stage@leedsTheatre | D

ance | Installation

Spring 2016

Welcome to stage@leeds

Welcome to another season at stage@leeds. We kick off with shows from two companies performing as part of our professional artist development programme. ‘Big Egg Theatre’ present the premiere of ‘The Mayor of Everywhere’ and ‘Forget About The Dog’ return with the immensely popular ‘The Life and Times of Lionel’. The start of the season also sees a rare UK performance by acclaimed Italian performance artist ‘Massimiliano Balduzzi’.

stage@leeds is also pleased to announce that dance artist Devika Rao has become our second associate artist alongside the multi award winning ‘Worklight Theatre’ (who will be performing their Edinburgh Fringe Festival hit ‘Labels’ in May). We look forward to working with Devika over the coming years.

2016 is the 400th anniversary of the deaths of William Shakespeare and Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. To celebraete the legacy of these two cultural icons the stage@leedscompany will perform ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in February as well creating a new adaptation of Tang Xianzu’s ‘A Dream Under The Southern Bough’ as part of a new international collaboration in conjunction with students from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. This new work, currently titled ‘A midsummer night’s DREAMING under the southern bough’ will be premiered at stage@leeds in July as part of the inaugural stage@leeds intercultural Theatre Festival before performing in Edinburgh and China.

We are also pleased to be supporting the second annual ‘World Sinophone Drama Competition for Young Playwrights’ organised by the National Central University (Taiwan). Full details of how you can participate can be found in the brochure.

I look forward to seeing you at stage@leeds, all the best

Steve AnsellArtistic Director and Theatre Manager

Devika Raostage@leeds are thrilled to announce that Devika Rao will joiuning us as associate artist alongside Worklight Theatre. Devika is a passionate and talented Choreographer, fusing contemporary dance vocabulary and technologies with classical Bharatanatyam, Yakshagana & Kuchipudi Indian dance styles. Devika has an extraordinary wealth of experience choreographing and dancing across the globe, having performed more than 1200 times in the last 2 decades, she has performed for the Indian Prime Minister, was a lead performer at the Cultural Olympic 2012 Project (MANDALA) and performed at the Queen’s Baton Relay 2009.

Devika established Devika Dance Theatre in Leeds, to promote Indian classical dance across the UK. The company’s focus is to bring the true essence of Indian traditional dance form to participants and audiences of all cultures by placing Indian classical dance in a contemporary setting.

Devika Dance Theatre’s ‘Yaa Devi’ performed at stage@leeds in 2015 and was a huge success. We look forward to developing further new work with Devika and her company.

Mon 25 - Tue 26 Jan7.30pm

Stage One*£12.00 (£9.00)

In an uncertain future, two makeshift kingdoms rise from the ashes of humanity. As the self-coronated Kings and Queens feud over their newly claimed territories,

they become locked in a violent war of attrition. When open warfare fails to yield results, a string of devious plots endanger lords and serfs alike. Big Egg Theatre’s

new show combines their own distinct style with the conventions and tropes of a classic Jacobean tragedy.”

Mon 01 - Tue 02 Feb 7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£5.00

’The Life and Times of Lionel’ is a bombastic yet heart-warming original comedy. We follow Lionel, his monotonous and mundane work life, his

unspoken romance with a fellow employee and his attempts at sorting his issues through an overactive imagination. Forget About The Dog Theatre

Company brings you an off the wall exploration of escapism through fast-paced and witty dialogue, slapstick humour and elements of physical

theatre. How much can happen in just one day?

From 1950s noir, to a submarine and back to his office, there is nowhere his mind doesn’t take him

Forget About the Dog

The Life and Times of Lionel

by Josh Ling and Robin Leitch

Big Egg Theatre

The Mayor of Everywhere

by Jack Harrison and Dave Reeson

Thur 04 Feb 7.30pm

Stage One*£12.00 (£9.00)

Internationally renowned artist Massimiliano Balduzzi brings his new work ‘DOIEB SI TAU: language for a requiem’ to stage@leeds.

