stage@leeds Spring 2023 Brochure

stage@leeds Spring 2023

Welcome Back! to stage@leeds

Everything changes… everything stays the same...

We have a packed and diverse season of work this season but before we get to that, let’s talk a little about change. Our industry has seen a huge amount of change over the last few years. We have endured the closure of theatres due to lockdown and the pandemic, and have used technology to communicate with our audiences in new ways. As we continue to re-write what ‘theatre’ or ‘performance’ is, it occurs to me that as the header of this introduction says ‘everything changes, everything stays the same’. We tell stories; fictional stories, factual stories, stories that illuminate and challenge the human condition. At the heart of our art, is the need to articulate our human experience and emotions through performance. And this brings us to our season…

Our Youth Theatre (which is currently recruiting) have been working with 360 video recording, binaural sound and VR headsets on a virtual reality experience inspired by the work of scientist William Bragg and writer Lewis Caroll’s Alice stories. Professor George Rodosthenous has been researching how immersive technology might enhance the audience’s emotive response to the narrative. A synopsis and example of this research can be viewed on our website at www. stage.leeds.ac.uk (on the digital performance tab). In both examples storytelling, communication and narrative are central. The technology being used is really exciting but it is only the mode of transport, not our destination.

Our Theatre season starts with Sandrine Monin’s ‘Feathers’ and Gareth Armstrong’s critically acclaimed tour de force ‘Shylock’. The former uses new wearable sound and light technology to raise awareness of how we connect with our senses. The latter is a solo show that focuses on the brilliance of a single actor and would seem to be as far away from the technologies previously mentioned as it’s possible to be, but at the heart of both Sandrine Monin and Gareth Armstrong’s performances is the visceral need to make a connection, to communicate, to share.

Welcome back to stage@leeds, I hope we have a story for you.

See you at the theatre

Steve Ansell Artistic Director

stage@leeds Young Company

University of Leeds - Youth Theatre

RECRUITING NOW

• Open to all, no experience required and no auditions.

• Ages 9-16yrs.

• Affordable. £7 full, £4 concession per session*

• Professional tuition in a state of the art modern theatre complex.

• Acting, Writing, Directing, Poetry, Clowning, VR, Lighting & Sound

• DBS checked professional staff supported by student volunteers.

• Committed to a sustainable net zero future

*paid termly

stage@leeds Young Company is our Youth Theatre, based on the University campus. The group was founded on the belief that participation in Theatre and provides key skills for life and should therefore be available to all. We provide a creative space where participants can explore their own creativity without fear or prejudice.

For more information go to the stage@leeds website: www.stage.leeds.ac.uk

LUU Theatre Group Rules for Living

By Sam Holcroft

Everyone creates their own coping strategies or rules for living. But what happens when an extended family gathers in the kitchen for a traditional Christmas and they each follow those rules, rigidly?

As long-held mechanisms for survival are laid bare, even Mum, who’s been preparing this lunch since last January, becomes embroiled. Time-honoured rivalries and resentments will out. Accusations fly, relationships deconstruct, the rules take over.

In this theatrically playful, dark comedy the instructions are there for all to see, audience included - so there’s really no place to hide.

Content warning

strong language, alcohol abuse, smoking, fatphobia, misogynistic language, violence and references to depression

Mon 13 - Wed 15 Feb

Alec Clegg

7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)50)

Gareth Armstrong

Shylock

Adapted by Gareth Armstrong

“Armstrong is nothing short of incredible…It is an exceptional piece of theatre. Everyone should see it.” (The Independent on Sunday, London)

“It delights, enlightens and dazzles. With a leer, a wink, a shrug, he expresses more than words can say. In a word, brilliant.” (Jewish Bulletin of Northern California)

Explore the tragic, funny and often unbelievable life of fiction’s most famous Jew in this acclaimed theatre production.Written and performed by Gareth Armstrong, this is a play which explores the world of Shakespeare’s most controversial character, Shylock (from the Merchant of Venice). The play examines religious and racial intolerance, the history of plays in performance and, above all, celebrates the richness of Shakespeare’s language. Gareth has played leading roles with RSC, at Shakespeare’s Globe and has toured ‘Shylock’ to over over 50 ccountries.

Thur 16 Feb Stage One

7.30pm

£12.50 (£10.00)

Sandrine Monin Feathers

Feathers explores ways of making dance and movement more accessible and inclusive to the Blind and Visually Impaired (B/VI) community. The project also explores the use of echome, a wearable technology for sound and movement interaction as a tool for creating and synthesising material for performance. It investigates ways to create with limited visual input and to enhance movement perceptions using audio description, sounds, lights and touch. Feathers is an emotional journey raising awareness of how we connect with our senses, ourselves, and others.

