Cast: Patrick Brennan, Katie Elin-Salt, Daniel Hawksford, Lauren Roberts, Rhys ap William, Bethan Witcomb
Director: Max Stafford-Clark Writer: Robin Soans Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 120 minutes Start Date: March 31, 2015 End Date: March 4, 2015 National Theatre Wales and Out of Joint bring Crouch, Touch, Pause, Engage to West Yorkshire Playhouse this month. Based on the life story of Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas, the play follows the team captain’s growth to stardom and his struggle to come to terms with a hidden identity. A day prior to a huge game against England, Thomas receives a tipoff that tabloids are to splash a story outing the player as gay – something almost unknown in contact sport at the time. Following the breakup of a marriage and fearing that his sexuality will not be accepted, Thomas attempts to take his life. Deciding to face the struggles head on by working with his teammates and family, the pride of Welsh rugby eventually discovers a pride within himself.
0 Comments
Cast: James Gow, Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Dyfrig Morris, Jess Murphy, Robert Pickavance, Beverly Rudd, Paksie Vernon
Director: Max Webster Writer: Roald Dahl adapted by David Wood Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 95 minutes Start Date: December 5, 2014 End Date: January 24, 2015 West Yorkshire Playhouse brings Roald Dahl’s classic children’s novel James and the Giant Peach to stage this season. James is an orphan living with his two acerbic aunts when a mysterious old man offers a bag of seeds which promise James amazing opportunities. When the seeds are spilt in the grounds of his home, a peach tree bears fruit the size of a house. Within the peach live similarly oversized insects who quickly become James’ friends on an odyssey across the Atlantic through sea and air. Cast: Simon Nock, Tom Milner, Liz Singleton, Hollie Cassar, Kenny Davies, David Heywood, Jamie Baughan, Claire McGarahan, Mike Slader, Louisa Beadel.
Director: Paul Hart Writer: Peter Rowe Theatre: Leeds City Varieties Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: December 3, 2014 End Date: January 11, 2015 The Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime once again returns to Leeds City Varieties for the festive season. Bursting full of hits from the Sixties and beyond, Dick Whittington is a pantomime produced in all the best classical traditions with a modern twist of punk and parody. For several years the Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime has become something of a festive tradition in itself. Showcasing a regular company of exceptional musicians and performers, it is a chaotic extravaganza of popular hits, fairy tale storytelling and bawdy British humour. Cast: Emma Barton, Derek Elroy, Norman Pace, Jasmyn Banks, David Verrey, Edward Hancock, Gavin Spokes, Alicia Davies, Patrick Warner, Elliot Harper, Michael Dylan.
Director: Adam Penford Writer: Richard Bean Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: November 4, 2014 End Date: November 8, 2014 The National Theatre’s critically acclaimed One Man Two Guvnors transfers to Leeds Grand Theatre this week as part of a national tour. Based on 18th century comedy The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, One Man Two Guvnors follows the plight of Francis Henshall, a dumpling-like lackey who tries to maintain two jobs with two governors in the wake of a gangster killing and arranged marriage. When Henshall’s two bosses eventually collide, his world explodes into torment and chaos – all whilst trying to gain a date and stave off hunger for chips and warm ale. Cast: Gareth Bailey, Roseanna Frascona, Claire Rogers, Colin Charles, James Coombes, Mark Faith, Julia J. Nagle, Michael Remick, Wayne Smith, Alexander Wolfe, Jessie-Lou Yates, James Bennett, Sarah Cortez, Lizzi Franklin, Francis Haugen, Antony Hewitt, Verity Jones, Lewis Kirk, Robin Lake, Garry Lee, Carly Miles, Carlie Milner, Simone Mistry-Palmer, Marlon Moore, Brandon Lee Sears, Natalie Winsor.
