Tag Archives: Leeds Playhouse

Writer: L. Frank Baum Adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company Music and Lyrics: Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg Director: James Brining Musical Director: Tamara Saringer Reviewer: Rich Jevons Leeds Playhouse’s production based on the classic MGM film has everything you could wish for as the recently reopened and revamped venue’s festive theatrical present. A fantastic ensemble ...

Writer: Winsome Pinnock Director: Amit Sharma Reviewer: Rich Jevons One Under consists of a tight and highly emotional script by Winsome Pinnock. Pinnock weaves a complex web of interwoven vignettes which raise as many questions about the characters’ reality as they answer. The short sharp shock treatment given is at times a tad confusing as we try to grasp who ...

Writers: Helen Monk and Matt Woodhead Director: Matt Woodhead Reviewer: Rich Jevons Lung Theatre Company opens the newly refurbished Leeds Playhouse in this much-anticipated production. It is based on the 2014 ‘Trojan horse’ scandal in Birmingham which obtained considerable press coverage and vehement debate. Prompted by a suspect letter that planned the infiltration of Birmingham schools by Muslim extremists. This ...

Writer: Inua Ellams Director: Bijan Sheibani Designer: Rae Smith Reviewer: Charlotte Broadbent Inua Ellams was inspired to write Barber Shop Chronicles after being handed a flyer in 2010 which detailed a pilot project aiming to teach barbers the rudiments of counselling. He went on to consider the cultural and historical significance of the local barbershop. Whether it be in south ...

The Leeds Playhouse and Tobacco Factory Theatre in Bristol have announced recipients of the Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme (RTYDS) 18-Month Residency, placements they are hosting for the first time. The scheme seeks out the most talented theatre directors at the early stage of their careers and helps develop their skills and experience by placing them in theatres outside London. ...

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 ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Jay Nuttall The play is the thing in Amy Leach’s solid production of Hamlet, as Leeds Playhouse’s ensemble season continues in their pop-up space while the theatre continues redevelopment. This radically cut-down, easily digestible version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece places story first and foremost and injects a pace that can very often be the ...

Writer: Debbie Tucker Green Director:  Gbolahan Obisesan Reviewer: Rich Jevons Debbie Tucker Green’s Random benefits from a script that combines the everyday with the sensational without giving up its gritty realism and compulsive drama. Yes, there is much tragedy here, but always complemented with the West Indians’ nuclear family’s sense of normality. Max Johns’ set is made up of stacked-up ...