Sat 17 Feb

Stage One 4.00pm

£FREE

Accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences

No formal audio description

Liar, Liar

By Kate Newell

Why do we lie?

To be liked, to be seen as impressive, for the thrill of it all? For Mona, it’s all of the above: lying is simply her default setting. Though, as she navigates the turmoil of her twenties her dishonesty starts tangling her in a mess. Finding herself drunk one night, she is warned by a psychic that her lies will isolate her until no-one truly knows who she is, not even herself.

From bad jobs to awful dates and many awkward encounters, ‘Liar, Liar’ is a hot comedy about identity and finding happiness outside of society’s expectations.

Content Warnings: strong language, references to sex, references to alcoholism

Tue 21 - Thur 23 Feb

Banham Theatre 7.00pm £10.00 (£7.50)

LUU Theatre Group The Trials

By Dawn King

Everyone lived like we did!

(Well maybe not everyone But... I wasn’t any worse than anyone else!)

The near future. The climate emergency is gathering pace, and our generation is being judged. The jurors, young people. But are they delivering justice - or just taking revenge? Content warning strong language.

Thur 23 - Sat 25 Feb

Alec Clegg Studio

7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

Swallowing the Whale

By Andie Curno

Enter the dreamscape world of Marlowe, as they navigate the riptides of identity, friendship, young love and sexual awakening. Marlowe’s memories resurface like waves, carrying in their depths the swallowed whale of trauma, which they are desperately trying to keep in the deep.

In this coming-of-age drama, the lives of three young people are intertwined in a powerful LGBTQIA+ story.

Content Warning:

Reference to alcoholism, depictions of alcohol use, strong language

Thur 02 - Sat 04 March

Stage One

7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

Sugar Theatre

Scruffy

By Rosie Hollingworth

‘SCRUFFY’ invites you into the world of a nine year old. For Maisie, life is pretty much a massive performance, so she is ecstatic to have a REAL LIFE audience here. Get ready for original poetry, hard core gymnastics, and even an Avril Lavigne tribute act! This is her time to shine – she’s not going to let an eating disorder get in the way of that.

Content warning: Depictions of Eating disorders

Thur 02 March

Workshop Theatre 7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

We Are All Crew by MA

Design

In 1965 Marshall McLuhan said ‘There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew’.

In this festival of design-led performances, students from the MA Performance Design programme present original performances that explore the interconnections and interdependencies between people and environments in the context of climate crisis.

Each day a different performance

Mon 06 - Fri 10 March

Alec Clegg

5.00 and 6.30pm

£Pay what you feel

Look Sharp Theatre & stage@leeds

Scenes Unseen

Look Sharp Theatre Presents: Scenes Unseen. A night of new writing and a chance for writers, directors and performers to test out their work-in-progress in front of a live audience! Join us for a showcase of short comedy extracts followed by a chance to share your thoughts and feedback with cast, creatives and fellow audience members.

Tue 14 March

Alec Clegg Studio 7.30pm £5.00

Education Education Education

by The Wardrobe Ensemble

It’s May 1997. Tony Blair has won the election Channel 5 is a month old. No one knows who Harry Potter is. Britain is the coolest place in the world.

At the local secondary school, it’s a different story. Miss Belltop-Doyle can’t control her Year 10s, Mr Pashley has been put in charge of a confiscated Tamagotchi and Miss Turner is hoping that this day goes smoother than the last. Education, Education, Education is a love letter to the schools of the 90s and asks big questions about a country in special measures, exploring what we are taught and why, and ultimately where responsibility lies.

Content warnings: strong language, sexual references, blood, adult themes

Thur 16 - Sat 18 March

Stage One

7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

LUU Theatre Group

LUU Open Theatre Yarrow

by Harriet Ormston

Evelyn and Joe were the top spies in the Communist regime, but a betrayal by their lover lands them in the pits of nothing, running pointless surveillance out of a newsagents. When their ex-lover returns decades later as their new boss - they have a chance at redemption

And they will do anything to make their dreams come true.

Thur 23 - Sat 25 March

Alec Clegg Studio

7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

Content warnings: Strong language, adult themes sexual references, discussion, depiction of mental health problems

PCI Production Dash

By Existence Theatre Group

Life, death and everything in between...

Britain, 1975, we follow an obituarist who receives a mysterious, unsigned and unpublished painting that holds a remarkable resemblance to her younger self.

