Eleanor Chaganis - Maggie Melia
Micky Cochrane - Tommy Armstrong
Phil Corbitt - Robert Charlton
Adam Donaldson - John Thompson
James Hedley - Joshua Adams
Viktoria Kay - Bella Melia
Luke Maddison - Michael Cumisky
Donald McBride - Oliver Heslop
Dale Meeks - James Melia
Written by - Tom Kelly
Story by - Andy Bogle
Date: Friday 13th October 2017
Venue: Tyne Theatre and Opera House
I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Geordie the Musical back in 2015 when it was first performed at the Customs House in South Shields ( read my review here). I absolutely adored it, combining a nice story along with many regional songs, some of which I already knew thanks to my Grandad and supporting Newcastle United. Others were new, so getting the chance to hear them again and see this just lovely show I jumped at the chance as soon as the tickets went on sale for the performances at the Tyne Theatre and Opera House, which also meant the first visit to that incredible venue which is celebrating 150 years!
The story all takes place within the Wheatsheaf pub with the owner still recovering and coming to terms with no longer being able to work down the mines, having regular customers who come in for a few pints after work and ending up in song about times gone by. Work still going on in the mines and the thriving ship yards. Oliver Heslop has been studying the dialect and that leads to John Thompson from Oxford University coming to the pub to further to studies.
It really does raise the questions about dialect and accents something which we have certainly lost a lot of and are losing it more and more as time goes by. Everything is becoming more condensed and it is such a shame as so many fantastic words are in the Geordie accent. I love how within the show we are educated to when a word was stemmed from, especially crack . . . Everyone thinking that is a very new word!
It doesn't really seem like just over two years ago since I saw this show, but it was fantastic to see it again. Only one cast change from that time saw the addition of Dale Meeks stepping in as James the landlord of the Wheatsheaf. All of the performances are fantastic with some truly amazing vocals.
Songs
Adam Buckham
Keep Ya Feet Still Geordie Hinny
The Trindon Grange Explosion
Gan Te The Kye
The Landlord's Dowter
The Keel Row
Cushie Butterfield
Byker Hill and Walker Shore
Howdon for Jarrow
Geordie Black
Wor Nanny's Mazor
The Water of Tyne
Jemmy Jameson's Wherry
Oakey Strike Evictions
Hav Yer Seen Wor Jimmy?
Blaydon Races
The ending is pretty incredible with Blaydon Races and everyone in the audience joining in! I once again hope that this won't be the end of this fantastic show and that it keeps coming back and popping up in different theatres around the North East. Once again a huge well done to the writers, The Customs House and the truly talented and incredible cast!
