This is a joyful exhibition for the Christmas season by 3 Teesdale artists, Ann Whitfield, Jane Young and Jen Wyse.

Ann draws her inspiration from the wildness of the Northern landscape: hills and dales or the rocky foreshores of the North East coast: the wild places, ravaged by time and weather.

Jane’s art practice has evolved around colour and how it affects her emotions. She experiments with a variety of mediums and colour, as a vehicle in itself, is fundamental. Her walks by the river Tees are a never ending source of inspiration.

Working from her studio in beautiful Teesdale, Jen likes to draw on life’s experiences as she conveys her love of nature on canvas.

The gallery is usually closed Sunday and Monday.

by Noël Coward

Matthew Warchus directs Andrew Scott (BBC’s Sherlock, Fleabag) in Noël Coward’s provocative comedy Present Laughter.
As he prepares to embark on an overseas tour, star actor Garry Essendine’s colourful life is in danger of spiralling out of control. Engulfed by an escalating identity crisis as his many and various relationships compete for his attention, Garry’s few remaining days at home are a chaotic whirlwind of love, sex, panic and soul-searching.
Captured live from The Old Vic in London, Present Laughter is a giddy and surprisingly modern reflection on fame, desire and loneliness.

12A TBC
Running time: 180 minutes (TBC)

For 15 years Jim Moray has been at the forefront of a new movement in English traditional music. His debut album Sweet England changed the sound of folk song and won a brace of awards for its innovative melding of orchestration and electronica. Subsequent albums embraced everything from grime to Johnny Marr-esque guitar pop, but at their heart was always Jim’s unmistakeable soulful and yearning voice; singing old songs in a new way. His sixth album Upcetera heralds a new chapter for the producer and has received the best reviews of his career, including five stars from Mojo, fRoots and R2 magazines.

Join us for a feast of Christmas Music featuring the lively community choir, noaddedsugar with vocal ensemble Carilon and the ever-popular all-female group, Concordia.

Enjoy carol old and new and join in with some traditional favourites!

There is an option to book your mulled wine and mince pie in advance. Give yourself to a lovely Christmas treat.

Come and enjoy a wonderful Christmas experience at The Witham this festive season. 30 minute session.

Our Father Christmas sessions give the family the chance to only meet Father Christmas in his reindeer-pulled caravan but also enjoy a craft session where they can make a gift to takeaway.  Each session is 30 minutes and they are from 10am to 2pm on Saturday 14 or 21 December – please book your slot on the website (or at the box office)

2 pm - 3.30 pm, third Wednesday of the month (18 Sept, 16 Oct, 20 Nov, 18 Dec)

Everyone can sing – however much we might protest – meaning it is the most accessible form of music making. It can also play a vital role in improving our health, well-being and social life.

If you are 55+ come along to our monthly singing session led by local musician and singing teacher Jane Ford.
A relaxed, fun atmosphere is guaranteed. Absolutely no experience required.

The cost of these sessions is only £2 and we will supply a hot drink for participants. It is not necessary to pre-book this event. However, if you are planning on joining us, click through to confirm as this will help give us an idea of numbers.
3rd Wednesday of the month, 2 – 3.30pm, the Witham Room

The Real Story of A Christmas Carol
Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.

Oh no he wasn’t! Bah! Dead? Humbug, Mr.Dickens! Dead? As sure as the clothes moths in my wardrobe have be-shredded my best nightcap, Marley was not dead but rather sitting on some sun-soaked, off-shore beach squandering all the hard-earned money that he had so fraudulently embezzled from my firm over the years! Dead? Bah!

You know nothing Mr.Dickens! YOU are a fraud sir – an embezzler of the truth! A fake news-smith! A charlatan… Charlatan Dickens! Bah!”

In this revelatory exclusive, Ebeneezer Scrooge opens his Diary to expose the awful truth about Tiny Tim, the Fezziwigs, Jacob Marley… and that disgustingly jolly, gluttonous, consumer-driven Ghost of Christmas Present… as he reveals the truth behind a Christmas Carol and the vengeful, slanderous, upstart author of that novel.

Why not ruin someone’s Christmas and buy them a ticket as an early Present!
Running time: 90 minutes plus interval

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all – and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence – who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all his good deeds over the years.
“The kind of experience movies were invented for… James Stewart’s journey to despair and back warms the cockles like nothing else.“

Come and enjoy a wonderful Christmas experience at The Witham this festive season. 30 minute session.

