‘This house isn’t unfit for habitation. We’re inhabiting it. It’s been habitated for 100 years!’
1951 saw a third of County Durham’s villages classified as ‘D’. They were no longer deemed worthy of investment and were expected to die quietly. But they wouldn’t.
A Way Home is a new play rooted in the stories and memories of the very people who called those D villages home. A County-wide fight lasting over 25 years becomes a 12-month journey at Bet’s kitchen table as she confronts what loss really looks like.
With humour, tenderness and not a small amount of grit, A Way Home speaks of fighting to be heard when no one’s listening, telling a story just as significant today as it was 70 years ago.
| Tuesday | 7th June | 7.30pm | Gala Theatre |
| Wednesday | 8th June | 7.30pm | Queen’s Hall Arts Centre |
| Thursday | 9th June | 7.30pm | Arts Centre Washington |
| Friday | 10th June | 7.30pm | Live Theatre |
| Saturday | 11th June | 2.30pm 7.30pm |
Live Theatre |
| Monday | 13th June | 7.00pm | St Mark’s Church |
| Tuesday | 14th June | 2:00pm 7.30pm |
Alnwick Playhouse |
| Wednesday | 15th June | 7.00pm | Trimdon Grange Community Association |
| Thursday | 16th June | 7.30pm | Binchester Community Centre |
| Friday | 17th June | 7.00pm | Hamsteels Community Centre |
| Saturday | 18th June | 3.00pm | St. John’s Hall Meadowfield |
| Monday | 20th June | 7.00pm | Toft Hill Community Centre |
| Tuesday | 21st June | 7.00pm | Hamsterley & Low Westwood Community Hall |
| Wednesday | 22nd June | 7.30pm | The Witham |
| Thursday | 23rd June | 2:00pm 7.30pm |
Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens |
| Friday | 24th June | 7.00pm | Clara Vale Village Hall |
| Saturday | 25th June | 7.00pm | Coundon & Leeholme Community Centre |
| Sunday | 26th June | 7:00pm | Witton Park Village Hall |
The Covid-19 pandemic meant that, like so many other projects, A Way Home was put on hold. After a long two year wait, we are thrilled to be sharing the show with you at last. A huge thank you for your patience and to our funders (Arts Council England, Sunday for Sammy, Catherine Cookson Trust and Newcastle University) for their support.
In the meantime, to see what happened during our Research and Development in January 2019, take a look here.
Christina Castling 