LEEDS Playhouse has announced an exciting season of productions and exhibitions to celebrate its milestone 50th anniversary as it looks forward to welcoming audiences back to the building safely in May.

Among the highlights are:

• six specially-commissioned monologues by northern writers with strong connections to the Playhouse

• a new family show that will open in Playhouse Square before embarking on a community tour

• an exhibition of photographs, stories and memories showcasing 50 years in the life of the theatre

• a collaboration with community story tellers from across our city to capture and celebrate what Leeds means to us

Leeds Playhouse will be welcoming audiences back into the building for the first time since November, safely reintroducing them to live theatre with six new monologues written by six writers, each with a strong connection to the Playhouse, and each with their own perspectives on Leeds and the region.

The writers – Simon Armitage, Leanna Benjamin, Kamal Kaan, Alice Nutter, Maxine Peake, and Stan Owens – have each taken a particular decade from across the Playhouse’s lifespan covering the 1970s to the 2020s as their inspiration, creating a diverse collection of stories firmly rooted in the North.

Leeds Playhouse’s Artistic Director James Brining, Associate Director Amy Leach and RTYDS Resident Assistant Director Sameena Hussain will be joined by Evie Manning of Common Wealth Theatre, Theatre State’s Tess Seddon and Theatre Director Amanda Huxtable to direct these powerful and witty monologues, which will be shown in rep under the title Decades: Stories from the City. The productions will be staged in the Courtyard Theatre and available online via Playhouse: At Home. All performances will include creative audio description.

Fairy Poppins and the Naughty Winter Ghost is a new family show by Robert Alan Evans, commissioned by Leeds Playhouse to mark its 50th anniversary, which will open in Playhouse Square in late spring before embarking on a community tour. The production, directed by Leeds Playhouse Associate Director Creative Engagement Alexander Ferris, will visit neighbourhoods and non-traditional venues throughout Leeds, bringing the joy and excitement of live theatre on the back of a truck. The show is sponsored by local insurance brokers J M Glendinning as part of their longstanding support for the Playhouse.

Reopening next month, the theatre will mark its season of celebrations with an exciting exhibition 50 Years of Leeds Playhouse curated by independent curator Courtney Spencer. Also available to view online, the exhibition will turn the spotlight on the theatre’s history, highlighting its pioneering, industry-leading work.

As part of the exhibition, the Playhouse will unveil newly commissioned artworks on May 21 by Leeds based illustrator Cait McEniff which capture people’s memories from the last 50 years.

The Creative Engagement team are collaborating with community story tellers from across the city to capture and celebrate what Leeds means for Half a Century Stories. The stories will be hand posted through the letter boxes of communities throughout Leeds, inviting others to share their memories and create new connections.

“Our 50th anniversary celebrations are a welcome back gift for us to share with the city. Whether we’re live in the theatre, across neighbourhoods or in people’s home, this is our time to celebrate together; to look back on what we’ve achieved and to look forward to all the wonderful adventures to come,” said James Brining, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse.

“After everything we’ve been through in the last year, it feels more important than ever to take a moment to reflect on what has made – and continues to make – our city and our theatre so special.”

Tickets go on general sale from Tuesday, April 20.