What’s on in Leeds
TheMet Online’s guide of cultural things to do in Leeds this week (Monday 17th – Sunday 23th September 2012).
Theatre
Guys and Dolls is at West Yorkshire Playhouse from Saturday 22nd September. The production is set in 1950s New York; it is a love story, entwined with a sense of moral duty and tales of the gambling circuit of New York.
Steptoe & Son continues at West Yorkshire Playhouse. The plot follows Albert and Harold Steptoe; joined at the hip and heart, the production will run until Saturday13th October. Darkly comic and deeply moving, this is a 20th century icon re-imagined for the new generation.
Comedy
Stewart Francis will be at City Varieties performing his Outstanding In His Field show from Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th September. An accomplished actor, writer and comedian and the king of one-liners, Stewart stars on BBC’s Mock The Week, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and Live At The Apollo.
Also at City Varieties is Shappi Khorsandi with Dirty Looks and Hopscotch on Friday 21st. Shappi is feisty, flirty and funny as she handles every subject with razor sharp wit, softened only by her dizzy delivery and charm.
Mark Watson will be at City Varieties on Sunday the 23rd with his show The Information. This performance may contain optional audience interaction, games, improvisation and unaggressive banter; it also comes with a pre-show briefing so it should be a particularly interesting show.
Film
Mephisto (15)
Starring Klaus Maria Brandauer, Directed by István Szabó
Plot: This Oscar-winning political drama is based on Klaus Mann’s 1936 novel of the same name, which is a thinly-disguised portrait of one of Germany’s most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, Gustav Gründgens. In early 1930s Germany, ambitious actor Hendrik Hoefgen faces a choice between adapting to the new regime or professional outer darkness. The plot study charts Hoefgen’s gradual absorption into the Nazi propaganda machine, as he becomes its star actor. The heart of the film is Klaus Maria Brandauer’s tour de force portrayal of moral corruption and the terrible consequences of selling your soul in Hitler’s Germany. Can he survive in a world where the ideology of evil is the ultimate drama?
Showing at: Howard Assembly Room at Leeds Grand Theatre on Thursday 20th at 7:30pm (there is a 20% student discount).
Swandown (12)
Documentary featuring Marcia Farquhar, Andrew Kotting and Stewart Lee, Directed by Andrew Kotting.
Plot: Swandown is a travelogue and odyssey of Olympian ambition; a poetic film-diary about encounter, myth and culture. It is also an endurance test and pedal-marathon in which Andrew Kötting (the filmmaker) and Iain Sinclair (the writer) pedal a swan-shaped pedalo from the seaside in Hastings to Hackney in London, via the English inland waterways. With a nod to Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and a pinch of Dada, Swandown documents their epic journey, on which they are joined by invited guests including comedian Stewart Lee, writer Alan Moore and actor Dudley Sutton.
Showing at: Hyde Park Picture House on Tuesday 18th at 6:40pm
Documentary featuring Ai Weiwei, Danqing Chen and Ying Gao, Directed by Alison Klayman.
Plot: Ai Weiwei is China’s most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention. This documentary is the inside story of an inspirational dissident for the digital age. Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China, and her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.
Showing at: Hyde Park Picture House on Wednesday 19th at 3:50pm
Poetry/Literature
Central Library runs an adult creative writers group, Writers’ in the Rafters at 1:45pm on the third Thursday of the month between September and November. The sessions are relaxed and informal and are held in the 3rd floor meeting room, go along to discover new authors and meet like minded people.
Also of interest
Passion4Fashion is at Leeds Town Hall on Friday 21st at 7pm. Passion4Fashion provides the opportunity for people to learn how to up-cycle and customise old clothes and develop sewing and design skills whilst learning how to manage their finances and access employment support. The project culminates in this free fashion show to showcase the outfits created during the process.
Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Ann Castle is holding an Open Day on Saturday 22nd. Visitors can learn about the role of Lord Mayor and take a tour of the Civic Hall.
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