Over 60 venues announced for The Late Shows 2018
The Late Shows – supported by Port of Tyne - is returning this year on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 May, boasting another packed programme of after-hours culture as part of national event Museums at Night.
The award winning late-night culture crawl this year will see more than 60 day-time arts, culture and heritage attractions on Tyneside open late into the evening to offer special activities.
Across the two-night event, visitors can expect a wide range of exhibitions, open studios, workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, curiosities, music, dance, theatre, heritage, food and merriment.
Bill Griffiths, Head of Programmes at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and Project Manager of The Late Shows, said:
“As always, we’re really looking forward to latest edition of The Late Shows. It’s fantastic how this much-loved event on Tyneside has grown in popularity over the years, and we never tire of hearing people tell us they can’t wait for the event to come around again.
“What’s great about The Late Shows is it encourages people to experience the arts and heritage of NewcastleGateshead quite literally in a new light – as the event takes place in the evening.”
New venues for 2018 include Star and Shadow Cinema, which will be making its grand re-opening on Warwick St for The Late Shows. There are also many new additions in Gateshead for The Late Shows this year. At Baltic Square, Curious Arts has commissioned light artist Stuart Langley to set up a brilliant light installation, which will include an amazing light up display on Gateshead Millennium Bridge. Also new to Gateshead are The Kiln Pottery Studio, The Nest Café & Community Rooms CIC , and LearningSkills Centre, all of which will have fun activities inspired by the iconic Angel of the North and the celebration of its 20th anniversary.
Returning venues include the Laing Art Gallery with their huge collaborative painting inspired by the work of Sean Scully and the sounds of the 1970s, Port of Tyne’s free booked tour of the Swing Bridge, as well as a huge range of arts activity taking place on all the floors at Commercial Union House, Bamburgh House and at other neighbouring venues in the Pilgrim Street area.
Families will especially love visiting Discovery Museum where there will be the opportunity to create and race Lego engines or rocket cars, an activity inspired by Robert Stephenson’s iconic steam locomotive Rocket coming to the museum this summer for the Great Exhibition of the North. Another family favourite will be Seven Stories which will be celebrating comic art set to a soundtrack of comic-inspired tunes, and host Nigel Auchterlounie, writer and artist for the Beano, who will be signing copies of his new book Dennis and the Chamber of Mischief.
As well as many exhibitions, and workshops, there will lots of opportunities to enjoy live performances, including at The Biscuit Factory where they will be launching their Open Contemporary Young Artist Award, providing a platform for emerging artists and budding performers. The Black Swan will be hosting Afro-Brazilian band, Caravella, and The Lawnmowers Independent Theatre Company’s Glass Orchestra will be performing live at The Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.
Andrew Moffat, Chief Executive of Port of Tyne, said:
“The Port of Tyne is proud to support Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums once again in bringing The Late Shows to Newcastle and Gateshead. This partnership brings an exciting programme of events driving visitors to the region and supporting the local economy.”
The Late Shows begins from 7pm on Friday 18 May in the Ouseburn Valley only before Saturday 19 May’s where venues across Central Newcastle and Gateshead take their turn offering a large range of cultural activities and entertainment. Venues in Gateshead open an hour earlier on Saturday, at 6pm.
The fun continues into the small hours with The Late Late Shows, a fringe event that brings together a selection of venues that are already open at night including The Cumberland Arms, Prohibtion Bar Gateshead and Sage Gateshead amongst others.
This year will also see a first for The Late Shows as they introduce The Twilight Shows, where some Late Shows venues will be opening a little earlier with special events aimed at 12-17 year olds, running between 4pm and 7pm. An announcement for The Twilight Shows line-up will be announced in the coming weeks.
Another change this year is that Ouseburn venues will only be open as part of The Late Shows on the Friday night. This is to allow people from those venues the chance to visit The Late Shows themselves on the Saturday night.
Free bus services and accessible taxis will be available during the event to help visitors move between venues.
Free places for guided tours of the Victoria Tunnel and the Swing Bridge need to be booked online in advance via The Late Shows website – tickets can be book from 7pm Thursday 3 May.
The full line-up for The Late Shows 2018 is available to view online at https://thelateshows.org.uk/2018.
Follow The Late Shows social media channels for the all the latest updates:
www.facebook.com/thelateshows
www.twitter.com/thelateshows
www.instagram.com/thelateshows
Published 26 April 2018
