Elf the Musical has announced a huge arena tour of the UK this Christmas, including THREE massive shows in Leeds.
The musical, based on the festive favourite film, will be stopping off at the First Direct Arena just after Christmas, and will also be stopping off in Manchester, Newcastle and Brighton.
The blockbuster film stars Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf, a human raised by Santa Claus and his elves, who travels to New York City to find his real father – with hilarious and heartwarming consequences.
The Hollywood hit was turned into Elf the Musical, a supersized live arena spectacular with a mobile stage that travels the auditorium and a massive main stage with film backdrops on a huge LED screen.
Elf the Musical. Credit: Publicity picture
Audiences can expect everything from an audience snowball fight to an indoor snowstorm, as well as witnessing Santa’s flying sleigh, following a giant candy cane journey from the North Pole.
Aerial cirque artists will bring all of the action to life as part of a huge cast of performers.
West End star Steven Serlin will be stepping into the lead role of Buddy the Elf, with other cast members including Birds of a Feather actor Charlie Quirke (as Buddy’s NYC pal), Charlotte Hall (as love interest Jovie), and Barry Bloxham (as Buddy’s dad).
The original score has been written by Matt Sklar and Chad Beguelin and has already delighted audiences on Broadway and the West End.
Producer and director Jon Conway says: “This is the fourth year we have presented this epic version of the Broadway and Hollywood hit as part of the World’s Biggest Pantomime brand.
Elf the Musical. Credit: Publicity picture
“Elf is always one of the most popular Christmas films and ‘Buddy The Elf’ a truly iconic character. We are returning to some venues and have made the show even bigger and better with new features to make it a really thrilling experience.
“We are keenly aware of the economic climate and are one of the few shows to have reduced our prices from Elf’s last visit for an affordable family outing!
“One of the best sights is the audiences dressing up for the show, especially the dads in elf Christmas sweaters! This is an unmissable Xmas treat.”
Elf the Musical will be at the First Direct Arena one show on Wednesday 27 December at 7pm and two shows on 28 December (1pm and 6pm). Tickets are on pre-sale now at Ticketmaster.
A new cocktail bar is coming to Leeds city centre.
If you know a thing or two about cocktails, or just drinks in general, then you're going to be very excited about this news.
The very talented team behind Roland's on Call Lane and The Domino Club, just to name a few, are setting their sites on a brand-new venture.
Introducing Paper Plane, an intimate new cocktail bar that will be taking over the old Casa site in the city's beautiful Grand Arcade.
Paper Plane will be inspired by the glamour of 1970s air travel and will be a vinyl-only listening bar, serving a world-inspired cocktail menu alongside a carefully curated whisky collection.
The space will be lovely and intimate, with around just 40 covers, designed to transport guests somewhere completely different from the minute they step foot through the door.
And what a location too, joining a whole host of fantastic independents in the arcade such as Alfonso's Deli, Stuzzi and Sonder.
For now, we don't know many more details about the project, but we already know it's going to be exceptional cas anything these guys do turns to gold.
Not only has Roland's been consistently one of the busiest bars on Call Lane since they opened back in 2014, but The Domino Club was recently crowned one of the best cocktail bars in the world. Now that is some accolade worth shouting about.
We'll keep you updated with Paper Plane's progress, but Roland's have stated that the site is hoping to open this coming autumn. So we really don't have long to wait.
When Yorkshire is due to get hot as a fourth heatwave of the year hits the UK
Danny Jones
Yes, ANOTHER heatwave is set to hit the UK - the fourth in 2026 so far - and, understandably, Yorkshire residents are already preparing for the latest blast of hot weather and wondering when it arrives.
Yes, in case you missed the news, more high temperatures are set to spread across the UK and Ireland this month and heading into August.
The increase will gradually build throughout this week, with Wednesday tipped to be the hottest day according to various meteorologists.
While Yorkshire thankfully isn't quite slated to get the sweatiest, parts of the Midlands and the usual suspects down south are set to hit the highest numbers, but the thermometers are still on course to reach around the mid-20s over the coming days.
Estimates of 26°C were predicted for this coming Tuesday, with the levels floating in and around 24/25 on the following Wednesday.
The heat is then due to drop off slowly, with top scores of no higher than 21°C on the cards for Thursday and Friday. Although the weekend forecast is less certain at present, one thing that has been announced is reduced rainfall.
Aside from a few more trickles today (Mon, 27 July), the showers or lack thereof cease rather soon, with some of the driest parts of the country already having various effects; for instance, parched parts of Wales have even revealed lost archaeological sites last Friday (24/7/2026).
It would be remiss if we didn't mention the obvious moorland fires across our region, which were sadly exacerbated by hot weather earlier this month.
At least it'll be a bit cooler here than in other parts of the country. ☀️
Daisy Jackson -
20th April 2023 
