Recently by Sunderland Empire

We have thousands of free tickets to give away to under 26 year olds during 2009 - so get off the couch and away from the TV and come down to the Sunderland Empire, the West End of the North East!

A Night Less Ordinary 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 www.anightlessordinary.org.uk

The North East's flagship theatre showcases the very best touring productions in the UK, offering audiences a choice of the biggest stars and most prestigious shows, making for a sparkling day or night out! Staging season after season record breaking smash hits from West End musicals to opera and ballet, cutting-edge comedy and music gigs to family shows, Sunderland Empire provides all the sparkling entertainment you could ever wish for.

We will be adding new performances each month, so if there isn't a show that interests you, sign up to our free E-NEWSLETTER and you will be emailed news on forthcoming shows, offers and the latest free ticket opportunities. Email anightlessordinary@livenation.co.uk

You can apply for tickets by downloading a Microsoft Word version of the Application Form from here then either send a saved copy to anightlessordinary@livenation.co.uk or apply by post and send to the following address:

A Night Less Ordinary
Sunderland Empire
High Street West
Sunderland
SR1 3EX

Due to the volume of applications expected we regret we won't be able to reply if you're not successful but please try again for another show in the future. New shows will be announced here at the beginning of every month.

If you're aged 16 or under you must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Please state on the form if you will require extra tickets for adults aged 26 or over
and a member of staff will contact you to purchase these.

Terms and conditions apply, see www.SunderlandEmpire.org.uk for more details

It's been a hectic month at the Sunderland Empire so it was a great help to have someone on a work experience placement when panto season really began to hot up. Here is Lauren Dickinson's account of her week working at the Sunderland Empire...

The 15th- 19th December has been the busiest week! I decided in May that I would like to do some work experience at the Sunderland Empire and believe me so much work goes on behind the scenes! I had something different to do everyday of the week and it is extremely hard work to keep up with everything these guys do!

From reviews of the panto to helping out with the crowds as a Front of House member of staff the week has been full of interesting lessons.

On my first day here I was asked to help out by choosing and moving costumes that will be used for next year's children's theatre programme. A lot of costumes had heaped up and it was very tiring work!

On Tuesday I managed to see the panto and it is fantastic! I then had to write a review of the whole performance for marketing but there weren't any words to describe how much I loved it! It is really funny and the cast are amazing! There really is something for everyone in this panto.

Wednesday was Front of House day when I managed to catch some more of the show and began to sing along quite happily- it is very catchy! Front of House is very active and there is a lot of standing up and moving around!

Box Office was mind boggling to put it bluntly! Trying to put together rotas for all of the staff begins to drive you mad! Working in groups is quite similar to box office but here I have been putting together seats to tell Front of House where groups are sitting so that seating arrangements can be done easily.

It has been a busy week here and finding your way round is like a maze but I've enjoyed the week here and would like to thank everyone for their help. I also want to say to everyone come and see Aladdin because its fab!!!!

We can't believe it's arrived so quickly but TONIGHT is opening night for our mystical pantomime, Aladdin! It's been so exciting to watch out glittering, Oriental set being built. Everyone keeps catching bits of rehearsals as they walk through the auditorium and, although we don't want to spoil it for ourselves by stopping to watch, we can't help but have a sneak peak.

Some lucky children from Sandhill View School and Sunderland City Council's Every School Day Counts project are getting an exclusive preview of the panto today as they've been invited to watch the final dress rehearsal before the premiere performance tonight!

Paul Michael Glaser, who is amazing as the perfect panto baddie, already has fans waiting at the stage door for his autograph and I'm sure Sheila Ferguson and Anthony Kavanagh are going to receive tons of audience support (lots of cheering and he's behind you's I think!) as The Genie and Aladdin!

Aladdin opens at the Sunderland Empire tonight (5th December, 7pm) Altogether now..."Oh no it doesn't, Oh yes it does!"

View imageIt was a very exciting time for the Sunderland Empire last week as we revealed the final gems in our Aladdin cast. We held a great event at the Best Western Roker Hotel in Seaburn, where we announced that teenage heart throb, singer and finalist in ITV's Grease Is the Word, Anthony Kavanagh is going to be our Aladdin.

Anthony gave a great performance at the launch, proving himself to be a more than worthy pantomime hero.

Things are starting to hot up at the Sunderland Empire this week, as panto time has not so much crept up on us, but rather jumped out before anyone could shout 'it's behind you!' It's a really exciting time with our star studded Aladdin cast, including Paul Michael Glaser, Sheila Ferguson, Masashi Fujimto and Anthony Kavanagh, arriving from all corners of the globe very soon.

It's all go this week with Paul Michael Glaser flying into the UK (possibly on a magic carpet) and ready to be thrown into a whirlwind of television appearances, interviews, launches and light switch ons! There's even a rumour he's going to be joining Fern and Phil on their sofa on This Morning on Friday 14th November!