Category: Entertainment

Escape from Lumley Castle

By on 14th December 2018in Entertainment, Events, In & Around, Places To Go, What's New?, What's On?

The Legend surrounding a 630-year-old North East castle is to be brought vividly to life, giving amateur detectives the chance to solve a mystery in a UK first.

Lumley Castle Hotel, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, has announced plans to create the country’s first escape room within a historic property.

The 73-room castle has joined forces with the highly acclaimed Escape Rooms Durham, which already runs two games within the city centre, Mr Borrowdale’s Study and Lab Heist.

And the organisation has created a unique new escape room challenge, based on the tragic story of Lily of Lumley, who, in the 14th century, was reputedly thrown down a well by Catholic priests for renouncing her faith.

Lily is said to haunt the castle and there have been many supposed sightings of her ghost over the years – but now everyone who visits Lumley will get the opportunity to come face to face with the tragic heroine.

The escape room is being created in the castle’s former beer cellar and is scheduled to launch on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2019.

Sam Lupton of Escape Rooms Durham said this will be a unique experience.

“We have worked tirelessly over the past few months to create a game that is not only entertaining but is also completely immersive in its game play and the only one of its kind in the UK,” said Sam.

“We can’t wait to share the experience of Lily of Lumley with visitors to the castle and we’re delighted to be working in partnership with this fantastic hotel.”

Although the story centres around the legend of Lily of Lumley, the experience is set to be family friendly and suitable for anyone over the age of ten.

The Escape Room experience will be open to residents and non-residents alike with the option to add an overnight stay, afternoon tea package, or dinner in the hotel’s highly acclaimed Black Knight restaurant at the time of booking.

Lumley Castle Sales manager Lauren Colledge believes the attraction will be a fantastic asset to the hotel and give visitors another reason to visit.

“This is a very exciting venture for us and we are investing heavily in it,” she said.

It will mean a visit to Lumley will be even more special and we know it will appeal to a wide range of audiences, from corporate guests who want a challenging team building activity to leisure visitors who want to have some fun.”

For more information or to make a booking visit www.escapedurham.co.uk.

REVIEW: Sherlock Gnomes

By on 20th June 2018in Entertainment, Film & TV
Sherlock Gnomes

Rating: **

While the 2011 computer-animated film Gnomeo & Juliet wasn’t the most revolutionary take on that William Shakespeare play, it was also far from a shambles. In fact, it was rather cute and endearing. James McAvoy and Emily Blunt had an easy chemistry as the two eponymous leads, gnomes who enjoyed an illicit love affair despite belonging to rival gnome gangs busily scheming on opposite sides of a garden fence. Nonetheless, how many of us really clamoured for a sequel?

In any case, we’ve ended up getting one – and with both Gnomeo and Juliet and their familiar voice actors back, it probably wouldn’t be a spoiler for us to say that, in the first film, they didn’t meet the grisly fates of their Shakespearean counterparts. However, after relocating from Stratford-upon-Avon to London, they have suffered a rupture in their previously harmonious relationship.

The culprit? The new garden; by the disgruntled Gnomeo’s reckoning, Juliet is unjustly paying more attention to it than to him. Cue many scenes of Gnomeo being uncharacteristically petulant and bickering insistently with his porcelain paramour. This tension is dramatically shattered like terracotta when the couple return to the garden after time away and realise that all of their gnome co-inhabitants have gone. Who better to investigate the mysterious disappearances than Sherlock?

Yes, it’s a gnome version of Sherlock – a pompous git called Sherlock Gnomes – that we’re talking about here. That Johnny Depp provides the voice is puzzling; the American brings little to the role except a plummy British accent that a home-grown actor surely could have delivered just as well. Sherlock clashes with his sidekick Watson, voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and jilted ex-fiancée Irene, who serves scant purpose here besides letting her voice actress Mary J Blige sing an all-new song.

The first film had quite a few clever little touches, like Shakespeare himself as a talking statue and the snarling menace Tybalt depicted in a more sanitised light. However, the sequel is largely shorn of such creativity. Perhaps the closest it gets is with Moriarty, Sherlock’s arch nemesis. Here, he resembles a small, yellow version of the ‘Stay Puft’ man from Ghostbusters – and is played deliriously by Jamie Demetriou, who gives a voice reminiscent of a creepily demented Alan Carr.