Our Father Christmas sessions give the family the chance to only meet Father Christmas in his reindeer-pulled caravan but also enjoy a craft session where they can make a gift to takeaway.  Each session is 30 minutes and they are from 10am to 2pm on Saturday 14 or 21 December – please book your slot on the website (or at the box office)

42nd Street, the legendary Broadway musical theatre classic, is a ‘glorious’ (★★★★★ Express) and ‘utterly moreish extravaganza of glitz’ (★★★★★ Times). Telling the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway, this is the largest ever staging of the Tony® Award-winning musical and it was filmed live at the magnificent Theatre Royal in the heart of London’s West End. Starring national treasure Bonnie Langford as Dorothy Brock and featuring iconic songs 42nd Street, We’re In The Money and Lullaby Of Broadway, this is pure musical magic on the big screen.
★★★★★ ‘Achingly beautiful revival of an American classic’   THE TELEGRAPH
★★★★   ‘Quality Street’   DAILY MAIL
(Cert TBC)   |   Running time: 142 minutes  (one interval)

André Rieu invites cinema audiences around the world to join in his birthday celebrations!
The Maestro is turning 70 and throwing a lavish birthday party at his castle in Maastricht – during the celebrations André will talk to cinema host Charlotte Hawkins about his life and music.

André Rieu 70 Years Young is his ultimate concert featuring musical highlights chosen by the maestro himself. This unique anniversary event will take you on an unbelievable journey around the world to André’s most amazing concerts such as Schönbrunn in Vienna, Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Royal Coronation Concert in Amsterdam.

Join the party screened to The Witham and bring your friends to kick off the New Year in style with the most wonderful music from the King of the Waltz.
Don’t miss out!

Teesdale School are delighted to showcase the work of their talented students.

This exciting exhibition will display work from students of all ages and exhibit a range of media and techniques.

Students have been inspired by a wide range of themes, including the natural environment and industrial heritage of the area. The outstanding work produced is a reflection of the hard work and talent of our fantastic students.  Gallery usually closed Sunday and Monday.

Join dance teacher Joyce Jeffrey for an adult ballet class inspired by The Sleeping Beauty. This class won’t be focused closely on technique but will give you a taster of ballet.

Open to everyone from beginners to more experienced dancers.

Joyce teaches the popular weekly class, Silver Swans, at The Witham. Come to enjoy the Royal Opera House screening of The Sleeping Beauty at The Witham on Thursday 16 January at 7.15pm.

Book all three Saturday dance workshops this season and receive £2 off per workshop, making them £8 each!

Formed in 2013, the Meraki Duo enjoys exploring the diversity of repertoire available to the flute-guitar pairing while contributing arrangements of their own. Both studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, sharing a passion for chamber music that extends to jazz, Latin American and European folk, and works by contemporary composers.

They love performing in a wide variety of venues, recently including St James’s, Piccadilly, Wigmore Hall, for Swaledale Festival and Bridgewater Hall for Craig Ogden’s Guitar Weekend. They are Live Music Now artists and Selected Artists for Making Music for 2020-21.

This production of The Sleeping Beauty has been delighting audiences in Covent Garden since 1946.

A classic of Russian ballet, it established The Royal Ballet both in its new home after World War II and as a world-class company. Sixty years later, in 2006, the original staging was revived, returning Oliver Messel’s wonderful designs and glittering costumes to the stage. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score and Marius Petipa’s original choreography beautifully combine with sections created for The Royal Ballet by Frederick Ashton, Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon.

This ballet is sure to cast its spell over anyone who sees it.

The Royal Ballet
Music: Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Marius Petipa
Conductor: Simon Hewett
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Approx. running time: about 3 hours

In the quiet gloom of the old curiosity shop, Little Nell Trent waits for her ailing grandfather’s return. Each night he leaves her all alone, disappearing into a secret shadowy world of seedy gaming houses and sleazy gambling dens. Already deep in debt to the stunted, lecherous and demonic money-lender Daniel Quilp, Nell’s grandfather clings on to the hope that his luck must surely change? But it never does, and when his shop is seized, grandfather and Little Nell are forced to flee. On their journey they meet some of Dickens’s greatest comic and grotesque creations. But will they evade the lustful clutches of the loathsome Quilp?
Join us to find out…the chase is on!

Back due to popular demand! Come dancing!

Everyone welcome, including total beginners.

Ballroom, Latin American, Sequence and some basic Salsa.

