Category: Theatre

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More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 29, from The York Press

Danger, danger for a ranger at close quarters with a dinosaur’s teeth in Dinosaur Adventure Live: Danger On T-Rex Mountain at York Theatre Royal

DINOSAUR adventures and Knavesmire’s music showcase weekend, a not-so-sweet Transylvanian transvestite and a French farce promise variety aplenty in Charles Hutchinson’s week ahead.

Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, today, 2.30pm

SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.

From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Liz Foster: Exhibiting her abstract artworks in Arnup Studios’ first collective show at Pyramid Gallery

Exhibition launch of the week: Arnup Studios at Pyramid Gallery, Stonegate, York, today, 11am to 2pm, then running until September 27

CERAMICIST Hannah Arnup, landscape and natural world artist Michelle Galloway, abstract artist Liz Foster, plein-air and studio artist Kate Pettitt, British wildlife ceramicist Penny Phillips and handmade jewellery designer Emma Welsh will be on hand at today’s opening of Holtby-based Arnup Studios’ first collective exhibition at Pyramid Gallery. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Justine Warner with exhibits from today’s showcase of experimental textiles and mixed media at Laburnum Cottage, Sheriff Hutton 

Art showcase of the week: Experimental Textiles and Mixed Media, Laburnum Cottage Art Studio, West End, Sheriff Hutton, near York, today, 10am to 5pm

NORTH Yorkshire Open Studios textile and mixed-media artist, Landscape Artist Of The Year 2022 contestant, teacher and workshop tutor Justine Warner plays host to an exhibition of one year of student work, showcasing skills, workbooks and final pieces based on a wide range of experimental textile techniques that employ exciting and unusual materials in creative ways.

Look at how Bondaweb, Lutradur, soluble fabrics, metal, foils, gel printing, transfer printing, batik, tetra pack printing, block printing and heat-shrink can be used and  speak with some of the students who experimented with them.

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted office worker Thomas struggling with his bothersome briefcase in Skedaddle Theatre’s A Brief Case Of Crazy

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm & 7pm

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight 

Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today, gates 6pm

CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s  Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.

Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, doing the Time Warp again at the Grand Opera House next week. Picture: David Freeman 

Musical of the week: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grand Opera House, York, July 20 to 25, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm

STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as Dr Frank N Furter on The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, joined by comedian Jackie Clune as the Narrator. Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of squeaky-clean American college sweethearts Brad and his fiancée Janet’s very frank encounters at the freaky doctor’s Transylvanian castle after their car breaks down.

Cue an adventure full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences are sure to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Lenny Pearce: Techno for toddlers at York Barbican 

Techno dance moves for children: Lenny Pearce, Toddler Rave World Tour Part 2, York Barbican, July22, 3.30pm

LENNY Pearce is a force in family entertainment, captivating a global audience as the pioneer of Toddler Techno. Driven from his passion as a father, and his strong commitment to his home life, Lenny makes songs and videos and performs live shows where he spins children’s favourites, remixed into modern hits that keep young ones and parents alike dazzled. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Andrew O’Neill: Looking to Escape at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Andrew O’Neill 

Fringe shows of the week: Halfway To Edinburgh at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, presents Joe Sellman-Leava in Copycat (Work In Progress), July 23, 7.30pm; Andrew O’Neill: Escape, July 24, 8pm

DOES AI spell the end of humanity, or the dawn of a new utopia, ponders Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava. He might be a technophobe, but he is determined to find out by using innovative design and a whirlwind of uncanny impressions to tell the story of a teacher, a student, and a copycat dictator to examine the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change. 

HOW do we get out of this mess, asks cult comedian Andrew O’Neill in his surreal, political show, Escape, about the ways in which we disagree with each other, while suggesting some ways we can find our way out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Airline hostesses at the treble: Bethan Olliver as Gloria, left, Val Debenedetti as Gabriella Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen in Rowntree Players’ Boeing Boeing 

Farce of the week: Rowntree Players in Boeing Boeing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, July 23 to 25, 7.30pm

MARC Camoletti’s high-flying 1960s’ French farce Boeing Boeing is cleared for take-off in Hannah Shaw’s English-language production for Rowntree Players. Meet self-styled Parisian lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German and American fiancées, each one a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.”

He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and to Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Shaw’s cast features Max Palmer as Bernard, Lizzie Lawton as Robert, Rebecca Thomson as Berthe, Jorja Cartwright as Gretchen, Bethan Olliver as Gloria and Val Debenedetti as Gabriella. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Craig David: TS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend next Friday

Outdoor concerts of the week: York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, Craig David presents TS5, July 24, and Tom Grennan, July 25

SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David presents his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his song and MC skills.

Bedford singer-songwriter Tom Grennan is Saturday’s post-racing performer, drawing on such hits as Little Bit Of Love, Let’s Go Home Together, Remind Me, Here and How Does It Feel, plus songs from his number one albums Evering Road, What Ifs & Maybes and Everywhere I Went Led Me To Where I Didn’t Want To Be and top-five debut Lighting Matches. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.

