TV favourite Ed Byrne tours his Best Reviewed Show at the Edinburgh Festival, British Comedy Guide's No 1 Comedy show, and his most personal show to date. From the quote attributed to Mark Twain, humour is defined as Tragedy Plus Time. Come and join one of our leading laugh specialists as he tests that formula by mining the most tragic event in his life for laughs. With his TV career now in its third decade, Ed has regularly appeared on the likes of QI, Mock The Week, Alan Davies As Yet Untitled, and Live At The Apollo. With legions of fans both in the UK and abroad, Ed remains the observational stand-up to see.

Fresh from the launch of her celebrated debut sitcom, The Pharmacy (Channel 4), Ola Labib is back with Dispersible, a brand new comedy show that proves some things dont disperse easily. Join one of comedys fastest rising stars as she unpacks her journey through childhood anger management, navigating life as a healthcare professional after her Channel 4 show, sibling feuds as a middle child of the diaspora and how Britain's TV industry re-fuelled childhood rage. Expect chaos, confessions and comedy with a side effect of madness. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine. As seen on Worlds Most Dangerous Roads (DAVE), House of Games (BBC), Sorry I Didnt Know (ITV) and Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (DAVE)

Join us to celebrate the North East dance community alongside live music and vocals. The performers are guaranteed to have you dancing in your seats! Join us to celebrate the North East dance community alongside live music and vocals. The performers are guaranteed to have you dancing in your seats! Our inter-generational cast of community dancers will perform a showcase of classical ballet, contemporary and jazz choreography. North East Dance Project are delighted to perform in the Dance City theatre for the first time alongside various guest performers. Choreography by local professionals Alyssa Lisle, Amy Becke and Lauren-Lewis Jones.

Have you ever seen a polar bear in the flesh? Been close enough to notice just how white these magnificent mammals are? Here is your chance to get up close and personal remove your shoes, coats and bags, as you are about to encounter the Arctics whitest predator, with black skin. Join a well-trained member of staff as we enter the polar bears natural habitat and experience this animal like never before. Be one of the privileged few to say they have pet, played with, and fed a polar bear as if you were one of the Arctic keepers. This is an audience led participatory performance that uses the excitement of a polar bear encounter to explore race, identity and the community.

A new workshop for ages 4-7 and their grownups! In this workshop, youll journey into the marvelous world of microbes. These tiny superheroes are paving the way for environmental sustainability in ways you wouldnt believe. From cleaning water to making energy. Hear stories about wonderfully strange and amazing microbes. There are microbes that keep us alive and ones that can make us sick. And there are special microbes that can help us solve some of our trickiest problems. The workshop will include storytelling alongside fun and creative activities. Marvellous Microbes was created by theatre company Cap-a-Pie working with scientists from Newcastle and Durham Universities.

A Toni Basil inspired theatre-cabaret extravaganza! Last performance EVER!! Lorraine has a secret, an embarrassing obsession. And she is ready to out herself to you. The summer of 89 and a young Lorraine sits mesmerised by the VHS flicker of Toni Basils Word of Mouth. Perfection! A haze of high energy dance, smoky close ups and a roaring sexual urge soundtracking a fever dream of childhood trauma, teenage angst and emergence to adulthood. Hilarious & heartfelt - expect outrageous costumes, 80s nostalgia, close to the knuckle stories and ecstasy. This autobiographical performance involves by UK artist Lorraine Smith involves Dada-esque costumes by award winning Dutch designer Daphne Karstens. Through text, movement, choreographed dances, projected visuals, lip synchs and ethical audience interaction, Lorraine will lead you on a journey of honesty, taboo breaking stories relating to vaginas, sexual assault & harassment, queer experiences, self-exploration, shame and eventual acceptance. Emotive, comedic, at times shocking and confronting, but joyfully celebratory and uplifting. - The Reviews Hub Wild, slightly uncomfortable, but absolutely fascinating...Lorraine uses her spicy sense of humour and likeable personality to balance these traumas with laughs and heartfelt, relatable moments... Lorraines performative presence is electric, and if youre willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone, YCTMHT is sure to provide an unforgettable night. - Pagan Hunt (Commotion) Once on stage, Lorraine Smith takes no hostages in the mixed-media and costume change smorgasbord that is, YCTMHT. Smiths ability to demand attention and get the audience onboard their beautifully crafted story goes hand in hand with carefully executed storytelling that touches on hard-to-digest topics of a dark nature. Theres something disarming, likeable and very much thought-provoking about this personal performance. YCTMHT is what the Fringe arena was made for. - Adam Potrykus (Stockholm Fringe Festival) Brave, bold, uncompromising, daring, innovative, Avant Garde. - Angeline Lucas (NEDC Founder) Highly visual & personally powerful yet playful interactive performance. - Phil Douglas (Curious Arts) Excellent, funny, touching & intellectually stimulating. - Audience Member It was absolutely amazing and such a beautiful use of costumes, interactions, projections, lighting, sound...EVERYTHING!- Audience Member Watch the official trailer here! [https://youtu.be/Dx 2BYajaSY] 16+ CONTENT WARNING This production includes adult content, offensive & sexually explicit language, and stories of sexual assault & harassment, genital injury, childhood trauma, homophobia & body shaming.

Neela Moon Collective will perform spoken word of poetry and prose. An exhilarating performance with writers sharing their voices on what it means to be rooted in their authentic selves The writing collective formerly known as Brown Girls Write was created by Sharmin Islam to address the current lack of diversity in creative writing spaces. The group has now been meeting for over two years experimenting with different forms of writing including poetry, short stories, and script. As Newcastle Fringe Festival coincides with South Asian Heritage Month, themed Routes to Roots for 2025, Neela Moon Collective presents Roots to Routes. This event will be an exhilarating performance with writers sharing their voices on what it means to be rooted in their authentic selves. Members of the Collective represent the breadth of South Asian cultures, span the generations, and are proud and passionate north-easterners. They will also read pieces from their anthology Thresholds: Poems by British-South Asian women writers living in North East England (Butchers Dog, 2024); co-edited by award-winning local spoken-word poet Tahmina Ali and Jo Clement, Managing Editor of Butchers Dog - where each writer explores the themes of family, identity and belonging. Shash Trevett, Ledbury Critic and Co-Editor of Out of Sri Lanka (Bloodaxe, 2023) reviews the anthology in the Poetry Book Society winter bulletin A new generation speaks, reclaiming not just the brown of their bodies, but digging deeper to expose threads of gold. Some members have previously performed for Newcastle Fringe Festival in 2023, in a popular show at The Cumberland Arms. The Our Stories performance was reviewed by The Crack Magazines Leanna Thomson, I was really taken aback by the immense talent that Brown Girls Write packed into one small room [...] If you ever have a chance to see some of their work, grab it with both hands. Audiences can expect dynamic poetry and storytelling that can be enjoyed by all, regardless of whether its your first or fiftieth spoken word event.