This venue is now known as the Journal Tyne Theatre and Opera House. Although it is not the most upmarket of the theatre venues in Newcastle, possibly due to its out of the way location, it still often offers interesting shows. It does not have the mainstream offerings of the Theatre Royal of the Sunderland Empire but one of the attractions of this theatre is that it often shows good kids shows - the Tweenies show, Noddy and Barney have all appeared here and these are good for the little ones - my daughters loved them. They do offers on family tickets which are good value. Their pantomimes are particularly excellent - it is the same cast every year, featuring Brendan Healey, who is fabulous and although the sets and costume cannot match the big scale productions in the other theatres, the laughs are much more obvious. We go every year and love it. The box office staff are unfortunately sometimes rude and obnoxious, so book online! The local car park often has spaces (Blandford Street) although it is pay and display. Otherwise, there are other local car parks that can be used. read more