City Varieties Music Hall reopens its doors to audiences with a live performance on Monday 17 May, and there’s an exciting film programme in collaboration with sister venue Hyde Park Picture House.
Judy & Liza will run for one socially distanced performance only on Thursday 20 May, alongside some of the best live and as-live theatre performances as part of The Picture House’s On The Road programme, which includes:
Nomadland: an exquisitely told story full of authenticity and humanity, and winner of this year’s Best Picture Oscar, alongside Best Director and Best Actress wins for Chloé Zhao and Frances McDormand respectively.
Sound of Metal: During a series of adrenaline-fueled one-night gigs, itinerant punk-metal drummer Ruben (Riz Ahmed) begins to experience intermittent hearing loss. Utilising startling, innovative sound design techniques, director Darius Marder takes audiences inside Ruben’s experience to vividly recreate his journey into a rarely examined world.
Wolfwalkers: The Oscar-nominated animation studio behind The Secret of Kells and Song of the Sea returns with a magical masterpiece about an unlikely friendship between two girls in 17th-century Ireland.
Wendy Cook, Head of Cinema: “The cinema’s On the Road programme was always envisioned as being a way of taking The Picture House’s programme into different spaces, so we’re really excited to be returning to the City Varieties. After six months away, it’s lovely to be finding our feet again in the comfort of family.”
Chris Blythe, CEO: “It is no exaggeration to say that our industry has suffered exponentially because of COVID-19 – as arts and culture venues across the country have tried and failed to recover from the impact – but it has never been more important for this sector to thrive, as people reach out to theatres, cinemas, music venues etc as spaces to escape their day-to-day pressures. Our audiences want to be entertained.”
Tickets for Judy & Liza are available at www.leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Tickets for all screenings are available at https://hydeparkpicturehouse.co.uk, where you can also find information about The Picture House’s On The Road programme.
Leeds Grand Theatre is also opening again on 17 June, albeit with social distancing, for residents Northern Ballet‘s Swan Lake. then in November with Merlin, originally set to run over Christmas 2020 as part of Northern Ballet’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Fellow residents, Opera North, will also return in the autumn with a season of work, including Bizet’s Carmen and Verdi’s Rigoletto, plus Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances in collaboration with Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre. Tickets are available at www.leedsheritagetheatres.com.