Director: Sarah Tipple Writer: Eleanor Bergstein Theatre: Leeds Grand Theatre Duration: 150 minutes Start Date: November 11, 2014 End Date: December 6, 2014 Leeds Grand Theatre offers a parting sprinkle of summertime ahead of the festive season with Dirty Dancing, the musical based on the cult Eighties motion picture. A nostalgic romantic drama showcasing dance, drama and song, the show provides an expanded book by Eleanor Bergstein with over two dozen musical numbers, underscoring a coming-of-age love story between Frances “Baby” Houseman and holiday resort dancer Johnny Castle. A struggle between identity, revolution, and a generation gap, Dirty Dancing tells a tale beyond the romanticism of dance. Bergstein’s adaptation of her film script is tautly structured, densely factoring in contemporary musical hits and political overtones from the Sixties, giving the production a vivid sense of time and place. Capturing the zeitgeist of the era, the book acknowledges the shift in racial and gender equality, placing ethnic diversity, premarital sex and the politics of abortion at the forefront of an otherwise idealised romance. Cast: Andy Daniel
Director: Simon Reade Writer: Michael Morpurgo Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 135 minutes Start Date: October 27, 2014 End Date: October 28, 2014 Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful demobilizes at West Yorkshire Playhouse this season as part of a national tour which completes in November. It is 1914 and Tommo Peaceful, a Devonshire teenager, follows his elder brother into the trenches of The Great War. Following severe shellshock, the young soldier finds himself accused of desertion, a charge which often results in the death sentence. An evocation of childhood and a testament to the horrors of conflict, Private Peaceful is a play set to resonate with audiences of all ages. Cast: Lucy Ellinson
Director: Christopher Haydon Writer: George Brant Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Duration: 65 minutes Start Date: October 23, 2014 End Date: October 25, 2014 Gate Theatre’s production of Grounded by George Brant touches down at West Yorkshire Playhouse this month. It is a soliloquy in the life of a hot shot F-16 pilot who becomes a lover and mother during a war of nerves. Grounded is an unconventional tale of a bird whose wings are clipped, whose expectations fall down to earth and whose social freedoms become restrained. In all, the title of the show encompasses every literal meaning of the word. With original writing, directors will often tell you that the final draft of a new play is just the starting point for a show - not the final word. It is merely the beginnings before a larger collaborative process which will bring the production to stage. A line was distinctly drawn in 2004 which shook the performing arts industry to its very foundations. Author Marie Jones won sole copyright ownership of the play Stones in His Pockets after a court ruled that the show's original director, who contributed measurable additions to the script, had no claim as co-author.
Cast: Martin Marquez, Kate Phillips, Susie Trayling, Joseph Mydell, Alan Williams, Corinna Powlesland, Daniel Poyser, David Killick, Dominic Gately, Jim Bywater, Lynette Clarke, Marlene Sidaway, Steven Beard, Tim Chipping.
Director: James Brining Writer: Arthur Miller Theatre: West Yorkshire Playhouse Start Date: September 29, 2014 End Date: October 25, 2014 This season sees Arthur Miller’s celebrated drama of social paranoia reinterpreted by the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Tracing the Salem witch trials of the 17th century, The Crucible is an allegorical protest and social commentary reflecting anxieties of the 1950s and beyond. Abigail Williams is a girl who has been sexually awakened and rejected by her employer, John Proctor. When Williams and her friends are accused of practicing satanic crafts, Proctor is tangled in a dark web of accusation, sin and social cleansing. Soon his wife and dozens of townsfolk become embroiled through Williams’ vindictive manipulations, forcing Proctor make his own, ultimate sacrifice. Cast: Dean Chisnall, Faye Brooks, Gerard Carey, Idriss Kargbo, Bronte Barbe Nikki Bentley, Jennifer Caldwell, Candace Furbert, Stefan Harri, Will Haswell, Mai Lincoln, Rory Maguire, Neil Moors, Jenny O'Leary, Georgina Parkinson, Ryan Reid, Leo Roberts, James Winter, Kevin Yates
Director: Nigel Harman Writer: David Lindsay-Abaire & Jeanine Tesori Theatre: The Grand Theatre & Opera House Leeds Duration: 150 minutes Shrek The Musical launches its national tour at the Leeds Grand Theatre this month. Adapted from Dreamworks’ 2001 animated movie and the novel by William Steig, it tells the tale of Shrek the ogre in search of his own princess bride. Accompanied by a posse of classic fairy tale characters and a catalogue of musical numbers, can the stage version live up to the acclaim of its silver screen inspiration? |
A Night at
|
UA-129397275-1