stage@leedsTheatre | D

ance | Installation

Autumn 2014

Welcome to stage@leedsOver the last five years, stage@leeds has become known for spotting and supporting the best emerging regional talent. We have a six year unbroken record of award winning shows at the National Student Drama Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe is becoming a second home for stage@leeds and the companies we work with and a quick glance at the programmes for regional venues shows that the stage@leeds influence is spreading. I am extremely proud of the achievements

of stage@leeds and the artists we work with, but we haven’t become the home of new theatre in Leeds by being complacent. Over the last five years we have championed the best regional artists and helped launch them onto a national stage. We are now looking to expand our development activities by bringing the best emerging artists from around the country to our region.

We are therefore thrilled to announce that Exeter based ‘Worklight Theatre’ will become our new Associate Artists. Worklight Theatre, creators of the critically acclaimed ‘How To Start A Riot’, will develop and premiere work at stage@leeds over the next two years. To celebrate our partnership the company will present a very special ‘double feature’ performance of their current show ‘I Think I’m a Feminist’ and ‘How To Start A Riot’ in October.

In addition to our new associate artists we have a season filled with great work. We start the season with the beautiful ‘Don’t Let Go’ by Manic Chord. We also have the wonderful award winning show ‘Educating Ronnie’ and fresh from a critically acclaimed short run at the Edinburgh Fringe Selina Thompson’s ‘Chewing the Fat’. Add to this Leeds Light Night, the Compass Festival, Shakepeare, new writing, immersive performance and a pantomime, and it’s a very full season indeed.

Thank you for continuing to support local theatre and new artists.

All the best

Steve AnsellArtistic Director, stage@leedsvenues

“Worklight are thrilled to become Associate Artists at stage@leeds. We began our relationship with the venue and its artistic director Steve Ansell in 2013, during the national tour of ‘How to Start a Riot’, we can’t wait to see how the support and artistic guidance of stage@leeds will help shape the work we plan to create and tour over the coming years!”

(Joe Sellman-Leava, Worklight Theatre)

stage@leeds are really excited to welcome Worklight Theatre as our new associate

artists. Worklight Theatre have been making work as a company since August

2011. The company work with light as a visual tool to explore the changing

world around them and believe that the approaches taken to science and art

are very similar. Worklight create work collaboratively using multiple theatrical

techniques and styles including puppetry, manual lighting and movement.

stage@leeds is committed to working with companies who value innovation, creativity

and enterprise we are therefore very excited to welcome ‘Worklight Theatre’ to

the stage@leeds family.

stage@leedsassociate artists

Worklight Theatre

Thur 25 Sept7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£12.00 (£9.00)

Manic Chord

Don’t Let Go

Leonard’s life is absorbed in nullity, until he meets the most unlikely of saviours - a red balloon.

Incorporating an energised physicality, poetic lyricism and hypnotic puppetry, ‘Don’t Let Go’ celebrates

the joyfulness which lies deep within us all and the importance of play in our lives.

(Age 12+)

Wed 01 Oct7.30pm

Stage One£12.00 (£9.00)

Macrobert

EducatingRonnie

by Joe Douglas and Gareth Nicholls

“As thought-provoking as they come”

**** The Independent

“Stunning design and brilliantly whimsical staging...”

**** Broadway Baby

In 2002, Joe Douglas went on a gap year to Uganda. Joe made friends with Ronnie....Ronnie was 16, Joe was 18. They were both the eldest sons of large families. They both supported Manchester United. Six months later, Joe got a

text: “Brother my sponsor has pulled out on me and I want to stay in school. Can you help? Ronnie x”

That text was to change both of their lives and inextricably link them together. An astonishing true story performed by Joe himself.

2012 Winner - Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Wed 01 - Thur 02 Oct7.30pm

Workshop Theatre£10.00 (£8.00)

Pillbox Theatre

Concientiousby Adam Z Robinson

Rebekah has just landed her first job. Young, keen and conscientious, she’s everything they should want. but Rebekah’s

dream job is turning into a nightmare. Desperate, she turns for help to the ideals of her hero, her great-grandfather, a First World

War conscientious objector.

When pushed right to the edge what wins out? Ideals? Or survival? This new play by Adam Z Robinson finds the humour,

and the horror, of office politics taken to extremes.

Fri 03 Oct5.00, 6.30, 8.00pm

Stage One£Free

stage@leeds & Leeds Light Night

Digital Narcissus

One actor One dancer

One performerOne illustrator

What starts as a sketching session - with a live illustrator and three bodies on stage - gradually transforms into a multi-media performance

Using a combination of theatrical performance, live art and technology. George Rodosthenous (Lecturer in Music Theatre) re-interprets the myth

of Narcissus exploring narcissistic behaviour in contemporary society.

