UPCOMING EVENTS
Starting April 2025
Various locations across the city
A Pie, A Poem and A Portrait
Presented by New Vic Borderlines
Arthur Berry’s imagination was fed by the rich heritage of the Potteries and the lives of local people.
A Pie, A Poem and A Portrait will see Arthur Berry’s artwork and poetry brought to life in school yards, parks, community centres, pubs and unusual locations all across Stoke-on-Trent.
22 April - 27 June 2025
Various Locations
Sketchy
Presented by New Vic Education
Inspired by Arthur Berry’s vision as both an artist and writer, New Vic Education will work with artists, schools and community groups including Middleport Matters, Smallthorne Primary School and Springhead Primary School, to engage with the skill of drawing.
26 April 2025
Middleport Pottery
Port Street, ST6 3PE
A Bunch of Flowers
Presented by Barewall
A stunning new animation that brings Arthur Berry’s story to life like never before. Being shown as part of Middleport Pottery Spring Festival.
7 May - 28 June 2025
New Vic Theatre
Etruria Road ST5 0JG
Theatre Maker Exhibition
Presented by New Vic Theatre
A prolific creative artist and writer, Arthur Berry was inspired to write his first play after seeing a production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood at the Vic Theatre in 1972. Then, a chance meeting with theatre director Peter Cheeseman at the Swan Hotel in Burslem led to 10 years of fruitful collaboration with The Vic. Five of Berry’s plays were staged at the old Vic on Hartshill Road, before St George of Scotia Road opened at the New Vic Theatre in 1986.
In this exhibition, see a collection of the artist’s original drawings - vibrant characters and settings created for his plays - from the Victoria Theatre Archive at Staffordshire University, alongside production photographs from the performances themselves.
31 May - 21 June 2025
New Vic Theatre
Etruria Road ST5 0JG
Whatever Happened To Phoebe Salt
Presented by New Vic Theatre
A World Premier Production
Born and raised in the industrial heartland of Stoke-on-Trent, Phoebe Salt spends her days working in the meat market, trapped in a daily grind of blood and bone.
After work, yearning for glamour and adventure, she rehearses her role as a showman’s assistant with the local town entertainer and soon, opportunity knocks.
Will a TV appearance help her finally escape the trials and tribulations of working life or does her fate have other plans?
19 July 2025
The Dipping House
Spode Works ST4 1BU
Meeting Arthur
Presented by Claybody Theatre
Claybody Theatre respond to the work of Arthur Berry as an artist, playwright and poet.
Get involved and be inspired by an installation at The Dipping House. Participate in any of four Creative Workshops: Visual Art; Script Writing; Poetry or Music.
Further details, including workshop times, coming soon
19 July 2025
The Dipping House
Spode Works ST4 1BU
A Portrait of Arthur
Presented by Claybody Theatre
Claybody Theatre respond to the work of Arthur Berry as an artist, playwright and poet.
Learn more about the man and the artist at an evening talk about Berry’s life and work.
Further details, including exact time, coming soon.
19 July 2025
The Dipping House
Spode Works ST4 1BU
Ode to Arthur
Presented by Claybody Theatre
Claybody Theatre respond to the work of Arthur Berry as an artist, playwright and poet.
Join Claybody Theatre for an evening’s entertainment created in response to the works of Arthur Berry, including original monologues written and performed by the Company, and a new musical piece by Ashley Thompson, performed by COR BACH with ACCELER8 BRASS BAND.
Admission: £15.00. Further details, including how to book, coming soon.
Summer 2025
Location to be announced
Three Counties Open Art Exhibition
The Three Counties Open Art Exhibition is an open-call visual arts exhibition for artists connected to Staffordshire, Cheshire or Shropshire.
The exhibition spans a wide range of mediums in five rooms inside the purpose-built art school building where Arthur Berry studied and taught. From painting to printmaking, drawing, photography, sculpture, textiles, moving image and installation-based works, the breadth of exhibited work shows only a small selection of the creativity of the area.
Admission: Free. venue open Tues - Sat from 11am - 3pm.
The Three Counties Open Art is organised in partnership with: ArtsKeele at Keele University; Appetite; Barewall Gallery; Burslem School of Art Trust; Character & Arts Foundation; City Learning Trust; ACAVA Spode Works. With special thanks to our awards sponsors – ACAVA, Appetite, Barewall Art Gallery, Burslem School of Art Trust, City Learning Trust, Keele University, North Staffordshire Friends of the Earth, New Vic Theatre Archive Fund and Urban Wilderness.
Summer 2025
Location to be announced
A Sense of Place
This unique and highly personal exhibition explores the places and locations included in Berry’s writings, poems and plays, and in unseen photographs from the archive - all amidst the dulcet tones of Arthur Berry’s voice. A selection of items will be available for sale to accompany the show including artwork from the Arthur Berry Estate.
Alongside the exhibition there will be a range of walks and opportunities to find out more about, contribute towards remembering, and to celebrate Arthur, use the Find Out More button for more details.
August - October 2024
Stoke-on-Trent City Centre and Newcastle-under-Lyme Town Centre
Arthur Berry On The Streets
Presented by Appetite
Appetite is joining the celebrations for 100 years of Arthur Berry: playwright, poet, painter, cultural icon. 2025 would have been his centenary year, and it’s a time when we look forward to honouring his extraordinary life and contribution to art, literature and culture with a series of events. There will be exhibitions, performances, discussions and unprecedented public access to his archive.
As part of this, Appetite are presenting a pop-up, open-air exhibition exploring Arthur’s life and work. The exhibition ‘cubes’ will also feature some of the Three Counties Open Art Exhibition Arthur Berry Prize-winners, shining a light on his lasting legacy.
The exhibition will run from August to October, beginning in Stoke-on-Trent City Centre (Hanley, 4 August – 14 September) before moving to Newcastle-under-Lyme town centre (20 September – 1 October).