Northern Stage, Newcastle upon Tyne
Encyclopedia
Northern Stage is a theatre and producing theatre company based in Newcastle upon Tyne
. It is adjacent to Newcastle University's city centre campus on King's Walk, opposite the students' union building. It hosts various local, national and international productions in addition to those produced by the Northern Stage company. Until the 2006 reopening the theatre was known as the Newcastle Playhouse.
The complex hosts three stages. The capacity decreases, with stage one being the largest, having 447 seats. The complex also boasts a bar-restaurant, McKenna's.
who created the Northern Stage Ensemble Company in 1998.
's Son of Man
. During the 2006 refurbishment an art installation was constructed on the roof of the theatre, titled Escapology, by artist Cath Campbell.
On 7 April 2008 the Barras Bridge car park was closed for the development of the new University's new King's Gate Building.
, Lipsynch (a co-production with Robert Leapage), the first major UK adaptation of Angela Carter
's The Bloody Chamber
and updated versions of Henrik Ibsen
's A Doll's House
and John Osborne
's Look Back in Anger
.
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. It is adjacent to Newcastle University's city centre campus on King's Walk, opposite the students' union building. It hosts various local, national and international productions in addition to those produced by the Northern Stage company. Until the 2006 reopening the theatre was known as the Newcastle Playhouse.
The complex hosts three stages. The capacity decreases, with stage one being the largest, having 447 seats. The complex also boasts a bar-restaurant, McKenna's.
Early history
The theatre's beginnings were in 1970 when the current building (initially known as the University Theatre) was built to replace The Tyneside Theatre Company's old building, the Flora Robson Playhouse, which was demolished in a road-widening scheme. The old Playhouse was not actually demolished until some time later, and the site never was used; Access did become a problem however. The Tyneside Theatre Company continued to use the theatre until 1977. The theatre was also formally known as the Newcastle Playhouse and Gulbenkian Studio. From 1992 until 2005 the company was run by Alan LyddiardAlan Lyddiard
Alan Lyddiard is a theatre and film director, best known as an advocate of the ensemble theatre model in the UK...
who created the Northern Stage Ensemble Company in 1998.
Recent history
It re-opened in August 2006 as Northern Stage after a £9 million refurbishment. The first performance at the refurbished theatre was a production of the Dennis PotterDennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's Son of Man
Son of Man (play)
Son of Man is a television play by British playwright Dennis Potter which was directed by Gareth Davies. It premiered in The Wednesday Play slot on 19 April 1969 starring Irish actor Colin Blakely and was an alternative depiction of the last days of Jesus, leading to Potter being accused of...
. During the 2006 refurbishment an art installation was constructed on the roof of the theatre, titled Escapology, by artist Cath Campbell.
On 7 April 2008 the Barras Bridge car park was closed for the development of the new University's new King's Gate Building.
Productions
Recognised as one of the top ten producing theatres in the country, Northern Stage both presents visiting national and international theatre and produces its own productions. Recent productions include the first ever revival of Our Friends in the NorthOur Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996...
, Lipsynch (a co-production with Robert Leapage), the first major UK adaptation of Angela Carter
Angela Carter
Angela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
's The Bloody Chamber
The Bloody Chamber
The Bloody Chamber is a collection of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Gollancz and won the Cheltenham Festival Literary Prize. All of the stories share a common theme of being closely based upon fairytales or folk tales...
and updated versions of Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
's A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
and John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
's Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
.