King Teare: Newcastle Keep from Caesar to Teare
 
Introduction: The Need for Transformation
On the same day I visited the Holy Island of Lindisfarne (Adam, 2009, Teare, 2025), I also explored Newcastle Castle Keep (Buswell, 1984). This fortress stands as more than a historic landmark, it’s a symbol of layered identity, power, and the quiet resilience of the North (Adams, 2013, Teare, 2025). This blog piece argues for a radical rethinking of our cultural institutions, and an education revolution rooted in equity, empathy, and historical awareness (Fadil, Sudrajat & Amboro, 2021). Through Newcastle’s legacy, we reflect on the disparity of knowledge, invisible hierarchies, and the possibilities for collective change (Drury & Reicher, 2000).
 
Newcastle and the Performance of Pride
Newcastle is a city rich with invention and cultural memory, but that pride can distort perspective (Tracy & Robbins, 2007, Brannon, 2023). While the region played a role in breakthroughs like with the steam engine and the electric lightbulb’s first ever public demonstration, these were not isolated phenomena (Grandpierre, 1997). Scientific progress is collective, and ideas often emerge simultaneously in different places (Turner, 2014, p. 221). Regional exceptionalism can warp our understanding of how knowledge flows, through networks, through cultural osmosis, and through the unconscious (Turner, 2014).

Our recent football victory, as our first major cup in 70 years (Clarke, 2011), offered a unifying story, celebrated nationally. But this civic momentum must be channelled into something greater: tackling food insecurity, housing inequality, and systemic exclusion. I recently visited a food bank and was struck by the dignity of those working in a broken system. Why is this level of need normalised? Why does meaningful policy change seem so slow?
 
Misconceptions of Ability and the Politics of IQ
The myth of "ability" is too often framed through falsehoods like eugenic  theory (Jamieson, 1996) or reductionist models of intelligence (Davidson & Downing, 2000). Environmental, social, and emotional contexts shape what people can do (Davidson & Downing, 2000, p. 68). Many with privilege fail to notice their advantages until directly confronted. This is not merely ignorance, it’s a symptom of cultural conditioning and unprocessed fear. Those at the top often become conservative, not politically but psychologically, terrified of falling back down the perceived hierarchy.

Risk-aversion defines much of our governance. It inhibits innovation and silences activists. The system is not broken by accident, as it is held in place by caution disguised as pragmatism. Hence the Geordie phrase that drives me: "Shy Bairns Get Nowt." The world is hard by design, but it needn't be. Systems can be made more accessible, more empathetic, more human. We need a cultural shift guided by ethics and spiritual clarity, drawing on figures we all respect historically like Jesus (Brinsley, 1652, deHaven-Smith, 2001), Dr. King (King, 1964), Augusto Boal (Boal, 1974), Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth II (Mollick, 1964).

If I’d had the chance to meet our late Queen, I’d have shared my work on participatory democracy, as story-based leadership for a tool with justice. Her legacy was shaped not just by tradition as many perceive, but by key interventions, such as protecting women’s aid organisations in their early development (Hilton, year unknown). So, what makes a legacy? 
 
Light and Reclamation
When the lightbulb was first turned on at Newcastle’s Lit and Phil (Robbins & Mead, 1989), it wasn’t a test, it was a performance. Science is often staged. Demonstrations are theatre with the intent to inspire, convince, and legitimise. And like all theatre, it asks an audience to suspend disbelief. In some ways, science and magic are siblings especially in it's presentation style for demonstrations.

Cultural icons like Ant and Dec (Leggot, 2021), Northeast figures who grew up alongside us, have flirted with Invisible Theatre too. Their comedy, from Pokémon rap battles to public pranks, used storytelling to shift perception. I would remind them that as artists and educators, we should examine how narrative empowers the public to confront their oppressions.

