Calling all performance professionals!
July 16, 2025
Over 5 days this autumn, witness visceral theatre, dance and performance alongside intimate experiences and moments of assembly. The festival creates a meeting point for the bold, the electrifying, the reflective and the hopeful.
We’re excited to be drawing together a community of artists, programmers and wider performing arts professionals in Leeds for the festival – and we invite you to join us. Find out more and register below. Alongside the range of shows and events announced, further workshops and engagement activities will be announced later this summer.
The full programme and schedule is available to explore here. All tickets to the festival can be booked via our website and are all Pay What You Can, with options ranging from £2–35 (plus booking fees). Tickets can also be booked on our website, in person at Leeds Playhouse box office or over the phone +44(0)1132137700.
With the festival running across 5 days it’s easy to create a pathway using the festival schedule. Some of the performances only happen once, whilst others are presented across multiple dates. Alongside the shows announced, we’d particularly like to draw your attention to the following:
Professional events
Transform 25 Opening Moment
Tue 21 Oct, 5.30–6.30pm
stage@leeds, University of Leeds
Join us to mark the beginning of 5 days of powerful international performance and art about now, right here in Leeds. Gather with other festival goers at stage@leeds to raise a toast to the start of the festival at this informal gathering moment. This event will be followed by the performance of Rinse by Amrita Hepi with Mish Grigor, which you’ll need a separate ticket for.
Surrender
performance, possession + automation and various artists
Wed 22 Oct, 12–5pm
The Warehouse in Holbeck
In this one-off event an exciting line-up of artists explore what happens when they surrender themselves to forces they don’t control – to the rigours of technique, to an inescapable rhythm, to a secret code, or by tuning in to other powers. Expect a day of playful experiment and serious entertainment, with food and conversation. How does it feel to surrender together?
Happy Hour
Thu 23 & Fri 24 Oct, 5–7pm
Outlaws Yacht Club
Join the Transform team and festival artists for an early evening drink and a relaxed opportunity for conversation and context on the programme.
IETM Focus Bradford
We’re thrilled that IETM (International network for contemporary performing arts) are hosting a Focus meeting in nearby Bradford from 22-24 October. Making the most of Bradford’s status as the UK City of Culture, the Focus will offer participants the chance to explore the future of cross-border creative collaboration, alongside exploring inclusive practices that centre disabled artists and new approaches to environmentally sustainable touring. The programme will offer the opportunity to network, exchange ideas, ask questions, and spark fresh thinking.
We encourage artists, programmers and wider arts professionals visiting Transform 25 to consider building the IETM Focus into their schedule. Full details will shortly be announced, but the majority of events and discussions will take place during the day on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October, with opportunities to engage with the Transform 25 festival and the Bradford 2025 programme alongside. Bradford and Leeds are extremely close by, with the fastest train between the two cities taking just 17 minutes. Registrations are now open for IETM members and for all disabled cultural professionals (both members and non-members). From 1 September at 10:00 CEST, non-members will be able to register. More details here.
Register as a Transform professional
Once you’ve planned your dates and booked your shows, register as a professional below to receive updates and accommodation discounts.
We can’t wait to welcome you to Transform 25!