Curtains Up Leeds: August 2026 Theatre Preview

August and the theatre go together like Alan Carr and rugby league, or Donald Trump and humility.

The holiday season gives the various venues time to refresh and refurbish their premises, ready to welcome us back in the autumn and winter months. As it happens, that might not be a bad thing this year, given the lack of air conditioning in some venues.

Leeds Playhouse is totally bereft of performances, so there’s no point in adding the usual link for details and booking.

Leeds Grand Theatre has a couple of shows, but even then I’m clutching at straws. One of them, The Sound of Music from Opera North, has been entertaining us throughout July and just squeaks in — not literally, of course; the singing and acting were superb as it ends its run on 1st August.

The other, High Society, runs from 25th to 29th August. I’m intrigued by this show, as it includes songs — Just One Of Those Things, I Love Paris and Let’s Misbehave, to name just three — which, although written by Cole Porter, were not in the 1956 film, nor in the play on which it was based, The Philadelphia Story from 1939. No surprise there, though, as it wasn’t a musical anyway. This version stars Helen George, Freddie Fox and Julian Ovenden, so it should be a cracker.

See their website for details and booking. Phew! I got one in.

Actually, I get two, as Carriageworks Theatre has a new musical for one night only on 14th August: Ratcatcher, inspired by The Pied Piper of Hamelin. It’s set not specifically in Germany, but in a town gripped by crisis and manipulation, asking how fear spreads through communities. It’s a youth theatre production with an age guidance of 10+. Guess what you can find by clicking here — correct.

If you’re having a holiday yourself in August, then I hope you have a great time. I don’t wish to spoil it, but September is busy, so my preview will be a lot more verbose than this. I’ll be having an all-inclusive four-week break at home. The accommodation is pretty good, but the service is abysmal, at least I won’t have to leave a tip.

And should you be short of reading material on the beach, why not have a look at Tyke it to the limit, you can’t be enjoying yourself all the time.