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- Northern Theatre News, August - Week 2
Northern Theatre News, August - Week 2
Anthony Cawood
August 14, 2025
Welcome to Northern Theatre News!
I’m fresh back from Scarborough where I took in the delights of the seafront, devoured amazing fish and chips and had the pleasure of seeing Noises Off at Stephen Joseph Theatre, where I saw their production of this classic British farce presented in-the-round for the first time ever!
Check out my review and get your tickets quick, they’re selling out fast!
As a side note, the newsletter normally goes out on a Tuesday, which ties in with the start of show weeks for most theatres. But if I see a show and write a review, then it may be Wednesday, or as in this case Thursday.
As always, I’d love to hear your feedback. So let me know what you’d like to see featured (or not!) in future editions.
Enjoy!
News roundup
Not often we see a new theatre open, but this week we have news of two (well kind of!)
 Coming soon… First up we have news of The Harrogate Playhouse, a new studio theatre opening in Harrogate. Register your interest on their website. |  |
And now onto the resurrection of the iconic Epstein Theatre which has just announced the line-up for the re-opening night Gala on 19th September, which includes The Christians, Ricky Tomlinson, Andrew Lancel and Joe McGann among others. Watch this space for more news and a feature on the Epstein in a future issue.
The Christians in action
Great news for our most northern of venues, Berwick Maltings has secured £28m funding for their revamp!
Subscriber giveaway
£50 monthly prize giveaway
Each month we’ll be giving away a £50 Theatre Token to one lucky subscriber, usable in over 250 venues around the UK, including a bunch of our Northern venues. All you have to do is subscribe to be in with a chance of winning! First draw will be at the end of August with the winner announced in the first newsletter in September - keep an eye on your inbox!
What’s on over the next few weeks
North East
Sunderland’s Empire has Bat out of Hell coming on the 18th for a week. AND… this show is part of ATG’s Summer Saver promotion! Click on the pic to see which shows/tickets are on offer!
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal has the ever popular SIX for a couple of weeks from the 12th August, as you’d expect this is almost sold out!!!
Darlington Hippodrome have a spooky production of The Haunting of Blaine Manor from 21st to 23rd August. They also have a fun after show Ghost Tour running on the 21st, get your EMF Meter at the ready!
North West
Liverpool’s Empire has TINA, the ever popular Tina Turner musical (obvs!) from 12th - 23rd August.
Blackpool Grand Theatre has the timeless The Wind in the Willows from 14th to 17th August. Followed by The Last Laugh 26th to 30th August.
Hope Street Theatre Liverpool has Treasure Island 21st - 24th August
Liverpool’s Royal Court is staging The Legend of Rooney’s Ring. This is the ultimate Scouse sword and sorcery tale, packed with magic, romance, original songs and stupid gags, lots of stupid gags! |  Until 23rd August |
Wizard of Oz runs until 24th August as a theatre in the park experience, presented by The Dukes in Lancaster.
Opera House Manchester has 2:22 A Ghost Story which runs from 7th to 16th August. Followed by Riverdance 30: The New Generation from 23rd to 27th August.
Palace Theatre in Manchester has the spectacular Moulin Rouge for two weeks from 20th August.
We have a mini tour up next with the ever popuplar WWII jukebox musical When The Lights Go On Again. The production is hitting three North West venues in August. So check it out in the final remaining stops at the Seven Oaks in Manchester! Contact the venue directly for availability and ticket info. |  |
Chester’s Storyhouse is running multiple open air experiences with a brand new adapatation of Sherlock Holmes! Running 18th July to 31st August. Plus Pride & Prejudice 24th July - 31st August.
The Lowry, in Salford, has The Addams Family 12th - 16th August. Plus they have A Squash and A Squeeze 5th to 24th August in the Quays Theatre.
Running all summer at The Old Laundry Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere is a musical spectacular centered around Peter Rabbit - kids are sure to love it!
Running from 7th Aug to 6th September, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick has the classic Pride and Prejudice.
Yorkshire & Humberside
The beloved adaptation of the Railway Children is staged on the very tracks they used in the film, the show begins when you board a vintage steam train! Sets off daily until 7th September and is garnering rave reviews!
Leeds Playhouse have a new musical, Reception, based on the music of David Gedge, at The Warehouse in Holbeck 22nd Aug to 6th September.
Leeds Grand has the amazing Warhouse arriving on 19th August until 6th September.
Theatre Royal Wakefield has the classic Guys and Dolls running from 20th to 30th August.
York Theatre Royal is promoting a Shakespearian offering with a difference, 15th - 23rd August in Holy Trinity Church!
