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Articles by Anya Cook
It's a Wonderful Us
"A joy. The gentleness with which Scott re-arranged Darren's costume in a scene-change was heart-full, speaking of a tenderness true"
Heathers, the musical, at Darlington Hippodrome
"Is that the end?" my companion asked as the safety curtain came down on an overlong 75 minutes. No - there was a further 75 minutes of teen musical trauma post-interval. "I'm not sitting through any more of that, I need to get out of here''. The theatre was packed with teenage (mostly) girls who earlier had crushed the foyer, urging themselves forward towards the highly-priced merch.
Khai Khai restaurant, Newcastle
Post-theatre on a Friday night at Newcastle's Quayside, my companion needed halal and with recommendation from friends, we elected for Khai Khai without a booking and on the off-chance. Situated close beneath the Tyne Bridge in a beautiful grade 2 listed Victorian sandstone office building, originally constructed for the Tyne Steamship Company, this restaurant was steeped in character and cultural significance.
Feminist Cult Agenda - The Awakening
If French & Saunders did jokes about vaginas and incels ...
The Lightning Thief at Darlington Hippodrome
“It’s brilliant …it’s amazing” is what you want to hear from the teens and tweens leaving the theatre, “I loved it!” And with Danny Beard headlining in cameo as Mr D, there’s something for the rest of the family too. Based on the children’s book by Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical is a fantasy adventure set in modern day America, interwoven with stories and characters of Greek mythology. The Gods are real.
The Shawshank Redemption at Darlington Hippodrome
Newcastle actor, writer and stand-up comedian Dave Johns, well-known for playing the eponymous role in the film I, Daniel Blake and for writing its stage adaptation, co-adapted this production of Stephen King’s novella alongside Owen O’Neill for prominent theatre production company, Bill Kenwright Ltd. This project, says Johns, was 20 years in the taking from concept to action; a life sentence in fact, and is a job well done.
Packed out Majority Conference with Zarah Sultana and Jamie Driscoll
The Great Hall in Newcastle’s Discovery Museum is a stunning venue and fast becoming home to Majority Movement’s public events. Founded by former North of The Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll, Majority, aside from the trade unions and with pushing 750 members, is probably the best-networked and best-organised left-wing political organisation in the UK.
Ten spectacular years of Kynren
Kynren is celebrating its tenth anniversary season in 2025. Since its debut in 2016, this spectacular outdoor live show in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, brings to life 2,000 years of British history through an epic performance in a beautiful outdoor location, featuring a 1000-strong volunteer cast and crew. No ‘island of strangers’ here. Kynren is a huge community pulling together in unity.
It’s Tyne to assemble
“Over 240 people in a room in Newcastle for politics. When was the last that happened indoors in Newcastle?” asks Tony Pierre, rhetorically of course, for this event co-organiser and Jamie Driscoll’s networker-in-chief knows the answer. Hosted by Majority and supported by Assemble, a Newcastle Citizens Assembly held at the Discovery Museum today attracted people from across the North East to help develop a people’s manifesto for Newcastle, ahead of the all-out elections in the city next year.
Welfare not warfare: no to austerity 2.0
The People’s Assembly Against Austerity was founded in 2013 in response to the Coalition government’s austerity measures which were disproportionately harming disadvantaged groups including low-paid workers, people with disabilities and people from black, minority and ethnic communities.
Dracula at Darlington Hippodrome: review
A new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Nick Lane is currently on at Darlington Hippodrome. Blackeyed Theatre’s ensemble performance sees six people playing multiple parts, but with the swapping in and out of characters and too many narrators it wasn’t always clear who was speaking – and the African slave voice and reference to suffragettes leading up to a scene discussing traditional marriage didn’t connect.
The Rocky Horror Show at Darlington Hippodrome
Director Christopher Luscombe’s production of The Rocky Horror Show starring Jason Donovan as Frank N Furter has, until recently, been captivating audiences on a major UK city tour. The tour now continues, with Adam Strong in the lead, at provincial theatres including Darlington’s Hippodrome, this week. The live music is great, the singing is great. The audience were up for it from the very first beat, they had a great time. We had a great time.
Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens: adult panto in Newcastle
The North East adult pantomime Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens opened to a packed City Hall in Newcastle on Saturday night. Undeterred by the wind and ice, the queues lapped the surrounding streets, the audience in eager anticipation of this new adult-themed production, touring cities across the UK. RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Michael Marouli and Tomara Thomas headlined a celebrity tv cast including David Potts (Celebrity Big Brother winner).
Abigail’s Party at Northern Stage, ahead of national tour
“Anyone for olives?” No curtain opening, a showroom show home of 1970s white goods and marketed modernity, awaited its residents, the fluffy white carpets, like care bear clouds indicating no children lived here in this alternative reality. Beverley swoops in, peels back the plastic from the new, leather suite, a foretelling of the unpeeling of layers to come.
