Autumn 2022 Brochure
We’ve lined up a jam-packed season with North East stories alongside some of the UK’s best touring theatre companies, live music, comedy AND family shows.
What's On:
Autumn 2022
**Theatre | Comedy | Family | Music | Exhibitions | Taking Part | Christmas**
*Image: These Hills Are Ours*
THIS AUTUMN AT QUEEN'S HALL
from our Artistic Director, Katy Taylor...
Another jam-packed season awaits...
“It’s been a real joy to reconnect with people since we reopened our doors around this time last year. We’ve been listening to our audiences and we’ve lined-up an Autumn season we hope you’ll love, packed with North East talent and stories alongside some of the UK’s best touring theatre companies, live music, stand up comedy and brand new family shows.
During lockdown we worked hard to make our building more accessible, so it’s a real pleasure to present shows like Icarus Theatre’s The Lesson which uses new Creative Captioning technology for deaf and hard of hearing audiences, and to welcome the Lawnmowers Theatre Ensemble to Hexham for the first time, a brilliant North East theatre company run by and for people with learning difficulties.
I am delighted to share that we're teaming-up with Alnwick Playhouse and Alnwick Gardens on a magical new retelling of family favourite The Wind in the Willows for our main stage Christmas production this year. For the first time, there'll be an opportunity for young people to get on involved and perform on our stage as part of this year's cast! Watch our website and social channels for more information on that over the coming months...
Whatever you join us for, we look forward to seeing you at Queen's Hall soon.”
Katy Taylor
Artistic Director, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE - A SUITCASE STORY
**4 - 6 AUGUST**
Kitchen Zoo
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE
A SUITCASE STORY
Friday 4 - Sunday 6 August
Kitchen Zoo travel around with their suitcase of stories, spinning yarns and telling tales. What will come out of the suitcase today?
It’s the Tortoise and the Hare. Get ready to hop like a hare and travel like a tortoise. Who will win, slow and steady or fast and furious? Join us for an unexpected dash to the finish line. On your marks, get set…GO!
An interactive story for under 6s and their grownups with live music, puppetry and a tale you thought you knew. From the makers of The Three Bears and WOLF!
Kitchen Zoo in association with ARC, Stockton, Queen's Hall Hexham and Gosforth Civic Theatre.
Thursday 4 August: 11am & 2pm
Friday 5 August: 11am & 2pm
Saturday 6 August: 10am, 1pm & 3pm
Tickets: £8.50 (adults & under 16's), £7.50 (group of 4 or more, per person)
Age Guidance: Under 6's
All performances are relaxed.
Book online >
THE SHODYSSEY
**10 September**
Assembleth Theatre
THE SHODYSSEY
Saturday 10 September
Troy – Something BC. A young bull herder accidently eats a golden apple. Three Goddesses aren’t happy. And then 10 years later a city burns.
Obviously, a lot happened in between these points and several important things happened before, all of which will be shown for the first time in well over a millennium as Assembleth take you on a journey through the Trojan War as you’ve never seen it before. The sort-of truth behind Achilles heel, the golden watermelon of Paris, the twelve accidental labours of Hercules and more will be revealed as the history of one of the most important conflicts of the ancient world comes to life.
“There’s carnage, chaos and a huge amount of humour as Assembleth Theatre populate Greece, Troy and a doorless wooden horse.” British Theatre Guide
"Great fun! Barking mad and some wondrously daft gags. Cheers Assembleth for a riotous afternoon!" Audience member
Saturday 10 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (benefit concessions, under 16’s and students)
Age guidance: 8+
Book online >
TURNING PEDALS INTO POEMS
**13 September**
VerseCycle
TURNING PEDALS INTO POEMS
Tuesday 13 September
Join poet, writer and cyclist Caroline Burrows (VerseCycle) for an evening of poetry, facilitated by Cycling Minds.
Turning Pedals into Poems is Caroline Burrows’ one-woman poetry show, which she is touring sustainably by bike during August and September 2022, starting in Bristol, travelling via rural locations and cities, over the Peak District and the Pennines, up to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, and a bit beyond.
Caroline’s poetry has featured on BBC Radio 4, been printed in BBC Sky at Night Magazine, shown at the Sheffield Adventure and Kendal Mountain Film Festivals and been shortlisted for the Sustainability First Art Prize. Her short stories have been published in The National Flash Fiction Anthology, The Charles Causley Trust, and The Lancaster One Minute Monologues. She has also written articles for several publishers including Cycling UK and Adventure Cyclist magazines.
Expect poems on themes ranging from Caroline's adventures by bike; from moongazing and observations on the Sun, along with others about trying to be more environmentally friendly, mental health, love, social commentary, and trees
"Poems that engage and entertain, stimulate and surprise: from storms and struggles to the stars and back." Audience member
“Enchanting and emotive.” Audience member
"Refreshingly different, warm and engaging - highly recommended.” Exeter Phoenix
Caroline will also be running a FREE Nature Sketching & Poetry Writing workshop 2-4pm on the day of the show. Click here for more info.
Tuesday 13 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £8
In Hexham Library
Book online >
THESE HILLS ARE OURS
**14 September**
ARC Stockton, Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley
THESE HILLS ARE OURS
Wednesday 14 September
by Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley
Do you ever want to run away from it all? Dan and Boff did exactly that: they ran a series of routes from the centre of the city in which they found themselves, to the top of the peak overlooking that city. But what are we really running from?
In story and in song, These Hills Are Ours is the story of what they found out on those journeys. It’s about escaping it all by running to wild places. Escaping the city, escaping your past, escaping the restrictions of upbringing or class or politics. It’s a celebration of wild places and our freedom to roam them.
Daniel Bye’s award-winning, internationally touring theatre is always engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining. Boff Whalley, best-known as a founder member of Chumbawamba, writes heartfelt, catchy folk songs. This, their first theatre piece together, sees them moving into their most personal material yet. It’s a not-to-be-missed collaboration between two of Britain’s most celebrated artists in their own fields.
