Leeds City Varieties is a thin, but tall building on a tiny cobbled side street off The Headrow in Leeds.  It is in a pedestrianised area which makes it quite difficult to find and ‘locals’ are usually no help in giving directions, probably having never visited the place themselves.

For 30 years until the mid-80s, BBCs “The Good Old Days” was broadcast from this venue, a fabulously old-fashioned and plush Victorian music hall, decorated red, gold and green.  Built in the mid 1800s, it is billed as Britain’s oldest theatre and ‘the best preserved music hall in the country’ (though it has now been granted £8m towards renovation and still needs another £1.2m to complete the works scheduled to take place throughout 2009/10).

Some auditorium staff are volunteers and are friendly and helpful (and barking; I walked past a microscopic female octogenarian behind the confectionary stand who was proudly announcing to thin air “I’ve never missed a pantomime y’know…”)

Tip: Unusually, the drinks inside the venue are far cheaper that those at The Swan next door (i.e. vodka and coke is £2.50 as opposed to £4.00 at The Swan!).  Also, as you come out of the main auditorium, take your first left, go up the impossibly steep stairs, bypass the circle and go left into the top bar.  They don’t advertise the fact, but this bar is friendly, cosy and remains open until 11.30 regardless of when the performance ended and it is therefore a nice, quiet, cheap place to round off your evening.  Because of this, the acts will often climb up the back stairs for a drink after the show as well so it can be a subtler way of rubbing shoulders or sneaking an autograph.