A previous version of Digital Narcissus was presented at ‘Zyprischer Frühling’ (Gasteig, Munich, Germany).

Photography by Patrick Bannon

Wed 08 Oct7.00pm

Stage One£12.00 (£9.00)

Thur 16 Oct7.30pm

Stage One£12.00 (£9.00)

Glitter, chicken legs and lots of rice pudding

**** Whatsonstage

Selina Thompson

Chewing The Fat

Selina invites you to her own version of a midnight feast: somewhere between theconfessions made over coffee at weight watchers, and the sloppy drunken

storytelling that accompanies that 3am kebab. Somewhere between story telling, stand up, live art and theatre, Chewing the Fat is a powerful and extremely open

portrayal of how we live with our bodies, on both the days when they are beautiful, and the days when they are a burden.

stage@leeds associate artists Worklight Theatre present both their critically acclaimed sell out production ‘How to Start A Riot’ and the world premiere of their

newly completed work ‘I Think I’m A Feminist’.

How To Start A RiotWhy were some parts of the UK set alight in 2011, whilst others were left untouched?

“professionally stunning, this production shows there might be a better way to think about things.” *****Broadway Baby

I Think I’m A Feminist “If you all believe in equality between men and women, why aren’t you all feminists?”

An all male company asks: what is the male role in gender equality and as individuals who believe in gender equality, should we describe ourselves as

feminists?

“the ability of these performers is boundless” **** Fringe view

Worklight Theatre

How To Start A Riot / I Think I’m A Feminist

Thur 13 - Fri 14 Nov6.30pm

Alec Clegg studio£Free with Reckless Sleepers ticket

Oliver Bray

Of This Room

This new work by renowned Leeds based theatre artist Oliver Bray is entirely dictated by the room

and the people in the room; watching, waiting, expecting. Oliver will respond to everything that happens, particularly the cues he receives from

his audience, making every performance unique.

Full of risk and likely full of laughter, you’re welcome to join us once, or twice.

Thur 13 - Fri 14 Nov7.30pm

Stage One£12.00 (£9.00)

Reckless Sleepers

Negative Space

The 2014 Compass festival opens with a world premiere. Reckless Sleepers present the sequel to their critically-acclaimed, international touring show,

‘Schrodinger’.

Rarely do gripping physicality, mesmerising visuals, ritual and poetry come together so completely as they do with Reckless Sleepers. On stage is a white room: it might be upside down, they’re not sure. There are hatches and doors, comings and goings. Laws are made, bent then broken. We’re never far from

chaos and often astonished by the beauty that pierces the ever-frantic attempts to make meaning.

“That black box might well, in the final analysis, be a metaphor for the mind, but it is also a space for

gripping physical theatre.” The Guardian

Somewhere between winging it and trusting in fate

Wed 22 - Sat 25 Oct 7.30pm

Stage One£8.50 (£6.50)

Set in the early 1960’s, ‘Saved’ tells the story of a group of young people living on a South-East London council estate. Rarely performed on stage due to its brutal realism, Edward Bond’s play shocks and entices its audience, observing the

day-to-day struggle of this ‘generation of angry men’. The text challenges the values of human nature and the social

boundaries that confine them. It is a masterpiece of Modern British Theatre, whose purpose has never been more

relevant than today.

LUU Open Theatre

Swipe Right?LUU Theatre Group

Savedby Edward Bond

“The play seethes controversy. Its violence redefined the possibilities of drama.”

-The Guardian Is Tinder the new courting?

In this brand new devised production ‘Swipe Right?’ asks the question ‘with more and more people finding

“the one” online, does this mean we need to say goodbye to good old fashioned romance?’

What are the online generation gaining, or perhaps more importantly what are they losing?

Wed 22 - Thur 23 Oct 7.30pm

Banham Theatre£8.50 (£6.50)

LUU Theatre Group

Pains of Youth

by Ferdinand Bruckner Translated by Martin Crimp

LUU Open Theatre

Bus Stopby Gao Xingjian

Written in 1981 ‘Bus Stop’ was the first play by the Chinese writer and Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian. This contentious and rarely performed

play tells the story of eight characters, each an archetype representing a different element of Chinese society. Each character has hopes for the future, which can only be realized by moving forward into the city.

However, their only means of transport, a public bus, repeatedly passes by without stopping.

Vienna, 1923Marie is planning a celebration

for her graduation.Desiree is cramming for her last

medical exam.Petrell and Irene are

contemplating how to break up with Marie.

Freder puts Lucy on the game.Alt keeps them sane.

The fading glamour of real life reveals the Pains of Youth.