Sister Act at Darlington Hippodrome: “a little bit closer to heaven”
Sister Act at Darlington Hippodrome this week proved to be just as energetic and uplifting as it was promised to be. The show is based on the 1992 film starring Whoopi Goldberg about an aspiring 1970s nightclub singer Deloris Van Cartier, played here by Landi Oshinowo to much laughter and applause. Van Cartier takes refuge in a crumbling convent after witnessing a murder.
Annie at Whitley Bay Playhouse
“Don’t mind me jigging along,” said the grandad sitting next to me, fist pumping the air, bouncing in his seat as the overture ramped up in volume and excitement. Much to his granddaughter’s bemusement, he returned to sharing their family bag of Wotsits and pointing out people they knew as the curtains lifted and the stage filled.
The Mousetrap at Darlington Hippodrome: review
Darlington Hippodrome is a lovely theatre with many original features, modern upgrades and a friendly, helpful front-of-house team who played host in July to Agatha Christie’s iconic play. The Mousetrap, the longest running show in London’s West End, took its 70th Anniversary Tour on the road in September 2022 and has played to theatres listed on its original tour, to conclude in Windsor this August. Friends advised against going, warning the play would be boring.
Bed: a one man show, on its way to Camden Fringe
It takes guts to stage a one-man show and a whole lot of courage to hold that stage for an hour, alone. Ben Donaghy is the one man and his nerves grew to confidence as he relaxed into his show. Ben is in his bedroom, and everything happens here, as he combines storytelling and stand-up, travelling his inner world and experiences, lived and not. The bed is a metaphor used figuratively, a prop, covering and uncovering as Ben hides himself and his inner self under the covers.
Awful Auntie at Darlington Hippodrome
An early summer holiday treat, Birmingham Stage Company’s adaptation of David Walliams’ book, Awful Auntie, is entrancing children in Darlington this week. Twelve year old Stella awakes from a long sleep to discover she has survived a car crash in which both her parents died. Copiously bandaged and bedridden and nursed by her Aunt Alberta, who has her eye on the prize of her inheritance. Confined to the cellar, Stella meets Scot, a friendly ghost and together they hatch a plan.
The haunting of Blaine Manor at Darlington Hippodrome
With great reviews boasting the programme and publicity, expectations were high for Joe Byrne’s award winning The Haunting of Blaine Manor playing to Darlington Hippodrome this week. Taking inspiration from Hollywood noir, Hammer Horror, folklore, ghost stories and American writing, Byrne not only wrote but has directed and cameo-starred in every production of this play; an investment of love and pride which might deprive position from objective observation.
What The Butler Saw: Darlington Hippodrome
London Classic Theatre’s national tour of Joe Orton’s farcical satire, What The Butler Saw, is playing at the Darlington Hippodrome this week. The set is striking. Designed by Bek Palmer and taking influence from pop art and surrealism, its brightly painted Greco-Roman sconces and arches off-set and off-kilter the ludicrous action – beneath a giant fist. The classical influence nods to Equus , the Habitat dining chairs infer on-trend familiar and the Dali-esque staircase lead us into the chaos.
Underdog: The Other Other Bronte, at Northern Stage
Underdog: The Other Other Bronte is a new take on the success of the literary sisters, focusing on themes of sisterly rivalry with addict brother Bramwell a drain on resources no mention of the other, other, other Brontes who didn’t make it past early childhood and the trauma of their passing that Charlotte relives so tragically through Helen Burns in Jane Eyre.
Frognal & Fox: A Life In Song
Gosforth Civic Theatre is an open secret, a hidden, community gem that formed the perfect setting to last night’s cabaret performance. Enter Frognal & Fox, a pair of time-served actresses, acting up to middle age and leaning into their joint experience of bit parts, local theatre, soap opera walk-ons and ‘’dancing in their scanties’’ to pay their way between jobs. Combining their talents, they are here, on an ad hoc run, creating their own work for now.
Lifelong Learning and Learning for Life: advantaging access for women and marginalised groups
In May 2024 the Office for National Statistics published its report for spring 2024 into the numbers of NEETs – that is, young people not involved in education, employment or training. For January to March this year, the figures for 18-24 year olds was 12.5% and for 21-24 year olds that rises to 16%. That is, 16% of young adults are not engaged in education programmes, they’re not in work and they’re not training for work.
1924-2024 One hundred years since Labour first formed governments - where next for the working class?
The People’s Assembly is about ordinary people coming together en masse and was founded specifically to challenge the politics of austerity, cuts, and the reduction of the state. There are particular groups in our society affected hardest by austerity – namely young people, the unemployed, low-paid workers, the disabled and black, minority and ethnic groups as well as regional disparities in affluence, poverty and opportunity.
