miki are set on a collision course over the affections of aristocratic

lawyer Koichiro, both women realise that there may be other paths available to them. Blue 23rd: 6.15pm, £8.25£10.75. Kazuki seems to have everything: glorious success in the boxing ring and a developing romance. Nobuto and his disciple Tsuyoshi, however, find themselves on the ropes both in and out of the ring. Off The Rails + Q&A 3rd: 6pm, £8.25-£10.75. Three middle-aged friends reunite for an interrailing trip to honour the memory of their friend, Anna. Plus Q&A with director Jules Williamson.

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone 12th

- 14th: 5pm, 7.45pm, £8.25-£10.75. Newly cut, retitled and restored, this is a unique chance to witness Francis Ford Coppola’s true vision for the film.

The Godfather Part II (4k restoration) 5th - 9th:

2.25pm, 4.45pm, 5pm, £8.25-£10.75. An opus of American cinema that unfolds in one of the most influential crime sagas ever committed to celluloid. The House of the Lost Cape 8th:

6.30pm, £8.25-£10.75. Separated from their families and having no place to go, two young girls, Yui and Hiyori, are given the chance to start afresh by a kindly but strange old lady who invites them into her home. The Hunter’s Diary 31st: 6pm, £8.25-£10.75. Trouble starts for misogynist and philanderer Ichiro Honda when a string of women he has had affairs with begin to die in mysterious circumstances.

various venues in tyne valley

www.tynevalleyfilmfestival.com

tyne valley film festival

18th-27th March. 10 days of cinema, 35 screenins and events, 17 community venues, 1 fantastic festival.

Whitley Bay Playhouse

Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, 0844 248 1588

BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2022 4th:

7.30pm, £18.50. Witness epic human-powered feats, life-affirming challenges and mind-blowing cinematography - all on the big screen!

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 53

22/02/2022 15:54

BOOK Book of the month Case Study Graeme Macrae Burnet, Saraband Graeme Macrae Burnet is surely one of the best writers working in the UK today. His second novel ‘His Bloody Project’, about a brutal triple murder in the Scottish Highlands, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and he’s also written two novels featuring the downtrodden detective Georges Gorski. His latest

Out of the Dark David Gaffney, Confingo In a high rise on outskirts of Birmingham, Daniel Quinn has rented a flat that was used for a few scenes in his favourite film noir. He watches the videotape on repeat, searching for the answer to a puzzle he keeps us in the dark about. As Quinn describes the film, its various angles and scenes intersperse with his own life – both past and present. All the while his intense obsession with Out of the Dark specifically, and film noir in general, make us wonder how reliable he is as a narrator. Gaffney describes both the film and Quinn’s life with incredible precision, blurring the line between reading and watching. (It’s not surprising given that Gaffney lived in a flat just like Quinn’s.) Just like a film noir, Gaffney deftly handles past and present, dropping both clues and red herrings along the way, all the while pulling us towards the answer that Quinn is searching for. KM

Take Ten Thousand Apologies (Fat White Family and the Miracle of Failure) Adelle Stripe & Lias Saoudi, White Rabbit Take this rock biog with a pinch of salt or, more appropriately, a line of something stronger, and revel in its well written mythologies. Questions about truth or otherwise are totally beside the point, as the very first sentence suggests, “This is a fictional biography and an alternative version of historic events”. How do you even figure out the truth when the Fat White’s head honcho Lias Saoudi has taken more drugs than most people have had hot dinners? The truth? It’s as truthful as any other rock biog or music book. Just forget the audit and take Ten Thousand Apologies as a ride, a beautiful, insane ride, immaculately organised and written. And what a story it is, a story that had me in a stranglehold from page one. SL

begins with him, Graeme Macrae Burnet, delving into the life and work of Collins Braithwaite, a figure who was infamous in the 1960’s “anti-psychiatry movement”. His investigations into Braithwaite manifest themselves in a series of blog posts. And it’s because of these posts that someone gets in touch with him, a Mr Martin Grey, to offer him six notebooks that contain the journal of his cousin, whom Grey claims was a patient

of Braithwaite. He also tells him the notebooks contain “certain allegations” he is sure he will find of interest. All of this is relayed over the first few pages of the tale. The rest of the text intersperses biographical details of Braithwaite’s life, with the actual notebooks. Braithwaite is, of course, an entirely fictional character, but he’s brought to life here in a compelling narrative that had me engrossed right until the last page. RM

Detransition, Baby

Supper Club

Torrey Peters, Serpent’s Tail Nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021, this is a story about three women who are brought together by an unexpected pregnancy and forced to confront their ideas of queerness and motherhood. Ames, who is mainly referred to using male pronouns, used to live his life as a transgender woman. After detransitioning, he accidentally gets his boss pregnant and asks his ex-girlfriend, a trans woman named Reese who is desperate to become a mother, to help raise the baby. While the premise is a little contrived (in what world would you agree to share your baby with your partner’s ex?) it’s unusual enough to make the story dramatic and gripping. Peters describes queer issues without preaching, and you’re bound to learn something about the trans experience that you didn’t previously know. But to describe this as an ‘educational’ novel feels like disservice to how sharpwitted, gracefully written and just straight-up enjoyable it is. MG

Lara Williams, Penguin Some novels win you over with their cover, others come highly recommended, but Supper Club sold me on the premise alone. A secret society of women meet up to feast on insane amounts of food, do drugs and practice being unapologetic about their bodies. For women, most pleasures are tied up in guilt and shame, so I devoured this book like it was the feast itself. It follows Roberta, a deeply lonely and anxious young woman, through both her university days and her late twenties. Both ashamed of eating and in love with cooking, traumatised by male violence but desperate to be loved, the book deals with the push-and-pull between a contemporary woman’s fears and desires. It’s a cathartic read, but Williams doesn’t let you forget the danger of codependency, the questionable motives of self-proclaimed activists and the isolation that comes from making your home on the fringes of society. MG

