The Light Leeds

Autumn is set to be a great season at Leeds Grand Theatre and City Varieties Music Hall. From Tuesday 29 October to Saturday 9 November The Grand welcomes The London Palladium’s production of The King and I. Boasting one of the finest scores ever written, including Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You and Shall We Dance, The King and I is testament to the lavish heritage of gloriously romantic musical theatre. The smash hit Queen and Ben Elton musical, We Will Rock You, runs from Monday 11 to Saturday 23 November. It features 24 of Queen’s biggest hits, including We Are The Champions, Radio Ga Ga, Somebody To Love, Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, Under Pressure, Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You. Leeds’s own, and one of the UK’s most prolific female writers, Kay Mellor returns to The Grand with the world premiere stage production of the multi-award winning ITV series Band of Gold. The gritty thriller, starring Gaynor Faye, Laurie Brett, Kieron Richardson, Shayne Ward and Sacha Parkinson, tells the story of a group of women as they battle to survive whilst working in a red-light district. Red Riding Hood gets the Rock ‘n’ Roll Pantomime treatment at City Varieties Music Hall from Friday 29 November 2019 to Sunday 12 January 2020. A very different format to the traditional Christmas pantomime, Rock ’n’ Roll Pantos mix traditional elements of audience participation and corny gags with a jukebox full of classic rock anthems and chart-toppers - all performed live on stage by an ultra-talented cast of actor-musicians. Win a family ticket to any panto performance in January 2020 (except Saturday 4 Jan). Visit www.thelightleeds.co.uk to enter! Leeds Grand Monday 28th October – Tuesday 1st October WWII Home Front Workshops come to The Light. Historical Promotions will be hosting WWII events across the October Half Term, where kids and grown ups can learn what life on the home front was really like. If your kids are Key Stage 2 it will also be part of the curriculum this year and will help for them to experience what life was actually like. The Workshops are FREE to attend and include the following: 1940’s Food Rationing and 1940’s Cooking: Discover about life during the war period with food rationing. What food was available? Could you buy bananas? How did you use a ration book? What were the cost of everyday items, such as bread, milk, eggs and cheese? A fascinating experience for all the family. Codes and Code Breaking: An exciting look at the world of Codes and Codebreaking for children with have activities and workshops. School Life and Period Games: Discover about school life in 1940 with our period headmistress/master. Learn about the lessons that would be taught during the school day, the life of a child at school, and period games played in the school ground and at home. WWII Toy Soldier Pewter Casting: Come and find our about toy casting (formally lead casting) of WWII Toy soldiers. A fascinating demonstration that captures the spirit of the period. A brazier will be used to cast the soldiers. Lead free pewter will be used in the casting. Home Front Liquorice Making (Children’s Have a Go Activity): Come and discover about the fascinating process of Liquorice making. Liquorice was extremely popular during the period and children will be able to help the Liquorice making in grinding and preparing the ingredients. The Liquorice is not for public sale or consumption. WWII Punch and Judy Show: Punch & Judy shows were as popular as ever during the war years. The Punch Professor would have made puppets to ridicule or celebrate prominent figures, and in our shows Tommy Gunn enlists Mr. Punch's help to keep a look out for Herr Hitler. Mr. Punch has no problem dealing with Adolf and receives praise from Winston Churchill. The traditional show has all the popular characters, and Mr. Punch is as naughty as ever. Half Term Fun! Road Changes on The Headrow The road changes taking place on the Headrow are to make it pedestrianised. You can still access The Light as it is only buses and taxis that are no longer able to drive through. Works will continue until Autumn 2020. The changes will make the area a lovely place to sit out and eat at our restaurants without the noise of public transport flying past. If you want to find out about the road works taking place you can find out more on news.leeds.gov.uk/ Are you part of The Light’s social community? Find us on Twitter, F acebook, Pintrest a nd Instagram for more updates, exclusive offers and competitions. www.thelightleeds.co.uk