Theatres of dreams: July’s best acts to catch

Our resident Theatre buff, Stan Graham is back with a slightly different Theatre of Dreams, as the summer takes hold and the Autumn / Winter theatre schedules are released, what has July got for us?

In 1980 Stevie Wonder released an album called Hotter Than July. It had some brilliant songs on it, one of which was called All I Do, well, all I do is wonder where the month went since I did my last preview. OK, I know that was very convoluted but you try writing a piece about July whilst looking at a plain white screen. Anyway, it gave me an excuse, not that one is needed, to play the album as I type.

This month I will begin with the events at Leeds Playhouse, as the only ‘conventional’ show is In Dreams, a new musical based on a book by David West Read, very appropriate, featuring the music of Roy Orbison, another US pop legend. It runs from 3rd July until 5th August.

It isn’t a jukebox musical as such, but a contemporary story about love. I am looking forward to seeing this as Roy Orbison was a regular visitor to this country, and Yorkshire in particular, where he played several times at the Odeon Cinema in The Headrow and both Batley Variety Club and Wakefield Theatre Club. If I had a pound for every time I have seen him live I would probably be about a fiver richer than I am now.

The reason there is just the one show lasting more than a night is that from 3rd until 22nd July, the Quarry Theatre and Bramall Rock Void are given over to an event called Open Season where local community performers share the stages celebrating Leeds’ creativity. All the presentations are on a Pay What You Can basis. There are far too many to list here but please go HERE for a full programme. To find out more about In Dreams and to make a booking visit The official In Dreams page.

Leeds Grand Theatre has also changed its format during the month and is hosting a lot of one-night stands. There are some shows, however, beginning with the final night of the run of The Rocky Horror Show which I mentioned last month as it on from 27th June until 1st July.

There is another musical transfer from the silver screen to the stage in Strictly Ballroom: The Musical, based on Baz Luhrmann’s film of the same name – minus The Musical bit! You can catch it from 3rd to 8th July. This is not a pay what you can event, there are fixed cha cha charges.

Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show takes over from the one-nighters from 19th July until 22nd and will feature all your favourite characters as well as Duggee and the Squirrels. Back to Sixties pop acts again.

The month ends with a new production of an old-school musical, albeit another film adaptation, 42nd Street. The flick was released in 1933 when the world was in turmoil due to spiralling inflation, unemployment, poverty and the rise of a dictator in Europe, how we have moved on in 90 years. The cast is packed with famous faces such as Samantha Womack, Michael Praed, Faye Tozer, Les Dennis and Nicole-Lily Baisden, so get down to the Great White Way that is New Briggate, between 25th and 29th July.

For more details of the July programme at Leeds Grand, and sister theatre, City Varieties Music Hall click on HERE.