Wednesday 14 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (benefit concession & students)
Age guidance: 12+
Book online >
HEARTFELT
**16 September**
gobscure
HEARTFELT
Friday 16 September
heartfelt is about reframing narratives and learning to grow. The third in gobscure’s trilogy of solo shows (after provok'd & rose carved in rain) collectively spiralling out of homelessness and the aftermath. All three offer creative resistances and ways to rewrite futures.
heartfelt spirals out of a psychiatrist saying ‘Whoops - Yes, I wondered when that was going to happen, I suppose we should have warned you about those side-effects'. That 'side-effect' was our first heart-attack. 'Side-effects' have taken twenty years off our life. Psychiatry is killing too many of us. We could learn from other species. Doctor Who has two hearts while Octopi have three hearts, produce their own ink and you can’t burn all their libraries? Yet humans label Octopi violent for throwing seashells underwater (interpretive dance!) and medicate confined creatures for their 'zoochosis' using those antipsychotic drugs that gave us heart-attacks which were first tested on animals.
Bleak humour is proven to aid survival. Our co-star in this playfully poetic show is friedakahloctopus - a small but mighty crocheted octopus. So come and play a boardgame of competitive empathy; watch us reduce psychiatry to firewood in under ten minutes. There will be edible-love-poetry for all. And learn about the source of the heart we wear on our sleeve in this show. We make better friends than enemies!
“Like all the work I've seen by gobscure heartfelt weaves the personal and the political, the witty and the raging into the most fascinating map of how on earth we got here. Always a must watch.” Alan Lane, Slung Low
Feedback for previous gobscure shows:
“Intelligent, unsettling and entertaining in equal measure.” Disability Arts Online
“A voice rarely heard, if ever, in theatre. it is complex and at times dazzling.'' Cardboard Citizens
Friday 16 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (benefit concession & students)
Age guidance: 14+
Book online >
RICH HALL: SHOT FROM CANNONS
**17 September**
SELLING FAST!
RICH HALL: SHOT FROM CANNONS
Saturday 17 September
Fresh on the heels of his critically acclaimed memoirs, Nailing It, Rich Hall is back on tour and headed to Queen's Hall!
Now, Montana’s transatlantic messenger returns with new rants, knife-edge observations, thrilling musical interludes and an ever-formidable knack for laughs on the fly.
You’ll pay for the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge of it!
“Vital and incredulously angry. Hilarious.” The Scotsman
“Blissfully funny.” The Guardian
“One hour of stonking stand-up and another of stomping hoedown mayhem. That’s two top gigs in one” The Mail On Sunday
Saturday 17 September: 8pm
Tickets: £18
Age guidance: 14+
Book online >
REMAKE, RETAKE
**20 September**
The Lawnmowers Theatre Ensemble
REMAKE, RETAKE
Tuesday 20 September
The Lawnmowers Theatre Ensemble are set to bring their empowering new show Remake, Retake to Hexham this Autumn.
A show where the actors take back films made about learning disabled people but without learning disabled actors. In a fun and sometimes profoundly moving way, they question Hollywood's star-defining practice.
Artistic Director Jan Willem van den Bosch, Theatre Maker Melody Sproates and the Lawnmower’s Theatre Ensemble create a cutting-edge lip-synching fest. Sashaying through a soundscape of songs, recorded voices and snippets of films like Forrest Gump and I Am Sam.
Retake, Remake is profound, moving and empowering.
"Packed with bags of humour and directed by Jan-Willem Van Den Bosch with fierce, kinetic energy, Retake, Remake is slyly funny, gloriously kitschy fun." Exeunt Magazine
About Lawnmowers
Established in 1986 and registered charity since 2000, The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company is a producing theatre - arts organisation run by and for people with learning difficulties. The Lawnmowers believe the arts can unlock the talents and capacity of people with learning difficulties to take charge of their lives, as active citizens, visible artists and agents of change.
Tuesday 20 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (benefit concession & students)
Age guidance: 13+
Book online >
SHAKERS; UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!
**23 & 24 September**
John Godber Company & Theatre Royal Wakefield
SHAKERS; UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT!
Friday 23 & Saturday 24 September
By John Godber and Jane Thornton
Directed by John Godber
The double BAFTA winning partnership bring their writing skills to the classic play Shakers, sister play to Bouncers.
The high street might be struggling to get back to normal but the Shakers bar is under new management and they are determined to make it the place to be seen. Pubs are closing, Gin bars are so yesterday, and cocktails and decadence are back for the roaring 2020s, as the hospitality industry looks to a new future.
Misogyny is rife, in the home, in the workplace, and on the streets. The walk home after closing feels longer than ever, the customers are getting more leering, the hours longer, but the pay hasn't changed. For waitresses Adele, Nicky and Mel, their lives juggle home, work, school and everything in between, but how long can it be maintained?
Funny, physical and fizzing with wit, Shakers might just be the bar that we all want to be seen in!
Join us in this revamped version of the iconic play which puts women's lives front and centre, as everyone returns to going out out!
Friday 23 & Saturday 24 September: 7.30pm
Tickets: £18, £15 (benefit concession & students)
Age guidance: 14+
Book online >
A DOLL'S HOUSE
**23 & 24 September**
Elysium Theatre Company
A DOLL'S HOUSE
Wednesday 28 & Thursday 29 September
by Henrik Ibsen
Directed by Jake Murray
“No man can be expected to sacrifice his honour, even for the person he loves.”
"Millions of women have done it."
Nora is a happily married woman with a loving husband and three beautiful children. Everything seems perfect in her happy home. But when a man from her past appears demanding what she owes him, her ideal life unravels, and as she realises the truth about her marriage, she is forced to make the ultimate choice...
Award-winning, Durham-based Elysium Theatre Company brings Ibsen's landmark drama about marriage, love and the need to be true to yourself to Hexham in a sensational new production, their fifth for Queen’s Hall Arts Centre. A Doll’s House reunites the cast for Miss Julie, which won Best Revival In The North East in the British Theatre Guide when it played on the main stage in 2019.
