Northern Stage
Creative Tourist
Northern Stage can be found in the heart of Newcastle University, opposite the Student’s Union. Outside, the theatre keeps many of its 1970s architectural features, but its refurbished modern interior shows the theatre’s commitment to the modern arts.
It is a registered charity founded in 1970 as Newcastle University’s theatre. A decade later the Northern Stage Performance Company came to the site and took residence at the theatre, renaming it Newcastle Playhouse and Gulbenkian Studio, Home of Northern Stage – an easily remembered and catchy title…
Northern Stage is a wonderful cradle of creativity in the heart of Newcastle University and a must for anyone who loves modern theatre
The company continued to grow in fame and ability in the 1990s, and after a two-year refurbishment, it reopened in 2004 as Northern Stage, with a £9 million refurbishment. Keeping close to its university beginnings, it always seeks to be innovative, with productions that have toured the Edinburgh Festival, and are always looking for inspiration from international theatre companies.
They keep inclusivity and diversity at the heart of their productions and attract students and professional actors alike to work with their team. Their productions have drawn attention for being the first theatre to bring shows such as Our Friends in the North and The Bloody Chamber (for the first time in the UK) to the stage alongside modern retellings of Frankenstein and Look back in Anger.
With three stages, the Northern Stage always has a diverse offering of productions from comedy through to classic drama and new and upcoming plays. The productions are always intimate, with stage one only seating four-hundred and forty-seven people, but this can be boosted to six hundred when it is combined with stage two. Stage three is the most versatile, as it can be transformed between a stand-up format and a theatrical stage. This intimate setting allows for the plays to be told in a wonderful and creative manner and even bring the audience into the story as well. Northern Stage is a wonderful cradle of creativity in the heart of Newcastle University and a must for anyone who loves modern theatre and cutting-edge storytelling.
