Tag: bishop auckland

Story Of Indian Stowaway Comes To Bishop Auckland

By on 19th February 2016in Entertainment

A stowaway is set to slip into Bishop Auckland Town Hall this month, as ‘the bright young things of British theatre’ bring their latest show to County Durham…

 

On Wednesday 24th February, as the venue continues to take part in Febfest, a three week programme of arts events across the town, the award-winning company Analogue bring their tale of an extraordinary journey in search of an impossible future to the south Durham stage.

Stowaway, which was inspired by real-life stories, tells of a man from India who, desperate to change his life, hides in the wheel arch of a commercial airliner bound for the UK – only to hours later be found frozen in the car park of a DIY superstore in a leafy outer London suburb.

With the skeleton of a plane cutting across the stage, the play flies back and forth through time and place to explore a journey that leaves the man far from home and adrift from everything he knows.

Next week also sees Jackass Youth Theatre take to the stage to perform a new play, What Are They Like, which examines the changing nature of the relationship between parents and their children, as adolescence takes its grip and adulthood beckons.

The play, by Lucinda Coxon, was especially written for young performers and, through the course of the show (on Monday 22nd February) the troop will take on existential angst, mood swings, fashion fiascos, terrifying physical changes and never having enough money… and that’s just the parents!

Tickets for Stowaway – which is suitable for theatregoers aged 14 and over – cost £10 or £8 for concessions. Tickets for What Are They Like – which is suitable for all ages – cost £6 and £4 for concessions.

To book for the shows, which both take place at 7.30pm, call Bishop Auckland Town Hall’s Box Office on 03000 269 524 or visit the venue in person.

Find out more about the plays by visiting www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk.

Alex Nelson’s Places To Go: Bishop Auckland

By on 10th February 2016in Have Your Say

Stationmaster Alex Nelson has been suggesting places to go by train every month for ten years. This month, he’s headed to Bishop Auckland…

Great things are afoot in Bishop Auckland!

Last year I spent an hour with Jonathan Ruffer, the visionary wealth manager and barrister who bought the 13 paintings of Jacob and his Twelve Sons in Auckland Castle from the Church Commissioners, and then bought the Castle to keep them in. The Castle and tearooms have been closed for winter maintenance during January, but are now back open. Throughout the year, they are open every day except Tuesdays, and the admission is £6 for adults, free for under 16s.

Auckland Castle offers guided tours at 11.30 and 14.30 every day (no extra charge), excluding Tuesdays, where you can see the splendid rooms and vistas, as well as the paintings by Francisco de Zurburan (1598-1664). There are other events throughout the year (details on the website), including the popular Bishop Auckland Food Festival, which this year is on 23rd/24th April. A walk in the park costs nothing, although you might get your shoes rather muddy, so take boots. The Deer Shelter is in the care of English Heritage, but there is no charge to walk round it.

Ten trains a day run to Bishop Auckland, which is a branch from the main line at Darlington. So to get there, head for Darlington first. A visit to Bishop Auckland can easily be combined with a free visit to Locomotion, the branch of the National Railway Museum. On arrival at Bishop Auckland, walk up Newgate Street, which is the straight shopping street heading north to the Market Place, and turn right for Auckland Castle where the Bishop of Durham still has an office (although he lives elsewhere in the town).

It takes about 15 minutes to walk to the Castle, which is the focal point of a one-man effort to regenerate a whole town. Even the mediocre old Postchaise and Queen’s Head hotels are being remodelled to create one single mid-market boutique hotel. Already there are 30,000 visitors a year now, compared to 800 when the Bishops were in residence.

Jonathan Ruffer said to me: “I don’t want it to be interesting. I want it to be astonishing.”

This summer, there’s something really astonishing: an epic production on the land to the north of the Castle called KYNREN, the epic story of England, covering 2,000 years on a 7.5 acre stage including a large lake, and 1,000 performers and crew. The scale is truly breathtaking. I saw progress on the site even during my hour with Mr. Ruffer. KYNREN will be performed on 14 occasions over the summer of 2016, starting from Saturday 2nd July until Saturday 17th September. It’s on various Fridays, Saturdays and one Sunday (28th August), and tickets are available now. This is a live action night show that starts as late as 21.30 and finishes 90 minutes later. If you think ‘2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony’, you’ll be thinking along the right lines.

In other news…

Keep the date: Sunday 13th March!

