Now here’s a global event you have probably never heard of. Forget the T20 World Cup – if only we could – this is a competition between creatives in various categories to see who walks off with the plaudits of their own communities. The USP is that the performances can only last a maximum of…
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Brahms’ Clarinet Trio at Dewsbury Town Hall
Now here was a concert to gladden the heart of any Yorkshireman, it was a buy one, get one free offer. As well as the advertised work, Clarinet Trio Op. 114 by Brahms, we were treated to a second, this time from Beethoven, namely his Clarinet Trio in B flat major Op. 11. Not only…
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My Fair Lady at Leeds Playhouse
Another first for me, but in this case a most unwelcome one. This is the first time I have ever left the theatre before the end of a show, not because I wasn’t enjoying the production, far from it, but I have a medical condition, yes, another one, which, when it attacks, causes excruciating pain.…
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Beauty And The Beast from Northern Ballet
After my first visit to see a full ballet, Romeo And Juliet, I was wondering whether they were all as good as that. Beauty And The Beast has convinced me that they probably are! Once again I was in awe of the performers, the orchestra and the creatives. Not being a regular ballet buff, I…
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Here You Come Again at Leeds Playhouse
We Leeds theatregoers are currently going through a purple patch insofar as shows are concerned. From the phenomenal Come From Away, with its cast of thousands, through Common Ground performed by four travelling players in a fish and chip restaurant, the best adaptation of a Nineties romcom in Pretty Woman and now Here You Come…
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Common Ground from Mikron Theatre Company at Wetherby Whaler, Guiseley.
This has to be one of my favourite events of the year, not only do I love the way in which Mikron reaches out to the people who, by choice or circumstance, would never go anywhere near a theatre, but also it is performed in a fish and chip restaurant, so win/win. Mikron tours the…
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Pretty Woman – The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre
Since lockdown there has been a succession of musicals derived from hit films, which have ranged from OK to WTF, this one, however, is definitely an OMG! It is a romcom which, for once, lives up to both sections of the portmanteau word, in that it is both romantic and a comedy. The story is…
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Sounds of Spring Concert from Opera North at Howard Assembly Room
Regular readers will know how much I enjoy Opera North’s lunchtime concerts at Dewsbury Town Hall – the next one is The Romantic Violin on Wednesday, 15th May – well, here we had a bonus edition at Howard Assembly Room in Leeds. The starting time was a little earlier, being 11.00am and instead of sandwiches,…
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Mother of the Revolution at Leeds Industrial Museum, Armley
Another week, another show about a pioneering woman. After musicals about Jennie Lee and Shirley Chisholm, who were both politicians, here we have one written by Rosie MacPherson, based in an idea from Beth Knight, who directed the piece, about Betty Beecroft an 18th Century industrialist. As with the other two, the music style was…
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Come From Away at Leeds Grand Theatre
This might not be the best way to begin a review, but over the past eighteen months or so, I have had some health issues which, apart from the physical aspects, have had a psychological effect on me, sapping my enthusiasm to such an extent I was seriously thinking of retiring from writing altogether. Being…
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