Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
There seems to be no more appropriate time and place for this classic musical to be performed than now, in Leeds. The time, because the themes concern antisemitism, persecution and forced displacement, by Imperialist Russia in the area which is now Ukraine. The place, because Leeds used to have a large Jewish community, which helped…
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I am writing this article the day following the Lionesses retaining their Women’s European Championship after extra time and penalties. Had the men’s team enjoyed even a fraction of the success gained by the women, this play by Christopher Wollaton may have turned out much differently. The piece is a two-hander, starring the playwright and…
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Transform is a festival of powerful international performance, it says on their programme, and, judging by the contents, it certainly lives up to the claim. The 2025 event marks ten years of the biennial, this, being number six, shows that they must be doing something right. That is a feeling reinforced by the way in…
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Here’s another first, not just for me, but also the actors involved. Leeds Conservatoire, as its name suggests, is a higher education establishment specialising in music and performing arts. It offers undergraduate and post graduate degree courses, as well as catering for the younger learners through Leeds Junior Conservatoire. I wasn’t here to gain any…
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A couple of weeks ago I was invited to go along to Seven Arts in Chapel Allerton, not so much to review a play, but to sample the output of Leeds Actors In Training (LAIT). I must say that I was impressed on several levels. Leeds Actors In Training is a year-long acting course with…
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This is the second ‘straight’ drama in succession I have seen at the wonderful Leeds Grand Theatre, which failed to live up to expectations. I saw this play at Leeds Playhouse some years ago and, whilst I don’t remember it very well – appropriate given the subject, I can’t recall it being this disappointing. Laura…
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Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the review of this play, I would just like to say one thing. Go and see it! It works on so many levels, football being the mortar which binds the whole building, but you really don’t need to be a fan, in fact, it being press…
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I realise that the Monarchy can be a divisive topic but, love it or loathe it, no one can deny that Queen Elizabeth II devoted her whole life to the duty which was bestowed on her, even though she was not born to reign. Had Edward VIII not abdicated, it would have been his children…
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You would think that a one-woman show covering mental illness, alcoholism, drug abuse and doomed relationships all set against the background of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, the place of her birth, would be a bit of a downer, but not so. Suzy Crothers treated us to an hour-long account of her fall and rise…
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I suppose it had to happen. After saying that I was well on the way to understanding the language of dance, I was somewhat baffled by some aspects of this production, which was not only dance, but projected film and spoken word as well. Fortunately there was an information sheet to summarise the intention of…
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Tyke It To The Limit 