Pause, Play, Repeat
Fertile Ground’s 2024 showcase, Pause, Play, Repeat premiered on International Women’s Day at Newcastle’s Dance City. The performance comprised ‘How to Uncouple in an Ethical Way’, exploring millennial relationships and short-term human connections and ‘The Messiest Drawer’, universally resonating with that drawer we all have at home, with objects not parted, and the stories we hold connecting us to them.
Anya Cook in conversation with Independent Candidate for North East Mayor, Jamie Driscoll
Anya Cook in conversation with Independent Candidate for North East Mayor, Jamie Driscoll North of Tyne Mayor, Tuesday 6 February 2024 In February 2019 Cllr Jamie Driscoll beat Cllr Nick Forbes, then leader of Newcastle City Council to be selected as the Labour candidate for the new devolved North of Tyne Combined Authority, an election which he won in May 2019 with over 76,000 votes and a 16,000-vote lead following an inspirational, people-powered campaign.
A Song for Ella Grey: review
A Song For Ella Grey is a retelling of the Orpheus myth, set in modern-day Tyneside and written for young people but just as relevant to adults; it’s a powerful story about the power of story, teenage friendships, human connection and choice. Based on the book by Tyneside author David Almond, this adaptation for the stage was written by Newcastle University lecturer and playwright, Dr Zoe Cooper. At times this play feels like we are eavesdropping on this group of teenage friends.
Imagine and enjoy with Wintry Tales at Live Theatre
Follow the voices of your imagination … is probably the best advice you can give to children; to think, to create, to wonder, to feel. And what a creation – Wintry Tales: Snow Covered Maps and Mountainous Mayhem – as local performers Maya Torres and Hannah Walker take us on a wondrous journey through imagination and friendship meeting penguins, witches and pirates along the way.
A Christmas Carol at the People's Theatre: review
November felt rather early for a seasonal redemption story and Christmas merrymaking and yet the timing couldn’t have been more apt as we awaited the Chancellor’s mid-winter financial statement. The miserly protagonist Scrooge responds to requests for support for poor children ‘’are there no prisons, shelters or workhouses?’’ whilst the nation’s foodbanks prepare for a cold and bitter winter, the moral of this story is a bitter pill not swallowed.
Metamorphosis at Northern Stage: review
An increasing volume of pulsing, slightly discordant music filled the auditorium as the audience took their seats whilst the curtains were open to the set designed by John Bowser. Having visited the Franz Kafka museum in Prague, I was prepared to be slightly unsettled. The stark bedroom, raised on castors, moved in slight rotation with angled walls, no right angles, felt slightly off-beam, slightly disturbing. Old European adverts and images flashed up on the walls, a time-travelling techgnosis.
Mycelial at Northern Stage: review
Just like mushrooms, women’s voices, sex workers’ voices, we are told are going to break through into the light. This play is not about sex and nor is it really about sex work, but the social conditions and political times in which some people find themselves in, told through the voices of sex workers themselves. Intent on ‘’changing the world one play at a time’’, Mycelial is the latest production from the renowned feminist and multi-award winning North East theatre company, Open Clasp.
Beyond caring: theatre review
“It’s funny how a bit of chocolate and kindness make the tears pour out of you”. Sitting in the audience of Christina Castling’s play ‘Beyond Caring’ had my companion rooting around for tissues until a woman in the row in front handed her a packet; once the tears came they poured indeed. This tender telling of tales from the perspective of residents, care workers and relatives struck a chord and pulled on it.
Class metamorphosis in Starmer’s Labour
My Labour Party membership days have been numbered since appealing last summer’s investigation into sharing a 2021 Facebook event about the Grunwick Strikes, hosted by an organisation not proscribed until 18 months later. Momentum’s solicitor contacted me for appeal details because I was then one of two people who had appealed successfully out of the hundreds of members expelled.
The Right2Learn Campaign
The Right2Learn campaign asserts that access to education should be a right throughout life and that lifelong learning sits at the heart of a fair society. This summer they organised two linked events ahead of Labour Party’s annual conference with the intention of taking issues to its national policy forum to shape ideas and future policy.
review of Penguin at Live Theatre
“Beautiful man,” gushed my companion. “I am completely amazed by the capacity of some human beings to just keep going, no matter what”. Hamzeh Al Hussein is strikingly handsome. His eyes and his beautiful smile captivate and they held the audience in his one-man performance as they journeyed with him from Newcastle’s infamous Quayside back to the Syrian mountainside village of childhood via the Jordanian refugee camp and some time in Paris, cadging lifts from ambulances on the Champs Elysee.
Choosing a Mayor to champion our cherished green spaces
The race for North East Mayor is on at a time when public trust in politicians is low. Therefore people across the region will need to decide if they trust a candidate standing on a platform of eradicating child poverty, who says they are from the North East, they love the North East and yet they have a history of giving its treasures away.
