Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Although not the first of their musicals to be performed commercially, this is an early effort by a couple of young chaps called Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who haven’t done too badly for themselves since they penned this 15-minute piece for their school concert in 1968. Amazingly they had already written a full-scale musical…
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To mark Refugee Week, Howard Assembly Room mounted a concert to showcase some of the amazing talent brought to this country by those escaping intolerable conditions, some even life-threatening, in their birth countries. It is appropriate that Leeds is participating as the city has largely been built by immigrants from around the world. Just think…
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If you like your musicals full of belting tunes then this is the show for you. Should you be looking for something a little more profound, or even a bio-show about The Supremes then you should still go but don’t get your expectations up too high. The programme notes only cover four pages, all but…
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This is the first production in an Opera North season devoted to Orpheus, and why not! There is no mention of his being in The Underworld, probably because they knew that the Tubes were on strike. A Tale of Orpheus & Eurydice is a prequel to Orpheus by Monteverdi, who is generally credited with the…
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Anyone taking even a passing glance at this site will know how much I enjoy going to this venue. The great thing is, because it specialises in one-night stands, I get more opportunities to indulge myself as well as broadening my musical knowledge with every trip. I hope that once you have seen what is…
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2022 sees the Golden Anniversary of Mikron Theatre Company, a group of travelling players based in Marsden, high up in the Pennines near Huddersfield. Mikron, whose name is a contraction of Mike (Lucas) and Ron (Legge), who founded the company, takes theatre right back to its roots when travelling players would arrive at a village…
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Two of the many great things about Howard Assembly Room is that it is both intimate and versatile. The first of these qualities was utilised, before the brilliant performance by the ex-Bellowheads, Spiers and Boden, by Jon Boden who held a Free Singing Workshop for those who wanted to exercise their vocal chords. Obviously I…
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I know that I have a mind which works in strange ways but I really could not get the thought of this band being from Bradford out of my mind! In fact they are from all over the place and are some of the most innovative musicians on the planet. The name is a pun…
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Leeds is staging its inaugural Jazz Festival this year at various venues throughout the city. I got into the swing – literally – at the Free Stage on Cookridge Street on a sunny Friday afternoon. The whole shebang started on 1st June, so I had arrived fashionably late, but there are still a lot of…
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Should you ever meet Richard Wagner in another life I suggest that you greet him by just saying ‘Hello’. I get the feeling that if you ask ‘How are you?’ you will spend a couple of days listening to his answer. He is the Cecil B DeMille of opera, taking as much time as he…
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Tyke It To The Limit 