Light Night for Dummies: Top Tips

Local journalist Liv Walker gives us her take on Leeds Light Night, and shares what she’s looking forward to most of all. Check out her blog here too.

Last year was my first ever Light Night…

The idea of Light Night is to put art of all forms in buildings around the city for an evening, and invite the public in. Some of it is sublime. Some of it is downright dubious. All of it is free!

The biggest gift I got from Light Night last year was the chance to explore some of the public buildings with no other reason than to admire them. The vaults beneath the Town Hall had an incredible origami display – and also a baffling non-event going on in the cells. But it was great to
see around the courtrooms and passages. It was also wonderful to have so many different sorts of people in the street at once.

A Leeds Friday night is usually the preserve of drinkers, so seeing families and pensions about was a refreshing change. I noticed we were all spending more time than usual looking up, looking around us. People were noticing and photographing buildings that we all usually just hurry past.

I can only take a guess when it comes to recommending anything. However as an ordinary punter, some of the events caught my eye whilst flicking through their listings (I’ve included their programme numbers so you can look them up).

For a sample of Leeds University’s wide array of stand-out architecture, I’d start with Ghost Stories in the Brotherton (9). This ancient circular building walled with books is the ideal place to have the pants scared off you, and I regretted not making this event last year.

 At the other end of the architectural spectrum, a 1960s view of what lies ahead is still enshrined in the endless corridors of the Red Route, which links most of the major buildings together. Line of Sight (16) is a performance and walking tour on the subject of architectural dreams and concrete – a perfect example of site-specific theatre.

On the more conventional theatrical tack, there’s Othello’s Revenge (13) “a physical adaptation” of the play currently wowing Sheffield’s Crucible. Does this mean dance? Fighting? Who knows…?

And Brother Ineaus Knows Best (7) sounds fun. A big talking projection on Parkinson Tower? That seems likely to be a pretty impressive sight.

Heading down into town there’s the opportunity to play computer games in public – with the screen projected onto a building at the Leeds College of Technology. And sticking with youth culture, a rapper and human beatboxer reworks the poetry of William Blake outside the Fab Cafe, with a scratch DJ as a backing track (20).

The Carriageworks Theatre is putting on all sorts of performances, some long, some short, so well worth a wander through the building. There’s also a chance to put on fancy dress and get your photo on Millenium Square’s big screen (32).

If you can stand the queues try the Town Hall Clocktower Tour (44). If not how about Dormitorium (40), a chance to see the sets built for some darkside stop-motion animations. One event that seems to be a theme running all evening is Moments Designed for a City (51) – some sort of treasure trail, with the first clue a video in Leeds City Art Gallery.

For sheer entertainment value, you can learn a bit of Ras Garbha in the Victoria Gardens (53). A bit of Gujurat folk dancing on the Headrow on a chill October evening? Lovely.

Opera North are putting on a show at the Howard Assembly Rooms (56). Titania’s Dream is a mix of live and video, music and art installation.

One of my favourite buildings in Leeds is (literally) being highlighted at Temporal Searchlight (66). Sections of Kirkgate Market’s architecture will be picked out, and combined with anecdotes about this, one of Europe’s largest covered markets.

Keep it in mind that the Playhouse is open late – with music and a bar until 1am.

I also learnt last year that the programme can be pretty obtuse. The programme often doesn’t answer simple questions like: Is it a play, then? How long does it last? Is it done by professions or by primary kids?

If this is your first Light Night, these would be my top tips:

1. Start early. Many events say they run until 10pm, but were in fact shutting up shop an hour before then. Last year we missed a lot by having a drink before setting out.
2. Stick to a limited area. Leeds is big and Light Night is short.
3. Collect or print off a programme beforehand, or you could spend valuable time looking out for one.
4. Have a Plan B. Some events have queues.
5. Have a look at everything in the area you’ve sketched out. Some of the best things we saw we simply stumble upon, like the astonishing kaleidoscope throwing shapes onto the side of the Civic Hall that you could even spin yourself. Or the little knitted hats and scarves on the metal owls perched on the railings of Central Library.

I loved Light Night last year, at least partly for the combination of the sublime and the ridiculous it layers next to each other. It’s a common complaint that Leeds doesn’t have the cultural clout of other similar-sized English cities. In its own way it does – it’s just less confident about it.

Light Night gives a chance to see all the different arts organisations in the city for free. It is a signpost towards what is worth seeing and doing in the place where we live for the year ahead. And I’m certainly planning to enjoy it!