Hello, and welcome to this week’s Substack. If you enjoy this, please support my writing by sharing it with friends, consider becoming a paid subscriber (no extras, as yet, just lots of kudos and a warm feeling in your heart), buying me a one-off Kofi or buying one of my books. The latter comes with the bonus that they are really good reads!
[Image description: Your next sexy vampire read starts here - Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair]
This week in theatre
I’m excited to be seeing Gerry & Sewell this week, which after stints at Laurels and Live hits the stage at the Theatre Royal. It’s great to see a show that started in a tiny Fringe theatre have such a journey, so I’m very keen to see what this new version looks like, now with added celebs (Michelle Heaton of Liberty X fame, and soap star Bill Ward).
I’ve heard a lot about Elysium Theatre Company but haven’t managed to see any of their shows yet, but they are definitely on my list. The company’s Othello is currently touring venues around the North East, including coming to a fave of mine, Washington Arts Centre, this week, so do check it out if you can.
Theatre to book now
There’s an absolute wealth of short-run touring shows coming to Northern Stage this month, many arriving having received great reviews already. I’ve already mentioned My Mother’s Funeral and Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz, both of which have been personally recommended to me, and the very interesting looking Please Right Back. An Evening Without Kate Bush also sounds like a riot, while Inua Ellams: Search Party looks compelling and an evening with Lemn Sissay has got to be one the hottest tickets this month.
The Customs House South Shields continues its commitment to new writing with Play 4 in October, a night of extracts for new writing from a host of talented writers. The evening is Pay What You Feel and you can see work by writers including Tom Kelly, Janet Plater and Sarah Rumfitt, directed by Natasha Haws.
Another tour that is worth catching is The Watch House, Papatango Theatre’s enjoyably creepy adaptation of the Robert Westall novel, adapted by Papatango’s own Chris Foxon. It’s a show boosted by great design and a strong sense of locality and the story is perfect for spooky season. The piece is touring all the way to Plymouth and Exeter, but you can catch it more locally at a range of venues including in Alnwick and Hexham, with a staged reading coming to Cullercoats. Details here.
Over at Laurels, Snakes and Ladders is a play looking at the mental health challenges faced by vulnerable youth in the face of an uncaring system and definitely sounds worthy of your time. Also tackling an important subject – in this case, the soul-crushing impact of debt – is Round The Houses, which comes to the theatre in November. Written by Gavin Webster and Si Beckwith, this was one of the shortlisted entries in the Richard Jenkinson Commission, and promises to tackle a tough issue with empathy and humour.
Film Festivals ahoy!
It's not coming till November, but you should definitely check out the programme for the Tees Valley Film Festival, which returns to ARC Stockton this year. A packed programme includes live events such as An Evening with Shaun Dooley, An Evening with Mark Benton and Stephen Tomkinson and showcases for short films (including nights dedicated to LGBTQ+ films, documentary and student films). Some of the events are also pay what you decide: you can check out the schedule here.
Also in November, The North East International Film Festival comes to venues across the North East including Live Theatre. Full details are yet to be announced, but do check out the website here for updates.
Over at Tyneside Cinema, they will be screening a number of films from the BFI London Film Festival programme this month. Other events include an interactive screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
If you fancy comparing live shows and movies, you can also see the film of cult horror St Maud before the adaptation opens at Live Theatre. The screening will be introduced by Live AD Jack McNamara and novelist Jessica Andrews, who has adapted it for the stage. You can find details here.
If you miss out / can’t make it to Newcastle, or just want to see it twice, The Fire Station in Sunderland is also screening a sing-along-Rocky Horror this month, which sounds like a great night out.
This week I am watching
If I am honest, mostly I have been bingeing The West Wing, since reading the book What’s Next reminded me how much I love it. I also got some vouchers for my birthday which means I could buy some of the early seasons (In The Shadow of Two Gunmen and Two Cathedrals remain some of the best TV I have ever seen).
Mostly though I am sad I have to wait to see my comfort firefighter shows 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lonestar, which premiered in the US last week but have yet to make it to these shores, so I have been consoling myself with another slick TV show, Fire Country. While nowhere near as much fun as the 9-1-1-verse – and they spend most of the time fighting actual fires instead of tackling insanely over-the-top disasters, imagine that! – this is a very watchable show, with a strong cast of character actors and familiar faces including Kevin Alejandro, Billy Burke – fresh off his stint as another firefighter on Lonestar – and Diane Farr.
[Image description: Keanu Reeves is not in Love with You and The Late Mrs. Willoughby]
What I am reading
I recently enjoyed Becky Holmes’ book on online romance fraud, Keanu Reeves is Not In Love with You. The book was tonally uneven, and I admit I didn’t love Holmes’ writing, but she tackles the subject with empathy and in places it is also very funny.
I’m reading a lot of non-fiction at the moment (I recently horrified a friend by revealing I regularly have 7 or 8 books on the go at one time!), most of which I have mentioned in recent newsletters, but I haven’t read any really gripping fiction in a while. So I had a palate cleanse with the always reliable Terry Pratchett and read the truly excellent Thud! last week, a book which tackles all sorts of subjects including immigration, extremism and generational culture gaps, while superficially being about a war between dwarves and trolls.
I then decided to also try some light escapism, so am now reading a book I got for my birthday, the second in the Mr Darcy and Miss Tilney mysteries by Claudia Gray, The Late Mrs. Willoughby. A cosy crime series set in the Austenverse, these books are a light and easy read and capture Austen’s original characters pretty well.
Thanks again for reading – please do share with your friends! Every new subscriber really does give me a boost. And remember if you want to support my writing but a paid subscription isn’t for you (times are hard, I get it!), you can buy me a one-off Ko-fi or buy one of my books.
Remember: everything included is my personal preference / opinion, and while I strive to be accurate, I always advising checking with the relevant venue.