The weather may be a bit grim but February is definitely picking up a bit.
Already bringing some cheer to city streets have been Chinese New Year celebrations in Newcastle, Durham and in Sunderland.
And it’s just been announced that city favourite Sunday for Sammy will be making a comeback, with tickets for that due to go on sale on February 15. Next we have the grand MOBO Awards coming up on February 18, a first for the city which will attract a host of huge music names to the Utilita Arena and will include a fringe programme running alongside it. And there is still plenty more happening across the rest of the month.
Here we pick out just a few ideas of what to book and where to go if you’re looking for something to do this February. We’ve focused upon shows and events in Newcastle but have included some others spanning the region.
And with some unusual ideas among them, including a pop-up comedy night inside a museum and a one-woman show about the benefits of running in the beautiful Lakeland fells, there should be something for all tastes. Other suggestions include a beer-tasting tour, a luxury magic night and an evening of dancing as well as a play that is embarking upon a final tour and one which is about to have its world premiere.
St Dominic’s Brewery Tour & Lunch
As previously reported, the city’s historic Blackfriars Restaurant opened a micro-brewery last year and this February, customers are being invited along to find out all about it and then enjoy samples of the brews served with lunch. St Dominic’s Brewery is in the Chapter House within the grounds of the city’s Dominican friary, which dates back to 1239.
Guests will tour the brewery which revives the Chapter House’s long tradition of making beer from the time it housed meetings of the Bakers and Brewer’s Guild. Then they will be served a three-course set lunch in the restaurant, paired with a flight of beers, plus coffee.
This month’s tours and lunch are available from Monday to Wednesday until February 26 and the event starts at 11am. To book tickets, £42, see here and then email info@blackfriarsrestaurant.co.uk or call 0191 261 5945 to check tour availability as a few days’ notice may be needed.
Chris Cross magic night
The man billed as ‘The Great Magician of the North’ will be putting on quite a show – or three shows – at Hibou Blanc in February and he’s warning that tickets, which are limited, are set to disappear fast. The private dining area of the city restaurant-bar is set to be transformed into an intimate theatre venue on February 20-22 for what he says will be the most exclusive magic show that Newcastle has ever seen!’
And ‘intimate’ means intimate as only 10 pairs of tickets are available for each night. The 35-year-old from the West End of Newcastle will be showcasing his new show to home audiences, 20 people a time, ahead of plans to tour and he says: “It’s nothing like I’ve done before.”
During the two-hour event, audiences will be able to get up close and personal with the magician who previously has performed at the likes of Tyne Theatre. “This new show will give everyone a front row view,” he says. “Every seat is a great seat: in fact, lots of the audience members will even assist with tricks in the show at some point!”
And there’ll be no smoke and mirrors; just the likes of clever card tricks – Las Vegas standard, says Chris who became a full-time magician at just 16 years old. Over the years he has appeared on BBC1’s The One Show and CBBC’s The Slammer; pulled off an escape stunt at The Keep and was a special guest at a David Blaine tour.
He has also performed for royalty and celebrities ranging from The Arctic Monkeys to David Hasselhoff and at private events for Sam Fender and Alan Shearer. “I’ve been practising and perfecting sleight-of-hand for almost 25 years and I’m sure my fellow Geordies will love the show,” he says. “But it’s more than just a magic show – it’s an intimate experience that I hope my audiences will never forget.”
They will start the evening – which is for 18-plus and has a ‘smart-fancy’ dress code – with fizz and canapes before taking their seat for the show. For tickets, costing £100 per pair, see here.
Half-term fun at Beamish Museum
There’s always plenty to explore across the County Durham‘s museum’s huge site where visitors can dip between the likes of the old mining village and the 1950s Town developments and in February it is has plenty of extras on its programme for half-term week. Between February 22 and March 2 it will be inviting families to explore creativity in the coal field and this will include opportunities to learn about local artists and writers and their links to the region’s mining heritage.
Art objects from the museum’s collection also will be on show and there will be an opportunity to have a go at sketching too. Activities are included in the museum’s usual admission price.
In addition, the Beamish pantomime, which as previously reported is a 1950s-style Jack and the Beanstalk, is still running in February, with tickets (£3 for ages five-plus) available to book for weekends up to February 16: see here.
The Dreamtime Fellrunner
Offering something rather different is this show, coming to the Arts Centre in Washington on February 13, about one woman’s experience of running in the Lakeland fells and it promises to channel her connection between place, body and soul through an hour-long theatrical journey. It’s written and performed by former doctor turned writer Julie Carter, who lives in the Lakes but actually grew up in Sunderland and is the great-granddaughter of Jack Nowell who founded Gateshead Harriers athletics club in in 1904.
Julie, who’s been a British Fell Running champion in her age group, now connects people to the great outdoors through her writing, poetry and talks and here will be waxing lyrical about her running experiences while exploring everything from feminism to land rights, ageism, ableism, history and literature. For tickets, 10; £8 concessions or £6 students, see here. She also will be bringing her show to Darlington Hippodrome on March 23.
