Join Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot as she debuts songs from her new album The Last Star which features both traditional songs and new tunes written by Heidi, John McCusker (fiddle) and Boo Hewerdine (guitar). Heidi did 45 dates with Eddi Reader in 2009 and also tours with Drever, McCusker and Woomble. She originally cut her teeth as lead singer with Cherish The Ladies.

‘A voice that’s both Awestruck and Tender’ New York Times

Paul Tonkinson
Stand-up comedian, writer, presenter, actor and voiceover artiste Paul is a much sought after comedian for live comedy shows all over the UK and internationally.
‘Brilliant’ The Independent

Ian Cognito
One of the best comics on the national circuit, Ian Cognito is a veteran who clearly knows what he’s doing as he spits his darkly humorous vitriol over an unsuspecting crowd.
‘Just stunning’ The Guardian

With support from Luke Benson
 

Jolt your brain back into the working week with Live's Arts + Entertainment Quiz. Taking place in Live's atmospheric bar simply bring along your own team of culture vultures to have a chance of winning a host of fantastic prizes. 

The A+E Quiz costs just £1 per team member and there's no need to book so just grab your mates and head down to Live Theatre for a great night out on the first Monday of every month. 

This month's prizes include tickets to see The Girl In The Yellow Dress and A Play, A Pie & A Pint's Fly Me To The Moon.

Take a sneaky look behind the scenes in the Grade 1 and 2 bonded warehouses and almshouses that make up Live Theatre’s home on Newcastle’s quayside. This free event includes the chance to hear the history of the buildings and the theatre company which has inhabited this location for over 25 years.

Ever since he was a young boy, Mr Drayton wanted his name to be synonymous with the acting Glitterati of Scunthorpe, alongside Liz Smith, Joan Plowright and Tony Jacklin. He ran away to Blackpool with a community theatre group, toured the world dressed in black velvet and to this day, enjoys life as a stand-up comedian.

‘He was doing so well at school until he was 14, then it went pear-shaped’ Mr Drayton (Snr)

A breath-taking and explosive play, directed by Peter Hayes and performed by Pam Ngwabeni. This play deals with the fallout of being a lesbian in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. It depicts a world of light living and deep passion, casual violence and serious relationships, woven together with soccer and song and a soundtrack with Antony and the Johnsons and Lucinda Williams. Welcome to South Africa, where a deviating lifestyle easily meets agression and violence.

Why not start the evening with A Play, A Pie & A Pint?

Asanda Phewe, University of Cape Town’s Best Theatre-Maker of 2008, explores the many fragmented perceptions black women have of themselves. This is a deeply personal examination of what it means to be a young black woman in today’s society. And to dream how it would be to be a white girl. Asanda Phewa battles with an imposed identity and other’s expectations at the cost of her own dreams. What if you wanted to clean homes and feel happy with that? Asanda tackles the subject in a very intense and intimate way, with her own body and dark skin.

Why not start the evening with A Play, A Pie & A Pint?

As seen on BBC 1’s Michael McIntyre’s Roadshow, Channel 4’s Best Of The Brighton Comedy Festival and Best UK Headline Act Chortle Award nominee 2010. Life’s not fair and the world’s a disgusting place to live. Andrew Lawrence tries to find some consolation. Join him on his debut UK tour and first show at Live Theatre.

‘Lawrence packs more laughs into one of his ninety seconds rants than most comics manage in half an hour’ The Scotsman

A group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole thing up. But when they find that the cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their otherwise fractious lives, where's the incentive to put things right? 

DNA is a poignant and, sometimes, hilarious tale with a very dark heart.

Presented as part of Juice - NewcastleGateshead's award-winning festival for children and young people.

Enjoy an evening of work-in-progress performances of funny and poignant monologues looking at ordinary young women at extraordinary points in their lives including new work by Paddy Campbell (Dial-A-Mate) and Lee Mattinson (Me & Cilla). Meet Donna and her reindeer, get to know Stacey and her granddad – and his copy of Readers’ Wives - and take part in the ultimate show and tell presentation.

When sixteen year old Jonathan Fudge dies, his friends flock to his Facebook page to make sense of the horrible mess. But when Jonathan starts to respond, they begin to wonder whether their friend has disappeared at all.

Join Paul James, Associate Director, Education & Participation and writer Lee Mattinson for a reading of Jonathan Likes This. Take part in a discussion about the future development of this exciting new play which will be performed by members of the Youth Theatre in the Main Theatre in April 2011.

Presented as part of Juice - NewcastleGateshead's award-winning festival for children and young people.

Live Theatre’s unique new venture...

Learn the art of playwriting from two leading theatre practitioners, watch exclusive videos of award-winning writers including Lee Hall (Billy Elliot, Cooking With Elvis & The Pitmen Painters) and be part of a community of aspiring playwrights.

To register your interest in the course visit www.beaplaywright.com

Course fees apply



 

 

From the online storyworld of Sheerport meet Alex, Becky and The Announcer, three young guns with the world at their feet and balls enough to take it by storm. But there’s a problem... and they need your help! The Alexander Wilson Project is a transmedia adventure story. This innovative interactive thriller contains action, intrigue and wow moments activated on the internet, mobile, film and now Live Theatre.

Join Alex, Becky and The Announcer on Sunday 7 November for a multimedia theatrical happening featuring: vibrant new theatre pieces, film screenings, audience participation, live music & competitions. To find out more visit www.awproject.co.uk and enter this code for exclusive footage: b717

The event takes place across the ground floor.

The first thing we did was plant a hedge all around the outside of the garden. The suburban dream: a beautiful family in a beautiful house with a beautiful garden. Your home is your castle. But what do you do when the walls of that castle are breached? How long can you keep the outside world at bay?
 

All the good and bad things that befall you are written into your destiny and cannot be altered.

How can you grow up in a corrupt and violent environment without yourself becoming a victim of anti-social behaviour, how do you defend yourself if the forces of law and order can't or won't help? This work-in-progress reading of Margaret Wilkinson and Karen Laws’s tragic-comic play explores the moral ambiguities of life in an ASBO world.
 

Be entertained by Tyneside favourites, The Caffrey Brothers, as they return to Live Theatre with their original songs in a rock style, performed in their distinctive three part harmonies.

Sarah Millican, star of Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week and if.comedy Best Newcomer, announces her debut UK tour.

The sweet and filthy Geordie’s stand-up show promises jokes about life, love and what to do when your boyfriend puts a sock on your boob during sex.

"Probably the finest female comedian working at the moment." Time Out
 

Meet the White family. They’ve been coming to Butlins for generations - for holidays, birthdays and weddings. Now they’re here to celebrate Nana Barbara’s seventieth in style and they’re not going to let a few family squabbles get in the way of the most electrifying party Butlins has ever seen. Come and hear the latest draft of Lee Mattinson’s hilarious new play.

Join Archie Brown for an evening of Rock and Roll at their annual Christmas shebang. With guest artists lined up don’t miss out on the hottest ticket of the social season. Dancing shoes are not optional.