Cast: Reece Dinsdale, Kate Anthony, John Arthur, Simon Roberts, Marjorie Yates
Director: Mark Rosenblatt Writer: Alan Bennett Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 110 minutes Start Date: June 2, 2014 End Date: June 21, 2014 Continuing a season dedicated to Alan Bennett, West Yorkshire Playhouse presents a double bill of the Leeds-born author’s work in Untold Stories. Bringing together Hymn and Cocktail Sticks, the show is anchored by Bennett as portrayed by Reece Dinsdale. Untold Stories begins as an intimate monologue recorded in a studio environment. Bennett reflects on his experiences growing up with music and his desire to perform and conform, underscored by the rousing strings of the Ligeti Quartet. Whilst brief and minimal, the piece is a rosy evocation, presenting Bennett in his older years as the confident orator. Composed of Cello, Viola and Violins, the Ligeti Quartet are seamlessly harmonized with Bennett’s lilting recollections, where days of violin lessons and escapades to distant churches on the West Riding are vividly described. As a palate-cleansing apéritif, Hymn prepares the table for Untold Stories’ main event; Cocktail Sticks.
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Cast: Laura Baldwin, Tobias Beer, Kit Benjamin, Adam C Booth, Amy Booth-Steel, Jenni Bowden, Ricky Butt, Matt Harrop, Oliver Izod, Rachel Knowles, Lauren Logan, Rebecca Louis, Sally Mates, Joe Maxwell, Haydn Oakley, Anthony Ray.
Director: Daniel Buckroyd Writer: Alan Bennett Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 130 minutes Betty Blue Eyes transfers to the West Yorkshire Playhouse this month as part of their ongoing Alan Bennett season. Adapted by the author from his film, A Private Function, the musical tells the tale of a Yorkshire community suffering the woes of post-war rationing. When opportunities arise for the procurement of some unlicensed meat, a farce ensues with a Betty the pig at its centre. Cast: Philip Martin Brown, Christopher Chilton, Rob Delaney, Richard Gittins, Daniel Pape, Sian Reese-Williams, Vanessa Rosenthal, Marlene Sidaway, Samuel Baxter, Lawrence Guntert, Alex James McLeod, Shadan Noori, Jacob Philips, Liam Robbins
Director: James Brining Writer: Alan Bennett Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: May 19, 2014 End Date: June 7, 2014 Enjoy opened in 1980, fated to become Alan Bennett’s singular flop at the time. Over thirty years later, the infamously experimental show launches a new season at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in honour of the Leeds-born writer. Set in the early Eighties, Enjoy traces the effect of council housing redevelopment in one of the few remaining back-to-back red brick terraces in Leeds. The tenants, Mam and Dad, are chosen to be documented during the transitional process by the mysterious Ms Craig from the council. As a normal day gives way to extraordinary events, the world of Mam, Dad and their offspring becomes emblazoned in a social media whirlwind of experimentation, extortion and exploitation. It is clear to see why an early Eighties’ audience rejected the wild ideas which Enjoy presents. The media machine which governs so many social habits of a new generation, such as Big Brother and Vlogging through YouTube, are staples of modern entertainment. The concepts of fly-on-the-wall documentaries and live feeds from people’s homes are commonplace forms of entertainment today. In 1980, however, things were very different. Television boasted three channels, documentaries were educational, news was functionally informative, and drama was just that. Enjoy not only blurs the lines of these standards, it blends them together into the horror we now recognise as reality television. Cast: Siân Phillips, Brigit Forsyth, Selina Cadell, Michael Thomas
Director: Nicholas Hytner Writer: Alan Bennett Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 135 minutes After a sell-out run at the National Theatre, Alan Bennett’s People arrives at the Leeds Grand Theatre with a new cast and much anticipation. People enters the world of Dorothy and Iris, two aging spinsters who live in the crumbling remains of a stately home. When Dorothy’s sister June insists the house is donated to the National Trust, Dorothy seeks other means of maintaining her beloved habitat. From selling her ancient heirlooms to renting out space for the filming of a ‘mucky’ film, the battle is on to secure her future and preserve her past – with the view of getting central heating and an ensuite bathroom. |
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