MEN OF THE TYNE RETURNS
Men of the Tyne
South
Shields Customs House
Thursday 14th September 2017
Writer Tom Kelly is bringing his tales from
the Tyne shipyards back to The Customs House.
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| Ted Cuskin, Tom Kelly and Ian Ravenscroft |
Men of the Tyne was born out of
conversations Tom started having in 2011 with men who worked on the river
between the 1950s and 1980s. In a
project commissioned by Ray Spencer, executive director of The Customs House,
Tom worked with filmmaker Andrew Hagan to capture their stories.
What started as a short performance on
board the Fortuna as it sailed up and down the Tyne soon turned into a
full show that has toured the region, as well as inspired an education project
and photographic exhibition.
It returns to The Customs House for two shows
on Thursday 14th September at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, featuring stories, songs and a screening
of the film.
Tom wrote and performs the stories in the
show and the songs, written by Tom and Ian Ravenscroft, are played by Ian and
sung by folk singer Ted Cuskin.
 |
|
Ray Spencer, Ian
Ravenscroft,
Andrew Hagan, Ted
Cuskin and Tom Kelly.
|
Tom said: “We now have about 10 songs and
as many stories and we have the film by Andrew Hagan, which kicks off the
second half of the show. We’re now in our seventh year and we have taken the
show to venues all over the north east, but it is always nice to come home to
The Customs House.”
The Tyne shipyards were a
symbol of the north east’s industrial heritage respected throughout the world. Sadly, some of the men Tom originally
interviewed have since died, which makes the preservation of their stories for
future generations all the more important.
Ray said: “Tom and The Customs House have a
special relationship. He has written many shows, but it is great that he
returns in person every year with this heart-warming show, which reflects our
history and heritage. Being based on the
banks of the Tyne, there couldn’t be a better venue for this
show.”
Tickets:
Tickets, priced £10 or £8 for Friends of
The Customs House, are available from the box office on (0191) 454 1234 or
online at www.customshouse.co.uk.
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