Key North-East Openings This September

Amongst the major openings in the North-East (Yorkshire region) this month are:

OPENING 10 September 2009, Dracula opens at the West Yorkshire Playhouse performed by the Northern Ballet Theatre company. Director and Choreographer David Nixon’s acclaimed production returns to celebrate NBT’s 40th anniversary. Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel is the basis for this gothic tale of difference in the face of Victorian sentiment, in which Dracula draws a married woman into an impassioned love affair. The production runs until 19 September.

OPENING 10 September 2009, Pub Quiz Is Life is presented at the Hull Truck Theatre with a cast including Marc Bolton and Sarah Parks. A soldier returning to Hull from duty in Afghanistan joins an ailing pub quiz team. Richard Bean’s new black comedy explores the existence of life in Hull. Gareth Tudor Price directs. The season continues until 3 October.

OPENING 11 September 2009, Dial M for Murder is revived at the West Yorkshire Playhouse with a cast including Aislín McGuckin, Nick Fletcher and Des McAleer. The first and most successful of Frederick Knott’s plays, published in 1954, Dial M for Murder is the classic murder thriller on which Hitchcock’s famed film was based. Jealous husband Tony plans to murder his cheating wife, but he doesn’t count on human error. Lucy Bailey directs. The season continues until 3 October before commencing a national tour.

OPENING 11 September 2009, Cosi Fan Tutte is revived at Leeds Grand Theatre with a cast including Victoria Simmonds and Allan Clayton. In Mozart’s opera (1790), two army officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, are challenged by manipulative philosopher Don Alfonso to test the fidelity of their lovers, Fiodiligi and Dorabella.Tim Albery directs. The season continues until 22 October.

OPENING 25 September 2009, The Caucasian Chalk Circle is presented at the West Yorkshire Playhouse by Shared Experience. Written in 1944, Bertolt Brecht’s tale of civil war and strife, laced with Communist ideas, follows the people of Caucasian City and their experience of corruption and the strengths of human spirit. Nancy Meckler directs. The season continues until 17 October.

OPENING 26 September 2009, Werther opens at Leeds Grand Theatre with a cast including Alice Coote and Paul Nilon. Opera North present this new production of Massenet’s 1892 opera, which is based on Goethe’s loosely auto-biographical novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. A love story with tragic implications, it sees young poet Werther fall in love with a girl who, according to her dying mother’s wishes, is already betrothed to another man. Tom Cairns directs. The season continues until 24 October.

– Vicky Ellis