The iconic Leeds Grand and City Varieties Hall have announced plans to reopen.
This is part of the government’s roadmap out of lockdown with coronavirus measures being eased further from Monday, May 17. It has been many, many months since the venues have been able to welcome guests.
Leeds Heritage Theatres has announced City Varieties Music Hall will reopen from Monday, May 17. The Leeds city centre venue will be welcoming back audiences for the first live performance since March 2020.
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It will present a programme of film-based events in collaboration with sister venue Hyde Park Picture House. Judy & Liza will run for one socially distanced performance on Thursday, May 20 alongside some of the best live and as-live theatre performances as part of The Picture House’s On The Road programme.
Highlights will include presentations of films Nomadland, Sound of Metal and Wolfwakers.
Wendy Cook, head of cinema, said: “The cinema’s On the Road programme was always envisioned as being a way of taking The Picture House’s programme into different spaces so we’re really excited to be returning to the City Varieties. After six months away, it’s lovely to be finding our feet again in the comfort of family.”
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Leeds Grand Theatre will reopen on Thursday, June 17 with a socially distanced run of resident company Northern Ballet’s Swan Lake - they will follow this in November with Merlin, originally set to run over Christmas 2020 as part of their 50th year anniversary celebrations.
Fellow residents, Opera North, will also return in the autumn with a season of work, including Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Rigoletto, plus Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances in collaboration with Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre.
Some huge huge musicals, such as The Book of Mormon and Les Misérables, due to take place this year at Leeds Grand Theatre have moved back to 2022.
Chris Blythe, chief executive officer, said: “It is no exaggeration to say that our industry has suffered exponentially because of Covid-19 - as arts and culture venues across the country have tried and failed to recover from the impact - but it has never been more important for this sector to thrive, as people reach out to theatres, cinemas, music venues etc as spaces to escape their day-to-day pressures. Our audiences want to be entertained.”
You can find out more and buy tickets by visiting the Leeds Heritage Theatres website.
