Leeds Playhouse

Leeds Playhouse is a hub for world class theatre and hosts a wide range of productions throughout the year, as well as engaging in outreach work in the local community. Home to four performance and three rehearsal spaces, a CAMRA award-winning bar, restaurant, art gallery, recording studio and much more, the complex it occupies on Quarry Hill is vast: completed at a cost of £13 million, with Judi Dench ceremonially laying the foundation stone in 1989. 

Designed by The Appleton Partnership architects of Edinburgh, its Quarry and Courtyard theatres seat 740 and 350 viewers respectively, whilst its Bramall Rock Void studio space has room for 130 in total. Here, visitors can watch a huge variety of shows spanning drama, dance, musicals, comedy, and music, as well as engaging in cultural events that serve to foster a sense of closeness and better understanding within the local community.

When it comes to whetting your whistle, you’re spoilt for choice with three options on offer. Grab a coffee and a light snack in the café if you’re feeling peckish, or head to the playhouse’s restaurant for something a little more substantial. The Playhouse Kitchen offers pre-show dining from 1130am for matinees and 5pm for evening performances, and specialises in made-to-order pizzas cooked in authentic wood fired Italian ovens. As for drinks, its Playhouse Bar is known for its great craft beer offering, and also serves a good selection of wines, softs and spirits.

Outside, the sculpture Ribbons by Pippa Hale commemorates the women of Leeds, both past and present. It carries the names of 383 women who have shattered glass ceilings, and overcome economic, cultural, social, and physical barriers to become leaders in their fields on its 8mm corten steel strands. You’ll also find a neon sign reading “I get down but I get up again”, a lyric from Chumbawamba’s 1997 hit Tubthumping.

Meanwhile, across the road, Leeds Playhouse 2 offers youth theatre sessions, creative courses, drop-ins and groups for young carers, asylum seekers, young people with disabilities, and those not in formal education or training. A home for innovative and contemporary theatre in the heart of Leeds with community engagement at its heart, Leeds Playhouse is a must visit for theatre lovers.