Don't miss the fantastic Begin/End at Darlington Arts Centre on Friday 12 February 2010. Free tickets still available.


To celebrate the first anniversary of ‘A Night Less Ordinary’ we are opening our doors for a “deliciously dark” morning of activities in association with Theatre Hullabaloo’s premiere performances of their dark operetta for young people “My Mother Told Me Not to Stare”.
The event that will be held on Saturday 20 February, 11am-1pm, is free and open to everyone who has tickets to see the show. Tickets for the open morning can booked by contacting the Box Office on 01325 486555 or in person at the Arts Centre Reception.
Come along and have a go at creating your own gothic character in our shadow-puppet making workshop and express yourself on our ‘What my mother told me’ themed illustration wall. Have a peek backstage and hear about how ‘My Mother Told Me Not to Stare’ was created at a lively talkback session. Plus there’ll be competitions and lots more.

What’s it all about?
A Night Less Ordinary [external link] is an Arts Council England scheme in association with Metro, which will provide 618,000 free theatre tickets to anyone under 26 in more than 200 venues across England. For more information about the scheme visit the A Night Less Ordinary [external link] website.
The ArtsSpark Membership Scheme allows young people access to a range of special events and ticket offers at the Arts Centre and Civic Theatre.
From 16 February 2009, the ArtsSpark Membership Scheme joined forces with A Night Less Ordinary, to provide a number of FREE theatre tickets to anyone under the age of 26.
What’s in it for young people?
If you are under 26, you can now join the ArtsSpark Membership Scheme for FREE, and get access to a number of FREE Theatre tickets as well as special events, and other fantastic ticket offers!
Which shows can I see for FREE?
You can get FREE theatre tickets for most ‘Theatre’ shows at The Arts Centre (in the main Theatre and Studio Theatre) and Civic Theatre. By ‘Theatre’, we mean plays, musicals, opera, and dance. But it doesn’t include any music concerts; stand up comedy, talks, or cinema. Check out the list below for all the shows currently available or look out for the pink spark symbol on our brochure pages highlighting shows that have FREE Theatre tickets available. Keep watching this space for additional offers.
Which shows are currently available?
Civic Theatre
| Day |
Event |
Recommended Age |
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Sun 6th December 5:30pm Wed 9th December 7:00pm Wed 16th December 7:00pm Wed 6th January 7:00pm Wed 13th January 7:00pm |
Aladdin - Pantomime |
Children, young people and familes |
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| Mon 25th, Tues 26th and Wed 27th January 7:30pm |
The Eva Cassidy Story |
11+ |
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Fri 5th February 7:30pm |
The Circus of Horrors - the Day of the Dead |
17+ (contains some nudity and strong language) |
Tues 9th February 7:00pm Fri 12th February 7.00pm Sat 13th February 2:30pm & 7:00pm |
Horrible Science |
6+ |
| Wed 17th February 7:30pm |
Spike Milligan's Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall |
16+ (contains strong language) |
| Wed 24th February 7:30pm |
Fatal Encounter |
14+ |
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Arts Centre
| Day |
Event |
Recommended Age |
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Tues 8th December 8pm |
Vakomana Vaviri Ve Zimbabwe or Two Gentlemen of Verona |
12+ |
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Sat 23rd January 11am and 2.30pm |
How Cold My Toes |
2+ |
| Fri 12th February 7.00pm |
Begin/End |
14+ |
Fri 19th February 6:30pm Sat 20th February 2.30pm |
My Mother Told Me Not to Stare |
8+ |
| Tues 23rd February 8pm |
Top of the World |
11+ |
| Wed 24th February |
Moon Fool |
11+ |
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What are you waiting for?
Call the Box Office now on (01325) 348843 or (01325) 486555 to sign up to the ArtsSpark Membership Scheme, and experience A Night Less Ordinary at some fantastic shows at Darlington Civic Theatre and Arts Centre. Once you’ve signed up, you can book straight away for any show or events you want. Remember to book early as we only have a limited number of FREE tickets available each week!
If you book tickets and then decide not to come, it’s really important that you let us know as soon as possible. If you book tickets and don’t turn up to the theatre, and you haven’t let us know, you may lose the right to receive FREE Theatre tickets in the future.
What else do I need to know?
- Book early! We only have a small number of FREE tickets available each week so be quick!
- If you are under 16, you will need to come to the theatre with an old folk, (someone 18 or over.) They will need to book a ticket as well.
- Our FREE tickets will mainly be for shows on Wednesday evenings, but sometimes we will be offering FREE tickets on a different day of the week (just to confuse you!)
- Once you’re a member of the ArtsSpark Membership Scheme, we’d like to send you information in the post about the latest events and special offers available. You will need to tell us if this is ok when you sign up. If you are under 16, we will need permission from your parents or whoever looks after you at home.
- We will also need to know your date of birth, post code, and how you found out about the scheme.
- Once you have booked your tickets, you will only be able to pick them up from our Box Offices at the venue you are attending, on the day of the performance.
- If you are 16 or over, you will need to bring some ID with you, that shows proof of age, when you collect your tickets. This is so we can make sure you are old enough to attend by yourself, and are definitely under 26.
- If you book a ticket, and then decide not to come – make sure you tell us in good time! This is so we can try and get the ticket to another young person; so more people get a chance to see stuff.
- You can book FREE tickets for yourself and up to three friends. You can’t book any more than four FREE tickets in one booking. We will need to know dates of birth and postcodes of all the young people who want tickets.
- Each young person will only be allowed up to 4 free tickets each season. This is to make sure that we can spread the tickets out a bit, and get to more young people.
Was it A Night Less Ordinary?
What did you think of the show? Did you enjoy your visit? Would you come again? If you would like to tell us about it, send an email to Lyndsey.middleton@darlington.gov.uk
If you thought it was really good you may want to write a review of the show. Check out the rE-View website [external link] to find out how you can write a review and share it with other young people in Darlington.
To book tickets please contact the Box Office on (01325) 348843 or (01325) 486555 or visit one of our box offices at the Civic Theatre, Arts Centre, Cornmill Shopping Centre or Tourist Information Centre. Tickets cannot be booked online for the 'Free Theatre Ticket Initiative'.