Thur 30 Oct- Sat 01 Nov 7.30pm

Alec Clegg studio£8.50 (£6.50)

Tue 28 - Thur 30 Oct 7.00pm

Banham Theatre£8.50 (£6.50)

Thur 06 - Sat 08 Nov7.30pm

Stage One£8.50 (£6.50)

LUU Theatre Group

King Lear

In a broken world, Lear has built a hardened force of family and confidants to

protect him, and believes he is untouchable. But in a society where only a survival-of-the-fittest mentality reigns, how much longer can his power last? Betrayal and violence

govern Shakespeare’s tragedy, set in a post-apocalyptic

domain.

LUU Open Theatre

The Pillowmanby Martin McDonagh

Puppetry and innovative staging are combined in McDonagh’s dark tale of

Katurian, a fiction writer living in a police state. Following a

series of bizarre child murders he is interrogated about their

similarities to the gruesome content of his short stories.

Tue 04 - Thur 06 Nov7.30pm

Banham Theatre£8.50 (£6.50)

Tue 11 - Thur 13 Nov 7.00pm

Banham Theatre£8.50 (£6.50)

LUU Theatre Group

Let’s Get Ladeby Thomas Amo

adapted by Luke Haywood Dear

What happens when ...

a shy accountant, a spy novelist, the CIA, the KGB, a German Assassin

and The Beatles all share the Penthouse Suite of The Plaza Hotel?

A hilarious tale of mix-ups, mayhem and misunderstanding that keeps

you on your toes, and laughing until the end.

Tue 11 - Wed 12 Nov 7.30pm

Stage One£8.50 (£6.50)

A long time ago there was a great war between magic and normality. Magic fell and was banished and this defeat turned Colemydia, prevously the vision of all goodness… evil! Now it’s time for revenge but fear not for there is a glimmer of

hope, a cat called Pussy and her owner called Dick.

The PCI Society present ‘Pussy and her Boots’, a rock’n’roll, bootylicious pantomime complete with house band ‘Chastity’s Child’ and the soon to be

legendary Lady La La Moanaj.

LUU PCI Society

Pussy and her Boots

A long time ago, far far away...

PCI Production

War Songs1914 - 2014

Thur 27 - Sat 29 November 7.30pm

Stage One£9.00 (£7.00)

Wed 19 - Sat 22 Nov7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£8.50 (£6.50)

LUU Theatre Group

The Waiting Room

by Dylan Marsh

There are rules and there are mangos.

Even in death there’s pain, there are rules and there are mangos. Sometimes it feels good to poop and sometimes it feels good to dance with a stranger. This is

what Lucy learns in the waiting room, where the dead go to kill time.

For each year of the last 100 years, Britain has been involved in one

conflict or another in some part of the world. This new work marks the

centenary of the start of the First World War by exploring this whole century of conflict through music, song and first-hand accounts. An

etude on why humans kill other humans: a homage and celebration of those who fought and those who

were left behind ...

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”Plato

LUU Open Theatre

... But the Kitchen Sink

by Joshua Ling and Robin Leich

‘But the Kitchen Sink’ is a domestic farce set in the kitchen of an elderly couple’s terraced house. When Deidre discovers a blockage in her sink, what seems like a simple drainage issue explodes into an astrological crisis. Deidre and

her plumber make a discovery that quickly captures the attention of the world. The play combines existentialism, philosophy and gritty northern humour as the growing number of characters discuss the complexities of astrophysics,

existence and domestic drainage.

Wed 03 - Sat 06 Dec 7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£8.50 (£6.50)

Thur 11 - Sat 13 Dec 7.30pm

Stage One£9.00 (£7.00)

We invite you to ‘FEAST’, an immersive, contemporary performance exploring food and the notions of consumption, feasting and festivity. FEAST is about

celebration, communal encounter and the coming together of people, bodies, performers and spectators. FEAST seeks out alternative recipes for domestic

experience, gendered behaviours and mealtime dramas. Feasting on a host of culinary ideas, we invite you to break bread with us, to play with us, and to enjoy a

sumptuous spectacle served with lashings of good humour, candour and spice.

