South Shields’ Customs House has announced a new season of contemporary drama, CUSTOM MADE, which consists of seven very different shows by the most innovative theatre companies in the UK. The productions have been hand-picked by The Customs House programming team to challenge perceptions of what theatre really is, and to bring award-winning drama to the Mill Dam venue.
Launching the season next month will be The Disappearance of Dorothy Lawrence, directed by Paulette Randall MBE who was Associate Director for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics as well as being a former Artistic Director of Talawa.
The season will also see Friends of The Customs House benefiting from a new Pay What You Decide scheme.
The Friends will be able to book their tickets for free and then pay however much they think it was worth at the end of the performance. The aim is for audiences to try out something new without worrying that they’ll be out of pocket or that it may not be ‘up their street’.
“The Customs House prides itself in having very loyal supporters,” said Executive Director Ray Spencer, “and we’re thrilled to be able to give back to our Friends of The Customs House by offering them this opportunity to see shows without paying anything upfront and to be able to feed back to us their thoughts on this new and exciting initiative.”
The season, which runs from September through to November, consists of:
- Thursday 17 September at 8:00PM
Vital Xposure presents
The Disappearance of Dorothy Lawrence
It’s 1914, England is at war and the Suffragette movement is gaining strength. Dorothy Lawrence, a young journalist with aspirations to become a war correspondent, takes to her bicycle to join the frontline in France. What happens next rocks the powers that be and shakes her life apart. She was never seen in public again. - Wednesday 30 September to Thursday 1 October at 8PM
Camisado Club presents
You, Me and Everything Else
If you could send a mixtape to outer space on behalf of planet Earth, what would be on it? Right now, there’s a golden record hurtling through space. It’s a mixtape of songs, sounds and pictures from Earth, a valentine from the human race to whoever or whatever finds it. - Sunday 4 October at 6PM
Company TSU presents
Beats North
Al’s family wants him to be a Bollywood convert, but he craves Motown, the spotlight and his guitar. Jack gets lost in the power of Bonnie Tyler and his own imagination, much to his dad’s frustration. A double bill by Luke Barnes and Ishy Din with a live soundtrack by DJ Mariam Rezaei. - Wednesday 14 October at 8PM
Black Coffee Theatre presents
One Last Waltz
Based on real-life events and experiences, this funny and touching new play explores the difficulties in coming to terms with Alzheimer’s. - Friday 6 November at 8PM
Warwick Arts Centre & China Plate presents - Confirmation
Working with research into the phenomenon of Confirmation Bias, Confirmation attempts to have an honourable dialogue, real and imagined, with political extremism. From multi-award-winning Chris Thorpe (Unlimited, Royal Exchange, Hannah Jane Walker) and Rachel Chavkin (The TEAM). - Monday 9 November to Friday 6 November at 8PM
Theatre by the Lake and Curtis Productions presents
The Bogus Woman
An African woman arrives in a strange country fleeing for her life, seeking safety and asylum. Despite having committed no crime she is indefinitely confined, interrogated, humiliated and abused. She witnesses the cruelty of the authorities and their casual disregard for an individual’s human rights. This strange country is England. - Friday 20 to Saturday 21 November at 8PM
RedCape Theatre presents
Be Brave and leave for the Unknown
Be Brave and Leave for the Unknown looks at the nature of bravery both epic and domestic, large and small. In warzones and waiting rooms, on roadsides and railway platforms, against all the odds, we discover a world bursting with bravery.