…..about ninety years of magic, community and creativity – and The Gingerbread Man, at Carriageworks Theatre on 6 – 9 November.
As Leeds Children’s Theatre celebrates an incredible 90 years of entertaining audiences and nurturing generations of young performers, Leeds Living sat down with Janine Walker, the group’s long-standing Secretary, and Dan Dainter, the director of its upcoming production of ‘The Gingerbread Man’. We talked about the company’s remarkable history, how it’s stayed strong for nearly a century, and what makes it such a special part of Leeds’ creative community.
Leeds Living: Thank you both for speaking with me today. To start, can you tell me a bit about Leeds Children’s Theatre, how it began and how you came to be involved? I believe it’s celebrating its 90th anniversary this year?
Janine: That’s right. 90 years! Leeds Children’s Theatre started in 1935. There was a break during the war, as you’d expect, and of course another during COVID, but otherwise it’s kept going the whole time. One of our founding members sadly passed away about ten years ago, but was still heavily involved at the time. It’s very much like a family here; once you join, you tend to stay. I started when I was twelve, went off to university and came back afterwards. I’ve been involved ever since.
Leeds Living: That’s incredible! What was the original purpose behind the initiative?
Janine: It was set up to make theatre affordable and accessible for children,theatre for children to watch, not just theatre with children performing. That’s quite an important difference. We’re not a musical theatre school like Stagecoach; we don’t do singing lessons or focus on getting kids on stage in adult roles. Our shows are children’s stories told for children, though of course we include children as cast members too. For example, if we were doing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, adults would play the grandparents and children would play the children; we try to keep it age-appropriate and authentic.
Leeds Living: Where do the adult actors come from?
Janine: We’re part of the Leeds Community Arts Network, which includes lots of local theatre societies. We often collaborate with adult actors from those groups. Many people want to be involved because performing for children is such good fun. And quite often, once they’ve done a show with us, we keep them! We also have some who do Shakespeare or more serious theatre elsewhere, but love coming here
for something a bit lighter.
Keeping the Curtain Up for 90 Years
Leeds Living: Ninety years is an impressive milestone. What do you think has helped the company keep going for so long?
Dan: A big part of it is the mix of ages and generations. Adult members often have children who join, and then those children grow up and stay involved, so it keeps renewing itself naturally. We also make sure to advertise widely across Leeds and in schools, so new young members are always finding us.
Leeds Living: Do you charge for membership or workshops?
Janine: We try to keep everything as affordable as possible. Workshops are £5 for a two-hour session; it’s meant to be something kids can pay for with pocket money. There’s also a small annual membership fee to cover insurance and help with show costs. Room hire has become more expensive, so we’re doing our best to balance keeping prices low while covering costs.
Leeds Living: Do you receive any external funding?
Dan: No, we’re completely self-funded. Everything comes from ticket sales, and we plough every penny back into the productions. None of us gets paid; it’s all volunteer-run.
Leeds Living: Does either of you work in the arts professionally?
Dan: I work in a school as a theatre technician, so I do quite a lot of theatre work.
Janine: Yes, he does some amazing shows! I don’t work in the theatre though; I work for Christians Against Poverty, so this is very much my creative outlet. I’d love to do it full-time!
Challenges and Highlights
Leeds Living: Over the years that you’ve both been involved, what have been some standout moments or challenges?
Janine: COVID stands out. We had a show ready to open the very week the first lockdown was announced. We’d done the dress rehearsal and were about to start performances when the government told people to avoid theatres. It was devastating. We had to tell the cast, mostly children, that we couldn’t go ahead. It was heartbreaking. We did eventually restage it in November 2021, which was wonderful, but that moment in 2020 was tough.
Dan: Yes, it was such a strange time. We’d built sets, made costumes, rehearsed for months, and suddenly had to stop. The kids handled it really well, but it was emotional for everyone.
Behind the Scenes
Leeds Living: Do you have volunteers helping with sets and technical work?
Dan: Absolutely! A fantastic team who have accumulated over the years! Some are parents, others are long-time members who just love helping. They build sets, paint, manage props, you name it. We have a workshop space just next door where a lot of that happens.
Leeds Living: You’re based at The Carriageworks Theatre now. Has that always been home?
Janine: No. Before this, we were based at the Civic Theatre, which was the home of the Leeds Community Arts Guild. When the Civic closed and became a museum, we fought hard to make sure there was still a theatre for community use. The Carriageworks was built for that purpose, and Leeds Children’s Theatre had the honour of performing the last show at the Civic and the first show here. That was twenty years ago now. It really does feel like our theatre. Of course, we share it with touring companies, which is great, but this venue was created for community groups like ours.
Celebrating 90 Years
Leeds Living: So, how are you marking your 90th year?
Dan: We’ve had a year of celebrations! We threw a big party, held an all-day improv workshop with a performance in the evening, and even ran a treasure hunt across Leeds. We’ve also planned a big group theatre trip to see A Christmas Carol at Leeds Playhouse. It’s nice for us to enjoy theatre together, rather than always being the ones putting it on. The final part of our anniversary year is The Gingerbread Man,
which feels like the perfect ending to the celebrations.
Leeds Living: Do you have plans for the next decade as you head toward the 100-year mark?
Dan: For me, the main goal is to keep building a membership that cares, people who want to keep the society alive and continue making great theatre for children. We’d also love to develop and perform newer work. A lot of plays available to amateur children’s theatre groups are quite dated, and modern stories often aren’t licensed for amateur performance. So it would be brilliant to see more fresh writing become
available.
