The critically acclaimed debut show about suffering (and smiling) from Nigerian stand-up Ayoade Bamgboye. Winner: Best Newcomer - Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2025 Following her sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Swings and Roundabouts is coming to Alphabetti Theatre. Burdened by the gift of sight, a primeval awareness that something is not quite right, and almost three accents, she'll ask life's big questions and provide absolutely no answers. Born in London, raised in Lagos, sacked in Budapest, the poor woman has been there and done that and to what end? Swings and Roundabouts is about going nowhere fast, being too British to stop apologising, and too Nigerian to stop shouting. NextUps Biggest Award In Comedy 2025 | WinnerISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2025 | Nominee: Best Newcomer As seen in her own Channel 4 Playground.

As part of the annual celebration marking the anniversary of Eliot Smith Dance, founder and choreographer Eliot Smith returns to the stage for one night only at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle. Born and raised in the city, and having retired from performing in 2021, this special evening celebrates not only a milestone for the company but also Smiths personal journey in dance. Set in an intimate, up-close setting, the evening will feature a powerful programme that reflects the past, present, and future of Eliot Smith Dance: Interrupted Souls (2017) A compelling solo choreographed by Lorenzo Pagano, Guest Artist and Assistant Rehearsal Director at the Martha Graham Dance Company. Hunter A brand new dance for film, choreographed by Eliot Smith, exploring a brief history of Newcastle shipyard. New Solo Work A premiere solo choreographed by Nicole Watson, Founder and CEO of Surface Area Dance Theatre. This performance also pays heartfelt homage to everyone who has supported Eliot Smith Dance over the past 15 years audiences, dancers, collaborators, funders, and friends whose belief and dedication have shaped the companys journey. Join us for a personal evening of dance, memory, and creative renewal. Photo: Promo image of Eliot Smith (2025) Photographer Darren Irwin

Hold The Line puts us right in the middle of a NHS 111 call centre at a time where medical, both mental and physical services, are facing extreme pressure and untangles the story on both sides of the phone line. What happens when staff are overworked? What happens when mistakes are made? Hold the Line debuted at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 with a sold out run and critical acclaim (The Times, 4) and is now transferring to the writers very home, Newcastle.

By popular demand, Alphabetti presents our writing group! Our call to action for writers seeking coziness and community. Whether you’re a person who wants to connect with other writers and break out of the isolation that comes with writing, a person that needs motivation to work on the unfinished draft or idea, or just wants to use the space to practice writing and create just for you, and just for fun - We think you’ll really get a lot out of the group. The group is peer led! If you have things to work on, great! If not, there will be set prompts, challenges, and activities to help get pen to paper, and our group leader, Audrey, will be around to give guidance or facilitate any discussions. It’s free to attend, and drop ins are welcome, but we ask that you book your place where possible, just so we know how much room we need.

Brought to you by the Artistic Director of SoreSlap Theatre, creators of SKETCH SLAP and More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, Alphabetti 2022, Geet Northern Show is Rhian Jades latest collaborative project developed with local Northern artists. After a successful run of Sketch Slap shows, that gave artists from marginalised areas/communities the opportunity to experiment and have their work shown professionally in different North East venues, the idea for a more defined and curated cabaret felt like the next step. Geet Northern Show will be a cabaret night, celebrating comedy, queerness, neurodiversity, disability, ethnic and racial diversity. With a talented and accomplished comedy troupe who have been developing shows for 2+ years, this show is a much needed platform for experimentation with new writing and artist relationships, resulting in a night that will give you the craic of your life! We will provide access notices for our venue, as well as information presented in multiple forms and sketches will be empowering (as well as side splittingly funny). You can expect weird, wonderful, wigs, comedy, poetry, song, dance, mash ups, flashbacks and much more Each event is completely unique and will feature special guests for the audience to enjoy, with the guarantee of being the most relaxed, safe and entertaining platform for Theatre out there. Championing its geet Northern artists and its geet Northern audience. Praise for Past Projects by Rhain Jade Theatre

An evening of sharing stories and creative writing. Scratching creative itches in pursuit of our own common thread. Alphabetti theatre has partnered with Ilisha Thiru Purcell, to bring a regular creative writing evening focused on sharing stories and companion writing. In this book club/writing workshop hybrid evening, Ilisha guides us through monthly themes and a curation of written pieces, that we can reflect on together and inspire us to create. Write together, share together, make room for our creative expression together. Ilisha Thiru Purcell is an award-winning Sri Lankan-Scottish poet from Newcastle upon Tyne. She was part of the inaugural Poets of Colour Incubator Programme and has been a Young Creative Associate with New Writing North. Ilisha was shortlisted for the James Berry Prize 2024 and she was a Poet in Residence at the 2025 StAnza Poetry Festival. Her work has appeared in publications such as Bi+ Lines Anthology, Butchers Dog, and Under the Radar. She has performed at events such as the Newcastle Poetry Festival and the Newcastle Fringe Festival. Her debut pamphlet What She Said was published in 2025 by Verve Poetry Press.

