Hello! Welcome to my newsletter.
My name’s Liz Ryan and I edit Yorkshire Theatre, which is about.... what it says on the tin!
Apart from an inadvisable seven-year foray into the South when I was in my teens and early 20s, I have lived in Yorkshire — a collection of historic and not-so-historic counties in the North of England — since I was 16. I wrote my first play when I was 24 and it was broadcast on BBC Radio Four. Since then my involvement with the North’s theatre-making community has taken various forms — as a creator, a producer, an arts administrator and a charity trustee.
From first-hand experience, I know that the quality and diversity of theatre in Yorkshire is as breathtaking as the region’s landscape. But even mainstage productions don’t always get the national critical attention they deserve. And when a performance takes the form of a small-scale rural touring production, a community play or theatre-in-education it may not receive any meaningful press coverage at all.
I intend to change that.
You can sign up to receive an email or read it on the website at www.yorkshiretheatre.co.uk.
“…beautifully written and accessible.” Stephen Jones, Sunday Times
About Me:
I’m an accidental playwright who -- after graduating from a posh university with a ‘serious’ degree -- fell down a theatre rabbit hole. Life became more interesting.
After may adventures in the world of new writing for performance, I ended up as part of PA Media’s Arts & Events team. I created listings content for The Guardian, The Times and a host of other newspapers and digital sites.
In addition, my arts, lifestyle and travel pieces have appeared around the world, and in publications as varied as the Scottish Metro, The Scotsman, the Irish Independent and the Yorkshire Post.
I even had the opportunity to travel abroad and watch performance in unlikely places:
That's me in the cork hat. I like hats!
Then, in 2020, at the height of the global pandemic, The Guardian newspaper remodelled their Saturday offering and the print product I was working on ceased to exist.
But when one door closes, another opens. Yorkshire Theatre Newsletter started life as a simple listings magasine, which I hoped would keep me sane and my skills alive during that strange interlude when we were all at arms length from one another.
It has evolved into much, much more.
Liz x
Why subscribe?
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Submitting An Event:
No-one pays to be included in the newsletter. Every show is included on merit alone - although I do appreciate good images!
Sometimes people send press releases about their shows to liz@yorkshiretheatre.co.uk -- and sometimes I discover wonderful events through my own extensive research.
I am a member of the Free Speech Union and have donated to Counterweight, which offers help and advice to people adversely affected by the culture wars and campaigns against the growing trend for political polarisation online.
