Sunderland Stages in the autumn

Sunderland Stages, which brings theatre, dance and spoken word to venues and unusual spaces around the city, has announced its autumn and winter programme, running from September through to December.

The season opens on 19 September at the new Pop Recs at 170 High Street West with Luca Rutherford’s Political Party which asks have you ever felt confused or overwhelmed by politics? Have you ever thought that the only way to make a difference is to change everything? Have you ever wondered what stops you from doing something? Luca reached a point where thinking about politics made her want to lie down on the pavement and not get up so she’s throwing a party—a political party!

The rest of the season is:

• 25 – 28 September
  Two Pints
  By Roddy Doyle
  An Abbey Theatre Production presented by Live Theatre in association with Sunderland Culture
  Venue: The Peacock, High Street West

  British première, following a tour of pubs throughout Ireland

  Two men meet for a pint. They talk about their dads, death, Nigella, North Korea, the afterlife…

• 2 October
  Where We Began
  SBC Theatre
  Venue: The Peacock

  When every citizen is ordered to return to their place of birth, this show examines where we could end up. Five performers from across the globe challenge existing notions of ‘home’ in this multilingual celebration of personal identity.

• 11 – 12 October
  The Last Seam
  CAST
  Venue: The Peacock

  Marking the closure of England's last deep seam mine Hatfield Colliery in 2015, this production brings to life the voices and stories of miners, their families and the local community.

• 18 – 19 October
  Contagion
  Shobanna Jeyasingh Dance
  Venue: St Gabriel’s Church Hall (junction of Kayll Road and Chester Road)

  This dance piece commemorates the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, which killed more people than the First World War itself. The piece is inspired by the nature and spread of the flu virus, the unseen enemy within that mankind was battling, far deadlier than the war that raged in the trenches.

• 30 October
  Frankie Vah
  By Luke Wright
  Venue: The Peacock

  A verse play about love, loss and belief in the '80s. It’s 1987 and Frankie Vah gorges on love, radical politics, and scuzzy indie stardom. But can he keep it all down?

• 13 – 14 November
  The Damned United
  By Anders Lustgarten, adapted from the novel by David Peace
  Venue: The Royalty (off Chester Road)

  1974. Brian Clough, the enfant terrible of British football, tries to redeem his career and reputation by winning the European Cup with his new team, Leeds United. The team he has openly despised for years, the team he hates and which hates him. Don Revie’s Leeds.

• 16 November
  Fans
  By Nina Berry
  The Six Twenty in association with Live Theatre
  Venue: The Peacock

  Part gig. Part theatre. Fans is a mix of new writing, raucous live music and real-life stories inspired by real music fans. Full of emotion, humour and musical pulse, it’s a show for anyone who’s ever been first in the queue or pushed their way to the front of the barrier. It’s for anyone who’s bought tickets first and worried about how they’ll pay for them later. It’s for anyone who’s followed a band around the globe or got their favourite lyric tattooed on their body.

• 12 December
  Mixtape Xmas
  The Six Twenty
  Venue: The Peacock

  Part comedy sketch show and part music quiz, featuring a mash up of Mixtape favourites from throughout the eras, as well as a stocking load of sketches inspired by classic Christmas tunes.