Don't miss this thrilling play!
“At the forefront of making high quality theatre for northern audiences.” The Play’s The Thing
“This company can do no wrong.” Reviewer Number 9
Wednesday 28 September: 7.30pm
Thursday 29 September: 1.30pm & 7.30pm
Tickets: £15, £12 (benefit concession & students)
Book online >
AN EVENING OF NEW POETRY AND ART
**29 September**
AN EVENING OF NEW POETRY AND ART
Thursday 29 September
Award-winning poet Sean O’Brien will introduce American-born, North Shields-based poet Kris Johnson as she launches her first pamphlet, Skinny Dip.
Kris holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Newcastle University and is Outreach Coordinator for Mslexia magazine. Her debut collection, Ghost River, will be published next year by Bloodaxe Books.
Skinny Dip is one of three publications by Enchiridion being launched at this event. Enchiridion is a small imprint set up in 2010 by Sean and fellow NE poet Peter Bennet with Hexham-based artist Birtley Aris.
Sean will read his poems featured in the other two publications, and Birtley’s artwork for these will be on display. The first is Calendar, a set of 12 postcards, one for each month of the year and each one with a poem by Sean and pen-and-ink drawing by Birtley; the second is Notes Towards the Supreme Afternoon, a four-panel fold with a poem by Sean and drawing by Birtley.
Sean O’Brien’s eleventh collection of poetry, Embark, is forthcoming from Picador. His work has received awards including the T.S. Eliot and Forward Prizes, and most recently the 2021 Beijing Literature and Arts Network Lifetime Achievement in Poetry Award. His other work includes fiction, drama, criticism and translation.
Thursday 29 September: 7pm
Tickets: £5
In Hexham Library
The cost of entry will be deducted from the cost of the first of any Enchiridion publications purchased at the event.
Book online >
MARCEL LUCONT: LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES
**
1 October**
MARCEL LUCONT: LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES
Saturday 1 October
A gameshow for awful children!
The UK's favourite Frenchman channels his acerbic humour and quickfire wit into a family gameshow, pitting children against adults and each other to try and find the most awful child.
Come and experience what happens when international insouciance meets infantile exuberance, as children get to experience being politicians, pests and petomanes to win this badge of dishonour.
Winner of Best Kids Show at Leicester Comedy Festival and the UK Kids Comedy Festival.
“Fresh, accessible and hilarious.” The Guardian
“Very funny, quick-witted and exceedingly sharp.” British Comedy Guide
Saturday 1 October: 2pm
Tickets: £8.50 (adults & under 16's), £7.50 (group of 4 or more, per person)
Age guidance: 6+
Book online >
MARCEL LUCONT: LE BEST OF
**1 October**
MARCEL LUCONT: LE "BEST OF"
Saturday 1 October
Britain’s favourite French comedian presents his greatest oeuvres from the past decade, with a live band to abuse.
Expect deadpan wit, supreme sex poetry, soaring miserablist chansons and Gallic superiority.
As seen on Comedy Central at The Comedy Store, The John Bishop Show, Set List, Russell Howard’s Good News and many more.
Winner: Best Comedy Show, Fringe World Awards
Winner: Amused Moose Award: Best Comedy Show, Edinburgh Fringe
Top 10 Comedy Shows: Edinburgh Fringe 2019, Telegraph
“Fresh, accessible and hilarious.” The Guardian
“Wonderful French wit… Superb stuff.” Time Out
Saturday 1 October: 7.30pm
Tickets: £17.50, £15 (members, benefit concession, students)
Age guidance: 14+
Book online >
DOMINIC DEGAVINO (PIANO)
**4 October**
Hexham & District Music Society
DOMINIC DEGAVINO
(PIANO)
Tuesday 4 October
If you were in the audience for the Mithras Trio concert here in March 2022, you will remember the brilliance of Dominic’s playing at the heart of the ensemble. He is a passionate chamber musician and prize-winning accompanist, jazz player and solo artist, who has given concerts all over the UK, including at London’s Wigmore Hall and Southbank Centre, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and the Edinburgh festival.
Returning this time as a solo artist, Dominic plays music written by Beethoven and Brahms at the start of their careers. Completing the programme are two short works by Schubert and Amy Beach.
There’s another chance to hear the Mithras Trio in Hexham on 1 April next year.
"Degavino is a pianist to watch." London Evening Standard
Beethoven – Piano Sonata no. 3 in C major, op. 2 no. 3
Amy Beach - Five Improvisations, op. 148
Schubert - Allegretto in C minor, D. 915
Brahms - Piano Sonata no. 3 in F minor, op. 5
Book online >
Tuesday 4 October: 7.30pm
Tickets: £18, £9 (students), FREE (school children)
MY VOICE WAS HEARD BUT IT WAS IGNORED
**6 October**
Red Ladder Theatre Company
MY VOICE WAS HEARD BUT IT WAS IGNORED
Thursday 6 October
15 year-old Reece is roughly accosted by the police outside M&S.
His teacher Gillian watches as his face is pressed into the wet gravel with a policeman’s knee in his back, frozen out of fear for her own safety.
The next day Reece locks them both in her classroom, refusing to relinquish the key. He wants her to pay – and to fully understand the pain her inaction has caused.
An urgent interrogation of racial identity, written by Nana-Kofi Kufuor and directed by Dermot Daly.
"Written before the latest Black Lives Matter protests but delayed by the pandemic, the subject of Kufuor’s play has become even more pertinent during the wait for its staging." The Guardian
Thursday 6 October: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15
Age guidance: 14+
Content warnings: contains distressing themes, strong and racially sensitive language
Book online >
THE KAKATSITSI MASTER DRUMMERS
**8 October**
THE KAKATSITSI MASTER DRUMMERS
Saturday 8 October
Kakatsitsi are a group of traditional drummers, dancers and singers from the Ga tribe of Southern Ghana. Their music takes traditional rhythms and chants from their own Ga tradition and those of a variety of other West African cultures, rearranging them in a modern and accessible way.
