OUR next Wharfeside production opening on Thursday 2nd November is the tense and chilling drama The Incident Room.

Between 1975 and 1981, West Yorkshire police investigated a series of brutal murders. The case was hampered by outdated methods, poor communication, mountains of paperwork, media pressure, false leads, personal prejudices and misogyny towards both the victims and female police officers.

This fast moving detective drama, with a young female officer as the main character, offers a fascinating insight into the life of the incident room during the investigation of the Peter Sutcliffe case. Described by the British Theatre Guide as ‘an engrossing piece of theatre’, this compelling play is part real life crime drama and part social history. “The ingenuity of this piece is that it gives you a pacey, clock ticking sense of what things were like”. (The Telegraph). The play contains strong language and adult themes. The Incident Room runs until Saturday 11th November.

On Friday 17th November Roisin Ban return to Ilkley Playhouse following a sell-out show last year. Meaning White Rose in Gaelic, Roisin Ban is a Celtic folk trio playing a mix of mainly traditional Irish and Scottish folk songs and tunes. This accomplished, professional band is well respected on the UK folk scene, having performed at numerous folk festivals in the UK, including their annual fixture at the Whitby Folk Week where they play for the set dance night as well as other concerts. Join this talented trio for an evening of lively Celtic folk music and song. The bar will be open from 7pm, the performance starts at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10.

Stagefright returns to the Wildman Studio on Saturday 18th November. Frontlining this event is Stephen Bailey described as ‘a superstar in the making’ (British Comedy Guide) and ‘charming, sassy and very funny’. He is a star of Live at The Apollo and host of Celebs on The Farm. He was tour support for comedian Katherine Ryan and has starred in Roast Battle, Celebrity Coach Trip, Zoe Ball On Sunday, Safeword, Celebability and Big Brother's Bit On The Side. Joining him is New Zealand native Sully O’Sullivan who has performed professionally all over the world from Ohio to Oman. He has supported Tim Vine and Steve Hughes on UK theatre tours and is a four season veteran of New Zealand’s award winning TV stand-up showcase Pulp Comedy. He has been nominated for the Kiwi Comedy Industry's supreme award by the NZ Comedy Trust and by his fellow performers for the title of NZ's Best MC. Also performing is Welsh comic Vix Leyton. Discovered by Mark Watson on Twitter in 2019, she is an affable and ebullient storyteller with a keen eye for observation. Her panel show podcast 'The Comedy Arcade' is both an audio success and compelling live show. She picked up a nomination for Leicester Comedy's best podcast in 2021 and is racking up sell-out shows at Edinburgh Fringe. Helen Rice will also be performing on the night. Helen has been Showing Off at various venues around Yorkshire and the Midlands for the past four years and within her home city of Sheffield she has developed something of a cult following. She writes quirky songs and poems exploring a broad range of themes and reflecting on her experiences as a middle-aged disabled woman who ‘likes bread a bit too much’. She plays the accordion, keyboard and guitar in her own ‘unique, lo-fi style’. Her work is hard to categorise but usually results in equal amounts of amusement, bemusement and general musement. Northern comic Ben Silver will be joining this line-up of talented comedians. He will deliver tales of the human spirit through an absurd kaleidoscope of impressions, mis-directions and sprawling vignettes. The evening will be compered by the fabulous Anthony J Brown.

Opening on 23rd November in the Wildman Studio is our second fringe production of the season, Nick Payne’s Constellations. The play was originally performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012 and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. It received international acclaim and transferred to the West End and Broadway. Constellations is a mesmerizing exploration of love, science, the multiverse and the endless possibilities of hope or heartbreak. A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference. It is a high concept romance – Sliding Doors to the power of 100. It is many things at once: a drama about time and memory, about death and grief, it is playful and profound, comic and mournful. It asks big questions about existence, purpose and free will. But if this all sounds a bit heavy, be a reassured that this play is also weightless and fun. It affirms life, love and companionship. The play runs until Saturday 25th November.

To book tickets for all our plays and events visit www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or contact Ilkley Playhouse box office on 01943 609539.