Writer: Amanda Whittington Director: Jacqui Honess-Martin Musical Director: Richard Reeday Movement Director: Jenni Jackson Reviewer: Janet Jepson In the 1950s and 60s, everyone knew a local girl who had ‘gone to stay with her auntie for a couple of months’. She would always return, with no sign of roses in her cheeks from fresh country air, but looking a bit ...

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto: Lorenzo Da Ponte Translation: Ruth and Thomas Martin Director: Brendan Wheatley Conductor: John Beswick Designer: Gabriella Ingram Reviewer: Ron Simpson Cosi fan Tutte is one of the most problematic of Mozart’s operas. Until comparatively recent times it was neglected, certainly in Britain (too immoral or too sophisticated?), and it still creates problems of interpretation. The ...

Writer: Moira Buffini Director: Jo Newman Designer: Dawn Allsopp Reviewer: Ron Simpson Handbagged is a polished, civilized and sporadically very amusing entertainment based on an ingenious and appealing premise. It passes two hours stage time most pleasantly, the production is stylish, the performances witty and intelligent, but too often, for a comedy, it’s just not funny enough. Perhaps it’s too ...

Director: Joyce Lee Reviewer: Jay Nuttall On the courtyard of Halifax's eighteenth-century textile trading headquarters, The Piece Hall, are protesters with placards demanding Zara's rights. Cherry pickers, heavy plant machinery and even a tank lie in wait for their cue as fake rolling news coverage ramp up the expectation of the birth of Zara's baby. Part narrative, part light installation ...

Writer: Vashti Maclachlan Director: Marianne McNamara Composer/Lyricist: Kieran Buckeridge Musical Director: Rebekah Hughes Reviewer: Ron Simpson One of Arts Council England’s better decisions was to award Mikron Theatre Company National Portfolio Organisation status which means that funding is secure for at least four years. Though pretty low on glamour, Mikron is a totally individual company, offering an indispensable service, a ...

Choirs: Huddersfield Choral Society, Huddersfield Choral Society Youth Choirs Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Paul Daniel Choral Director: Gregory Batsleer Reviewer: Ron Simpson The Huddersfield Choral Society’s final concert of the 2018-2019 season had several unusual features. It was only the second time that the society had presented a major concert without vocal soloists. The major work was, to ...

Writer: Jon Brittain Director: Donnacadh O’Briain Designer: Ellan Parry Reviewer: Ron Simpson Rotterdam, winner of the 2017 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, is a strange mix of sitcom, genuinely moving scenes and serious consideration of issues of gender. It’s a tribute to both Jon Brittain and Donnacadh O’Briain that, for the most part, all these fit ...

Writer: Jules Verne Adapter: Toby Hulse Director: Alexander Ferris Reviewer: Jay Nuttall There’s a split in the Leeds Playhouse ensemble! As their season draws to a close the female members are in rehearsal for Be My Baby whilst their male counterparts perform a lightning speed version of Jules Verne’s 1873 globe-trotting novel and race against the clock. With just four ...