Gemma's Journey

Triple A Food Tours is based in the vivacious city of Newcastle, the hub of the North East! The name Triple A derives from business owner Amy Whitfield's name, her son Archie & husband Andrew....(the three A's)

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Northern Stage will produce a magical new adaptation of family favourite The Sorcerer’s Apprentice this Christmas (27 November - 31 December). Set in the streets of Newcastle but not quite as we know it, audiences will be treated to live music, puppetry, magic and illusion as they follow the adventures of Hatty Rabbit and her friends after a mysterious letter arrives inviting Hatty to an interview for a sorcerer’s apprentice…

Maria Crocker will direct her first main stage show for Northern Stage. Maria trained on the theatre’s first NORTH programme in 2013 where she met her fellow founders of The Letter Room, and has performed in several Christmas productions at the Newcastle theatre including The Wonderful Wizard of Oz adapted by Caroline Bird. An associate artist at Headlong, Maria’s credits include associate director on the Tony Award-winning Hadestown for the National Theatre and Local Hero for The Lyceum. She says, “It’s thrilling to be making a show for the epic space, having trained on Northern Stage’s NORTH scheme in 2013. This Christmas is all about making the normal feel magical. We have a fantastic team of creative wizards working tremendously hard to bring this Newcastle story to life in the most enchanting, sparkly way, and to spread some much needed festive joy.”

Adapted by Laura Lindow (The Snow Queen/Northern Stage, Key Change/Open Clasp), The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is designed by Amanda Mascarenhas (Run It Back/Talawa Theatre Company, Cuttin’ It/Royal Exchange Theatre), with lighting design by Jai Morjaria (Wuthering Heights/National Theatre & Bristol Old Vic), sound design by Matthew Tuckey (Wolf!/Kitchen Zoo, Repeat Signal/November Club), movement direction by Gavin Coward - a performer, member and collaborator with balletLORENT, and original music by Katie Doherty who has created music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, five family Christmas productions for Northern Stage and the award-winning musical Beyond the End of the Road. Molly Barrett-Manasseh will design and make the puppets, with puppetry direction by Thomas Walton, and associate director is North East dramaturg and director Rachael Walsh - one of two recipients of the 2021 JMK Victoria Wood Bursary.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice runs from 27 November – 31 December. Tickets start from £10. Book online at www.northernstage.co.uk or call the box office on 0191 230 5151.

Rachel Walsh Website: https://rachaelannwalsh.wordpress.com/

Steve is delighted to be returning to Shone Productions for his fourth year, after playing Widow Twankey (Aladdin, 2019), Dame Dolly (Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, 2018) & Mrs Smee (Peter Pan, 2017).

Born in Hull, Steve studied theatrical design at the Arden School of Theatre, Manchester before starting work as a freelance costume designer and maker, a job that he still loves to this day, and which he fits in around all of his other theatre work. (He even designed and made all of his own outfits for the show!)

An experienced Pantomime artiste, he has toured the country extensively in a wide range of pantos and children’s shows. Notable roles include: The Sea Witch in ‘The little Mermaid’, The Wicked Witch of the West in ‘The Wizard of Oz’; The Sheriff of Nottingham in ‘Robin Hood’ (twice!), and Fagin in ‘Oliver Twist’.

In 2020 Steve was delighted be one of the few performers to complete a full pantomime season, playing Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk, at Drive-in to Winter, the UK’s only indoor drive-in.

Steve has spent 2021 proving once again that Panto is for life, not just for Christmas. In the summer he played Dame Dolly Donut in a national tour of’ Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ for Talegate Productions and then returned to them at Halloween for a national tour of ‘Harry Panto’ a parody of the popular wizarding franchise. He has also designed costumes for a brand new musical adaptation of ‘The Queens Knickers’ by Nicholas Allan.

To book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs click here https://bwdvenues.com/news/blackburn-pantomime-star-cast-announced/

A key figure in the cabaret and variety revival, Mat has performed by Royal command on more than one occasion, headlined and hosted shows across the UK, and regularly appears further afield, including residencies in the legendary European Variete theatres, appearances in gala shows on stage and television the world over, and regular invitations to perform in such iconic venues as the Royal Albert Hall, The Savoy Hotel, and Hollywood's Magic Castle

Website: https://www.matricardo.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MatRicardoOfficial/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matricardo/

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7GozvAsW0KPlSEh6SCouQQ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatRicardo

Paulus (aka Paul L Martin) has been working in the world of variety entertainment for 30 years since he curated his very first ‘variety show’ in his hometown of Littlebourne near Canterbury, Kent at the age of just fifteen in aid of Leukaemia Research Fund.

Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood: Written and performed by Paulus Of TV’s All Together Now, ‘Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood’ is a homage celebrating the music of the late comedy genius and national treasure.

Paulus works as a teacher and facilitator, specialising in cabaret and acting through song.  As well as presenting Cabaret Specialist week for the MTA since its first intake of students, he regularly runs his own short courses and workshops and has been involved with the Singers’ Cabaret Workshop with co-founder Jamie Anderson; the Actors Centre, London; Arts Educational Drama School, East 15 Drama School and ALRA, and in 2018 he ran sold-out masterclasses at the Chicago-Paris Cabaret Conference at Chicago Old Town Folk School and DePaul University Music School.  He also contributed to Gary Williams’ book ‘Cabaret Secrets’.

Website: https://thecabaretgeek.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecabaretgeek/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecabaretgeek

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecabaretgeek/

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/PaulusTheCabaretGeek

 Kristina Demou, is a UK based international performer and vocal coach. Having trained at the Royal Academy of Music, London, her versatility as a vocalist has taken her all over Europe, performing in Sweden, Norway, Spain, France, Germany and back again, on some of London’s finest stages including Wembley Stadium, The Royal Albert Hall and Her Majesty’s Theatre.

Her passion for mentoring has meant she has been able to share those skills and experiences with many teenagers, inspiring and coaching them to succeed on their journey to getting into top drama schools and establishments.

https://www.kristinademou.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcBvcq22WuZaKNZq-3_59Sg

https://www.instagram.com/kristinademoucoaching/

https://www.facebook.com/kristinademoucoaching

HesterKatherine Dowling is a  writer-poet fine art screen printer painter actor.

She has been on Vera as a Support Artist as well as The Dumping Ground.  She also belongs to an Independent Theatre group that has started back up again.  She did the voice over acting in a student short 5-minute audio Drama about Dementia which Lewis Harrower had entered for his MA work .which was played on BBC Radio 4 ‘Living With Dementia’ Then was invited to work on a collaboration project at the University of Sunderland Media Department.

Hester has has quite a creative career and it was lovely to listen to her story.

hesterdow2 Instagram

 Katherinedowli2 Twitter

 hester.dowling.1 Facebook

Dami is a cultural curator and photographer, my work focuses on creating multi-dimensional representation for marginalized communities. 

As a Black, Queer, non-binary woman, she turns her personal experiences both negative and positive into art, creating joy is one of my biggest passions. Dami also recently started her media company Navii Media which is home to creating events, amplifying the work of Black creatives and our stories online and offline.

Links: journalsofdami.com visualsbyjod.com https://www.instagram.com/journalsofdami/ https://www.instagram.com/naviimedia/