Leeds Playhouse

All images are credit Leeds Playhouse or Northern Theatre News.

Leeds Playhouse is one of those buildings that feels like it is leaning out to say hello with the new entrance on St Peter’s Street. This is a theatre that has reinvented itself more than once and is still busy flinging its doors open to anyone who fancies a cracking story or three.

The roots go way back. In the early twentieth century, the Leeds Playgoers Society was set up so local audiences could see contemporary drama, not just safe crowd-pleasers. Fast forward to 1970 and the first Leeds Playhouse opened in a purpose built theatre on a site loaned by the University of Leeds.

It was meant to be temporary—a starter home for a proper civic theatre—but it set the tone: new writing, big ideas, and a strong sense that this was theatre made for Leeds folk, not shipped in from somewhere else.

By the late eighties, the city decided it was time for something bigger. A new purpose-built home rose at Quarry Hill and opened in 1990 under the name West Yorkshire Playhouse. Inside were two main spaces: The Quarry, a big wrap-around auditorium, and The Courtyard, a more intimate three-tier theatre. From the start, the building buzzed.

Main house dramas, musicals that felt every bit as polished as anything down south, plus a constant stream of youth theatre, workshops, and community projects. On a busy day, the foyer feels more like a small village than a lobby.

In 2018 the theatre took its original name back and became Leeds Playhouse again. The change came with a major refurbishment. A new entrance now faces the city, the foyer feels brighter and easier to navigate, and a third performance space appeared: the Bramall Rock Void, tucked into the undercroft. It is one of those spaces where you feel very close to the work, perfect for brave new writing and more experimental pieces.

What really makes Leeds Playhouse stand out, though, is how seriously it takes access and community. It was an early pioneer of relaxed performances and dementia-friendly shows and has built a national reputation for that work. It is also officially a Theatre of Sanctuary, working closely with refugees and people seeking asylum in the city. Add in projects with older people, young creatives, and all sorts of local groups, and you get a building that feels genuinely lived in and loved.

Today you can rock up for a big touring musical in the Quarry, a sharp new play in the Courtyard, or something bold and intimate in the Bramall Rock Void.

Or you can just drop in for a coffee, watch the world go by, and soak up the buzz. Leeds Playhouse still feels like a theatre that belongs to its city and its people in the best possible way. It has been knocked about a bit over the decades, but it always gets back up and keeps the lights on.*

*Chumbawumba reference intentional!