Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at

Dean Clough Mill Dean Clough in Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, is a group of large factory buildings built in the 1840s–60s for Crossley's Carpets, becoming one of the world's largest carpet factories (half a mile long with of floorspace) ...

in Halifax,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was founded by Barrie Rutter, who was its Artistic Director until resigning in 2018, followed by

Conrad Nelson Conrad Nelson (born 1963) is a British actor, composer and musical director, and was Artistic Director of the Northern Broadsides company until 2019. His acting roles have included Iago in the Northern Broadsides production of ''Othello'' when L ...

who was interim for one year and then

Laurie Sansom Laurie Sansom is a British theatre director. Early life and education Sansom grew up in East Peckham, near Tonbridge, Kent. He attended the local East Peckham Country Primary School and later Mascalls Comprehensive School in Paddock Wood. Sa ...

. The company performs in Halifax and on tour, a mix of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, new writing and classic works all performed in a characteristic Northern Voice. Barrie Rutter described the company's style as "Northern voices, doing classical work in non-velvet spaces". In 2012 the ‘Northern Broadsides – 20 years' exhibition opened, celebrating the work of the company through the production photography of Nobby Clark who has worked with Northern Broadsides since its beginnings in 1992. The exhibition ran in Dean Clough's Crossley gallery from 26 May till 16 September.Northern Broadsides – 20 years – photography by Nobby Clark
In July 2017 Rutter announced that he would step down from the post of Artistic Director in April 2018 after frustration at what he saw as inadequate Arts Council funding for the company. His final production with the company was ''The Captive Queen'', an adaptation of

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the p ...

's ''

Aureng-zebe ''Aureng-zebe'' is a Restoration drama by John Dryden, written in 1675. It is based loosely on the figures of Aurangzeb (Aureng-zebe), the then-reigning Mughal Emperor of India; his brother, Murad Baksh (Morat); and their father, Shah Jahan (Emp ...

'', at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in February and March 2018; as well as directing, he played the part of the emperor. Conrad Nelson resigned as Artistic Director with effect from 31 March 2019, to be replaced by

. Kay Packwood then became the new Executive Director. The company's 2020 tour of

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

's '' Quality Street'' was cut short by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

after performances at four venues including

The Viaduct ''The Viaduct'' is a 1939 historical novel by the British writer Victor Canning, under the pen name of Alan Gould. The novel revolves around the construction of a railway viaduct across the River Tamar in the Cornish village Caradon in the 1870s ...

, Halifax, and

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

, Salford.

References

External links

Northern Broadsides website

Theatre companies in England Halifax, West Yorkshire Culture in West Yorkshire {{UK-theat-stub