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 54

22/02/2022 11:25

BOOK ONE OFFS TUESDAY• 1

AN EVENING WITH MATT WESOLOWSKI & ANN CLEEVES – The Bound, 82a Park View, Whitley Bay, NE26 2TH, 7pm, £6 includes a drink. Join the king of Northern horror, Matt Wesolowski, to celebrate the latest in the Six Stories series, ‘Demon’!

we love books as much as you do

TUESDAY• 8

PAUL FERRIS: THE BOY ON THE SHED – The Lit & Phil,

YOU’VE GOT THE GIG Ryan Murphy I have to admit, when this book – a self-published piece of non-fiction detailing someone’s experiences of working as a cycle courier for Deliveroo – landed on my desk, my heart sank. What next, I thought? My Life As A Baggage Handler at TeesValley Airport? Carpet Fitting in Kidderminster: The Untold Story? But, truth be told, my fears were largely assuaged – with some caveats. The first thing to be said is that the book’s author, Ryan Murphy, can actually write. His sentences make sense; he puts them together in a way that makes clear what he is trying to say; and his grammar is good. He is also an engaging narrator. The books begins in San Francisco with Murphy on his bike – this time for fun not profit. It’s when he returns to northeast, and begins a university course, that he first signs up with Deliveroo. His reasoning seems sound in that he loves bike riding (which keeps him fit) and he can work the hours he chooses. What the book isn’t is a searing indictment of the gig economy. Murphy briefly touches on the nonunionisation of the sector, but he’s largely positive about his experiences. He also gives the reader plenty of facts, some interesting (students spend £925 per year on takeaways) to some that could be filed away under Too Much Information (Tyson Fury’s masturbatory habits before a big fight). When all is said and done, however, the book adds up to nearly 300 pages, and I think even the great Hunter S. Thompson would’ve struggled to hold your interest for every one of those pages in an account that is basically about delivering burgers. RM

23 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE, 0191 2320192, 6pm, Free. Paul Ferris was a teenage prodigy, becoming Newcastle United’s youngest-ever player in 1982, only for injury to ensure his promise went unfulﬁlled. His memoir was published in 2018 to overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim.

MONDAY• 14

AN AUDIENCE WITH PATRICK GALE – Stockton Central

Library, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1TU, 7pm, £5. Author Patrick Gale will be discussing his latest book ‘Mother’s Boy’ with Simon Savidge.

WEDNESDAY• 16

AN EVENING WITH KATE FOX – The Bound, 82a Park View, Whitley Bay, NE26 2TH, 7.30pm, £6 including drink. Celebrating the launch of Kate Fox’s brilliant - and brilliantly titled new book - Where Theres Muck There’s Bras.

THURSDAY• 17

AN EVENING WITH ANNIE GARTHWAITE – Bailiﬀgate

Museum, 14 Bailiﬀgate, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1LX, 01665 605 847, 7.30pm, £6 including drink. Annie Garthwaite comes to Alnwick to talk about her debut novel CECILY and to celebrate Women’s History Month.

TOP TEN BOOKS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

The Midwife Tricia Cresswell Home Cooked Kate Humble Northumberland Rocks Ian Jackson Her Last Request Mari Hannah The Secret of Haven Point Lisette Auton The Language of Food Annabel Abbs Sixteen Horses Greg Buchanan Open Water Caleb Azumah Nelson Cain’s Jawbone E. Powys Mathers Wanderers Kerri Andrews

4 Narrowgate, Alnwick NE66 1JG t. 01665 605857

STELLA GHERVAS - CONQUERING PEACE: FROM THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO THE EUROPEAN UNIONS – The Lit & Phil, 23

Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE, 0191 2320192, 6pm, Free. Based on her new book, Stella Ghervas will show how since the eighteenth century, European thinkers and leaders in pursuit of lasting peace fostered the idea of European uniﬁcation.

FRIDAY• 18

AN EVENING WITH ANNIE GARTHWAITE & TRICIA CRESSWELL– Forum Books, 8 Market Place,

Corbridge, Northumberland, NE45 5AW, 01434 632931, 7.30pm, £6 including drink. Tricia Cresswell and Annie Garthwaite come to Corbridge to talk about their debut novels and to help us celebrate Women’s History Month.

MONDAY• 21

SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING – The Lit & Phil, 23

Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 1SE, 0191 2320192, 7pm, Free. Smokestack poets from the North-east launch their latest book.

THURSDAY• 24

MARI HANNAH & AM PEACOCK: CRIME AUTHORS IN CONVERSATION – Stockton Central Library, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1TU, 6.30pm, £3. Join crime authors Mari Hannah and A. M. Peacock as they discuss their detectives, new books, writing and more.

SATURDAY• 26

EILEEN: THE MAKING OF ORWELL – The Word, The

National Centre for the Written Word, 45 Market Place, South Shields, NE33 1JF, 2pm, Free - booking required. Sylvia Topp discusses her novel ‘Eileen: The Making of George Orwell’. WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 55

22/02/2022 15:54

ALBUMS ALBU M Saba Few Good Things (The Orchard) Of his new album Saba comments: “The concept is the realisation of self after a search for exterior fulﬁlment. It is the satisfaction and completeness you gain by simply living a life that is yours.” Themes of gratitude, heritage, change and remembering where you came from are eﬀortlessly communicated through eloquent lyricism, punctuated by beats that are sometimes moody, sometimes bouncy. Despite becoming a growing presence in the hip hop industry, Saba has still retained the unique, authentic voice of an independent black artist. LT

MARK JAMES HAMMOND & THE SLENDER BLIND

Cast Oﬀ (self release)

