Autumn_Winter_Brochure

At a time of such division and heartache around the world and in our societies, THE NEED FOR US TO COME TOGETHER IN A SHARED SPACE COULDN’T BE MORE CRUCIAL.

The shows and events in our Autumn/Winter season celebrate the courage of going against the grain, of speaking out for the greater good, of uniting rather than dividing. From our partnership with groundbreaking company Graeae on Bad Lads to Jamie Eastlake’s riot-inspired Big Ange via Lee Hall’s hit version of Mother Courage with the South African Isango Ensemble and Ensemble ‘84, our Quayside venue will burst at the seams with creative passion and calls for a better world. Of course there is joy to be had around every corner. What else could you possibly feel hearing

Crocodile Shoes brought to life by our great friend Jimmy Nail? At our theatre, new plays and great comedians, impassioned young people and world class musicians all walk side by side, united in the belief that the best experience is always a live one. Whether you are a creator or a dreamer, a regular or simply curious, remember -

“Love LIVE theatre!!!! It’s special!! It’s such a wonderfully unique and intimate experience. A venue that reflects the character, personality and warmth of the North East isn’t an easy task, however the wonderful folk that work the theatre have nailed it!!!”

Si King

PLAY THE ROLE OF A LIFETIME

We are a registered charity and for over 50 years we have been making world class theatre with and for people of all backgrounds. To continue doing this we need your help! The cost of our work is rising and as a small affordable space our income is increasingly limited. Your support today will pave the way for the artists and audiences of tomorrow. Here are five tangible ways that you can help us now:

1) Book early for our shows. Early booking secures your place and keeps us in good financial health.

2) Make a donation. Your money will only ever be used to support our charitable aims and will be gratefully acknowledged.

MORE THAN A THEATRE

Live Theatre is made up of a series of stunning spaces, all of which can be enjoyed for many different occasions. Our beautiful Bar is the perfect setting for a relaxing evening drink. Our cosy Undercroft is the perfect location for a characterful get together. Our cabaret Theatre gives conferences, talks and social functions an epic feel. Our flexible Studio can be used for all manner of meetings and events. Outside our Live Garden and Courtyard offer a lush haven from city life. All these spaces can be hired together or separately for weddings, parties and other events needing a dramatic lift.

Find out more at: www.live.org.uk/hires

If you need somewhere to stay, check out these stunning flats overlooking the river at www.live.org.uk/quaysideflats

3) Join us as a Friend. You will learn about exciting programme announcements before anyone else.

4) Share a Show. Buy a ticket for someone else to attend our productions who can’t afford to.

5) Tell everyone you know about us. Spreading the word about our work helps us build audiences for the future.

TEXT TO DONATE £5

Text Live 5 to 70460 or scan the QR code.

For more information please visit www.live.org.uk/support

Thank you - your support at this time is greatly appreciated.

Live Theatre, Broad Chare, Quayside, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3DQ

Thu 2 – Sat 11 Oct

A GRAEAE production in association with LIVE THEATRE

Written by MIKE KENNY

Directed by JENNY

SEALEY

All performances will integrate British Sign Language (BSL), audio description, creative captions and will be presented in a relaxed environment.

A stunning new play about oppression and resilience.

Bad Lads tells the gripping and devastating true story of the boys held at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre in County Durham in the 1980s. Sold to the public as a “short, sharp shock” for wayward youth, the reality hid something much darker.

At a time when the cry for accountability is louder than ever, Bad Lads demands remembrance and calls for justice for these working class men.

ISANGO ENSEMBLE and ENSEMBLE ‘84 present

By BERTOLT BRECHT

Translated by LEE HALL

Directed

by

MARK DORNFORD-MAY

Music by MANDISI DYANTYIS

Survival, sacrifice, and the devastating cost of conflict. This is theatre at its most urgent and alive — a gripping story infused with rhythm, song and fierce theatricality.

