Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
The full title of this production is Alan Bleasedale’s Boys From The Black Stuff by James Graham and is an adaptation of the BBC television series broadcast in late 1982. Two years earlier Alan Bleasedale had written a work for the BBC series of one-off dramas, Play For Today, called simply The Black Stuff, which…
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I opened my review of Bat Out Of Hell by referencing Meatloaf’s raunchy performance of Paradise By The Dashboard Light on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1978. If I thought that was worthy of an 18 certificate, it was made to look like CBeebies in comparison to the action in Cruel Intentions. It has…
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To mark Bradford’s tenure as UK City of Culture, Opera North decided to spread the love and stage the first two performances of the 2025 Tour of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at St Georges Hall, handily situated across the road from the Interchange. I say ‘staged’ advisedly, as that is the term used to describe the…
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I remember vividly the first time I saw Meat Loaf on television. It was over the Christmas holiday in 1978 when my wife, her sister and her husband and my mother-in-law, were watching the Old Grey Whistle Test Review of the Year. Whilst not prudes, my relatives were hardly down and dirty, so the atmosphere…
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The first theatre review I ever wrote was for Leeds Living about a ‘thriller’ at Leeds Grand Theatre. The play was terrible and so I submitted it to the copy editor with a covering email saying that I didn’t mind if they didn’t want to use it, but it was my honest opinion and so…
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I always find it odd watching the wonderful Mikron theatre company perform at this venue. Not because there is anything strange about either organisation – well, not much – but Mikron is a bunch of travelling performers who set up their stage in various venues, mostly using their trusty narrowboat, Tyseley, to get them around…
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I have immense admiration for people who have a vision and the commitment to follow it through to fruition. Such is the case of Andrew McNicol, who wanted to shake up the UK ballet scene by ‘incorporating diverse artistic perspectives and global innovations, promoting Ballet’s enduring vitality, power and relevance.’ I have no doubt that…
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Now I don’t know about you, but I do admire an actor who can cook egg and chips while delivering a two-hour monologue. Sadly, she didn’t hand the fries round at the interval, but I’ll forgive her for that, as she had other things on her plate. Like a lot of people, I have seen…
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Now here’s a novel idea. To celebrate 40 years of this iconic musical, Music Theatre International and Cameron Mackintosh Limited decided to allow amateur organisations to perform the show for the first time. Rather than just release the score, directions and other elements of the West End production to all and sundry, they chose eleven…
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I think that the cushiest job on the stage must be the part of the Pharaoh in this musical. You can spend the first half in the Green Room with your feet up and then pop on to do your feature number, have another cup of tea slip on for a couple of cameos and…
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Tyke It To The Limit 