Graham and Margaret Fenny have been teaching dance in Northallerton for over 15 years and regularly teach on P & O Cruise liners with fantastic reviews.

Hailed as the UK’s most influential comedian of all time, legendary Scot Billy Connolly is coming to cinemas with this brilliant show from his final stand-up tour.

Recorded in 2015, during the Australian leg, this whip smart routine is a riotous journey filled with outrageous tales and blistering observations of everyday absurdities. Screening as a special one-night-only event, Connolly will also muse upon his career, life and legacy in a deeply personal interview filmed exclusively for cinema audiences.

Prior to retiring in 2016 following his diagnosis with Parkinson’s Disease, Connolly toured worldwide continuously for 50 years, performing to an audience of over 10 million. The Sex Life of Bandages is a big screen tribute to an iconic funny-man whose sharp wit and anarchic storytelling is still as hilarious as ever.

★★★★ ‘Can he still hold an audience in his thrall – warm us, cheer us, tickle us? Abso – Billy – lutely!‘ The Telegraph

★★★★ ‘Beautifully funny‘ The Guardian
★★★★ ‘Connolly has still got his funny bones‘ The Evening Standard

(18 TBC) | Running time: 130 minutes

Blast away those January blues and celebrate Burns Night in style at The Witham with music, dancing, whisky and haggis! We’re marking the birthday of Robert Burns, the National Poet of Scotland, in style in 2020.  Live music and ceilidh is provided by the fabulous Angels of the North, and a haggis neeps & tatties supper washed down with a wee dram of whisky will keep you on your feet all night.
Kilt’s optional!

Puccini’s opera of young love in 19th-century Paris is packed with beautiful music, including lyrical arias, celebratory choruses for Act II’s evocation of Christmas Eve in the Latin Quarter and a poignant final scene over which the composer himself wept. Richard Jones’s character-led production perfectly captures La bohème’s mixture of comedy, romance and tragedy, with striking designs by Stewart Laing. The cast features some of the greatest interpreters of Puccini’s bohemian lovers performing today, as well as former members of The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.

The Royal Opera
Music: Giacomo Puccini
Director: Richard Jones
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume
Starring: Sonya Yoncheva, Charles Castronovo, Andrzej Filończyk

(12A as live) | Approx. 2hrs 30mins

What if you were the only man on Earth able to remember the iconic music of The Beatles?
A collaboration up there with Lennon-McCartney, Yesterday is the brain child of director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting) and screenwriter Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually).

As full of soul and heart as any of the Liverpool lads best tracks, this is an hilarious story of finding your own voice. Jack’s (Himesh Patel) career as a singer-songwriter is not going well. His friend Ellie (Lily James) thinks he’s got talent, but no one else agrees. But after a mysterious blackout, it turns out he’s the only one who can recall the Fab Four’s back catalogue. With the iconic songs in his arsenal, he becomes world famous, but at what cost?

Running time: 113 mins

“What’s it like being the best guitar player in the world…?” Martin’s modesty and grace prevented him from answering this BBC Radio 4 interviewer’s question recently, but the facts speak for themselves.

The remarkable intimate solo performances Martin gives go from strength to strength – every gig is a masterclass. He travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving rapt audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing.

40 years after he recorded his first album, Golden Vanity, in 1976, Martin is known as a guitarist of formidable talent. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues and his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.

He is listed in Gibson Guitars’ Top 30 Acoustic Guitarists of all time, and Acoustic Guitar readers voted him number 12 guitarist in the world in 2005.

Universally acclaimed as one of the finest ever acoustic and slide guitar players, and a fine banjo-picker to boot, his solo shows bear witness to an artist at the very top of his game. Whether interpreting material from tradition or singing his own potent self-penned songs, Simpson is a remarkable storyteller: captivating and profoundly moving. His own songwriting produced the poignant ‘Never Any Good’, from Prodigal Son, 2007’s Folk Album of the Year.

Martin continues to collaborate with a dazzling array of people from across the musical spectrum: Jackson Browne, Martin Taylor, June Tabor, Richard Hawley, Bonnie Raitt, Danny Thompson, David Hidalgo, Danú, Richard Thompson and Dom Flemons are among the great musicians he has worked with.

He was also nominated ‘Musician of the Year’ – BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018

“Martin Simpson has transcended borders and oceans to quietly become a superb storyteller and musician of great depth and unquestionable taste.” Stephen Fearing