Go Backstage at Newcastle Theatre Royal and Plan Your Next Visit
Newcastle Theatre Royal is leading the charge in championing local talent and offering endless creative opportunities for the region
When Newcastle Theatre Royal opened in 1788 it soon established itself as one of England’s leading theatres, and since moving to its flagship position on Grey Street in 1837 it has remained a cultural and creative hub for the region. Sir Ian McKellen once described Newcastle Theatre Royal as his favourite theatre, and we can’t argue with that.
Taking us back to last October, Marianne shares the success of renowned West End producer Michael Harrison’s thrilling new production of Miss Saigon. Its major UK and Ireland tour opened here. ‘Historically that show’s only ever been able to tour to really, really big theatres. It was reimagined so it could tour to venues like ours,’ explains Marianne. ’It’s brilliant to launch a show at the beginning of its life.’
Miss Saigon was swiftly followed by Newcastle Theatre Royal’s iconic annual pantomime (a brand-new production of Aladdin celebrating Danny Adams and Clive Webb’s 20th season). ‘This year we extended it so it ran for eight weeks,’ says Marianne. ‘We had almost 94,000 visitors over the 85 performances, which is phenomenal.’
At the beginning of this year we followed Marianne and her team to London’s West End to celebrate Gerry & Sewell’s run at the Aldwych Theatre. Based on the film Purely Belter it brought flocks of passionate Geordies to The Big Smoke and marked many of the cast’s West End debuts. ‘We co-produced it with Jamie Eastlake (writer, director and producer) to take it on a two-week run in the West End with an immensely short period of time to pull it together – really flying the flag for Newcastle Theatre Royal, for the North East, and the talent in the North East,’ says Marianne, ‘and that was a brilliant experience. It is so important to have stories from this region (working-class stories) on the stage in the West End. That was brilliantly exciting and something that I don’t think, as a theatre, we’ve done for a very long time.’
Back at home, Michael Harrison showcased the world premiere of his brand-new musical, Weird, this January. ‘Based on the story of Macbeth, it’s a kind of contemporary pop musical, and audiences saw it here for the first time which is really exciting,’ says Marianne. ‘The other brilliant thing about Weird, which I think is pretty unique actually, is we gave away over 5,000 tickets to school children to come and see it.’ Not only that but it allowed Michael a chance to get feedback on the production. ‘We’re really excited about what happens with Weird,’ Marianne adds. ‘Michael and I were talking about where we take it next, what can happen with that show, and I hope it’ll have a long and successful life.’
Marianne says these are just a few examples of how the theatre is demonstrating its ambition to contribute to the creative ecology locally, but also nationally, and to support and nurture creative talent. It’s also important that everyone feels welcome to come to the theatre, and the opening of The Green Room (the stylish new bar accessible from inside the theatre for those attending shows and to non-theatre visitors on Market Street) has supported that. Described by some as ‘the door to Narnia’, even if you aren’t seeing a show, you can catch a glimpse inside the theatre through a door within The Green Room. ‘It’s really important that we open our doors and people feel that the theatre is for them, however they might engage with it,’ says Marianne.
Engagement and support isn’t all about what’s on stage and Newcastle Theatre Royal’s creative development programme continues its mission behind the scenes. ‘It covers three different areas: creative engagement, creative futures, and creative growth,’ explains Marianne. From youth theatres to summer schools, the theatre offers plenty of opportunities for emerging talent and partners with the West End Schools’ Trust to enhance educational opportunities too. Marianne explains the workshops help with literacy, confidence and social skills too. Project A, Newcastle Theatre Royal’s actor training course, celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, and the theatre also runs talent development programmes (masterclasses, talks and workshops) often linked with visiting companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Dance Consortium and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.
Last year the theatre launched their Open Door programme to support developing projects. ‘They get four weeks’ worth of space in the theatre, access to rehearsal space free of charge, access to our teams for mentoring and support, and a small bursary to help them cover their costs,’ explains Marianne. ‘All of those things happen behind the scenes but it’s important because we have to support the talent pipeline in the region. Everybody here in the North East should have those quality opportunities so, as a charity, that’s really embedded in our ambition and what we want to do.’
Newcastle Theatre Royal has also been building its relationship with the National Theatre. ‘Last year I was thrilled we had War Horse and Dear England – two really beautiful and brilliant shows,’ says Marianne. ‘North East audiences should have access to world-class productions on stage where they live and I genuinely have a real passion for that. So I’m delighted that we are building this relationship with the National [Theatre].’ Now in its 31st year, National Theatre Connections has a history of empowering the next generation of theatre-makers and Marianne is proud that Newcastle Theatre Royal is involved in this year’s festival. Each year, Connections commissions a selection of brand-new plays for young people to perform, each participating company will stage a performance at their own venue, and will then transfer their production to a Partner Theatre Festival where they will perform on a professional stage. ‘We at Newcastle Theatre Royal are the host for the region,’ says Marianne. ‘It’s a great few days where we have youth theatre companies from all over coming to perform for each other. It’s a great opportunity for young people and is embedding our relationship with the National [Theatre] and we’re talking to them about how we might partner together to make sure that we have a continual supply of world-class shows but also a deeper engagement with the National Theatre here in the North East, and we’re having very positive conversations with them so I’m excited to see what comes from that.’
As for what’s coming up on stage this year, Aaron Sorkin’s award-winning stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird arrives in April, Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes (one of Marianne’s favourite shows) takes us from April into May, young theatre-goers can experience an introduction to ballet with My First Ballet: Cinderella in May and Gerry & Sewell makes its triumphant return in June. This year will also see the return of Something in the Water (in June) following a successful debut last year – an idea sparked by the theatre’s panto star Joe McElderry. A Cabaret-style revue show packed with North East stars, all proceeds go to Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust and in support of more children and young people in the region in music and the performing arts. Plus, Newcastle Theatre Royal will be the second venue on the West End’s hit comedy musical Mrs. Doubtfire’s tour in September.
Newcastle Theatre Royal’s future is looking bright. ‘We’ve set out our intent, we’ve shown our ambition, and we’ve demonstrated what we can do. So I want to see more of that,’ Marianne says. ‘I think us being a leader in the creative ecology here by doing more co-productions, by starting more shows, by engaging with more North East creatives, by supporting that creative ecology, that’s exciting, and I think we’ve proved that we can make it happen.’
How do you spend your free time in the city?
We walk along the Quayside and getting fresh air outside in the beautiful countryside where we live is lovely.
Is there a North East creative who inspires you?
Jamie Eastlake.
Can you share a fun fact about the theatre?
One of the illustrations featured in our wallpaper in The Green Room is a goose – many years ago to draw in a crowd ahead of his performance in The Gypsy’s Warning here at Newcastle Theatre Royal, the productions’ clown Mr Wood set sail in a wash tub powered by four geese! We’ve used that as one of our stories for our Green Room Wallpaper, as well as lots more!
Is there one show you’d love to have at the theatre in the future?
Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel.
