Once again, the Youth Music Festival at Shire Oak Primary School, Wood Lane, Headingley, on Saturday 15^th June (12 noon to 4pm), will celebrate the rich musical talent to be found in schools and organisations throughout Headingley and the neighbouring area.

There will be live music from young people at every stage of learning – from school class groups, individual singers/ songwriters, to established ensembles and groups. There will also be plenty of opportunities to make music by joining in with the scratch choir, experimenting with digital music and signing up for taster sessions on a wide variety of instruments.

A variety of activities is planned. As well as the music workshops and making musical instruments, there will be art and craft sessions, circus skills and much more. Stalls, refreshments and Summer fete games make this a fun day for the whole family. Entry is free and most activities are free. (There will be a collection to help fund the event.)

A new one-woman suffragette musical, telling the story of Annie Wilde, a Lancashire mill-girl, will open at Leeds Big Bookend on Sunday 9^th June, 3pm at Leeds Central Library, before touring festivals across the UK this summer.

Written by ex-Chumbawamba guitarist and writer Boff Whalley, and directed by Justin Audibert, ‘Wrong ‘Un’ will be performed by Ella Harris, whose theatre credits include As You Like It with Tag Theatre Company, The Golem with Pascal Theatre Company and Pseudo Omega with Annex Theatre in Seattle. Previous shows with Red Ladder include Where’s Vietnam? and Forgotten Things.

It’s February 1918 and after several decades of protest and four years of war, Parliament is poised to grant what the suffragettes have demanded – votes for women. After years of direct action, arrest, imprisonment and force-feeding, it seems their time has come. Annie Wilde is galvanised by a mixture of injustice, conviction, self-doubt and fear on her journey from schoolroom to prison cell in a musical drama that draws on class, privilege, hope and disappointment in wartime England.

“I was prompted to write the musical after a friend discovered her grandmother’s 100-year-old collection of suffragette memorabilia, letters, photograph albums and newspaper cuttings”, said Boff Whalley. “Among the finds was her grandmother’s suffragette medal, awarded to those who were imprisoned for taking direct action and force-fed in Holloway Gaol. Suddenly, something distantly historic became personal and human and I knew that I had a play to write.”

Director Justin Audibert returns to Red Ladder, following his work on 40^th anniversary production, Where’s Vietnam? by Alice Nutter. He is an Artistic Associate for HighTide and has been Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio. He was the recipient of the 2012 Leverhulme Award for Emerging Directors.

Red Ladder champions new writing, particularly that which challenges or agitates. It is a radical theatre company with a 40 year history and is acknowledged as one of Britain’s leading national touring companies, producing high quality theatre contributing to social change and global justice.

www.redladder.co.uk 

www.bigbookend.co.uk

“Our full page advert in the April edition of North Leeds Life magazine had only started being distributed and within the first twenty-four hours we had eight enquiries.

Now, at the beginning of our third month of advertising we have had over 250 enquiries and I can confidently put at least eighty per cent of these down to North Leeds Life. Whilst we have advertised with other publications, we have never experienced anything like the response levels we achieved with North Leeds Life.

In fact, our initial three month campaign has been so successful that we’re planning to extend our booking for several more months. To say I’m delighted would be an understatement and I would definitely recommend North Leeds Life for advertisers who want to reach residents in North Leeds.”

David Lawless, Green Thumb Lawn Treatment Service

Contact North Leeds Life:

Tel: 0113 274 8776

E: info@northleedslife.co.uk

‘Not The G8: A real agenda for global justice’ is the theme for the World Development Movement conference to be held on Saturday 15^th June, 11am-6.30pm at
Leeds University Student Union, Lifton Place, LS2

The speakers include: Raj Patel, bestselling author of Stuffed and Starved: the hidden battle for the world food system; Dorothy-Grace Guerrero, climate justice programme co-ordinator, Focus on the Global South, Thailand; Luís Bernardo, campaigner with Attac Portugal; Deborah Doane, director of the World Development Movement; and Ray Bush, professor of African studies and development politics, University of Leeds.

This June, the G8 countries are meeting in the UK for the first time since 2005. David Cameron wants to present himself as a leader on social justice, however, the policies he is pushing represent the usual G8 consensus, where corporate interests come first.

All over the world, social movements are imagining and creating real alternatives – from food sovereignty to fair and progressive taxation, from energy justice to comprehensive public services.

Join these great international speakers to discuss pressing issues and debate what we in the UK can do about them. Demand a real agenda for global justice that expresses our common humanity the world over.

Sessions will include:

• Feeding the world in the 21st century: Do we need corporations?
• What’s so wrong with neoliberalism?
• ¡No a la mina! An introduction to anti-mining struggles
• Carbon Capital: how the finance sector drives climate change
• Not the G8: What does a real agenda for global justice look like?
• Practical skills session on creativity and activism

For more details, visit wdm.org.uk/not-the-g8

The conference is free.

