But the most exciting change is taking place inside the playhouse building itself because they’re creating a brand new theatre. We really hope the new building will make it really obvious that there’s something creative and exciting going on inside!”. “It turns out the area where we were digging was actually a graveyard back in the Victorian era, which should have been long gone. The plan is to improve accessibility, so everyone can enjoy their shows, and build a new coffee shop, restaurant and bar to tempt people in. For specific departments, please visit the Our Staff page, Home > Latest News > Stage is set for Leeds Playhouse redevelopment as contractors move in. For the first time ever, Leeds Playhouse will have an outward facing entrance. Today more people are coming to us on foot from the train station, so it’s really important for us to make it easy for people to get into the building from that side.”. “The Playhouse opened on its current site in 1990, and over the course of the last 28 years, it’s seen very little investment in its fabric and infrastructure,” Robin Hawkes, Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive of the Playhouse, told us. The £15.8m redevelopment project, led by Leeds City Council, will be funded by £5.6m from the council, alongside a £6.6m Arts Council England contribution and £3.6m from the Playhouse’s own resources, including a fundraising target of £2.75m. Council bosses will be asked to approve an extra £1.44m in funding for the transformation of the West Yorkshire Playhouse at a meeting next week. Out of this Playhouse will grow the next, and at the end of its ten-year lease, much of enduring value in the fabric will remain and be recovered. Leeds Playhouse is undergoing a multi-million-pound refurbishment, but what does it mean to you and me? And it gets better, because Leeds City Council has promised to develop the slice of wasteland between the two buildings into a brand new city centre park. We have been conducting early works already and are delighted to mark the commencement of main works today with this ground breaking ceremony.”, Leeds Playhouse, Playhouse SquareQuarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UP, Leeds Theatre Trust Ltd. Charity Number 255460VAT No. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy. The redevelopment of the Playhouse comes at an exciting time for Leeds and the Leeds City Region when culture is becoming a real focus. The new theatre will be accessible to everyone; will have an entrance that embraces our city; will be versatile, enabling us to stage and create diverse work across three scales with the inclusion of the Bramall Rock Void Studio, and will be able to generate more of its own income, reduce costs and cut our impact on the environment. It’s exciting to have our contractors BAM on site breaking ground, and already we can see change taking shape. Since then we’ve had archaeologists on site to make sure everything’s properly excavated and exhumed. The two couldn’t be better placed, as one trains the next generation and the other nurtures new talent. 926862, England & Wales, Terms & Conditions of Booking Privacy Notice Sitemap, Lighting, Sound & Technical Stage Management. Culture Quarry Hill’s arts hotspot is ready to fulfil its true potential. Quarry Hill’s arts hotspot is ready to fulfil its true potential. It’s an investment in the city’s cultural scene, a vote of confidence that will help to bolster our reputation and cement our place as one of the most exciting and culturally diverse cities in the North, so we can’t wait for their shiny new theatre to be unveiled. A planning application for the project was submitted and approved last year, including designs drawn up by architects Page Park, who have previously designed improvements for The Centre for Contemporary Arts and the Theatre Royal in Glasgow and Eden Court Theatre in Inverness. Leeds Playhouse is on Quarry Hill, opposite the bus station in the centre of Leeds and is easily accessible by car or public transport. But while their work has moved with the times, the theatre itself has not, so now they’re starting a new chapter as Leeds Playhouse with a £15.8 million regeneration project. General office hours are Monday to Friday 10am-5pm. Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, who attended yesterday’s handover, said: “We are thrilled to see work officially getting underway on a project which will secure and improve one of our city’s most cherished cultural institutions for future generations.For almost 50 years, the Playhouse has been a cornerstone of culture in Leeds, bringing the city’s communities together and generating huge cultural, social and economic benefits for the people of Leeds. Throughout the building there will be: a new restaurant and bar; improved facilities including baby changing and family friendly area; upgraded seating within both theatre including an extra 50 seats in the Courtyard and 100 in the Quarry including new accessible positions for wheelchair access; a new city-facing entrances with lifts to all levels within the theatre.