Spooky season shows

Plus a wander in Whitley Bay

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Substack. If you enjoy this, please support my writing by sharing, 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 – and who doesn’t want to celebrate spooky season with some sexy vampires?

[Image description: the coast at Whitley Bay]

Theatre Royal new season now on sale

Tickets for next year at the Theatre Royal are now on sale and there are some fab shows coming to town. There’s a host of well-known musicals including Six – which I still haven’t managed to see so am hoping to manage this time! – Kinky Boots, & Juliet, Shrek, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical and The Book of Mormon. There’s also the usual banquet of ballet, opera and dance, including Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, and some big dramas, including Birdsong and The Boys from the Blackstuff.

The one I have already booked is the story of the making of Jaws, The Shark is Broken. This got great reviews at Edinburgh Fringe and then did a London run, so I am excited it is coming to Newcastle.

You can check out what else is on here.

Speaking of the Theatre Royal, you can read my review / short essay on Gerry & Sewell and its journey from Laurels to the Theatre Royal here.

[Image description: photo of a smiling dark haired woman - that would be me - leaning in to a NUFC football strip with the name ‘Shearer’ on the back]

Spooky Season Shows

There’s a wealth of spooky season shows coming in October / November. I’ve already mentioned St Maud at Live, which also comes with a raft of wraparound events including storytelling evenings. There’s also a screening of the film at The Tyneside next week, introduced by Live AD Jack McNamara and novelist Jessica Andrews, who adapted it for the stage.

While Alphabetti’s next big show – My Name is Rachel Corrie – opens this week, the theatre also has a bunch of spooky shows coming up. I nearly booked tickets to see The Creepy Boys, until I realised it has a 9pm start and frankly these days, I want to be going home at 9, not arriving, but I am assuming you guys are less boring than me. There’s also a Halloween cabaret, Hallowqueer: Gaylien, billed as ‘Putting the extra in extraterrestrial.’ The theatre is also hosting some related films as part of its film club, including Mars Attacks! And Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit.

(There’s also plenty of non-spooky – presumably – comedy coming up at Betti, including Laura Lexx: Slinky, Nina Gilligan – Goldfish and Milo Edwards – Sentimental).

Newcastle Castle has a range of events, talks and film screenings throughout October, including The Lost Boys, Nosferatu and The Exorcist. (You can also book their Christmas offerings now). It’s a very atmospheric venue, but do check accessibility requirements before you book, as the nature of the building means there are limits to how accessible events are. And take a hot water bottle cos that castle gets cold…

Tyne Theatre and Opera House might not have a Halloween offering (unless you count Jon Ronson’s Psychopath Night, I guess), but Shit-Faced Shakespeare sounds a lot of fun. They are kicking off their seasonal offerings early with The Nutcracker, and A Christmas Carol musical in November. Is it bad that I am also deeply tempted by Vampires Rock: Eternal Love next year? Maybe as a vampire novelist I could pass it off as a work expense?

Also, for the true crime podcast fans out there, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Rachel Fairburn are bringing their All Killa No Filla show to the theatre in November, and tickets are selling fast.

Over at the Customs House, Dennis and the Franken-Tyne Monster is their family-friendly offering.

Laurels has resumed its Play and a Pasty slots in October, and also has a family friendly show, Whitley the Witch. I already have tickets to its Halloween offering, Doomgate, which sounds promisingly creepy.

The Glasshouse (ah, you’ll always be The Sage to me) is doing a screening of Psycho, accompanied by the Royal Northern Sinfonia. (Also, if you want to get your nostalgia on, they are also hosting concerts by Hue and Cry and Adam Ant!)

Where I have been eating

I had a wee jaunt to the coast this weekend to catch up with friends, and have a potter round town, as usually I’m at Whitley Bay just to go to Laurels. For dinner, my friends and I went to Project Pizza, a nice little eatery on Park View that does great pizzas and, for most of them, also offers wine pairings. I had the special – a pea and courgette topped pizza that I was worried might be watery, but was absolutely delicious, but which unfortunately left me too full to try the desserts, which I’d heard good things about.

Park View is definitely one of the more gentrified bits of Whitley Bay, with a host of cool places to eat and cute shops (though be warned, a lot of the shops seem to close on Sundays). It was nice to have time to have a proper wander, and stock up on bougie Christmas gifts.

Sunday brunch was in Thirteen, a nice little café not far from the sea front (on the South Parade, in fact) where I had a veggie brunch bagel (vegan versions also available) and then trying the relatively new bar The Library, which was just next door.

There was also some kind of festival on so I got to see a steel band do a cover of Crazy in Love, which definitely isn’t my usual Sunday.

[Image description: tasty looking pizza]

What I have been watching

I have been having some TV tech issues which means I have basically been watching old episodes of The West Wing as I can’t get signed back into all my streamers, but one show I am loving right now is Agatha All Along. The last episode really ramped up both the queerness - Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey Plaza absolutely sizzle - and the stakes, and the show has been having a lot of fun with its ‘trial of the week’ premise (the costume department must be having the time of their lives). You don’t need to know much about Wandavision to watch it - though I would watch Wandavision, it is flawed but really clever) beyond the fact that (spoiler alert!)…

…Wanda ‘invented’ a life with Vision and two sons, then mind-controlled a town to bring that fantasy to life it (and stole Agatha’s powers along the way)….

It’s one of the most fun TV shows on right now, so definitely check it out.

[Image description: Your next sexy vampire read starts here - Dark Dates by Tracey Sinclair]

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.