When asking friends what their favourite movies are, you can be assured that somebody will wax lyrically about The Shawshank Redemption. Based on the story by Stephen King, the 1994 film regularly finds itself topping the lists of the most popular movies of all time. This season, a theatrical adaptation arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre as part of a national tour. Following a film held in such public affection, how does a new imagining for stage stand up to scrutiny?
Andy DeFresne (Ian Kelsey) finds himself incarcerated at Shawshank State Penitentiary with two life sentences for the murder of his wife and her lover. Befriended by Ellis 'Red' Redding (Patrick Robinson), Andy is inducted into prison life but inevitably succumbs to abuse and torment. It's the 1940s and corruption is rife throughout the prison system; by using his tact and illelect, Andy makes long-term plans for the perfect escape.
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And Then There Were None comes to Leeds Grand Theatre this week as part of a national tour. Based on the record-breaking murder mystery novel by Agatha Christie, the play introduces ten individuals as they are lured to an island retreat and played a recorded message. The voice threatens to make them pay for a series of unspeakable crimes, assuring them that nobody will survive the duration of their stay. Soon the party realise that the killings in the house are being conducted by somebody within the group. The race is on to expose the murderer.
The modern recipe for a winning musical often features a classic film as its inspiration, with the addition of catchy musical numbers and preferably an all star cast. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical contains just these ingredients and stops off at Leeds Grand Theatre this month as part of a national tour.
Lawrence Jameson is a sophisticated confidence trickster, forging a living from the rich and gullible. When Freddy Benson arrives on the French Riviera, the duo briefly become partners in crime before the wealthy Christine Colgate checks in. In a battle to secure her assets, Lawrence and Freddy go head-to-head in a hustle of ever-growing proportions. Sixties rock 'n roll musical Dreamboats and Miniskirts arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre this week. Continuing the story from Dreamboats and Petticoats, the show follows Laura and Bobby after their brief success on the hit parade. As The Beatles cause a sensation throughout Liverpool, Bobby and The Conquests attempt to cut a record and become part of the touring action; but a bad decision sends Bobby and Laura spinning in different directions with a hit single which may break them apart entirely.
Calamity Jane, a classic Western musical, rides into Leeds Grand Theatre this month. Featuring a stampede of iconic show tunes, rugged characters and unexpected romance, Calamity Jane is a new production of a much-loved classic.
It’s the Summer of 1876 in Deadwood City, Dakota. When Calamity Jane, a tomboyish cowgirl, brags that she can deliver hot Chicagoan performer Adelaid Adams to the local stage of Deadwood, she sets out to the big Windy City to persuade the sultry starlet, only to pick up her maid for a live performance which will shake up the local community and create a love triangle of gunslinging proportions. Cast: Laurence Pears, Cornelius Booth, Matt Cavendish, Leonie Hill, James Marlow, Chris Leask, Harry Kershaw, Naomi Sheldon, Alex Bartram, Rosie Abraham
Director: Adam Meggido Writer: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 120 minutes Start Date: June 17, 2015 Following Mischief Theatre's smash hit comedy The Play That Goes Wrong, the company present a second outing of theatrical disaster when Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Leeds Grand Theatre this week. Promising perilously violent stunts, gloriously destructive sets and general calamity on stage, it offers a version of Peter Pan which audiences are never likely to forget. When the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society pulls into town it is guaranteed something will go wrong. This year's Christmas production of Peter Pan (opening in the Summer due to a booking error) is touted as the most expensive production from the company yet. Starting with noble and ambitions intentions, the show begins to fracture as actors drop out, scenery falls apart and lighting and sound runs wild. Famous for featuring a flying boy who didn't grow up, Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a downward tailspin of chaos, calamity and courage. As ever, the show must go on... Cast: Cory English, Jason Manford, Ross Noble, David Bedella, Tiffany Graves, Stephane Anelli
