REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL

WORDS: CLAIRE DUPREE

WELCOME TO ANOTHER EDITION OF REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL! I’M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THERE’S LOTS TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS MONTH, AND PLENTY TO KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED WHILE YOU’RE AT HOME.

If you’d like to be featured in a future edition please get in touch: narcmedia@gmail.com

STREAMING, VIRTUAL VIEWING, PARTICIPATION & MORE

Among the many things we’re missing is a lazy weekend stroll around an art gallery or museum, particularly on rainy days. The region’s galleries and art spaces are adapting with aplomb to the current situation (in fact, many had virtual viewing options way before this all kicked off) and we highly recommend kicking back with a cuppa and checking out some of the weird and wonderful collections at Great North Museum: Hancock, where you can get access to their biology and ethnographic stores; get your dose of arty goodness with a jaunt around Laing Art Gallery’s rooms; keep the kids amused via Google Arts & Culture’s virtual tour of Discovery Museum; and there’s a host of interesting artefacts to discover in Tyne & Wear Museums & Archives’ online stores; view the landscapes and culture of North East England as documented by Side Gallery’s Amber Collective; explore several of the exhibitions at BALTIC’s website, including Abel Rodriguez, Imran Perretta, Judy Chicago and more; the Biscuit Factory’s collection is also available to browse (and buy) online; John and Dorothy Cornish, the son and daughter-in-law of painter Norman Cornish, create a virtual gallery tour of the exhibition at Barnard Castle’s Bowes Museum; the collections from Middlesbrough’s MIMA gallery are available to view online; and Shieldfield Art Works are currently displaying work created by members of their Painting For Fun group on their website.

Looking to brush up on your artistic knowledge during lockdown? Look no further than a recent blog post courtesy of Hatton Gallery’s Keeper of Art Lizzie Jacklin, who has pulled together an eye-opening list of intriguing artworks by female artists that reside within the Hatton’s permanent collection. It’s a diverse and interesting list!

Create some artistic masterpieces of your own thanks to a variety of classes and studio events now hosted online. Top amongst these recently has been Newcastle-based Chilli Studios’ live interactive workshops programme, where you can learn about everything from gardening to art journaling, creative writing and self-care, plus create ceramic artwork, watercolours and much more. Also worth checking out is North Tyneside Art Studio, who host regular online tutorials via their Facebook page on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; North East artist Emily Carter is delivering drawing tutorials, and offering craft and painting tips on her Facebook page; while Gateshead’s Shipley Art Gallery are hosting a new art challenge every week inspired by their collection, with the results posted on their website and social media pages.

For youngsters (or the young at heart), Life Science Centre are offering a host of science experiments and other fun activities to enjoy at home via their social media pages, with videos also shared via their YouTube channel. Try making your own slime, a tin foil boat or launch a milk bottle rocket. Adults may also enjoy their ‘make wine glasses sing’ video, which means you’re legitimately allowed to drink while educating your children.

There’s more ways to stay creative with the family thanks to Fully Booked Theatre’s interactive dance theatre shows. Every weekday at noon they post a Fully Booked Challenge via Instagram, which families can take on together.

If you’ve a hankering to watch something other than Netflix or the rolling news horror cycle, train your beady eyes on theatre company Open Clasp’s production Key Change. Devised alongside women in HMP Low Newton to tour to male prisons, the critically-acclaimed work presents an illuminating portrait of women in prison.

We reported on the Coronavirus Theatre Club last month, and it’s still going strong with a host of videos on their YouTube page and livestreams every Sunday from 7pm via Twitter. Expect to see actors performing monologues and pieces produced by talented writers and directors while in lockdown.

Eliot Smith Dance continue their digital performances and workshops throughout May. This month marks 75 years since VE day, so ESD’s performance of Poppy – a retrospective and abstract look at war, inspired by the flower – is timely indeed. View it online via their website on Friday 8th May from 6pm. You can also enjoy ballet, contemporary and Kathak dance classes for a variety of skill levels.

Northern Stage continue their podcast series with new releases featuring cabaret artist Melody Sproates, who talks about their work on stage; plus a conversation with The House of Love, the creative force behind the BonBons Cabaret.

A diverse range of radio shows are coming out of Star & Shadow Cinema’s Mixlr station at the moment, providing unique diversions for those missing the collective’s irreverent mix of entertainment. Expect art and music chat, stories, poetry, plays and much more. See their website for the rundown of shows and listen online at Mixlr.

