Now that we are in the middle of June and the sun is cracking the flags it is time to cast our minds towards autumn and winter – you remember winter, it is the season which seemed to finish last week!
Obviously those in the entertainment and hospitality industries have to plan well ahead and, should you want to bag a seat for a great show, so do you. This is Leeds Playhouse’s offering for the end of the year.
The programme begins on 5th-17th September with a retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest which is a co-production between Leeds Playhouse, ETT and Rose Theatre. It is directed by Denzel Westley-Sanderson who won the 2021 Sir Peter Hall Director Award.
From 24th September-15th October there is Natasha Gordon’s award-winning debut play Nine Night. Directed by Amanda Huxtable it studies a British-Jamaican family when they get together to mark the passing of their mother. It is a co-production with Nottingham Playhouse and contains a fair amount of comedy so not as sombre as I have made it sound. It is part of the Out of Many Festival which is a celebration of Jamaica’s cultural impact on Leeds.
Other productions in the Out of Many Festival are Road to Trojan on 6th August which is a musical extravaganza starring the legendary reggae singer Freddie McGregor along with DJ Dennis Alcapone and the 17-piece Jazz Jamaica All Stars featuring Aswad’s Brinsley Forde and many others – well sixteen others obviously!
Brinsley Forde reappears on 22nd October in Rebellion to Romance with other Icons of Black British Culture such as Dennis Bovell, Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson. Original Phoenix Dance will be performing as will comedians Eddie Nestor and Robbie Gee. That seems to be all bases covered.
For a full list of Out of Many events please go to https://www.jamaicasocietyleeds.co.uk/events/?utm_source=Website&utm_medium=OOM+Festival+Jamaica+Society+Leeds+events+page&utm_campaign=Rebellion+to+Romance
Much Ado About Nothing runs from 27th September-1st October. It is a joint production from Sheffield Theatres and Ramps on the Moon with all performances using integrated creative sign language, audio description and captioning.
One of the best shows I have seen returns on 13th-15th October, Orpheus in the Record Shop which showcases the incredible talent of Testament who is accompanied by seven members of the Orchestra of Opera North and pianist and composer Tai Modi.
For younger theatregoers and their parents October shows include Igglepiggle’s Busy Day on 7th-8th and Jack Frost and the Search for Winter by Joseph Coelho also on 8th.
There are two shows over the Christmas period this year, Stick Man, which is full of puppetry, songs and live music is on 7th-31st December.
The other festive offering is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – The Musical and runs from 18th November 2022-28th January 2023. It is a Leeds Playhouse production in association with Neal Street Productions.
So, may I be the first to wish you a very merry……..nah, not yet, that would be silly!
For full details of all the above and more, please go to https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk/whats-on/ where you will also be able to book.
All images provided by Leeds Playhouse.
Tyke It To The Limit 