Theatre
Richard O’Brien’s legendary rock ‘n’ roll musical The Rocky Horror Show will return to Sunderland Empire in January 2026, following its previous run at the venue in January 2024. West End star Stephen Webb will once again take on the iconic role of Frank-N-Furter, having performed it both on tour and in the West End. […]
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe visits Sunderland Empire this week, running from 11 to 15 November to mark the 75th anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s beloved novel. The story follows four siblings — Peter (Jesse Dunbar), Susan (Joanna Adaran), Edmund (Bunmi Osadolor), and Lucy Pevensie (Kudzai Mangombe) — who are evacuated from London to […]
C.S. Lewis’s classic novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe celebrates the 75th anniversary of its publication this year. To mark the occasion, British theatre director Michael Fentiman is taking his acclaimed stage adaptation on a UK tour, with a stop at the Empire Theatre from 11–15 November. Originally published in October 1950, […]
Sunderland’s own fundraisers, Stockton Road Hit Squad, are back again with a spooktacular Halloween gig. Prominent Sunderland musicians and bands will be performing at the Independent on October 31. The gig is organised by the Stockton Road Hit Squad, a charity campaign group that supports The Bunker CIC. They have run multiple successful fundraising efforts, […]
This Christmas, Sleeping Beauty will bring its magic to the Sunderland Empire stage, where a beautiful Princess is cursed by the evil Carabosse on the eve of her 18th birthday party and can only be awoken by true love’s kiss. Can the Good Fairy’s magical spell break the curse? Will she find her true love and […]
Amber Davies has gone viral as she joins Strictly Come Dancing in the lead up to her major role in Legally Blonde at Sunderland Empire. Strictly Come Dancing announced today that Amber Davies will replace Dani Dyer on the show following her severe ankle injury sustained during rehearsal. Davies will be joining the show to […]
ALMOST exactly 25 years ago, the movie Billy Elliot hit the big screen, shining a spotlight on the North East’s perceived ‘lack of culture’. So what’s changed since then? Are we still a culture-free zone, or has the region raised its cultural game? Adam Robson reports. When Jamie Bell first danced his way across […]
Sunderland Empire has a visitor who is practically perfect in every way this month. The Disney classic so many of us grew up with, Mary Poppins, is on stage until 25 October. Australian actors Stephanie Jones and Jack Chambers reprise their roles as Mary Poppins and Bert — and, sadly, he’s much better at the […]
The Royalty Theatre, established in 1925, is marking its 100th year. Run by volunteers in Sunderland, it’s just staged Noël Coward’s ‘Private Lives’, directed by Corinne Kilvington. She told Spark’s Jiarui Liang about the important role the Royalty and its hardworking volunteers continue to play in the city’s arts scene.
Cinema chain Omniplex is looking for a general manager in Sunderland after the council signed a lease with a new cinema operator. Despite Sunderland’s film industry advancements, including plans for a major film and TV studio, the city remains without a multiplex cinema. There has been no official news on the new owner of the […]
