A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, Wilde’s most beloved work follows a cast of ridiculous characters as they navigate love and well-meant deceit in Victorian society.

Jack Worthing, hoping to fulfil his dreams of marriage to the poised Gwendolen Fairfax, adopts the identity of his imaginary younger brother named Ernest. Algernon Montcrieff, intrigued by Jack’s whimsical ward Cecily, assumes the same identity, hoping to charm her. Chaos ensues when both women reveal they have their hearts set on marrying someone with the name “Ernest”, and to their dismay, neither man is being particularly earnest.

The Importance of Being Earnest’ is hilarious and engaging, offering a satirical snapshot of upper-class Victorian society.  Wilde’s most generationally beloved play, this razor-sharp comedy of manners is studied and celebrated for its secret identities, heightened characters, and legendary lines.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This production will take place in the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performance will begin at 7.30pm and run for approximately two and a half hours with a short interval.

Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance is due to begin.

A farm’s dream of freedom unravels into tyranny in Orwell’s timeless allegory of power, corruption, and control.

The Collingwood Woodplayers proudly present George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a gripping theatrical adaptation of one of literature’s most powerful allegories. When the animals of Manor Farm rise up against their human master, they dream of freedom, equality, and a better life. But as their vision takes shape, cracks soon appear, and the dream descends into something far darker. Full of passion, tension, and biting satire, this production explores how revolutions can be corrupted from within. Animal Farm remains as urgent and relevant today as ever—a timeless story of power, control, and the human condition.

£8 Standard

£7 Concession

£6.50 Performing Arts Members

This event takes place at the Collingwood Arts Centre, Collingwood College, South Road, DH1 3LT.

The event will begin at 7.30pm (2.30pm matinee) and lasts approximately 2 hours. Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

Join the Orchestral Society’s Symphony Orchestra for their first concert of the year, featuring Elgar’s Enigma Variations alongside works by Ruth Gipps, Mussorgsky, and Gershwin.

Durham University Orchestral Society’s Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Kohn, opens one of its most ambitious years yet at Elvet Methodist Church with Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, depicting a night of pagan festival with fire and spirits. The programme continues with former Durham University alumna Ruth Gipps’ Knight in Armour and Gershwin’s vibrant Cuban Overture. The evening will conclude with one of British composer Edward Elgar’s most famous works, the Enigma Variations, with each variation portraying one of Elgar’s closest friends.

£14 Standard

£12 Concession

£10 Performing Arts Members

This event will take place at Elvet Methodist Church, 8 Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HL.

The concert begins at 7.30pm and will last approximately 75 minutes with a short interval.