MJH&TSB are a recording project from Gateshead and their self-titled debut album, released in 2018, was a dream-pop-dunked thing of beauty. Their second long-player sees Hammond exploring the impact ﬁve years’ worth of training to become a psychotherapist has had on his life (Carl Jung is cited as an inﬂuence). It’s an altogether heavier release than their debut, pleasingly sludgy in parts, but those monumental hooks still pull you right in. Very impressive. GM

Out now

PLACEBO

Never Let Me Go (So Recordings)

Placebo are back! Who’d have thought it! This is their eighth studio album (their ﬁrst in nine years) and, pleased to report, they still have plenty to say about the human condition in all its messy glory. They remain a band who deftly manage to strip away all the unnecessary fat from their songs, leaving us with an art-rock melange that is nicely wired and toting urgent riﬀage. And in Brian Molko they have someone who is always capable of turning out an arresting lyric. GM

Released 25 March

SPECKY CULT

Songs From The Musical (self release)

Specky Cult? Aren’t they that three-piece acoustic punky outﬁt from the north-east who don’t take themselves too seriously? Bang on, and their latest album is packed with tuneful ditties (and ditties is the right word) that are the polar opposite of pofaced. They have some of the joyful exuberance of bands such as The Lovely Eggs – with a smidgeon

of Half Man Half Biscuit – and they certainly know how to pen a right rollicking melody. DP

Out now

BAILEY BIGGER

Coyote Red (Madjack Records)

Born and raised in the small town of Marion, Arkansas – just outside of Memphis – Bailey Bigger has always been steeped in country sounds. And the authentic sound of Americana runs deep through her debut album, which is packed with midtempo, gather-round-thecampﬁre stuﬀ. She’s still only in her early 20s, but her voice already thrums with wisdom, which all adds up to bright new star to get excited about. GM

Released 25 March

JODY & THE JERMS

Flicker (JATJ Records)

Jody & The Jerms formed in Oxford in 2019 and they’ve already caught the ear of BBC 6 Music types with their frothy indie-pop. They do a very nice line in sugar-rush jangled guitars, and although there’s nothing too original going on here, fans of Voice of the Beehive, The Primitives, The Darling Buds, The Long Blondes etc will ﬁnd plenty to get hot under the collar about here. JL

Babeheaven (not a TV show you’ll ﬁnd on channel 946) are a duo from London featuring singer Nancy Anderson and Jamie Travis. They make electronic pop that is far less in-yer-face than their moniker might suggest. And they’ve moved away from their trip-hoppy, bedroom boﬃn sound, which they initially started out with, to something subtler, more wide screen. But they’ve managed to retain that all important sense of intimacy – which I’m sure fans of The XX and Zero 7 will enjoy. DP

I’m never not going to a love an album that contains titles such as ‘Elvis Knickers’, ‘Don’t Swallow The Horse’ and ‘Bob Hope’, particularly an album boasting such impressive electronica chops as this one. It’s been put together by Newcastle’s Brian Feral (aka Acrobotic), a fella obsessed with analog synths. And he’s pushing those Moogs and 101s in some very exciting directions on this release, which is throbbing with exuberant melodies and danceable beats. Absolutely thrilling stuﬀ. DP

Out now

‘Starfruit’ is an explosion of ﬂavour, with a combination of woodwind, electronic and sampled sounds giving each track limitless texture. Amber Navran’s light as a feather vocals multiply and weave together in intoxicating harmonies, adding a little delicacy that combines with laid back, syncopated beats to give the entire album a chilled out vibe. ‘Starfruit’ is worth the listen not only for its blissful sound, but because of the collaborators who feature on many of the songs. LT

Out now

FOXES

The Kick (self release)

HINAKO OMORI

a journey… (Houndstooth)

Sink Into Me (Believe)

Three Dimensions Deep (PMR) Starfruit (Tru Thoughts)

Physical My Elvis (CEL36 Records)

Hinako Omori is a London based sound engineer and her debut album is pure aural balm. She’s interested in the physical and psychological eﬀects of diﬀerent frequencies and takes inspiration from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku

Out now

AMBER MARK MOONCHILD

ACROBOTIK

ability to take it down a notch and narrate her vulnerabilities with emotional ballad ‘Too Much Colour’. LT

Released 18 March

Released 4 March

BABEHEAVEN

or forest-bathing (lying around among trees, to you and me). She brings delicate, ﬁnger-runningup-and-down-your-spine electronics to the fore here, for a release that is both melodic and therapeutic. DP

I’ve been a fan of Foxes since she burst onto everyone’s radio in 2014 with her hit ‘Holding onto Heaven’, but despite entering the music scene with the speed and stealth of her namesake, she also disappeared the same way. Thankfully, Foxes is back and this is everything a pop record should be. Written and recorded over Zoom during the height of the pandemic, it’s no wonder that themes such as new beginnings and freedom dominate the album, with a host of euphoric ﬂoorﬁllers inviting us to never take dancing for granted again. However, she also proves her

In her latest release, up and coming R&B artist Amber Mark takes us on a journey through, as the title suggests, three dimensions: insecurity, self-discovery and self love. The immaculate story-telling of her lyrical talent is made clear by the contrast between the first track ‘One’, a bouncy lament about multiple pressures piling up, to penultimate track ‘Bliss’, a laid back tune about finding peace. Add in a quirky space theme inspired by Mark’s love for sci-fi, her dreamy vocals and an abundance of funky beats and ‘Three Dimensions Deep’ is born. LT

Out now

ALT-J

The Dream (Infectious Music)

At ﬁrst, I thought alt-J’s fourth album was going to be deﬁned by fun and quirkiness - opener ‘Bane’ is a love letter to Coca-Cola and third song ‘Hard Drive Gold’ satirizes cryptocurrency. Then all of a sudden, they struck me right in the feelings with ‘Get Better’, a painfully sincere and heartfelt song about gradually losing someone during the pandemic. ‘The Dream’ is a masterclass in songwriting scope, proving that music can be witty, romantic and mournful all at the same time. LT