In the form of a direct address, a lone performer pushes language and character to breaking point. DOIEB SI TAU is a study of loss

and transformation, crafting a ritual of wilful separation, and a purging of the self.

Massimiliano Balduzzi

Doieb Si Tau

Wed 10 - Sat 13 Feb 7.30pm

Stage One£8.00 (£5.00)

Mozart and Schikaneders ledgendary fairy-tale opera comes to stage@leeds. Follow Prince Tamino and his lovable bird-catcher friend Papageno on their quest to save the princess Pamina from the clutches of an evil sorcerer. The pair soon

learn that things in this world are not quite what they appear to be...

This humorous and dramatic new adaptation by Martin Pickard, Freddie Brook and Clara Nonnenkamp reimagines

the story in a post-apocalyptic future. The performance is also peppered with elements of pantomime to keep you

laughing throughout the entire production!

‘top-notch singing, acting, dancing!’ - LIPPY

LUU Opera Society

The Magic Flute“Balduzzi captures the ecstasy of

both beauty and grief … I was moved to tears and rather speechless.”

(Peter Sciscioli, Founder, M6 Ensemble)

Thur 18 - Sat 20 Feb7.30pm

Stage One£10.00 (£7.50)

The stage@leedscompany uses Shakespeare’s first folio, the work of Sculptor and Artist Mitzi Cunliff (whose ‘Man Made Fibres’ sculpture can be seen as part of the public art trail on campus) and the PCI Fashion Archive as inspiration and resource material for a dynamic new production of Shakespeare’s elemental comedy full of contemporary humour, 1950’s glamour and timeless magic.

A celebration of the 400 year legacy of William Shakespeare and the 60th anniversary of the opening and ground breaking work of the University of Leeds ‘Man Made Fibres’ building.

What fools these mortals be...

stage@leedscompany

A Midsummer Night’s Dreamby William Shakespeare

Thur 25 - Sat 27 Feb7.00pm

Alec Clegg Studio**£9.00 (£7.00)

A new millennium has dawned and the millennial children all over the world are out to play. The only problem is that they’re realising this world wasn’t built for them.

There are a lot of questions that need to be answered…

Millennials is a piece of new writing and the performance is a direct collaboration between all of the performers involved. With a clever use of technology and a

witty, topical and very contemporary text, the performance raises serious issues about young people across the world, and will be like nothing you’ve ever seen

before.

SEE ‘Millennials’ AND ‘A Clockwork Orange’ £12.00

Evolution is a completely natural change, but no one expected we’d change this fast.

LUU Open Theatre

Millennials

Tue 16 - Thur 18 Feb7.00pm

Banham Theatre£9.00 (£7.00)

LUU Theatre Group

Love and Information

by Carol Churchill

Love and Information are not mutually exclusive and we must learn to live with both. But can we understand the complex invisible threads that hold us

all together. Caryl Churchill’s episodic play presents us with a kaleidoscope of snapshot scenes that comment on the fleeting everyday moments of existence

that we recognise so clearly. However, when combined these sparks of magical normality reveal a picture of the true core of humanity.

Love can overcome information. Information can transform love.

Love can manifest in information. Information can translate love. Love can replace information.

Information can empower love.

Thur 03 - Sat 05 March7.30pm

Stage One£9.00 (£7.00)

Green Day’s ‘American Idiot see’s three restless young men, Johnny, Will,

and Tunny, searching for meaning in a post 9-11 world. Johnny and Tunny flee a suffocating lifestyle of parental

restrictions and media overload in Jingletown, while Will stays home to

work out his relationship with Heather, his pregnant girlfriend.

