There is no question that the role of regional theatre is changing and here at West Yorkshire Playhouse we are embracing that change. We’re taking a long hard look at what it means to be a theatre in the centre of a vibrant and developing city like Leeds. We need to consider how we work, what we offer to our writers, directors, performers, designers and fellow organisations, and of course what we offer to you – our audiences.
new associate producer Amy Letman, who is developing work with emerging artists and introducing a strand of work that might challenge our preconceptions of what theatre is and can be. We’ll be sharing our building with Unlimited Theatre and working closely with Slung Low. The development of work for a theatre like ours is a careful balancing, but we hope what you will find here this autumn is a lot of what you like and a little of the unexpected. Plays you love reimagined, vibrant new work and large scale productions, original talents and world premieres. What we know we can offer you, is a vibrant and eclectic range of work in a theatre that intends to have its voice heard both nationally and locally.
‘PLAYS YOU LOVE RE-IMAGINED, VIBRANT NEW WORK AND LARGE SCALE PRODUCTIONS, ORIGINAL TALENTS AND WORLD PREMIERES.’
Our 21st Birthday Party
‘WE’RE TAKING A LONG HARD LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A THEATRE IN THE CENTRE OF A VIBRANT AND DEVELOPING CITY LIKE LEEDS.’ We are working closely with two new Associate Directors, Sarah Esdaile and Nikolai Foster and a
Ian Brown Artistic Director and Joint Chief Executive Sheena Wrigley General Director and Joint Chief Executive
Tobias Batley as Hamlet Photography Jason Tozer
Northern Ballet
How would you feel if you arrived home to find everything you had ever known and loved destroyed? Surrounded by the terrifying events of the Nazi occupation of Paris, and witness to the depths to which man can descend, Hamlet finds himself drawn into a world he can no longer make sense of and surrounded by people he can no longer trust. Masters of dramatic dance making, Northern Ballet use powerful choreography, gripping theatre and stirring music played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia to draw you deeper into Shakespeare’s famous tragedy than you’ve ever been before. Suitable for ages 12+ Contains scenes of sex and violence
Choreographer & Director David Nixon OBE Co-Director Patricia Doyle Composer Philip Feeney Music Director John Pryce-Jones Set & Costume Designer Christopher Giles Lighting Designer Tim Mitchell Scenario David Nixon & Patricia Doyle
Quarry Theatre A £30 B £25 C £20 Discounts £3 off in A & B Monday to Friday Matinees £20 Schools £11
‘has a theatrical power and energy that make it thoroughly compelling’ MAIL ON SUNDAY
Photography Richard Moran
‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’
World Premiere West Yorkshire Playhouse, Derby LIVE! and Royal & Derngate Northampton Book by David Wood Music by Richard Taylor Lyrics by David Wood & Richard Taylor
In the heat and humidity of the rural Norfolk summer of 1900, a young boy comes of age as he is unwittingly enlisted as a messenger in an adult affair of deceit and desire. This is the world premiere of a moving new musical adaptation of LP Hartley’s beautifully wistful novel of naivety, nostalgia and the end of innocence, perhaps best known as a film of the same name starring Julie Christie and Alan Bates.
‘A strange and beautiful book. I first read it in my early teens and its atmosphere for yearning for lost time and childish innocence challenged has haunted me ever since.’ AUTHOR IAN MCEWAN ON THE GO-BETWEEN
Developed in association with Perfect Pitch
A musical drama based on the novel by LP Hartley Director Roger Haines Musical Director Jonathan Gill Designer Michael Pavelka Lighting Designer Tim Lutkin Sound Designer Mic Pool Associate Director Simon Pittman Casting Director Pippa Ailion
Courtyard Theatre A £27 B £22 C £17 Discounts £3 off in A & B Monday to Friday Previews and Matinees £17 Family Tickets A £20 B £15 C £13 Schools £11
Photography Matt Humphrey
‘O! let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven; Keep me in temper; I would not be mad!’ West Yorkshire Playhouse
King Lear abdicates the British throne, to divide his kingdom among his three daughters in proportion to their professed love of him. When Cordelia, his youngest and favourite daughter, refuses to flatter her father; she is disinherited and banished. King Lear, with its intense exploration of kinship, loyalty, old-age and madness is widely held as the greatest of Shakespeare’s tragedies; to some, it is the greatest play ever written. Award-winning stage, film and television actor Tim Pigott-Smith will perform the title role, directed by West Yorkshire Playhouse Artistic Director Ian Brown.