Immerse yourself within an exhibition of life lived against the status quo. Follow an exploration of how social marginalisation’s can keep people apart and a consideration of what’s your why? How do you choose to define ‘The Dash’ that separates the year you’re born from the year you die. A journey of a life lived well and a life well lived. Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

Wed 29 - Fri 31 March

Stage One 7.30pm

£10.00 (£7.50)

Tuckmann The Dirt

Sharp, witty and poignant. Marianne offers a unique take on the big, heavy issues of climate breakdown from a darkly surreal personal perspective

(Kate Cox, Gracefool Collective)

The Dirt is just the tonic we need right now. The piece is performed with humour and great skill.

(Paul Davies, Volcano Theatre)

At exactly the moment that it was predicted, the climate emergency has arrived. Everything has changed. The last woman on earth is beside herself. She used to live in a nice house in a nice area and never thought climate change would actually, you know, affect someone like her. But here we are.

Marianne Tuckman explores how the climate crisis has invaded our most intimate spaces: our homes, our bodies and the way we imagine the future. She asks a burning question facing our generation: is having children still an option?

Tue 02 May

Stage One

7.30pm

£12.50 (£10.00)

Marianne

Proto-Type Theatre

Dead Cats

In rooms like this room, people lie. Not little lies, the kinds of lies that kill people, or worse...

Dead Cats blends new writing, performance, film-making, and an obvious plant, to show –not tell –the truths behind the fictions. Dead Cats is part of Proto-type’s critically acclaimed Truth to Power Project. A socially engaged exploration of power, democracy, truth-telling, protest, privacy, conspiracy, and control.

Content warnings: Strong language

www.proto-type.org | #DEADCATS

Tue 09 May Stage One

7.30pm

£12.50 (£10.00)

Creative opportunities

stage@leeds

ProfessionalArtistDevelopment

stage@leeds

YoungEntrepreneursProgramme

The PAD (Professional Artist Development) programme supports professional theatre and dance makers with a free rehearsal space, and technical support, in a relaxed and creative environment. The programme runs during the Summer and Easter breaks. Please contact Steve Ansell for more details: s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk

YEP (Young Entrepreneurs’ Programme) provides professional support and mentoring to students interested in a career as theatre makers together with the opportunity to produce work for performance at stage@leeds. Many YEP companies and company members including Forget About The Dog and Manic Chord have gone on to highly successful careers within the creative industries. If you would like to be considered for the YEP programme or would like more information please contact Steve Ansell: s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk

Stage One Theatre

180 Capacity (as seen)

10 x 12m stage space (end on)

Fully retractable seating

Alec Clegg Studio

52 Capacity (as seen)

8 x 7m stage space (end on)

Fully retractable seating

Booking stage@leeds

Putting on your work at stage@leeds

stage@leeds programmes two seasons of work each year, Sept - Dec and Jan - June. We programme at least three months in advance and all the work is curated by the Artistic Director and the theatre’s creative team. We are always looking for exciting and dynamic new work so let us know about your work. Include links to any reviews, images, videos of your work for evaluation. Please contact Steve Ansell: s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk

Hiring our spaces

stage@leeds is available for conferences, seminars and corporate events. We have two theatres, a mirrored dance studio, box office, fully licensed bar and foyer area. Event catering can be arranged. We have extensive lighting, sound and AV equipment throughout and our skilled technical team are always happy to discuss your requirements. If you would like further information about hiring any of our spaces please contact Steve Ansell: s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk

Dance Studio

9.9m x 8.4m

P.A with Bluetooth, CD, SD and aux playback

stage@leeds Foyer and Bar

A fully licensed flexible space for conferences and events

How to find us

The University campus is a pleasant 20 minute walk from Leeds city station. Just follow the directions below and you’ll be with us in no time at all:

Come out of the station into City square; with the Queens Hotel behind you, walk straight up Park Row. Continue up Park Row until the first major junction. Cross straight over The Headrow and continue up Cookridge Street. At the next set of lights go straight on passing Millennium Square on your left and Leeds City Museum on your right.

Turn left on to Woodhouse Lane, a busy main road. You’ll pass Leeds Beckett University on your left and our University campus begins in another 50 metres or so, on your left. To reach the Parkinson building, carry on up Woodhouse Lane to the clock tower building. You’ll be able to look at a map of campus there and plan where to go next.

Regular bus services from the city centre stop outside the University Parkinson Building entrance. For details of timetable and service telephone 0113 245 7676

A - The Parkinson Building

B - The Great Hall

C - stage@leeds*

D - Banham Theatre

E - Workshop Theatre

*for Stage One and the Alec Clegg Studio

PLEASE NOTE: We are a cashless and ticketless theatre. You will be sent a QR code, which you will need to show on arrival.

Box Office: 0113 343 8730 www.stage.leeds.ac.uk