A dark comedy following twenty-something waitress Kit who moves to London with a fresh diagnosis, PTSD. Post-show Q&A Audience warning: Eating disorders, PTSD, sexual assault, swearing

One man. Tribal beats. Cinematic guitar. Pure dancefloor magic. Nadav Tabak is a one-man-band pushing the limits of live performance. Using guitar, percussion, looping and electronic instruments, he builds deep, rhythmic, trance-like soundscapes in real time. Each show evolves with the energy of the room, creating an immersive experience that sits somewhere between a live gig, a dance ritual and a cinematic journey. With roots in organic trance, world rhythms and modern electronic music, Nadavs performances are hypnotic, emotional and powerfully uplifting.

The borderline sellout is BACK. Thats Not My Name is 75 minutes of anti-psychiatric CARNAGE using stand up, sketch and musical comedy to challenge diagnoses and our mental health system. THIS is NOT a show about mental health. THIS is a DISORDER. Written by a mad person, for mad people. Thats Not My Name completely desecrates the concept of normality as its writer refuses to conform to theatrical conventions, defies description and desecrates mainstream mental health narratives. Using their lived experience of madness, Sammy began to write TNMN whilst in a psychiatric hospital: where they started pretending to rehearse stand-up instead of talking out loud to themselves in order to appear sane. Since 2022 the show has both baffled and delighted critics and audiences alike after a across the board sellout UK Tour and Edinburgh Fringe run (Zoo Venues, 2024).

Family Show 5+ Adult Show 18+ Colosseum of Chaos is a fast, interactive, and hilariously chaotic theatrical experience. Two absurd Gladiators worship an onstage Amazon Alexa, their all-powerful overlord, who commands them to battle each other, perform ridiculous feats, or drag the audience into increasingly silly games. The crowd is split in two, each side backing their Champion. Winners get rewards; losers face comic punishments. Audience members can even take to the stage in games that decide the Gladiators fate. Between contests (games), expect highly choreographed slapstick fight sequenceswith the audience controlling the soundtrack via Alexa, from Eye of the Tiger to Barbie Girl. Its ridiculous, competitive, and entirely in your hands. If you love Gamarjobat, The Boy With Tape on His Face, or The Umbilical Brothers, this is for you: visual comedy, physical theatre, and audience interactionwith a gloriously gladiatorial twist for that winning formula.

Gavin Fairhall Lever are a stunning explosion of colour in the wild and unruly garden of the folk scene. A tangle of roots from Northern Ireland, Cornwall and Norfolk gives exuberant life to a truly contemporary folk music, full of thorns and flowers. The trio bring together the exhilarating, joyful tumble of Celtic trad, a melodic warmth, vibrant rhythmic invention, and the subtle expressivity of jazz harmony. Tunes unfold like stories, with dynamic and textured arrangements keeping the pages turning, from chapters of luminous stillness into passages of unstoppable drive. All performed with a compelling combination of fire, precision and mongrel bite. The trio have become renowned for their captivating live performances, including at Caceres Irish Fleadh (Spain), Zilleghem Folk (Belgium), Broadstairs Folk Festival, and Celtic Connections Glasgow. Following on from the success of their debut record, their second album was recorded live to tape at Analogue Catalogue Studios in Northern Ireland with Julie McLarnon (Lankum, Alasdair Roberts, Brian Eno), and was released in February 2025. Known for his consistently strong collaborative work at the forefront of London’s thriving folk scene, with TEYR, Paddi Benson and Grace Lemon, The Rad Orchestra, and Jez Hellard, multi-instrumentalist and composer James Patrick Gavin creates music that dances a line between tradition and irreverence. This trio showcases Gavin’s mastery of the full expressive range of the violin. Adrian Lever’s clear tenor voice delivers the songs of the trio, while his seasoned and steady guitarist’s hand forms the rhythmic heart, complete with characteristic Balkan and flamenco stylings. He has played on stages from Lewes Guitar Festival to the Barbican. Past collaborations include Horses Brawl, with experimental early music composer/performer Laura Cannell; and Alma, with leading English folk fiddlers John Dipper and Emily Askew. Tim Fairhall contributes a distinctive style, coming from a background in contemporary jazz, improv and post-classical electronica. He has performed on stages as diverse as Cologne Philharmonic and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, and with musicians ranging from Sephardic singer Yasmin Levy to the piano/laptop-led trio Piano Interrupted; he brings an improvisational alertness and sensitivity, jazz musicianship and an adventurous spirit to the trio.

