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- 9th Oct 2026
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BAFTA-winning drama Our Friends in the North is coming home to Newcastle
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Our Friends in the North is coming home.
30 years after Peter Flannery’s BAFTA-winning BBC drama first aired, it returns to Newcastle as a new stage adaptation from Thursday 15th to Saturday 24th October 2026, written by Flannery and directed by Jack McNamara.
It’s a three-way co-production between Live Theatre, Eastlake Productions and Newcastle Theatre Royal, three organisations with deep roots in the region and a shared drive to make ambitious work here.
If you’re looking for things to do in Newcastle this autumn, this one’s homegrown theatre on a big scale.
A NORTH EAST PARTNERSHIP IN THE TRUEST SENSE
Each partner brings something different. Live Theatre offers creative development and producing expertise, Newcastle Theatre Royal brings scale and resources, and Eastlake Productions has the ambition to build commercially successful Northern work.
“This kind of co-production is quite unique in our industry,” says Jack McNamara, Artistic Director of Live Theatre. “It is enabling all of us involved to go further than we could on our own. It’s a partnership in the truest sense. The fact that it means so much to each of us can only benefit what ends up onstage.”
Marianne Locatori, CEO of Newcastle Theatre Royal, agrees. “By working in partnership with Live Theatre and Eastlake Productions, we can bring together different strengths, experience and expertise to create something on a scale that none of us could achieve alone.”
WHY IT’S BIG NEWS FOR NORTH EAST THEATRE
For Jamie Eastlake of Eastlake Productions, it’s part of a much bigger ambition for the region. “Our work now is about driving commercial theatre from this region in a way that hasn’t really been done before,” he says. “The industry is very tough right now, so finding interesting and viable models to produce work, which also allow a trickle-down effect for organisations developing artists and new work, is incredibly important.”
Three organisations, one shared goal, and a story that’s worth telling together.
A STORY THAT HASN’T LOST ITS BITE
Adapted for the stage by Flannery himself, this version zooms in on the Thatcher years from 1979 to 1984, following four Newcastle friends, Tosker, Geordie, Nicky and Mary, through a period of seismic political and social change.
“It is one of the great epic sagas of our time,” says Jack. “Thirty years have passed since it was first broadcast and yet so much of it feels like a reflection of where we are today in terms of political ambitions, corrupted ideals and the personality cult in modern politics. Ultimately, it’s a piece about hope. And we all need a bit of that.”
“It is a story about people trying to find their place in a changing society, about the choices we make and the impact those choices have on the people and communities around us,” says Marianne.
Funny, tender and fiercely political, it’s a story that still has plenty to say.
NORTH EAST TALENT TAKES CENTRE STAGE
The cast is entirely local, mixing established performers with a new generation of actors who’ve trained and built their careers across the region.
“We were only ever going to go with a fully local cast,” says Jack. “There is an amazing amount of acting talent in the North East and this production will certainly showcase that.”
Jamie agrees. “It’s chock-full of North East talent, including a stack of brilliant up-and-coming young actors who haven’t necessarily had their chance to shine on a stage of this scale yet, which is truly special.”
A HOMECOMING THAT’S ALSO A BEGINNING
Whether you loved the original or you’re meeting these characters for the first time, there’s a place for you here. “We want the production to feel like a homecoming for all those people who loved the show,” says Jack. “But just as important is that newcomers receive it entirely fresh.”
“We have to give our audiences the opportunity to hear our accent, to see our people and to see our stories represented on the biggest stages of all,” says Jamie. “That shouldn’t feel unusual. It should be completely normal.”
“This is about more than producing one play,” adds Marianne. “It is about demonstrating a different way of working within the cultural ecology of the North East, bringing organisations together, sharing expertise and resources, creating opportunities for artists and making ambitious work at scale.”
Three decades on, four friends are back in Newcastle, brought home by a partnership made in the North East. If you’re planning what’s on in Newcastle this October, book this one early.
OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH: THE THATCHER YEARS
Thursday 15th to Saturday 24th October 2026
Our Friends in the North: The Thatcher Years is a Live Theatre, Eastlake Productions and Newcastle Theatre Royal production, running on the Main Stage at Newcastle Theatre Royal. Evening performances start at 7.30pm, with matinees on Thursday 22nd October at 2pm and Saturdays at 2.30pm. It runs for two hours, including an interval.
There’s an audio described and captioned performance with a pre-show touch tour on Saturday 24th October at 2.30pm, and you can listen to an audio flyer before you go.
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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