Hadaway Harry tour
This play about a world-champion Victorian rower from Gateshead is currently on a 10-year anniversary tour which will see it bidding farewell for the last time. Written by local playwright Ed Waugh, the account of how Dunston-born Harry Clasper rowed to victory in the Thames Regatta in Putney 1845 to be named world champion has become hugely popular in the region.
It revives the remarkable life story of Clasper from his poor beginnings to learning those rowing skills while working in local boatyards and shipyards. He died in 1870, aged just 58, and more than 130,000 people crammed the streets of Newcastle and Gateshead to pay tribute. But now the play’s original star Jamie Brown – who puts in a very physical performance as Harry – has decided its time to hang up those oars.
The local actor said: “It’s been an unbelievable journey but anyone who has seen the show will know that it is genuinely incredibly difficult to perform – and I’m 40 in February!” So Jamie is ending what he calls “a wonderful chapter” with the tour, now under way, that will run until February 22.
It will next stop off at The Playhouse, Whitley Bay on February 13; The Witham, Barnard Castle, on February 14; Bishop Auckland Town Hall on February 15; Gateshead Rowing Club on February 16; Hamsterley Village Hall on February 19 and The Customs House, South Shields, on February 20-21, before wrapping up at The Maltings in Berwick on February 22. For times and details of tickets (£16; £14 concessions) see here.
Comedy at Discovery Museum
The Newcastle museum is presenting its first ever stand-up comedy night this February and it will be hosted in its magnificent Great Hall space where guests will find a pop-up bar too. The over-18s evening, called Steam to Grin, on February 28 will be compered by local comic Si Beckwith who will be joined on the bill by Bethany Black, Cal Halbert and Chris Kehoe.
Si said: “We’re all so excited for this show and it promises to be such a uniquely fun night out.” He said Discovery Museum “is home to some wonderfully accessible history and innovation” and that: “We’ll all be bringing something bespoke to the night, to make this a one-off show that you do not want to miss.”
Its title taps into the museum’s current Steam to Green programme which explores the story of energy in the North East and it is the venue’s second after-hours event aimed at catering for those looking for something a bit different. Doors will open at 6pm and the show will start at 7pm. Tickets, costing £12, must be pre-booked: see here.
Champion at Live Theatre
The famous visit to South Shields made by boxing champ Muhammad Ali has inspired this new drama by Ishy Din which is having its world premiere in Newcastle with a run at Live Theatre from February 13 until March 8. And many people who think they may know the remarkable story of that 1977 visit inside out have a chance to see it from a fresh perspective, through the eyes of a mixed-race family living there at the time.
Read more about the story behind it here and book tickets, £11, here.
Go dancing at Great North Museum
Another Newcastle museum opening up after-hours for a new addition to the programme is Great North Museum: Hancock which is inviting adults to enjoy a special Valentine’s Day date there. As part of a Great North Nights, a We Love to Ceilidh event will be held on February 14.
As you might expect, this means lots of dancing – to the music of the John Hancock Ceilidh band – over the 7pm-10pm event and to help fuel all that energy there will be a break for pizza too. Options will be margherita, pepperoni or vegan and there will be a drink – wine, beer or juice – included with the £25 ticket too.
Carers can have free access and can buy their food-and-drink ticket for £13. Tickets are no longer available online but those interested are inviting to contact the venue direct: email info@greatnorthmuseum.org.uk or call 0191 208 6765.
And it points out: “You absolutely do not need to have a romantic partner to come to this event, we are here to celebrate every type of love! Bring friends, family, colleagues, or even come alone and make new friends.”
Jesus Christ Superstar – Tyne Theatre
This year sees the city theatre celebrate the 10-year anniversary of turning independent and a show this February, celebrating the occasion, is being performed by its in-house Tyne Theatre Productions company which is reaching the same milestone. The company is made up of talented volunteers and the fact that it has managed to secure a licence for Jesus Christ Superstar – a limited-release show seldom available for amateur performance – is a mark of that talent.
The show is being presented by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd, set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and all profits raised from it will go directly back into the theatre. Read about the theatre’s story here and for tickets to the show’s February 25 to March 1 run see here. They cost £25 or £21 for concessions and some limited-view ones are available for £15.
Only Fools and Horses at the Theatre Royal
A local talent – Sam Lupton from Durham – plays the iconic lead character of Del Boy, brother of Rodney, in this musical version of the classic TV series that was pure comedy gold. Running at the Newcastle theatre from February 10-22 – following a sell-out four-year in London’s West End – Only Fools and Horses the Musical recreates laugh-out-loud moments involving the Trotters and also grandad, wives Cassandra and Raquel and mates Boycie, Marlene, Trigger, Denzil and Mickey Pearce.
With a script written by Jim Sullivan, the son of Only Fools’ creator John, and comedy favourite Paul Whitehouse, it promises classic laughs alongside the addition of 20 songs and musical contributions from Chas & Dave. Head back to those hilarious eighties by booking tickets, from £25, here.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/10-north-east-shows-events-30878666
