Recent Productions
Quality Street (2023)
Quality Street toured from 3 March – 7 July 2023, stopping at:
New Vic Theatre, Devonshire Park Theatre, Royal and Derngate, Richmond Theatre, Bolton Octagon, Leeds Playhouse, York Theatre Royal, Sheffield Crucible, Hull Truck Theatre, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Theatre by the Lake, Blackpool Grand Theatre and finishing at The Victoria Theatre, Halifax.
After the 2020 production was halted due to COVID-19, Quality Street returned in 2023! From the writer of Peter Pan, this delicious regency rom-com was such a sensation in its day that it gave its name to the UK’s most loved chocolates.
★★★★ – ‘A sweet little treat’ –Theatre Weekly
★★★★★ – ‘Funny, captivating and vibrant’ – The Hit Mix
★★★★★ – ‘One of the most enjoyable Northern Broadsides productions I have ever seen’ –
Whats On Live
As You Like It (2022)
As You Like It toured the UK from 4 February – 2 July, stopping at:
New Vic Theatre, The Dukes, The Lowry, Stephen Joseph Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Theatr Clwyd, Perth Theatre, Wilton’s Music Hall, Leeds Playhouse, Liverpool Playhouse, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, The Viaduct Theatre, Cast and Harrogate Theatre.
In our 30th anniversary production, we brought our bold, refreshing style to Shakespeare’s most musical and much-loved comedy for the very first time. In a stylish but stifling court, where the Duke is all powerful and brute strength is championed over basic human decency, the high-spirited Rosalind and devoted cousin Celia are no longer welcome. When they escape into the forest in disguise, they bump into the recent object of Rosalind’s affection, Orlando, leading to an elaborate game of fluid identity where all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. As the seasons change in this magical place, normal roles dissolve and assumptions are turned on their head in this celebration of the transformative power of love and the natural world, featuring some of Shakespeare’s most vivid characters and memorable poetry. With a cast of 12 fabulous Northern actors, Northern Broadsides took to the road once more in a production directed by Laurie Sansom which captures the sheer joy of live performance and the crazy power of love to change the world.
Beyond These Walls (2021)
Beyond These Walls was performed at Sheffield Crucible Studio on Thursday 24 – Saturday 26 June, and was funded through the Culture Recovery Fund.
These four poetic shorts by Tennessee Williams explored the walls that separate us and how we imagine worlds beyond them, produced for the first time in the Northern voice.
The plays were: The Lady of Larkspur Lotion, Talk To Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen…, Every Twenty Minutes and The Case of the Crushed Petunias.
The Aftermath (2020)
The Aftermath was a free 20 minute dance theatre piece devised by the young people of Calderdale, choreographed by Anna Holmes and Sam Ford and designed by Rose Revitt.
The show asked what happens to young people when their world comes to a standstill and explored the passion and agency of youth in the age of COVID-19. In this brand new show devised with the young people of Calderdale, Northern Rascals and Northern Broadsides placed them front and centre like never before. 20 young people explored their feelings of isolation, anger and hope about a world hurtling towards a future they will inherit but is out of their control.
“We’ve being stopped in our tracks. The promised world is changing. What are we waiting for?”
Northern Rascals is a Hebden Bridge Dance Company who teamed up with Northern Broadsides and The Piece Hall to bring you this explosive piece of dance theatre in the unparalleled surroundings of the world’s last remaining eighteenth-century Cloth Hall.
Quality Street (2020)
Sadly our tour of J.M. Barrie’s Quality Street was cut short due to COVID-19. We visited 4 wonderful venues on our tour before all theatres were ordered to close.
Phoebe Throssel lives on Quality Street, the bustling hub of a quaint northern town where she runs a school for unruly children.Ten years since a tearful goodbye, an old flame returns from fighting Napoleon. But the look of disappointment on Captain Valentine’s face when he greets a more mature, less glamorous Phoebe, spurs our determined heroine to action. She becomes the wild and sparkling Miss Livvy, a younger alter-ego who soon entraps the clueless Captain.
As their romance is rekindled, can she juggle both personas? Or will her deception scandalise the town and wreck any future with the man she loves? J.M. Barrie’s delicious farce, written years before his now much-loved Peter Pan, was so well known in its day that it gave its name to the UK’s most popular chocolates, made in Halifax since 1936.
In Laurie Sansom’s directorial debut for Northern Broadsides, this rare revival also featured a commentary from the Quality Street factory workers, whose own stories of hapless romance and growing old disgracefully gave the show a playful Yorkshire twist.
★★★★ ‘a good-looking and well-pitched revival’ The Stage
★★★★ ‘A lot of giddy fun’ The Telegraph
★★★★★ ‘a thoroughly enjoyable play, one not to miss’ Whats Good To Do
‘delightful, playful, entertaining… what a splendid start for Laurie Sansom and his team’ The Yorkshire Times
‘Jessica Baglow is outstanding as Phoebe’ WhatsOnStage.com
‘J.M. Barrie’s bittersweet romcom is a treat’ The Guardian
‘A full five-star production… a complex mix of emotions and wicked sense of fun’ Rich Pickings
Christmas Broadsides (2019)
Christmas Broadsides was a collaboration between Northern Broadsides and St Augustine’s Centre, Halifax, who support refugees and asylum seekers with practical and emotional support as they settle in Calderdale.
The Christmas concert, performed at The Viaduct Theatre, Dean Clough, brought together traditional Yorkshire folk songs, performed by Ripponden-based multi-instrumentalist Alice Jones, with the heartbreaking tales of how Iranian musicians Amir and Kamran found themselves living in Halifax. Local actors Catherine Kinsella and Tom Shaw completed the line-up for a celebration of festive cheer and a reflection on Christmases past, present and future.
Audience Feedback
‘The show was excellent – beautifully conceived, well executed, moving and joyful in equal parts. What really struck me was the emerging alignment of deep-rooted values of care, thoughtfulness, quality and equality through all aspects of the company. Can’t wait to see more!’
‘I was especially moved by the stories and profound talent of the Iranian singer and musician with whom I connected at a deeply emotional level. This is Broadsides at its best – keeping it real and relevant, from the local to the global, the personal to the universal. Funny, irreverent, simple, poignant and memorable’
‘For me, Northern Broadsides leapt forward in a life changing way. Honouring roots, and taking up a new journey towards an inclusive Broadsides’
Christmas Broadsides was sponsored by Mytholmroyd-based company Friendly Soap, who produce ethical, vegan, cruelty-free, plastic-free natural soaps and shampoos.
Photos by Peter Defty