Out now

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 56

22/02/2022 11:26

singles si n g le

has been beautifully put together by frequent collaborator and producer Lo-Fi Lenny. And, while, yes, it’s a track that stays in the low gears, it still manages to hold you absolutely rapt. JL

Khaki

Bust Down (self release)

Peking Duk feat. Slayyyter Honest (BMG) US hyperpop singer Slayyyter lends her frothy vocals to this cold-stone banger from the Aussie production duo of Peking Duk. Produced by dance music royalty KLP, its punchy and rhythmic magic grabs you right from the get-go and then never lets up. And it’s a track that manages to pull off that rare trick of being super-bouncy while not being super-annoying. Watch this one set fire to dancefloors all through 2022. JL Holly Rees

English Bay (self release)

This north-east lass has been winning plaudits well beyond our own fair region (including from 6 Music’s Tom Robinson who commented: “Her track ‘Toast’ floored me.’). Her latest was written while she was on tour in Canada (they like her over there, too), and it put me in mind of Courtney Barnett with its gritty but free-wheeling indie charm and pointed lyrics. Super! DP

Hayley McKay

Find Myself (self release)

Hayley Mckay is a local singer/songwriter who is gaining a big reputation in country circles. Indeed, her recent single ‘Wild West’ was shortlisted as UK Song of the Year at the British Country Music Association awards. Her latest was co-written with the award-winning Nashville songwriter Bill DiLuigi and it’s just gorgeous – a redemptive and heartfelt paean to the music she loves. McKay is the real deal and make no mistake. DP

Ten Eighty Trees

Path Finder (self release)

This north-east trio have never knowingly been shrinking wallflowers, and on their latest they’re giving it both barrels. This is unapologetically rousing stuff, rock but rock with a purpose; rock with a melody the size of a football stadium; rock

that grabs you by the lapels and propels you to a better place. Absolutely corking. GM

India Arkin

No Innocent Bystander (self release) Oh wow! I’ve not heard much from this Newcastle based singer/songwriter but this EP blew me away. It features three tracks – all superb – of gentle, leftfield indie, which is never less than sonically interesting and thrumming with great melodies. That she has a voice every bit as intimate and eminently listenable as Laura Marling doesn’t hurt either. Get India Arkin in your life! DP

Salsola

Disappearing (self release)

This female fronted local indie-rock band have been garnering plenty of airplay of late – not least with their fine last single ‘The Seekers’ – and their latest should also see them winning plenty of attention. It’s a track that concerns itself with mental health – and how there must be more to life than the usual routines – and it gradually builds and builds into a cathartic release. Impressive. GM

Charlie Layzell

Parked Car (self release)

This Newcastle-based rapper has a beautiful, unhurried flow – reminiscent of someone like Loyle Carner – and he’s at his languid best on his latest single, which

Khaki is a local rapper who, judging by the video for his latest tune, has certainly embraced the more excessive trimmings of the genre. From the scantily clad model, to a wardrobe dripping in Gucci, he’s all in. But he also knows how to drop subtle, head-nodding beats, and his latest is a proper trap-inflected earworm. GM

Nel Unlit

So, Basically (Butterfly Effect)

The latest from this Middlesbrough collective is as beguiling as anything they’ve yet come up with. Of it they say: “Musically, we took some ukulele recordings from about ten years ago and split the riffs across guitar, bass and cello.” If that makes it sound a bit of a mess then you’d be wrong, because this sounds like Arcade Fire on a folky tip – yep, that good – and it bodes well for their forthcoming album, which is due out in May. DP

Hector Gannet

The Eighth Day (self release)

Aaron Duff is the mover and groover behind North Shields’ Hector Gannet and of this latest single he says, “It was partly inspired by a childhood memory of staring at the night sky and suddenly feeling extremely overwhelmed and frightened at the enormity of it all.” It’s a suitably wide-eyed slice of indie-folk-rock, full of wonder and packed with memorable hooks, and it confirms Duff as one of the region’s most interesting singer/ songwriters. DP

Ninebanks

Innocent (self release)

This Sunderland outfit must eat sunshine for breakfast, because their defiantly pop-punk sound oozes carefree vibes. This single, which is more guitar-pop than guitarpunk, barrels along at quite a gallop and is laden with delicious licks galore. Fans of early noughties bands such as Blink-182 will find plenty to entertain them here. DP www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 57

22/02/2022 15:54

Queer

Jarman

This March, The Star & Shadow are celebrating the life and work of Derek Jarman. As a radical, political and unapologetically queer activist in the 1980s, Derek Jarman was a leading campaigner against Section 28, the law that banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools. He also lived openly with HIV and sought to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS, and his artistic work was reflective of these values. His films depicted homosexual love and subverted the homophobia within mainstream cinema of the time

providing a space of representation for queer audiences. Jarman’s most famous films ‘Wittgenstein’, ‘Caravaggio’ (pictured), and ‘Blue’ will be shown alongside ‘Derek’, Issac Julien’s portrait of Jarman’s life and legacy, and ‘Glitterbug’, a collage of Super 8 fragments made by Jarman and pulled together by his friends after his death. Get yourself along to one (or all!) of these viewings, celebrate the iconic queer maverick, and experience and learn about his influence in queer history. CJ Derek Jarman season, 12-27 March, Star & Shadow, Newcastle. starandshadow.org.uk

drop dead Queer lovers of reality TV will have watched competitors on this show being tasked with challenges of spectacular costumes, special effects makeup and live drag performances. The popular series, originally aired on YouTube, has been streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Shudder.com, and now its top four supermonsters are coming to Newcastle for a night of Drag, Filth, Horror and Glamour – the show’s four main themes. Hosts, the Boulet Brouthers, aka Dracmorda and Swanthula Boulet, are celebrated as queer icons thanks to their inclusivity of all genders. Dragula comprises of a broad spectrum of queer competitors including non-binary folks, a drag king and an AFAB drag artist. Not only that, but the acts, with their jaw-dropping outfits, are genuinely entertaining. Don’t be scared. The only fear you should have is fear of missing out! CJ The Boulet Brothers, Friday 18 March, Riverside, Newcastle, 7pm, £22.50. riversidencl.ticketline.co.uk 58

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula Official Season 4 UK tour is coming to Newcastle.