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How Mike Newman turned Dinosaur Adventure Live into a roaring success as Danger On T-Rex Mountain arrives in York

Danger, danger, the new T-Rex is on the loose in Dinosaur Adventure Live: Danger On T-Rex Mountain

SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, and now in its fifth year of roaring and touring, Dinosaur Adventure Live takes over York Theatre Royal’s main stage tomorrow afternoon with its story of Danger On T-Rex Mountain.

From the imaginative mind of Exciting Science creator Mike Newman, the hour-long show combines family-friendly storytelling, puppetry and “roarsome” science as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares when Mike’s cast of intrepid rangers leads a quest to recover the data crystal, restore power to the island and save the dinosaurs.

From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed – very carefully – Dinosaur Adventure Live blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning in a physically interactive stage experience, where children are encouraged to “stomp, roar and swish their tails”, climaxing with the T-Rex bursting on to the stage in a heart-pounding finale. Beyond the action, the show is educative too, sprinkled throughout with Dino-Facts and paleontological titbits.

“The show’s been running since 2022,” says Mike. “I wrote the first show that year, which ran successfully in 2022 and 2023, then the follow-up , Trouble On Volcano Island, and then it became a trilogy in 2025, with The Big Jurassic Storm, and  now we’ve gone back to the first one for a bit of a re-work for the latest tour called Danger On T-Rex Mountain.”

Mike’s company’s offices are in Bloomsbury Street, London, where the high costs of central London make storage of the dinosaurs unimaginable there. Instead, they are stored elsewhere in a “fair amount of 40ft shipping containers”.

A ranger finds herself up close with a dinosaur in Dinosaur Adventure Live, on tour at York Theatre Royal

“In producing the show, one of the first things you have to consider is the size of the show, because although you can write something, you have to start from the basic proviso of it being a show with a ticket price of under £20 to make it viable, and that determines a lot of things. So the show tours with everything in one low loader and one long wheelbase Sprinter,” says Mike, who lives in Bedfordshire, where he conducted this interview from his Portakabin office at the end of his garden.

“The great thing with these dinosaurs is, it’s not that we are under any illusion they are real, but the fact you can take a 12ft tail and head off an 8ft body makes it a lot more feasible to tour – and you can get a fair amount of stuff inside the body too. Of course, it doesn’t leave room for much else!”

 Mike is the definition of an arts and entertainment polymath, as an actor, puppeteer and theatre producer, having presented The Sooty Show from 2005 to 2008, taken the mic as a stand-up comedian and written, directed and performed in live stage adaptations of children’s shows, such as Rainbow, featuring Zippy, George and Bungle, since 2009.

Now dinosaur adventures have taken on growing prominence in his diary. “I knew you couldn’t just throw something on stage and watch it roar and think ‘that’s cool’, but kids want something more that they can invest in, and that’s why we have a story for each one, so it has a lot more to it than something visual that says ‘wow, that’s a raptor, isn’t that exciting’.

“They are shows for the whole family to go to because dads love to see a T-Rex just as little children do. As the children grow older, they invest in the story, and as they grow older still, the invest in the details; the size of the dinosaur, how many teeth it has; the power of the jaw to crush, which teenagers find pretty cool.”

Two rangers negotiating with a dinosaur in Dinosaur Adventure Live

The Dinosaur Adventure Live dinosaurs are “surprisingly light for the size of them”. “You think, ‘how on Earth can you pick that up?’, but in reality they are very light, but they do look incredibly impressive,” says Mike.

“We have a new T-Rex for this tour, a massive upgrade on 2022, in terms of what he can do and in terms of having an animatronic mouth and eyes. The dinosaurs all have cameras inside them and the newer ones have two cameras with split screens.

“When the T-Rex rises up [manipulated by its operator], it’s a good 12ft-14ft high and he can ‘run’ right to the front of the stage, open the jaw wide and rest his head in the lap of a dad!”

Dinosaurs are not Mike’s only venture into the distant past, by the way. “Since April, we’ve been touring Ice Age Adventure, featuring huge woolly mammoths, a white wolf and a baby sloth,” he says.

Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow (18/7/2026), 2.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Four plus.

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REVIEW: Skedaddle Theatre in A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, silent love blossoms until tomorrow  ****

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted officer worker Thomas struggling with his bothersome briefcase in A Brief Case Of Crazy

SILENCE is golden in A Brief Case Of Crazy, a retro ray of comedic sunshine from Skedaddle Theatre that elicits the broadest of smiles and makes the heart pound with glee.

Trained in physical theatre at East 15 Acting School, Roan Armitt-Brewster, Lennie Longworth and Samuel Cunningham draw inspiration from another Rowan, Atkinson’s Mr Bean, as well as the black-and-white cinema of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

There are shades too of Nick Park and Aardman Animation’s Wallace & Gromit comedies and Belgian surrealist René Magrittein the design for this hour-long “silent love story with a very loud heart”.

