The legacy of much-loved North East author Catherine Cookson will be celebrated at a new festival in Newcastle next year, with performances, screenings, talks and workshops set to take place at one of the city's most famous buildings.
Festival programme unveiled
The festival, presented with the permission of the Catherine Cookson Estate, will run from April 29 to May 14 at the Assembly Rooms in Newcastle city centre. Its programme was unveiled on Thursday.
Three headline theatre productions will be staged: The Fifteen Streets, Tilly Trotter and Nancy Nuttall and the Mongrel. Tickets go on sale on Friday, October 16.
Screenings and community events
Several of the Cookson dramas that delighted viewers in the 1980s and 1990s will be screened as part of the festival, with further programming to be announced in due course.
Jamie Brown, Festival Director, said: "Catherine Cookson has been called the First Lady of North East writers, and with good reason. Nobody captured the grit, warmth and resilience of this region quite like she did. I've been lucky enough to perform in her work on stage, and I know how deeply audiences here still feel about these stories. This festival is our chance to honour that, and to make sure a new generation discovers her."
Historic venue
Craig Wilde, Group CEO of The Assembly Rooms, said: "Catherine Cookson's books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, yet it has been a long time since her stories had a proper home in the North East. The Assembly Rooms has been at the heart of Newcastle's cultural life since 1776, and there could be no better place to celebrate her. We're grateful to the Catherine Cookson Estate for their support, and we want this to be a festival for those who have loved her books for decades and for readers meeting her for the very first time."
Louise Dearden, Festival Producer, added: "Cookson wrote about ordinary people, and this festival belongs to them. Alongside the productions, our workshop and outreach programme will invite schools, families and community groups to explore her world through writing, craft and heritage."
Cookson, from South Tyneside, died in 1998 at the age of 91. Her stories, including The Gambling Man, The Cinder Path and The Fifteen Streets, have been read worldwide and adapted for television series watched by millions.
