2017 was the best year to date

Last year saw the magnificent building celebrate its 150th anniversary, and during this milestone year, the theatre welcomed 80,000 customers through its doors to attend a wonderfully varied programme of shows, including several special events to mark its 150 years.

A major part of the 150th anniversary programme was several collaborative events, including The Cinema Years, which saw the theatre team up with Whitley Bay Film Festival to celebrate its time as the Stoll Picture Theatre, and a partnership with Customs House, South Shields, which brought its smash-hit show Geordie the Musical to the Newcastle stage.

The theatre hopes that this is just the beginning of many exciting collaborations to come.

It was also a wonderful year for musicals, with the theatre’s very own Tyne Theatre Productions presenting its own grand version of West Side Story as part of the 150th celebrations – its best attended show yet. Tyne Theatre Productions comprises solely of dedicated volunteers, with all funds raised going back into the restoration and preservation of the theatre, and their contribution to the theatre is vital. They will return in March with Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and then in October with Broadway favourite Guys and Dolls.

The theatre has also become the place to see stand-up comedy, with many top-name comedians gracing its stage for sell-out shows, including Katherine Ryan, Russell Kane, Rob Beckett and Omid Djalili.

This yeat looks set to be a phenomenal year for comedy, with the likes of Joe Lycett, Jon Richardson, Ed Byrne and Tim Vine in the diary, and with Sarah Millican returning for nine dates (many of which are already sold out).

Tyne Theatre & Opera House ended 2017 on a particularly high note, with the huge success of its pantomime Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, which starred Alnwick’s Lewis Denny.

It marked a new partnership between the theatre and Enchanted Entertainment, whose magical production dazzled audiences, with more than 22,000 people in attendance across December.

Enchanted Entertainment will return with an Easter Pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, and tickets, which are already on sale are selling fast.