If you’re in need of a laugh The Stand Comedy Club can offer you the remedy via their live streams every Saturday night from 8.30pm. Their Saturday Night At The Stand streams so far have seen performances from the likes of Mark Thomas, Josie Long, Dave Johns, Zoe Lyons and many more, so you can be assured of a top-class rib-tickling. You can also support the venue by buying vouchers for a future visit, becoming a member or simply by donating a few quid.

As Newcastle’s only dedicated comedy club, it’s clear just how much The Stand Comedy Club means to comics as well as punters, as evidenced in this superbly funny and star-studded video put together in support of The Stand by local comic Lee Kyle. He’s pulled together over 50 comedians who each take a line from Gavin Webster’s classic comedy routine about pandas.

Newcastle’s comedy improv troupe The Suggestibles are on hand to help light up your Friday nights with their #carryonimprovising shows where pretty much anything can happen! Tune in via their Facebook or Twitter feeds from 10pm-midnight.

Sunderland comic Matt Reed is one of the region’s funniest; a reliable and hilarious MC and relatable, cheeky comic, he’s currently amusing himself (and many others) via his Twitter feed, compiling regular clips of hilarious scenes from films, cannily entitled Box Office Fakings.

If you’re missing your local band fix, look no further than champions of North East music Nick Roberts and Rianne Thompson, on BBC Radio Newcastle and BBC Tees respectively, whose weekly BBC Introducing shows will keep you informed and entertained on every Saturday night from 8pm.

Much-loved Tyneside contemporary folk musician Bridie Jackson and her husband and musical partner Nick Pierce (aka ‘Brick’) are livestreaming a ‘sofa gig’ on Sunday 3rd May from 5pm via Facebook. Consisting of mostly requests, expect outlandish covers as well as a few Bridie favourites. The gig will be raising money for independent theatre Alphabetti.

DJ Stagger Lee is also continuing to broadcast from home, with a Lazy Sunday With Stagger Lee show on Twitch every Sunday until The Awfulness is over (4pm-6pm every week except the last Sunday of the month which starts at 2pm). There are also occasional impromptu evening broadcasts, mostly when he’s been drinking, so keep an eye on his website for details.

Now that we’ve all got to grips with streaming technology, there’s no end of places you can go to seek out live entertainment practically every night of the week. Some of the best include Lindisfarne Lockdown, where the festival organisers collate streams and live performances on their Facebook page from some of the artists due to play the festival in September; the incredibly popular Live Jam @ Lockdown page has seen dozens of acts perform throughout April via their Facebook page, and with donations being collected for the NHS we’re sure they’ll continue throughout lockdown; and Stockton’s Georgian Theatre, who continue their Saturday night livestream shows with performances from Jodie Nicholson (2nd May), Jake Radio from Be Quiet. Shout Loud! (9th May) and Charlotte Grayson (16th May).

Following a successful month of fundraising for the NHS in April, Come Together NE are continuing the good work with another weekend of livestreamed performances. Taking place from Friday 8th-Sunday 10th May, this time they’ll be raising money for local venues including Little Buildings, The Cumberland Arms, Independent in Sunderland, Ziggy’s in South Shields, Alfie & Fin’s Gin Bar in Tynemouth and The Tavern in Blyth. Check out their Facebook event for more information.

Lend a helping hand to Ouseburn indie venue Little Buildings who no sooner opened the doors of their brand new venue before they had to shut them again. To raise some much-needed funds, they’re offering up bootleg recordings of some of the venue’s most iconic nights via Bandcamp; performances have the tendency to be noisy and a bit scrappy, but utterly loveable, much like the venue itself.

Join in with a singalong thanks to the tuneful folks at Beccy Owen’s Couch Choir every Sunday morning and early evening via her Facebook page; you can also join in with the Pop Choir Project Lockdown, hosted by Cornshed Sisters’ Jennie Brewis and Liz Corney, with regular singalong sessions via Zoom.

OK, admit it, you’ve tried hosting a family quiz via Zoom and endured sibling cheating and pissed parents humouring you for your efforts (just me?!). Now you’ve had a try, why not let the experts take over, and join in a proper quiz hosted by people who actually know what they’re doing. There’s squillions of them on social media, but we highly recommend you check out the quizzes hosted by the dapper folks from Prohibition Cabaret Bar (Wednesdays); the notoriously tricky Free Trade Inn virtual quiz (Wednesdays); the perennially cool Zerox bar host a Tuesday quiz with different themes, so far it’s been music and movies; Stockton’s Storytellers have reprised their popular pub quiz via their Facebook page; and Darlington Hippodrome get in on the action with a multitude of themed rounds.

