Performing Arts

in Leeds in York

Performing Arts in Yorkshire

Home to the Northern BalletOpera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Yorkshire Young Sinfonia, Yorkshire has to be the northern capital of world-class performing arts.

With leading regional theatres, arts organisations, ballet, opera, contemporary dance acts and award-winning productions, make your choice, sit back and enjoy one of Yorkshire’s legendary shows.

Leeds and surrounds

Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House seats 1,550 at full capacity and Opera North and Northern Ballet Theatre have their residencies here.

Specialising in transforming popular stories into exhilarating ballets, Northern Ballet has earned an international reputation at the forefront of storytelling through dance.

Leeds Playhouse The recently refurbished Leeds Playhouse is a leading UK producing theatre; a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and to engage in world class theatre. 

Leeds Town Hall offers an annual music programme under the banner of Leeds International Concert Season in this Grade I listed building.

The Alhambra Theatre is regarded as the North’s premier receiving venue and hosts the best in large scale entertainment from international dance to musicals, drama and Yorkshire’s biggest pantomime. It has also recently been voted by the public as the ‘most welcoming theatre in Yorkshire and The Humber’.

Howard Assembly Rooms, Leeds is a new arts hub for the north – a special place where special things happen. With a diverse and far reaching programme, it is curated by award winning Opera North.

Theatre Royal Wakefield is one of the smallest remaining auditoriums designed by world-renowned architect Frank Matcham and is located in the heart of Wakefield City Centre. The new Centre for Creativity is a major extension to the venue and offers a flexible café/bar space and studio theatre. Theatre Royal Wakefield has a programme which is engaging and accessible to all members of our local community, and which maintains our reputation as a leading producing and receiving house.

Leeds Youth Opera (LYO) provides performance, development and musical education opportunities for young people in Leeds and beyond. This involves staging two performances per year at the Carriageworks, one in February and one in July.

Leeds Arts Centre – The Drama group is a friendly society, working together to maintain the high standard of its productions and after sixty years at the Civic Theatre it now presents four plays every season, usually in February, March/April, May/June and October, at the Carriageworks Theatre under the umbrella of Leeds Civic Arts Guild.

On the coast

The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough is home to Alan Ayckbourn, the world’s most performed living playwright and boasts two auditoria: The Round and The McCarthy, which also doubles as a cinema.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s Open Air Theatre, Scarborough – Europe’s largest open air theatre is now open. The historic site situated on the Yorkshire coast in the beautiful town of Scarborough, will once again see the finest national and international line-up of acts performing. Featuring live music, opera, sporting events, family productions, comedy and much, much more. 

More Yorkshire Theatres

York Theatre Royal This theatre is famed for its annual pantomimes and central location. There has been a theatre on this site since 1744, making it the oldest theatre in the UK outside of London.

The Grand Opera House York offers a great mix of entertainment from West End musicals to stand up comedians, live bands to family shows.

The Viaduct Theatre, Halifax, Underneath the prestigious Dean Clough Mills in Central Halifax, there lies a unique, underground 300-seat auditorium. The Viaduct Theatre was established by renowned Resident Theatre Company, Northern Broadsides. For almost 30 years, the unusual, post-industrial performance space remained under the radar but in 2019, The Viaduct began to realise its full potential, bringing a whole new line-up of productions to Halifax. The theatre’s forthcoming programmes feature some incredibly exciting touring work.

Sheffield Theatres comprises three distinctive performance venues; The Crucible, Lyceum and Studio Theatres. Together they form the largest regional theatre complex outside London and provide a wide variety of live entertainment.

The National Centre for Early Music, York situated in St Margaret’s Church York, is the home of the internationally renowned York Early Music Festival and the Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival. The Centre also attracts some of the world’s finest artists in the fields of jazz, folk and world music.

Hull Truck Theatre – Hull’s pioneering theatre with a unique, powerful, contemporary Northern Voice, locally rooted and national in reach, inspiring artists, exciting audiences and supporting communities to reach their greatest potential. A key partner in delivering Hull UK City of Culture 2017, their Year of Exceptional Drama includes ambitious work from local, national and international artists.

The Civic, Barnsley – like to showcase great performances and exhibitions, and they don’t let their location or size stop them! They are proudly situated in Barnsley town centre and feel its important that they bring to Barnsley performances and exhibitions that make a stop in South Yorkshire whilst touring larger towns and cities across the UK and the world.

Related Accommodation

The accommodation below is nearby - and has been updated recently.

Picture of Midway Guest House

Midway Guest House

145 Fulford Road, York, YO10 4HG, United Kingdom

The Queens Hotel, Leeds

City Square, Leeds, LS1 1PJ, United Kingdom

Park Plaza Leeds

Boar Lane, City Square, Leeds, LS1 5NS, United Kingdom

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