Getting Involved
Leeds Living: If someone has a child who’d like to join Leeds Children’s Theatre, how can they get involved?
Dan: They can contact us through our website or social media. Children are welcome to come for a free taster workshop on a Saturday morning, or they can audition for our productions when casting opens. We always post audition details online.
The Gingerbread Man
Leeds Living: And finally, why should families come and see The Gingerbread Man?
Dan: Because it’s so much fun! We’ve had an amazing time putting it together. It’s not a pantomime and it’s not a musical, but it has a bit of both. This play’s been performed by Leeds Children’s Theatre three times since the 1980s, roughly every 10–15 years. The story is full of witty twists on the traditional tale, the music is fantastic, and the audience really gets involved. It’s a brilliant, family-friendly show.
Janine: It’s joyful, funny and perfect for the festive season, a great way to round off our 90th year.
Leeds Living: That sounds wonderful. Congratulations again on 90 years, and best of luck with the show – I can’t wait to see it with my own children!
Let’s hear it from the cast…
After chatting with Janine and Dan about the remarkable 90-year journey of Leeds Children’s Theatre, I sat down with two of the company’s young performers, Lea Nnando (16) and Ollie Grinham (15), who are both part of the cast for The Gingerbread Man. Between rehearsals, they shared what makes being part of LCT so special, what audiences can expect from the show, and why performing for children brings its own kind of magic.
Leeds Living: To start off, tell me a little bit about Leeds Children’s Theatre and how you got involved. How long have you both been part of it?
Lea: I don’t even remember exactly how I first found out about LCT, I think my mum first discovered it. I had just turned nine, so I’ve been here about 6 years now.
Leeds Living: Have you done a few shows in that time?
Lea: Yes, a few! Around five, I think.
Leeds Living: Do you have a favourite one?
Lea: I really liked The Mon Calls. The cast was amazing, and the show itself was brilliant. I loved being part of the ensemble, there were lots of well-choreographed group pieces and it was such a great story.
Leeds Living: What do you enjoy most about being involved in Leeds Children’s Theatre?
Lea: Definitely the community, as well as meeting new people and feeling part of something creative together.
Leeds Living: Is it a core group who stay involved, or do you get new people joining regularly?
Ollie: We have workshops every Saturday morning, and those are separate from the shows. You can do the workshops without being in a production, so people come and go a bit. It keeps things connected but flexible.
Leeds Living: So what happens in the Saturday workshops? For readers who might know places like Stagecoach, what’s different about LCT workshops?
Ollie: We do a lot of devised work, short scenes we create ourselves, often focused on comedy but not always. Then we’ll make a longer piece that parents come to watch at the end of term. It’s mostly acting, very occasionally we’ll add in a song or movement piece but it’s definitely more about acting than singing or dancing.
Leeds Living: How many people usually take part?
Lea: It really varies. We split into groups for different activities. It’s very collaborative, and people naturally take turns leading ideas.
Ollie: Yeah, the more experienced ones might take a bit of a lead, but it’s never bossy, just helping things move along.
Leeds Living: What are the ages of the children who take part?
Ollie: From about eight up to around eighteen, but there’s no fixed limit.
Leeds Living: Do you rehearse here at Carriage Works then?
Lea: Yes, this is where we rehearse and where the Saturday sessions take place, in Room One!
Leeds Living: So, Leeds Children’s Theatre, is that name because it’s run by children, or because you’re making theatre for children?
Ollie: It’s theatre for children, although it does also have a lot of children involved in the production. I think it’s lovely because it’s made and performed by young people for young audiences. You can really connect with them. It’s fun performing for kids – you can imagine some of them might be seeing theatre for the very first time, or that this might be the one show that encourages them to get involved in theatre too, and that’s really special.
The Gingerbread Man
Leeds Living: Tell me about your roles in The Gingerbread Man.
Lea: I play Miss Pepper. She’s a pepper grinder, a bit adventurous, and always encouraging the Gingerbread Man to go off and explore.
Ollie: I’m Salt, a salt shaker and a bit of a rule-follower! He’s more serious and loves sticking to a plan. He’s kind of a sailor character. He makes a lot of sea references because of the “salt” connection. He’s not a pirate exactly, but definitely inspired by that kind of energy.
Leeds Living: Who are the other main characters?
Ollie: There’s a main cast of six: Salt, Pepper, the Gingerbread Man, Herr Cuckoo, the Old Bag, and Sly Mouse.
Leeds Living: So it’s a different story to the one many of us would have heard as children?
Ollie: Yes, it’s the version created by David Wood. The story’s set on a kitchen dresser owned by “the Big Ones”. That’s what the dresser folk call the humans. Herr Cuckoo loses his voice, so the others go on an adventure to find honey to soothe his throat before the Big Ones throw them in the bin.
Lea: It’s funny and heartwarming. The dresser folk don’t all get along at first, especially with the Old Bag, but by the end they all come together.
Why Families Should Come
Leeds Living: If you had to give a short “pitch” to families thinking about coming to see it, what would you say?
Lea: It’s a really heartwarming story with a much nicer ending than the nursery rhyme! It’s fun, interactive, the audience gets involved. Everyone will leave smiling.
Ollie: It’s a lovely family show, full of humour and warmth. We’ve had such a good time putting it together, and I think that comes across on stage. Kids will love it, and so will the adults.
Leeds Living: It sounds brilliant! Thank you both for chatting with me, and best of luck with the show!
https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-gingerbread-man-x26q
Main image.. Rehearsals.
