Tyne: Theatre Royal

Following its sell-out run at Live Theatre last summer, Tyne, the acclaimed play about the river, written by Michael Chaplin, directed by Max Roberts and with music arranged by Kathryn Tickell, returns to the region this spring. Performed both north and south of the river, Tyne is at The Customs House in South Shields from Wednesday 26 February to Saturday 1 March and Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8 March. Journeying in time and space along the banks of the river, Tyne maps the epic history, atmosphere and soul of the mighty river in story, music and images. The play dramatises extracts from Michaels book Tyne View, written as writer-in-residence for the Port of Tyne, woven together with stories from some of the greatest writers of the North East including Tom Hadaway, Julia Darling, Alan Plater and Sid Chaplin. Tyne also features live music inspired by the river compiled by the shows musical director, Kathryn Tickell, including from Stings most recent album, The Last Ship and songs written by Jimmy Nail and Alex Glasgow. Other traditional folk songs connected to the river adapted and arranged for the play by Kathryn are sung and performed with live musical accompaniment by the cast. The play was premiered last year as part of Live Theatres 40^th birthday celebrations and was formed a key part of the Festival of the North East.  The 2014 version of Tyne is a Live Theatre production in association with Newcastle Theatre Royal and presented in partnership with Port of Tyne. The play will be updated to include references to each of its new venues, both of which have strong links to the trading heritage of the river. The new edition of the play will also contain some of the anecdotes about the river left by members of the audience who watched the play at Live Theatre. The story follows siblings Mark and Kate who trace their fathers story and life along the rivers edge and their encounters with people and tales linked to the river. The play features stories of real people who live and work along the river that the plays writer Michael Chaplin met on his walk along the river Tyne in 2011 whilst researching his book Tyne View, which forms the basis of the play. These include Drag Milton (birth name Dragisa Milutinovic) a Serbian refugee who worked for 15 years as a miner at Clara Vale Pit, Phil Lynch the hydrographer for Port of Tyne, Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah and former Live Theatre board member and the ex-deputy vice chancellor of Newcastle University, Paul Younger.  Other characters who appear in the play are Josef Korzienowski, a sailor who set sail from the Tyne, and later wrote Heart of Darkness under the name Joseph Conrad, writer Daniel Defoe who wrote Robinson Crusoe in Gateshead and South Shields sailor Albert Edward Edwards who was drowned in an Arctic convoy during the Second World War. The show includes original cast members Phil Corbitt, Paul Dodds, Jane Holman, Zoe Lambert and Assad Zaman who are joined by Nicholas Lumley (The Pitmen Painters and Close the Coalhouse Door) and Zita Frith, (A Northern Odyssey).