Director: Matthew White Writer: Mel Brooks & Thomas Meehan Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: June 8, 2015 In 2001 Mel Brooks adapted his hit comedy film The Producers into a hit Broadway musical. This week the Tony award-winning show arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre. The Producers is the story of Max Bialystock (Cory English), a theatre producer with a string of Broadway stinkers to his name. When accountant Leo Bloom (Jason Manford) reveals that more money can be made from a failure than a success, Bialystock sources a hideous script to be realised by an incapable director, in the hope of creating a guaranteed flop. With plans to escape with the show's investments to Brazil, the duo's hopes are dashed when Springtime For Hitler becomes an unexpected hit. Cast: Robert Webb, Jason Thorpe, Chris Ryan Director: Sean Foley
Writer: The Goodale Brothers Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 125 minutes Start Date: June 1, 2015 P.G. Wodehouse's celebrated creations Jeeves and Wooster show up at Leeds Grand Theatre this week in Perfect Nonsense, a West End transfer from the pens of The Goodale Brothers. Perfect Nonsense establishes the façade of an amateur one-man show, fronted by Bertie Wooster as he attempts to re-enact the events of a purloined creamer (in the shape of a cow) whilst being seduced by his friend's soppy fiancé. Struggling to play all of the diverse roles alone, Bertie ropes in his ever faithful butler Jeeves and the long-suffering Steppings, a doddery manservant. Cast: Raymond Coulthard, Jason Donovan, Martin Turner, William Hoyland, Claire Lams, Katy Stephens, Jamie Hinde.
Director: Roxana Silbert Writer: David Seidler Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 140 minutes The King’s Speech arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre this month as part of a national tour. The inspiration for the award-winning motion picture, the play tells the story of George VI as he is crowned King of England, following the scandalous abdication of his elder brother Edward VIII. A reluctant leader bound by duty, George assumes the throne with a life-long secret: a severe speech impediment and fear of public speaking. Instigated by his wife Elizabeth, George begins an unorthodox term of therapy with Australian thespian Lionel Logue in a hope to prepare the King for a global address, upon which confidence in the entire British Empire hangs. Like all fine drama documentary, The King’s Speech telescopes events and composites characters into a workable set-piece which has tension and pace, if not wholly burdened with historical accuracy. George VI, affectionately known as Bertie, is written with a rigid stoicism, typifying the attitude that the monarchy are stiff and detached beings, whilst Logue is polarized into an free-wheeling eccentric bohemian. The collision of the two characters, and their conflicting personas, makes for an intriguing and often humorous scenario, yet one which makes you occasionally question the authenticity of events. That is not to say that David Seidler’s script isn’t a fine piece of writing; the dialogue is sympathetic to the period, with an authenticity which avoids the trap of period pieces sounding like audible print. At just over two hours, the play admirably covers a relatively simple tale with pathos, levity and focus, with a level of detail that fortifies a depth to a world in which it is easy to become utterly adsorbed. Cast: Brian Conley, Linzi Hateley, Kimberly Blake, Landi Oshinowo, Mikey Jay-Heath, John Stacey, Georgie Ashford, Greg Bernstein, David Birch, Courtney-Mae-Briggs, Nick Butcher, Lucy Thatcher, Edward Wade
Director: Jean-Pierre Van Der Spuy Writer: Mark Bramble Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: April 15, 2015 End Date: April 25, 2015 The circus comes to Leeds this week as Barnum, the award-winning 1980 Broadway musical, rolls up into the Grand Theatre with pomp and ceremony. Set from 1835 through to 1880, the musical follows the story of American showman Phineas T Barnum as he sets up a museum, tours with a leading starlet and breaks into politics. Soon his successes begin to crumble and he realises that the true value of life is to be found with his unwavering wife Chairy and his original passion as ringmaster to the greatest circus in the world. Cameron Mackintosh brings a slightly revised version of Barnum to the stage some thirty-five years after its origination on Broadway. Famed for its extravagant choreography, evocative design and upbeat musical numbers, Mackintosh’s expansion includes an additional song and the producer’s exceptional West End production standards. |
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