Friday 7th January 2022 at Leeds Playhouse ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ella Hickson’s adaptation of the J. M. Barrie classic places Wendy Darling more centrally but keeps a firm focus on Peter Pan too, doing well to strike a balance which does enough to please both established fans and newbies to this adventure. This production from directors Jonathan... Continue Reading →
Review: Dracula: The Untold Story (Touring)
Wednesday 29th September 2021 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” gets a cinematic comic strip makeover in this bold adaptation from Imitating the Dog. It’s rare for a production to fulfil its descriptors to perfection, but this show is exactly as billed: “a live graphic novel”. This version of the Dracula tale is told... Continue Reading →
Review: Piaf (Touring)
Monday 26 July 2021 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ There’s no doubt that Edith Piaf’s life and talent were extraordinary. With such tragedy in her life, it makes perfect sense that such melancholy should have found its way under her skin and into her music, but this take on her life story from Pam Gems certainly... Continue Reading →
Review: A Little Night Music At Leeds Playhouse
Thursday July 1, 2021 at Leeds Playhouse. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It’s always a thrill to see a celebrated giant of the musical theatre world for the first time, and this production does not disappoint. With a story inspired by an Ingmar Bergman film, book by by Hugh Wheeler and music and lyrics by the great Stephen Sondheim,... Continue Reading →
Review: Leeds Playhouse’s A Christmas Carol
Leeds Playhouse (At Home) Having rehearsed A Christmas Carol with live, socially distanced audiences planned, Leeds Playhouse has been hit with ‘COVID-closure’ once again. Pivoting swiftly, they’ve taken their show online and audiences now have the opportunity to watch Dickens’ classic tale from their sofas. So, what’s Dickensian Leeds like from sofas in front of... Continue Reading →
Interview: Victoria Smith Talks Fundraising with #TheatreFor1Pound
It’s been a tough year for the arts industry, that’s for sure. With closures and hopeful partial re-openings dominating the news feeds, the industry has been working nose to the grindstone for months. Victoria Smith, like others, has decided to take some action and do what she can to support. In September, the fundraising initiative... Continue Reading →
Review: Orpheus in the Record Shop At Leeds Playhouse
Saturday 10th October 2020 at Leeds Playhouse (Quarry Theatre). Orpheus in the Record Shop brings the incredibly talented Testament back to Leeds Playhouse, and it’s a return worth waiting for. With text and music by Testament (with additional music by Taz Modi) and direction from Aletta Collins, musical and storytelling styles merge to tell a... Continue Reading →
Review: Krapp’s Last Tape At Leeds Playhouse
Saturday 10th October 2020 at Leeds Playhouse (Bramall Rock Void) Before Jonathan Larson was penning musings about 525,600 minutes to measure a year, Samuel Beckett had the supremely underwhelmed Krapp facing the exact same existential crisis, just from much further down the line of life experience... In this co-production from Opera North and Leeds Playhouse,... Continue Reading →
Review: Reflections on Krapp’s Last Tape At Leeds Playhouse
Saturday 10th October 2020 at Leeds Playhouse (Courtyard Theatre). Leeds Playhouse and Opera North’s collaboration series, Connecting Voices, is bringing audiences back to live theatre in actual theatre spaces. Going a step further, the series also includes some reflective works based on the main productions, offering audiences excerpts of music and words which engage with... Continue Reading →
Review: La Voix Humaine at Leeds Playhouse
Saturday 10th October 2020 at Leeds Playhouse (Barber Studio). So you’re on a bus, or a train, or a plane, and you’re hearing one side of a scandalous/ tragic/ break-up call. It’s one side of the story, but gradually the fragmented pieces begin to find one another and the story takes shape. That’s the dynamic... Continue Reading →