PCI Production

FEAST

image design by Simon Mitchell

Astrophysics, existence and domestic drainage

INTERNATIONAL CONCERT SERIESThe University Concert Series presents a diverse range of repertoire and performers with free Friday lunchtime recitals and a variety of evening performances. 18 October 2014Hallé Soloists and Andrew Tyson

22 October 2014Anthem for Doomed YouthAndrew Motion (reader) Ian Buckle (piano)

21 November 2014“Beyond the sphere of grief” English Partsongs and Motets of the Great War School of Music Choir 30 November 2014Stravinsky and Ellington School of Music Philharmonia

7 December 2014J S Bach at ChristmasLeeds Baroque Choir and Orchestra directed by Peter Holman 13 December 2014Cante, Ritmo y Baile de LatinoamericaMestisa

For full details of our programme visit:

concerts.leeds.ac.uk

TEDx University of Leeds ‘Superior Science’ will showcase cutting edge research here at the university. Passionate staff speakers will be joined by talented winners of our student speaker competition in a TED-like event. Tickets are FREE. For more information including release dates follow us at:facebook.com/TEDxUniversityOfLeeds2014 and on twitter @TEDxUnivLeeds

stage@leedscompany

“Outstanding… as if a dream came true ” Wan Fang Author of Poison (Poison, Northern Stage 2014)

“…visually stunning production” Felicity Fox, WYTN (The Laramie Project, stage@leeds, 2014)

Working with classic and contemporary texts from around the world, the stage@leedscompany creates dynamic, emotive ensemble performance. Membership is open to all University of Leeds students and no previous performance experience is necessary. If you are interested join us for an informal meeting. stage@leeds, Wed 01 Oct at 1.00pm.

stage@leedsvenuesKEY

A = Alec Clegg Studio (located in the stage@leeds Building)B = Banham Theatre (located at the main entrance to the Michael Sadler Building)C = Clothworkers Centenary Concert HallG = Great HallP = Parkinson Court (Stanley & Aubrey Burton Gallery)S = Stage One (located in the stage@leeds Building)W = Workshop Theatre

stage@leeds

Woodhouse Lane

C

UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS

G

P

AS

B

W

The PAD (Professional Artist Development) programme provides professional theatre and dance makers with a rehearsal space, technical support, mentoring and management advice within a relaxed and creative environment. The programme runs during the summer and Easter breaks. Interested artists and companies should contact Steve Ansell (s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk)

stage@leedsProfessionalArtistDevelopment

YEP (Young Entrepreneurs’ Programme) provides professional support and mentoring to students interested in a career as theatre makers together with the opportunity to produce work for performance at stage@leeds. YEP companies and company members have gone on to win critical acclaim and awards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the National Student Drama Festival. If you would like to be considered for the YEP programme or would like more information please contact Steve Ansell (s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk)

stage@leedsYoungEntrepreneursProgramme

creative opportunities

booking stage@leedsPutting on your work at

stage@leedsstage@leeds programmes two seasons of work each year, Sept - Dec and Jan - June. We programme at least three months in advance and all the work is curated by the Artistic Director and the theatre’s creative team. We are always looking for exciting and dynamic new work so let us know via email about what you are up to. Please include links to any reviews, images, video of your work for evaluation.

Hiring our spaces stage@leeds can be hired for conferences and community performances. Availability is limited and will usually be during the summer or Easter breaks. If you would like further information about hiring one of our spaces please contact Events Administrator, Alice Clarke (a.j.clarke@leeds.ac.uk)

Date Production Time Price VenueSeptember25 Don’t Let Go (Manic Chord) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00) A

October01 Educating Ronnie (Joe Douglas) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00) S01 - 02 Conscientious (Pillbox Theatre) 7.30pm £10.00 (£8.00) W03 Digital Narcissus (Leeds Light Night) 5.00, 6.30, 8.00pm £Free S08 Double Bill (Worklight Theatre) 7.00pm £12.00 (£9.00) S16 Chewing The Fat (Selina Thompson) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00) S22 - 25 Saved (Theatre Group) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) S22 - 23 Swipe Right (Open Theatre) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) B28 - 30 Pains of Youth (Theatre Group) 7.00pm £8.50 (£6.50) B30 - 31 Bus Stop (Open Theatre) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) A

November01 Bus Stop (Open Theatre) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) A04 - 06 The Pillowman (LUU Open Theatre) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) B 06 - 08 King Lear (Theatre Group) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) S11 - 12 Pussy and her Boots (PCI Society) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) S11 - 13 Let’s Get Lade (Theatre Group) 7.00pm £8.50 (£6.50) B 13 - 14 Negative Space (Reckless Sleepers)* 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00) S13 - 14 Of This Room (Oliver Bray)* 6.30pm £Free** A19 - 22 The Waiting Room (Theatre Group) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) A27 - 29 War Songs (PCI Production) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) S December03 - 06 But The Kitchen Sink (Open Theatre) 7.30pm £8.50 (£6.50) A11 - 13 FEAST (PCI Production) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) S

Venue Key: A = Alec Clegg Studio B = Banham Theatre S = Stage One W = Workshop Theatre

* Presented in partnership with Compass Festival** Negative Space audience members only. Limited availability.

stage@leedsUniversity of LeedsLS2 9JT

Box Office: 0113 343 8730 Online: www.stage.leeds.ac.uk