North East & Yorkshire Reviews

Writers: Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, Henry Shields Tour Director: Kirsty Patrick Ward Reviewer: Dawn Smallwood Mischief Theatre brings The Comedy About A Bank Robbery on tour including a stop at the Leeds Grand Theatre.  Many will know the theatre company for producing the award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong.  The comedy, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan ...

Musicians: Opera North String Quartet                    Paul Miller (double bass)                     Ian Buckle (piano) Reviewer: Ron Simpson This concert by the Opera North String Quartet, comprising section leaders of the Opera North orchestra, fell in the week that the orchestra celebrated the 40th ...

Film Director: William A. Wellman Composer: Carl Davis Orchestra: Orchestra of Opera North Conductor: Carl Davis Reviewer: Ron Simpson At the end of the showing of Wings at Huddersfield Town Hall, a sizable proportion of the audience rose in a standing ovation. Who or what were they applauding? William Wellman, dead these 40-odd years, for an inspired piece of film-making? ...

Writer: David Greig Director: James Brining Reviewer: Jay Nuttall For the last couple of years, there hasn’t been a day gone by without Brexit being front page news. It is no surprise, therefore, that David Greig’s Europe is being staged by Leeds Playhouse as the UK’s departure from the European Union looms. A timely yet timeless play it has much ...

Writer: Tim Firth Music & Lyrics: Take That Director: Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder Reviewer: Sheila Stratford The Band tells the story of five teenage girlfriends bound together as dedicated fans of the boy band Take That. When they leave school, they go their separate ways only to be reunited 25 years later to attend a Take That concert in ...

Leader: Boris Koslov Reviewer: Ron Simpson Opera North has recently announced plans for a major new redevelopment of the Grand Theatre area. This has to be welcome, but already the company goes well beyond the remit of a conventional opera company in many ways, notably the Kirklees Concert Season and the expertly curated, and highly varied, programme in the Howard. ...

Writer: Dario Fo Adapter: Deborah McAndrew Based on a translation by: Jon Laskin and Michael Aquilante Director: Conrad Nelson Designer: Jessica Worrall Reviewer: Ron Simpson Farce, in more than one sense, is a funny business. The 19th and 20th Century English and French farce tradition depended most often on outwardly respectable, probably middle-class characters embroiled in a situation that became incrementally ...

Director and choreographer: Nick Winston Conceived and developed by: David de Silva Music by: Steve Margoshes, Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore Reviewer: Beverley Haigh Fame, the hit TV series and iconic motion picture, synonymous with sweatbands and leg warmers and largely responsible for influencing 1980s fashion, celebrates its 30th anniversary with Selladoor Productions’ latest touring version. Three decades later, the ...