Bend me shape me I’ve always wondered how to make my Sunday mornings queerer, and the answer is – get this! – queer yoga.

Are you an avid downward facing dogger? Or simply a master of lying on your back with your eyes closed? Either way, no experience of yoga is required at these classes, run by Nicky Waters (pictured), which are being offered to all LGBTQ+ folk, including allies. Yoga is a practice that should be available to ALL, but many people feel excluded and unwelcome in mainstream yoga classes. Few places are more friendly than an LGBTQIA+ friendly space, so, if you are new to yoga practice and are looking for a way in without judgement, these sessions are a good place to start. Find connection, recharge and meet other members of the queer community – what’s not to love? CJ DiverCity Hub, Buckingham St, Newcastle, Sundays, 11am-12pm, £8 (unwaged free). More info: nickywaters.com (Instagram: @nickywaterz)

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 58

22/02/2022 11:26

Queer queer Thursday• 3

Northern Proud Voices –

ReCoCo 1 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF, 7pm, £4 per session/£2 concession. North East’s largest and longest-running choir for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans people and friends-of. Meeting every Thursday. All Welcome!

Friday• 4

We The Queers – Arc Dovecot Street, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1LL, 01642 525 199, 8pm, ay what you decide. Join Bordello Collective as they curate a collage of cabaret made up of fabulous artists from the world of drag, queer cabaret and performance arts. Bordello Collective are a Queer arts group based in Teesside. Masters of making work that responds to space, place and people, the collective’s artists each work across a range of diverse mediums.

Sunday• 6

Queer Yoga Sundays – DiverCity Hub Buckingham St, Newcastle, NE4, 11am, £8/unwaged Free. The classes are an offering to all LGBT+ folk , including allies. Coming to the classes will offer a chance to learn techniques to connect, relax and recharge with your queer community. No experience of Yoga is required.

tuesday• 8

Tyne To Stand Up – Tyne Theatre and Opera House, 111 Westgate Road, Newcastle, NE1 4AG, 0844 2491000, 8pm, £10. A gala of the great women comedians in the North East to mark International Women’s Day. Featuring Host Sammy Dobson, Lauren Pattison, Louise Young, ZoeRachel Jackson, Katherine Tanney, Anja Atkinson, Hannah Walker, Lauren Stone, Estelle Anderson, Elaine Robertson, Sam Mayes, Catherine Scott, Julie Grady Thomas, Catherine Young, Kelly Edgar.

Wednesday• 9

Queer Book Club – Base

Camp Exchange House, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough, Teesside, TS1 1DB, 07415 685007, 6pm, Free. This monthly Queer Book Club takes place the second Wednesday of each month. Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community welcome!

Thursday• 10

Pick ‘n’ Mix – Boiler Shop 20 South Street, Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, NE1 3PE, 7pm, £25. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK S3 supergroup PICK ‘N’ MIX are hitting the road on their official headline tour throughout March 2022 featuring Ella Vaday, Choriza May, River Medway & Vanity Milan. The Bleeding Obvious

you feel. Yoga session with Be and LGBT+ Northern Social Group.

wednesday• 16

Intergalactic (Petals and Constellations)– Live

Theatre, 27 Broad Chare, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3DQ, 0191 232 1232, 7.30pm, £8/£6. Johnny isn’t one of the cool kids. He likes physics, space and Professor Brian ‘saucepot’ Cox. He is struggling to move on from a family tragedy. But when new boy, Hassan joins the school forces of nature seem to pull them together. Alison Scurfield’s play is a witty and tender tale about grief, growing up gay and the universe.

– Prohibition Cabaret Bar 25 Pink Lane, Newcastle, NE1 5DW, 7.30pm, £7.50. What happens when you tumble out of the big pink closet and across the LGBTQ+ spectrum in a sprawling heap? Well, life is never quite as straight as it seems... One-woman cabaret THE BLEEDING OBVIOUS (aka Yorkshire lesbian Jessica Rowbottom) endeavours to describe the experience with original songs and tales which are sometimes funny, occasionally poignant, frequently emotional, usually queer - and it’s probably the only show with the lyrics demisexual panromantic polyamorous androgyne“!

Friday• 18

Saturday• 12

Saturday• 19

– Middlesbrough Town Hall Albert Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2QJ, 01642 729 729, 10.30am, Free. The group was established to create a safe space where LGBTQIA+ and/or gender non-conforming young people feel supported and comfortable to connect with one another whilst exploring their creativity. Guided by Group Leader Holly Gallagher, they meet once a month to catch-up with each other, whilst taking part in fun creative activities and be inspired by exploring different artforms with guest artists. Suitable for: 12-17 year olds (without their adults) who are LGBTQIA+, gender non-conforming or questioning their identity.

Cinema 8-9 Market Place, Hexham, NE46 1XF, 01434 601144, 7.30pm, £5-£8.50. The film follows a tight-knit group of friends who met at Greenham Common peace camp and went on to become artists, performers, musicians and activists in London.

