We've found the best music, comedy and theatre events for this week, July 1-7 2019.
Small and cosy gigs, big national drama productions and up and coming comedians - there's always plenty going on. Here's what's on.
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#1: Darlington Comedy Festival, Old English Gentleman
On Monday July 1 is the turn of Rob Deering and Beat This at the Darlington Comedy Festival. Rob Deering combines stand-up comedy with music, using a guitar, a loop pedal and his voice to create impressive rock and pop soundscapes. The Scotsman said: "Highly impressive one-man soundscape powered mainly by energy and excellent guitar skills."
Doors are 7.30pm for an 8pm start.
Tickets cost £5 plus 50p booking fee. You can purchase tickets* from the official booking page.
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On Sunday July 7 there is a second instalment of the Darlington Comedy Festival, this time featuring Eddy Brimson and Jack Gleadow. Eddy Brimson's show is 'Life Coaching For Arseholes', while Jack Gleadow's (winner of the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2019 and Chortle Nominee for Best Newcomer 2019) is 'Mr Saturday Night'.
Tickets cost £5 plus 50p booking fee. You can purchase tickets* from the official booking page.
#2: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Newton Aycliffe
The regular Hilarity Bites Comedy Club heads to Newton Aycliffe on Wednesday July 3, featuring Rob Deering, George Zach, Tom Little, and host Tony Jameson. The Independent on Sunday says of Rob Deering: "An evening in his company is nothing less than a joy." Broadway Baby says that George Zach 'pulls it off well with a style that is thoughtful and unexpected', while Giggle Beats says that Tom Little performs 'a brilliant, loudly awkward set….His material is somehow simultaneously incredibly sharply written and bluntly delivered'. Of host Tony Jameson, the Yorkshire Evening Press says 'The latest Geordie with massive potential'.
It takes place at the Turbinia Newton Aycliffe and doors open at 7.30pm.
Tickets* cost £6 plus 60p booking fee from the official booking page.
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#3: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club, Darlington
On Saturday July 6 the Hilarity Bites Comedy Club moves on to Darlington, this time featuring Tom Wrigglesworth, Harry Garrison, and host Pete Otway. The Telegraph says that Tom Wrigglesworth has an "undeniable gift for comic storytelling... he has a lovely turn of phrase, an ear for allowable exaggeration... and a born entertainer's grasp of structure". The Scotsman says that Harry Garrison is a "standout crowd favourite", while Chortle says that Pete Otway is "devastatingly funny".
It takes place at the Forum Music Centre Darlington and doors are at 7.30pm.
Tickets* cost £10 plus £1 booking fee from the official booking page.
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#4: Macbeth, Crook Hall
Part of Theatre in the Gardens, Three Inch Fools perform Macbeth on Tuesday July 2 at 6pm for a 6.30pm start. Five actors take on 40 roles. Take your own seating, and the bar will be open. Crook Hall Macbeth tickets cost £16, £8 under 18s, £40 families (two adults two children) and under 10s free.
Tickets can be bought from the theatre in the garden booking page.
Call 0191 384 8028 for more information.
#5: Spooky Men's Chorale, Gala Theatre Durham
Durham's Gala Theatre hosts Australian male choir Spooky Men's Chorale on Tuesday July 2. Combining humour and music, they have five albums to their name. Doors are at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £22, £20 concessions, £19 Gala members from the Gala booking page.
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#6: Romeo and Juliet, Brancepeth Castle
The Shakespeare continues, this time at Brancepeth Castle on Wednesday July 3, at 7.30pm. It's an outdoor production by Heartbreak Productions. Take picnics or buy refreshments.
If booking direct, tickets cost £15.50 adults, £10.50 concessions and children, and £48 for families (two adults two children) from the booking page.
#7: Arabian Nights, Witham Arts Centre
The Witham Arts Centre in Barnard Castle has a family production of the Arabian Nights on Thursday July 4 at 7pm. Tales of magic, laughter and adventure are brought to life by the Junior Turrets, as they journey through a thousand and one nights to save Shahrazad's life.
Tickets cost £7 adults, £4 for 16 years and under from the booking page.
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#8: Small Island, Gala Theatre Durham
This is a screening of a theatre adaptation of Andrea Levy's Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island. Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury.
It's on Wednesday July 3 at 7pm.
Tickets cost £15, £13 concessions, £10 Gala members from the booking page.
#9: Joe Longthorne 50th Anniversary Tour, Consett Empire Theatre
TV and recording star Joe Longthorne returns in 2019 as part of his 50th Anniversary tour, with songs and impressions including Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.
Consett Empire Theatre's Joe Longthorne concert is on Saturday July 6 at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £22 or £20 concessions from the booking page.
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#10: Durham on Film, Gala Theatre
The North East Film Archive presents Durham on Film, as part of their North East on Film project, connecting the people and communities of the region with their film heritage through special screenings and events and online activities.
Durham on Film shows everything from mining and railway heritage to events in the city, using home movies, local documentaries and Tyne Tees Television productions. It's on Saturday July 6 at 2.30pm.
Tickets cost £10, £8 concessions from the booking page.
#11: Funny Way To Be Comedy, Witham Arts Centre
Funny Way To Be Comedy has the Edinburgh Previews of Spencer Jones and Sarah Keyworth. These two work in progress shows are from two rising stars of comedy, ahead of the Edinburgh Festival. They are 14 plus.
Funny Way To Be Comedy at the Barnard Castle Witham Arts Centre is on Saturday July 6 at 8pm.
Tickets cost £12 from the booking page.
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#12: Americana Night, Staindrop
The Scarth Memorial Hall in Staindrop hosts an evening of Americana with live music from CoJo and Kitchy Retro, and American themed food. The Staindrop Americana Night is on Saturday July 6 at 7.30 for 8pm.
Tickets cost £12 from the booking page.
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Feature image credit: Crook Hall