{"id":323007,"date":"2025-08-06T17:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T17:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323007\/"},"modified":"2025-08-06T17:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T17:02:11","slug":"northern-ballets-merlin-heads-to-leeds-and-sheffield-this-autumn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/323007\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ballet\u2019s Merlin Heads To Leeds And Sheffield This Autumn"},"content":{"rendered":"

This autumn, Northern Ballet brings Merlin to life in Leeds and Sheffield, offering a spellbinding take on the early days of the legendary sorcerer. The production arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre from 13 to 20 September, before heading to Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from 4 to 8 November, as part of a national tour.<\/p>\n

Merlin tells the story of a young man learning to harness his powers in a divided kingdom. It\u2019s a fresh take on the well-known legend, reimagining characters like Morgan le Fay and the Lady of the Lake, and delving into the heart of what makes a hero.<\/p>\n

\"\"Gavin McCaig as the Dragon in Merlin. Photo by Emma Kauldhar.<\/p>\n

This full-length ballet is the first from Olivier Award-winner Drew McOnie, known for his work on King Kong and Strictly Ballroom. The story draws on McOnie\u2019s own experience of finding family and strength in unexpected places.<\/p>\n

Audiences can expect Northern Ballet\u2019s signature storytelling, joined by eye-catching sets, clever illusions by Chris Fisher (from Harry Potter & The Cursed Child), and puppetry. With designs by Colin Richmond, the stage is set for a visual feast that suits all ages.<\/p>\n

The production first wowed audiences in 2021 and is now returning after critical acclaim. It\u2019s performed to recorded music and includes an audio-described performance at each venue, supporting greater accessibility.<\/p>\n

Following Leeds and Sheffield, Merlin tours to Nottingham and Norwich. Tickets are on sale now at northernballet.com\/merlin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This autumn, Northern Ballet brings Merlin to life in Leeds and Sheffield, offering a spellbinding take on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323008,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8817],"tags":[748,393,4884,1620,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-323007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sheffield","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-sheffield","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114982901899164888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}