Since 1996, Kakatsitsi have toured the UK 15 times, working with a wide variety of festivals, arts centres and local authorities. The recent addition of a strong dance element, to complement the already outstanding drumming and singing components, has established Kakatsitsi as the leading African traditional group in the UK, with the leading Ga singers, drummers and dancers among their number.
Kakatsitsi’s music combines traditional drumming grooves played on a wide variety of West African drums with traditional chants sung in six part harmony, the quality of which sets them above most dance-led traditional African groups.
Saturday 8 October: 8pm
Tickets: £12
Book online >
JIMEOIN: THE CRAIC!
**11 October**
SELLING FAST!
JIMEOIN: THE CRAIC!
Tuesday 11 October
A hilarious evening of World-Class stand-up from live comedy’s internationally acclaimed Irish master!
You've seen him on The Royal Variety Performance, Live at the Apollo, Sunday Night at the Palladium, Conan O’Brien or perhaps online where he has clocked-up hundreds of millions of views of his comedy clips... but NOTHING beats seeing Jimeoin live.
Award-winning with a wide appeal and a cheeky, no-gimmicks and superbly observed sense of humour, Jimeoin has audiences in stitches across the world. Catch his brilliant smash-hit Jimeoin: The Craic! show on tour at Queen's Hall!
The press say that he’s at the very top of the game - and we absolutely agree! It’s a great fun night out and we recommend you book fast...
"At the top of his game... didn't leave a dry eye in the house." Manchester Evening News
"If laughter is the best medicine, Jimeoin is a course of steroids.... Don’t you miss it!" Edinburgh Evening News
Tuesday 11 October: 7.30pm
Tickets: £17.50
Age guidance: 16+
Book online >
AN EVENING AND A LITTLE BIT OF A MORNING WITH MARK STEEL
**14 October**
AN EVENING AND A LITTLE BIT OF A MORNING WITH MARK STEEL
Friday 14 October
There is so much to yell about. There’s the modern world in which you spend so long trying to work out iTunes, that it’s easier to form a band and learn the songs.
But there’s also so much to be delighted with. Like the fact that everyone in Northampton knows the sign that says ‘Family Planning Advice – Use Rear Entrance’.
Then there’s the crazy story of being brought up in a working-class street in Kent, to discover my natural father was a millionaire backgammon player who was best mates with Lord Lucan.
I’ve come to terms with the fact I’m a heap of contradictions, trying to stay young while being unable to log into any website. Trying to be respectable and mainstream (in this show there will even be a piano and a bit of singing), until I can’t help breaking into a steaming rant that would get me locked away somewhere secure if it wasn’t on a stage.
And this is stand-up, so whatever has happened in the room, in the town or in the world that day will almost certainly be in the show.
So, I’ll try to keep it to a decent length, but it could so easily end up as an evening and part of the next day.
The critically acclaimed Mark Steel’s in Town was voted the 6th best radio comedy ever and Mark is a regular on the BBC’s Have I Got News For You, QI and BBCR4’s News Quiz. He has been named newspaper columnist of the year and is author of the award-winning audiobook Who Do I Think I Am.
Friday 14 October: 8pm
Tickets: £18
Age guidance: 16+
Book online >
HOWAY THE LASSES
**18 October**
HOWAY THE LASSES
Tuesday 18 October
Howay the Lasses celebrates the lives of eight notable North East women who changed history.
Using music to tell their stories and bring their achievements to a wider audience, join award winning musicians - pianist/accordionist/songwriter Annie Ball, cellist Katie Tertell, singer and guitarist Bronwen Davies-Jones and singer-songwriter Gareth Davies-Jones for an engaging and accomplished musical evening with original songs, stirring tunes and a curiosity of tales - each with their own unique character.
Combining over 30 years of touring experience, the band bring wit and wisdom and guide you through the life and times of women engineers like Rachel Parsons, creatives like animator Sheila Graber, mathematicians like Edith Stoney and pioneering inventors like Janet Taylor.
Tuesday 18 October: 8pm
Tickets: £15
In Hexham Library
Book online >
THE UNTHANKS
**23 October **
SELLING FAST!
THE UNTHANKS
Sunday 23 October
“The Unthanks are capable of such beauty that sometimes I can hardly bear to listen to them.” Martin Freeman
With their 11 piece band, The Unthanks mark the Autumn release of their new album, Sorrows Away.
Having previewed Sorrows Away at shows this Spring, the audience response was an early indication that the record is at the very least going to breeze the daunting task of following up their BBC Folk Album Of The Year, Mount The Air.
The Unthanks tells stories that capture children. They make music cutting edge enough to be BBC 6 Music regulars. They can equally be found on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4, reframing history and drawing together the worlds of folk, jazz, orchestral, electronic and rock music.
Billed as more joyful and uplifting than previous Unthanks' records, Sorrows Away is perhaps both the pinnacle and yet just the latest in their story so far.
“There are few times when you discover a band and they stalk immediately to the heart of everything you love and hold dear.” Maxine Peake
“They run from the very root of folk music to the very tip of the branch.” Elvis Costello
“It’s quite a rare thing now. They’ve really got everything you could want from music. And I’m very fussy.” Robert Wyatt
Sunday 23 October: 3pm & 7.30pm
Tickets: £27 | £13.50 (Under 14's - 3pm matinee only)
Book online >
CAPTAIN CALAMITY’S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR
**Half Term**
25 October
CAPTAIN CALAMITY’S HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR
Tuesday 25 October
Magical Mayhem, Spooky Science, Beastly Balloons and Bursting Bubbles are the stars of this horribly horrific and perfectly phantomtastic family show from Guinness World Record Breaking Captain Calamity and his anarchic crew of misfits.
Don't miss this symphony of disaster conducted by a very smelly dragon, a mad scientist, a travelling musical storyteller and the biggest buffoon of all; Captain Calamity.
Guaranteed fun for the whole family!
