Tickets are now on sale for a new, exciting season of shows at Durham’s Gala Theatre.
With the Brass Festival returning to Durham for its 11th year, the Gala is set to host a number of incredible events. There will be a performance from the ‘world’s best brass band’ the Cory Band while the BBC Big Band will be putting on a show to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Durham Brass Festival will also see the Gala hosting Brass on Broadway, in which the Scottish Swing Orchestra will join West End stars to perform swing takes on popular songs from shows like Hairspray and West End Story.
Durham Brass Festival runs from Friday 7th to Sunday 16th July and will feature a range of performances in venues throughout the city and beyond.
The Gala will be putting on plenty of live music. Wicked Star Rachael Tucker will play the theatre as part of her first solo UK tour on 29th May.
On Saturday 17th June, the Gala will host the Durham Blues Festival, which will feature performances from Debbie Bond, Dr Feelgood, Ryan McGarvey, and Kyla Brox.
Fans of musicals have the chance to join a masterclass led by the West End and Broadway star Kerry Ellis on Saturday 1st July.
Kerry – who has starred in productions such as Les Miserables, Cats and We Will Rock You – will also be putting on a question and answer session afterwards.
Opera will be coming to the Gala on Monday 15th May, when there will be a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, a show that makes fun of eccentric celebrities such as Oscar Wilde.
The following evening, the Gala will stage Puccini’s Tosca, which will be performed by the English Touring Opera.
The Gala Lunchtime Concert Series will see shows from jazz artists Mark Williams and Joel Byrne-McCullough on Friday 26th May and Jo Harrop on Friday, July 28th. Tickets cost £5.
From Thursday 25th May to Saturday 27th May, the Gala Theatre will be staging Mr Corvan’s Music Hall. This new musical play, by Tyneside playwright Ed Waugh, tells the story of the 19th century violinist, singer and comedian Ned Corvan.
From Saturday 29th July to Saturday 5th August, the up-and-coming stars of the Gala Theatre Stage School will be putting on Rent – School Edition, a play telling the exciting story of struggling artists living in New York’s East Village.
On Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th May, the Birmingham Royal Ballet will be performing a triple bill of Solitaire, 5 Tangos and Pineapple Poll.
The Gala’s new season will also feature screenings from the National Theatre. On Thursday 11th May, Jude Law will star in a new stage adaptation of the 1943 film Obsession. From Thursday May 18th to Tuesday 30th May, there will be screenings of the Oscar nominee Imelda Staunton performing in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Comedy will be coming to Durham in the form of BAFTA-winner Rory Bremner, who will be visiting the Gala Theatre – along with a few special guests – on Wednesday 12th July. In addition, The Comedy Store’s monthly shows are set to keep the laughs flowing with plenty of top comic talent.
Dr John Cooper Clarke will be performing his poetry – filled with his usual northern anecdotes and keen social observations – on Saturday 6th May. On Friday 12th May, the Gala will be staging Bang! Said the Gun, which has been voted the UK’s best poetry night.
In July, the world’s ‘greatest living explorer’ Ranulph Finnes will be visiting the Gala with his talk Mind over Matter.
The talk includes anecdotes about Mr Finnes’s childhood and about him participating in the Global Reach Project, which has seen Mr Finnes undertaking a number of dangerous record-breaking projects and suffering frostbite.
Durham County Council’s service manager for the Gala Theatre, Robin Byers, said, “This summer’s broad-ranging programme features everything from the elegance of the Birmingham Royal Ballet to the observational and lyrical humour of Dr John Cooper Clarke.”
To find out more information and to buy tickets, please go to www.galadurham.co.uk, telephone 03000 266 600 or visit the Gala Theatre box office in person.
