Living – A New Sheffield Play by Leo Butler (Playhouse)

A sweeping Sheffield story about love, time and everything life throws at us

Set in Sheffield and spanning six turbulent decades, Living is a powerful new state-of-the-nation drama from award-winning local playwright Leo Butler (Redundant), produced by Sheffield Theatres.

It’s 1969.

Kathy and Brian are just twenty years old when they move into a big old house on Burngreave Road. They’ve got babies on the way, big hopes for the future, and a sense that life is just beginning.

But living is a funny business.

Sixty years. One home. A lifetime of change.

As the years roll on, the couple face the realities of:

• Raising children

• Juggling money and work

• Holding relationships together

• Watching politics and society shift around them

From Thatcherism to Blairism, and into the age of Trump, the world keeps turning. The question is whether Kathy and Brian can keep their family — and their home — together through it all.

As one line puts it:
“Grow up wantin’ to change the world. Spend yer twenties n’thirties in a daze. Fifty turns to sixty n’yer suddenly fightin’ the urge not to kill everyone.”

Why this production matters

Rooted firmly in Sheffield life, Living is:

• A deeply human portrait of love, compromise and endurance

• A reflection on how personal lives intersect with political change

• A celebration of ordinary people navigating extraordinary times

This is a play about all the years of our lives — tender, funny, angry, and painfully recognisable.

Audience & access information

• Accessible performances available

• On sale: 8 March at 10:00am

• Recommended for: audiences interested in Sheffield stories, family drama, and contemporary British theatre

🎟 Tickets & full details:
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/living