Boal’s legacy (Boal, 1974, 1980, 1998, Boal J, Howe & Soeiro, 2019), continued by his son Julian (Boal J, 2023), warns us that even well-intentioned performances can reinforce harm, if not carefully constructed. Ethical storytelling is not about avoiding violence or discomfort; it’s about the truth behind those depictions. Tarantino (Pagello, 2020), often misunderstood, doesn’t glorify brutality; he reframes it. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is trauma reimagined, giving the viewer symbolic justice. That’s a kind of therapy, a way to break narrative imprisonment.
 
Data, Dependency, and the Price of Access
Economic growth charts mean little if the people are left behind. Many people in positions of authority have blind faith in statistics (Ziegler, 2007). If your methods only measure profits or surface-level wellbeing, you miss the emotional, spiritual, and communal toll of modern life. Regions are plagued by addiction, poor mental health, and chronic insecurity, amplified by the recent legacy of the pandemic years. Our response must be holistic, grounded in lived experience and positive reinforcement.

We already have the knowledge to address many of these problems and what we lack is the access to education, and critical assessment, as it's is behind a paywall. If we removed it, we’d see an education revolution. Competitiveness is overrated and we need cooperation. We need learning as community repair because when someone becomes curious, they will simply continue learning. We must foster curiosity in education (Caldas, 2020).
 
The Castle as a Metaphor and a Reality
Newcastle Castle isn’t just a historical site, it’s a physical symbol of authority, defence, and transition. Built during the Norman consolidation of England (Freeman, 1873), the castle marked dominance and controlled one of the most strategic river crossings in the country. Standing atop the Keep, overlooking the Tyne, you're suspended in time, caught between stone fortification and the skyline of post-industrial ambition.

Inside, the exhibitions reflect key events like the English Civil War, while the architecture whispers of feudal power and domestic life. This is what Ashworth and Tunbridge (1990) meant when they described heritage as the construction of collective memory. And as Smith (2006) argues, heritage sites aren’t just about the past they shape our belonging and cultural continuity.

Newcastle Castle is a living artefact. It holds a mirror up to who we were and who we are. It reminds us that legacy can defend or empower. And it calls us to question what kind of future we are constructing. Interestingly the mantel of Caesar is connected to the site (Burley, 1993, p. 120). History tells us that the foundation stones for the Castle were taken from Hadrian Caesar’s wall (Burley, 1993, p. 125). Julius, the father of cryptography (Grant, 1976), his legacy reached all the way to Newcastle Castle, and it still stands strong today (Burley, 1993). Standing atop the keep I considered my own legacy and the concept of a mantel shared and it’s symbolic meaning (Chambers, 1895).  
 
Though not explicitly theatrical, Newcastle Castle radiates an ambient dramaturgy. Its corridors, towers, and secluded chapels feel like cryptic backdrops, waiting to be activated by performance (Turner, 1969). The emblems of the Three Lions embedded within the architecture signal a symbolic convergence: royal authority, pride, and collective aspiration. Three could be a symbol of the holy trinity or maybe there is more to discover here. Historically, this motif represented sovereign continuity. Today, it's plastered across stadiums, jerseys, and national campaigns for belief and unity. Inside, the small spiritual chamber had a disproportionate impact with me. There, ritual meets architecture. These are spaces not just for defence or worship, but for mythmaking: invocations of kingship, divine right, and national destiny. By merely walking these halls, we participate in an unwitting performance of heritage. History, in this sense, is not just studied but enacted. To feel oneself as part of history is a subjunctive experience, in Turner’s terms, a momentary rupture in linear time, where the self merges with ancestral narrative.
 
Conclusion: Legacy and Awakening
Newcastle city is a place with the potential to lead. But we must unlearn old structures, reject inherited inequality, and embrace new forms of knowledge and leadership. The Keep reminds us that power is always contested. The lightbulb shows us that performance matters even in the invisible/dark. The food banks are telling us that empathy is action. If we’re to make lasting change now, it will be because we redefined what counts as intelligence, what counts as success, and what we are all willing to stand for. Let this be the start of an education revolution, not just of schools, but of hearts, minds, and the systems we participate in. 

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