Armitt-Brewster, who appeared on the Theatre Royal main stage in Around The World In 80 Days-ish and the 2024 pantomime Aladdin, has described A Brief Case Of Crazy as “the sweatiest, stinkiest show in the world”.

In 1940s’ vintage woollen tank top, cardigan and fitted suit respectively, and sometimes in coats and bowler hats too, in such hot conditions for performing, Armitt-Brewster, Longworth and Cunningham must have felt even sweatier, even stickier. Nevertheless, they put everything into such a physically demanding show, one that keeps them constantly on the move, regularly breaking into ever-faster dance routines.

They do not speak a word, but their facial mannerisms speak volumes, and all manner of sound effects and recorded songs and incidental music are the trigger for crisply choreographed movements of exquisite comic timing, especially in scenes on the London Underground.

Armitt-Bewster’s Thomas, in his specs and tank top that have not changed since childhood, is an introverted, nervy, nerdy office drone with a hidden crush on Longworth’s just-as-shy co-worker Daisy, in woolly hat, green cardigan and red skirt, who turns out to be equally secretly love struck (both of them keeping a photo of the other in a stashed-away folder).

Always standing in the way of love’s true path Cunningham’s office boss Simon, a preening poltroon with a large mirror in his briefcase, a snarling growl for Armitt-Brewster’s timid Thomas on every entrance and a red rose for Daisy, stolen each time from knock-kneed Thomas.

Love-struck: Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s timid Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s equally shy co-worker in A Brief Case Of Crazy

Can love prevail or will dastardly Simon spoil everything?  The office “romance” is played with mime and clowning, dance steps and slapstick set-pieces, sometimes involving the drawers of the office chest, where one opens as another is pushed shut. Always keep an eye out for the unexpected, such as the office sunflower suddenly growing taller in the pot when love is declared.

The characters are caricatures with familiar tropes, but beneath the comedy lies pathos too, as bullying and grief suddenly rise to the surface in a brief, deeply moving puppetry scene that takes Thomas back to his childhood.

In the blink of an eye, amid the changing sounds of a hospital, the scene recalls how Thomas was picked on, how he injured himself in a fall, how his mother tended to his injuries, and how that handkerchief went from her hand to his after she dies all too young. When theatre is this economical but visually rich in its storytelling style, it is all the more impactful.

Indeed, the timing is so well judged throughout that only once – in a sequence of love-blossoming dance routines in quick-quick succession, where Armitt-Brewster plays Astaire to Longworth’s Rogers – could the editing be tighter. Maybe trim a song, but definitely keep in Armitt-Brewster tap-dancing finale.

All three performances are a delight, from Armitt-Brewster’s tragicomic office nerd to Longworth’s toothy, Chaplinesque Daisy – you could picture her playing Shakespeare’s Puck – topped off with Cunningham’s vainglorious Simon, the cadaverous cad of the piece.

From a trio of misbehaving briefcases to the cast’s ability to put both commotion and emotion into motion, A Brief Case Of Crazy is an utter joy in its celebration of the romance of the underdog, its empowerment of being different, its love and refinement of a time-honoured but increasingly neglected performance style. You’d be crazy to miss it.

Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 7pm; tomorrow, 2pm and 7pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

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REVIEW: Wright & Grainger in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York****

Megan Drury in SELENE

IN a new creative partnership with Theatre@41, Monkgate, Easingwold duo Wright & Grainger workshopped and rehearsed SELENE at the York theatre before actor Megan Drury headed off to Australia and New Zealand for a Bob Dylanesque never-ending tour that stretched eventually to more than 70 performances.

SELENE is a solo show for Drury, such an electric force on stage, who was so vital to the spoken-word gig theatre chemistry of Edinburgh and Australian Fringe hit THE GODS THE GODS THE GODS, but the imprint of partner Alexander Flanagan Wright’s rhythmic wordplay, cultural nous and philosophical insights and Phil Grainger’s lambent compositions is as deep as ever.

Wright & Grainger specialise in breathing new life into ancient myths, refracting the tales of Orpheus, Euridyce and Helios through the prism of the troubled modern world, often a rural Yorkshire one to boot yet universal too.

SELENE is the latest such venture, billed as a “radical explosion” of the ancient Greek tale of the goddess of the Moon and its dark side that once fixated Pink Floyd.

Dressed all in black with glittering trainers and ear rings, Drury immediately establishes that SELENE – pronounced Sel-ee-nay, not Celine, as in Dion, she clarifies – will not be the fulcrum of the story.

Instead, the focus falls on Selene’s already assertive 12-year-old daughter, Pandia (or ‘Panda’ as everyone calls her), whose fascination with the Moon will be followed at four-yearly intervals.

Drury’s Panda/Pandia will introduce each scene with an update of her/their list of All The Things I Am Not, always kick-started by her frustration at not being weightless, ever since she started watching Apollo 11’s landing on repeat.

