🎭 May 2025: Best shows to see in Leeds

This May may be a little different,  just maybe.

Opera North has decamped to George’s Hall in Bradford for their final offering in the Winter/Spring Season, Simon Boccanegra, but their Orchestra is doing a one-off gig at Leeds Grand Theatre on May 4th, with – you guessed it – a concert of John Williams’s music from the Star Wars franchise. Just in case I need to spell it out, May the 4th be with you! I will be bringing a chocolate bar in case I get a sugar dip and, as I live in Harrogate, it will be a Galaxy far, far away. That’s enough of that.

7th to 10th May, sees Cruel Intentions: The ‘90s Musical (main image). I’m not quite in my 90s but I think I can sneak in by lying about my age. It is based on the film of the same name about two rich step-siblings, Kathryn and Sebastian, who are both control freaks and bet on whether Sebastian can seduce the strait-laced daughter of their exclusive Manhattan school’s headmaster. Things go awry but it doesn’t matter as the soundtrack is full of top tunes of the period, fortunately sans Robson and Jerome.

James Graham’s (no relation) adaptation of Alan Bleasedale’s TV Series, The Boys From The Blackstuff , takes over from 13th to 17th. They are a bit late as New Briggate has only just been given a new layer of tarmac. This play has come direct from the National Theatre and the West End. For those of you too young to have seen the original, it is about a group of road workers who have no jobs or prospects, struggling to provide for their families. It is not quite as depressing as it sounds but the humour is as black as asphalt. I could do that – gizza job.

Now this is a must-see for all musical theatre fans, Sir Tim Rice: My Life in Musicals, sees the phenomenally successful lyricist muse on his long career, telling stories of the hits – and misses – accompanied by live performances of some of his songs by the Duncan Waugh Band and the West End Singers. Oh What a Circus. The date for your diary is 18th May.

Kinky Boots: The Musical, takes over from 20th to 24th. It is a show based on the book by Harvey Feinstein with songs by Cyndi Lauper. It is the true story of a struggling shoe factory which is saved when the proprietor, Charlie Price meets Lola, a drag queen, and a whole new market opens up to him. Sounds like cobblers to me but it is apparently based on a true story. There is already limited availability so don’t drag your heels.

You wait ages for one theatrical icon and then two come along at once. On 25th May, only a week after Sir Tim Rice, we have An Evening With Sir Derek Jacobi in conversation with Richard Clifford. I thought May meant the days were getting longer but it seems as though the Knights are drawing in already. You can guess what the format is, a chat between two distinguished actors – and long-term partners – about Sir Derek’s extensive career. Everything from I, Claudius to Nanny McPhee. 

The month ends with one of my favourite shows, Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of). I saw it a few years ago before it went to the West End and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy and the Evening Standard Award. It is a brilliantly funny take on Jane Austen’s classic with the housemaids taking centre stage rather than the main characters. It also has some classic pop songs so let’s party like it’s 1813! The run is from 27th May until 31st May. 

Note: if you fancy seeing more than one of the above shows click on the More Info button on any of them from Boys From The Blackstuff onward. You will find a paragraph outlining their Summer Stage Offer of discounts ranging from 20% off two to 60% off  six. It would be rude not to.

To see what is on at all, see Leeds Heritage Theatres.

Onwards to Leeds Playhouse where from 7th to 10th May we have Sisters 360 which tells the story of skateboarding step-sisters Fatima and Selina who get wind that their parents are discussing living apart. They need to come up with a plan to save the day and win the Tiny is Mighty skateboarding competition. Set in Bradford it is based on real life sisters, Lanya, Maysa and Amaya and their hero, Sky Brown. 

From 14th to 21st Tambo and Bones (pictured below) explores race relations in the USA over 500 years. The eponymous heroes are stuck in a minstrel show but progress through being a comedy double act, hip-hop superstars to activists in a future America. Plenty of music, comedy and food for thought then. 

Now here’s a clever trick. 15th to 17th sees not one, but two Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians. They are full length shows so need booking separately should you want to see them both. There are live actors and amazing 3D effects in full Bogglevision. So why not see the Tudors and doublet with the Egyptians, but don’t forget to take your mummy. 

After a date in April at Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre, just around the corner, The Flood returns to Leeds at the Playhouse on 14th and 15th May. It comprises five actor/musicians paying tribute to the town of Hebden Bridge and the way in which it coped with the flood of Boxing Day, 2015. Returning it to being a Happy Valley.

22nd May is the date for Verve: Triple Bill, a collection of three – obviously – modern dance works from the eponymous company comprising 16 artists. The works are: Let Me In by Luca Signoretti, Lotus by Sattva Ninja and Ro-Mass from Bosmat Nossan. The show is presented by Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

We now come to the much anticipated A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khalid Hosseini’s sequel to The Kite Runner, presented by Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse. It is set in 1992 war-torn Afghanistan where orphaned Laila is left alone. Her older neighbour takes her in as his second wife, the two women having little choice but to unite in the face of the brutality of the Taliban take over. I am really looking forward to seeing this during its run from 28th May to 14th June.

And now for something completely different, Tess, a circus adaptation of Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy on 28th to 31st. I have just watched the trailer and it looks amazing. Sadly there are no clowns in a car that falls apart though.

The month draws to a close on 30th and 31st with Pocket Rocket, Bradford’s Kat Rose-Martin. This is a collection of short comedy sketches featuring a bunch of chaotic characters. If you like it daft, then Kat’s your girl. 

For news about shows at Leeds Playhouse, see HERE. Not only are there more details, but most of the entries have trailers so you can try before you buy.

Over to Carriageworks where we find The Maids from 1st to 3rd May. The rest of the month they will have to fend for themselves. This is an amateur production by Leeds Arts Centre in arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd, based on a real-life murder case from 1947. Two sisters serve their wealthy employer and decide to pretend to be her whilst she is away. From there the plot thickens.

We then have to wait until 23rd t0 25th for The Baddies, an adaptation of the best selling book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. A witch, a troll and a ghost try to scare a young girl out of her wits – they really should know better. Age range 3+

23rd and 24th examines masculinity and what it means, in Big Strong Man. Four Northern men present this cabaret gig trying to deconstruct and rebuild manhood. The show differs every time by allowing the audience to dictate its direction.

If you saw the evening with Sir Tim Rice, you will want to see one of his greatest hits, Chess, which he wrote in conjunction with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA. It is set during the Cold War and concerns a chess match – well, it would, wouldn’t it – between an American and a Russian. The showstoppers include One Night In Bangkok and I Know Him So Well. It sounds as though it will be good but you had better go and check, Mate.

I hope to be at quite a few of the shows so, if you want to know what I think of them please head to my website. If you don’t, I might not hold it against you but, then again, I May.