Image by Barbara Greg (1900-1983) BeachHuts, c1932, wood engraving on paper

CROWDFUNDERS, CHARITY INFO, COMMUNITY RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES

As lockdown continues and our region’s cultural venues wait to discover their fate, there’s still much that you can do to help them through this most difficult of times. A handful of Crowdfunders have been super-successful so far thanks to generous donations and some excellent rewards, so keep the goodwill going and if you can afford to donate to any of our region’s venues they’ll be thrilled with every penny. Here are a few (by no means all) of the venues who need your help: Stockton’s Georgian Theatre is a historic venue and the cornerstone of the town’s music scene, they have some great rewards up for grabs, including some unique experiences; Alphabetti Theatre are appealing for donations for their wonderful community space; the treasure trove of history and culture Newcastle Castle have a donations page; Sage Gateshead have a resilience fund to help support them while their doors are closed, and they also offer membership opportunities; friends of First Avenue Studios in Newcastle continue to raise funds for a much-loved rehearsal space; the generous and kind-hearted folks at Sunderland’s Pop Recs Ltd. continue to support their communities, forward buy a coffee or chuck them a few quid via PayPal (poprecsltd@gmail.com); South Shields cafe Sea-Change provide sustainable employment for those with autism and learning difficulties, their crowdfunding campaign will help them continue their excellent work; the Artist Food Bank Network is a volunteer-run collective of artists, musicians, studios and galleries who banded together to support the Trussell Trust’s local food banks, and they’re appealing for donations via their GoFundMe page; independent charity Northern Stage are appealing for help with their participation programme costs via their donation page online; established for over 20 years, Dance City supports the growing dance ecology in the region, they’re appealing for donations to help the industry continue to thrive; as a charity, South Shields’ Customs House have a variety of ways you can help them, from donating by text, purchasing a gift certificate or becoming a friend; the Grade I listed Tyne Theatre & Opera House is a treasure of a building which needs continual maintenance, you can name a seat, join their friends club or make a larger donation to the preservation trust; Orbis manage the eight floored cultural hub of Commercial Union House in Newcastle, which is home to a variety of artists, galleries and unique cultural spaces, they’re calling for donations to support them during the current closure; The Witham in Barnard Castle have an annual friends membership and a JustGiving page; the Ouseburn Farm is a haven for the community and a much-loved part of the Valley, support them by sponsoring an animal, buying a bee (not a real one!) or donating via their website; independent community theatre People’s Theatre in Heaton need help in continuing to bring theatre to the heart of their community; Newcastle music venue Billy Bootleggers are running a crowdfunder to help them through the crisis; Gosforth Civic Theatre is so much more than just a cultural venue, they support people with learning disabilities and autism, so they need your help now more than ever; the historic Theatre Royal is an irreplaceable part of Newcastle’s cultural heritage, and as an independent charity who receive no funding they’re asking for donations to help keep them going; Newcastle’s Live Theatre are also a charity who do excellent work in supporting up and coming writers, actors and theatre makers, you can become a friend of the theatre, donate or buy merchandise through their online shop; we also recommend purchasing a voucher for Tyneside Cinema to help see the independent picture house through this rough time, they’re also appealing for donations, which you can do online or by texting TYNESIDE and your chosen amount (10, 20 etc.) to 70085.

Local label Butterfly Effect are proposing a one day festival once restrictions are lifted featuring some of the bands on their roster, including Ceiling Demons, Nel Unlit, James Leonard Hewitson, OSH, John Stainthorp and more. Their crowdfunder provides some interesting rewards for those looking to support musicians, including living room gigs (once social distancing rules are relaxed, of course), signed vinyl and a special 12” release of the Corona Sessions, featuring a song from each of the bands performing.

For those who need advice on the latest grants and government funding or just support and a friendly ear, there are plenty of resources and helpful local organisations who can offer their expertise. For artists, NewBridge Project continue to be a touchstone for advice and guidance and have put together a helpful online resource for artists which covers everything from claiming benefits, emergency funds and opportunities. The good folks at Tees Music Alliance continue to be on hand to offer advice to musicians, and their resident music experts Chris and Dave are available for Zoom chats and synchronised cuppas and biscuits, drop them an email on hello@teesmusicalliance.org.uk; Generator’s Tipping Point have put together a Covid-19 advice and resources list on their website, which covers funding opportunities and helpful online pages, they also run music advice clinics and a supportive Facebook page for musicians and industry professionals; Sage Gateshead continue their monthly sessions to support early career musicians and emerging artists via one-to-one sessions by phone or video call.