She is fearless, frank, bloody-minded even, likes the F word and considers the chalk horse at Kilburn, not far from her home, to be “stupid”. She finds pretty much everything and everyone irritating, especially that horse and Benzo, who is always trying to outdo her with his knowledge of the Moon and its cycles.

In Wright & Grainger house style, the performance is conversational, knocking down theatre’s fourth wall from the off, and immersive too, all the more so for being staged in the round to match the shape of a full moon. Assorted moons will decorate Theatre@41’s black box theatre in differing forms and sizes, each switched on and off by Drury, depending on a scene’s requirement and focus.

Pages from the script, again placed in a circle at the audience’s feet, are a familiar W&G sign of imminent involvement for all those who volunteer to take on roles, in this case playing wild card Panda’s friends/classroom colleagues from schooldays onwards, through various party initiations, lunar experiences, first drinks, skinny dips, first encounters with Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide and morning-after breakfasts with mum Selene.

Another mythical world will stir too, the one where dogs become werewolves at twilight, and again two volunteers take on howling duty, later joined by the entire audience.

As Panda turns into a young adult, discovering who and why they are, Wright & Grainger’s SELENE becomes an ever more humorous, intellectually smart and typically unconventional study of “the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and especially the wild stuff inside us”.

Not only is SELENE a joyously wild ride through a rites of passage, but it also rivals Sir Patrick Moore for interesting observations and facts on the Moon, gives belated attention to Michael Collins’s lonely role on that 1969 lunar trip and points out Apollo was a misnomer for a space ship to the Moon, given that Apollo was the sun god.

By now, Drury’s relentless, questing Panda/Pandia/whatever they want to call themself next finally lists All The Things I Am. “The truth,” she says. Oh for such certainty in our world of half truths, alternative truths and Truth Social.

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Peter Polycarpou to play Hercule Poirot in The Hollow, Lucy Bailey’s fifth Agatha Christie production for Fiery Angel at Grand Opera House from May 18 to 22 2027

Peter Polycarpou’s Hercule Poirot in the poster for Fiery Angel’s tour of The Hollow

TWO-TIME Olivier Award nominee Peter Polycarpou will play Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the 2026-2027 UK & Ireland tour of The Hollow, playing the Grand Opera House, York, from May 18 to 22.

After sold-out tours of And Then There Were None, Murder On The Orient Express and Death On The Nile, producers Fiery Angel and director Lucy Bailey will team up again to present another of Christie’s psychologically complex mysteries from this autumn.

The Hollow will be toured in a new version by Tamsin Oglesby, whose credits include Future Conditional (Old Vic Theatre) and Really Old, Like Forty Five (National Theatre).

Renowned detective Hercule Poirot expected a quiet break in the country; instead he is drawn into one of the most unsettling cases of his career at The Hollow, an elegant country estate, where a glamorous circle of guests gathers one summer evening.

Beneath the sunlit charm, something darker coils. Old passions refuse to die. New rivalries ignite. Dangerous infatuations take hold. Then a shot rings out. A body is discovered, then a smoking revolver in an unsteady hand. The scene appears almost staged, but what looks to be a shockingly straightforward crime turns out to be anything but.

Looking forward to directing her fifth Christie classic, Bailey says: “The Hollow is one of Agatha Christie’s most powerful and arresting plays. At first glance, it appears to be a classic country-house mystery, but it’s something far richer: a family ruthlessly clinging to the past, failed relationships and illicit love.

Director Lucy Bailey. Picture: Manuel Harlan

“Christie gathers a circle of brilliantly drawn characters to an English country estate and lets long-buried family tensions simmer until a sudden act of violence shatters the idyll. When the unthinkable happens, it falls to the incomparable Hercule Poirot to unravel the truth.

“Equally comic and tragic, it’s a play about people trapped between the lives they have and the lives they longed for. That tension makes The Hollow feel startlingly contemporary.”

The Hollow will be produced by Fiery Angel in association with Agatha Christie Limited and the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Joining Bailey in the production team will be costume designer Joanna Parker, lighting designer Chris Davey and sound designer and composer Nick Powell. Casting is Ginny Schiller.

James Prichard, of Agatha Christie Limited, said: “We are thrilled to be working once again with Lucy Bailey and Fiery Angel on this bold new production of The Hollow. A sharply observed and unsettling drama, it showcases a fascinatingly different facet of my great grandmother’s storytelling, and we are excited for audiences across the UK and Ireland to experience it anew.”

Lead actor Polycarpou’s stage credits include Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular, The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry and Hello, Dolly!, while his screen work includes House Of The Dragon, Birds Of A Feather, The Diplomat, The Brutalist and Evita. He received Olivier nominations for his performances in Oslo and The Band’s Visit.

Tickets are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.

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The frocks & shocks of The Rocky Horror Show return to Grand Opera House with Stephen Webb as Dr Frank N Furter

Stephen Webb’s Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Picture: David Freeman

STEPHEN Webb leads the cast as lascivious Dr Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show’s latest return to the Grand Opera House, York, from July 20 to 25

Directed by Christopher Luscombe, Richard O’Brien’s outré musical tells the story of Brad and his fiancée Janet, two squeaky-clean American college sweethearts, who meet Dr Frank N Furter by chance when their car breaks down outside his creepy Transylvanian castle while on their way to visit their favourite professor.

