🎭 July Best Shows To See in Leeds

If you thought that the June preview was brief, then you ain’t seen anything yet. Because of the Grand Theatre being closed until September to facilitate structural improvements, the only professional dramas on offer at the theatres in central Leeds are at the Playhouse, and even they don’t give me much scope for exercising my literary skills, or lack thereof. Normally I can embellish the information provided in the What’s On section of their websites but even that is a challenge in July.

The main production is Paranormal Activity, which runs from 4th July, which clashes with another horror show in the General Election, to 3rd August. It is described as A New Haunting Live On Stage. I didn’t think a haunting could be live, as it is done by the dead, but what do I know? Whatever, when you click on the Find Out More tab you are greeted by the sentence ‘We can’t say anything else.’ It is a Leeds Playhouse and Simon Friend Entertainment co-production written by Levi Holloway and Directed by Felix Barrett. No cast list, no creatives, no running time and no description of what to expect. There are content advisories – loud noises, sudden darkness, blood and gore with references to mental health. I should have saved my time and used a ghost writer, while I enjoyed a glass of single malt, or some other spirit.

On Friday, 26th July in Bramall Rock Void there is an Edinburgh Fringe Preview, with the support of Furnace, the Playhouse’s artist development engine, of a solo performance about the pain and beauty of growing older. I can relate to the first part but the second has passed me by. It is described as ‘a visual and physical collage performed by a clown delving into the space inside us left behind by time.’ It is called Look After Your Knees, a piece of advice I can heartily endorse.

If you want to see what the future holds for theatre in Leeds, then why not pop along to Carriageworks Theatre where, on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th July, Stuart Stage School presents their fourth annual show, Spotlight. It comprises Broadway and West End Musicals performed by some of the North’s most talented child performers.

At the same venue between 18th and 20th July, there is a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a ‘raucous, vibrant and contemporary retelling of William Shakespeare’s enthralling and joyous comedy.’ This is an amateur production presented by Leeds Arts Centre in association with Leeds Community Arts Network.

So, there you have it, and if you thought that was short, I have had a peek at August’s programme which is even shorter.