LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
OPEN DAY
SATURDAY 4 JUNE 10AM – 4PM

Following the final performance of Blood Brothers on Saturday 28 May, Leeds Grand Theatre closes its doors for 12 months whilst it undergoes a major £31.5million refurbishment. However, an Open Day on Saturday 4 June offers members of the public one last chance to go behind the scenes before work begins.

Organised 30-minute tours led by a member of staff, starting on the hour and half hour, will reveal the history of the theatre over the past 125 years. Those who prefer to explore on their own will see the star dressing rooms, the fly floor from where the scenery is lowered on to the stage, the paint frame where the scenery is painted and be able to tread the boards (go on stage).

There will be several opportunities to buy genuine theatre memorabilia -
photographs, programmes etc – at a table top sale on stage culminating in an auction in the auditorium at 1pm. Auctioneer for the day will be Gary Don, well-known to listeners of BBC Radio Leeds. All proceeds from the sale and auction will go towards the £6 million fundraising appeal called Transformation – money that needs to be raised for the work to be completed.

Be a star for a day and sample the face-painting and make-up sessions in the stars’ dressing rooms. Twenty-minute presentations in the studio (on the hour) including a CD Rom show will outline the project plans for the transformation of the Grand Theatre and the creation of a permanent home for Opera North. Find out the details of the theatre’s technical upgrade – a new flying system, air-cooling system and orchestra pit, new seating with increased leg room and improved sightlines – which will make the Grand Theatre one of the most technically advanced theatres in the country.

A Memory Book will provide patrons with the opportunity to jot down for
posterity any anecdotes or memories of past trips to The Grand. There will even be the chance to buy one of the current stalls seats (some almost 100 years old!) or to sponsor one of the new seats. A small brass plaque on the back of the seat will bear the sponsor’s name and chosen inscription.

Refreshments will be available in the Green Room, where the “stars” dine and in the front of house bars.

Visitors are urged to bring along their cameras to record the Open Day events and submit their entries by email to .

The winners will be invited to the re-launch of the newly refurbished Grand Theatre in summer 2006.

Although there will not be a fixed admission price on 4 June, visitors to the Open day will be asked for a voluntary contribution that will go towards the Transformation fundraising campaign.

Contacts: For further information please contact Margaret Ashbee or Kirsty Lodge on (0113) 245 6014 or email or