ARCHIVE footage of Muhammad Ali, Catherine Cookson and an iconic North-East television series will be included in a show to mark a theatre’s landmark anniversary.

The North East Film Archive will visit The Customs House on Thursday, January 30 next year for South Shields On Film, a new programme of historic film material of the area in days gone by.

The South Tyneside building is celebrating its 25th anniversary as an arts and culture venue.

South Shields On Film will take viewers on a visual journey through the town’s history, exploring the lives of people who have lived, worked and made their mark on its rich cultural history – including a few familiar faces.

Highlights include films about Catherine Cookson ruminating on her Jarrow childhood, ‘When The Boat Comes In’ author James Mitchell reminiscing around town in a Tyne Tees documentary from the late 1960s, Muhammad Ali’s visit to South Shields in 1977 and films documenting the working lives of the shipbuilders at Palmers, Hebburn, and textile workers at Barbour.

The programme features films from the 1920s right through to the 1990s.

The event is part of North East On Film, a project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund that has ensured the preservation and digitisation of archive footage from across the region and which has provided opportunities for the public to see and enjoy the archive film collections cared for in the archive’s vaults.

Since the project started in 2018,it has screened material at special events to almost 5,000 people across the entire North-East, and to almost three million people online. The project ends in early 2020.

Ray Spencer MBE, executive director at The Customs House said: “We’re delighted to welcome the folks from the North East Film Archive for these amazing screenings. We’re very much a community venue at The Customs House and we can’t wait to celebrate the lives of the people and places who have shaped South Tyneside and South Shields over the last century.”

Julie Ballands, delivery manager for the North East on Film project said: “What a rich history South Tyneside has, and we’re delighted to present this film show at The Customs House. It’s such a great venue with a brilliant audience and we know that we’ll have a fantastic turnout for our two shows. We have some amazing films to share and they’re sure to spark a few memories within the audience.”

South Shields On Film screens twice at The Customs House, at 1.30pm and 7pm on Thursday, January 30.

Tickets are priced from £8 and can be purchased at customshouse.co.uk/music/south-shields-on-film/ or by calling The Customs House on 0191-454-1234.

The Customs House is located at Mill Dam, South Shields, NE33 1ES.