Scott Westlake & Simon Bolderson

The Myrtle pub on Parkside Road, Meanwood, and Ridgeside Brewery got together recently to create a new beer especially for the pub.

“I wanted to have a beer that was unique to the pub”, said Myrtle manager Scott Westlake. “Many breweries rebrand their beer for pubs but it is purely imitation. I approached Simon Bolderson at Ridgeside and we discussed barrelage. We felt confident that Simon could produce a unique beer and I could sell enough of it to warrant brewing it. What he has come up with is a pale session ale at 4% ABV – Ridgesides only 4% beer – and we decided to name it Myrtale.”

Myrtale has performed exceptionally well and in its first week sold over 500 pints!

“It was most important to me that Ridgeside was the brewery that produced the pub’s beer” said Scott, “not only because their other beers are popular, but because they are a local brewery. I believe that local businesses should support each other and I believe that our customers feel the same. If we all support each other and shop, eat and drink locally, Meanwood will continue to prosper, creating jobs and a good local economy, and I for one will celebrate that with a pint of Myrtale!”

Ilkley Heather by Karen Spencer

In February 2013, Ilkley Camera Club will celebrate 60 years since its formation by a group of enthusiastic photographers in 1953. The key feature of the celebrations will be ‘Exposed’ – an exhibition at The Manor House Museum, Ilkley from 8th December 2012 to 24th February 2013.

The exhibition promises to be a celebration of camera club achievements and a showcase of the work of its members. Over 100 prints are expected to be on display, together with a large number of digitally projected images and a review of camera developments throughout the 60 years of the camera club’s history.

Ilkley Camera Club will hold free photographic workshops on most Saturdays throughout the period of the exhibition, covering basic camera skills, basic and more advanced computer-based, post-processing techniques and demonstrations of selected Photoshop techniques. Full details of the workshops will be available at www.ilkleycameraclub.co.uk from the end of November.

With a membership is excess of 70 and a highly respected programme of activities and speakers, the club offers a supportive environment for new members and challenging competitions and activities for all members. Having been nominated to represent The Yorkshire Photographic Union in five of the past eight national club competitions, which are run under the auspices of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain, Ilkley can justifiably claim to be one of the most successful camera clubs in Yorkshire during this period.

Waiting for Customers, Vietnam, by Rodney Marsh

Dolly (Amy Booth-Steel) and Francis Henshall (Rufus Hound) Photo: Tristam Kenton

Nicholas Hytner’s award-winning production of ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’ comes to Leeds Grand Theatre from 11^th – 15^th December.

Comedian Rufus Hound takes the lead role of Francis Henshall in Richard Bean’s version of Carlo Goldoni’s classic Italian comedy ‘The Servant of Two Masters’. “I’d seen the play with James Corden and thought ‘what a great job for a stand-up’’, said Rufus. “I never imagined for a moment that I would get the job!”

Fired from his skiffle band, Francis becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from his fiancée’s dad. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who’s been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Holed up at the Cricketers’ Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be re-united with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart.

“This show hits your funny bone from all sides”, says Rufus. “You want a funny dance routine? Here’s one of those. You want someone doing a bit of xylophone or a funny song? There’s a bit of that. We do physical falls, word play, pun runs. The show and the cast is all about going on and just exploding fun into the audience.”

‘One Man Two Guvnors’ is at Leeds Grand from Tuesday 11^th to Saturday 16^th December.  Tickets are available from 0844 848 2700 or www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

Ali Allen & Model Box Photo: Tony O’Connell

For Kirkstall-based set and costume designer Ali Allen Christmas started in August! That’s when she began laying out the set design for Cinderella the Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto that opens at the City Varieties next week.

“The set is very Leeds-centric”, says Ali. “Audiences will recognise the Town Hall’s famous dome and pillars, the Dyson clock is featured, there’s a railway arch and a shop named ‘Hardup Nicks’!”

Ali has designed the set to support the story, ensuring all references in the script make sense. She then creates a ‘model box’ of the design on a scale of 1:25 – which means that every 1cm of model is the equivalent to 25cm of actual set on stage.

“Once I see it on stage I can’t help but think of more things to add”, she continued. “The City Varieties stage is pretty small so the masking usually needs amending. There’s always painting to be done. And, at  other times I just want more trim, more colour, glitter, sparkle and fairy lights!”

The set is being fitted into the theatre this week. The Cinderella cast has been rehearsing since 5^th November but getting the set in place will make a huge difference to the actors.

“It takes about three days to build the set which is over three levels”, explained Ali. “There is a well at the front which the cast hasn’t worked with yet, and soon the lighting, special effects and backcloths will come into play.  This is where it all starts to take shape.”

Ali also designed all 40 costumes for the panto. “Cinderella has all the bearings of a traditional pantomime but with the added bonus of live music played by the actors and a playlist that gets everyone rocking! There are 10 actors, a drum kit, several guitars, a saxophone and trombone – the set and costumes have to cater for all this too! There’s a lot to do and little space in which to do it, but the City Varieties is such a beautiful venue to work in. Once everything is in place and the audiences are enjoying themselves, I know I will have a real sense of achievement.”

