About us
"The People's Theatre is one of the best in the region when it comes to putting on a good show" - NE Lifestyle Magazine
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The People's Theatre is the leading non-professional theatre company in the North of England and one of the largest and oldest established in the country.
Founded in 1911, we've been bringing great entertainment to the region for over one hundred years! Read more about our fascinating history HERE
We stage up to fourteen productions a year in our 500-seat Main Auditorium and in our new Studio Theatre.
As a genuine community theatre, we want to give people from all walks of life the experience of participating in all aspects of theatre.
Every show we do is produced entirely by our members - on stage, backstage and front of house. We take great pride in working to professional standards and many members have gone on work in the professional theatre.
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GET INVOLVED!
Would you like to appear on the stage, or use your skills backstage or front of house to be part of a group passionate about making great theatre and entertaining audiences?
Or maybe you're looking to give yourself a challenge and do something different for the first time?
We are always delighted to welcome new members to take part in all aspects of the theatre including:
- Directing
- Stage Management
- Light technician
- Sound technician
- Props
- Wardrobe
- Set design and building
- Acting
- Stewarding
- Box Office
- Volunteering in our Greenroom Bar
You can read more here.
If you don't have any experience in any of those aspects but want to learn, great! We offer ‘hands on’ training to anyone who would like to be involved in our many departments.
The People's Theatre are committed to having a more diverse membership. We want to better reflect the communities that live in the North East. For example, all plays are cast as gender neutral and we are keen to welcome more people from black and minority ethnic communities.
Provisional membership (which you can sign up for at New Member's Night and lasts one month) costs £10. Full membership costs £55 per year (£35 conc. for those aged 65+, students or unwaged). Full membership can be paid in full or in quarterly installments via Standing Order.
There is also an option of 'membership with tickets' which includes a ticket for each of our productions (excluding the Panto). This option costs £200 per year (£160 conc. for those aged 65+, students or unwaged).
Our upcoming NEW MEMBERS NIGHTS:
Wednesday 4 September
Wednesday 9 October
Wednesday 6 November
Meet at 7.30pm in the Greenroom, through the entrance in our car park.
It's free to come along, but you need to book a space at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-peoples-theatre
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People’s Theatre plays usually perform Monday/Tuesday to Saturday evenings starting at 7:30pm (six/five performances in total). Our Pantomime's have longer runs, with afternoon and evening performances on Saturdays and Sundays and 7pm performances Tuesday to Friday (eleven performances in total).
We rehearse for six weeks before the show (eight for panto), three evenings week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, plus Sunday rehearsals the two weekends running up to the show week.
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YOUNG PEOPLE'S THEATRE:
If you are aged 11-17, please click HERE for information on our Young People's Theatre and how to join!
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Policies and Procedures
We have policies and procedures to keep our members, audience and staff safe. You can read them on our Policies and Procedures page.