Leeds Grand Theatre Archives - North West End UK

Opera North’s The Magic Flute – Leeds Grand Theatre

28Sep

By Mark HumphreysNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Opera North’s The Magic Flute – Leeds Grand Theatre

Opera North’s Magic Flute, reviving James Brining’s 2019 production of Mozart’s final opera, comes with literally all of the bells and whistles. (Well, magic bells and the eponymous magic flute, together with an ever-so-slightly-irritatingly out-of-tune set of pipes.) And, being sung in English in Jeremy Sams’s excellent translation, it’s also an ideal introduction to opera for newbies, as well as a season-opening treat for those notsos. A pre-show message from company Music Director Garry Walker proudly reminded us that Opera North delivers learning and engagement to no fewer than 3,000 school children per week, and has a full time chorus, orchestra and technical crew. A not so subtle message for the CEO of Arts Council England, in tonight’s audience, perhaps. The ...

Northern Ballet: Beauty & The Beast – Leeds Grand Theatre

5Jun

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Northern Ballet: Beauty & The Beast – Leeds Grand Theatre

There have been countless versions of Beauty & The Beast over the years in film and the theatre, but David Nixon’s version for Northern Ballet is a million miles away from the saccharine Disney version delving deep into the darker elements of this love story that has its origins in Ancient Greece. Northern Ballet’s former artistic director looks to Cocteau’s classic 1946 movie for his inspiration, which offers the dancers a much more challenging understanding of how if we fail to look beyond exteriors we will miss things like love, compassion and the inner demons that make us all human. Although this is a far more subtle reading of this fable it retains all the key elements as a vain prince who is cursed by his narcissism to become a beast until he can find true love when someone...

16May

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Pretty Woman – Leeds Grand Theatre

Last night I took my first steps into Hollywood and wow what an amazing experience it was, I fell in love with the vibrant LED signs and light bulb infused palm trees, but nothing prepared me for the way I would become obsessed over the pretty woman storyline all over again. The beloved romance movie of the 80’s came alive once again onstage last night; Jerry Mitchell’s take on this fan favourite was everything you hoped it would be. Take a popular rom com add a little instrumental and some catchy musical numbers and you’ve got a night full of priceless entertainment and that’s exactly what was witnessed at Leeds opening night. I was in complete awe of the attention to detail, from the colourful 80’s costumes to the Beverly Hills hotel the resemblance was fascinating but also unique. As...

1May

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Come From Away – Leeds Grand Theatre

Wandering through Broadway’s theatreland my youngest daughter and I were looking for a show to see so she suggested that Come From Away had fantastic word of mouth on TikTok. We popped into the box office scoring great stalls seats for 80 bucks, and she was spot on with her pick as this warm-hearted show about the best and worst of humanity went straight into my top five musicals. A musical about the aftermath of 9/11 seems an unlikely hit, but it’s based on a true story set thousands of miles away from the twin towers in a small Canadian town called Gander that was home to an airfield once used to refuel jets before they set off across the Atlantic. Super jets made the landing strip almost obsolete, but as airspaces were shut down after the terror attack 38 airplanes carrying 7000 diso...

22Apr

By Phoebe Olivia Sian HobsonNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Syndicate – Leeds Grand Theatre

The Syndicate, what a treat! The most upbeat performance portraying the troubles of real life in a new light, a simple but extremely sweet storyline that keeps you fixated to your theatre seat. The anticipation drives no intention for an ice cream break, as soon as the curtain fell for the interval, the audience wanted nothing more than to be back in the presence of Jamie. Oliver Anthony captured the character of Jamie perfectly, his performance was relatable in so many ways, it’s fair to say that everyone knows someone as charismatic as Jamie and he established that cheeky chap so well. Kay Mellor took the shop in everyone’s daily routine and made it into a fascinating show, having Yorkshire locals thirsty for cash because of their working-class lives, and providing an insight into what t...

Legally Blonde The Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre

1Apr

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Legally Blonde The Musical – Leeds Grand Theatre

It does seem odd in what can seem like an endless conveyor belt of stage adaptations of hit Hollywood movies that Leeds Amateur Operatic Society are the first to stage Legally Blonde in this historic theatre where they have been putting on shows since 1890. The don’t judge a book by its cover trope is one of the classic musical theatre narratives, with the traditional happy ending always coming from the most unlikely of sources. In this version staying pretty faithful to the smash hit Reece Witherspoon movie, our unexpected heroine is sorority queen and fashionista Elle Woods, who wins a place at the prestigious Harvard Law School proving to have a sharp legal intellect beneath all her fluffy pink exterior as she wins the day. It's a high energy show with plenty of humour and some gr...

Peter Pan Goes Wrong – Leeds Grand Theatre

17Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Peter Pan Goes Wrong – Leeds Grand Theatre

The Mischief comedy juggernaut just keeps on rolling with another version of Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s chaotic take on Peter Pan where everything that can go wrong does. It is at heart a knowing tribute to all those am dram groups who gamely put on productions every week across the country, and the gag is that none are as likely to be so badly written or performed as Cornley’s unique take on JM Barrie’s tale of a boy who never grows up. Mischief founders Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayers and Henry Shields know what works for their brand, so have cunningly crafting dialogue so wooden you could make a table out of it, and ironically most critics have sat though productions almost as risible, but also as blissfully unself-aware as this bunch of talentless chumps. Noises Off will...

11Jan

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Life of Pi – Leeds Grand Theatre

Life of Pi is one of those blockbuster books that seemed impossible to make work on stage, but Lolita Chakrabarti’s pacey adaptation keeps in Jann Martel’s mediation on the power of faith along with all the dramatic set pieces that make it such a good yarn. It opens in a Mexican hospital room as an Indian teenager Pi recounts his 200 plus day battle for survival after the ship transporting his father’s zoo animals to a new home in Canada goes down in the Pacific. According to Pi he shared his life raft and battle to live with a 200 pound Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker…or did he? Chakrabarti doesn’t flinch from the spiritual nature of Mantel’s text that namechecks most of the major religions, but cleverly weaves in the darker side of our psyche in a fable that is much about ...

30Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The Nutcracker – Leeds Grand Theatre

After enduring endless plays of Merry Xmas Everyone trundling round the shops you know the festive season is finally here when Northern Ballet stage their annual extravaganza. This year The Nutcracker is back, and once again you have that feeling they’ve run into the props store and gone a bit mad to produce a lavish winter wonderland. David Nixon’s colourful and stylish costumes probably caused a national shortage of sequins and taffeta. It’s a wonderfully bonkers fairy tale as a mysterious magician sends ingénue Clara off on a surreal journey where she survives a battle between giant mice and life size toy soldiers, before being magically transported to a wintery wonderland where meets her Nutcracker Prince. It’s all beautifully realised by designer Charles Cusick Smith who works h...

1Nov

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

The King and I – Leeds Grand Theatre

The King and I is without doubt one of the great musicals with a sensational score but has been in recent years a problematic piece as the original play and movie had something of a white saviour narrative to them. This intelligent and sumptuous revival directed by Bartlett Sher is now much more about the repercussions of culture clashes as widowed British teacher Anna and her son travel to Siam to teach the many children of an autocratic king. He is keen to embrace western values to protect his country from the imperialist vultures circling around his small kingdom as civil war rages in America. The King gambles that western values will make him stronger, but he soon discovers through smart and feisty Anna that what he hopes to import into a centuries old Siamese culture brings unex...