All the same, the first film’s touching love story provided a soft centre that is sorely lacking this time around, given the near-relentless snappy exchanges between the characters. Meanwhile, broadening the scenery to London’s busy streets makes for a wild goose chase bringing to mind too many other, better films. An unexpectedly stunning climax centred on Tower Bridge does slightly make up for it, but still leaves us with a Toy Story wannabe that is little to write gnome about.

Don’t laugh – 2018 really could be England’s World Cup year

By on 6th June 2018in Entertainment, Events

Yeah, we know. We seem to go through the same process every time the England national football team has a big tournament looming: we see the stellar talents at the manager’s disposal, reflect on what has often been a relatively stress-free qualifying campaign (remember Roy Hodgson’s 100% record ahead of Euro 2016?) and do our finest rendition of “Three Lions” as the team’s first match of the competition kicks off.

Then comes the inevitable: a key player gets injured, there’s a baffling tactical or referee decision, a crucial penalty is missed or we just get defeated by a supposed no-hoper team (Iceland, anyone?).

So, why could things be genuinely different for the now Gareth Southgate-managed England when our boys in white begin their World Cup campaign proper against Tunisia at Russia’s Volgograd Arena on 18th June?

Expectations aren’t at their highest…

…and that could work in England’s favour. Past World Cups, after all, saw England teams pretty much pick themselves. The opposition knew they’d be facing off against Beckham, Lampard, Owen, Robson, Shilton or whoever the Three Lions’ biggest stars were at the time.

In 2018, though, we’re a relatively unknown quantity to many of our international rivals. The 2000s ‘Golden Generation’ is long gone, with our defenders especially low in profile. The likes of Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire, James Tarkowski and Nick Pope are hardly the household names that Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and John Terry were.

We do have some rather more established talents in the midfield, such as Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson – but again, it’s tricky for anyone to predict exactly who Southgate will select for any one match.

Just look at the former Middlesbrough manager’s options up front, for instance – Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford are all competing to be in the first XI, giving England a happy unpredictability that it lacked in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s or Fabio Capello’s time.

There are more factors than just those, though

Everywhere you look, there are further reasons for optimism that might just tempt you to back England for outright glory at its current not-exactly-hot-favourite odds (16/1 at Paddy Power as IN&AROUND headed to press, compared to the 9/2 quoted for both Brazil and Germany).

Southgate’s troops do, after all, have a seemingly easy group, consisting of Panama, Tunisia and Belgium. Sure, the latter could be testing opponents with such aces as Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, but they are also England’s last match in Group G, so we may well have secured our passage to the next round by then.

The first knockout round fixture could also be a good one for England. Group H – from which England’s opponents at this stage would be drawn – comprises Colombia, Poland, Senegal and Japan, which are all seemingly beatable sides for a squad as capable as England’s.

Oh, and did you know that whenever Pep Guardiola wins a league title in a World Cup year, the country in which he manages always goes on to win the tournament (Spain in 2010 and Germany in 2014)? He emerged victorious as Manchester City’s coach this past league season.

Fair enough, we probably won’t see Henderson or Kane hoisting the FIFA World Cup Trophy in the air on Russian turf at the 15th July Final – but those 52 years of hurt never stopped us dreaming…

Film review: Ready Player One

By on 21st May 2018in Entertainment, Film & TV

Rating: ****

What do you expect the world to be like in 2045? You might imagine, given the pretty dystopian terms in which we already speak of the years ahead, that it might be pretty badly beaten-up.

However, the two seemingly cataclysmic events merely referred-to in passing in Ready Player One – the “corn syrup droughts” and the “bandwidth riots” – might not have been the causes you’d imagined.

Escaping the slums of mid-21st century Ohio

Anyway, imagine that in the intervening time, Ohio’s state capital and most populous city – Columbus – has been rendered a grim favela of trailers mounted on top of each other, a world in which the drudgery of the slums drives the remaining citizens to hook themselves on escapism.