Thur 25 - Sat 27 Feb8.45pm

Stage One**£9.00 (£7.00)

‘A Clockwork Orange’ is a play that forces its audience to consider the realm of the adolescent, simultaneously attractive, darkly comic, and ultimately brutal. In

the insidious, rampant violence a sinister underlying coming of age story is born.

This production of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ will incorporate heavily stylised physical theatre, puppetry and music.

So what’s it going to be then, eh?

SEE ‘Millennials’ AND ‘A Clockwork Orange’ £12.00

‘Man is a fruit, a creature of juice and colour and perfume. They would tear out his pith and turn him into a robot.

A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man.’

LUU Theatre Group

A Clockwork Orange

by Anthony BurgessMusic by Green Day

Lyrics by Billie Joe ArmstrongBook by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer

LAAMPS

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with JOSEF WEINBERGER LTD.on behalf of MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL of NEW YORK.

We admit that we are all thrill-seekers desperate for spine-chilling, nail-biting, blood-curdling, goose-bumping, heart-pounding pleasures. We like the suspense.

We love the ridiculous, the far-fetched and the impossible. We are fascinated by our inexplicable fear of the ordinary and the everyday. We will play victims,

murderers, serial killers, the slasher, the one that survives it all and the one that dies too soon. As we face our demons and the monstrosity of things together.

Thur 17 - Sat 19 March 7.30pm

Stage One£9.00 (£7.00)

PCI Productions

The Monstrosity of

Things We will imagine our own deaths.

We will attempt to terrify you and each other.

Found in 41

The Normal Heart

By Larry Kramer

Thur 10 - Sat 12 March7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£9.00 (£7.00)

It’s New York, July 1981. A strange disease is killing gay men and it’s on a rampage. Writer Ned Weeks and his friends come together to stop others from

dying. The media is either condemning or ignoring them and the health department and the mayor are

giving Ned the cold shoulder.

Larry Kramer’s largely autobiographical drama about the early days of the AIDS crisis is full of

anger and compassion and spreads out a past in front of us that should not be forgotten.

We must love one another or die.

Thur 21 - Sat 23 April7.30pm

Alec Clegg Studio£9.00 (£7.00)

Charley Brooks, Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance,

is celebrating his tenth wedding anniversary.

However, there’s no food, no hostess and Charley has

accidentally shot himself through the ear! To avoid a

political scandal, the guests wildly improvise more and

more elaborate lies and rumours until nobody is sure

what’s going on. When the police arrive, one of them

must pretend to be Charley and the evening ends with an extraordinary revelation

in the basement. Add an overemotional psychiatrist,

a sarcastic accountant, and a chef called ‘Cookie’ who

gets extreme back spasms, and you’ve got a recipe for

hilarity!

LUU Theatre Group

Rumoursby Neil Simon

Tue 19 - Thur 21 April7.00pm

Banham Theatre£9.00 (£7.00)

LUU Open Theatre

Jerusalemby Jez Butterworth

And was Jerusalem builded here, among those dark satanic mills?

In the whimsical and robust landscape of rural Wiltshire, the reckless locals gather together for an unmissable night full of whizz, wangers, sick beats, tasty birds and rum’n’ribena. In the midst of the madness, the St George’s Day fair is in full swing, and gypsy drug dealer, Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron, has been threatened with eviction.

On top of this, Byron is failing to care for his son, his friends have betrayed him, and word is rapidly spreading about the suspicious disappearance of a 15 year old girl…

Thur 28 - Sat 30 April6.00pm and 8.00pm

Stage One£9.00 (£7.00)

PCI Productions

Barbaric and Wild

What do we know about the ground under our feet? BARBARIC AND WILD gives this gritty darkness a voice. You will be immersed in the dust of a devastated landscape. Meet

Buddhist madmen and subterranean poets who’ll take you on a visionary journey.

RIDE WITH US INTO THE STRANGENESS.