Tuesday 25 October: 2pm
Tickets: £15, £12 (benefit concessions, under 16’s and students)
Age guidance: 3+
Book online >
BIRD IN THE WINDOW
**Half Term**
26 October
BIRD IN THE WINDOW
Wednesday 26 October
Co-directed and co-written by Umar Butt & Jameela Khan
A new surreal, physical theatre show with lots of laughs, tears and musical surprises…and bouncy poo!
Raheem finds himself in his childhood home one evening, packing away items into boxes. Steve, an old feathery friend turns up to help the son pack but ends up making an absolute magical mess of his memories!
A joyous, energetic, roller coster of a show, about the fun times we spend together, and how these memories stay with us forever.
For families with children aged 5+
Wednesday 26 October: 2pm
Tickets: £8.50 (adults & under 16’s) and £7.50 (group of 4 or more, per person)
Age guidance: 5+
Book online >
MEGSON
Thursday 27 October
Four times nominated in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and double winners of the Spiral Earth Awards Megson, aka husband and wife duo Stu and Debbie Hanna, bring an infectious mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars.
Megson have gained fame on the British folk scene, not only for their arresting and intelligent songwriting, but for their exquisite musicianship and northern humour. As Roots Magazine puts it “if you don’t like the music here then you have a problem”.
2022 sees them back on the road promoting a brand new studio album Unknown Waters.
“Simply Brilliant.” The Sunday Express
Thursday 27 October: 7.30pm
Tickets: £14
Book online >
MEGGIE MAGICIA
**5 November**
MEGGIE MAGICIA
Saturday 5 November
A girl, magic tricks, and a penguin – what could possibly go wrong?
Meggie Magicia is a magical show for 5- 8 year olds, and their families, by North East playwright Wendy Errington.
Meggie is newly moved to the seaside to live with her Gran, separated from her Dad who is working away. Meggie is desperate to fit in and impress the school bully, plus make her magician Dad proud. She sets about practising a magic trick for the Lifeboat Festival’s talent show, with the aid of her toy penguin. But time’s ticking – will she succeed?
Wendy Errington only started writing at the age of 58. And over the past five years, she has had plays performed at Alphabetti Theatre, Live Theatre, Theatre Space NE, and ARC Stockton Arts Centre. Plus she’s had plays produced by Coracle Productions and Workie Ticket Theatre Company. This is her debut family show.
The show is produced by Pen Gwyn Productions, who is proud to say that all of the team is from the North East. It is directed by Natasha Haws, who has many years’ experience of theatre for young people. Charlotte Ryder is reprising the role of Meggie, she was part of seven sold out shows last year, when it premiered at Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. Young magician Michael Grist is Magic Consultant. Lee Ward of Hollow Productions is Set Designer, while Ziad Jabero is Sound Designer, and Claire Tustin is Songwriter. Carole Wears of CaroleW Productions is acting as mentor Producer.
Saturday 5 November: 2pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (groups of 4+)
Age guidance: 5+
Book online >
THE LESSON
**9 November**
Icarus Theatre
THE LESSON
Wednesday 9 November
“It is impossible not to enjoy Icarus Theatre’s production of Ionesco’s one-act play.” The Stage
‘In this world of ours, Mademoiselle, one can never be sure of anything…’
Icarus’ blistering and award-winning production of Eugene Ionesco’s classic dark comedy returns to the stage. Following sold out runs at Teatrul de Comedie in Bucharest, among others.
A mild-mannered professor takes on a new pupil, and swiftly descends into tyranny, becoming bent on her destruction; a comically surreal exposé about power, knowledge and those who hoard both.
A dynamic projection design encapsulates the beating heart of Ionesco’s text and interweaves exciting new Creative Captioning technology to ensure that every performance is accessible for deaf and hard of hearing audiences.
“Timely and fascinating.” ★★★★ The Times
★★★★★ edfringe.com
Wednesday 9 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15, £12 (benefit concession & students)
Book online >
MILTON JONES - IN MILTON: IMPOSSIBLE
**10 November**
SELLING FAST!
MILTON JONES -
IN MILTON: IMPOSSIBLE
Thursday 10 November
One man. One Mission. Is it possible? No, not really.
Milton reveals the truth about being an international spy, before being given a disappointing new identity which forced him to appear on Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo. But this is also a love story with the twist, or even a really bad sprain. Just gloriously daft nonsense or is there a deeper meaning? Every man has his price. Sainsburys, where good food costs less.
“He’s fast, absurd and very funny.” Radio Times
"No-one can touch Jones when he hits his stride." The Guardian
Support comes from Tom Houghton.
Thursday 10 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £28.50
Age guidance: 14+
Book online >
THANK ABBA FOR THE MUSIC
**12 November**
THANK ABBA FOR THE MUSIC
Saturday 12 November
Grab your platforms and flares for a journey back in time to when ABBA dominated the charts and ruled the airwaves!
Thank ABBA For The Music is a two-hour theatre spectacular that captures all of the magic and excitement of one of pop history's most successful and entertaining live bands.
Featuring all of ABBA's greatest hits including Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Mamma Mia, Take A Chance On Me, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Knowing Me Knowing You, Fernando, Super Trouper and many more!
With stunning costumes, live band, interactive video projection, some tongue-in-cheek Swedish humour and, of course, ABBA’s spectacular trademark harmonies, this is the ultimate feel-good party show!
ABBA and 70’s fancy dress optional…but encouraged!
"The biggest party with the uk’s best ABBA tribute!" The Sands Centre, Carlisle
"You were amazing!" The Sage Gateshead
Saturday 12 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £23.50
Book online >
PELLÉAS ENSEMBLE
**15 November**
Hexham & District Music Society
THE PELLÉAS ENSEMBLE
Tuesday 15 November
The Pelléas Ensemble – for the unusual combination of viola, flute and harp – are rising stars in chamber music. Hailed by The Times for the ‘verve and polish’ of their playing, they have won several awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Henderson Chamber Ensemble Award in 2018. Their 2021 début album, Nature and the Imagination, was praised by Gramophone Magazine for being ‘beautifully played’.
Their programme ranges far and wide, including music by John Dowland and Henry Purcell, and extracts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. It starts with Debussy’s sensuous Prélude à l’Après-Midi d’un Faune.