By William Shakespeare Director Ian Brown Designer Ruari Murchison Lighting Designer Chris Davey Sound Designer Mic Pool Company Movement Joyce Henderson Composer Richard Taylor Voice Bardy Thomas Fight Director Kate Waters Casting Director Siobhan Bracke
With Tim Pigott-Smith as King Lear Quarry Theatre A £27 B £22 C £17 Discounts £3 off in A & B Monday to Friday Previews and Matinees £17 Family Tickets A £20 B £15 C £13 Schools £11
Participating schools
A UK-wide initiative working in partnership with the National Theatre and the National Youth Theatre, Shakespeare Schools Festival challenges the preconception that studying Shakespeare is difficult, dry or dull through a combination of teacher training, workshops and student performances. West Yorkshire Playhouse is delighted to play host to this event, and to welcome nineteen schools from the region to perform on stage in a professional theatre. Promoting articulacy and, through that, confidence and empowerment in young people. Join family and friends to celebrate an evening’s professional entertainment with four youthful half-hour productions of different Shakespeare plays each night.
Appleton Academy Carlton Bolling College Cockburn College of Arts Ermysted’s Grammar School Giggleswick School Guiseley School Harrogate Grammar School Hipperholme & Lightcliffe High School Horsforth School Specialist Science College Rastrick High School Royds Hall High School Ryedale School Selby High School St. John Fisher Catholic High School St. John’s School for the Deaf St. Joseph’s Catholic College The King’s School Thornton Grammar School Upper Wharfedale School & Specialist Sports College
Courtyard Theatre All tickets £10 No Discounts
Schools THE PLAYHOUSE AIMS TO INSPIRE AND EMPOWER PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITY THROUGH CREATIVITY.
Thousands of young people enjoy our performances Theatre Days enhance your students’ visit to the every year as part of a school trip, but we can theatre through a range of practical approaches offer so much more than just tickets. – from working with the director of a production, If you’ve brought a school group to the Playhouse to investigating the rehearsal process with the before then you’ll know we aim to make everything cast. Theatre days are £19.50 per student as painless as possible, from reserving the tickets (including ticket). right through to getting everyone into the auditorium. School ticket prices are listed on each production page. To help you manage your visit we offer one FREE staff seat for every eight students booked. Don’t worry if you don’t know exact group numbers to begin with. Teachers can reserve by paying for just two tickets; final numbers and payment aren’t needed until one month before the performance. Give Box Office a call on 0113 213 7700 and they will be delighted to go through all the options with you.
More than just a show… From opportunities for students to work with professional directors to set design workshops, the Playhouse offers a range of activities to complement a primary or secondary school trip to the theatre.
Bespoke Workshops and Projects if you have an idea for a project or would like to talk to us about connecting to your work in school please get in touch. Previous projects have included live briefs for the Creative and Media Diploma, tailor-made theatre days and performance projects. Resource Packs include information about the productions at West Yorkshire Playhouse as well as interviews with actors and directors, production photographs and ideas for practical work. For more information contact Jessica Farmer on 0113 213 7800 ext 384 or email her at jessica.farmer@wyp.org.uk. Working with schools is just one of the elements of our work that inspires people of all ages to explore their creativity – visit our website to find out more.
Shared Experience By Linda Brogan & Polly Teale Based on The Silent Twins by Marjorie Wallace
An extraordinary story of two girls’ struggle to be heard... Identical twins June and Jennifer communicate in their own private language. Refusing to speak to adults, their only relationship is an intense and turbulent bond with each other. Based on a true story, Speechless explores the twins’ secret world and their struggle to find a voice against all odds. The winner of a Fringe First Award 2010, Speechless is directed and co-written by Artistic Director of Shared Experience, Polly Teale. Celebrated for her potent visual and imaginative style, Polly won the Evening Standard Award for Best Director for her own play After Mrs Rochester, which also won the Time Out Award for Best West End Production. Suitable for ages 14+
Courtyard Theatre A £22 B £17 C £14 Discounts £3 off in A & B Wednesday to Friday Matinees A & B £17 C £14 Family Tickets A £16 B & C £11 Schools £11
‘It’s an astounding story, and it makes for a riveting play... brilliant’ THE INDEPENDENT
DV8 Physical Theatre
From the 1989 book burnings of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, to the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh and the controversy of the ‘Muhammad cartoons’ in 2005, Can We Talk About This? examines how these events have reflected and influenced multicultural policies, press freedom and artistic censorship. This documentary-style dance-theatre production from the highly acclaimed DV8 Physical Theatre (To Be Straight With You) combines archive video footage with real-life interviews from a number of high profile writers, campaigners and politicians to create an explosive new multimedia production about freedom of speech, censorship and offence. Suitable for ages 16+
Conceived & Directed by Lloyd Newson Set and Costume Designer Anna Fleischle Lighting Designer Beky Stoddart Video Artist Tim Reid
Quarry Theatre A £30 B £25 Discounts £3 off in A & B Thursday and Friday Matinee £20 Schools £11
‘It is very, very easy not to be offended by a book. You just have to shut it.’ SALMAN RUSHDIE
Ambitious projects for adventurous audiences Furnace is about creating work with performance makers from West Yorkshire and beyond; placing artists and audiences at the centre of the development and realisation of theatre. Join us this October and be part of two new projects from the very beginning: Original Bearings: a development showing by Slung Low Our city is changing. Old mills converted into apartments, warehouses into clubs, arches into garages, wastelands appearing where once there were homes. There is story in this history. This is the first stage of a major new Slung Low adventure. Taking inspiration from the changes that our city has undergone, Slung Low will explore the history of Leeds and how the myths of a city are created, how the stories of a city are told. Performances outside, come dressed for the weather and with a sense of adventure.