Tue 26 - Thur 28 April7.00pm

Banham Theatre£9.00 (£7.00)

A surreal comedy which discusses loss of identity, the concept of redemption and the danger of eating too many crepes. In the dark depths of the Devil’s administration office, our heroes work

their ‘9 to forever’ jobs assigning punishments and generally keeping things in order. That is, until they receive the blank

form...

LUU Open Theatre

Tabula Rasaby David Ley

Memories are what make a person. If no-one can remember my life,

what was the point of me living it?

Installation

Theatre

Music

Poetry Comedy

Spoken Word

Performance Readings

stage@leeds

Little Leeds Fringe

stage@leeds and the School of Performance and Cultural Industries present three days of new performance created by undergraduate

and post graduate students from the University of Leeds.

During the festival stage@leeds will play host to a diverse range of student work including theatrical performances, interventions, poetry,

spoken word, comedy and music. See our website for up to date information and look out for the stage@leedsfestivals brochure for a

full line up of events.

Thur 05 - Sat 07 Maystage@leeds

Tue 03 May7.30pm

Stage One£7.50 (£5.00)

Screaming Media Productions

Gi60In association with stage@leedsfestivals and

The Department of Theater at Brooklyn College

Now in its twelfth international year the UK edition of Gi60, the worlds most respected One Minute Play festival returns to stage@leeds for another night of

non-stop tiny theatre.

A cast of experienced professional’s and actors in training will perform fifty brand new one minute plays live in under an hour. A further 100 plays will be

performed at shows in New York and in New Zealand. All the shows will then be made available to view on line.

Why not write your own One Minute Play? Gi60 is now accepting play submissions for full details visit www.gi60.blogspot.

com (Deadline for Gi60 2016 submisisons Midnight April 1st 2016)

stage@leedsfestivals

Tue 10 - Thur 12 May7.00pm

Banham Theatre£9.00 (£7.00)

Winston Smith rewrites history for the Ministry of Truth, but when he’s handed a note that says simply ‘I love you’ by a woman he hardly knows, he decides to risk

everything in a search for truth.

In a corrupt surveillance society where a war without end is always fought and the government is always watching, can Winston possibly hold onto what he feels

inside and knows is the truth? Or will he renounce everything, accept the Party’s reality and learn to love Big Brother?

“War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery.

Ignorance is Strength”

LUU Theatre Group

1984By George Orwell

Mon 09 - Wed 11 May7.30pm

Alec CLegg Studio£9.00 (£7.00)

Louise wakes up to find herself trapped with Mark, who has saved her life. Mark is always prepared and has everything he thinks they

will need to survive; tinned chilli, Dungeons and Dragons and a knife - now all they need to do is to wait until it’s safe to go outside. Can they

survive the attack? Can they survive each other?

They were all in the pub when the explosion happened...

Frontline

After The EndBy Dennis Kelly

Mon 12 Sept4.30pm

Stage One £7.00 (£5.00)

Her biggest disability is her family.

Unspoken Theatre

SpeechlessBy Kate Caryer

Rebecca Walker is a 19 year old who wants to be outspoken and fiercely independent but for this she needs a voice.

Speechless is a coming of age tale about someone with Cerebral Palsy and without speech, and the world they encounter along the way. Kate Caryer’s darkly

humerous and at times shocking new work challeges accepted stereotypes and confronts ignorance face-on.

Thur 12 May 7.30pm

Stage One£12.00 (£9.00)

‘When I was five years old, my Dad was told our surname might be stopping him from

getting a job. So we changed it. It worked.’

Labels is the multi-award winning show from stage@leeds Associate Artists Worklight. This show, written and performed by Joe Sellman-

Leava, which chronicles his upbringing in rural Devon as a boy of mixed-heritage growing up in

the 90s. Labels examines the way we use words, the line between curiosity and fear, and the rise of

anti-immigration rhetoric.

‘Powerful, important and funny’ (Emma Thompson).