Debussy, arr. Roberts - Prelude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune
Rebecca Clarke, arr. Tunnicliffe - Four Songs
Jolivet - Petite Suite
Dowland, arr. Tunnicliffe - In Darkness Let me Dwell / If my Complaints Could Passions Move
Purcell , arr. Tunnicliffe - Fantasia upon One Note
Ethel Smyth - Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin
Tchaikovsky - Selections from Swan Lake
"Delightful music-making by three very fine young musicians." Keswick Music Society
Book online >
Tuesday 15 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £18, £9 (students), FREE (school children)
THE CARRIVICK SISTERS
**16 November**
THE CARRIVICK SISTERS
Wednesday 16 November
One of the UK’s top young bluegrass and folk acts. Twins Laura and Charlotte from Devon first started performing as a duo in 2006, and in 2007 won a busking contest and a spot at Glastonbury and turned professional.
They play guitar, mandolin, banjo, dobro and fiddle, sing and harmonise wonderfully and perform with an expertise and maturity way beyond their tender years. Their background is in bluegrass but with a strong folk influence evident in their original songs which are inspired by their local landscape and stories.
“A superbly talented pair o’ lasses.” Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2
“ ...their already formidable multi-instrumental skills and songwriting maturing at such a steep curve they’ll soon be orbiting far beyond anyone else.” Q Magazine
”Carrivick Sisters are pick of the crop.” The Telegraph
Wednesday 16 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £10
In Hexham Library
Book online >
RUMOURS - THE BELGRAVE HOUSE BAND
**17 November**
RUMOURS - THE BELGRAVE HOUSE BAND
Thursday 17 November
The Belgrave House Band reimagine classic albums with a very satisfying attention to detail and a bouncing energy that makes for a unique take on the past, while delivering an exciting performance very much set in the present.
They've covered The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Baduizm, The Writing’s On The Wall, The Love Below and Amy Winehouse's Frank, all to sold out audiences.
The band is made up of some of the most exciting musicians coming out of Leeds’ burgeoning Jazz and Soul scene, with members from Tetes De Pois, Mamilah, Skwid Ink, B-Ahwe and the Tight Lines label, with each show featuring guest appearances, giving each performance a unique sound and dynamic.
Now, they're taking on one of the most critically acclaimed, highest grossing and culturally significant albums of all time... Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
“The best gig I’ve ever been too.”
“They were absolutely insane.”
“The next best thing.”
Thursday 17 November: 7.30pm
Ticket prices: £15 (£18 on the door)
Book online >
WHERE IS MRS CHRISTIE?
**18 November**
On A Role
WHERE IS MRS CHRISTIE?
Friday 18 November
Agatha Christie was one of the greatest thriller writers of all time and certainly the most prolific. In 1926, she was at the centre of a mystery as perplexing as any of her fiction, a series of events which sparked one of the biggest and most extensive police hunts in history. Her crashed car was discovered in Surrey and the famous author was missing, presumed dead by many, for eleven days. However, she was eventually found at a luxury hotel in Harrogate. She claimed then, and for the rest of the life, that she was suffering from amnesia and remembered nothing. Neither the press nor the police believed her.
Actor Liz Grand (previous one-woman show The Second Best Bed) presents her new one-woman show Where Is Mrs Christie?. Did Agatha Christie lie, and if so why? Did she suffer from amnesia? Was it a publicity stunt? Or was there a darker secret involved in this disappearance which was to affect her for the rest of her life?
The answer to all these questions will, as in all good thrillers, be revealed!
Book online >
Friday 18 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15
INDIA ELECTRIC CO
**29 November**
INDIA ELECTRIC CO
Tuesday 29 November
India Electric Company are perhaps best described as “a veritable musical magpie’s nest” (BBC Radio 3).
Blending traditional instruments, folk melodies and subtle electronic influences, they’ve toured extensively throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including UK shows at The London Palladium and Hammersmith Apollo and provide listeners with “A full musical odyssey” (BBC Radio 1).
After live sessions with BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, Glastonbury Festival appearances and BBC Introducing’s backing they released The Gap in 2020 with The Daily Telegraph noting they are “Bursting with invention and full of surprises.”
“Two of the most extraordinary musicians, a phenomenal duo.” BBC Radio 2
“Busy as rush hour but full of light, describing a life alive with motion.” The Independent
“One of the truly pioneering acts in folk music.” FRUK
“Classy pop.” The Scotsman
Tuesday 29 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15
Book online >
REIVER - TALES FROM THE BORDERS
**30 November**
Elysium Theatre Company
REIVER - TALES FROM THE BORDERS
Wednesday 30 November
by Steve Byron
with Micky Cochrane, Steven Stobbs and Karen Traynor
directed by Jake Murray
designed by Caitlin Mills & Lee Ward
The Reivers: lawless families who terrorised the Anglo-Scottish border for 400 years from Northumberland to Edinburgh, Carlisle to Duimfries, until James 1st broke their power. Steve Byron weaves three unforgettable stories together to paint a portrait of a world of violence and injustice in which law and order do battle with corruption and greed. Will good triumph over evil, or will evil be victorious?
Blackmail: an innocent farmer is forced to take a stand against the bullying threats of a powerful Reiver family.
God-forsaken Place: a southern lawman exiled to the North by the corrupt London authorities tries to save a Reiver child from a terrible fate.
A Widow's Path: a Scots woman sold into servitude as a child pursues the murderers of her husband and will not rest until she has overturned the Reiver order to get her revenge.
Join us for an evening of theatre like no other, steeped in the folklore and history of the North East.
Elysium Theatre Company is an award-winning company based in Durham which brings great theatre to the North. Previous productions at Queen's Hall include A Doll's House, Miss Julie, Playland and The River.
"This company simply can do no wrong." Reviewer Number 9
Wednesday 30 November: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15, £12 (benefit concession & students), £10 (schools)
Age guidance: 15+
Book online >
Anthony Lo-Giudice
ROMA
Friday 2 December
ROMA is a dance theatre production created by Anglo-Sicilian choreographer Anthony Lo-Giudice, alongside a team of internationally renowned performers.
