ontheatres
on localliving
in the spotlight... a guide to what’s on in the theatres
CULTURE
DRAMA
Fidelio The Grand, Leeds 14, 16, 30 April, 6, 13 May
From the House of the Dead No Man’s Land West Yorkshire Playhouse The Grand, Leeds 29 April - 7 May 5, 7, 12, 14 May
A passion for liberty and justice and a belief in the human spirit’s ability to triumph over suffering is central to Beethoven’s celebrated and only opera. The opera took Beethoven ten years to write and has not been seen in Leeds for 20 years.
Janacek’s last and most powerful opera is based on the Dostoevsky novel of the same name – written as a fictionalised account of the author’s years in a Siberian prison.
£10 - £59
£10 - £59
A mysterious, time-travelling, bordercrossing play of fantasies, friendships and jigsaw puzzles. No Man’s Land is a co-production between West Yorkshire Playhouse and Theater an der Parkaue, Berlin. It is the culmination of Borderlines, a two year project involving exchanges and collaboration between young people and artists from Leeds and Berlin.
£10 Tis Pity She’s a Whore West Yorkshire Playhouse 7 - 28 May A tragic death sparks a forbidden passion and a brother and sister seal an erotic, but fatal pact with each other.
Hamlet West Yorkshire Playhouse 19 - 30 April
£16 - £26
Northern Broadsides’ haunting production employs theatrical sleight of hand to conjure ghosts of the dead and demons of the mind; bringing you an inventive and insightful take on the tortured Danish Prince.
Happy Days Crucible, Sheffield 20 May – 4 June Talkative housewife Winnie, and her husband Willie, spend their days together under the blazing sun. Winnie talks, prays and sings her way through life with nothing but a bell for waking and a bell for sleep.
£10 - £18 Private Peaceful Carriageworks, Leeds 3 – 4 May A powerful story of hope that relives the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young First World War soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. During the night he looks back at his short but joyful past growing up in rural Devon: his exciting first days at school; the accident in the forest that killed his father; his adventures with Molly, the love of his life; and the battles and injustices of war that brought him to the front line.
£6.50 - £8.50 (concessions £1 off)
£16 - £26 Brontë West Yorkshire Playhouse 24 - 28 May
Giselle The Grand, Leeds 25 – 28 May A traditional version of one of the greatest romantic ballets, Giselle makes a rare appearance in Yorkshire as Northern Ballet performs it at Leeds Grand Theatre for six performances only this May.
£8.50 - £37
How did three Victorian spinsters, living in isolation on the Yorkshire moors come to write some of the most powerful and passionate fiction of all time? It is 1845. Branwell Brontë returns home in disgrace. Plagued by alcohol and drug addiction, he has been dismissed from domestic service following an affair with the mistress of the house. As he descends into alcoholism and insanity, bringing chaos to the household, his sisters write…
£16 - £26
BIG SHOWS Tell Me on a Sunday Lyceum, Sheffield 9 – 14 May
A rare opportunity to see the definitive version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black’s Broadway and West End smash-hit musical, now remodelled for Claire Sweeney with an exclusive song.
£14 - £28 48
Lady Chatterley’s Lover Harrogate Theatre 17 – 21 May
Journey’s End The Grand, Leeds 17 – 21 May
Written in 1925, D.H. Lawrence’s controversial work was banned from sale until 1960 for it’s frank and explicit depiction of sex and it’s portrayal of a passionate and adulterous love affair. Years ahead of it’s time this work deals with sexual taboos that are still present in society even today.
In the days leading up to the last great German offensive of the First World War, Raleigh, an 18 year old soldier joins a besieged company of soldiers in the British trenches at St Quentin. There he finds his new comrades being led by his old school friend Stanhope, but discovers the man in army greens much changed from the boy he left behind in cricketing whites.
£15 (£2 off concessions)
£14 - £27.50
Shaolin Warriors St George’s Hall, Bradford, 19 May Direct from China and for the first time ever in Europe, the internationally acclaimed production The Shaolin Warriors embarks on its first ever UK tour.
£16 - £21