Introducing Explore...

What are your personal highlights of Leeds’ arts and cultural scene?

“Tough one! Too many to mention, really. I just love that Leeds always has something going on – it’s such a busy city. Taking part in Leeds West Indian Carnival is always on the Boomchikkaboom calendar. We can’t talk about Leeds culture without mentioning carnival!”

What is your relationship to Leeds Heritage Theatres?

“From a young age I was always taken to the theatre and Leeds Heritage Theatres hold so many core childhood memories for me. It’s been lovely to take my own children, as well as sharing the spaces via Boomchikkaboom. In the past we have hosted some family raves at The Varieties and a fair few cinema screenings at The Picture House. We’re looking forward to more this spring – and we’ll also be raving it up at Howard Assembly Room, too!”

If someone is coming to one of your events for the first time, what can they expect?

“Big energy and big joy, where every family is welcomed, celebrated and free to be themselves!”

As well as running workshops like ‘Learn to Beatbox’, you’ve also had work used as a teaching resource across the world. What motivates you to position your art as an educational tool, as well as art in its own right?

“Workshops give me a lot of joy. Rocking a crowd or writing a poem is great but when you run a workshop, lives can really be transformed. Seeing someone find their voice or realising their own story is important is super empowering. Most times when you perform, you’re not sure if you make a difference. But when you do workshops the feedback is really satisfying – from getting emails from parents saying their kid has started attending school regularly again, to running into someone you taught who is now signed to EMI Records. Everyone should get involved with something.”

Do you have any highlights from your educational or creative work? 

“One of the highlights from my educational work is teaching rap workshops based on Shakespeare and seeing pupils eyes light up. Professionally, it’s a bit harder; I really enjoy writing episodes of Netflix anime series Castlevania Nocturne and getting feedback from people all over the world. The most surprising thing was recently finding out that my play Black Men Walking is studied at a number of universities across Britain. If you’d have told 16-year-old me that, I wouldn’t have believed you. I hope young people realise that though the world can be tough, it’s worth keeping on, and taking a chance on expressing yourself – you never know where you’re going to end up.”

Do you have any favourite spooky stories about Leeds?

“My favourite stop has to be Skull and Stones Yard – it’s got such a grim story and is located in a place you’d never expect to be haunted… the Crown Street pay and display car park round the back of the Corn Exchange!” says Lord Bartholomew Catch.

The Skull and Stones tells the tale of two brothers who were almost drafted to go to fight overseas in the 1800s by a touring press gang. They escaped by hiding away in a hay loft around the back of the pub, but didn’t realise the trap door latched from the outside. They found themselves stuck in the small attic, where they met their grisly demise. The landlord of the pub supposedly placed a pair of skulls on the wall as a testament to the brothers, it was there for many years then mysteriously disappeared…

The facts are interesting but not that fun: Leeds has such a grim history. It was full of slums, disease, fish guts and death. The working classes lived in uncomfortable housing – we’re talking buckets for bogs and windows that won’t open – while working at the textile mills. We were finally awarded city status in 1893, when the gentrification began, with posh arcades and fancy shops popping up and the disease-ridden slums of Briggate being pushed further from the centre of town.”

Have you had any memorable ghostly encounters?

“The infamous ghost of a lady with no eyes who haunts the parish churchyard in Otley has reportedly been spotted twice on our Ghost Tour. One time, scrambling around the gravestones, and another, stood right next to Spindleshanks McScrew!

Meanwhile, Lord Bartholomew Catch and his audience once saw a pair of disembodied legs walking past the window of The Hair Lounge on Kirkgate. Lord Catch hadn’t even told his tour yet about the disembodied legs that were seen by two lads in the 1990s, in the very cellar of what is now The Hair Lounge!”

What is your relationship to Leeds Heritage Theatres?

“City Varieties is full of ghosts – there are some fabulous characters there, past and present, and some really interesting stories. The stop concludes the Leeds Ghost Tour and is a huge favourite amongst our guests. It’s a notoriously haunted spot and it’s wonderful to get the chance to work with them as part of Explore. There’s so much history there and so many spooky stories – it truly deserves its very own ghost tour! 

While The Varieties is the people’s theatre, The Grand was opened as an opera house for the wealthier classes. It’s not on our ghost tour route, but we do talk about the ghosts there. A firm favourite is the ‘lavender lady’ who is said to haunt the upper circle, and show herself in the form of the fragrance of lavender to men that she fancies, just as they settle in for the second act! 

Hyde Park Picture House is our favourite cinema in the world. It’s fabulous to be able to work with them and introduce Ghostbusters as part of Explore. The cinema’s projector is said to be haunted by the ghost of an actor who lost his mind to the villainous character he was playing, Lord Catch is calling upon you all to help bust him from the cinema, once and for all…”

Find out more about the ghostly encounters and stories of Leeds Heritage Theatres’ haunted history.