August 2025: Best shows to see in Leeds

Hello everybody, here is my preview of the productions gracing our city’s stages in August.

Now I have done that, I hope you enjoy your summer.

Alright, it isn’t quite that bad, but the usual hiatus at this time of year is even more widespread than normal. Take Leeds Playhouse, where the only item on the website isn’t even taking place on their premises, but at The Warehouse in Holbeck, which is run by Slung Low. It is what you might call a concept piece, or even immersive theatre.

Reception: A New Musical, which is the show in question, features the songs of indie band, The Wedding Present, so prepare to be transported back to 1980s Leeds, where a group of friends are having a bash to celebrate leaving university. We follow their subsequent get-togethers, including a funeral and, as can be gleaned from the source material and title, a wedding and the reception. The difference is that there is usually only one body at a funeral.

The twist is that you become part of said reception, your involvement depending on the package you choose. A standard ticket is from £16.90 to £48.50 but if you shell out £59.50 to £69.50 you become a wedding guest with cabaret-style seats, a glass of fizz on arrival, souvenir programme and other treats. 

You have plenty of time to get that new suit or posh hat, as the run is from 22nd August until 6th September. More details and bookings are HERE. I will look forward to the sequels; Separation, with music by Elbow, and Divorce, by Free. Me – cynical about marriage – never.

To find out what’s coming to Leeds Playhouse after the holidays, please visit their website. For more information about Slung Low, click here.

Leeds Grand Theatre begins the month with Fiddler on the Roof which began on 29th July and runs until 2nd August. It has nothing to do with the cowboys who offer to clean your gutters, but is the touring version of the classic story of a Jewish milkman, Tevye, who is trying to get his five daughters married off – more weddings! 

19th August sees the beginning of the run of War Horse, I’ll have a fiver each-way, which continues until 6th September. Although the story, based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo, telling of a horse’s experiences in the trenches during the First World War, is captivating enough, the presentation, using life-size puppets, is well worth seeing in its own right.

For more details, including a trailer, and to book, head HERE. There are matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so no need for late nights for the younger – or older-members of the audience.

The Carriageworks has Theo In Between on 22nd and 23rd August, with matinees on both days. It is a new coming of age musical about, you guessed it, Theo, who has responsibility thrust upon them so must come to terms with feeling in-between when he is called upon to be a man in the absence of his father. It is based on a book by Gareth Mattey, who also wrote the lyrics, along with Jordan Li-Smith, the composer.

Should you be aged 8-16 years, you can give the boards a good old treading yourself, by taking part in Make Musical Magic Summer School 2025, from 5th to 8th August. It is billed as four days jam-packed with singing, acting, dancing, and writing your own musical numbers, culminating in the performance of the finished production at 5.00pm on the final day, in front of parents and friends. 

That just about sums it up, so, as I said earlier, have a great summer and I will be back next month, with details of what promises to be a cracking September.