Curious Arts Youth Group

DEREK JARMAN: A SEASON OF FILMS – Star & Shadow

Cinema, 210 Warwick Street, Newcastle, NE2 1BB, 07938 257 663, 12th-27th, £7/£5. Celebrating the life and work of Derek Jarman with screenings of Derek, Glitterbug, Caravaggio, Wittgenstein and Blue.

Sunday• 13

Yoga session with Be and LGBT+ Northern Social Group –

The Boulet Brothers Dragula

– Riverside 1 The Close, Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3RQ, 0191 260 5001, 7pm, £22.50. Fresh from AMC/Shudder, horror drag icons, The Boulet Brothers, bring their twisted troupe to the UK for the Official Season 4 tour of The Boulet Brothers Dragula.

Rebel Dykes (18) – The Forum

Sunday• 27

Lynks – The Cluny 2 34 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ, 0191 230 4474, 7.30pm, £10. The brainchild and alter-ego of Bristol based producer, Elliot Brett, who merges 90’s style club music with drag and theatre.

Tuesday• 29

Man in an Orange Shirt

– Stockton Central Library Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, TS18 1TU, 2pm, £3. Film screening of ‘Man in an orange shirt’ written by author Patrick Gale. A moving drama which explores the challenges and changes of gay life across the decades. Three love stories from two generations of a family. Followed by refreshments and chat.

ReCoCo 1 Carliol Square, Newcastle, NE1 6UF, 11.45am, £4/pay what www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 59

22/02/2022 15:55

Door-To-Door-Poetry

THE INVISIBLE MAN Northern Stage This new version of The Invisible Man – written by Philip Correia and directed by Anna Girvan – has little to do with HG Wells’ tale, save for a few named characters and reports of a disappearing cat. At its heart it’s a psychological tussle between Griffin, a troubled young man from the north-east, and Kemp, a doctor who is trying to aid him. Daniel Watson, as Griffin, brings a prowling physicality to the role, while Kate Louise Ekello’s doctor is shot through with nuance as she tries to make sense of Griffin’s claim that he can turn himself invisible. (The cast is completed by Izzy Ions and Jack Fairley, both charismatic performers, who excel in multiple roles.) The play’s themes all concern invisibility – whether it’s the invisibility of those on the margins of society, or the invisibility of official mandarins operating behind closed doors. Other notions of invisibility are also touched on – perhaps too many – sometimes to the detriment of the narrative. But I’d much rather muse on a production that was bursting with ideas, than one I’d forgotten as soon as the curtain fell. Robert Meddes The Invisible Man is playing Gosforth Civic Theatre on 12 March DOOR-TO-DOOR POETRY: NATIONWIDE Live Theatre In March 2019, Rowan McCabe, the world’s first Door-to-Door poet, set out to write thirty poems for strangers across the

UK. His show, titled Door-To-Door Poetry: Nationwide detailed his journey from council estates in Byker to the anti-fracking nanas in Lancashire; and from Britain’s most expensive street in Kensington to Lundy Island off the coast of Bristol home to Britain’s smallest community. His performance at Live Theatre began with an explanation of his process, which involves writing poetry for strangers door-to-door about topics that are important to them. A Geordie himself, Rowan’s friendly and amusing performance was the perfect mix of comedic stories, poetic monologues, and a discussion of more serious and pertinent topics such as class, mental health, Covid-19, and community. His confident and funny tone allowed for these important themes to intertwine effortlessly and comedically with elegant verse, imparting a meaningful message through spoken dialogue. Transporting the audience on a physical journey, as well as one of the imagination, we accompanied him on his quest to find meaning through his poetic craft and capture Britain in the 21st century. And what did he learn through his nationwide quest? He shared that the biggest lesson he learned was the extent to which people are part of a bigger community. In these difficult and often polarising times, we can tend to feel separate and disconnected. Rowan McCabe reminded us through the beauty and power of his words that we share so much common ground and similarity, despite our differences. Molly Taylor

TRANSATLANTIC SESSIONS Sage Gateshead The Transatlantic Sessions is the premier concert at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. Each year it brings together folk/ roots musicians from the British Isles and North America. The evening opened with Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady, whose involvement with the Transatlantic Sessions goes back to when the project was conceived as a television programme. The first set continued to the interval featuring each guest in turn. I commented at the interval that I would prefer not to have the full band playing almost all of the time. After the interval, I wondered if the band had been eavesdropping. The second set started with Sarah Jarosz taking centre stage accompanied by Jerry Douglas with Douglas Shaw on piano - the music was more jazz than folk. During the second set each guest was given more space and mainly played with selected members of the band. For me, it was a case of less being more. My highlights were: Leyla McCalla, who combines Creole, Haitian and Cajun influences with American folk; Dirk Powell whose roots are Appalachian; and Sarah Jaroz also from America. Unfortunately, one of the three key musical directors, Aly Bain, was unable to perform due to temporary ill health. His long-time musical partner Phil Cunningham took the opportunity to tell jokes at his expense. Danny Thompson who played bass was no longer with the band: I assume he has retired. However, one of the greatest attractions of the Transatlantic Sessions is that it is an opportunity to discover new musicians. As ever, an enjoyable and entertaining evening. Martin Ellis THE MONOCLE Gosforth Civic Theatre All eyes were on the six outstanding dancers of Le Monocle who provided a stunning view into the secrets and sensuality of the 1930s Parisian lesbian bar. Through dramatic sets and eye-catching costumes, the Monocle transformed the traditional theatre setting into a night of dancing and live music. The live performance by singer Becky Musgrove transported us to a Parisian Jazz night and caught our attention with her playful ‘Oh, Oh, Oh’s’. The dances were choreographed by Mathieu Geffré of Rendez-Vous Dance, a company aimed at creating projects to tell past and present stories of LGBTQIA+ communities. As an audience member, though, I will never be able to move my body with the strength and elegance of the dancers: I just wanted to join in with many of the loving and joyful scenes of women mingling and drinking. At times you could see, through the silliness, they were enjoying themselves as

