Having recently grabbed headlines after a complaint about the Yorkshire play having too many Yorkshire accents, As You Like It will be making its way to Leeds this week as part of its local venue tour.
The Halifax-based theatre company will be performing at the Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse from Wednesday 18 May - Saturday 21 May 2022 with a two and a half hour performance of a modern Shakespeare- and yes, it includes Yorkshire accents.
Celebrating their first full production performance without restrictions since the beginning of the pandemic and the company’s 30th anniversary, Northern Broadsides Theatre Company toured the York Theatre Royal, putting on numerous performances of Shakespeare’s As You Like It with a multi-cultural, gender diverse cast.
Earlier this year, it was this performance that attracted headlines after Theatre-goers to the York show complained about the number of Yorkshire accents featured in a recent performance of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ play.
Tom Bird, the Chief Executive of York Theatre tweeted to share the absurd complaint stating that: “We’ve got a complaint this morning @YorkTheatre from someone who left an hour of @NBroadsides #AsYouLikeIt last week, because it had “Yorkshire accents” in it. That’s Yorkshire accents, right here in Yorkshire. They want a refund”.
The statement has continued to attract attention from theatre enthusiasts and novices alike, none of which can fathom the reason for the complaint.
One comment said: “The production is brilliant! Loved every single second of it! Shakespeare performed as it was meant to be performed .. what did they want? Olivier style Received Pronunciation? Ye Gods.”
Doing it for Yorkshire!!! Yorkshire and northern voices were made to speak in verse, with clear pronunciation, passionate and terse. pic.twitter.com/mOWwxJAQ2F
— Chris Beck Possibly the best actor in my road (@creativeBECK) March 28, 2022
Others stuck up for the representation of Northern actors in the play: “But that’s one of the wonderful things about Northern Broadsides. Making Shakespeare sound like real world conversation, not 1950s RP.”
The Northern Broadsides Theatre Company is a Halifax-based performance company that celebrates Northern voices through Shakespeare and classics, so really, the complainer in question read nothing about the play in advance.
Image: Northern Broadsides
Described as Shakespeare’s “most musical and much-loved comedy”, the cast of the play have been revelling in the complaint, proudly tackling any question of their northern accents head on.
It really does appear that the only person that believes northern voices aren’t supposed to be in Shakespeare is the complaint in question- with not a single response online taking their side.
As You Like It by Northern Broadsides Theatre Company is continuing to tour around the UK throughout spring and summer 2022, including plenty of performances here in Yorkshire.
The theatre company are due to take over Leeds Playhouse this week and performing later this summer at Harrogate Theatre in July.
Feature Image- Northern Broadsides
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
16th May 2022 