Within ROMA, Anthony crafts the intimate musings of his parent’s accounts of one another, shaping them into a series of fleeting memories and imaginations, recollecting their tempestuous jostle between love and cultural divide.
ROMA explores identity, border, and nationality at a time when these subjects are at the forefront of today's society. It is a work in which the performers on stage tackle themes of loneliness and conflict, belonging and struggle, the need for community and a place to call home.
Friday 2 December: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15
Book online >
THE DEVIL DANCED IN OUR EYES
**3 December**
Jonluke McKie and Allison Davies
THE DEVIL DANCED IN OUR EYES
Saturday 3 December
This wee’un reminds me of you at his age Sharron – he’s got the devil dancin’ in his eyes.
Jamie’s 15 and he lives in Rotherham with his mum. Since Granda Frank died she’s stopped coming out of her room and each time Jamie sees her she’s different – one day like a child, the next like a monster; sometimes the awesome mum he’s always known.
Left to his own devices he’s spending more and more time online and it’s BRILLIANT. Rotherham is a million miles behind him as he soars through a digital realm of pixels, kilobits and the occasional adult chatroom. He doesn’t understand everything he reads but it’s okay – here he’s part of something, and there’s people to talk to.
But there’s a wee devil dancing in Jamie’s eyes, and he’s not sure what it might tell him to do.
Combining soulful original songs with live animation and theatre, The Devil Danced in Our Eyes is a feast for the eyes and the ears, exploring sexuality, class and the effects of mental illness in a family.
Saturday 3 December: 7.30pm
Tickets: £12, £10 (benefit concession & students)
Age guidance: 16+
Book online >
WIND IN THE WILLOWS
**Christmas 2022**
10 – 31 December
Queen's Hall Arts, Alnwick Playhouse and Alnwick Gardens
WIND IN THE WILLOWS
Saturday 10 - Saturday 31 December
Tired of cleaning, Mole ventures out to the riverbank, where he befriends the resourceful Ratty, the gruff Badger and the infamous Toad of Toad Hall (Poop-poop!). Together this Christmas, they explore the Wide World, and the Wild Wood, and try to keep Toad out of trouble…
This magical retelling of an old favourite combines all the joy and mystery of Kenneth Grahame's much-loved classic with the lightness of touch and playful theatricality that award-winning playwright Mike Kenny is best known for.
With beautifully composed music by Christopher Madin, this journey through the seasons to the great battle for Toad Hall is a Christmas treat for all the family!
Tickets: £16.50 - £18 (adults, under 16's and students)
10% off for 4 tickets or more | £1 (Baby under 2)
Performance schedule:
Saturday 10 December: 7pm
Sunday 11 December: 7pm
Tuesday 13 December: 7pm
Wednesday 14 December: 10am & 1pm **
Thursday 15 December: 10am & 1pm **
Friday 16 December: 7pm
Saturday 17 December: 2.30pm
Thursday 22 December: 4.30pm
Friday 23 December: 7pm
Saturday 24 December: 2.30pm *
Monday 26 December: 4.30pm *
Tuesday 27 December: 2.30pm *
Wednesday 28 December: 2.30pm
Thursday 29 December: 2.30pm
Friday 30 December: 7pm
Saturday 31 December: 2.30pm *
* Premium prices apply. ** School performances
Book online >
THE THREE BEARS AT CHRISTMAS
**Christmas 2022
14 – 24 December **
Kitchen Zoo
THE THREE BEARS AT CHRISTMAS
Wednesday 14 – Saturday 24 December
Deep in the forest, Mammy, Daddy and Baby Bear are preparing for winter.
Each day the Three Bears head off into the woods to collect interesting things they can re-use for their house. As winter arrives, their cosy home is turned upside down by a colourful whirlwind that threatens to sit in their chairs, eat their porridge and fall asleep in their beds.
It’s Goldiocks!
Join us for an adventure into the woods this Christmas, with original live music, puppetry and a tale you thought you knew.
A friendly and fun winter adventure for children aged 6 and under and their grown-ups.
Wednesday 14 – Saturday 24 December
Tickets: £8.50 (adults & children), £7.50 (Group price for 4 or more), £1 for baby (under 1)
Age guidance: Under 6's
Book online >
THE SECRET GARDEN
**Watch at Home**
Becci Sharrock & Carole Wears
THE SECRET GARDEN
Thursday 1 September - Wednesday 30 November
Written by Lisette Auton & Becci Sharrock
Commissioned by Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
Co-produced by Becci Sharrock & Carole Wears
Following a successful regional tour earlier this year, we are now offering audiences the chance to relive the magic and wonder of The Secret Garden from the comfort of their own home.
When Lennox finds herself sent to stay in Northumberland after being excluded from her city comp, she is certain there is nothing there for her. Far away from home, with a family she barely knows, she must rediscover herself and in doing so uncover the mystery of the long hidden secret garden. With brand new folk songs, performed by the cast, the show proved a hit for audiences of all ages.
An enchanting tale of friendship and discovery, this beautiful reimagining introduces new generations to the transformational power of the garden.
Audience feedback:
“Beautiful, joyous, necessary. Thank you.”
“It's my favourite story and the best telling of it I've ever experienced. It was perfect.”
“Utterly joyous from start to finish.”
“The writing (script and music) were stunning and kept us captivated throughout. It was magical.”
Age guidance: 7+
Watch at home: £5
Available to watch at home from Thursday 1 September - Wednesday 30 November. If you book during this time, a link to watch at home will be included in your booking confirmation email. If you book before Thursday 1 September, you will receive a follow-up email including the watch at home link on 1 September.
Book online >
EXHIBITIONS
This season's mind provoking exhibitions from some of the region's most exciting artists...
