Live Theatre

Live Theatre is recognised as one of the great new writing theatres on the international stage. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Live is deeply rooted in the local community and is committed to telling new stories about the North today.

The partnership between Northumbria University and Live Theatre enables the development and delivery of teaching and learning (across a wide range of programmes including performance, business and architecture and humanities) and creates innovative research collaborations that tackle major shared challenges including sustainability, austerity and creative industry design and resilience.

Through our partnership with Live Theatre, students benefit from opportunities to work with a range of creative industry professionals including directors, production and technical staff, developing new creative work and feeding into teaching and learning. 

Live and Northumbria have also worked together on a three-year collaborative writer residency programme (2015–2018) to develop practice, support creative experimentation and develop new approaches to research, teaching and learning, and engagement with theatre audiences and participants. 

Partner profile

Founded in 1973, Live Theatre was transformed in 2007. The result is a beautifully restored and refurbished complex of five Grade II listed buildings with state-of-the-art facilities in a unique historical setting, including a cabaret style theatre, a studio theatre, renovated rehearsal rooms, a series of dedicated writer’s rooms as well as a thriving café and bar.

Live Theatre produces work as varied and diverse as the audiences it engages with. 

As well as championing the art of writing for stage by producing and presenting new plays, Live Theatre uses theatre to unlock the potential of young people and finds, nurtures and trains creative talent. 

Through its creative enterprises Live Theatre develops new models of business sustainability and growth. New development Live Works joins The Schoolhouse (an office space for creative and digital businesses), as one of Live Theatre’s capital and digital creative enterprises, increasing its future income through additional new unrestricted funds.

For more information see the Live Theatre website