If you’re looking for somewhere to hang out and share your love of the local arty scene, be it music, theatre, art or anything in between, check out the lovely and supportive Facebook groups hosted by Tyne & Wear Cultural Freelancers, Theatre Fans NE, Sunderland Indie, and Come Together NE.

Reflex

ONLINE SHOPPING

Until the shops open why not act on the #buylocal philosophy and get your isolation boredom purchases from the region’s own indie stores. For musicians, there’s nowhere better than musical instrument and repair shop Curvy Sounds. Don’t let lockdown stop you from keeping up with musical trends, our region’s indie record stores have got you covered. Shop online with: 586 Records, Beatdown Records, Beyond Vinyl, Reflex CD & Vinyl, RPM, Saxosoul Records, Sound It Out Records and Vinyl Guru.

FOOD & DRINK

Support the region’s independent restaurants by buying your takeaway from them direct. Please get in touch if you’re offering this service (or know someone who is)

NEWCASTLE & GATESHEAD

CUBANOS (CUBAN/AMERICAN)

GINGERINOS (PIZZA)

KARMA KITCHEN (VEGAN) LITTLE GREEN (VEGAN)

MAGPYE (VEGAN PIE)

NAFIZA (SOUTH INDIAN)

PINK LANE BAKERY

REDHEADS MAC N CHEESE (FRIDAY ONLY)

SCREAM FOR PIZZA (PIZZA)

THE SCHOONER

SUNDERLAND, THE COAST & SURROUNDS

BELLINI (ITALIAN)

ELDER & WOLF

THE CALABASH TREE (CARIBBEAN)

NO 2 CHURCH LANE (BURGERS)

PULP FICTION FUTURE FOOD (VEGAN)

SUGAR & SLICE (PIZZA)

THE LITTLE REFILL SHOP

DURHAM

LEBANEAT (LEBANESE & SHOPPING SERVICE)

THAI RIVER

HARTLEPOOL

CHILLI CAKE KITCHEN & BAR

MARCO POLO (ITALIAN)

MIDDLESBROUGH & SURROUNDS

BARBAROSSA (SOURDOUGH PIZZA)

MANNEQUIN CAFE (POLISH/SANDWICHES)

OVEN RESTAURANT (CONTEMPORARY)

PERSIAN COTTAGE

REAL MEALS DELICATESSEN

UMI JAPANESE BAR & RESTAURANT

STOCKTON & SURROUNDS

CARUSO (ITALIAN)

THE WAITING ROOM (VEGETARIAN)

DARLINGTON & SURROUNDS

HAUGHTON CHIPPY

HOLE IN THE WALL

OVEN RESTAURANT (CONTEMPORARY)

REEMA (INDIAN)

SANTORINI GREEK RESTAURANT

SOL TAPAS

STABLE HEARTH (NEAPOLITAN PIZZA)

THE TAPAS BAR

TEA WITH ALICE (SWEET TREATS/POP-UP SHOPS)

Also worth checking out is North East Food Collaborative, a website which has collated regional independent food producers to provide deliveries

BEER, WINE AND SPIRITS DELIVERY

Buy direct from some of the region’s best breweries, bars and producers. Get in touch if you’d like to be added to this list.

BEER

ALLENDALE BREWERY

ANARCHY BREW CO

BOX SOCIAL

BRINKBURN STREET BREWERY

CREDENCE BREWING

CULLERCOATS BREWERY

DONZOKO BREWING COMPANY

DURHAM BREWERY

ERRANT BREWERY

FIREBRICK BREWERY

FULL CIRCLE BREW CO

GROUNDING ANGELS

HADRIAN BORDER BREWERY

MCCOLL’S BREWERY

NORTHERN ALCHEMY

THE GOLDEN SMOG (STOCKTON ONLY)

TYNE BANK BREWERY

WYLAM BREWERY

WINE

LANEBERG WINE

SPIRITS

ALFIE & FIN’S (GIN BAR, TYNEMOUTH)

DURHAM DISTILLERY

POETIC LICENSE

Also see excellent local website Craft Beer Newcastle for more resources and updates on the region’s brewing scene.

It’s also worth checking the Save Pub Life website, where you can buy a voucher for your favourite pub online to be used when restrictions have been lifted. There’s a handy filter tool so you can search by region.