Against the relentless backdrop of the Thirty Years’ War, Anna Fierling, better known as Mother Courage, fights to keep her business and family intact. Dragging her canteen wagon from battlefield to battlefield, she profits from war while doing everything in her power to protect her three children from its destruction. But as the conflict rages on, she is forced to navigate impossible choices, where survival comes at an unforgiving price.

Bringing fresh urgency to this tale of resilience and moral compromise, this bold new production unites Lee Hall’s sharp adaptation with the soaring presence of South Africa’s globally celebrated Isango Ensemble, led by Paulina Malefane, and the collective power of Ensemble ‘84’s North East voices.

Brecht’s vision is presented as a visceral, music-driven experience that speaks fiercely to the world today. Local and global stories collide, bridging histories and cultures through a shared language of struggle, endurance and song.

‘Exhilarating’ THE GUARDIAN

Thu 6 –Sat 22 Nov

By JAMIE EASTLAKE

In a forgotten town stitched together with broken bus shelters and fading murals of past glory, one woman wants to change everything. A teenage football squad charges through a world of projected noise — collapsing housing estates, Instagram hearts fluttering like confetti, graffiti glowing like prophecy. This is England, but skewed — off-balance, spinning.

Blue jeans, a whistle and a Neil Diamond playlist — Big Ange, the dinner lady has got this.

Following sell out runs of his show Gerry and Sewell at Laurel’s, Live Theatre and Newcastle Theatre Royal, Olivier awardwinning Jamie Eastlake’s brand new play explores growing up in a fractured political world. With footy (obvs).

Tue 2 – Sat 13 Dec

LIVE THEATRE presents

SONGS FROM THE TV SERIES

crocodile shoes

By JIMMY NAIL

We are overjoyed to welcome back to Live Theatre our great friend, the legend that is Jimmy Nail along with an esteemed group of musicians bringing the songs from the hit BBC One TV series Crocodile Shoes (1994-96) to our stage.

This early run-up to a new stage musical currently in development with Live Theatre gives audiences the chance to enjoy the series’ widely-loved songs up close for the first time in three decades.

Sat 13 Sep

In November 2021, a dinghy carrying migrants capsized in the Channel causing the death of 27 people. Small Boat is a fictional imagining of that event told by the coast guard who failed to do enough to help them. Through this searing and unflinching monologue she examines her own conscience and the conscience of a nation.

Read live on stage by a very special guest. their heads down for a day of intensive writing. Free refreshments, inspiration and advice will be on hand if you need it.

Writing

Tue 16 Sep

Thu 25 – Sat 27 Sep

D G E C I T Y

monologues from the street by gobscure

Fri 19 Sep

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF BILLY ELLIOT!

A new writing showcase, Live Writes champions the amazing artists of our region. A scratch night with a twist, it’s all about the words on the page and creativity on the stage!

Frontman of the most influential post-punk band of the last decade, Sleaford Mods, Jason Williamson joins the cast for a special selection of monologues by our associate artist gobscure exploring the many unexpected facets of homelessness and street life with live music.

We are thrilled to welcome Lee Hall back to Live Theatre’s stage to celebrate 25 years of Billy Elliot, interviewed onstage by James Leggott, author of a brand new book about the film. They will be joined by some extra special guests. Join us for this unique fundraising event with all proceeds going towards commissioning and supporting North East playwrights.

Photography: Jack Neville

Tue 14 Oct WONDER FOOLS present

By OWEN SUTCLIFFE

A new writing showcase, Live Writes champions the amazing artists of our region. A scratch night with a twist, it’s all about the words on the page and creativity on the stage!

Thu 2 - Sat 11 Oct A GRAEAE production in association with LIVE THEATRE

Thu 2 - Sat 11 Oct

A GRAEAE production in association with

By MIKE KENNY

A stunning new play about oppression and resilience. Bad Lads tells the gripping and devastating true story of the boys held at Medomsley Youth Detention Centre in County Durham in the 1980s.

Wed 15 – Sat 18 Oct

METROLAND COMEDY

Known for their sharp, surreal writing and wildly inventive characters, this brand new live show sees Metroland bring their signature online madness to the stage!

