Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
A few weeks ago I was invited to the press launch of Kino, the cool new wine bar/restaurant in the Howard Assembly Room building, so when I saw Penguin Cafe I thought that they were now catering for uncool people like myself who just wanted a pot of builders’ tea and a chocolate biscuit. Not…
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Well, who would have thought it, another new experience just days short of my 73rd birthday – my first ballet. I have watched them on television but, as with any art form which is not specifically made for that medium, the live experience is something else. I am fortunate that Northern Ballet’s winter programme has…
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I must admit to being a bit wary of going to see this production as the press release made it sound über-woke and I am getting a bit tired of classics being manipulated to reflect the attitudes of today, rather than the time in which they were written. As it turned out, this adaptation worked…
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I doubt that there is any such thing as the perfect musical but in my book this is about as close as it gets. I saw it a few years ago before I set up this website and I was impressed then but I was blown away by last night’s performance. Speaking to other reviewers…
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There is a school of thought which propounds the theory that if you do something, you should follow it through without compromise in order for it to be a success. Bugsy Malone The Musical proves this to be true by making a huge compromise thus ruining a great idea. This stage musical, as you would…
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I would like you to ignore the text on this featured image. ‘Why has the old fool put it on the article then?’ I hear you ask. The answer is simple. This amalgam of two Leeds institutions has been so popular that extra dates have been added so, as well as 23rd and 24th September,…
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With just a month to go, there have been some changes to Leeds International Festival of Ideas. The main one being the addition of a session from the chap who made architecture cool, Kevin McCloud on Thursday, 22nd September. There have also been changes to the various panel members in some of the discussion sets…
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I must admit that Joan as Police Woman is not someone I had come across before. I put that down to getting most of my new music from the TV, my ablution-accompanying radio in the bathroom being tuned to Radio 3 nowadays, and I don’t recall her being on Jools Holland’s Later. When I delved…
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It’s funny how things have a way of repeating themselves. It’s funny how things have a way of repeating themselves. A couple of weeks ago I published a post about my visit to a pottery workshop and then, days later, my account of the Tequila Festival. Here the two were combined, with a masterclass on…
Read MoreWe are coming to the time of year when Opera North gets into full swing with its major productions. Once again they will be at Leeds Grand Theatre so ambiance will not be found wanting. There is a theme this year with, not only a ‘reimagined’ version of Monteverdi’s Orpheus, but also a performance of…
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Tyke It To The Limit 