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Theatres in YorkshireNorth North Yorkshire is primarily a rural tourist and seaside tourist area. The most well-known of all the theatres in the county is in one of the seaside tourist spots, Scarborough. It is, of course, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, run by the prolific playwright Alan Ayckbourn, and it is here that the majority of his plays are premiered, although it has to be pointed out that Ayckbourn plays are not the only fare offered by the theatre. The main house of the Stephen Joseph is the Round, a theatre-in-the-round auditorium, seating just over 400. It also has a smaller house, the McCarthy Auditorium, which seats 165. Scarborough has two other theatres which offer Drama. The Spa has a summer season, a panto and is used by amateur companies whilst the 150-seater Studio of University College houses one-off small-scale tours. The other producing theare in North Yorks is in Harogate, the spa town now best known as a major national exhibition and conference centre. Most of the large theatre-style venues in the town are very definitely conference-centred, although the Royal Hall, a civic theatre, with seating for 1250, does fit in some touring shows around its major programme of conferences, exhibitions and amateur drama. It is the Harrogate Theatre which is N. Yorks's second producing theatre. Another grade II listed building, its main house seats 500 and its Studio 50. The only other real theatre in the country is the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, a little gem of a building. Seating 220 people, it offers 66 nights of professional and 51 nights of amateur theatre a year. Elsewhere, seaside town Filey has its Sun Lounge (250 seats) which has an eight week summer variety season and is open for hire for the rest of the year, and Whitby, famous for photographer Frank Sutcliffe and for being the first place in England that Bram Stoker's Dracula reached, has its Pavilion Complex, which does a summer variety season and, for the rest of the year, is a home for amateur drama. It seats 513. Finally the Ingleborough Centre in Ingleton, although mainly a music venue, does take visiting drama and dance companies. West Outside of Leeds and Bradford, there are three major theatre venues in West Yorkshire. Halifax has its Victoria Theatre, seating 1585, which offers "a balanced programme of theatre, music, dance, opera, drama, rock and pop," whilst Huddersfield has the new Lawrence Batley Theatre, which offers a mixture of mid-scale touring and in-house productions, together with a great deal of community use. There are three theatres in the complex: the Lawrence Batley (seating 477), the Cellar Theatre (150) and the Attic (100). The third of these major venues is the Theatre Royal and Opera House in Wakefield, a receiving house which seats 509. Also in Wakefield (and under the same management) is the Wakefield Arts Centre, which has a 220-seater theatre which takes small-scale productions, preferably of a local or regional origin. The largest venue in the county is the Piece Hall in Halifax, a grade I listed building. It is an arts centre and its auditorium which will take 1779 and its open courtyard performance area 2000. Also in Halifax is the Square Chapel Arts centre, seating 200. Bingley also has its arts centre, the Bingley Arts Centre, and its 373-seater auditorium is used mainly by local amateurs and community groups. Ilkley's King's Hall (745 seats) has a similar useage but it is also available for hire. South South Yorks has the least theatre provision - apart, that is, from Sheffield. In Doncaster there is the Civic Theatre (500 seats), which presents both professional and amateur shows, and the Dome, a leisure complex with a 1738-seater auditorium which does not have its own programme but is available for hire. Finally, Rotherham Arts Centre, a 200-seater theatre, is a receiving house for small-scale touring shows. Theatre in the Yorkshire and Humberside Arts Region: an Introduction Articles Indices: |
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