Leeds Playhouse announces new season as the theatre re-opens this autumn
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Leeds Playhouse has announced a new season of work as it prepares to re-open following a major redevelopment.
The first show in the new season will be the premiere of Yorkshire writer Charley Miles' There Are No Beginnings in the theatre's brand new studio space. Running from 11 October to 2 November, the piece is based on reaction to the Peter Sutcliffe murders of the 1970s and follows four women who stand in solidarity with one another.
Robert Alan Evans' family show The Night Before Christmas will return to the theatre following a run in 2015 from 30 November to 28 December, directed by Amy Leach, while artistic director James Brining will direct The Wizard of Oz in the Quarry Theatre, running from 20 November to 25 January.
From 31 October to 2 November the venue's Youth Theatre will present Andy McGregor's Influence, directed by Gemma Woffinden, in a partnership with Leeds City College's School of Creative Arts. On 7 October poet and broadcaster Lemn Sissay will reflect on his new book My Name is Why.
The theatre's Furnace Festival will return from 13 to 16 November and will show first looks from new works by the likes of Tess Seddon and Jim Cartwright. Beautiful Octopus Club, the Playhouse's club-night for adults with learning disabilities, will run on 14 October.
Other shows featured in the season including the touring productions of Rifco Theatre Company and Watford Palace Theatre's Mushy Lyrically Speaking (8 to 12 October), Graeae and Theatre Royal Plymouth's One Under (5 to 9 November), Hanif Kureishi's My Beautiful Launderette (15 to 26 October), Inua Ellams' Barber Shop Chronicles (20 to 23 November), Breach Theatre's It's True, It's True, It's True (21 to 23 November) and Ben Weatherill's Jellyfish (28 to 30 November), which also runs at the National Theatre this summer.
The season will officially re-open on 11 October, with a weekend of free events for members of the public.
Brining said: "The transformed Leeds Playhouse marks the most exciting new chapter in our history for decades and we can't wait to welcome everyone to enjoy and explore. The new building will allow us to offer the magic of theatre to everyone, all under one roof.
"I'm so excited for all three of our venues to function together and it's our hope that the Autumn/Winter programme will give a taste of what we're about: a theatre that is rooted in its local community, producing work of national and international significance and supporting and developing artists at all stages of their career."
He added: "There is a tangible buzz around culture in Leeds right now – with the relocation of Channel 4 and the upcoming plans for Leeds 2023, this really is the most fantastic time to be re-opening a theatre the whole city can be proud of."
