Newcastle's Alphabetti Theatre Announces New Season Featuring World Premieres, Homegrown Talent And More

Multi-award winning Alphabetti Theatre is a bastion of North Eastern excellence. This artist-led performance space in Newcastle upon Tyne is a space to experiment, evolve and discover talent. Producing and playing host to some of the best and newest work from the region and further afield, their newly-announced 2022/23 is no exception.

The season will open on 23rd August with the world premiere of Brotherhood, running until 10th September. Alphabetti Theatre was born of the need for a fringe venue in Newcastle and the North East and ensuring the development of the performing arts in the region is at the heart of their work. Presented by Northern Roots & Vitamin Noir feat. Kay Greyson, Brotherhood highlights the unknown struggles of young Black men living in the UK. Vitamin Noir are a group of dancers, rappers, artists and photographers living in Newcastle upon Tyne; here, an all-Black cast of multi-talented long-time friends will share their origin stories of perseverance through dance and music. This unique tale of family and love is told with infectious joy.

20th September - 8th October will see Alan Harris' Sugar Baby make its North East premiere. First performed at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, The Times praised Sugar Baby as a theatrical tour de force and The Stage called it stonking good fun. This charming comedy caper centres on Marc, small-time drug dealer in Cardiff, who spends his time avoiding his mum, disguising his cannabis plants with fake tomatoes, and saving his old man from the local loan shark. When he gets caught up in a love triangle, things get even messier.

The third show of the season, Out-Out! is a development of Joana Geronimo's recent work as part of Alphabetti Theatre's Reaction Artist programme. From 18th October - 5th November, audiences can experience the premiere of this debut work. Joanna lives in two worlds, one old and one new, and sometimes it's hard to tell which is more real. Just for tonight, her phone's going down, her hands are going up, and she'd like to share it, irl. Joyful, bright and lyrical, Out-Out! brings people together in a moment of connection, and reminds us all that some things can't be downloaded.

From 15th November - 3rd December, Alphabetti Theatre and SoreSlap Theatre will present a world premiere of More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish by Papi Jeovani and Rhian Jade. SoreSlap aims to empower its audience and create a safe space where they can enjoy theatre that makes them stop, laugh, and think. In the not-too-distant future, worlds collide when two people are forced to share a space. Only when they are given no other option, do they find that their lives are more similar than they could have ever imagined. SoreSlap Theatre are creators, producers and performers who use drama, poetry, and physical theatre to explore topics of identity and personal politics.

Over the festive season, Alphabetti Theatre & Hotspur Primary will proudly present Song Of The Goblins from 13th December - 31st December. This imaginative premise asks "who lives in those little green metal boxes at the end of the street?" They're everywhere. You must have seen them. If you sit next to them for long enough, you can hear voices and sometimes singing... Song Of The Goblins has been co-created by an award-winning professional creative team and pupils from Hotspur Primary School. The pupils have co-written the script, co-composed the music, co-designed and co-built the set. This fantastical family adventure from Alphabetti's award-winning artistic director, Ali Pritchard, will feature live music and composition by Wilf Stone.

2023 will begin with Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light by Allison Davies from 31st January - 18th February. Directed by Karen Traynor, Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light is an immersive, interactive exploration of one woman's journey of self-discovery. Elsa's life has never been boring, though it's often been a struggle. She's quirky and kind and clever and funny, but school was always a nightmare, and romance was a mystery; until now. Elsa meets Carmen who just seems to 'get her'. She seems to hold the key to who she is, and why it feels like there's an octopus living inside her head. Tiny Fragments of Beautiful Light is a celebration of the joy and freedom that comes when we live as we truly are.

Finally, from 28th February - 18th March, Forest Sounds Theatre & Alphabetti Theatre will present a world premiere of Person Spec. Prepare to meet the next energised and highly-motivated job candidate, applying for an exciting new work opportunity. But this is not a normal theatre show, this is a job interview. And the audience is the panel. This bizarre, hilarious show encourages its audience to maximally evolve, self-disrupt, and autoconference at this unique event. The candidate has worked hard to reach the final stage of the interview process, and it's time for you to help them succeed... or not.

This vast and varied slate makes up just some of the 270 performances that will take place at Alphabetti over the next eight months. With drama, music, comedy, workshops and more - there's something for everybody!

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