Cue an adventure they will never forget, full of fun, frolics, frocks and frivolity, bursting with timeless songs and outrageous outfits as O’Brien combines science-fiction, horror, comedy and music while encouraging audience participation. Those audiences, by the way, need no encouragement to dress up in the most outrageous fancy dress.

The Narrator’s role will be played by actress, stand-up comedian, cabaret act, writer, drama lecturer, singer and television presenter Jackie Clune, who played Mrs Lamb in the BBC sitcom Motherland.

She will be joined by James Bisp as Brad; Haley Flaherty as Janet; Ryan Carter-Wilson as Riff Raff; Laura Bird as Magenta/Usherette; Daisy Steere as Columbia; Morgan Jackson as Rocky and Edward Bullingham as Eddie/Dr Scott.

Completing the cast are Phantoms Jesse Chidera, Nathan Zach Johnson, Tyla Dee Nurden and Bethany Amber Perrins, plus on-stage swing/dance captain David Peter-Brown and on-stage swing/assistant dance captain Lucy Aiston.

Producer Howard Panter says: “This new cast brings an extraordinary energy and freshness to our legendary show. The thrilling mix of talent will continue to delight audiences across the country. The Rocky Horror Show is a guaranteed party night after night – it’s fierce, fearless and not to be missed!”

Stephen Webb’s Frank N Furter in doctor’s garb, centre, with fellow principals in The Rocky Horror Show. Picture: David Freeman

Here Stephen Webb discusses career ambitions, the challenges of playing sweet transvestite Dr Frank N Furter,  his favourite costume and the Rock Horror phenomenon .

Was there a moment when you realised you wanted to be a professional performer?  

“I was obsessed with John Travolta in Grease. I went to watch it in London when it first opened. I was obsessed. I thought, ‘I need to be in theatre’. That changed it for me really. I used to watch the film all the time.”

How did you react when you learned you would be playing Dr Frank-N-Furter?

“Well, I couldn’t believe it first of all. When I originally wanted to audition for Rocky, I thought I’d be up for Brad and then they said, ‘No, we want to see you for Frank’. When I got it, I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe that I got this role. But in the next moment, I was really anxious because it’s such an iconic role. I just want to live up to the legacy.”

How do you bring your own twist to the role while honouring the legacy of past performances?

“I remember that Christopher Luscombe, the director, said, ‘We don’t want you to do an impersonation of Tim Curry, we want to see your version’, which actually settled me.

“I portray Frank using an American accent, instead of an English accent. Obviously, Frank’s costume is quite feminine,so I do inject an element of masculinity into my performance. My take on it is a little bit rough around the edges. The audience has mixed feelings about Frank, which I love. He is a lovable psychopath!

“Because the character was written during the ‘70s Glam Rock era, I take inspiration from David Bowie, T. Rex and Queen. But I always find something new every performance, which makes playing this role so exciting.”

What is your favourite part of performing as Frank each night?

“There are two moments. One is my entrance. I’m not on stage for the first 20 minutes and the audience are waiting for Frank to come on. There’s a big drum beat before I enter and I’ve got this big old cloak on.

“I walk down centre stage and sing ‘Sweet Transvestite’, whip off my cloak and reveal my crazy costume. The audience goes absolutely berserk for it. It doesn’t matter if I’ve had the worst day in the world – it goes away as soon as I’m on that stage.

“Another special moment for me is when you see the vulnerable side of Frank. It’s like he’s taken off his mask and you’re seeing the true side of him.”

Do you have a favourite audience interaction or reaction so far?

“There are loads of shouts throughout the show. The audience are very much part of the show; they are almost another character. I’ve heard pretty much all of them now, so they don’t tend to catch me out. When I’m talking to Rocky, when he first comes out, there are a few shouts that are quite rude, and I love them! I think they’re really funny.”

James Bisp’s Brad and Haley Flaherty’s Jane in The Rocky Horror Show. Picture: David Freeman

What is the most challenging part of playing Frank, either physically or emotionally?

“It’s not wearing the heels – I absolutely love wearing those – it’s actually wearing the black corset because it doesn’t give. Singing and dancing in a corset means I must make sure that I eat and drink enough at the right time before doing the show, otherwise I struggle throughout the show.”

Do you have a favourite outfit on stage?

“My finale red sequin corset. I absolutely love it. It really fits me like a glove – and it changes colour. If you push it up, it goes black, if you push it down, it goes red.”

If you could keep one piece of Frank’s wardrobe for yourself, what would it be?

“I do a few scenes with a leather jacket with tassels on it. I’m a motorcyclist so would love to steal it and ride my bike wearing it!”

The Rocky Horror Show has been pushing boundaries for more than five decades. Why do audiences keep coming back after all these years?