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin at the People's Theatre
The azure backdrop and golden-foiled light instantly transported us to the Ionian Sea and Mediterranean warmth of Kefalonia. Having read Captain Corelli’s Mandolin twice (before seeing the film) I had high expectations of this production performed by The People’s Theatre in Newcastle.
Reinstate Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA)
Restoration of the EMA is a key policy in the SEA manifesto and is also demanded in the SEA‘s proposed motion to Labour Conference. Anya explains why. EMA EMA was a payment to students that was introduced under Labour in 1999 to improve participation in education post-16 both in FE colleges and sixth forms. Students had to attend lessons and complete work to receive the payments. It was terminated by former Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove.
A response to I, Daniel Blake
“Oh my God, oh my God” mouthed Jodie Wild who plays Daisy, Katie’s daughter, as the cast bowed to the standing ovation from the audience of invited guests comprising amongst others, community activists, local politicians, food bank volunteers, Ken Loach, Dave Johns, and the press. The world stage premiere has been running this week at Newcastle’s Northern Stage, an adaptation written by Dave Johns, the local writer, and comedian who played Daniel Blake on screen.
Suffrage Sisters: compassion connecting college and community
Fifty years ago, in Education For A Change, writers Colin and Mog Ball asked “What is community?” A simplistic understanding of community is an organisation such as a school or hospital, a district maybe or a religious community, defining on a singular commonality, be it location or activity. The Balls say that a vibrant community is one of a multiplicity of interactions on different levels between different groups, connected through a common location or institution.
Northern Kin: 2, 4, 6, 8 Mud Super Highway
A quality weekend music festival within easy reach from various points of the North East seemed too good to miss. Everything looked perfect – proximity combined with an excellent line-up on three stages over a three-day period was enticing. The re-location of Northern Kin to the stunning setting of Ushaw House (a former Catholic seminary) perched on a hill on the outskirts of Durham City a few years ago had catapulted the festival to new heights, both geographically and metaphorically.
The Right to Life
The Right to Life Episode Summary How tough abortion limits are leaving Black lives in the balance, and could exacerbate known disparities in prenatal outcomes. Episode Notes Black women are three times more likely to suffer from pregnancy and childbirth complications than white women. And when faced with a health scare, terminating a pregnancy has been a way for doctors to save the life of the mother.
NEU educational visit to Palestine in February 2023
On a recent National Education Union delegation to Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, education professionals from England and Canada visited six schools, met with national and regional GUPT officials, teachers, student activists and a number of human rights organisations.
New tyres for Care4Calais
My friends and I were in Calais volunteering with Care4Calais all week over New Year delivering vital aid to vulnerable refugees who are stuck in the cold and rain in Calais. Unfortunately, the much-needed minibus had a puncture – and there were no spare tyres! A fundraiser was urgently needed. Care4Calais is an absolute lifeline going to multiple distribution sites across Calais and Dunkirk every day of the year supporting refugees and asylum seekers.
Earthlings, The Healing Cafe
Tucked away on Buckingham Street behind Science City, overlooking the old Brewery Site, nestles a little piece of peace on earth. Earthlings The Healing Cafe is a vegan juice bar but it is so much more than that – it is a place for the community to heal – to eat well, to learn well, to share well and to live well. It is a community. “The atmosphere is all important, getting it just right” says the owner, Durgesh, a Sikh who relocated from India over ten years ago.
"I don't want to go to Rwanda": supporting refugees with Care4Calais
Angered by the injustice I witnessed volunteering with Care4Calais last week, I have written to my MP, Chi Onwurah, and asked her to demand the Home Secretary enable safe passage for unaccompanied child refugees. Feeding people is not a crime. Ensuring people have food and water and basic shelter is to be human. That is not politics, that is humanity.
Make Hope Possible at Live Theatre: a response
I could hear the clang of steel against rail, coal loading on the boat, the call of the fish girls on the whale-lit Quayside as Charlie Hardwick’s lyrical Geordie reading skimmed across the turning tides of the Tyne. She was reading from ”Paint Your Town Red” a manifesto for a tried and tested model of community wealth building, The Preston Model.
Nigel Todd remembered: a socialist legacy
It was with mixed emotions that I welcomed members and friends to our meeting of the Socialist Educational Association North branch in April 2021: It was our third meeting and our first meeting since the unexpected and deeply saddening news two weeks previously, of the passing of our friend, of our Founder and Chair, Nigel Todd.
Climate change education
Photo by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels Share EmailTwitterFacebook It is high time we recognised the inter-connectedness of our planet and our people – we are not separate from it or each other. The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 takes place in Glasgow in November. Many believe this is the last opportunity to mitigate disaster. The urgency of change needed now is Code Red. The planet is in crisis.
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