Unliimited Theatre Unlimited Unl Wednesday 12 October We Thursday 13 October Th Friday 14 October 5.30pm Slung Low Friday 14 October Saturday 15 October 7.30pm The Giant and the Bear: a play-test workshop by Unlimited Theatre Unlimited team up with circus artist Layla Rosa (Shunt) and games designers Hide&Seek to begin making a family adventure for players of all ages, experience and levels of daring. Featuring... New Versions of Old-Fashioned Games! Guided Mystery Tours! Hula Hooping! Roller Skating Bears, Angry Giants and Flying Ballerinas! All wrapped up in a story of love, courage and (hopefully!) escape. Come along, play games, and team up to help the Bear escape from the Giant.
Special Events Symposium: Performance making – A discussion on creating & producing theatre in West Yorkshire (Free event) Saturday 15th October 4.30pm Prices £5 for one event £8 for 2 events (ticket includes a drink)
Rifco Arts
Twinkle arrives fresh from the fields of the Punjab with a song in his heart and no money in his pocket. Can his talent shine through or will the remixed bling of the 90’s DJ’s ruin his dreams? Charting the rise of British bhangra in the UK from the sequin clad 80’s through to the RnB fusion of the present day, Rifco Arts’ award winning musical is a twinkling night of glitz, live music and song! Guaranteed to lift you from the dhol drums! Bring the family and move to the rhythm and bhangra. Shake your shoulders, twist that lightbulb; this is the story of how Britain Got Bhangra.
Conceived, Written and Directed by Pravesh Kumar Music by Sumeet Chopra Lyrics by Dougal Irvine
Quarry Theatre A £27 B £22 C £17 Discounts £3 off in A & B Tuesday to Friday Matinees £17 Family Tickets A £20 B £15 C £13 Schools £11
‘a delight that brings the audience to its feet and introduces a new sound into the stale world of the British musical’ THE GUARDIAN
Travelling Light and Sixth Sense Theatre Companies
Bob has a very special job – he looks after the moon. Every morning, Bob rises at six, has his breakfast and boards his rocket for the daily commute. He loves his job. He vacuums space junk out of craters, entertains the space tourists and enjoys a picnic lunch with Billy the Man on Mars and Sam the Man on Saturn. Bob knows almost everything about the moon. But there’s one thing he’s blissfully unaware of: ALIENS! This funny and delightful show is inspired by the hugely popular award-winning book by Simon Bartram, Man on the Moon (a day in the life of Bob), and is brought to life on stage by Travelling Light (Lost and Found) and Sixth Sense. Suitable for ages 3+
By Simon Bartram Director Sally Cookson Designer Hayley Grindle Composer and Sound Designer Benji Bower Puppetry Oliver Smart
Courtyard Theatre All Tickets £8.50 No discounts Family Tickets £7 Schools £7
‘Imaginative... atmospheric... delightful.’ THE STAGE
An Eclipse Theatre and Sheffield Theatres co-production ‘That’s what comes from listening to white folks!!!’ ‘Poor folks, baby! I’ve been listening to poor folks!!!’ The Harrisons are the most respectable middle class Black family in Philadelphia. However, the arrival of their young niece and her new ideas from the rural South, turns their polite, Christian, suburban life on its head. The Cosby Show meets Restoration Comedy in this hilariously outrageous play about how hard we try to hide who we really are. This co-production between the critically acclaimed Eclipse Theatre and Sheffield Theatres marks the UK premiere of Don Evans’ lost American classic.
