The Huddersfield hills are alive with… Kirklees Youth Theatre Ensemble (KYTE) this week presents the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein The Sound of Music at the Lawrence Batley Theatre.

KYTE was established on December 1 2018 by local teachers John Cotgrave and Tania Smith when they saw a need for professional performing arts training for young people across Kirklees.

Both were professionally trained and are still practitioners within the performing arts field. They recruited Mark Breen as musical director and Sonya Louise Morris as choreographer, again, both professionally trained and the production team was complete.

The aim of KYTE is to provide high quality training which pushes young people to achieve their absolute potential. There is no making things more simple, it is about having high expectations of all.

KYTE’s inaugural production was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of The Opera in September 2019. It received rave reviews with patrons returning night after night. The audience were amazed by the talent of the young cast.

In 2020 they planned to stage Sweeney Todd however Covid hit. Instead, they adapted and in 2021, staged Oliver! in the LBT Courtyard to sell out performances. This highlighted the versatility of both the cast and crew.

This year, 46 young people, aged from 9-22 are taking to the LBT stage to perform The Sound of Music. The show runs until Saturday September 3. Book your tickets HERE