Priscilla Queen of the Desert comes to Newcastle Theatre Royal from Monday to Saturday.
The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff continues in Stage 2 at Northern Stage until Saturday. Jonathan Maitland's The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson comes to Stage 1 from Tuesday to Saturday. On Saturday in Stage 3, Raising Shame, a collaboration between BRASH and Streetwise Young People’s Project, presents the real-life experiences of Newcastle’s young people to challenge the stigma of menstruation and its brutal relationship with poverty. This show is sold out.
This week is the Queer and Now Festival at Live Theatre. On Tuesday, there is a reading of a work-in-progress by Laura Lindow, Then Leap, directed by Charlie Hardwick and read by Paula Penman. On Wednesday, there is a Scratch Night featuring extracts from eight new theatre pieces by LGBTQ+ artists working and living in the North East. On Thursday, Riot Act, presented by Emmerson & Ward Productions, written and performed by Alexis Gregory and directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair, is a verbatim piece taken from interviews with three key players in the history of the gay rights movement: a survivor of the Stonewall Riots, an alternative '70s drag artist and a '90s AIDS activist. Finally on Friday and Saturday is a developed and reworked production of Wank Buddies written and performed by Jake Jarratt and Cameron Sharp, first seen as part of the Elevator Festival 2019.
In children's show Rocket Girl by Steve Byron at Alphabetti from Tuesday to Saturday at 1:00, nine-year-old Georgina sets off on her adventure to design and build the very first Rocket, years before the famous George Stephenson. But Georgina dreams not of railroads but to get to the moon and dig for Cinder toffee left by the toffee-dragons (as told by Nana Nora) to make her fortune for her family and village. At 7:30 from Tuesday to Friday in Ladybones, archaeologist Nuala unearths a skeleton and her ordered life starts to unravel. Digging into the mystery of the bones, can she handle the chaos of what she discovers? Based on personal experience, it's a story about OCD, dungarees and being weird but not a weirdo. Finally at 9:30 on Friday, The Suggestibles' School of Improv presents an improvised courtroom comedy, Court in the Act, in which the audience is the jury.
The Sooty Show comes to the Tyne Theatre and Opera House on Thursday at 11:00 and 2:30.
In Breakin' Convention: Open Art Surgery, at Dance City on Saturday, local established and emerging hip hop artists present brand new works-in-progress.
The Sound of Music comes to Sunderland Empire from Tuesday to Saturday.
Dora Frankel Dance presents Figures in a Floating Landscape, inspired by the works of JMW Turner, at Sunderland College's Arts Academy on the Bede Campus on Durham Road at 7:00.
Mad Alice Theatre Company presents Rose and Robin, a show for young and old which is suitable for ages 7 to 70 and over, at Arts Centre Washington at 11:00 and 2:00 on Friday.
From Wednesday to Friday at 11:00, 2:00 and 6:00, The Customs House in South Shields presents Arbuthnot and Pals Sniffy and Whiffy Adventure, in which, after their successful appearance in Snow White, brand new family favourites Sniffy and Whiffy, the super stinky funky skunks, join the popular children's show.
On Monday and Tuesday at 11:30 and 1:30, Kitchen Zoo presents its show for the under-6s Wolf! at Alnwick Playhouse. Then on Friday at 11:30 and 2:00, Opera North presents Green Eggs and Ham, an introduction to opera for 4- to 7-year-olds and their families.
On Saturday at 2:00, Mad Alice brings Rose and Robin to The Maltings in Berwick.
At The Queen’s Hall in Hexham on Tuesday, Lempen Puppets presents The Golden Princess, aimed at ages 5+. There will be a workshop at 11:00 and a performance at 2:00. Then on Wednesday at 2:00, Mad Alice presents Rose and Robin.
A new adaptation of Catherine Cookson's The Cinder Path comes to Playhouse Whitley Bay on Wednesday.
On Thursday at 2:00, Rose and Robin comes to The Gala in Durham.
On Thursday, Opera North’s Whistlestop Opera presents a 45-minute whistle stop tour of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at The Witham in Barnard Castle.
From Tuesday to Thursday (various times) at Billingham Forum, Tom Rolfe Productions presents the family pantomime Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Then on Friday and Saturday at 7:00, Tom Rolfe Productions and Liam Mellor present an adult panto, Jack Off and the Beanstalk. Finally on Sunday, the Russian State Opera presents Aida.
At ARC Stockton on Friday to Saturday at 11:30 and 2:30, Can't Sit Still presents the tale of a dog who wants to be good but just can’t resist temptation, Oh No, George!, a brand new show for children aged 3+ and their families which uses acrobatics, slapstick comedy and live music to bring George’s chaotic and joyful escapades to life.
On Friday at 1:30, Full Circle presents In the Middle of Our Street at the Centre for Excellence in Creative Arts (CECA) in Hartlepool.
On Saturday (7:30) and Sunday (2:30), balletLORENT presents The Lost Happy Endings at Darlington Hippodrome prior to a national tour.
At 11:00 on Saturday at The Hullabaloo, Darlington, Catherine Wheels TC presents The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, a show for age 7+.
Magic is everywhere. Wear a dress and people treat you one way. Try a pinstripe suit and it’s like you are a different person. Fitting, about Matt Miller’s adventures in dresses and suits, is in The Studio at Harrogate Theatre on Thursday. Then on Friday (7:45) and Saturday (2:30 and 7:45), Ladies That Bus, based on real-life interviews with bus travellers in the North and peppered with humour, songs and original music, shows a day in the life of the Route 555 bus travelling from Lancaster to Keswick and the kaleidoscope of different characters that travel on it—each with their very own tale to tell.