What's on this autumn at Ilkley Playhouse
A tense World War II historical drama, Pressure, opens later this month at Ilkley Playhouse - Caroline Mutton looks ahead to David Haig's play, plus music and comedy all coming soon to the Weston Road venue.
On Friday 23rd October local band Ten Fields will make their Ilkley Playhouse debut in a special performance marking ten years together. Over the past ten years, this five-piece band has built a reputation as a compelling live act, blending tight musicianship with rich, dynamic arrangements. Their melodic, guitar-led sound draws inspiration from the timeless songwriting of Crowded House, Fleetwood Mac and Jackson Browne, while echoing the expansive textures of The War on Drugs. Professional, polished and always engaging, Ten Fields deliver the kind of live show that stays with you long after the final chord rings out. Join them for a night of celebration, connection and great music - ten years in the making.
Stagefright Comedy Club returns to the Wildman Studio on Saturday 24th October. The event will be frontlined by Canadian wunderkind and web sensation Bobby Mair. He has appeared on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Roast Battle, The Stand-Up Sketch Show, Pointless Celebrities & Never Mind The Buzzcocks. He has opened for Doug Stanhope, Bill Burr and Bill Maher and appeared three times at Just For Laughs in Montreal. Also performing is British Comedy Guide Talent Award winner Justina Seselskaite. She was So You Think You’re Funny? finalist with her cheerily engaging but cleaver sharp wit. BBC New Comedy Awards short lister Jack Wood joins them along with comedian Laurence Tuck, commended for his stunningly original jokes – ‘it's been years since I've seen a new comedian with jokes this good’ - Adam Bloom. Mark Smith completes the line-up, serving up cheeky innuendo, fast-paced crowd work and stories that are as outrageous as they are relatable. The event will be compered, as always, by the talented Anthony J Brown.
Opening on Thursday 29th October is David Haig’s Pressure. If you thought this was simply a play about the weather, you’d be mistaken. Set on the Friday before D-Day, the play takes us behind the history books and enlightens us as to what it actually took to win the Second World War. Group Captain James Stagg is a Scottish scientist whose game-changing methods in meteorology have brought him to the attention of the most powerful men in the war effort. Now enlisted by the Allied Forces, Stagg must put his metal to the test and aid General Eisenhower in carrying out the biggest military operation of the war so far: D-Day. The Co-Director of the play, Dick Hebbert, says of Pressure, “June 1944 and as hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen wait, General Dwight D Eisenhower and his staff prepare to give the word to launch the allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe, but they need to know one thing; what will the weather be like? Group Captain James Stagg and US General Irving Krick are the men tasked with advising them - but they can't agree, and as the clock runs down, the pressure becomes unbearable...for everyone.
David Haig's wonderfully tense drama puts the audience in the room as the two very different men struggle to find common ground for a decision upon which thousands of lives depend, and we hold our breath as Eisenhower waits for their answer: ‘You gotta help me here guys. Do I give the order to sail or not?’” Pressure runs until Saturday 7th November in the Wharfeside Theatre.
November brings a celebration of music at Ilkley Playhouse starting with Chris Bannister’s tribute to The Music of John Denver on Friday 13th November, featuring a set that includes both new songs and some of the Christmas songs that John loved to perform live. For over fifteen years, Chris has toured the world keeping John Denver’s legacy alive with some of his most beloved hits including Annie’s Song, Leaving on a Jet Plane, Rocky Mountain High and many more.
Brothers Nick and Duncan Hall bring their signature mix of soaring sibling harmonies and virtuoso guitar playing to Ilkley Playhouse on Saturday 14th November in their special anniversary show ‘35 years of the Hall Brothers!’ Whether as a duo or with other acts, their live shows are always something special. They will be joined by long-time collaborator John Carey on the fiddle, along with a powerhouse rhythm section.
Fire and Rain return to our theatre on Friday 20th November. Always popular with Ilkley Playhouse audiences, the band formed in 2013 when Tom Townsend and Bob Walker were invited to create an homage to James Taylor’s timeless songs. You don’t have to be a fan of James Taylor to enjoy Fire and Rain, but the chances are you will be by the end of the night!
Following a very successful run at Ilkley Playhouse last season, Rise and Howl Collective return to Ilkley Playhouse on 27th and 28th November with their new play Trappings. Four women await the arrival of a new inmate, “fresh meat” on the first day of their group therapy sessions. Dystopian, witty and darkly comic, each person has their own story, strangely recognisable; as old as storytelling itself but disturbingly still heartbreakingly relevant.
To book tickets for all our plays and events visit www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or contact Ilkley Playhouse box office on 01943 609539.
