Caroline Mutton takes a look at what's coming soon to Ilkley Playhouse for Your Ilkley Radio.
Enjoy a weekend of music, comedy and film at Ilkley Playhouse, starting with an unforgettable night of blues music this coming Friday 14th November. The event is in support of Ilkley Live, a local charity dedicated to supporting cohesion in the community and promoting live music in the area. Not one, not two, but three acts showcasing blues music, covering the greats of the era and originally penned Yorkshire blues by incredibly talented local artists. The night is the first of many in partnership between Ilkley Live and Ilkley Playhouse. Please note this is a seated event. No dancing.
Stagefright Comedy Club returns on Saturday 15th November and will be frontlined by Mitch Benn, described as ‘the country’s leading musical satirist’ (The Times). His TV credits include The One Show as the writer and arranger of The Complaints Choir, Bremner, Bird and Fortune, The Comedy Store, Live at Jongleurs and Celebrity Mastermind amongst others. He is a regular writer and performer on The Now Show for BBC Radio 4 and It's Been a Bad Week for BBC Radio 2. Three series of his successful Radio 4 show, Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music have been broadcast so far. He also presented The Mitch Benn Music Show on BBC Radio 7. Mitch is one of the most sought-after acts on the comedy circuit for his 'song after song of exquisitely crafted satire' (The Scotsman). Joining him is Elaine Robertson, finalist in the Channel 4 Sean Lock Comedy Award. Last year she also took her debut show Delulu to Edinburgh Fringe where it received widespread critical acclaim and garnered her the Edinburgh Fringe Awards Panel Prize. Also performing is Best New Yorkshire Act nominee 2025 Mick Tickner. 'Witty observations, unique but very relatable. One of the best new acts we've seen in ages' (Bee Funny Comedy). Completing the line-up is Kelly Edgar, described as an 'emerging comic oddball with a talent for outlandish storytelling and a penchant for trouble' (BBC Online). This year she was awarded Felt Nowt New Act of the Year. The evening will be compered by the talented Anthony J Brown.
On Sunday 16th November at 7.30pm the film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk will be featured in the Wharfeside Theatre. This film is an intimate, first-hand perspective of life in Gaza, told through a series of video calls between filmmaker Sepideh Farsi and young Palestinian photojournalist Fatma Hassona. Their digital dialogue became a vital record, bearing witness to everyday life, loss, and acts of resistance amid escalating violence. Just a day after the film’s selection at Cannes, Fatma was tragically killed in an Israeli airstrike on her home. This heartbreaking loss deepens the film’s impact, which combines raw immediacy with profound humanity to portray the stark realities of daily life during conflict, seen through the eyes of those trapped in an endless cycle of war and living under siege. This screening has been organised by an informal grouping of Ilkley residents. Surplus funds will be sent to Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).
Yorkshire Celtic Folk Rock band Gaelforce [above] returns to Ilkley Playhouse on Friday 21st November. Enjoy rocked-up traditional folk songs, self-penned tunes in the traditional style and jigs and reels. In 2023 Gaelforce won, by public vote, on the Introducing Stage at the Great British Folk Festival. Since then, they have been selling out ticketed gigs in Yorkshire and beyond.
It’s a Wonderful Life opens in the Wharfeside Theatre on Thursday 4th December and promises to be a heart-warming, life-affirming festive production that is perfect for the whole family. It is Christmas Eve in 1945 and George Bailey, a down-on-his-luck banker, believes life has left him behind. But when his guardian angel appears, George is astounded to witness what life could be like without all of the good deeds he’s done. Maybe life wouldn’t be as wonderful without him…Inspired by the 1946 Frank Capra film of the same name, this enchanting stage adaptation breathes new life into the beloved story of hope, redemption, and the power of kindness. “Moving, magical, and incredibly heart-warming… this is a wonderful reminder of what really matters” (The Broken Spine). It’s a Wonderful Life runs until Saturday 13th December.
Our six-week modern art course commencing at the beginning of next year looks at various artistic couples and explores the connections between their works and their contribution to the art movements they belonged to. The course starts on Wednesday 21st January (10.30am-12pm) and considers the work of Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Gabriele Munter and Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova, Man Ray and Lee Miller, Anni and Josef Albers, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg. The course tutor is Dr Simon Marginson, an independent art historian and curatorial researcher. £48 for six sessions.
To book tickets for all our plays and events visit www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or contact Ilkley Playhouse box office on 01943 609539.
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