Such escapism is provided by the alternate wholly virtual reality world known as the Oasis, in which most of the population live their lives, generally play-acting and mashing together favourite elements of 20th-century pop culture.

Those references, by the way, are truly teeming, encompassing everything from King Kong, the Tyrannosaurus rex from Jurassic Park and Marty McFly’s Back to the Future DeLorean to a soundtrack covering such ‘70s and ‘80s touchstones as George Michael’s “Faith” and Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover”.

A high-octane chase for the keys to the Oasis

The heavyweight-of-all-heavyweights reputation of producer and director Steven Spielberg was undoubtedly instrumental in securing the necessary rights for the scores of references to films, television shows, movies and other media littered throughout Ready Player One, which is based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name.

It’s a suitably Spielbergian cast, too, headed by Tye Sheridan, who plays Wade Watts, very much the kind of determined, single-minded male lead to whom we have become accustomed across the director’s epics ranging from E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial (Henry Thomas) to Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford).

Contributing a performance of vital quiet and humanity in an otherwise top-speed, overwhelming universe is Mark Rylance as James Halliday, the celebrated but socially awkward Willy Wonka-meets-Steve Jobs-like figure who was the creator of the Oasis, but is already dead as the film’s story begins.

Nonetheless, Halliday has left behind quite the enticing ‘Easter egg’: the opportunity for a mere mortal to take the helm of his trillion-dollar empire and rule the Oasis. All that players need to do is complete the dizzying treasure-hunt that stands between them and this most seemingly unobtainable of honours.

 This double-life romp may be worth a second helping

Ready Player One therefore revolves around the two separate worlds of ‘reality reality’ and ‘virtual reality’, as while immersed in the latter, such ‘gunters’ – or egg-hunters – as Watts, Samantha Cook (played by Olivia Cooke), Helen Harris (Lena Waithe) and Toshiro (Win Morisaki) race for the literal keys to the Oasis.

All the while, these heroes of humble origin are forced to look over their shoulders for any signs of chilling corporate villain Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) and his massive army of mercenaries, who have their own designs on exploiting the Oasis for profit.

It all adds up to a searing and ever-stimulating adventure, albeit one also occasionally too slick for its own good, that falls tantalisingly short of timelessly transcending its rich seam of source material.

The genesis of the Caped Crusader: Batman’s first DC Comics appearance

By on 17th May 2018in Entertainment

Batman is a timeless and celebrated character in not just millions of comic books, but also box-office-blitzing movies, iconic TV shows, video games and cartoons. To generations of superhero fans, he is the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader and today, one of the mainstays of the DC Comics empire.

Rewind to 1939, though, and National Comics – which would later become DC Comics – was seeking a new awe-inspiring superhero to build on Superman’s success.

Few at the time would have considered gag cartoonist Bob Kane the most likely man to design the next big superhero – yet it was he to whom National Comics editor Vin Sullivan turned. It proved to be an inspired choice, and the first comic book to feature the Kane-drawn star hit newsstands on 30th March 1939, with a cover date of May 1939.

Birthing a crime-fighting legend

It should be noted at this point that Kane was not working alone. Indeed, while the original idea and character design for Batman were unquestionably his, various uncredited refinements were also made by writer Bill Finger, including the design of the mask, the costume colour scheme and the addition of a cape and gloves.

Finger was also the writer of the first Batman story, working in league with Kane. “The Case of the Criminal Syndicate” jumped out from the pages of Detective Comics #27, introducing Batman – or ‘The Batman’, as he was then described – as bored socialite Bruce Wayne.

So, what became of the ‘criminal syndicate’?

The story itself told of Commissioner Gordon’s discovery that a chemical industrialist called Lambert had just been murdered. Lambert’s son seems to be guilty of the crime, but will only confess to finding his father’s body. Wayne, however, is present at the crime scene and decides to investigate as Batman.

Batman looks through Lambert’s contacts, and comes across the names of his former business partners, Steven Crane, Paul Rogers and Alfred Stryker. However, Crane is then found dead in his home. When Rogers learns of the murder, he seeks out the last surviving business partner, Stryker, who admits responsibility for the crimes and kidnaps Rogers in his pursuit of complete control over their business interests.