Cinderella The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto is at the City Varieties Music Hall from Friday 30^th November to Sunday 13^th January.

Tickets (£13.50 – £20 concessions available) are available from the Box Office on 0113 243 0808 or cityvarieties.co.uk

We popped into The West Yorkshire Playhouse recently to see how things were coming along for their fabulous Christmas Show – Wind in the Willows – and were enchanted by Colin Richmond’s costume designs. We thought we’d share them with you…………

Leeds College of Music welcomes Charlie Siem, one of the UK’s brightest new classical music stars and Visiting Professor in Violin, back to The Venue on Monday 19 November.

Charlie will join the Conservatoire’s Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of LCoM Peter Selwyn, to perform a number of pieces including Beethoven’s Overture to Collin’s Coriolan, Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 5 in A major and Schubert’s Symphony No 6 in C major.

Charlie has appeared with orchestras around the world, including the Royal Philharmonic, London Mozart Players and the Bergen Philharmonic, and has guest starred on a host of television shows. The demand for his unique appeal dramatically increased when, in 2011, he serenaded Lady Gaga at her Fashion Icon Award party in New York. He is set to release his latest album in 2013.

Tickets available from box office or 0113 222 3434

Jaqui Harvey in her winning garden

Otley in Bloom would like to congratulate Jacqui Harvey, Carol Newbould, Mr and Mrs Ewan and Joan Brown on their Gold awards at the recent Leeds in Bloom Private Garden Competition.

Third time gold winner Carol Newbould’s garden is colour co-ordinated with rare and unusual plants and trees, inspired by botanical gardens all over the world. She says: ”At the end of a week teaching ballet I escape to my garden sanctuary for a little creative gardening, along with the essential, stress relieving dead-heading!”

Jacqui Harvey loves gardening and finds it is great therapy and keeps her fit. An active member of Otley in Bloom, she has been gardening for nearly 40 years. In her spare time she helps the Whartons Primary School with their garden club, which won Silver Gilt in the Yorkshire in Bloom competition this year.

Other winners were: Susan and John Waters, who won Silver in the Large Garden category; Diane Wray and Mr A. Noble who won Silver and James Palliser who took Bronze in the Small Garden category; and Mr J. Parker, who won Bronze for his Floral Container.

If you would like to know more about Otley in Bloom, please visit www.otleyinbloom.co.uk or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/otley-in-bloom

Two celebrated touring productions make their way to West Yorkshire Playhouse in November –  Frantic Assembly and The National Theatre Of Scotland’s stunning physical production ‘Beautiful Burnout’, and Out of Joint’s revival of classic drama ‘Our Country’s Good’.

‘Beautiful Burnout’ is at the Quarry Theatre, 6^th – 10^th November A revival of Frantic Assembly and the National Theatre of Scotland’s highly successful production, this thrilling piece of physical theatre immerses the audience in the explosive world of boxing. Written by Yorkshire-born Bryony Lavery, it is directed and choreographed by Frantic Assembly co-founders Scott Graham and Steven Hogget. The production premiered in Edinburgh Fringe in 2010, where it was awarded a Fringe First Award.

Cameron Burns is going places. He’s fighting for his club, his Mum, his place in the world. And this boy is a natural. He has an affinity with the violence, the balance, the ritual, the grace, and the power of the most controversial sport of our time. Bryony Lavery’s heart-wrenching and deeply human story follows five young fighters as they aim for the bright lights, far from Glasgow’s mean, grey streets.

Featuring a stunning backdrop of glittering video screens and a pulsating soundtrack by electronic heavyweights Underworld, ‘Beautiful Burnout’ packs an almighty and unforgettable punch.

OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD, Courtyard Theatre, 14^th – 24^th November

Out of Joint’s Artistic Director Max Stafford-Clark revisits Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Olivier Award winning play, ‘Our Country’s Good’ in new production with Octagon Theatre Bolton.

Depicting true events, and based on Thomas Keneally’s best selling novel The Playmaker, it received great critical acclaim, transferring to the West End and Broadway and won the Olivier Award for Play of the Year and the New York Drama Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.

The scene is Australia 1789: A boat full of murderers, thieves and marine officers arrive on a distant shore. Cast out from their native land, and forced to build a new country, the convicts and their jailers quickly learn that the shadow of home is never far away.

In the midst of this, an ambitious young lieutenant, Ralph Clark, is set the task of directing a cast of dispirited convicts in the Restoration comedy ‘The Recruiting Officer’. But with growing suspicion from his fellow officers, just two copies of the script, his leading lady about to be hanged, and an uncontrollable passion for one of his convict players, Ralph’s – and Australia’s – first theatre production is in trouble from the start.

To book tickets call box office 0113 213 7700 or visit www.wyp.org.uk