By Don Evans Director Dawn Walton Designer Libby Watson Presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited
Courtyard Theatre A £22 B £17 C £14 Discounts £3 off in A & B Tuesday to Friday Matinees A & B £17 C £14 Family Tickets A £16 B & C £11 Schools £11
9 to 12 November
Lovesong ‘That is the story of our beginning. And this is the story of… the end’ Lovesong intertwines a couple in their 20s with the same man and woman a lifetime later. Their past and present selves collide in this haunting and beautiful tale of togetherness. All relationships have their ups and downs; the optimism of youth becomes the wisdom of experience. Love is a leap of faith. Renowned writer Abi Morgan, whose film and television credits include the forthcoming Iron Lady (starring Meryl Streep), The Hour and Sex Traffic, is reunited with award-winning company Frantic Assembly (Beautiful Burnout, Stockholm) with whom she worked on the acclaimed and beguiling Tiny Dynamite. Suitable for ages 14+
Frantic Assembly and Drum Theatre Plymouth in association with Chichester Theatre By Abi Morgan Directed and Choreographed by Scott Graham & Steven Hogett Designer Merle Hensel Lighting Designer Andy Purves Sound Designer Carolyn Downing Video Designer Ian William Galloway
Courtyard Theatre A £22 B £17 C £14 Discounts £3 off in A & B Tuesday to Friday Matinees A & B £17 C £14 Family Tickets A £16 B & C £11 Schools £11 Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Schrödinger 22 – 24 November
Schrödinger is a visually mesmerizing performance that sways between question and answer, chaos and order, what we can measure and what we can’t. It’s about thought experiments, cats, René Magritte, love, time, mathematics, observations, truth, lies and alcohol. Reckless Sleepers go back and forward in time recreating one of their most celebrated performances. The Last Supper is a performance piece where the audience is invited to dinner, to eat and drink while Reckless Sleepers tell, and then eat the last words of the famous, the not so famous, criminals, victims, heroes, heroines and stars... With real scenarios, invented scenarios, scenarios in the future, scenarios from the past, each audience member is given a table number, their case number, their incident number. Thirteen of these are last suppers. Supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England
Performed by Mole Wetherell, Leen Dewilde, Alex Covell, Leentje Van De Cruys, Kevin Egan Lighting Design Lisa Mattocks, Jack Dale, Neill Warhurst
Tickets £15 Discounts £3 off Schools £11
The Last Supper 25 & 26 November Writer, Deviser and Performer Mole Wetherell Devised and Performed by Leen Dewilde, Tim Ingram, Tina Carter, Andy Clarke
Tickets £15 No discounts The Last Supper is presented as part of the Compass Festival of Live Art 25 – 27 November 2011
Kneehigh
Here’s a story with a brutal edge and a beating heart… The story of what happens when your father accidentally sells you to the Devil. Betrayed by her father, our heroine has those cross-road blues and chooses to walk into the wilderness, rejecting both the Devil and her home. There she meets a Prince and becomes pregnant, but he is called to war and her heart breaks. Left in the forest, she brings up her child, and – wonder of wonders – her broken heart repairs. Perhaps this is ‘happily ever after’, perhaps there is even more joy to come… With instinctive storytelling and a heady mix of live Blues music and devilish humour, this grown-up romance is classic Kneehigh stuff (The Red Shoes, The Bachhae, The Wooden Frock and Rapunzel) for brave adults and children alike.
Directed & Adapted by Emma Rice Words by Carl Grose Music by Stu Barker Choreographer Etta Murfitt Designer Bill Mitchell Costume Designer Myriddin Wannell Lighting Designer Malcolm Rippeth Sound Designer Simon Baker
Courtyard Theatre A £27 B £22 C £17 Discounts £3 off in A & B Tuesday to Friday Matinees £17 Family Tickets A £20 B £15 C £13 Schools £11
‘You’re never fully dressed without a smile’
21 November 2011 to 21 January 2012 West Yorkshire Playhouse
Book by Thomas Meehan Music by Charles Strouse Lyrics by Martin Charnin It’s 1933 and Christmas in New York. Although the whole nation may be suffering from an economic downturn, one plucky little girl knows that one day soon everything is going to turn out just fine. And that day might just be Tomorrow. With the help of her friends at the orphanage Annie escapes the clutches of Miss Hannigan and sets off out to find her parents. Her infectious nature soon finds her with a new best friend, an offer of adoption from billionaire Mr Warbucks, and even a meeting with President FD Roosevelt himself. But once Annie hits the news, Miss Hannigan and her scheming brother, Rooster, are soon back on her trail! A brand new production from the creators of last year’s spectacular A Christmas Carol, Annie is a non-stop snowball fight of little girls, comic book characters and spectacular songs including It’s A Hard Knock Life, Easy Street and, most famously, Tomorrow. Suitable for ages 7+
Director Nikolai Foster Designer Colin Richmond Musical Director George Dyer Choreographer Nick Winston Lighting Designer Guy Hoare Sound Designer Sebastian Frost Orchestrator David Shrubsole Casting Director Kay Magson Original Production Directed by Martin Charnin Originally produced by Irwin Meyer, Stephen R. Friedman, Lewis Allen Alvin Nederlander Associates Inc., Icarus Productions. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Based on “Little Orphan Annie” ® By permission of the Tribune Media Services Inc. Performed by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York.