Worklight Theatre

Labels***** ‘Enlightening and touching’ (Broadway Baby)

***** ‘A gentle firestorm of a play’ (British Theatre guide)***** ‘Simply magnificent’ (Ed Fringe review)

**** ‘Polished, personal and provocative’ (the Scotsman)

stage@leedscompany“Outstanding… as if a dream came true ”

Wan Fang Author of Poison (Poison, Northern Stage 2014)

Working with classic and contemporary texts from around the world, the stage@leedscompany creates dynamic and emotive ensemble performance.

Membership is open to all University of Leeds students and no previous performance experience is necessary.

stage@leedscompany 2015/20162016 is the 400th anniversary of the deaths of William Shakespeare and

Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu. To mark this event the stage@leedscompany will present two shows over the course of the year.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William ShakespeareFeb 2016 (stage@leeds, stage one)

A Dream Under the Southern Bough by Tang XianzuJune - Nov 2016 (stage@leeds, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Tour of China)

Further details available from the stage@leeds foyer and online

1616 - 2016 A 400 year legacy

BACKstage

stage@leeds

‘BACK’ is a new volunteering initiative that provides students with an interest in the technical aspects of theatre and performance the opportunity to work with professional companies gain experience and training in lighting, sound, video and stage management as well as being involved creatively in stage@leeds projects. The 2016 ‘BACK’ team have already worked on many shows and proved a fantastic addition to the stage@leeds community.

If you would like more information about ‘BACK’ please contact Natalie McLoughlin N.M.A.McLoughlin@leeds.ac.uk

You?

Liam Charlie Jonny

Hannah Megan

Do you want to make a show with Manic Chord Theatre?

Generate returns to stage@leeds in September and is open to all 16-18 year olds from Leeds who have a passion for performance.

The Generate company will work with Manic Chord to devise and rehearse a new physical performance to be performed at stage@leeds.

If you're interested email us at dave@manicchordtheatre.co.uk for more information and details of how to apply.

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, videos of your work for evaluation. Steve Ansell s.ansell@leeds.ac.uk

Hiring our spaces stage@leeds can be hired for conferences and events. 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 VenueJanuary25 - 26 The Mayor of Everywhere (Big Egg Theatre) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00)* S

February01 - 02 ...Lionel (Forget About The Dog) 7.30pm £5.00 A04 Doieb Si Tau (Massimiliano Balduzzi) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00)* S10 - 13 The Magic Flute (LUU Opera Society 7.30pm £8.00 (£5.00) S16 - 18 Love and Information (Theatre Group) 7.00pm £9.00 (£7.00) B18 - 20 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (S@L Co) 7.30pm £10.00 (£7.50) S25 - 27 Millennials (Open Theatre) 7.00pm £9.00 (£7.00)** A25 - 27 A Clockwork Orange (Theatre Group) 8.45pm £9.00 (£7.00)** S

March03 - 05 American Idiot (LAMMPS) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) S10 - 12 The Normal Heart (Found In 41) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) A17 - 19 The Monstrosity of Things (PCI Production) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) S

April19 - 21 Jerusalem (Open Theatre) 7.00pm £9.00 (£7.00) B21 - 23 Rumours (Theatre Group) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) A26 - 28 Tabula Rasa (Open Theatre) 7.00pm £9.00 (£7.00) B28 - 30 Barbaric and Wild (PCI Production) 6.00 & 8.00pm £9.00 (£7.00) S

May03 Gi60 (Screaming Media) 7.30pm £7.50 (£5.00) S05 - 07 Little Leeds Fringe Various TBC S/A09 - 11 After The End (Frontline Theatre) 7.30pm £9.00 (£7.00) A10 - 12 1984 (Theatre Group) 7.00pm £9.00 (£7.00) B12 Labels (Worklight theatre) 7.30pm £12.00 (£9.00) S

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

* £7.00 Student ticket available directly from the box ** See both shows for £12.00

stage@leedsUniversity of LeedsLS2 9JT

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