Leeds Playhouse announces spring/summer season including Marcelo Bielsa-inspired play

Leeds Playhouse has announced its spring/summer 2025 season, which will be the final programme under artistic director and Joint CEO James Brining as he prepares to step down in April after 13 years in the role.

One of the season’s key productions is Through It All Together, a new play by Leeds writer Chris O’Connor inspired by the city’s relationship with former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa. The play explores themes of football, dementia, and family connections. Directed by Gitika Buttoo, it has been developed in collaboration with dementia support groups and will run in the Courtyard Theatre from 23 June to 19 July.

Another major in-house production is a new adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, directed by Amy Leach. Marking the 80th anniversary of the political allegory, the production has text by Tatty Hennessy and will run from 12 to 29 March as a co-production with Stratford East and Nottingham Playhouse.

The season also includes Coraline – A Musical, a new stage adaptation of the hit novella. Directed by Brining, the musical will run from 11 April to 11 May before embarking on a national tour. The House Party, an adaptation of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie written by Laura Lomas and co-produced with Headlong, Chichester Festival Theatre, and Frantic Assembly, will launch its UK tour at the Playhouse from 21 February to 1 March.

The Leeds Playhouse Youth Theatre will stage Brainstorm from 10 to 12 July, a piece exploring the neurological changes of adolescence, created in collaboration with youth theatre groups. Additionally, Sisters 360, a play by Asif Khan about two skateboarding stepsisters, will tour community venues after its run in the Bramall Rock Void from 7 to 10 May.

The Playhouse will also host a variety of visiting productions. Among these is Tambo and Bones, a work by Dave Harris that examines race and capitalism, Kim’s Convenience, the stage play that inspired the popular Canadian TV series, Inside Giovanni’s Room, a new dance production by Phoenix Dance Theatre based on James Baldwin’s novel, and A Thousand Splendid Suns, which will be presented as a co-production with Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse and directed by Roxana Silbert.

In the Bramall Rock Void studio, the Playhouse will present a range of new and experimental works. These include Shellshocked by Leeds playwright Philip Stokes, which will run from 5 to 8 February, and The Flood, a musical piece about community resilience following a devastating flood, scheduled for 17 to 19 April.