Quarry Theatre Prices on following pages
Photography Jonathan Turner
9 December 2011 to 21 January 2012 West Yorkshire Playhouse By Mike Kenny Director Gail McIntyre Designer Barney George Composer, Musical Director & Sound Designer Oliver Birch Lighting Designer Tim Skelly Casting Director Kay Magson
‘When they said the chickens in the farmyard were cleverer than you. They were right.’
Courtyard Theatre Prices on following pages
There’s been a Giant stealing from the land. He’s taken the Girl with the Harp, who sang beautiful songs to the chickens and made them happy. So the chickens have hatched a plan to get her back – and it involves Milkywhite the cow, and their neighbour – Jack! Can the clever chickens get lazy-bones Jack to go and defeat the Giant? How can they even get him to grow a beanstalk? The story may be gigantic, but with Mike Kenny and Gail McIntyre in charge there’s going to be plenty for little people to enjoy.
‘People of any age will find this a delight’
Running time approximately one and a half hours including an interval. This is not a pantomime!
‘spectacularly inventive’
Suitable for ages 4+
YORKSHIRE POST
YORKSHIRE EVENING POST
‘It enthralls, excites and inspires’ THE STAGE REVIEWS FOR ALADDIN (2010)
Booking Information
FAMILY TICKETS A Are available to groups of between 4 and 7 people, where at least two are under 16. Limited numbers Previews 21 to 24 Nov of Family Tickets available for each performance. £25 Full £23 Discount DISCOUNTS £19 Family Are available to Senior Citizens (60+ & retired), £11 School children under 16, NUS, BreezeCard and LeedsCard holders and anyone receiving 25 Nov to 16 Dec unemployment benefit. Only one discount and 4 to 21 Jan applies per ticket. £27 Full £25 Discount SCHOOLS TICKETS £21 Family Are available to school groups of 8 or more. One £11 School free ticket is given for each 8 tickets purchased. 17 Dec to 31 Dec ACCESS TICKETS Full £30 Customers with a disability pay the lowest Discount £28 available price in area B. If you require a Family £24 companion, please request an additional free ticket when you book. Access tickets are not available to book online. GROUPS Monday to Friday on all performances except Previews Groups of 10 or more £2 off Full Price ticket Groups of 20 or more: £4 off Full Price ticket Groups of 40 or more: £5 off Full Price ticket Groups of 100 or more: £6 off Full Price ticket
B
C
£20 £18 £14 £11
£15 £13 £9 £11
£23 £21 £17 £11
£18 £16 £12 £11
£27 £25 £21
£23 £21 £17
FAMILY TICKETS Are available to groups of between 4 and 7 people, where at least two are under 16. Limited numbers of Family Tickets available for each performance. SCHOOLS TICKETS Are available to school groups of 8 or more. One free ticket is given for each 8 tickets purchased. ACCESS TICKETS If you require a companion please request an additional FREE ticket when you book. Access tickets are not available to book online. GROUPS Monday to Friday on all Performances except Previews Groups of 10 or more: £1 off ticket price Groups of 20 or more: £2 off ticket price Groups of 40 or more: £3 off ticket price Groups of 100 or more: £4 off ticket price
TICKETS Previews 9 to 12 December Tickets £10.50 Family £9.50 Schools £8.50 13 to 16 December and 4 to 21 January Tickets £13 Family Tickets £12 Schools £8.50 17 December to 31 December Tickets £15.50 Family Tickets £14.50 No Discounts
ENJOYING FOOD AND A DRINK AT WEST YORKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE COULDN’T BE EASIER. OUR CAFÉ IS SPACIOUS, LIGHT AND AIRY, WITH PLENTY OF SEATING AND FREE WIFI.
Café
Young Visitors
Open 9am until 7.30pm. Hot meals served 12noon to 2pm and 5pm to 7.30pm.
For our younger visitors we have a range of toys and books in our family friendly corner. The Playhouse is really easy to negotiate with buggies and small children, and we have baby changing facilities.
Bar Open from 5.30pm every evening of a performance. During the day we’re a great place for meeting, chatting, or escaping from the bustle of the city. Pop in to check your email, read the newspaper or enjoy the company of friends. We use local produce and create delicious hot food in our onsite kitchens.
This season make your children’s visit to the theatre extra special. Alongside the fantastic children’s shows, you can book a children’s party package – contact Conferences on 0113 213 7276 for details. Or why not join us for our exciting Indoor Picnics? These will run alongside every performance of Bob the Man on the Moon.
