Curtains Up Leeds: September 2026 Theatre Preview

The poet, John Keats, called autumn which, meteorologically speaking, begins on 1st September, ’the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.’ It is also when you can’t find anything in the supermarket because it has been reconfigured to accommodate Christmas stuff. The upside is that theatres are back in full swing and, as the month begins on a Tuesday, the normal day for week-long runs to start, the only hangover from August will be the one I will have cultivated on Bank Holiday Monday.

Leeds Grand Theatre kicks off with a belter, Heathers the Musical, which is one of my favourites of recent times. It tells the story of a girl trying to be accepted in her new school by the cool set. After being relentlessly and cruelly treated by the ‘it’ girls, she meets the rebel, JD, who shows her that there is another, less shallow, way to be respected. It runs from 1st to 5th September and is sure to be popular, so don’t hang about.

Speaking of popular, Operation Mincemeat, which runs from 7th to 12th September, is a smash and with limited availability already. It is a musical comedy based on the true story of a wartime escapade when, in 1943, the British Army dressed a corpse in uniform, planted some fake plans in his pocket and dumped him off the coast of Spain to be discovered by Nazi spies. Guess what – it worked, which is why I am not having to write this preview in German.

From one true story to another. The Ballad of Johnny and June charts the lives and careers of Johnny Cash and June Carter, two giants of country music. Let’s just say that their journeys were quite eventful. It has the big hits sung with a live band, I just hope I remember my hankie for when The Man In Black sings Hurt. The dates for this are 15th to 19th September. Y’all be there now.

Details of all the above at the usual website. 

Over at Leeds Playhouse the new season begins on 3rd September with a Leeds Playhouse Youth Theatre production, little girls alone in the woods (sic). It is a contemporary feminist version of the Greek legend, Dionysus, and runs until 5th September.

11th to 26th September sees the Leeds Playhouse, Headlong, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester production of August Wilson’s Fences, Directed by Daniel Bailey. It is set in 1950s Pittsburgh where a mother, Rose, is trying her best to keep her family together in a changing world, hoping that her son will have more freedom than her husband, Troy, ever had. 

Another classic follows from 22nd to 26th September, with Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. It is set in 1770s Paris where an English barrister, Sydney Carton, falls in love with Lucie Manette, as does Charles Darnay, the rebel child of a French aristocrat, putting everyone in danger. The work has been adapted by two theatrical legends; Terrance Rattigan and Sir John Gielgud so should be a cracker.

To close the month, we have Bog Witch on 30th September and 1st October, a work by performance artist Bryony Kimmings, covering a part of her life when she uprooted the lives of both her and her son to retreat to the country and plug into nature. I’ve just watched the trailer, and The Good Life it ain’t.

More information can be found at on the Leeds Playhouse website. 

Across town at Carriageworks, from 9th to 12th September, there is Legally Blonde The Musical, from Bright Lights Productions. This is an amateur presentation of the show I saw at Leeds Grand Theatre in June. It tells the story of Elle who follows her boyfriend, Warner, to Harvard Law School after he has dumped her as she doesn’t fit the demographic he had in mind for a permanent partner. Spoiler! She does come to her senses and shows that she has more potential than she thought, so who needs Warner.

13th September sees The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde, adapted for stage by Jon Boustead. Despite the author’s reputation, this is for the 3+ age group and concerns a group of children who play in a grumpy old giant’s garden. He does what old geezers of my age do, and puts up a wall and a big KEEP OUT sign. Needless to say, circumstances conspire to have him mellow and all ends well.

Wonderland The Musical follows from 17th to 19th, bringing Lewis Carroll’s famous story up to date. Although Alice is now a successful businesswoman, a position which has cost her her husband and daughter, there are the familiar characters in the Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts and Mad Hatter, to put her straight. 

The month closes with Head Over Heels from LYM Productions. It is a community production concerning the modern phenomenon, Silver Splitters i.e. retired divorcees. It is a comedy/drama following Jill and Andy as they start again after thirty-odd years of marriage. I wonder who gets the stairlift and who ends up with the mobility scooter. You can find out from 23rd to 26th September.

Full details are on their website.

Finally, this year’s edition of Three Short Ballets takes place at Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre between 18th and 26th September. It is a Northern Ballet Production featuring – you guessed it – three short ballets. The programme is varied so there is sure to be something you like. Fools, by Mthuthuzeli November, uses a blend of dance styles in a South African version of Romeo and Juliet. Five Tangos, by Hans van Manen, does what it says on the tin with a ballet/tango fusion. The final piece is a world premiere by Tiler Peck set to Franz Liszt’s Grand Étude de Paganini, played live by pianist Rose McLachlan. So, if you want tickets, get on yer toes! For full details and to book, please go to HERE

To see what I thought of the shows this month, head to Tyke it to the Limit.

So – If I don’t starve to death having not been able to find the aisle with the normal groceries, I will be back with the goodies on offer in October, when I will be (yet) another year older.