Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
Rarely have I left a theatre as moved as I was last night after the performance of Maggie May. I am not saying that everyone will feel the same but the subject matter and the way it was handled certainly hit a nerve. The play was originally scheduled to be performed before the pandemic but…
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This is the second time I have seen Chicago, the first being in the West End in 2002. I mention this because it somewhat affects my judgement of the show. From the opening number, All That Jazz, I became a bit misty eyed as my companion in London was my late mother, so the memories…
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It is amazing how one small act of kindness can lift your mood in a spectacular way. Last Saturday night I was booked to see the above concert in Leeds and so, as I have had some disastrous experiences with Harrogate Bus Company’s 36 recently, I set off ridiculously early to get there in time.…
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Can’t get to Glastonbury or afford Glyndebourne but still crave music in an exotic location with an open air element this summer, then fret not, there is a feast of live concerts in and around Leeds, and best of all they are free! The ones at Lotherton Hall and Meanwood Valley Urban Farm require that…
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27th April saw the launch of Leeds International Festival of Ideas which, unlike previous years, will be staged over a single weekend between 22nd and 25th September, and also in a single venue, Howard Assembly Room. Some of the events will be run concurrently utilising the Mantle Music Studio in the same building. In all…
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On a fairly sunny but chilly evening in Leeds it was great to be transported to the more balmy climate of Havana for a magical evening of music from Roberto Fonseca and his fellow musicians; Yandy Rodriguez on electric bass and double bass, and Ruly Herrera on drums. Despite the music taking us to the…
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2022 sees Mikron Theatre Company celebrate their 50th Anniversary, and what better way to get things rolling than by reviving the 2015 production of Raising Agents, a play marking 100 years of the W.I. The company specialise in performing in venues not normally associated with theatre, although Holbeck W.M.C. is no stranger to putting on…
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Weather forecasters take 1st March as being the first day of Spring whilst the official kick-off is the Spring Equinox around 21st March when there are an equal number of daylight hour to night hours. In Leeds we know that the real beginning of the season is the opening of Chow Down at Temple Arches.…
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In the late 1960s there was an American television programme called ‘Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-in’ which was required viewing for we college kids of the time. It was a sketch show comprising lots of catch phrases including, ‘Marshall McLuhan, what are you doing’. Marshall McLuhan was the Canadian philosopher who coined the phrase ‘The medium…
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My trip to the Leeds Whisky Festival was not only to sample my favourite spirit, but to right a wrong which had been eating away at me for several years. More of that later, first there was booze to savour. Rolling Social Events have already had Rum Festivals, a Gin Fair and a Christmas Market…
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Tyke It To The Limit 