WWW.THECRACKMAGAZINE.COM

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 60

22/02/2022 15:55

much as the audience were. These scenes contrasted with the creepy and frightening reality of the outside world showcased by the demon figure. Within these scenes, feelings of discomfort reminded me of the need for secrecy at the time of police raids and unaccepting society. However, through audience interaction, the ridiculousness of how this fear may now seem today was brought to life. My favourite scene was that of the bartender creating a drink. This dance cheerfully reminded me of the skill, the comedy and personal touches bar tenders often provide in safe and queer spaces. Bringing you an awareness of the notoriously secret club, the performance left me curious to learn more of the individual stories and experiences of lesbians who attended the Monocle at the time. Cait Jobson Bon Bon’s Cabaret Hits the Sweet Spot Live Theatre Live Theatre was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on the 12th of February, as cabaret collective The House of Love took to the stage. The House is home to five of the creme of Newcastle’s queer entertaintment crop: comedy queen Vol-Au-Vent Love, burlesque performer Mama Rhi, drag king Ben Dover Love, musician MXYM and their drag mother, Bonnie Love. I was wowed by how good this fab five are at what they do: their unique performance identities shone as bright as the black, sequinned bat-wing dress that Vol flapped around in during her stitch-inducing interpretation of Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’. Mama Rhi’s satirically sexy take on pregnant virgin Mary showed off not only her wicked sense of humour, but how well she knows her way around a pair of feather fans. Bonnie and Ben - who have their own group as a duo, Bonnie and the Bonnettes - performed a school disco medley that gave me a sudden urge to be back in a school sports hall doing 5,6,7,8 with a Capri-Sun in my hand. I could practically smell the Lynx Africa of Ben’s teenage swagger, and in her own words, Bonnie “became the girl who used to bully” her. MXYM let us in for a treat not only with his powerhouse vocals and captivating stage presence, but with a screening of the music video for his single ‘Starfire’, in which Bonnie is an alien who sucks out souls through a straw at a Halloween party. The group performances were also particularly special; they somehow made Titanic hilarious, danced to Scooch’s ‘Flying the Flag’ with an abundance of pride flags and became the characters of Scooby Doo in the finale. Thankfully, Bon Bon’s Cabaret is often performed up and down the North East, so be sure to catch this fabulously bon-kers show whenever you can. Leanna Thomson

Pauline Murray The Engine Room, North Shields Pauline Murray, singer, songwriter and performer with iconic first-wave punks Penetration and 80s pop ensemble the Invisible Girls played a fantastic solo acoustic show at The Engine Room. (The sold out show was part of the Visible Girl programme for Independent Venue Week.) For those lucky enough to get a ticket it was an intimate seated affair and took place before she heads off to play the Sage and tour with The Psychedelic Furs. After a long and successful career in the music industry, and running a recording studio, Pauline’s songs, old and new, sounded fresh and relevant. She opened the gig with the lovely melodic Shadow in my Mind from her latest solo album, Elemental, and followed it with Just Drifting, a Penetration song. Pauline’s melancholy vocal tones were strong and full of emotion and highlights were a beautiful rendition of Dream Sequence from The Invisible Girls and Dark Clouds from Elemental. During the “in conversation” bit Pauline shared the exciting news that she’d recently signed a publishing contract to write her autobiography and it’s scheduled for release in 2023. She then went on to answer questions from the audience, offering up fascinating insights such as seeing the Sex Pistols live in 1976 (and how she’d subsequently adopted the “just have a go” ethos). She also recalled an early Penetration gig where someone kept chucking a bottle of liquid in her face, but she kept singing and managed to grab the offending bottle from him without skipping a beat. The evening finished with the brilliant Don’t Dictate and Beat Goes On to rapturous acclaim. I’m really looking forward to reading this very visible woman’s story in full. Deb Snell Human Nurture Live Theatre Human Nurture is a powerful tale of race, class and friendship told in a stunningly visual performance. The two-man show tells the story of Harry and Roger, who grew up in the same foster home. As the play begins we are taken through their childhood memories in creative physical reenactments. However, as the story unfurls it becomes apparent that the two boys have taken very different paths in life. Roger has reconnected with his Ugandan roots while Harry has remained in care, falling in with a racist crowd. Writer, Ryan Calais Cameron, masterfully captures the way in which growing up and having opposing views can ruin a friendship, and more importantly how Roger learns to

stand up against the way he is treated as a black man in the UK. Though the set is extremely minimal the DJ who narrates the performance with music, and an imaginative use of a few props, bring the story to life. In less than an hour, Human Nurture packed in a lot of meaningful lessons about race, class and intolerance, and it also offered a pertinent critique of modern Britain – one we can all learn from. Scarlett Welch Idles O2 City Hall After initially being scheduled for last year, it was clear that both the band and the audience were thrilled to be finally attending this gig. I had a pre-gig drink at the Hancock and the entire pub was flooded with people wearing Idles t-shirts buzzing about the concert and chanting some of the band’s most iconic lyrics. I knew that, with a fanbase like this, it would be a night to remember. Idles are known for reserving their support act spaces for female bands and artists in order to combat underrepresentation of women in music. Big Joanie, who describe themselves as “Black feminist sistah punk”, opened the night with a string of addictive anthems, with Jehnny Beth following with an unmatchable energy. I was lucky enough to be right at the barrier, and had a little boogie with her when she plunged into the crowd. What always tickles me about Idles is that there’s no dramatic music or lighting preceding their entrance - they just wander on like it’s NBD that the room is erupting with screams. Opening with ‘Colossus’, City Hall was sent into a frenzy that failed to die down for the entire night. The set list would’ve pleased any Idles fan, with the band hammering out all the most energetic favourites from the very first album to the recently released ‘CRAWLER’ (one of The Crack’s top ten albums of 2021). Vocalist Joe Talbot commanded the stage with the charisma we know and love. When a front row fan announced he’d lost his shoe, Joe invited him up on the stage until it was found and then initiated a celebratory crowd surf. Guitarist Mark ‘Bobo’ Bowen also lent his vocal talents when he bizarrely delivered a north-east medley in the middle of ‘Love Song’ including Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’ and PJ & Duncan’s ‘Lets Get Ready to Rumble’, while being held up by the audience. It seems that the band could barely contain themselves onstage, as Lee Kiernan also rode the wave of the crowd while clutching his guitar, his foot very nearly connecting with my head. Now this is what a gig should be like. Leanna Thomson