Our Café and Bar is the perfect place to start your visit to the theatre. You can also book a pre-show meal. It’s the perfect way to relax before Bob is holding a children’s party event which will the performance, without worrying you’re going to happen at 12noon between shows each day. You’ll get a lunch bag, enjoy some music and take miss the start of the show. Our pre-show menu part in some activities. Available to anyone with a includes two courses for just £12.50, to book ticket for the performance but places are limited please ring Box Office on 0113 213 7700 and a and must be pre-booked through Box Office. table will be reserved for you. The Bar is open after the show so make an evening of it, relax and share a bottle of wine or sample some local specialty beers.
Other Events 8 September, 7-11pm
Beautiful Octopus Club Another inclusive, uplifting club night presented by our crew of adults with learning disabilities, supported by Playhouse staff. Join us for live music, open mic, DJs and dancing at the friendliest, most accessible club night in Leeds!
Tickets £6.50 in advance from West Yorkshire Playhouse Or £7.50 on the door at Leeds University Union Beautiful Octopus Club takes place in the Leeds University Union building Strictly over 18s only 9 October
Dons of Comedy Felicity Ethnic, Felix Dexter, Curtis Walker and Slim The best of Britain’s award winning Comedians come together for this exclusive Black History Month comedy special. Witness history in the making as we celebrate, with the real Dons of Comedy, our history, our culture and our lifestyle in the only way we know how... with a smile! A night of true heavyweight comedy, pound for pound the best jokes that will knock you clean off your seat!
Quarry Theatre Tickets £17.50 (Discounts £2 off) Early Bird Offer £15 before 9 August Suitable for ages 18 +
16 October, 27 November, 18 December, 22 January
Courtyard Comedy Club
In association with Kill for a Seat, Leeds’ favourite and funniest comedy club returns to its monthly slot with four hilarious shows from October through to January. Once again your affable host Silky will guide you through an ever changing line-up of the best comedy talent on the circuit. For the most up-to-date information about each line-up check our website.
‘The Courtyard Comedy Club is a night out I would thoroughly recommend. A wonderful atmosphere in an intimate venue carried by a brilliant line up’ LEEDS STUDENT Tickets £11 (Discounts £2 off)
25 & 26 October
Paint It White
adapted by Les Rowley from the book by Gary Edwards Since 1968 Kippax-born painter and decorator, Gary Edwards has missed just one Leeds United game. He travels home and away to see every match from league, cup, friendlies (and not so friendly) to pre-season tour games, never missing a moment of the action. From failed business opportunities to divorce within weeks, the play explores the real meaning of obsession and how to accrue a fair balance so you can still fly to Barcelona at the drop of a hat. Football is a mere backdrop to the real action which charts the ups and downs of life.
Courtyard Theatre All Tickets £15 Discounts £3 off
27 January
Showstopper The Improvised Musical A brand new musical is created from scratch at each performance of this award-winning production. Audience suggestions help to create a show on the spot, as the all-singing, all-dancing cast improvise with unpredictable and frequently hilarious results. Packed with drama, dazzling dance routines and catchy melodies, Showstopper! leaves delighted audiences singing all the way home.
‘…not only is each performance achingly funny, it’s a genuinely new full-length musical every time. Top-class creativity in action. Worth seeing again and again.’ TIME OUT Quarry Theatre Tickets £12.50 (No discounts)
THE MORE YOU SEE, THE MORE YOU’LL SAVE – UP TO 30% OFF
• • • • •
Up to 4 shows save 20% 5 or more shows save 30% 10% discount in the Café & Bar £1 off Playhouse Programmes Loyalty Points every time you book
We’ve just extended the benefits for MyPlayhouse members. At just £20 to join you’ll make a saving when booking for even a couple of productions with 20% off any tickets you buy during the year, so on a top price ticket you will save nearly £6. But the great news is, if you book more than four productions then we’ll give you an even better discount on all subsequent tickets – a whole 30% off. What’s more you can buy up to nineteen tickets per performance – so treat your friends, or just share the saving!
We’ll give you loyalty points for every ticket you buy, which you can redeem against further purchases. We hope this means you’ll come and see more shows here over the year. With a membership you could see a World Premiere for less than the price of a DVD. And the savings don’t just stop with tickets. Once you’re here just show your membership card and you’ll save 10% off any food you buy in our Café or drinks at the Bar. We also give you £1 off the cover price of any Playhouse production programmes. All this for only £20 for a full year of savings on great theatre, so – what are you waiting for? Call Box Office on 0113 213 7700 and start saving today.
Your visit to the Playhouse The Playhouse has two stages – The Quarry and The Courtyard.
Quarry Theatre
Opening hours Box Office Open 10am until 15 minutes after the show starts. 10am – 6pm when there is no performance. Reception Open 8.30am until the last performance begins. 8.30pm until 6pm when there is no performance.