I’m organising a mass visit by train to Teesside Airport station, to ensure it is not the least used station on the National Rail network in 2015/16. The only train of the week leaves Darlington station at 11.05, and you can spend just over an hour at the airport before joining the only train back at 12.35. For one of the weirdest excursions of the year, suitable for children, led by an experienced team… full details soon!

Alex Nelson
Stationmaster

Bishop Auckland Town Hall Reveals Spring 2016 Lineup

By on 2nd January 2016in Entertainment

Swashbuckling pirates, the ugly duckling, and a month-long festival of arts and music are all set for a date with a County Durham theatre…

Bishop Auckland Town Hall’s spring season kicks off with its second pantomime of the year, before welcoming family favourites, side splitting comedy, theatre hooligans, and the popular febfest.

Robin Byers, Durham County Council’s service manager for place and experience, said: “It’s an exciting time for residents of Bishop Auckland and neighbouring communities, with large-scale events such as Bishop Auckland Food Festival and Kynren coming up in 2016.

“We’re therefore delighted to be able to present such a cultural programme of events at Bishop Auckland Town Hall, bringing theatre productions such as Stowaway, as well as diverse music and comedy shows.”

The season starts with the Bishop Auckland Theatre Society’s pantomime, Robinson Crusoe’s Pirate Adventure, which runs from Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th January.

There’s more for families on Wednesday 27th January too, as Northumberland Theatre Company presents the funny and heart-warming story of The Ugly Duckling, by Neil Duffield, which is packed with song and dance.

The New Year also brings new laughs courtesy of the Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, with headliner Eddy Brimson sure to have audiences in stitches on Friday 22nd January.

The monthly comedy club then returns on Friday 19th February with headliner Raymond Mearns, and again on Friday 18th March with former winner of the TimeOut Comedian Of The Year award, Richard Morton.

 

Bishop Auckland Theatre Hooligans will celebrate their 20th anniversary with a production of The Pitheaps.

The show, which follows the journey of twelve young people through a fateful summer, runs from Thursday 4th to Saturday 6th February.

The Town Hall is also joining forces with febfest, a three-week programme of arts events, to present a number of shows.

The festival begins with UK jazz ensemble Swing Manouche featuring Daniel John Martin on Wednesday 10th February, and continues with an evening of exquisite vocals from singer-songwriter Paul Armfield on Monday 15th February.

There’s more music on Saturday 20th February courtesy of The Baghdaddies who, fresh from a nineteen year world tour and fifteen appearances at Glastonbury, will take to the stage alongside performers from the North East.

Jackass Youth Theatre present their latest show What Are They Like – a play written as part of the National Theatre’s Connections 500 Project – on Monday 22nd February.

And BATH’s involvement in febfest concludes on Wednesday 24th February with Stowaway, Hannah Barker and Lewis Hetherington’s story of a frozen body that falls out of a plane and crash-lands in a B&Q car park.

The spring season ends with music from Mersey beat band The Fabs on Friday 11th March and Lindisfarne frontman Marty Craggs’ The Happy Cats on Saturday March 12th.

To book tickets for any of these upcoming events, please contact the Town Hall box office on 03000 269 524 or visit the venue in person. For more information and to see the full season of events, visit www.bishopaucklandtownhall.org.uk.

Bishop Auckland Continues Local Improvements

By on 26th December 2015in In & Around

New signs have been installed to help the expected increase in visitors explore everything that Bishop Auckland has to offer…

 

With the ongoing improvements and additions to Auckland Castle, among many other exciting plans for the town, and the open-air, live action attraction Kynren due to open in 2016, Bishop Auckland is expecting large numbers of visitors from next year.

Funded and installed by Durham County Council, the signs will help people find their way around town, as well as pointing them in the direction of transport links and local attractions. The signs also include the estimated walking times to key locations to help people unfamiliar with Bishop Auckland.

The new network of signs includes five street maps, two notice boards – one advertising upcoming events, the other providing tourist information – and a finger post sign. These new contemporary signs have been designed to stand out from the other street furniture, and are consistently branded so people can spot them more easily than the ad hoc out of date signs they replaced.

Cllr Neil Foster, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for economic regeneration and culture, said: “The coming year promises a real step-change in the future of Bishop Auckland, and a massive boost for the town in both jobs and the local economy. By installing these new signs, we hope to help make sure that the local businesses and residents of Bishop Auckland are first in line to feel the benefit of the increased tourism we’re sure these changes will bring.”

The design of the signs was decided upon following input from the Auckland Castle Trust, Newgate Shopping Centre, Bishop Auckland Town Council, and local members.

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