The People's Theatre

About The People's Theatre

The People's Theatre is one of the largest and oldest established amateur theatre companies in the country, founded in 1911 within the Newcastle branch of the British Socialist Party, whose first production, The Bishop's Candlesticks, was staged in July that year. After early homes in the city centre at Percy Street, the Royal Arcade and Rye Hill, the company bought the former Lyric Cinema on Stephenson Road in Heaton and opened its new arts centre there in September 1962 with Shaw's Man and Superman. It has remained at this site, close to the Coast Road, ever since.

The theatre stages a year-round programme of drama, comedy and classics across two spaces: a main auditorium and an 85-seat Studio Theatre, built at the back of the main house in 1981, supported by two rehearsal rooms. Alongside its main season it runs a Young People's Theatre, offers relaxed performances for accessibility and hires out its spaces for external events. As a membership-based company it draws on volunteers across performance and production, and has run community fundraising initiatives focused on building improvements and reducing its carbon footprint.

Featured in These Guides

Blog posts and guides that feature The People's Theatre.

The Best Streets to Live in Heaton

From the numbered Avenues off Chillingham Road to the porch-lined terraces of South Heaton and the quieter crescents of High Heaton, a street-by-street guide to where to live in Heaton and the trade-offs of each.

Find a Tutor in Heaton

Maths and English tuition, music lessons on Chillingham Road, ballet, youth theatre and adult learning: a practical guide to finding the right tutor in Heaton, plus tips on DBS checks and trial lessons.

Volunteer Groups in Heaton

From stewarding at the People's Theatre and guiding tours through the Victoria Tunnel to packing food parcels and planting flowerbeds in Heaton Park, here is where to give some time in Heaton.

Corporate Christmas Party Venues in Heaton

Heaton has no hotel ballroom, but it does have function rooms, social clubs and a football clubhouse that take a work party, plus bigger rooms a few minutes away in Byker and the Ouseburn.

Arts & Culture in Ouseburn: Galleries, Theatre & Makers

A guide to the galleries, theatres, artist studios and maker spaces that make the Ouseburn and Heaton the creative heart of east Newcastle.

Upcoming Events

Events that feature or are connected to The People's Theatre.

Past Events

Recent events connected to The People's Theatre.