Tag Archives: Amy Leach

Writer – Alan Bennett Directors: James Brining, Amy Leach & John R Wilkinson Reviewer: Jay Nuttall It has been thirty years since the BBC commissioned a series of single voice plays from Leeds playwright Alan Bennett for BBC 2. These televisual treats became iconic, won BAFTAs, spawned a second volume of monologues and have been performed in theatres ever since. ...

Writer: Alan Bennett Directors: James Brining, Amy Leach, John R. Wilkinson Designer: Laura Ann Price Reviewer: Ron Simpson As West Yorkshire Playhouse prepares to close for a major refurbishment Artistic Director James Brining has opted to end with an appropriate, rather than original, choice of play, saving the originality for a performance schedule that re-affirms the theatre’s commitment to the ...

Writer: Charles Dickens Adaptor: Deborah McAndrew Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Ron Simpson Yorkshire’s second version of A Christmas Carol to open this Christmas proves, above all, the wonderful dramatic qualities of the original story. The two productions – by Front Room Productions and, now, by Hull Truck Theatre – have very different production concepts, both extremely successful, but despite the ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Dawn Smallwood Amy Leach has adapted Shakespeare’s tragedy with a very modern take, linking with current affairs so that every member of the audience can relate to this production. This production is contemporary and radical, supported by Hayley Grindle’s urban staging with contrast lighting by Joshua Carr.  The production’s aim is to link to ...

Writers: Daf James, Hannah McPake, Lucy Rivers Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Beth Steer Taking place in Cardiff's quirky Tramshed venue - with an oddly pleasing warehouse-vs-Cabaret-club vibe - Wonderman is a sizzling, surreal tribute to Roald Dahl's short stories for adults, opening on the world-renowned author's centenary. Narrating the story of an injured World War Two airman, Wonderman jumps between ...

Book by: Barry Hines Adapted by: Robert Alan Evans Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Rich Jevons Even on the way into Leeds the taxi driver soon warmed to the memories, be it twenty years earlier, of reading Barry Hines’ quintessentially northern novel A Kestrel for A Knave and seeing the Ken Loach film Kes. As West Yorkshire Playhouse Artistic Director James ...

Writer/Composer: Lucy Rivers Director: Amy Leach Designer: Hayley Grindle Reviewer: Ron Simpson Annie Get Your Gun it ain’t, but Little Sure Shot is terrific fun – and a much more accurate account of the life of 19th century sharpshooter Annie Oakley than the great Irving Berlin musical. Lucy Rivers’ text takes us (with justifiable simplification) through her dirt-poor childhood, the ...

The Public Reviews’ Rich Jevons catches up with Amy Leach, co-founder of the award-winning En Masse Theatre Company for young people, currently directing Little Sure Shot at West Yorkshire Playhouse and community venues across Leeds. What was your early inspiration at Bolton Octagon Theatre like? The thing about the Bolton Octagon is that it’s always been a really renowned youth ...