London Showtime

London Showtime Bringing the listener closer to the action! Personal views & reviews of productions. Showtime Pantomime Awards running for 6 years!

A unique radio show dedicated to playing all your favourite hits from the musicals and movies - giving you the best seat in the house. Find out what is happening in theatreland

The Grand theatre in Leeds tonight transported us back to the 80s....to introduce a new musical based on the iconic film...
26/05/2026

The Grand theatre in Leeds tonight transported us back to the 80s....to introduce a new musical based on the iconic film...The Karate Kid. It’s an uplifting and crowd pleasing adaptation of the original film.

The show follows the dynamic partnership of Daniel LaRusso (Gino Ochello) and his mentor Mr Miyagi ( Adrian Pang). After Daniel and his mum start their new life, Daniel finds an unlikely friendship with Mr Miyagi.....who teaches him the art of Karate.

The stage is simply set with Japanese screens - very effective and moved into place by the ensemble, in fluid movements all woven into the scene.

The Karate moves and fight scenes are the show's biggest feature (its what everyone was waiting for...and didn't fall short). Choreographed by husband-and-wife duo Keone and Mari Madrid. They blend hip-hop, theatrical dancing, and the fluid motions of martial art forms, to turn the karate sequences into visually striking, pieces of theater. The ensemble staging and atmospheric lighting help bring the iconic Karate Tournament to life!
Even my husband (who has practiced Karate) was impressed with how it was all brought together .

Being a new musical, we had an abundance of new songs to delight the audience. From high octane songs like Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy (Cobra Kai group) - to slower melodic numbers like Balance (Mr Miyagi).
My stand out song "If I Could Take His Pain Away), was sung beautifully by Daniel (Gino Ochello) & his mum (Sharon Sexton). A gorgeous ballad with stunning harmonies.

Casting was amazing...(well done Olivia Laydon). Adrian Pang's portrait of Mr Miyagi....was as if he'd just walked out of the film. Great performances by all the cast, and the ensemble were flawless! The group Cobra Kai Dojo sequences were mesmerising.

For the "youngsters" who have never seen the film.... it shows the skills and dedication of Karate in a wonderful setting. For those who loved the film, this musical did not disappoint! Wax on, wax off!

Karate Kid the musical runs until Saturday 30th May at the Grand Theatre in Leeds.

Bringing together Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House - three unique, historic venues hosting live performance and film

Rock n Roll has landed in Leeds with a bang – with the West End mega-hit TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, currently on it...
19/03/2026

Rock n Roll has landed in Leeds with a bang – with the West End mega-hit TINA – The Tina Turner Musical, currently on its first ever UK & Ireland tour.

This Jukebox musical is based on the life of singer-songwriter Tina Turner, who herself, played a pivotal role in creating this musical.

We follow Anna Mae Bullock, through the turmoil she faces in her family life, from the early days back in the 1950’s in Nutbush Tennessee – moving to St Louis and meeting the legendary Ike Turner.

The show follows how ‘Tina’ battles through her turbulent marriage to Ike and the struggles she had to face …………. To how she rebuilds her life & career in the 1980’s.

This show lets you discover the heart and soul behind the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Backed with an amazing soundtrack from days gone by: Disco Inferno, I Can’t Stand The Rain, Let’s Stay Together, alongside her iconic hits, including The Best, What’s Love Got To Do With It?, Private Dancer and River Deep, Mountain High.

Standout performance goes to the leading lady herself, Elle Ma-King N’Zuzi as Tina, she captured tin’as moves perfectly and the voice……wow!

A wonderful cast of amazing singers, and the younger members of the cast were outstanding, (Shaniyah Abrahams) shone as a young Anna-Mae, that young lady has a huge career in front of her.

The set was wonderful. From a lonely chair and table one minute – to a full band emerging and filling the stage for a concert. Lighting (Phil Massingham) really set this show alive – you were transported to Tina’s concert!
Costumes of course played a huge part in bringing Tina to life, from the iconic flapper style dress to the leather dress & denim jacket – the shows wardrobe team did Tina justice.

If you’re looking for a great story backed by amazing music & talent, this is the show for you – showing at the Grand, Leeds until Saturday 4th April.

Tina - a woman who dared to dream fiercely, shatter barriers and defy the bounds of age, gender and race to conquer the world against all odds!

She’s Simply The Best!

Bringing together Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House - three unique, historic venues hosting live performance and film

From the opening chords to the heart stopping sound coming from the stage, whether you are already familiar with the Kin...
25/02/2026

From the opening chords to the heart stopping sound coming from the stage, whether you are already familiar with the Kinks music and story or not, you can’t help but be swept along by Director Edward Hall and teams’ production of ‘Sunny Afternoon’, The Kinks Story, which has rocked into Leeds Grand Theatre This week.

This show has been around since 2014 but it shows that even though the show is 12 years old, and the music is from the 60’s, every audience member, despite the age range and whether they remembered it first time round or not, were blown away by this performance as the clapping along and the well-deserved standing ovation attested to.

As many productions these days, there are no clunky scene changes and the cast keep the pace of the show at rock star level, setting and striking scenes moving the show along brilliantly from one musical number to another with the Kinks songs perfectly placed to give meaning to the story, given even more poignancy as they were written by Ray Davies about his own life and experiences.

Each of the incredibly talented Actor-Musicians slid seamlessly from their character’s exciting and heartfelt stories to each playing a variety of instruments – replacing a guitar with trombone and next sat at the drums, truly phenomenal talent and each worked so hard and hardly seemed to be off the stage, such was the smooth pace of the show.

There are clever nods to historical events, beautifully tender moments and absolute ‘Rock’ moments that you could feel vibrating through your chest, but a particular highlight for me was the excellent 5-part Acapella harmonies, akin to a barbershop choir.
As amazing as the cast are, it would be nothing without the production team - costumes that transport you immediately into the 60’s, and the lighting that augments the sound and also brilliantly steers the emotion of the show.

The sound team have done such a fantastic job balancing all the instruments and voices to maintain the musical feel whilst, with the lighting team, also transporting the audience into a rock concert – certainly one to blow the cobwebs off a dreary February!
An absolutely wonderful show and a must see for anyone – whether a fan of 60’s rock or just wanting to be part of this amazing story, told by a brilliant team.

Leeds Grand Theatre

Bringing together Leeds Grand Theatre, City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House - three unique, historic venues hosting live performance and film

Address

44 New Briggate
Leeds
LS1 6NU

Opening Hours

Thursday 8pm - 10pm
Sunday 5pm - 7pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when London Showtime posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to London Showtime:

Shortcuts

Share

Category