West Yorkshire Playhouse hits 21 - in pictures

Wild Oats, starring Yorkshire actor Reece Dinsdale, was the opening show in 1990 at the passionately fought-for, purpose-built West Yorkshire Playhouse theatre in Leeds Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

Gypsy, starring Sheila Hancock, who says: ‘I had the time of my life doing Gypsy, despite fracturing a bone by overdoing the high kicks. It seemed to me exactly the sort of place a theatre should be, with everyone in the area using it as a source of stimulation and fun’ Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

Death of a Salesman starring Ken Stott, James Purefoy and a very young Jude Law was in the safe hands of then-emerging director Matthew Warchus, who says: ‘Almost everything I know as a director was learned at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Not only was it a vibrant place but the two brilliantly designed auditoria made it a luxury playground for the imagination’ Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

Mail Order Bride, starring Timothy West, was staged in 1994. West and his wife Prunella Scales remain patrons of the Playhouse. They say: ‘We have such fond memories of the WYP … and the excitement of the grand opening, when every part of the building was buzzing’ Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

King Lear, starring Warren Mitchell and Toby Jones as the Fool. This unorthodox staging, with periodless production, was directed by Jude Kelly. Mitchell says of taking on the role: ‘I said at the outset that I couldn’t play a regal king, I could play a warrior, a tribal chieftain – but not a gracious royal’
Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Beatification of Area Boy was the world premiere of Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s groundbreaking, uncompromising play. Soyinka’s relationship with Leeds had been a long one as he studied English at Leeds University while in forced exile from Nigeria Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Tempest, produced in 1999, was the final of three productions starring Ian McKellen, who formed an integral part of the Playhouse’s first company in rep. Needless to say, all three plays swiftly sold out as Yorkshire audiences flocked to see his work Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Carnival Messiah, conceived, adapted and directed by Geraldine Connor, evoked the sights and sounds of the Caribbean carnival in September 1999. The electrifying musical boasted over 100 performers, and it toured to Trinidad and Tobago in 2002, where it made history as the country’s largest theatrical performance Photograph: Tim Smith/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Singin' in the Rain, directed by Jude Kelly, as the Playhouse’s 1999 Christmas show. This triumphant production was so widely acclaimed that it transferred to the National Theatre in the summer of 2000 and won the 2001 Olivier award for most outstanding musical production Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Johnson Over Jordan, part of a JB Priestley season, directed by Jude Kelly and starring Patrick Stewart and his son Daniel. Patrick Stewart says: ‘I was thrilled by the experimental nature of the play … that seeks to examine questions of how a man has lived …’ Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Dangerous Corner was the second play of the 2001 Priestley season with a stellar cast including Dervla Kirwan, Rupert Penry-Jones, Jacqueline Pearce and Patrick Robinson (pictured). Robinson says: ‘It was an extremely emotional time, not least because I distinctly remember sitting with the team as we watched the twin towers fall, knowing that that one action (much like in Priestley’s play) would unravel a multitude of tragic consequences’ Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Horse and Carriage, directed by Deborah Norton in 2001 and starring Alison Steadman and Griff Rhys Jones, who says: ‘Geoff McGivern and I stayed in a funny little flat by the canal. We settled down to be the Odd Couple in a Feydeau farce. It was called Horse and Carriage and the first interview I did asked me if it was about 19th-century transport systems. It was actually about marriage and its discontents’ Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Hamlet, starring Christopher Eccleston as the eponymous Dane, was directed by Ian Brown in 2002. Brown comments: ‘I fell in love with Hamlet as a boy, and I dreamt of directing it; I thought that if I could do that I could do anything. I needed an actor who was inspirational, and Christopher wanted a challenge as much as I’ Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Pretending to Be Me in 2002 was devised and performed by Tom Courtenay, who played Philip Larkin
Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

The 39 Steps premiered in 2005 and was produced with Fiery Angel. Edward Snape of Fiery Angel says: ‘Without regional theatres such as WYP, it would not be possible to develop work such as The 39 Steps, now in its fifth year at the Criterion theatre in the West End. The run at WYP was an essential part of the production’s gestation’ Photograph: Stephen Vaughan/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Casanova was a 2007 co-production between Told By an Idiot and WYP. It was written by Carol Ann Duffy, who wanted to explore the idea that Casanova was a woman. This poster image was famously pinched from outside the playhouse Photograph: Robert Day/West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was first produced in 2004 and revived in 2007. Director Ian Brown says: 'When you take on something as iconic as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the audience expectation is immense, but we had them on the edge of their seats' Photograph: Robert Workman/West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Hounding of David Oluwale was co-produced with Eclipse theatre in 2009 and inspired by Kester Aspden’s book. It presented the harrowing true story of David Oluwale, whose body was pulled from the River Aire in Leeds in 1969, exposing a highly personalised campaign of police brutality Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse

Othello was a production that marked Lenny Henry’s Shakespearian debut. Henry comments ‘My opening night was thrilling – a blur. My dressing room was reduced in size by the many gifts, cards and flowers which somehow transformed my space into a minuscule outlet of Interflora' Photograph: Nobby Clark/West Yorkshire Playhouse

The History Boys – this image was taken when Alan Bennett came to WYP for a talk. He had afternoon tea with the cast and some ‘proper’ school photos were taken for posterity. The playwright said of the talk: ‘I was about to go on when two pensioners stopped me and said “It had better be good, we’re big fans of yours”’ Photograph: West Yorkshire Playhouse

The Deep Blue Sea, directed by Sarah Esdaile, is WYP’s 21st birthday production and welcomes Maxine Peake back on to the Quarry stage where she last played Ophelia opposite Christopher Eccleston’s Hamlet. It forms part of the Terence Rattigan centenary celebrations happening across the UK this year Photograph: Keith Pattison/West Yorkshire Playhouse