It’s therefore left to Batman to swoop down inside Stryker’s chemical factory and rescue Rogers. Although Stryker attempts to attack Batman, the superhero beats back and topples the criminal into a vat of acid, commenting with grim satisfaction: “A fitting end for his kind.”

A truly timeless superhero

Today, of course, Batman isn’t a mere comic book character, but instead an all-encompassing media juggernaut. The comics that followed Detective Comics #27 introduced us to such characters as The Joker, Catwoman and Alfred Pennyworth and the other franchise fixtures, Gotham City and the Batmobile. Robin, meanwhile, made his first appearance in Detective Comics #38 in 1940.

The 21st-century Batman continues to be a defining feature of childhood, in addition to taking back many a comic-geek adult to their younger days. However, none of the legendary Batman stories we’ve seen since would have been possible if it weren’t for “The Case of the Criminal Syndicate” and Detective Comics #27.

Film Review: Tomb Raider

By on 6th April 2018in Entertainment, Film & TV
Tomb Raider

Rating: ***

The new Tomb Raider film – starring, of course, young archaeologist Lara Croft – could have seemed (ahem) entombed to failure. This game-to-cinema franchise hasn’t been dug up (see what we did there?) for a while, and understandably so, considering how the only two other instalments shaped up. The Angelina Jolie films of the Noughties were basically all hype and no trousers, skimpy or otherwise. It wasn’t long before HMV bargain bins across the country hoovered up DVD copies of both films like quicksand that their lead character would usually be eager to jump straight across.

With the 21st century having seen Christopher Nolan and Daniel Craig help to modernise respectively the previously campy Batman and Bond franchises with more grit, the time did seem ripe for Tomb Raider to get the same treatment. This film’s Lara isn’t the same as the one that adorned bottles of Lucozade in the 1990s; it’s the more intellectually stimulating Croft of the critically acclaimed 2013 reboot of the game series. Presumably in line with this more down-to-earth approach, the filmmakers have jettisoned Brad Pitt’s ex in favour of young Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander.

As you would expect from an Oscar winner, the Swedish actress certainly shows her acting chops in portraying an in-depth personality for Lara. In a Batman Begins-style origin story, Lara is scrimping and saving in London while struggling to believe the news that her archaeologist father Lord Richard Croft, played in flashbacks with charming paternal affection by The Wire’s Dominic West, has supposedly died during an adventure abroad. Lara’s disbelief leads her to head off to try to find him.

There’s no doubt that Vikander has physically thrown herself into the role. Some of the more intense action set-pieces, including Lara’s near-death escapes from first a rollicking boat and then a discarded and disintegrating plane, feel like Terminator action scenes seamlessly transplanted into a jungle realm. Norwegian director Roar Uthaug also throws in some light relief courtesy of Nick Frost as a wisecracking pawn shop owner. Walton Goggins’ villain – Mathias Vogel, an archaeologist rival of Lara’s father – is one of the less effective characters, being something of a charisma vacuum.

Nonetheless, it’s refreshing to see so many elements that firmly ground the story in reality. You shouldn’t expect the excessive silliness that plagued the National Treasure films – and, unlike them, this Tomb Raider outing gets a more immediately likeable lead than a wooden Nicolas Cage. This particular film probably still isn’t original enough to warrant the sequel it blatantly teases; however, given that the archaeologist adventure genre can feel old like the relics for which Lara hunts, it remains perhaps as solid a cinematic Tomb Raider reboot as we are likely to get right now.

 

Durham Hymns Premieres At Cathedral As Part Of BRASS

By on 12th May 2016in Entertainment

A band of brothers – and sisters – will use music and song to commemorate Durham soldiers and their families, as part of BRASS Festival 2016…

Durham Cathedral will provide the spectacular backdrop for the premiere of the Durham Hymns on July 16.

And with just two months to go a community choir and 60-piece brass band are busy preparing to perform the specially written suite, which features new lyrics from poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Cllr Neil Foster, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, arts and culture, said: “Durham has a fantastic military, choral and brass band heritage and the Durham Hymns will bring all of that together in a way that will really connect with people on an emotional level.

