Stan Graham's Leisure Guide for North and West Yorkshire
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
It was interesting to get back to Farsley as, between 1978 and 1982, I lived just around the corner from Sunny Bank Mill when it was still, well, a mill. Like the rest of the area it has now been gentrified – everywhere seems to go upmarket when I leave – and is home to…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read MoreI realise it is a bit early to be promoting an event in October, but anything emanating from the partnership between LeedsBID and Welcome to Leeds is bound to be in great demand. They also don’t mess about by cutting corners as can be seen from the Christmas spectaculars and the Summer Holiday specials, details…
Read More
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…
Read More
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…
Read More
Little Women is part of The Stories We Tell Season, which accounts for my observation about the plays which are based on novels in the introduction to my review. The season celebrates works that have reflected the experiences of individuals and, in keeping with that ethos, Grand Theatre’s Learning and Engagement team has been working…
Read More
Tyke It To The Limit 