“It’s a show that celebrates what it means to be different, to follow your dreams, like the song ‘Don’t Dream It, Be It’. There are amazing songs; I don’t think you could ever get bored with the ‘Time Warp’ or ‘Sweet Transvestite’! It’s got a lot of heart, it’s extremely funny, and it allows people to be part of it. There’s no other show like it.”

Do you have any pre-show rituals before stepping into Frank’s heels?

“I don’t really have any pre-show rituals but I do love make-up. Before Rocky Horror, I never liked using make-up, now I absolutely love it. As soon as I start putting the make-up and wig on, it transforms me, like I’ve got an alter ego!”

Finally, what do you hope audiences will take away from experiencing The Rocky Horror Show?

“I think everyone who comes will have fun. It’s unique, liberating, funny, fierce and sexy. It’s a brilliant night out where everyone can be who they want to be. It’s one great big party!”

The Rocky Horror Show, Grand Opera House, York, July 20 to 25, Monday to Thursday, 8pm; Friday & Saturday, 5pm and 8.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Content warning: Rude parts. Age guidance: 12 plus.

The Rocky Horror Show: the history bit

BEGAN life in 1973 in front of an audience of 63 people in the Royal Court’s Theatre Upstairs, in Chelsea, London. Transferred to Chelsea Classic Cinema, then King’s Road Theatre, 1973 to 1979, and Comedy Theatre in the West End, 1979-80.

The Rocky Horror Show has enjoyed the longest continuous run of a contemporary
musical anywhere in the world, being watched by 35 million people in more than 30 countries and translated into 20 languages.

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Opera North in The Sound Of Music, Leeds Grand Theatre, until August 1

Katie Bird’s Maria in Opera North’s The Sound Of Music

IF your memories of The Sound Of Music come with the emotional baggage of the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews, you will be more than pleasantly surprised by this reconstituted stage version.

Miss Andrews was a huge talent and the film proved a blockbuster, but its sugar-rush has been supplanted in this Nikolai Foster production (revived here by Ollie Khurshid) by a great deal more substance, political, emotional and geographical.

First seen in Leicester’s Curve Theatre last November, it now has the benefit of a full-size (40-piece) professional orchestra and chorus. Operatic purists may recoil to learn that all the singers are miked – which certainly helps the children’s voices – but they will get over it.

Two numbers cut from the film are restored, How Can Love Survive? and No Way To Stop It. Both refer candidly to the Nazi backdrop. This musical has a serious side that the film version all but ignored.

When a messenger boy in uniform arrives with a telegram “from Berlin” and bellows a Nazi ‘Heil!’ salute, you can almost hear the audience gasp. It recalls the Anschluss (Germany’s annexation of Austria in 1938).

The message commands Captain von Trapp to join the German navy, which he is naturally loath to do. So it has a decisive effect – and gives us chilling context.

Michael Taylor’s set is exemplary. A nursery slope of the mountains around Salzburg, which are seen in the background – instantly paralleled by Maria’s “the hills are alive” at the start – has an angled path running down across the stage.

 In the final scene, the nine members of the Trapp family, now refugees, are silhouetted against the night sky as they escape through the mountains to the New World. We understand at once: history never really changes.

Edward Bennett: Playing Captain von Trapp in Opera North’s The Sound Of Music

When he needs to be in the abbey with the nuns, he lowers a great pointed ecclesiastical window-frame. In the castle, there are grand doors instead.

Needless to say, the musical side of the evening is stunning. Katie Bird makes Maria her own, conflicted over her true calling, firm in her principles, but tender with the children. ‘Do-Re-Mi’ is charming and ‘My Favourite Things’ is life-loving. She gives us all sides of a truly appealing character.

Edward Bennett is an actor rather than a singer, but his baritone is perfectly adequate for the role of Captain von Trapp, as in his duet with Maria, ‘Something Good’, and in Edelweiss’ with the family.

There is one truly glorious piece of singing from Katherine Broderick as Mother Abbess: she gives us full Wagnerian splendour in ‘Climb Ev’ry Mountain’ at the end of each act, soaring above the tumult.

The seven children – all are double-cast (this was the ‘Drop’ group) – sing with great conviction and clarity and they move with impressive discipline.

Amy Freston delivers a nicely haughty Baroness Elsa, whom the Captain discards for Maria, while other members of the pro-Nazi camp are neatly defined by Nicholas Butterfield as Max and Kamil Bien as Rolf. A variety of colourful cameos come from other members of the Opera North chorus, notably as nuns.

Ebony Molina’s choreography avoids traditional ‘song-and-dance’ routines in favour of more restrained and more engagingly lifelike dance. Oliver Rundell conducts with panache and his orchestra takes to the idiom like ducks to water, bursting with rhythmic pizzazz. The big choral numbers are thrilling.

This may not be The Sound Of Music as you imagined it, but it rings absolutely true. You dare not miss it.