“Drawing on Durham County Record Office’s personal letters, memoirs, diary entries and news reports of soldiers and their families during the First World War, this new suite of music will in a new and inspiring way capture what life was like for those who in many cases made the ultimate sacrifice for king and country, and the people they left behind.

“Through both its premiere at Durham Cathedral as part of the BRASS Festival, and its tour of the wider county in the months to come I hope that this will not only bring people to our magnificent World Heritage Site but offer a new way of telling the DLI story, and give it the far greater audience it rightly deserves.”

Durham Hymns is a First World War commemorative project delivered by The Northern Regional Brass Band Trust in partnership with Durham County Council. Additional funding has been provided by Arts Council England, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and the PRS Foundation.

The music for the Durham Hymns has been written by composers Orlando Gough and Jessica Curry, with a prelude piece – based on DLI soldier George Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow – by Jonathan Bates.

It will be performed by a 60-piece band that brings together some of the county’s top brass musicians, under the direction of conductor Alan Fernie, and a community choir and semi-professional ensemble Voices of Hope, directed by Simon Fidler.

One of the hymns, entitled Oranges, is based on a letter by Major John English to his wife. A piece called Soldier’s Hymn is based on the memoir of DLI Sergeant George Thompson, whose diaries tell of his relationship with his own “War Horse”in the trenches. Meanwhile the hymn Lovely Manhood draws on the memories of Adeline Hodges, of Seaham, written towards the end of her life in 1979.

Producer Alison Lister, of the Northern Regional Brass Band Trust, said: “We were delighted that poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy agreed to write us new lyrics for our suite of hymns commemorating the people of County Durham and their war effort.

“The Hymns are not just about life on the battlefront but the people left behind, the complex lives they led, the sacrifices made and the moral decisions they faced.

“The music has been written by two outstanding contemporary composers and I hope that the Hymns will have a long life and be embraced by the people of the county, not just as it is now, but stretching right across its old ceremonial boundaries, to South Tyneside, Gateshead, Wearside and Hartlepool.”

Tickets for the Durham Hymns premiere at Durham Cathedral cost £20 in the nave (£15 concessions), or £18 by the font (£13 concessions).

To book visit www.galadurham.co.uk, call the Gala box office on 03000 266 600 or visit the theatre, on Millennium Place, in person.

Following their premiere as part of the BRASS festival the hymns will go on to tour venues across the historic boundaries of County Durham from November through until April 2017.

For more information about BRASS Festival 2016, which runs from 14 to 17 July, visit www.brassfestival.co.uk.

Park Up And Picnic At Katherine Jenkins Concert This Friday

By on 3rd May 2016in Entertainment

Classical music fans are being given the chance to park up and picnic at a special concert taking place next week…

Singing superstar Katherine Jenkins will be performing live in Herrington Country Park, Sunderland on Friday (May 6).

As part of the event, organised by Northern Sessions, fans can now enjoy a luxury, organic picnic platter made up of ethically-produced ingredients from nearby RIVERFORD Farms.

The British-themed platter, which comes complete with biodegradable plates, cutlery and cups, will be available to take away from the Big Green Café Bus, a customised double decker with a fully fitted commercial kitchen.

Each serving will include a mix of carrot and celery sticks, baby tomatoes on the vine, bruschetta biscuits, marinated olives, homemade hummus, baby back ribs in BBQ sauce, salt and pepper honey glazed chicken wings, prawns with a picante dip and strawberries.

Two homemade soups will be available at an additional rate, with a choice of carrot and coriander or broccoli and stilton, both served with French stick slices.

To help cater for those travelling to the concert from around the North East and wider UK, Northern Sessions, part of events company Sunderland Live, have also arranged on-site car parking.

This is priced at £5 per car but must be booked in advance at www.thenorthernsessions.co.uk

“This is a huge event for the North East and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for people from around the region and further afield who are planning to attend,” said Alison McDonough, Chief Executive of Sunderland Live.

“The addition of on-site parking and those amazing, organic picnic platters, will hopefully allow everyone to make the most of their evening watching Katherine, as well as helping to protect the stunning setting of Herrington Country Park.”

