by Noelle Williamson
The Great British Bake-Off Musical will be live on stage at the Carriageworks Theatre, Millennium Square next week, September 11-13.
This will be the Regional Community Premiere – for the whole middle of the country from Middlesbrough to Nottingham – directed by Dean Patrick.
Many will know Dean from Leeds 2023, when he curated Bramley’s Cultural Collective, whose success he translated into the independent annual Bramley Community Arts Festival.
The festival packed out St Peter’s Church, Bramley Villagers and Bramley Baths last July, and returns on September 20-21 this year. Dean has actually come full circle, from doing his first panto with Bramley Parish Theatre Players at St Margaret’s Church before he was ten, to directing and choreographing BPTP’s annual pantos. (Look out for news of the next one: Puss in Boots!)
Also, having worked his way through LAMDA grades (London Academy of Dramatic Arts) as a boy, then trained in London and worked professionally up and down the country, he now leads Class Act Youth Theatre at Trinity Methodist Church, mentoring the next generation of performers.
But why community theatre rather than professional theatre? And why Leeds?
“What drew me to Leeds 2023 was the Bramley/Stanningley thing. When you work with communities, with people who come from all walks of life to be part of a show, there’s a different dynamic.
“A lot of professionals will work on similar arts projects from Birmingham to Leeds to Bradford. Quite a lot of people I worked with in Leeds went straight on to Bradford but I thought, if we’re doing something, it should be made by the people from here, for all the people from here.
“And, you know, I identify with Leeds, and being from Leeds, and champion everything that happens in Leeds. The whole point of the Year of Culture – particularly the projects I worked on – was to try to connect with people from the area, and happen in the area, and I kind of take that with me wherever I go.”
And why The Great British Bake-Off Musical?
“Because it’s about trying to put Leeds on the map. This is the conversation I had with the Carriageworks and Leeds City Council. Everyone knows the Bake-Off, so putting Bake-Off on in the city centre has the potential to attract people who aren’t from the area. And those people may return because they think, well, I only went for the Bake-Off, but they do all these other things.
“It also puts the theatre on the map. The Carriageworks is a bit of a hidden gem. You talk to a lot of people and they don’t know it’s there (in the Electric Press building on Millennium Square). And I’m like, it’s a council-owned facility, that’s for the Leeds community – primarily for community theatre.”
He had hoped to stage the national community (amateur) premiere, but the dates would not work.
“It was a chicken and egg situation: I needed to secure the performance rights to book the theatre but I needed to have the theatre booked to get the rights.”
However, this is the first production of the musical outside of London in a very large radius of the country – and at the heart of Yorkshire!
It’s taken four years of effort and patience to get to this point, and Dean is funding the show himself. He has gathered a cast of very talented and experienced actors – amateurs in the best sense of the word – and Musical Director Wil Jones has brought in professional musicians.
“The production has just got to pay for itself. That’s what we’re trying to do here. The thing is, it’s never been about me. It’s about everybody else. It all comes down to the cast on the night! I’m never going to be rich. It’s a passion. People and theatre.
“Coming back to where you’re asking me about Bramley – if I’m gonna do it, it’s about, you know, hiring spaces like this (The Bede Room in St Peter’s) and keeping them in existence and making and creating in Bramley. That’s why we pay to hire The Villagers, to benefit locals, you know? Whatever I do … Bramley’s just a part of me and, fundamentally, it would always be my starting point, really.
Tickets can booked here.
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Bramley rehearsals bring ‘Bake Off’ to life
by Noelle Williamson
The Great British Bake-Off is back on our screens on Tuesday evenings, but there’s one
group of fans who will have to watch it on catch-up.
They are the cast of The Great British Bake-Off Musical! The show has its regional premiere next Thursday, September 11 at the Carriageworks Theatre in Millennium Square.
Led by Musical Director Wil Jones and Director and Choreographer Dean Patrick, these talented, dedicated Bake-Off fans have spent many an evening and weekend in rehearsal rooms in Bramley or Holbeck, working on their all singing, all dancing version of the nation’s favourite baking show.
If you’ve seen them out and about at the Trinity Centre or The Light, or heard them on BBC
Leeds, you know that Leeds is in for a treat.
At a rehearsal at St Peter’s Church, it was a case of snatching a few words with whoever was free. In a brief gap between singing practice with Wil and a tap number with Dean, ensemble members Holly and Kaly described how they combine singing, dancing and moving props between scenes.
If you love a stage musical, you know such slick switches are part of the pleasure of a live show!
Emma Smith and Dan Lord play Francesca and Ben, two of the bakers, and their characters’ back stories and particular hopes made me want to know more.
I also look forward to Kazia Gamble’s ‘Babs’, a grandmother to be reckoned with, though not a tap dancer – to Kazia’s disappointment. No spoilers though: if you want to know more about Francesca, Ben and Babs, or ‘back-up contestant’ Gemma, played by Katie Mitchell, and the rest of the Bakers, you’ll need to get down to The Carriageworks next weekend!
The other grandmother in this show is front and centre in the tap number. Angela Fisher is
really enjoying Prue Pam because she gets to act, sing and dance. “And she’s got some really cracking lines as well.”
She also needs a cracking wardrobe: six changes, some of them very quick, and all in that signature style. While it’s been straightforward for most of the cast to source their own costumes for this contemporary show, Angela has spent hours studying photos, and searching in shops and online for costumes and jewellery.
In fact, Angela and best mate Dan Ford, who plays Ben, have, resorted to a spreadsheet to co-ordinate ‘Pam’ ensembles, “Does that go with that? Does that go with that?” Angela smiles broadly. “It will be great fun,” she declares, over the song belting out behind us.
Opposite Angela’s ‘Pam’, of course, there’s Scouse baking legend ‘Phil’, played by Otley
Bellman Terry Ford. How was Terry finding the role? He answers with a wry smile: “Well, it’s
quite a surprise for a Geordie, trying to do a Liverpudlian accent. I’m getting there.”
The other challenge is that Phil is written for a tenor, and Terry is a bass but, fortunately, he has the range and training to adapt.
Unlike Angela, who was on stage at the Bradford Alhambra at the age of nine, Terry got no musical encouragement as a child. He was 40 before he discovered the fun of musical
theatre through a local group, and started developing his fine voice with a teacher.
Until then, “I didn’t think it was any good. I knew it was loud.” Loud enough to win Eisteddfods, become a champion town crier, and played leading musical theatre roles for decades. We should all be able to hear Phil at the back.
The Great British Bake-Off Musical brings the beloved baking competition to life, blending
the charm and humour of the TV show with catchy tunes and recognisable characters.
It’s an entertaining and heartwarming celebration of baking, self-discovery, and the joy of
community. Whether you’re a fan of the show or simply love a good musical, this is a
theatrical treat that promises to rise to the occasion.
You can still book tickets for this regional premiere at the Carriageworks Theatre.
But be quick! Limited tickets remain on Thursday 11 September at 7.15pm, Friday 12 September at 7.15pm and Saturday 13 September at 1pm and 5pm.
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