NORTHERN STAGE UNVEILS ‘NORTHERN PAGE’ – A NEW COMMUNITY AREA FEATURING AN EXCLUSIVE ART INSTALLATION BY MUL

Northern Stage has launched Northern Page, a welcoming new space designed to spark a love of reading for all ages and featuring an exclusive art installation by popular North East street artist, Mul.

With support from the National Literacy Trust and led by in-house literacy champion Yun Perez, Northern Page transforms an underused area of the theatre into a vibrant, book-filled space. With a strong focus on sustainability, the corner repurposes recognisable set pieces and furniture from past Northern Stage productions and will host rotational displays, including wood-art sculptures created with Tyne Housing, to champion voices from around the North East.

Mul’s exclusive installation for Northern Page channels the bold, joyful energy seen across his work with heart-led motifs leaping across the walls. The artwork transforms the Level 0 corner into a bright, welcoming landmark that helps visitors find the space, pause, and dive into a book. It’s playful, accessible and unmistakably Mul, made to spark curiosity and invite everyone in.

Northern Page officially open its doors on 1st October 2025 to celebrate Black History Month with themed book selections linked to the show Mama Afrika, which forms part of Northern Stage’s newly released autumn season. On Friday 10 October the theatre is inviting people to drop-in and pause for 10 minutes to escape from their routine to read at Northern Page as part of the National Literacy Trusts’s #Take10toRead campaign, followed by a public drop-in event on Friday 11 October (from 11am).

Yun Perez, communities manager at Northern Stage and project lead for Northern Page said, “Northern Stage is home to stories that help us see and shape the world differently. With Northern Page, we’re opening our doors even wider by offering a beautiful, community-led space where anyone can pause, read and connect. Mul’s installation transforms a busy corridor into a joyful invitation to belong, while our partnership with the National Literacy Trust ensures we’re reaching people who stand to benefit most from the power of reading.”

Mul, the artist behind the installation said, “I loved creating a piece that is hopefully going to inspire people and make them feel comfortable within the space. The artwork is bold, warm and unmistakably North East.

“If the colours and shapes stop someone for ten minutes and they open a book, the artwork has done its job.”

The initiative supports the National Literacy Trust’s mission to raise literacy levels in communities where one in three people experience low literacy, and looks ahead to the National Year of Reading in 2026, announced by the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP. This October, Northern Stage is encouraging everyone to take part in the Trust’s #Take10toRead campaign on World Mental Health Day (10 October) with a simple invitation to pause for ten minutes with a book to relax, lift your mood and step away from daily pressures.

Beyond October, Northern Page will link its book selections to seasonal moments and Northern Stage programming, from Pride Month to Refugee Week and Santa’s Corner at Christmas, while providing a platform for community-made exhibitions and opportunities for local sponsors to champion literacy.

Northern Page is on Level 0 at Northern Stage, opposite the Gillian Dickinson Gallery and near Stage 3. The space is step-free and family-friendly, with easy access to nearby facilities and the theatre’s Changing Places toilet which is equipped with changing facilities and hoists for disabled people, which are open to the public during public opening times.