LIKE CINDERELLA REWRITTEN by the Dalai Lama, David Leddy’s description of his new piece, following his intriguing On The Edge, a postmodern parody of Cluedo, might well be enough to convince you to go along to his new show. But there is way more to it than that. Popular music, particularly those tear-jerking songs that help or hinder us through a broken heart, is at the centre in this second part of a trilogy, called Through The Night. In a story about a betting shop employee whose life takes a radical shift when she moves into a job in the fashion industry, the piece promises to be both warm and deeply thoughtful. Leddy’s work is compelling because it is able to touch audiences on an emotional level, while at the same time provoking a profound cultural commentary on much deeper issues in contemporary society. Does popular music contribute to both the liberation of emotion and its rechanneling into acceptable forms of behaviour toward the status quo? Is there an element of class consciousness and hegemony in the way that it operates? These are questions that Leddy’s work looks to examine. But you could also just go along for a good cry. What more would you want?

Steve Cramer