What's on in the North East

Published: 1 April 2018
Reporter: Peter Lathan

The Band (Theatre Royal, Newcastle)
The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon (Northern Stage)
Steptoe and Son (Alnwick Playhouse, Queen's Hall Hexham and Boshop Auckland Town Hall)

Tim Firth’s musical The Band, based on the songs of Take That, comes to Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday until 14 April.

The Last Ship continues in Stage 1 at Northern Stage until Saturday. On Friday and Saturday (10:30 and 1:30) in Stage 2, Theatre Alibi presents The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon, based on the story by David Almond. For ages 6 to 11.

This week from Tuesday to Saturday at 6:30, Alphabetti Theatre presents Keeping Time by Ali Pritchard, a dramatic reading of a new fantastical story with magic, deceit and clocks intertwined with a live musical score (for ages 6+). Then on Friday at 8:00, Open Heart Theatre presents Let Us Make It up To You, more improvised comedy.

From Thursday to Saturday, Birmingham Royal Ballet presents Coppélia at Sunderland Empire.

On Wednesday (11:00 and 2:00), Theatre Fideri Fidera presents Oskar’s Amazing Adventure for ages 2 to 8, and on Friday, The Pantaloons bring War of the Worlds, a new adaptation using musical instruments and puppetry, to Arts Centre Washington.

On Friday and Saturday (11:00 and 2:00), panto hero Arbuthnot returns to the Customs House in South Shields with Arbuthnot's Super Happy Silly Fun Game Show! (now with added Silly!) for ages 5 to 12.

From Wednesday to Friday (12:00 and 3:30), Walton-Gunn Productions presents Peter Plank's Magical Mystical Egg, an Easter panto, at the Westovian Theatre Society’s Pier Pavilion in South Shields.

At Alnwick Playhouse on Tuesday, Hambledon Productions presents Steptoe and Son, featuring the classic episodes: Divided We Stand, Men of Letters and Come Dancing.

Steptoe and Son is also at the Queen’s Hall in Hexham on Wednesday.

An Easter pantomime, Alice in Wonderland, starring Leslie Ash, Ashleigh Butler and Sully, and Dave Benson Philips, comes to Playhouse Whitley Bay on Monday and Tuesday.

Talegate Theatre brings The Wizard of Oz, featuring music, magic and puppets, to Bishop Auckland Town Hall at 3:00 on Wednesday, and Hambledon Productions’ Steptoe and Son comes to the venue on Saturday.

The Marc Bolan musical Twentieth Century Boy comes to Billingham Forum from Thursday to Saturday.

The Pantaloons’ production of War of the Worlds is at Middlesbrough Theatre on Thursday.

Nearly There Yet brings The Party (for ages 3+) to ARC Stockton at 2:30 on Saturday.

On Monday and Tuesday (various times), the Easter panto Beauty and the Beast, starring Dani Harmer and Bobby Davro, comes to Darlington Hippodrome.

At the Georgian Theatre Royal, Richmond on Friday, Rebecca Vaughan presents Elton Townend Jones’s new and radical interpretation of the H G Wells classic The Time Machine.

From Thursday to Saturday (2:00 every day and 11:00 on Saturday) at Harrogate Theatre, Taking Flight presents You’ve Got Dragons (for age 3+). Then on Saturday in The Studio, mask, mime, puppetry and gesture unite in Betty, a one-woman show, a journey of love, life and loss, told by Betty’s granddaughter.

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