Discounts Only one discount applies per ticket. Discount tickets are limited and not available for Previews or Matinees. Booking in advance is recommended. When available discounts apply to Senior Citizens (60+ and retired), children under 16, NUS, BreezeCard or LeedsCard holders and anyone receiving unemployment benefits. Courtyard Theatre
Under 26s Free tickets Monday to Thursday.
Family Tickets When available apply to groups between four and seven people, where at least two are under 16.
Access Customers with a disability pay the lowest available price in Area B. If you require a companion please request an additional FREE ticket when you book. Access Tickets are not available online. Guide dogs and Hearing dogs for the Deaf are welcome.
Courtyard Theatre – Jack and the Beanstalk
There are induction loops in both theatres. For the loop and audio described performances you need to collect a headset from Box Office (returnable deposit of £5).
Community Network Our scheme for community groups facing financial or access barriers to attending the theatre. A limited number of tickets are available to members of this scheme. For more access information contact Box Office 0113 213 7700 Minicom 0113 213 7299 email access@wyp.org.uk. Textphone users, please dial 18001 then 0113 213 7700.
Access performances are sponsored by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors. See the diary for dates of the following.
By Bus The Playhouse is located opposite the bus and National Express coach stations. For local bus and train times, call the METROLINE information service on 0113 245 7676.
Audio Description Parking Live commentary via personal head Quarry Hill car parks, next to the Playhouse, are phones for blind or partially sighted people. CURRENTLY FREE after 5.30pm. Union Street Captioning car park, currently £2 after 5.30pm, is opposite English text displayed on a unit (on or the Playhouse behind Millgarth Police Station. above stage), for deaf or hard of hearing Blue Badge Holders can park in these car parks people. for free. Disabled parking is also available on Playhouse Square, directly outside the main British Sign Language entrance. Further information about Leeds City Sign language interpreted performance Council car parks can be obtained from Parking for Deaf BSL users. Services on 0113 247 4140. Relaxed Performance Relaxed performances open up theatre to young people with learning disabilities.
Groups Booking your group in with us is easy – just call the Box Office on 0113 213 7700 and they will be happy to help you. You can also pre-order ice creams and programmes when you make your booking. If you’re with a coach then you can drop off just outside the door, and there’s plenty of coach parking nearby. Group ticket prices Monday – Friday on all performances except Previews and Matinees (for Christmas Group prices see earlier pages) Groups of 10 or more 10% off full price Groups of 15 or more 15% off full price Groups of 20 or more 20% off full price Groups of 40 or more 25% off full price And you’ll also find we don’t charge a booking fee (never have) so there’s no hidden extras.
Getting to and from the Playhouse Public Transport By Train Leeds City Station is the nearest rail station to the Playhouse. For train times call National Rail Enquiries on 08457 484950. It is a twenty minute walk to the Playhouse.
Information correct at time of printing. The Management reserves the right to alter ticket prices and information without prior notice as necessary or due to unforeseen circumstances.
Photography Signal. Photography Chris Nash
1 to 4 February 2012 Phoenix Dance Theatre Works by
Following the success of 2011’s Reflected, Phoenix Dance Theatre returns to the Playhouse with the company’s latest exhilarating mixed programme, featuring the world premieres of two contrasting dance works. Inspired by Magritte’s iconic painting The Son of Man, Catch, by Ana Luján Sánchez is a powerful piece set to an evocative new score by Borut Krlisnik. The second new work is the latest creation by Kwesi Johnson, Artistic Director of Company Malakhi, a choreographer famed for blending contemporary, hip-hop, breakdancing and parkour to create unique, inspiring physical theatre. This exciting programme also features the return of Henri Oguike’s unflinching Signal and the hilarious modern Phoenix classic Maybe Yes Maybe, Maybe No Maybe by Aletta Collins.
Aletta Collins, Ana Luján Sánchez, Kwesi Johnson Henri Oguike
Quarry Theatre A £27 B £22 C £17 Discounts £3 off in A & B Wednesday to Friday Schools £11
‘Watson and her dancers have thrust Phoenix into a new era.’ THE STAGE, JANUARY 2011
Spring Season 2012 World Premiere West Yorkshire Playhouse and Mick Perrin/Louise Rennison 10 February to 3 March 2012 by Louise Rennison With her posse the Ace Gang, Georgia is on a mission to become a snogging sensation and to win a sex God boyfriend in the form of school boy Robbie. With the help of her crazy wild cat, Angus and her best mate Jas, a snogtastic boyfriend-grabbing plan develops. Suitable for anyone who is a teenager, has ever been a teenager, or knows someone who is about to be one soon…
‘Bridget Jones for teenagers – but funnier’
WAITING
FOR
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
West Yorkshire Playhouse and Talawa Theatre Company 3 to 25 February 2012 by Samuel Beckett Director Ian Brown Two homeless men, Vladimir and Estragon, wait in a bare space with a single tree. They are waiting for the one who never comes, they are waiting for Godot. Ian Brown directs an all Black cast in Beckett’s funny and poetic masterpiece.