BACK due to popular demand! It's karaoke but instead of the pants background music you'll be accompanied by the musical magician, Jen Stevens. Pianist (and all-round musical whizz kid) Jen Stevens and Alphabetti's Associate Artist Elijah Young, host a fun filled night of singing around the piano. Elijah providing encouragement will make sure you'll want to sing more and more, while Jen can play almost any song you put in front of them. So warm up your voices, grab a drink and sing with us - until time at the bar!

I love you but you make me want to cut my hair. The thing about split ends is that as soon as you cut one off, somewhere else on the head, another strand of hair will split. Cut, split, cut split, ad infinitum. Claudia is consumed by her split ends until she falls in love with a Vacuum, an actual Vacuum, who happened to be the hairiest thing she’d ever fallen in love with. A thing that made her want to pluck her arm hairs, wax her legs and cut her hair. The Vacuum would shed his hairs, leave, disappear, reappear, shed, tell her he loved her, tell her he lied, leave, shed, appear, shed, malt, love, lie, cheat, shed, shed. Claudia cut hairs, plucked hairs, vacuumed hairs, hunted hairs, waiting for him to pull the plug on what they had because she couldn’t. In an exploration of coercive control, love and the addiction to people who hurt us, this five star production which is “as raw as they come” attempts to understand when we are meticulously in control or incredibly out of it. Critically acclaimed tragi-comedy, SPLIT ENDS follows the story of a woman who falls in love with a Vacuum. Using physical theatre, puppetry and multi-media, this ‘Sarah Kane Rave’ explores control and abusive power disguised as love.

Our guest artist Mymona Bibi is inviting us to use our bodies to explore the themes of home and memory. We will experiment together in Alphabettis theatre space through guided physical performance techniques, movement exploration, poetry, and creative writing. This workshop is entry level and can be adapted to any range of mobility. It is for people who have moved around, people new to the city or the UK, people who are interested in discussing social housing and housing inequality, and interrogating what we define as home or being from somewhere. Mymona Bibi is a Bengali-British writer, creative facilitator and ESOL teacher based in Newcastle upon Tyne. She is interested in themes of multilingualism, cities, inequality and home. Her writing has been featured in the Ilkley Literature Festival, Magma Poetry, Butcher's Dog, Corridor8, Hajar Press and Lumpen Press. She has produced and performed at events such as the Newcastle Fringe Festival (2023 and 2025) and NOVUM (2023 and 2024). Currently, she is the lead artist of World Writes - a multilingual community writing group. She has supported the group through the production and design of a multilingual publication, multilingual audio voice note and a multi-sensory kantha quilt. You can find her on Instagram @wordsbymymona

When Josh, Elsies influencer grandson, comes to her for help with a traditional cooking video, she decides to have a bit of fun with the situation. Because as far as hes concerned, she might as well have been born in 25BC Earlier this year writers from across the North East were invited to create a new play inspired by Apicius, the famous Roman cookbook written nearly 2,000 years ago. This is a staging of the winning submission by Abby Walker and directed by Ed Cole, Alphabetti Theatre's Artistic Director Before the performance, there will be a short talk about the cookbook. After the show, theres a Q&A with the creative team. Please join us in the bar after the show to celebrate this finale ClassicsFest 2026 Kindly supported by The Leche Trust

Two teams of improvisers take on some improv games in a battle to find King or Queen Rat that tests their very improv mettle and worth as a human being (not really).

RFor improv fans, followers and the improv curious, join us for a fun night of imaginative improv where the audience helps shape the show. Improv Club can take on various forms. It could include improv games, spontaneous playlets, musical montage or a combination of all sorts. Its a surprise! It all depends on the suggestions you give, and where the moment takes us all. All the players are up for a laugh and we hope you are too. If you're thinking, "What is improv?"this is your chance to unravel the mystery! If youre thinking, I dont want to be picked on! we dont do that. Its not that kind of show. If you're thinking, Id like to give that a go - you can take part in the open jam after the show. Presented by Boho Arts Performed by The School of Improv players Hosted by Bev Fox and Ian McLaughlin (The Suggestibles). Music invented by Les Watts Made in Newcastle by people just like you! Fancy trying your hand at improv? Visit Boho Arts School of Improv Boho Arts is a Newcastle charity that specialises in improvisation and participation. Their School of Improv is the longest running learning and participation programme in improvisation in the UK (est. 2003) and includes Beginners Courses and Free Tasters. 18+ (may contain strong language, sexual references and audience participation)

Phoebe is the Queen of lists. On her fridge, her whiteboard, all over her hands and everywhere basically. Her favourite lists are: shopping, favourite stationary, least favourite numbers, past jobs in order of wanting to staple her earlobes to the table, the missed opportunities folder in her emails. When her lists are becoming an overwhelming list-athon and a giant fluffy monster appears, shes sure there isnt a problem. Phoebe wonders if she needs her space, but the monster is a really good cook. So why is she suddenly listing all the ways she might die?