Autumn theatre highlights in the North

Autumn is always a busy time for theatre. Here's our guide to the season's highlights

Preview by The Skinny North | 13 Sep 2016

The best autumn theatre in Leeds

A West African reimagining of The Duchess of Malfi comes to West Yorkshire Playhouse this September. Produced by Utopia Theatre, Iyalode of Eti (22-24 Sep) tells the story of a young chief who defies her brothers by marrying her lover.

And it must be reimagination season at the Playhouse, as another original take on a classic lands at the venue a few days later in the form of Villette (24 Sep-15 Oct), Linda Marshall-Griffiths' new vision of Charlotte Brontë's 1853 novel. Part of a series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Brontë's birth, Villette follows the quiet Lucy Snowe who, arriving at an archaeological site digging for the remains of the elusive Lady of Villette, must slowly open up to her co-workers.

Closing October at Leeds Grand is a new staging by Opera North/Nederlandse Reisopera of Benjamin Britten's psychological drama Billy Budd (18-29 Oct). Always a turbulent experience, this update from a cast of Britten experts promises to be extra intense.

Theatre in Liverpool: legends and radicals

The major show at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre this season is an energetic new production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona (5-29 Oct) directed by Nick Bagnall, who you may recall from his recent modern rethink (with poet Simon Armitage) of Homer's The Odyssey. Look out, too, for a brave new piece from the Everyman/Playhouse's youth arm: The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, early November in the Studio. 

Elsewhere, Nina: A Story About Me and Nina Simone at Unity Theatre (15-29 Oct) is a rich tribute to the singer and activist by Olivier award-nominee Josette Bushell-Mingo, exploring Simone's legacy beyond the music.

Manchester: Fringe highlights and prize-winners

Sobering stuff in Manchester comes from last year's Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting winner Katherine Soper with Wish List (Royal Exchange Studio, 24 Sep-15 Oct), looking at life made precarious by zero-hours contracts.

Also presenting urgent material is Contact, which hosts Burning Doors (10-12 Oct), a collaboration between Belarus Free Theatre and Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina sharing stories of persecuted artists living under dictatorship who, like Alyokhina, refuse to be silenced. Meanwhile, Black Gold Arts Festival returns 6-8 Oct across Contact and Z-arts, offering emerging work and aiming to change the face of theatre.

Finally, acclaimed writer Bryony Kimmings' latest project A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer  a musical treatment of the realities of life with diagnosis – comes to HOME (20-24 Sep), where you can also catch up on the cream of this year's Edinburgh Fringe with Orbit festival (29 Sep-15 Oct). 


For more recommendations and to find out what's on, head to theskinny.co.uk/theatre