🎭 January 2025: Best shows to see in Leeds

January is named after the Roman deity, Janus, who was god of entrances and exits, he also had two faces, pointing in opposite directions, so the perfect link between one year and the next. I think he should have been the patron saint of politicians as well, being someone who is two-faced and doesn’t know whether they are coming or going. Having eyes in the back of your head might also come in useful.

I throw in that piece of information, not because I think you were desperate to know about it, but to fill up some space, as this month is rather sparse in theatrical events. The ones that there are mostly opened in November or December and gatecrash January.

The good thing about shows with a long run is that I have been to some of them and so can give you a steer as to whether or not they are worth seeing. I will begin by covering the ones to avoid.

Having got that out of the way I can concentrate on the belters.

I will begin with the City Varieties, for a change, where Jack and the Beanstalk: The Rock’n’Roll Pantomime (Main Image) is still serving up banging tunes and double entendres in equal quantities. It is a panto more suitable for adults than children, although my judgement may be skewed as I am a big kid in an adult’s body. It runs until 12th January, but hurry up if you want to go as there is limited availability on a lot of the remaining dates.

Over to the other Heritage Theatre in the City, The Grand Theatre and Opera House where Northern Ballet’s, A Christmas Carol, carries on until 4th January, 2025. This is one I saw only the other day and it is a spectacle not to be missed. The costumes, scenery and, of course, the dancing are fabulous.

From Thursday, 16th to Saturday, 18th January, there is a musical by Kurt Weill and Alan J Lerner, called Love Life, I think that this might be an ambiguous title, an instruction and a peek into a relationship between Sam and Susan Cooper, who have been married for 150 years, I don’t know what anniversary that is, but who never appear to age. I aged 150 years in the first fortnight of wedded bliss. It examines the history of the USA during the period 1791 until 1948 when it was first performed. It is presented by Opera North Limited.

For all shows at Leeds Heritage Theatres. 

On to Leeds Playhouse, where both The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Mr Snow continue their runs. The former is a big budget job and worth every penny of it. The effects are spectacular, as is the scenery and, of course the acting. There is also some amazing puppetry, especially Aslan, The Lion. It is about four evacuees in Scotland during the Second World War who go into a wardrobe and find a land of fantasy, containing, terror and hope. It is a bit on the dark side, but what fairy tale isn’t, and really well worth seeing. Again, tickets are in short supply so get booking now as it ends on Saturday, 25th January.

Mr Snow, ending on Saturday, 4th January, is a different kettle of fish, and aimed at the 3+ age group. It is about another magical land but this time with polar bears and penguins, rather than a lion. It must be magical, or cover the whole of the earth’s surface, as polar bears live in the Arctic, whilst penguins inhabit the South Pole. Who gives a snowball, it is fun.

On 24th and 25th January, there is a stop on the UK tour of Yippee Ki Yay, a rhyming telling of the film Die Hard. It is billed as an unauthorised parody, celebrating the film and telling the story of a Die Hard fanatic. The age guidance is 14+. I haven’t seen the film so am in a quandary as to whether to stream it before I go. It’s not without its stress, this reviewing lark.

For more details of these shows and others coming up at Leeds Playhouse.

Finally we get to Carriageworks where, not only do we have a pantomime spilling over from December, Beauty and The Beast, but a second one, Robin Hood, beginning its run. This is not as radical as it sounds. When I was a kid in the 1950s, pantomimes would open on Christmas Eve and run almost to Easter, when the stars involved would decamp to the seaside theatres to perform their acts in what was known as the Summer Season.Beauty and The Beast, runs until Sunday, 5th January, and tells the story of a handsome prince cursed by a witch to spend the rest of his life as a grotesque beast – an amazing amount of self-restraint there stopping me from making any comparisons – who is saved when he realises that beauty is more than skin deep. Age guidance is 5+ and there is plenty of audience participation , costumes, special effects and laughter to keep you going.

The second panto is Robin Hood, which is billed as being suitable for all ages. It runs from Friday, 17th January to Saturday, 25th. As you might have gathered it is the tale of the Sherwood Forest resident standing up to the Sheriff of Nottingham who has imposed crippling taxes to further his bid to seize the throne of England – so, that’s Rachel Reeves’s end game. The Sheriff is also after claiming the hand of the fair Maid Marian and only Robin Hood and his Merry Man, assisted by Silly Willy and Nanny Fanny, my brain is in overload now, can save the day. Performances are at various times so please go to their website for details of these and all Carriageworks productions.

If you want to see what I thought of the shows I saw, please go to https://tyke-it-to-the-limit.com/

That’s about it, then, all that is left is for me to wish you and yours a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful 2025