The Royal Meteorological Society's
WEATHER PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
18 July - 22 September | FREE
An digital exhibition of the best photos from the 2021 competition
Explore the awe and majesty of the world's weather in all its beauty and diversity in this brand-new digital display from the Royal Meteorological Society's Weather Photographer of the Year competition. Over 30 powerful photographs will tell the story of the earth's dramatic and ever-changing climate.
Curious clouds, majestic haloes and rainbows, rare lightning sprites, floods and magical mists are just some of the fascinating photos you will see. This exhibition showcases the very best entries from the winners and finalists of the 6th year of the competition, which attracted more than 8,900 photographs submitted by over 3,300 photographers from 114 countries.
Displayed in a video format with insights from meteorologists and photography experts, visitors will leave the exhibition with a deeper understanding of how this force of nature can affect our planet and what we need to do to protect it.
Find out more >
NATURE, NURTURE AND NARRATIVES
23 July - 27 August | FREE
A new exhibition rooted in identity and the natural world by artist Sue Moffitt.
Having had a break from painting due to ill health, this first exhibition for some years from the renowned Northumbrian artist Sue Moffitt is rooted in nature, nurture and narratives told through text and paint.
Sue says: “These paintings are rooted in my identity, my culture, my respect and reverence for animals in the natural world, and my hope that humankind can live in greater harmony with them.
“We are each born into some sort of ‘family’ culture which underlies our identity, having a profound effect particularly during our early years. Our identity gives us our sense of belonging and informs our responsibilities, beliefs, values, and intentions; and being born into farming life surrounded by animals, wildlife and the countryside has a profound effect on who I am. Being in nature, with nature, is my home – my safe place. My respect for and connection to farm animals and wildlife reside in my inner being, and living on a farm was truly a privilege to me, dairy cows in particular playing a huge role in my life and my work. It is a pleasure to be able to paint and show my work again after a long break, and I hope this work touches audiences as deeply as it has me as I have worked on it.”
Find out more >
A CREATIVE CONVERSATION
Friday 2 - Thursday 22 September | FREE
A Creative Conversation is an exhibition by four North East artists, Ali Barden, Dave Barden, Keith Shaw and Dianne Westwood.
Lockdown provided a timeframe for these four professionals and good friends to focus on a creative project where collaboration, interaction and dissemination were key.
Themes were discussed and agreed and over a period of four months, each artist produced work in their chosen medium - mixed media sculpture, ceramics, textiles and painting.
Regular ‘Zoom’ meetings facilitated the sharing and exchange of ideas and evaluation of the work in progress.
On completion of the work, it was decided that there was enough of interest to share in an exhibition.
Find out more >
TAKING PART
Our ever-popular Youth Theatre groups are BACK this Autumn...
QUEEN’S HALL YOUTH THEATRE GROUPS
Develop your creativity and explore the issues that are important to you!
DOWN STAGE: Mondays (term-time only, not Bank Holidays), 4 - 5.30pm | Ages 8 - 11
STAGE NOTE: Mondays (term-time only, not Bank Holidays), 6 - 7.30pm | Ages 12 - 14
CREATIVES: Tuesdays (term-time only), 6 - 8pm | Ages 15+
Email boxoffice@queenshall.co.uk for more information on our FREE Youth Theatre taster sessions.
PROJECTORS DRAMA GROUP
Wednesdays (term-time only), 6 - 8pm
Projectors is a drama based creative group for young people aged 18 to 30 with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or communication difficulties who, due to their specific needs, feel unable to access our other Youth Theatre sessions.
For further information please contact Amanda Gould.
*NEW* YOUTH FOLK BAND
Mondays, 4 - 5pm | Ages 12 - 15
Our new Youth Folk Band is for all instruments working towards performances in the local community.
Email boxoffice@queenshall.co.uk for more information on our FREE taster sessions.
Your visit…
What to expect when you visit Queen’s Hall and how to book tickets for this season’s shows...
What we’re doing to welcome audiences to Queen's Hall...
Check our website or get in touch to make sure you have the most up-to-date information before your next visit to Queen's Hall.
- Our staff are still wearing face coverings, and we encourage all visitors to do the same (unless exempt).
- Hand sanitiser stations are located throughout the building.
- We’re asking you to help us beat the queues and have your e-tickets ready to show a member of the team as you enter the performance space.
- We’re carrying out additional cleaning and regularly disinfecting all areas of the venue.
- We remain fully accessible – you can find all our access information online here.
For information on how to find us and parking, click here.
Got a question before your visit? Our FAQs page is here or you can get in touch with Box Office.
How to book...
Online
Tickets can be booked online through our website using credit / debit cards.
By Telephone
Telephone bookings can be made on 01434 652477 using most major credit / debit cards. A handling charge of 50p per ticket applies to bookings made in person or over the phone.
In venue
Box Office is situated immediately in front of you as you enter the Queen's Hall from Beaumont Street.
Opening hours are: Mon - Sat: 10am – 12pm | 1 - 4pm
(plus an hour before performances. Not inc. Bank Holidays & Public Holidays - please check before travelling).
The Queen's Hall Cafe
Tuesday - Saturday
9.30am - 4pm
The Queen's Hall Cafe is run by Jevon Scudamore.
Customers can enjoy home made cakes and scones, as well as soup and sandwiches... and according to many customers, the best coffee in Hexham!
Look out for best-selling items, the cheese and bacon scones and the New York Deli sandwich.
The cafe is family friendly; there is a microwave to heat baby food, and a Tommy Toppee Perfect Prep Machine. The furniture is also arranged to make buggies easy to get in and out.
The cafe is now dog friendly.
Support Queen's Hall Arts
We are proud to bring you high quality shows and exhibitions, and are passionate about developing the next generation of artists. As a charity, our work is funded by donations, ticket sales and by grants from Arts Council England and Northumberland County Council.
We aim to keep ticket prices as low as possible to make the highest quality arts and culture accessible to our community. We recognise that this time of uncertainty has affected everyone differently, but if you can help with a donation then it will play a huge part in helping us remain a vital part of the community.
<a href="https://www.queenshall.co.uk/donate-queens-hall" style="display:inline;">**Make a donation >**</a>