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 61

22/02/2022 15:55

H O R O S C O P E S PISCES

18th FEB - 20th March

Planet power is focused strongly on your sign, starting on the 2nd, when a mystical new moon holds promise that long held dreams can come to fruition in weeks and months to come when you stay true to your favourite approach to life, which is to relax, surrender to destiny and go where the flow takes you. Others might say this is too passive an approach, but it takes a steely and determined focus to keep the faith and hold to where your heart is calling you, despite pressure from others.

Aries

Cancer

Libra

It’s an amazing month for creativity and following your passion, just remember to not overthink or second guess as it’s all about heartfelt desire, not cool logic and rational thought, meaning what makes you feel alive and happy is your guiding star this month. Equinox on the 20th means the sun is moving into your sign, so it’s all energy and activity after that.

New moon on the 2nd is about new perspectives from learning, teaching, training, or travelling (or all of it). There’s not much practicality with this moon, it’s firmly in the starlit dreams, magic and miracles territory, so not much option but to believe anything is possible with no limit to what life can bring. The vastness of that potential can make you dizzy but the key to balance is perspective, so focus on your feet taking the next logical step, and repeat till dreams are realised.

Since early last month Venus, your ruling planet, has been in union with Mars, which is sort of like Yin meeting Yang, or like a jigsaw that is clicking into place. And this is how events and circumstances have unfolded since then, like a jigsaw that is clicking into place. This powerful planet combo continues until midmonth, so make the most of the easy balance and harmony of events created by the pairing, especially in romance. Then from the equinox on 20th it’s all about priorities and what to put first.

20th Mar – 20th Apr

Taurus

20th Apr – 21st May

The kind and supportive energy of the new moon on the 2nd is all about friendship and strong bonds from the past, as well as new connections for the future. It’s also a month of transformation, particularly for work and career recognition, and as the saying goes, one door closes and another opens, which can mean a new job or a promotion on the horizon. Whatever it is, an adventure awaits.

Gemini

21st May – 21st June

It’s a powerful time for career, ambition, long-term planning, making commitments or signing contracts. All that sounds like it’s a month of pushing and persistence, of striving and discipline but actually it’s the opposite, as the love filled new moon on the 2nd speaks of surrendering and going with the flow, rather than holding back from the force or pull of the tide. Recent months have been preparation for exactly this.

Astrologist: Barbara Palliser bondwiththemoon.co.uk 62

21st June – 23rd July

23rd Sept – 23rd Oct

Leo

SCORPIO

CAPRICORN

Too often we expect the worst in order to save ourselves from disappointment, but preparation is everything in the world of manifesting goals and desires, which means expect and assume that the universe wants to deliver your dreams fully for you. A magical new moon on the 2nd is all about surrendering to the reality of current circumstances, and the reality is you deserve to receive all you want and wish for. Period. .

It’s a month of inspiration and creativity flowing. Your unique perspective makes great new art, and imaginative projects, and the only thing that could stop you is worrying too much about what others will think of your unique perspective, so surrender any ‘shoulds’ or ‘what ifs’. There’s a sense of waiting for the right time to move or take action on something too, which is possibly around equinox time on the 20th, if not before.

You’re a natural planner and organiser, you like to know tangible steps and paths to your goal, so March energy might not be the easiest at first as there’s so much you can’t seem to plan for, or that is best just played by ear, or gone with the flow of. But once you settle into the uncertainty of a few gaps here and here, there’s the enjoyment of finding the missing pieces that fit perfectly, like magic, as the month goes on. How satisfying.

23RD OCT - 22nd Nov

21st DEC - 20th Jan

Virgo

SAGGITARIUS

AQUARIUS

There’s a sense of destiny and fate permeating March events, as if the universe is answering your prayers in its own mysterious ways and your job is to surrender (not submit) and go with the flow (suspend disbelief). New moon on the 2nd sets this theme powerfully for the month, which is about relationship and partnership and choices that need to be led with the heart not the head.

If there’s one thing Sagittarius is good at, it’s optimism. Frequently accused of over confidence and not enough practicality, it’s just that people don’t understand like you do the power of faith to move mountains and make miracles happen. So you’re going to love March, as the new moon on the 2nd partners with your ruling planet Jupiter, for the most magical moon there’s been for a long time, heralding a period where dreams can come true with the right attitude, which is your attitude.

There’s a new moon on the 2nd is in your chart of finance and income. It’s a rare and magical moon that speaks of new income streams in coming weeks and months; maybe starting small but that have no limit on where they can expand. Mars and Venus move into your sign together from the 6th which balances your yin and yang perfectly, and then it’s equinox, which for you means communication, and lots of it.

23rd July – 23rd Aug

23rd Aug – 23rd Sept

22nd Nov - 21st Dec

20th JAN - 18th Feb

www.thecrackmagazine.com

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 62

22/02/2022 11:26

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 63

22/02/2022 15:56

3. CRACK March 2022.indd 64

22/02/2022 15:56

The Crack #386 - March 2022

Articles from The Crack #386 - March 2022