What's On This January Across the North East and Yorkshire
Get 2025 off to the best start with January's best events, exhibitions and shows
Let’s Celebrate
Celebrating 75 years of Alnwick Theatre Club, this original production is your last chance to see Jimmy Dodds as the pantomime dame as he hangs up his dress after 25 years. Love, adventure and a comedy of errors will tell the story of Pinocchio in this theatre show.
Pinocchio
14TH–18TH JANUARY
Alnwick Playhouse
alnwickplayhouse.co.uk
Taking Pride
The return of Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) is a must-see for anyone in need of a good laugh. Since audiences fell in love with this irreverent take on Jane Austen’s novel in the West End, it’s taken the UK by storm. Five women play servants who retell Pride and Prejudice through their eyes by each playing multiple characters in the story, including Darcy, Bingley and Mrs Bennet. Audiences can look forward to pop classics, instruments and crazy costume changes. You can read more about this show, and our review.
Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of)
14TH–18TH JANUARY
Lyceum, Sheffield
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Go, Go, Go Joseph
Starring Joe McElderry as the pharaoh, the smash-hit London Palladium production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is coming to Sunderland. Featuring much-loved songs including Any Dream Will Do and Close Every Door, don’t miss this musical theatre classic.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
14TH–19TH JANUARY
Sunderland Empire
atgtickets.com
Adventure Time
Panto season isn’t yet behind you. For years the BBC panto was the hottest panto ticket in town. Robinson Crusoe is not the BBC panto (oh no it’s not!), but it will bring many of the original panto stars on stage, so we know what to expect! Head to Hull City Hall for one last laugh in aid of BBC’s Children in Need.
Robinson Crusoe
18TH JANUARY
Hull City Hall
hulltheatres.co.uk
All That Glitters
If you missed out on Les Mis and Sam Fender tickets, we feel your pain – but there are still some great shows at Utilita Arena to enjoy including a treat for Strictly fans. The live tour for 2025 will see Motsi Mabuse joining Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, and Craig Revel Horwood for the first time, and it will be hosted by Janette Manrara. Until then, keep dancing!
Strictly Come Dancing
The Live Tour 2025
22ND & 23RD JANUARY
Utilita Arena, Newcastle
utilitaarena.co.uk
Let Them Entertain You
Kevin Keegan became Newcastle United’s manager in 1992. Dubbed ‘the Entertainers’ by Sky Sports, the Magpies were known for their attacking style. This special evening will see Peter Beardsley, Lee Clark, Rob Lee, Ruel Fox, Liam O’Brien, Steve Howey, John Beresford, Paul Bracewell, Kevin Scott, Brian Kilcline, Steve Watson, Darren Peacock and Keith Gillespie come together to celebrate the Entertainers.
Newcastle Legends Presents An Evening with The Entertainers
24TH JANUARY
Tyne Theatre & Opera House, Newcastle
tynetheatreandoperahouse.uk
Thinking Outside The Box
Matt Reed’s Junkbox involves a literal box full of junk. He has to pull one item out at a time and use it to make the audience laugh. It’s your job to fill the box! Bring something along, sit back and see Matt’s unpredictable improvised comedic take on it.
Matt Reed’s Junkbox
24TH JANUARY
Arc Stockton Arts Centre
arconline.co.uk
(Not) Die Hard
An unauthorised parody of the film we refuse to agree is festive is coming to Leeds Playhouse. Yippee Ki Yay has parodied Die Hard at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and on UK and USA tours while also telling the personal story of a life-long Die Hard fan.
Yippee Ki Yay
24TH & 25TH JANUARY
Leeds Playhouse
leedsplayhouse.org.uk
In Colour
Twelve Elmers brought colour and cheer to Doncaster to mark World Kindness Day on 13th November and you can spot them until the end of January. This art trail features sculpture artwork inspired by well-known artists, and six new festive designs. The Frida Kahlo inspired elephant is our favourite.
Elmer’s Christmas Art Parade
UNTIL 27TH JANUARY
Doncaster
wildinart.co.uk
Tragedy
As seen hosting Live At The Apollo and with regular appearances on QI and Mock The Week, Ed Byrne’s stand-up is always a winner. In this show, he’s testing the formula tragedy plus time by sharing his most tragic event.
Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time
28TH JANUARY
Cast Doncaster
castindoncaster.com
Be In The Room Where It Happens
We could write pages and pages of reasons why you won’t want to miss this hit show when it finally comes to Bradford. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s triumphant musical blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway cleverly to share the story of America’s founding father Alexander Hamilton. Eleven Tony Awards and seven Olivier Awards tell you why you need to book tickets fast for this seven-week run.
Hamilton
28TH JANUARY–15TH MARCH
The Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
bradford-theatres.co.uk
Having a Laugh
Fresh from seeing a very different side to Jason Manford in the latest series of Waterloo Road, he’s back on the road with a new live show and this is your chance to see this acclaimed comedian do what he does best.
Jason Manford:
A Manford All Seasons
30TH JANUARY
Darlington Hippodrome
darlingtonhippodrome.co.uk
Keep Dancing
The live tour of Strictly for 2025 will see Motsi Mabuse joining Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, and Craig Revel Horwood for the first time, and it will be hosted by Janette Manrara. Strictly fans won’t want to miss it.
Strictly Come Dancing
30TH & 31ST JANUARY
First Direct Arena, Leeds
firstdirectarena.com
What a Life
Jenny Éclair joins many other comedians coming to Leeds this month, including Ed Byrne, Sophie Duker and Andy Zaltzman. In celebration of the release of her memoir, this new autobiographical show is not to be missed.
Jenny Éclair: Jokes Jokes Jokes Live!
31ST JANUARY
City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
leedsheritagetheatres.com
For Everyone
This temporary and accessible exhibition highlights underrepresented and authentic stories about disability alongside 20th century railway artwork. Part of the national Curating for Change programme, Go as you Please features a specially-commissioned original artwork called Shifting Landscapes by neurodivergent artist Hayley Wall.
Go As You Please
UNTIL FEBRUARY
National Railway Museum, York
railwaymuseum.org.uk
Loving Life
The Hepworth Wakefield, and Wakefield’s art collection, has always helped (and encouraged) visitors to understand and explore lived experiences. The new works on display within this exhibition address contemporary issues. Visitors can expect to see art by Jadé Fadojutimi, Jake Grewal and James Oughtibridge alongside sculptures by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore.
A Living Collection
UNTIL 23RD FEBRUARY
The Hepworth, Wakefield
hepworthwakefield.org
Sculpting Stories
Blacksmith Sam Sherborne works from his forge in a converted pub’s beer cellar in Sheffield. His steel sculptures are often autobiographical. This year, a collection of his sculptures will be on display in Barnsley for the first time.
Sam Sherborne: Softening the blow, stories told with fire and steel
UNTIL 29TH MARCH
Cooper Gallery, Barnsley
cooper-gallery.com
Love Our Land
This exhibition at the Laing Art Gallery explores more than 200 years of landscape painting in the North and Scotland – urban, rural, land, sea, and sky. With the earliest work dating from the 1560s, the exhibition charts how landscapes have been shaped by agriculture, industry and urbanisation, and explores how contemporary landscape paintings reflect traditional ideas and contemporary concepts.
Romance to Realities: The Northern Landscape and Shifting Identities
UNTIL APRIL
Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle
laingartgallery.org.uk
Mining Memory
During the Second World War, artist Ted Holloway was conscripted to work in the coal mines as a Bevin Boy (a scheme to increase the rate of coal production). This new exhibition at Bishop Auckland’s Mining Art Gallery brings together a selection of his paintings and drawings from throughout his life, showing how mining influenced his work.
Ted Holloway: A Bevin Boy Remembered
UNTIL 8TH JUNE
Mining Art Gallery, Bishop Auckland
aucklandproject.org
