Leeds Playhouse Announces Re-opening Season

Leeds Playhouse reopens its doors this October following a £15.8million capital redevelopment, enabling the city’s theatre to be fully accessible to everyone for the first time.

A full season of productions will take place across two rejuvenated and one new performance space, 15 months on from when redevelopment work first started.

Entirely transformed, Leeds Playhouse will be a cultural landmark, providing the city with a new home for audiences, participants and artists to experience and create world class theatre.

An Open Weekend will invite visitors to explore and rediscover the newly transformed theatre at the heart of Quarry Hill through a series of free events.

The first produced show in Leeds Playhouse will be staged in the brand new studio space, the Bramall Rock Void. There are No Beginnings by Yorkshire writer Charley Miles (11 October – 2 November) signals a significant commitment to showcasing new local work - intimate in scale and epic in ambition.

Building on its commitment to making theatre accessible for everyone, Leeds Playhouse’s long-standing club-night for adults with learning disabilities, Beautiful Octopus Club, will also be hosted within the new building for the first time.

In another first, Leeds Playhouse will stage the inaugural production at new neighbour Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill Campus. A new play by Andy McGregor, Influence, will be performed by Leeds Playhouse Youth Theatre (31 October-2 November).

The performance will open the College’s School of Creative Arts Theatre, and marks the start of a new partnership between two of Leeds’ key cultural institutions demonstrating a clear commitment to arts education for young people in the region.

Other forthcoming productions include LUNG Theatre’s Trojan Horse, Hanif Kureishi’s My Beautiful Laundrette, which celebrates the power of human connection in ordinary lives, and Inua Ellams’ Barber Shop Chronicles which returns to the theatre after a world tour.

In October 2019 Leeds Playhouse formally reopens, inviting visitors to rediscover the transformed building. During an Open Weekend (11 – 13 October) it will throw open its doors, providing a rare opportunity for everyone to explore the magic of the theatre’s auditoria and rehearsal spaces, to discover its new foyers, restaurants and bars and take part in events, pop-up performances and fun-filled activities for all the family.

Other landmarks over the forthcoming season include:

The first ever live broadcast from Leeds Playhouse to cinemas around the world will take place on Halloween with Northern Ballet’s acclaimed version of Dracula (29 October – 2 November).

Artists continue to develop new work at every stage of their career with Leeds Playhouse as Furnace Festival returns in 2019 (13 – 16 November). Supported by the Playhouse’s Artistic Development programme, the weekend offers audiences a first look at two major projects in development: Leeds based Tess Seddon’s funny, timely and hyper-local Amateur Politician; and multi award-winning writer Jim Cartwright’s resonant and entertaining new play Northern Soul.

The Wizard of Oz, directed by Artistic Director James Brining is the main 2019 Christmas offering 20 November – 25 January. The Night Before Christmas by Robert Alan Evans also returns to the Courtyard theatre (30 November – 28 December) following a sell-out run in 2015.

Leeds Playhouse Artistic Director James Brining said: “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.

“By designing a re-opening programme which is a rich mix of varied productions and activities, we hope to encourage both existing and new audiences to discover this incredible building. Whether that be through a workshop at the Open Weekend, a cup of tea and a cake in the new café or a family trip to The Wizard of Oz, we look forward to seeing the theatre alive and thriving again at the heart of the community with a theatre experience open to all.”

Leeds Playhouse’s £15.8million redevelopment project is managed by Leeds City Council (LCC) and is the result of support from organisations and individuals including the likes of Arts Council England and LCC, as well as various Foundations and commercial organisations.

Tickets are on sale to Playhouse Pass members and Patrons from Thursday 16 May at 10am, with tickets on general sale from 10am on Tuesday 21 May.