Theatre and Dance

This popular exposition of Jewish culture is unique in Europe, filling the Carriageworks' three theatre spaces with music, dance and theatre from around the world. Billed as a mini-Edinburgh Fringe for Jewish culture, the festival acts a showcase for many film and performance premieres.

Attracting audiences from around the country and even further afield, the festival offers a variety of themes based on Jewish culture – with traditional, modern and challenging issues.

The festival's opening show features Max Pashm, with his blend of electronic beats and vocals, combined with Greek/Balkan/Gypsy & Klezmer music. An early pioneer of global fusion music, Max draws on his Hebrew and Greek roots to create this unique blend with his band of experienced musicians.

The headline performance this year is "Simply Barbra" from New York. Steven Brinberg is a highly-praised female impersonator of the original Brooklyn diva, Barbra Streisand. Steven has performed around the world to critical acclaim.

Comedy is provided by the multi-talented Mark Maier. A performer on the national and international comedy circuits, Mark's mixes wit with his dexterity for an accent. He appears frequently on television and is a contributor to BBC Radio 4 as both writer and performer.

'The Mozart Question'

For those who want to cut a rug or two, there's the funk, soul, jazz and Latin sounds of the Joe Leader Collective from London. Saxophonist Joe, brings his band back to The Carriageworks by popular demand together with larger-than-life soul diva, Mary Pierce.

Drama lovers will be treated to an abundance of performances ranging from powerful plays to tragi-comedies at this year's event. The highlight is a brand new dramatization of Michael Morpurgo's extraordinary story, "The Mozart Question", which takes us from the beauty of Venice to the horrors of the Nazi gas chambers. 

The story follows Paolo Levi, the greatest violinist in the world - but he refuses to play Mozart. Why? This extremely poignant and powerful piece will be performed by actor/violinist Andrew Bridgmont.

Leeds Jewish Performing Arts Festival 2009 takes place from Sunday 21 June until Thursday 25 June 2009. For full details on all shows, ticket details, show times etc., check out the festival website: