Tyneside prepares for weekend of late-night culture

Tyneside’s annual free after hours culture crawl returns for its 14th edition this weekend, after two years of cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The event sees over 40 arts, culture and heritage venues opening their doors later than usual and programming short taster activities, with visitors encouraged to sample as much of the diverse line-up as possible. 

Bill Griffiths, Chair of the Late Shows Steering Group and Head of Programmes & Collections at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, said, “the Late Shows is the chance to see the best of Tyneside’s daytime cultural scene, but at night! We’re really happy to have so many venues taking part after a tough couple of years for the cultural sector.”

The Late Shows also offers visitors the chance to see historic buildings in a new light as well as other one-off spectacles. 

  The Late Shows is co-ordinated by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and for 2022 it is sponsored by The Biscuit Factory, the UK’s biggest independent art, craft and design gallery in Newcastle’s cultural quarter. 

From the studio to the stage, guests are welcomed to join The Biscuit Factory for an evening of cultural happenings.

Areas within the Biscuit Factory will be transformed into an art studio, where artist, Megan Randall will be teaching visitors to mould and shape ceramic forms. These ceramic forms, in their hundreds, will come together as one installation to mark The Biscuit Factory’s 20th anniversary year.

The event also includes a Silent Book disco with a thematically curated playlist from Forum Books, and tours of the gallery to uncover flash-mob Shakespeare with actors bursting into short performances within the crowd, courtesy of People’s Theatre. 

The event will take place on Friday 13 May in the Ouseburn only and on Saturday 14 May it will be in venues across central Newcastle, the quayside and Gateshead.