Carriageworks Theatre

Carriageworks Theatre is a place where old meets new. Built as a carriage manufacturer in 1848, the Victorian building was reimagined and opened in 2005 as a cultural hub in the city centre. There’s always space to play, laugh, discover and create.

The Main Auditorium seats 349 and hosts a range of shows that inspire and entertain, from imaginative new plays, music events, talks, and comedy shows to inventive adaptations of popular stories.

The Studio is an intimate and flexible space that seats 77 and is the perfect place to catch innovative theatre, rising comedy stars, intimate gigs, drama performances and more.

The building is the proud home to Leeds Community Arts Network (Leeds CAN) – a group of fourteen community-led drama, musical, opera, youth theatre, and other arts societies. Leeds CAN celebrates and nurtures the development of its talented groups, and offers plenty of opportunities for audiences to support their work by watching their high quality shows.

Under Artistic Director Ruth Cooper, the Carriageworks Young Theatre Makers (CYTM) is the venue’s resident youth theatre. Made up of 11-19 year olds, the CYTM create and perform six original shows each year.

Each year the Carriageworks hosts some of Leeds’ best arts and cultural events, including Leeds Young Film Festival, INDIs Film Festival, Leeds Lit Festival, and its hugely popular annual pantomime. It is also a partner of the newly-formed Leeds in Motion street festival that supports the annual sporting event AJ Bell World Triathlon Leeds.
This Grade II Listed building formerly housed the West Riding Carriage Manufactory, hence the new Theatre’s name of the Carriageworks.