Leeds Playhouse is touring award-winning slam poet Zia Ahmed’s play I Wanna Be Yours to community settings across the Leeds area in May, following its Playhouse run.
Over almost a decade, the theatre has shared its productions in a range of community settings and I Wanna Be Yours continues that commitment; venues for this tour include a fire station, an anglers’ club and a village hall.
Eva Scott and Usman Nawaz play young couple Ella and Haseeb as they try to sustain their relationship across cultural divides. Director Sameena Hussain says: “The play is about the journeys we make and the way two people move together in the world. I've had the community tour in mind when working with the company as that is exactly what we'll be doing: journeying to different spaces and engaging with communities.”
The theatre's head of creative communities, Fiona McCulloch-Exley, said: “Every year the tour is greeted with such generosity and warmth. It’s a privilege to see the impact of bringing these stories to people’s doorsteps, whether it be families discovering theatre together for the first time or a passer-by taking a chance and grabbing a ticket on the door; really special moments make it magic!”
Tickets for the community tour cost £3. Venues will also offer a free, two-hour workshop about the themes of the play.
The schedule currently includes: St Aidan's Church Community Hall, Harehills (May 17); HOPS, Hawksworth Wood Village Hall (May 18); Middleton Parochial Hall (May 20); Gipton Fire Station (May 21); RJC Mandela Centre, Chapeltown (May 23); Leeds Anglers Club, Burmantofts (May 24); Hamara Centre, Beeston (May 25); New Wortley Community Centre (May 27) and Chapel FM, Seacroft (May 28).
More details and tickets here