Reception: The Wedding Present Musical coming to Leeds

Reception: The Wedding Present Musical is a new musical by Matt Aston inspired by and featuring the songs and music of David Gedge and his bands The Wedding Present and Cinerama.

The premiere of the show this summer at The Warehouse at Holbeck coincides with the 40th anniversary of The Wedding Present and their debut single ‘Go Out and Get ‘Em Boy.’

The Wedding Present has charted a total of 18 singles in the top 40 of the UK singles chart, including an historic run of 12 singles -one for each month in 1992, which tied with Elvis Presley’s record for most top 40 hits in a single year.

The band was formed at Leeds University in 1985, and were part of the 1980s indie music scene that Prime Minister Keir Starmer talked about when he studied at the university in the mid-1980s. Leeds-born David Gedge and the band are still touring and releasing new music today.

The band’s music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms. Throughout their career Wedding Present have been led by Leeds-born vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band’s only constant member.

David Gedge said : “When Matt approached me with the idea of a Wedding Present musical, to say that I was surprised would be something of an understatement. I’d never previously imagined my songs being in a musical, but I was intrigued. That being said, I’m a big fan of ABBA and loved how their songs were used in Mamma Mia, and I’m always keen to try out new ideas. I know that the team have worked hard and am really excited to see the finished product.”

Reception: The Wedding Present Musical is the story of love, loss, break-ups and breakdowns … everything you’d expect from a Wedding Present song. The show is based around a group of Leeds University friends who keep in touch over five years of trials, tribulations and life events including a graduation ceremony, a funeral, a wedding and, of course, the accompanying reception.

The show will be staged at Slung Low’s The Warehouse in Holbeck in Leeds from August 22 to September 6, presented with a mixture of cabaret-style table seating and more traditional raked seating.

“The first inkling”

The idea for a musical based around David Gedge’s songs came from York theatre-maker Matt Aston, the show’s writer and director. His previous work includes directing Line of Duty star Vicky McLure in Stephen Lowe’s Touched, James Bolam in William Ivory’s Bomber’s Moon and David Mamet’s Oleanna with Alistair McGowan.

Matt Aston says: “It was almost 20 years ago when I had the first inkling that a Wedding Present musical might work. David (Gedge) had returned to Leeds to perform a selection of his songs with the BBC Big Band for Radio 3. The arrangements for the songs were astonishing, as different as you could possibly imagine but David’s lyrical and conversational storytelling still shone through. Then later seeing Wedding Present and Cinerama concerts backed with 16-piece orchestras and full choirs helped cement the thought that the songs could work perfectly in a musical.

Reception: The Wedding Present Musical will feature songs from across The Wedding Present’s 40 year career, Cinerama’s back catalogue and a new song which will be released to coincide with the opening of the show.

“Building the music and stories into a script for Reception: The Wedding Present Musical has been fantastic. The team and I are all very excited about premiering the show this summer,” Matt said.

Reception: The Wedding Present Musical comes to The Warehouse in Holbeck, Slung Low, Leeds
between Fri 22 August and Sat 6 September 2025. Tickets from £16.90, plus Wedding Guest table packages. Available from leedsplayhouse.org.uk