🗞️ Theatres of dreams: October’s best acts to catch

Did you know that October is the longest month of the year? Yes, there are others with 31 days but, because we put back the clocks on the last Sunday, it actually lasts for 31 days and 1 hour. You’re welcome, just remember me when it wins you a prize in the pub quiz.

So, what do we do with this extra hour, well, why not go to the theatre on Saturday, 28th October, and use it to walk home if the trains are on strike. Now we have got that sorted we need to work out what to see. 

Should you be an opera buff, or just fancy going to sample one under the Opera North Try It ON scheme (ON – Opera North, see what they did there?), the Autumn/Winter Season opens at the Grand Theatre and Opera House, where else, on 28th September with Falstaff, by Giuseppe Verdi. This is a ‘comedy’, which means it is more bonkers than normal, based on The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare, another bald writer. It runs on various dates until 25th October.

This series of productions is called Opera North’s Green Season and is utilising previous sets and costumes to save on waste and emissions. When this can’t be done then recycled or second-hand items will be used. In the second opera, Masque of Night, from the 6th to the 27th of October, they have taken things to their logical conclusion and recycled the notes as well! The music is that of Henry Purcell with a libretto assembled and adapted by Sir David Pountney to tell the tale of power and the demise of the planet. This one is described as being ‘witty’ which I take to mean slightly less bonkers than Falstaff. It takes the format of a variety show so might be a good one for first-timers.

To bring October to a close there is Puccini’s La rondine, set in 1930s Paris, full of decadence and glamour. This is a ‘rom-com’ so could register almost anywhere on the bonkers scale. It runs from 20th to 28th October. 

Seriously, why not give one of these a go. For details of the Try It ON scheme and lots of other information for newbies go to https://www.operanorth.co.uk/your-visit/new-to-opera/

October is a busy month at Leeds Playhouse who go from one festival, in LIFI23, to Transform 23. Before that, though from 3rd to 7th October is I, Daniel Blake, the stage version of the recent Ken Loach film of the same name, dealing with a system seemingly stacked against normal people.

The Light House, 5th to 7th October, is a real-life story about falling in love and staying in love. It has been developed with the support of Furnace, Leeds Playhouse’s artistic development engine. 

Back to Transform 23, which runs from 11th to 22nd October and has a bit of everything, beginning with a couple of plays by the bald guy; Romeo and Juliet on 12th October and As You Like It on 14th October, both performed by graduating actors and actor/musicians from Leeds Conservatoire.

13th and 14th October see Oh Deer! A production by APHIDS theatre company from Melbourne, Australia dealing with the way in which art depicts bereavement, not always reflecting the real-life experience.

The most coveted poetry prizes in UK and Ireland are being presented on 16th October by the chairs of The Forward Poetry Prizes Jury. There are four categories and the evening is bound to include some performances. Posh frocks and hankies at the ready.

A revival of Beautiful Thing, the play by Jonathan Harvey which was first performed 30 years ago, is running from 18th to 21st October. It deals with ‘community, friendship, rites of passage and what it is to be sixteen and in love.’

A group of musicians indulge in a workout to a single song which they perform repeatedly, accompanied by a cheerleader and a commentator while fans cheer and heckle. That is the plot? of One Song which is on 19th and 20th October. I hope that they bring an adequate supply of deodorant.

The final event in Transform 23 is on 20th and 21st October when Hamzeh Al-Hussain takes us on a personal tour of the places he knows best; Za’atari camp in Jordan, Gateshead and inside his mind. The title of the piece is Penguin and promises to be ‘full of humour and beauty.’ 

To wrap up Leeds Playhouse’s October offerings there is James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome, but you can’t go as all four nights from 25th to 28th are sold out. It might be worth enquiring about returns if you are desperate to see this show, during which the bar will be open and patrons are able to come and go as they please. 

If you fancy theatre which is a bit different then check out Carriageworks who have a children’s version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – that guy gets everywhere. It is on Sunday 22nd October at 2.00pm with age guidance of 6+.

Other productions in this ilk are Shark in the Park on 8th October, Stick Man 24th to 26th, which I have seen and is pretty darned good, Spontaneous Potter Kidz, an improvised parody on 28th, The King of Nothing on 29th and The Lightbulb Princess on 30th. For more grown-up theatre they have Songs for No One on Saturday, 21st and The Gods Are All Here on 24th. Full details can be found at https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/whats-on/

Whatever you see, enjoy, and make the most of the extra hour that October has to offer. If the trains are running just have an extra hour’s kip like the rest of us.