Nine great plays in Arts Centre Washington’s autumn line-up

There is something for all tastes and most ages at the Biddick Lane venue.

All shows start at 7.30pm, with tickets priced at £9 for adults, £7.50 for concessions and £5 for students.

The Shodyssey

Thursday, September 8. Suitable for anyone aged 7+.

In this irreverent take on the Trojan War, find out more about the “sort-of truth” behind Achilles heel, the golden watermelon of Paris, the 12 Accidental Labours of Hercules and more.

These Hills Are Ours

Thursday, September 15. Suitable for ages 12+.

Written and performed by Chumbawamba founder Boff Whalley and award-winning Dan Bye.

The pair decide to run a series of routes from the centre of a city to a peak overlooking it.

In story and song, themes include the relationship between city and country, contrasts between wild and controlled, land ownership, why we’re drawn to wild places – and what we’re really running from.

Retake/Remake

Thursday, September 29.

The play explores Hollywood films about disability, but made without disabled actors. Suitable for ages 16+.

The show questions the practice and replays snippets of the films through lip-syncing and stylised movement.

It also explores “dating, ownership, sexuality and eugenics”.

Those Magnificent Men

Thursday, October 6. Suitable for ages 7+.

Recreating the first ever non-stop flight across the Atlantic and the true story of aviators Alcock & Brown by writing duo Mitchell & Nixon.

It’s chocks away for thrills, spills and uproarious comedy.

Reasons You Should(nt) Love Me

Wednesday, October 12, suitable for ages 14+.

Winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Playwriting, Amy Trigg’s debut play is a funny, heart-warming tale.

Born with spina bifida, Juno is now clumsily navigating her 20s amidst street healers, love, loneliness and feeling like an “unfinished project”, while tackling difficult topics honestly and amusingly.

Delicate

Thursday, October 20 and suitable for ages 11+.

Jamie Beddard’s play tells stories about what it means to have a “delicate” body.

Four very different people have one thing in common; frustration with their bodies changing, ageing, breaking and no longer obeying.

All performances are “chilled”, BSL interpreted, audio-described and captioned.

Great Expectations

Thursday, November 3. Suitable for those aged 9+.

An anarchic take on Charles Dickens’ classic, with the Pantaloons delivering their version of the classic coming-of-age story.

Join Pip the orphan on a journey through his eventful life via hilarious turns and tragic twists; filled with escaped convicts, eccentric spinsters, mysterious benefactors and gut-wrenching heartbreak.

Female Gothic

Friday, November 11. Suitable for audiences aged 10+.

A trilogy of lost Gothic spine-tinglers.

A haunted woman tells strange and terrifyingly eerie stories, in the tradition of MR James and Edgar Allan Poe.

Redcoat

Closing the season on Thursday, November 24.

Strong language and adult themes, suitable for ages 14+.

Lewis is a Redcoat, living the dream at a Bognor Regis holiday camp, striving to entertain the world.

Loosely inspired by writer and performer Lewis Jobson’s real-life experience as a Butlin’s Redcoat, it’s a fun, life-affirming show about being happy – and a little bit about being sad.

Visit www.sunderlandculture.org.uk/our-venues/arts-centre-washington.