• Share on Facebook
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share by email
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share by email

Jeremy Herrin explains why Live Theatre makes an ideal case study for any discussion on regional theatre.

Live Theatre is a 175-seat venue on Newcastle upon Tyne?s Quayside, specialising in new writing. Its work is firmly rooted in the North East, with most of the plays produced being written by writers based in the region, set in the North East and performed by native Geordie actors.

The theatre company was set up in 1972 with the express purpose of taking socially relevant and often political work to non-traditional audiences: a lot of the actors we work with today experienced that work in school halls, and others enjoyed the early works of writers such as Tom Hadaway and C.P. Taylor in the back rooms of pubs and working men?s clubs. These early circumstances have fostered a tradition for authenticity, relevance and the timeless virtue of good storytelling.

Changing environment

When Live moved to its present venue in 1983 the Quayside was a bit of a no-go area: waste ground, dodgy bars and breaker?s yards set the tone for an under-resourced venue which did a small number of quality productions every year and continued to tour.

Now, however, we are at the heart of what is fast becoming Newcastle?s cultural quarter; the Baltic art gallery stands proud on the other side of the Tyne, the new Sage music centre competes with the Tyne Bridge for attention, and a proliferation of bars and restaurants show that the quayside is no longer a no-go area, but a powerful weapon in the region?s regeneration programme.

In the middle of this we still sit, determined to hold on to the original principles of the company, whilst trying to respond to the time and the place we live in. Extensions and rebuilding are afoot, more money for development and production is available and the excellent Live Lines youth theatre grows across the city. Co-productions and film projects are mooted, visiting shows are received and Live life is definitely in a good phase.

Plus ça change?

Yet the trials of being a regional theatre are confronted every day. A lot of it is simply to do with geography: three and a half hours on the train from London is more punitive than one might think. The lack of any critical response on a national scale is surprising: the fact that a privately financed revival in a fringe venue in London is more likely to be reviewed than a potentially important new play in Newcastle is frustrating. We only get the Guardian to come regularly, but then it?s only printed in a few editions. The feeling of isolation from the rest of the national new writing community is sometimes pronounced. In a climate where co-productions are a necessity we have to work harder in terms of advocacy, which is time away from the reading pile or the rehearsal room.

This distance is not wholly negative. Live, I believe, turns it to its advantage by just getting on with the job, discovering new writers to join our roster of talent and continuing to produce plays of the highest quality. The decision whether to produce or not is never affected by a Metropolitan middle-class agenda, but crucially by our sense of history, our sense of the region?s future and our audience?s present.

In practice

Our past two shows illustrate this sense of regional identity integrating with the principles of the company. Alan Plater?s play Charlie?s Trousers is set in a fictional Art Gallery converted from the paint shop of a closed down shipyard on the banks of the Tyne. A security guard, a burglar and an artist spend the night debating the nature of art: who is it for and who owns it. It?s a gentle feel-good evening out, but at its core is a smart analysis of where the North East is in terms of this cultural regeneration. The next play is Dirty Nets by first-time writer Karen Laws. A tale of two brothers driven by debt to go ?on the rob?. It starts off as a broad comedy but ends in a horrific dark climax. It is bleak and uncompromising and reflective of the economic and social realities faced by many of the region?s inhabitants.

Both the plays are specifically set on the Tyne, but this doesn?t reduce their reach ? in being accurate and precise, the stories are made universal. 93% of Box Office capacity over the season suggests that we should continue to work on authenticity, relevance and good storytelling. And maybe the three and a half hour train ride will seem less and less of a trial for the powers that be.

Jeremy Herrin is Associate Director ? New Writing at Live Theatre. e: jeremy@live.org.uk; w: http://www.live.org.uk