Drama 101: Student Theatre in the North

As a student, you have three years in which to fully live out the drama of life; and if you fancy taking that to the stage, in the North you'll be spoilt for choice. Here's our guide to how to get the most out of theatre in your region

Feature by Jennie Tsai and The Skinny | 15 Sep 2016

Where to see great theatre 

Leeds

The West Yorkshire Playhouse is Leeds' premier venue for modern theatre, hosting everything from scratch nights to internationally renowned touring productions. Top tip: cast and crew often hang out at the neighbouring Wardrobe, in case you want to make some handy connections! Nearby is the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, which offers a programme focused on contemporary dance. 

Also in the city centre is the double whammy of the Grand Theatre & Opera House, which also houses the beautiful and intimate Howard Assembly Room. The former hosts big stage shows from the likes of National Theatre and resident companies Opera North and Northern Ballet, while the latter presents cutting-edge and fringe theatre alongside contemporary music. 

On campus, stage@leeds is Leeds University's public performance space supporting new work. If you're looking for brand new acting and writing talent, this is your first port of call! 

Back in town, the Carriageworks Theatre has a truly eclectic programme spanning comedy, dance, live literature and more. 

Liverpool

Liverpool has a fantastic reputation for theatre, and its individuality as a city can definitely be seen in the variety of spaces it is home to. Stalwarts include the Everyman in the bohemian Georgian quarter, and its sister venue the Playhouse on Williamson Square. Both theatres stage classics and support new writing.

The Unity Theatre, on Hope Place, is just a stone’s throw away from the Everyman. It’s a smaller, more intimate venue which stages community-led theatre, often with a radical and experimental slant. Another place worth visiting is just around the corner on Mount Street: the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where you can often catch good student productions.

For more conventional performing arts in the form of ballet, musicals and family shows, there’s the Empire, a grand old-style theatre on Lime Street. The Royal Court and Epstein also offer varied programmes of comedy, musicals and drama.

Manchester

The theatrical arena is just as interesting and eclectic in Manchester. HOME at 2 Tony Wilson Place presents a stylish and challenging mix of contemporary theatre with an emphasis on new work. Meanwhile, Contact on Oxford Road is a multi-disciplinary arts centre and innovative performance space, focusing especially on nurturing the creativity of young people.

The distinguished Royal Exchange is housed in a stunning Grade II-listed building on St Ann’s Square and is an excellent place to see quality productions of the classics, including Shakespeare, Ibsen and Chekhov, as well as revivals, contemporary drama and up-and-coming writing.

The Palace Theatre on Oxford Street hosts touring productions including opera, ballet, musicals and concerts, and the Opera House on Quay Street also offers popular entertainment. The Lowry in Salford Quays, named after the artist LS Lowry and housing the largest public collection of his work internationally, offers a wide range of performing and visual arts within two main theatres and a studio space. It’s located in a distinctive landmark building, with a fabulous waterfront setting.

Finally, you can catch the best in fringe theatre, comedy and new writing at The King's Arms pub in Salford, which has two atmospheric theatre spaces in its attic, and at the tiny, kooky Three Minute Theatre (or 3MT) in Afflecks Palace in the Northern Quarter. Waterside Arts Centre in Sale and Z-arts in Hulme are also worth checking out for multi-arts, community-minded shows, while brand new on the scene with an interesting, inclusive programme is Hope Mill Theatre in Ancoats. 

The key local companies 

There's a ton of independent writing, producing and performing going on in all three cities, but we've picked out a few key theatre companies to acquaint yourself with.

In Leeds, Opera North, Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance are the biggies, producing lush stagings of classic and modern opera, inventive dance and all kinds of storytelling-through-movement between them.

Red Ladder Theatre have been going for nearly 50 years and fight for the voices of ordinary people. Slung Low aim to make adventures rather than performances – and they create them outside of conventional theatre spaces. 

In Liverpool, keep an eye on news from the Lantern Theatre: having been the city’s key fringe venue for the last few years, sadly it was recently forced to move out of its home and, at the time of going to print, is looking for new premises. Whatever happens, we're sure its directors will find a way to continue presenting and promoting exciting young theatre. 

Liverpool Network Theatre Group and Black Box Theatre Company are both long-established local companies, while 20 Stories High are a truly pioneering group who work with young people from excluded communities, emerging and world-class artists. Their work is amazing. You should also check out Tmesis Theatre, who produce very inventive physical theatre and run the annual PhysicalFest, the only festival of its kind in Europe.

In ManchesterNew Live Theatre, Square Peg, Monkeywood and Shred are just a few of the independent theatre companies to check out. 

Box of Tricks are heralded by The Stage as "a theatre company to watch." They commission, develop and stage new plays in Manchester and the North, and tour nationwide.

Word of Warning is a chameleonic programme of theatre and performance from the great minds behind hÅb, an organisation that produces and develops boundary-pushing live work. Quarantine, meanwhile, are perhaps the best-known experimental producers in the region – they make visceral original work that often incorporates members of the audience and public. 

How to get the cheap seats

Most places offer student ticket deals and discounts. You can use your NUS card at the majority of theatres including West Yorkshire Playhouse and Leeds Grand, and some theatres have further initiatives for students. 

HOME have seats priced from £10, and students can see most shows with super-advance tickets at £5, though availability is limited and these tickets can sell out fast. 

The Royal Exchange's student scheme, meanwhile, is kind of legendary: they release 100 £6 theatre tickets every Friday night. 

At Everyman and Playhouse students can get standby tickets on the day of performance for just £6, if there are seats available.

10 x £10 tickets are also made available at 10am on the day of selected Everyman shows. 

Societies to get involved in

Leeds

Leeds University: 
Theatre Group: luu.org.uk/groups/theatregroup
Music Theatre Society: luu.org.uk/groups/musictheatre
The Opera Society: operasoc.co.uk 
Open Theatre: luu.org.uk/groups/OpenTheatreSociety

Leeds Beckett University: 
Drama and Live Theatre Society: leedsbeckettsu.co.uk/groups/drama-and-live-theatre 

Liverpool

Liverpool University: 
Student Theatre (LUST): liverpooluniversitystudenttheatre.weebly.com
Drama Society (LUDS): liverpooldrama.co.uk 

Liverpool John Moores University: 
Drama Society: facebook.com/groups/JMUDS

Manchester

Manchester University:
Drama Society: manchesterstudentsunion.com/groups/drama-society-umds
Musical Theatre Society: ummts.co.uk

Manchester Metropolitan University:
Genesis Theatre: theunionmmu.org/organisation/templates/society/7535/
MMUsical Theatre Society: theunionmmu.org/organisation/templates/society/8233/

Salford University:
Almost Famous Theatre Company: salfordstudents.com/groups/almost-famous-theatre

There are also some great initiatives for young people run by the established theatres, perhaps chief among them Young Everyman, a youth arts programme operated by Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse that encompasses acting, writing, directing, producing, technical skills and more. Investigate your local theatres to find out what schemes, workshops and night classes might be available.

http://theskinny.co.uk/theatre