Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Anyone who regularly reads my articles will know that, apart from them needing therapy, I hate having the classics messed around with. If you think you can do it better then write your own play, even if you have to use the original idea. This is almost what happened here, the concept of Shakespeare’s Romeo…
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I have recommended this series of hour-long recitals by members of the Orchestra of Opera North before and this one did nothing to change my mind, it was wonderful. What I didn’t realise was that the chap who drove the bus which carried me to Leeds was a fan too. I presume that is the…
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Any concert by Manchester Collective or Abel Selaocoe is well worth seeking out, but one which includes them both transcends the term concert and becomes an event and one which should not be missed. I first saw this collaboration in March 2022 in a work called The Oracle, and was more than impressed. That ensemble…
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What better way could there be on a November evening when the sun has chosen not to appear for several days, leaving us only in the company of grey, dank and moist weather, than to enjoy the fun and sheer exuberance of a band from sunny Senegal, where the smiles shine brighter than the star…
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The power of advertising never ceases to amaze me. There is a car dealership who used to, and maybe still does, run ads on TV, with an ear worm jingle which I can’t help but recall every time I see anything connected with this show. Their name is Evans Halshaw, so you too can suffer…
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What a brilliant way to get children into opera. My first experience of live classical music was back in the Sixties at grammar school, when the second form was herded into a building in Rossington Street, just opposite where the Merrion Centre stands today, and made to shut up and listen to a string quartet…
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Before I write this review I must admit to not being a big fan of Gilbert and Sullivan. I was introduced to their work at school via The Pirates of Penzance and, even in my early teens, I thought that the humour was very childish. I realise that it was supposed to be satirical, but…
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Someone, far wittier than I, said that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be. Brilliant as this quip is, I must disagree as, once you reach a certain age, in some aspects of life nostalgia is all you have. This was illustrated brilliantly by Nathan Queeley-Dennis in this one-man show in Bramall Rock Void. The…
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When anyone mentions the violin, most people don’t immediately think of Indian music, but the instrument has become a staple in the South Asian classical world and this evening proved why. After an introduction from Keranjeet Kaur Virdee MBE, CEO and Artistic Director of South Asian Arts, the event began. Ms Virdee said that there…
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Now here is something different, an event to celebrate the birthday of a lighthouse. Not just any lighthouse, but the Eddystone in Plymouth, which celebrated its 265th Anniversary on 16th October, 2024 when this concert was staged. The structure was built by Leeds lad John Smeaton, who was born, and died, in Austhorpe. He was…
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Tyke It To The Limit 