Awards shine a light on our region full of talent

THEATRE group Ensemble '84 was the big winner as the North East Culture Awards celebrated the best of the region's cultural scene.

- BY GRAEME WHITFIELD Journal editor

The new County Durham group won three awards at the event held at the Globe Theatre in Stockton.

The Horden-based group - which collaborated with South African collective Isango Ensemble and Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall on a production of Mother Courage and Her Children - was named Newcomer of the Year and took the Performance of the Year category, as well as winning the Arts Council England Award.

Other winners on the night included actor Micky Cochrane, the Gosforth Civic Theatre, the Between the Tides Festival in Redcar and painter Narbi Price.