Opera North in The Sound Of Music, Leeds Grand Theatre, until August 1. Box office: 0113 223 3600 or operanorth.co.uk.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 29, from Gazette & Herald

Eliza Carthy: Performing with The Restitution at Ryedale Festival

A MYTHICAL tale of a goddess, a near-future re-spinning of the selkie myth, an Arthurian quest of a lifetime, a bothersome briefcase in a love story and  a nostalgia trip to variety’s golden days keep Charles Hutchinson  entertained.

Folk gig of the week: Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, Ryedale Festival, Selby Abbey, tonight, 7pm

FLAMBOYANT Robin Hood’s Bay fiddler and singer Eliza Carthy continues to re-imagine traditional music with fiery imagination and fearless individuality. The daughter of Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson, she grew up immersed in the folk world, and here she performs with her powerhouse touring band in one of Yorkshire’s most atmospheric and beautiful settings. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.

Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s SELENE at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

Radical myth revamp of the week: Wright & Grainger and Theatre@41 present Megan Drury in SELENE, Halfway To Edinburgh Season, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7pm, and tomorrow, 8.30pm

AUSTRALIAN actor Megan Drury stars in Easingwold duo Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright’s tale of the goddess and the dark side of the moon in a radical explosion of an ancient myth.

A young girl watches the moon landings on repeat. A teenager makes a list of all the things they are not. A young adult starts to discover who they are. Expect a story addressing the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, the things orbiting around us as we grow up and not least the wild stuff inside us. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The Three Inch Fools: Epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhem at Helmsley Walled Garden

Outdoor theatre show of the week: The Three Inch Fools in King Arthur And The Holy Fail, Helmsley Walled Garden, tomorrow, 7pm

FOUNDED by Cumbrian brothers James and Stephen Hyde, The Three Inch Fools present an epic tale of Arthurian adventure and medieval mayhem, set in a land of daring quests, dashing knights and endless jousting.

Waiting in the wings is a would-be hero, by the name of Arthur, but when Camelot is rocked to its core by a tragic – and frankly improbable – incident involving a large table of an undisclosed shape, Arthur is thrust into the quest of a lifetime, Destiny awaits, chivalry calls and the quest to end all quests begins. Bring chairs, blankets and cushions. Picnics welcome. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s equally shy Daisy in A Brief Case Of Crazy

Silent love story of the week: Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

INSPIRED by the timeless genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Mr Bean,Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Samuel Cunningham and Lennie Longworth’s physical comedy A Brief Case Of Crazy is a silent love story with a very loud heart, told through slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry.

Meet Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Daisy. His quest for love must contend with a boisterous boss named Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover that what’s on the inside counts most? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

Hannah Davies & Jack Woods: Re-imagining selkie myth in a not-too-distant future

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. 

On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Dominic Goodwin in a triptych of his myriad roles in Twice Nightly

Recalling variety’s golden days: Pyramus and Thisbe Productions present Dominic Goodwin in Twice Nightly, Friargate Theatre, York, Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm

RYEDALE writer, performer and pantomime dame Dominic Goodwin is touring his first one-man comedy show, directed by York director and actor Thomas Frere.

Twice Nightly follows the story of struggling comedian Freddie Francis in 1956 as the final curtain hovers over variety. Many acts of the time are highlighted, including Norman “Over The Garden Wall” Evans (said to be an influence on Les Dawson) Stockton comic Jimmy James, wartime star Robb Wilton and the iconic Max Miller. Box office: York, 01904 655317 or ridinglights.org/friargatetheatre.

Tommy Banks; Turning up the heat at York Theatre Royal

Culinary event of the week:  An Evening with Tommy Banks: Spinning Plates: Live, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm

MICHELIN-STARRED chef and entrepreneur Tommy Banks makes the trip from his Oldstead family farm to York Theatre Royal to bring his extraordinary story to the stage for the first and only time. Told across three intersecting timelines – the past 25 years, the defining 12 months and the opening night for his latest pub —each moment teeters on a knife-edge.

Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots York, in Marygate, York, and the Abbey Inn at Byland, as well as co-founding Jeopardy Hospitality, whose first venture is the General Tarleton at Ferrensby, Knaresborough. For one night only, he combines storytelling and immersive cinema to lift the lid on hospitality service at its most intense. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

CMAT: Songs of identity, grief and beauty standards at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Coastal gig of the week: CMAT, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates 6pm

CMAT, alias Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, burst on to the music scene six years ago with her debut single Another Day (KFC). The Dublin-born, County Meath-raised singer and songwriter has since released three bitingly humorous, emotionally honest albums, 2022’s If My Wife New I’d Be Dead, 2023’s Crazymad, For Me and 2025’s  Mercury Prize-nominated Euro-Country, her exploration of identity, grief and beauty standards, exemplified by Take A Sexy Picture Of Me. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.co.uk.