Tue 21 Oct

‘F*****g Brilliant’ SAM FENDER

Thu 6 –Sat 22 Nov

Presented by EASTLAKE PRODUCTIONS and LIVE

exploring the many unexpected facets of homelessness and street life with live music.

brand new book about the film. They will be joined by some extra special guests.

exploring the many unexpected facets of homelessness and street life with live music.

Join us for this unique fundraising event with all proceeds going towards commissioning and supporting North East playwrights.

Photography: Jack Neville

Fri 17 Oct

Tue 14 Oct WONDER FOOLS present

Presented by Live Theatre, S&DR200 and WOW - Women of the World

ÒRAN

By OWEN SUTCLIFFE

Combining spoken word, lyrical storytelling and a pulsating electronic live score this is a thrilling story of Òran and his journey to rescue his best friend from the Underworld. Should he arrive there, Hades might grant him the chance to lead his friend home… but at what cost?

As part of WOW North East at Gala Durham and across the region, Live Theatre presents a world premiere reading of Shelagh Stephenson’s comedy Astell and Woolf, about two radical feminists meeting in the afterlife. Packed with big ideas, bigger laughs and joyful feminist fire!

Known for their sharp, surreal writing and wildly inventive characters, this brand new live show sees Metroland bring their signature online madness to the stage!

Tue 21 Oct

Thu 6 –Sat 22 Nov

Presented by EASTLAKE PRODUCTIONS and LIVE THEATRE in association with NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL

By JAMIE EASTLAKE

Two best mates. One HUGE party. Luton pinned by austerity. An evening of noughties bangers and shots of sh*tty gin mixed with the chaos of violence. A night to remember!

In a forgotten town stitched together with broken bus shelters and fading murals of past glory, one woman wants to change everything. Blue jeans, a whistle, and a Neil Diamond playlist — Big Ange, the dinner lady has got this.

Sat 22 & Tue 25 – Thu 27 Nov

Presented by LIVE THEATRE in association with NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY

Thu 23 Oct – Sat 1 Nov

ISANGO ENSEMBLE and ENSEMBLE ‘84 present

Lee Hall’s electrifying adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 play is theatre at its most urgent and alive — a gripping story of survival, sacrifice, and the cost of war, infused with rhythm, song and fierce theatricality. Local and global stories collide, bridging histories and cultures through a shared language of struggle, endurance, and song.

Tue 2 – Sat 13 Dec LIVE THEATRE presents SONGS FROM THE TV SERIES

‘No playwright makes you sit up and listen like debbie tucker green.’ The Guardian

debbie tucker green

A celebration of her work

Lee Hall’s electrifying adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s 1939 play is theatre at its most urgent and alive — a gripping story of survival, sacrifice, and the cost of war, infused with rhythm, song and fierce theatricality. Local and global stories collide, bridging histories and cultures through a shared language of struggle, endurance, and song.

‘Exhilarating’ THE GUARDIAN

A mini festival celebrating one of our greatest dramatic writers with a series of readings, talks and screenings from her unique body of work.

Tue 9 – Sun 21 Dec

THE SUGGESTIBLES’ IMPRO PANTSO

Unscripted.

Unhinged. Unbelievably Funny!

THEATRE in association with NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL

By JAMIE EASTLAKE

In a forgotten town stitched together with broken bus shelters and fading murals of past glory, one woman wants to change everything. Blue jeans, a whistle, and a Neil Diamond playlist — Big Ange, the dinner lady has got this.

debbie tucker green

A mini festival celebrating one of our greatest dramatic writers with a series of readings, talks and screenings from her unique body of work.

You supply the suggestions. They supply the LAUGHS. Spinning the proverbial panto on its big wig, Newcastle’s hilarious improv mischief-makers bring you their infamous, anarchic Christmas cracker. Expect a festive fun ride like no other. Sing-a-long, dance-a-long, and laugh yourself doolally!