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- Northern Theatre News - August Wk 1
Northern Theatre News - August Wk 1
Anthony Cawood
August 05, 2025
Welcome to Northern Theatre News!
The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice I’ve altered the numbering format for the newsletter, adding the month should make it a little easier to track and understand - hopefully!
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!
Subscriber giveaway
£50 montlhy 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 Chicago until 9th August
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal has the hilarious Book of Mormon until 9th August, and then the always sensational SIX 12th - 23rd August.
North West
Liverpool’s Empire has TINA, the Tina Turner musical (obvs!) from 12th - 23rd August.
Liverpool’s Royal Court has The Legend of Rooney’s Ring, the ultimate scouse sword and sorcery tale that is packed with magic, romance, original songs and stupid gags. Running 18th July to 23rd August.
Opera House Manchester has 2:22 A Ghost Story which runs from 7th August to 16tth.
We have a mini tour up next with the ever popuplar WWII jukebox musical When The Lights Go On Again hitting three venues in August, so check it out in Salford, Oldham or Manchester!
Chester’s Storyhouse are 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 By Royal Appointment until 9th August, followed by The Addams Family 12th - 16th August. Plus they have A Squash and A Squeeze 5th to 24th August in the Quays Thetare
Running all summer at The Old Laundry Theatre in Bowness-on-Windermere is a muscial spectacular centered around Peter Rabbit - kids are sure to love it!
Running until 24th August as a theatre in the park experience is Wizard of Oz, presented by The Dukes in Lancaster.
Running from 7th Aug to 6th September, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick have the classic Pride and Prejudice.
Yorkshire
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 Grand have the amazing Warhouse arriving on 19th August - 6th Spetember.
York Theatre Royal is promoting a Shakespearian offering with a difference, 15th - 23rd August in Holy Trinity Church!
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.
Whitby Pavilion has an adaptation of The 39 Steps running 8th - 10th 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!
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, have 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 tidbits.
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.
£50 Theatre Tokens via Culture Calling (ends 7th August)
Fawlty Towers Dining Experience tickets via What’s on TV (ends 7th August)
Every Brilliant Thing tickets and London hotel stay via Sainsbury’s (ends 17th August)
Something a little different to finish the competitions section… the Phoenix Theatre in Blyth are running a Playwriting competition, so if you’ve always fancied seeing your work performed then check out The Phoenix Theatre Playwriting Competition - submissions window closes end of September
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.
Harrogate Theatre
 Harrogate Theatre by DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons  Frances Darlington frieze - HT website  Auditorium now - from HT website  Auditorium in the past - from HT website  Entrance - from HT website  Entrance as Grand Opera House - HT website  Spudgun67, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons  External at dusk - HT website | Opened in 1900, as the Grand Opera House, it is one of Yorkshire’s true theatrical highlights. Designed by Frank Tugwell, it was built with Victorian grandeur in mind; with gilded plaster mouldings, electric lighting throughout, and dressing rooms with hot and cold running water (revolutionary at the time!). The theatre opened its doors 13th Jan 1900, with a gala in aid of Boer War soldiers, followed just a couple of days later by its first pantomime, Dick Whittington, which played to a packed 1300 seats. The theatre was scented back then too, so as audience members took their seats they would have smelt Erasmus Perfume by the Erasmic Soap Company. Over the decades, the theatre attracted stars of the highest calibre. Legends like Sarah Bernhardt, a young Charlie Chaplin, Ken Dodd and more. Local sculptor Frances Darlington added a beautiful relief frieze to the foyer in the early 1900s, still admired today. By the 1930s, cinema and radio were pulling audiences away, so then manager William Peacock and his daughter launched the White Rose Players – one of the UK’s first weekly rep companies. Performing a new play every week, they kept the stage alive with around 45 shows a year until the mid-1950s, when the rise of television saw audiences drop once again. In 1955, the curtain fell. But just three years later, it rose once more, saved by local backers and reborn as Harrogate Theatre under charitable trust. A full restoration in the 1970s ensured its long-term future, and the stage played host to a diverse mix of touring drama, comedy and music – including an intimate gig by none other than David Bowie. And where would any vintage theatre be without a haunting or two? Ask staff and they’ll tell you about Alice, the peppermint-scented ghost who’s said to occupy the stalls – believed to be the heartbroken spirit of a jilted lover, her presence even inspired a centenary play and a ghost hunt or two. Today, Harrogate Theatre is thriving once more. It programmes shows not only on its own stage but also across the town’s Royal Hall and Convention Centre. A booming youth theatre, set-building workshop, and a renewed community focus means that at 125 years old, it remains a vital, living part of the town. A theatre with endless stories to tell, a ghost in the wings, and a future as bright as its past. (Youtube videos) |
That’s it for this week
Would love to know what you think of our newsletter, what we can do to make it better next time and what else you’d like to see in the newsletter.
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