Do the monster mash! Huge exhibition set to open in South Shields

Saturday sees the start of Monsters! The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly, at The Word, National Centre for the Written Word, in South Shields.

The free exhibition – which will run until January 2019 – will bring visitors up close to a vast display of creatures from the beasts of early mythology to the modern, digital creations of Pixar and Disney.

They will include Boris Karloff’s classic movie monster Frankenstein’s lab, King Kong, Dracula, Wolf Man and the Mummy.

There will also be interactive games, the chance to watch clips from monster movies and readings of The Gruffalo and Shrek for younger visitors.

Sheridan Design, which has staged previous exhibitions at The Word, has developed a creative, interactive and engaging exhibition for visitors to enjoy. The exhibition is being sponsored by Port of Tyne.

Tania Robinson, head of marketing and culture at The Word, said the monsters, which replace the popular Pirates exhibition, is its most ambitious yet.

She said: “We are really excited about this new exhibition. It builds on the huge success of our exhibition about pirates, which was enjoyed by 130,000 people.”

Blaydon-based Sheridan Design’s senior designer Jon Ternent said: “I started five months ago with a blank piece of paper and during that time we have done a vast amount of research to determine what constitutes a monster and which ones should be included in the exhibition.

“It has been a race against time, largely because of the bad weather earlier this month but I am delighted that we will open on time.”

For more information, go to www.theworduk.org, www.facebook.com/worduk, www.twitter.com/theword_uk.