‘To-morrow, when I wake, or think I do, what shall I say of to-day?’
Diary
7.15 7.15 1.30 7.15 CAP 7.15 1.30 AD 7.15
1.30 1.30
7.15 7.15 7.15 7.15 7.15
CCC
10.30 10.30
Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We
7.30 7.30 PSD
2.00
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1.30 CN 27 28 29 30
7.45 7.45 PSD 7.45 7.45
7.30
2.30
1.30 2.00
1.30 2.00 7.00 P 7.00 P CN 7.00 P 7.00 P 7.00 7.00 7.00 CN 7.00 7.00
2.00
2.00 2.00
Th 1 Fr 2 Sa 3
1.30
7.00 7.00 1.30 CAP 7.00
* Takes place outside of the building
PW
7.45
7.30 7.30 PSD 7.30 7.30
7.30 7.30 PSD 7.30 7.30 7.30
7.45 7.45 7.45 7.45 7.45 7.30
Lovesong
1 2 3 4
Monkey
Nov Tu We Th Fr
Dec 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30
7.45 PSD 7.45 4.00 1.30 1.30
Bob
7.30 7.30 PSD 7.30 7.30 7.30
Bhangra
Hamlet Don
7.30* 7.30* 7.30
24 25 26 27 1.30 28 29 2.00 30 31
Courtyard Theatre
DV8
The Go-Between
2.00 AD 7.30
5.30 5.30 5.30 4.30
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo
Sa 5 Su 6 Mo 7
7.30 7.30 AD 7.30 7.30 BSL 7.30
7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00
23
The Wild Bride
7.15 7.15 1.30 7.15 7.15 1.30 BSL 7.15 8.00
1.30
Quarry Theatre Su
Reckless Sleepers
1.30 CN 7.15
7.30 7.30 7.30 1.30 7.30 7.30 2.00 CAP 7.30
Shakespeare School
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
7.30 P CN 7.30 P 7.30 7.30 7.30 2.00 CN 7.30
Furnace
Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
7.30 P 7.30 P CN
Speechless
Oct
Courtyard Theatre
Annie
Quarry Theatre
9 7.15 10 2.30 7.15 11 12 7.15 13 7.15 14 7.15 15 7.15 16 7.15 17 2.30 AD 7.15 18 19 20 21 22 23 7.15 P 24 7.15 P CN 25 26 7.15 P CN 27 7.15 P 28 7.15 29 7.15 30 7.15
King Lear
Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr
King Lear
Sep
CCC
6.00 P 6.00 P CN
1.30 CN 1.30 7.00 1.30 7.00 1.30 7.00 7.00 1.30 7.00
1.30 1.30 1.30 1.30
7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00
MERRY CHRISTMAS
1.30 1.30 1.30 1.30
2.00 P CN 6.00 P 2.00 10.15 2.00 6.00 10.15 2.00 7.30 2.00 2.00 10.15 2.00 10.15 2.00 2.00 10.15 2.00
7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00
2.00 10.15 10.15 10.15
6.00 6.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00
Jan Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
HAPPY NEW YEAR
7.00 CN 1.30 AD 1.30 7.00 1.30 7.00 2.00
2.00 CN 2.00 10.30 RP 6.00 RP 2.00 6.00 CAP 2.30
7.00 CN 1.30 7.00 1.30 7.00 CAP 7.00 1.30 BSL 7.00 2.00
2.00 AD 10.15 CN 2.00 10.15 2.00 2.00 10.15 2.00 2.30
Fr
27
CCC
We Th Fr Sa
1 2 3 4
7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00 7.00
7.30
Courtyard Theatre 2.00 BSL 10.15 2.00 10.15
CCC
SS
Quarry Theatre 7.30 7.30 7.30 7.30
2.00 2.00 6.00 AD 2.00 7.30
Jack and the Beanstalk
16 17 18 1.30 19 1.30 20 21 1.30 22 23 24 25 26
Feb
Courtyard Theatre
10 February to 3 March 2012
Angus, Thongs & Even More Snogging 3 to 25 February 2012
Waiting for Godot On Sale from 1 September Jack and the Beanstalk
1.30
7.00 AD 7.00 7.00
Jack and the Beanstalk
7.00 BSL 1.30 1.30 1.30
Quarry Theatre Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th
Annie
Courtyard Theatre
Annie
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Phoenix Dance
Quarry Theatre Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
One-off Performances Key Don CCC PW
SS Bob DV8
Performance Key P
Preview Performance
PSD
Post Show Discussion
AD
Audio Described Performance
CAP
Captioned Performance
BSL
BSL Interpreted Performance
RP
Relaxed Performance
CN
Community Network
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