At long last Newcastle’s Live Theatre will be welcoming audiences back to the venue in September and is prepared for any eventuality.
Only 50% of the seating capacity is on release and additional seats will only be released when social distancing restrictions are lifted and, no matter the number of seats available, full safety measures will be in place so audiences can return to live performances with confidence. To meet the concerns of those who may be nervous about returning to crowded spaces, a number of permanently socially distanced shows will be offered across the season, even if social distancing rules change.
The season will feature a mixture of the kind of new work for which Live Theatre is famed alongside some popular shows from recent years, opening (2–18 September) with Shine, the 2019 debut play by actor, rapper, singer, rising star and Live Theatre Associate Artist Kema Sikazwe presenting a new, updated version of his bittersweet coming-of-age story.
Next up, 23–26 September, is Your Voice: North East, a collection of seven ten-minute short plays by writers and artists new to Live Theatre that reflect contemporary life in the region.
October (7–23) brings a double bill of debut plays reflecting young female experience in the North East. Braids, written by Live Associate Artist Oliva Hannah, is about a new friendship that ignites a search for belonging and Cheer Up Slug by Tamsin Daisy Rees, another Associate Artist, is about boundaries and behaviour.
October ends (27–30) with a revival of Lewis Jobson’s Redcoat, first performed as a work-in-progress as part of the 2020 Elevator Festival. Produced in association with Six Twenty, it's “an hilarious, honest and human show featuring banging tunes, dance routines, balloon modelling and that extra special Redcoat sparkle.”
November (3–27) brings a new adaptation of Benjamin Myers's best-selling book The Offing by award-winning playwright Janice Okoh. Paul Robinson directs this story of a friendship that conquers the barriers of age, gender and class. The Offing is a Live Theatre co-production with Stephen Joseph Theatre.
The Christmas celebration this year, running 1–23 December, is another revival—although updated, we are told, and with “added glitter for the perfect Christmas night out”—of last year’s sell-out hit Bonnie & Fanny's Christmas Spectacular which stars sketch troupe Your Aunt Fanny and "foot-stomping, pant-wetting" drag trio Bonnie and The Bonnettes, celebrating all things cabaret and comedy in a “calamitous Christmas knees-up packed full of sketches, songs, lip synchs and dances.”
“Being able to open our doors again to audiences is a truly emotional moment,” said Graeme Thompson, Interim Executive Producer. “Live Theatre is so much more than just a building. It's a place where people share stories that matter to them and connect with one another. It's people that make this theatre what it is, and that is why it is so important to be able to get Back to Live.”
The new season is now on sale. To book online and for more information on all the shows this season visit the Live Theatre web site. Live Theatre's Box Office will also be open for in-person and telephone bookings on (0191) 232 1232 from Monday 21 to Friday 25 June between 12 noon and 4PM.