A limited number of tickets for Katherine Jenkins, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra and acclaimed violinists Vladimir and Anton, are still available priced at £33 each.

Doors will open at 5.30pm, with live music beginning at 7pm.

Picnic platters, priced at £15 each and soup, priced at £3.50 each, will served throughout the evening at the Big Green Café Bus.

For more information visit www.thenorthernsessions.co.uk, follow @thenorthernsess on Twitter or search The Northern Sessions on Facebook.

Killer Queen Set To Bring A Kind Of Magic To Chester-Le-Street Fake Festival

By on 26th April 2016in Entertainment

With summer just around the corner it’s time to think about this year’s big days out – so we’re delighted to be back at Riverside Park for an amazing fourth year on Sat 6th August – when 3 world-class tributes to Queen, Arctic Monkeys & Stereophonics, will be headlining a Fake Festival that has something for everyone.

In a year that sees the real Queen & Adam Lambert touring major European cities – we bring you the next best thing – the amazing Flash – a tribute every bit as good as the original Freddie in sound, performance & attitude!

We’ll also be bringing you 5 of the very best local bands to support our headliners – already confirmed are the brilliant Riverain, Edenthorn, The Firelight Opera & Sean Hainey – who will be performing a fabulous mix of original music and covers for your enjoyment!

We’re also very excited about our new look festival food options – which include the Fat Hippo Burger Bar, delicious wood fired pizzas, speciality barbecued pulled pork and amazing local fish & chips! We guarantee they will whet your appetite and have your taste buds dancing too.

Families are welcome too and there’s plenty for kids to do – with a professional face painting team and a secure outside entertainment zone. Doors for the all-day event open at 12:30pm – and those who come down before 2pm to support the local bands will be rewarded with a free drink of your choice from the fully licensed bar.

Local event organiser Bec Evans says, “We’re amazed at the popularity of these one day music festivals – but the quality of the tribute bands, the atmosphere generated inside our giant marquee and sheer value for money have made it the local event not to be missed!”

So if you’re up for a great day out this summer – get in quick and take advantage of the Early Bird discounts which are available until midnight on Wed 6th July. Tickets are available now from www.fakefestivals.co.uk – or our outlets: Costcutter (Garden Farm Estate) & M J O’Brien’s Newsagents (Chester le Street High Street).

Tickets bought up to and including 6th July: Adults (18+) £17 – Young Person (10-17) £9 – Family (2 x Adult + 2 x Young Person) £43. Tickets bought from 7th July: Adult £20 – Young Person £11 – Family £51. Under 10s are always free with a paying adult.

Classical Music Fans Have Another Reason To ‘Celebrate’

By on 22nd April 2016in Entertainment

Classical music star Katherine Jenkins releases her new album today (April 22) – and fans now have their own reason to celebrate…

To mark the launch of Katherine’s latest CD, Celebration, the organisers of her forthcoming concert at Herrington Country Park, Sunderland, have created a special hospitality package for the event.

This includes complimentary on-site car parking, red carpet entry to a designated structure with captivating exteriors on lavish grounds, a welcome drink on arrival, a luxury picnic hamper and access to an outdoor seating area and separate toilets throughout the outdoor performance on Friday May 6.

Katherine’s concert, which also features appearances by the National Symphony Orchestra and acclaimed violinists Vladimir and Anton, is the first to be organised by Northern Sessions, a new business area for Sunderland Live.

Alison McDonough, Chief Executive of Sunderland Live, said: “Katherine Jenkins is one of the most popular stars in classical music and I’m sure her new album will only serve to strengthen this success even further.

“We hope that fans of all ages will join us on May 6 to celebrate Katherine and her music and are confident that the new hospitality package will allow them to do so in even greater style.”

The hospitality package for Katherine Jenkins at Herrington Country Park is priced at £100 per person and available in limited numbers.  Standard tickets are also available priced at £33 each.  Both can be purchased at www.thenorthernsessions.co.uk.

For more information follow @thenorthernsess on Twitter or search The Northern Sessions on Facebook.

ADVERTISERS