I love to see the creativity of outdoor performance during the summer months, and the Junction Goole have a series of performances of Thumbelina in local parks from 23rd to 25th August, a different park each day.
Did i mention it’s FREE?!? You just need to book a ticket.
Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough has a new production of the classic Noises Off, for the first time ever presented in the round! 9th August to 6th September.
Check out my review here!
The Forum in Northallerton have Snow White as a summer Panto, 21st to 25th August.
I don’t want to ignore any of the amazing venues we have in the North, so I’ve also created an index of all the venues I could find and have included it in the newsletter’s associated website - just look at the header or footer on the website and you’ll see ‘Theatres’ and a drop-down menu/list.
Let me know if I’ve missed any!
Noises Off - A Northern Theatre News review
Farce fans, have you seen the sardines?
Pretty apt given where we are, but let me backup a minute.
One of the reasons that Northern Theatre News exists is to promote our northern venues, and that in turn gives me an excuse (not that I need one) to pack up my EV and hit the road.
In this case that road took me to sunny Scarborough, literally - it was cracking the flags.
So after a walk on the seafront, mandatory fish and chips from the Life Boat Cafe, I made the walk back up the hill to Stephen Joseph Theatre who are presenting the first-ever in-the-round Noises Off (9 Aug–6 Sept 2025).
Ticket offers not to miss!
I’ll try and bring you all the ticket deals and offers I can find!
Summer Saver offers
ATG Entertainment, who run a number of theatres up and down the country, has a Summer Saver offer running, select tickets are discounted on over 120 shows, including the Liverpool Empire, Manchester Palace Theatre, Manchester Opera House, Stockton Globe, and Sunderland Empire.
Don’t forget to apply the promo code at checkout!
Other News
I don’t only want to showcase the bigger venues and their news pieces, so this is the place I’ll try drop some interesting titbits.
As mentioned earlier, Harrogate Playhouse will be opening soon, a new studio venue in Harrogate… and they are looking for shows/performers/content for their winter season.
Theatre competitions
A quick roundup of competitions that involve our Theatres, or in general where there’s something good for you. All are free to enter and run by 3rd parties (not me!), and I will keep them in each newsletter whilst the entry date is still valid.
Theatre spotlight
I’ll look at one of our great Northern Theatres each week and give a little more info on the theatre and its rich history.
Stephen Joseph Theatre
 The incredible Art Deco exterior at night All images are credit Tony Bartholomew or SJT unless otherwise stated.  Stephen Joseph Theatre by Peter McDermott, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons  The SJT venues over the years  The Round auditorium  A production in The Round  The McCarthy auditorium  The McCarthy stage/cinema  Couldn’t resist another great shot of the SJT at night! | Born in a library, raised in a school, and now thriving inside an Art Deco haven, Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre (SJT) has been reinventing itself (and British theatre) for 70 years! On 14 July 1955, pioneering director Stephen Joseph opened the UK’s first professional theatre-in-the-round upstairs at Scarborough Library. It was intimate, eccentric and… it worked. The little Library Theatre quickly became a sanctuary for new writing and emerging talent, including an 18-year-old Alan Ayckbourn, who arrived in 1957 as an acting ASM and has never really left. By 1976, the company had outgrown the library and moved to a 'temporary' new home at Westwood (a former school), where it kept the in-the-round format, and kept developing Ayckbourn’s work as writer-director. In 1996, a long-held dream came true when the company took over Scarborough’s 1936 Odeon cinema, preserving the glorious foyer and 30s detailing while building a purpose-designed roundhouse at the former screen end. The new SJT opened with By Jeeves, an Ayckbourn & Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, after previews from 24 April and an official launch on 1 May 1996. A new theatre mecca was born! Today the building houses two auditoria, The Round, with 404 seats, and The McCarthy with 165 seats, an end-stage studio and sometime cinema. The Round even boasted a UK first when it opened, with a stage lift and a wire-mesh trampoline lighting grid for rapid changeovers. It can even be adapted to 3 sided should the need arise. The SJT produces five or six shows a year, often including a new Ayckbourn, a big 'popular excellence' comedy, and a much loved Christmas show. They run alongside many visiting events spanning drama, music, comedy, dance and more. This summer’s headline comedy is Noises Off (9th August to 6th September), never before staged in-the-round! This year also saw this legendary theatre mark its 70th birthday with a wonderful gala celebration As for local legends, well Scarborough remains Ayckbourn’s creative home, he served as Artistic Director from 1972 to 2009, returned to work after a 2006 stroke, and continues to premiere his new plays at the SJT. The current Artistic Director is Paul Robinson (appointed 2016), who has steered the theatre through recent seasons with a sure hand and plenty of Yorkshire gumption. |
That’s it for this week
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