Danger on T-Rex Mountain in Dinosaur Adventure Live at York Theatre Royal

Children’s show of the week: Dinosaur Adventure Live, Danger On T-Rex Mountain, York Theatre Royal, Saturday,  2.30pm

SIXTY-FIVE million years in the making, Dinosaur Adventure Live brings a fusion of family-friendly storytelling, puppetry, and roarsome science to the stage as the ancient world of dinosaurs crashes back to life for gasps, giggles and occasional jump-scares.

From a shadowy raptor on the loose to baby dinosaurs that you can feed (carefully!), Mike Newman’s show blends humour, thrills and hands-on learning into an interactive stage experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

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Rowan Armitt-Brewster aims for comedy perfection in silent love story A Brief Case Of Crazy at York Theatre Royal Studio

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s awkward office worker Thomas in Skedaddle Theatre’s A Brief Case Of Crazy

INSPIRED by the comic genius of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean, Skedaddle Theatre’s silent love story A Brief Case Of Crazy plays York Theatre Royal Studio from Thursday to Saturday.

This physical comedy with a very loud heart will be staged with slick choreography, mime, clowning and puppetry by writer-performers Rowan Armitt-Brewster, Lennie Longworth and Samuel Cunningham.

Meet Armitt-Brewster’s Thomas, an awkward, introverted office worker with a quiet crush on his equally shy colleague, Longworth’s Daisy. His quest for love must contend with Cunningham’s boisterous boss Simon and a rather bothersome briefcase that drags an awkward introvert into extraordinary events. Will his quest for love fail? Or will he discover how what lies on the inside counts most?

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s Inspector Fix, right, in Around The World In 80 Days-ish at York Theatre Royal in July 2024

Actor, dancer, singer and physical comedian Armitt-Brewster will be returning to the Theatre Royal stage after parading his dextrous comedic skills as the Knife Thrower and Inspector Fox  in Around The World In 80 Days-ish in July 2024 and as pantomime buffoon  PC World in Aladdin that winter.

“I really enjoyed the panto,” he says. “It was my first time of doing it, and it’s such a brilliant form of theatre, a staple in so many parts of the world, that’s great for getting young people into the theatre as often it’s the first show they see.”

A Brief Case Of Crazy will find Armitt-Brewster putting the motion into commotion once more over its hour-long span. “I love movement and how choreography can create an image or an emotion with physicality,” he says. “Why I’m really fascinated by it is that I reckon you could perform it to a group of aliens and they would enjoy it.”

“It’s the sweatiest, stinkiest show in the world, and the level of performance has to be incredible: the refinement, the speed of it,” says Rowan. Picture: Mitch Donald

Both of Rowan’s parents are professors of English Literature – his mother now retired, his father still tutoring in Lincolnshire for a couple more years – so he has always been surrounded by stories and the power of language.

“My parents were keen on me using good grammar and knowing how to formulate sentences, so I’ve always loved text, performing in plays, but I also acquired a love of physical comedy – object manipulation, clowning, mime, puppetry – because there are no language barriers.

“We want to unite people with our work, with its positivity that appeals to people of all backgrounds, letting them all enjoy the story.”

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s introverted Thomas and Lennie Longworth’s Daisy, his equally shy colleague in A Brief Case Of Crazy. Picture: Mitch Donald

For all its comedy, A Brief Case Of Crazy has “deep-rooted themes” too, says Rowan. “It looks at grief, romance, belonging and differences within people, and it’s very pro the underdog. One of the things that’s happening is that almost always we have an adult audience, though it’s appropriate for children too.

“We try to cater for the children with the fun and the energy, but with the story, we’re trying to connect with adults. It’s a fine balance, and we’ve worked really hard at that since we first did the show two years ago.”

Rowan recalls how that creative process overlapped with his commitments to Around The World In 80 Days-ish. “I was rehearsing or performing in York for six days a week, then having to go down to Essex to rehearse on Sundays after a night’s sleep on the bus, then coming back to York late on Sundays to do ‘Around The World’ again the next week, and we opened at the Edinburgh Fringe a week after the York run finished!” he says.

Rowan Armitt-Brewster’s Thomas with his bothersome briefcase in A Brief Case Of Crazy. Picture: Mitch Donald

“We began Skedaddle as a cohort of very young creatives, when luckily we were able to rehearse at the studios at East 15 [Acting School], where we’d all trained on the physical theatre course.

“The show has developed massively since then. It’s still small-scale but our plan is to scale it up, working with a producer, Mitch Donaldson of Shoddy Theatre.”

Armitt-Brewster is sporting a dapper moustache for his latest role. “It’s more for the show than a personal preference, but it’s certainly a different look,” he says. “I’m going to have it until October 23, so I’ll just have to get used to it!”

Rowan Armitt-Brewster in York Theatre Royal’s announcement photo for his pantomime debut in Aladdin in December 2024

What should this week’s audiences expect from the performance behind that facial topiary? “It’s an hour of constant energy,” he says. “It’s the sweatiest, stinkiest show in the world, and the level of performance has to be incredible: the refinement, the speed of it.

“It takes weeks to make it really detailed, and as a company of course we believe that perfection doesn’t exist, but we aim for the one below that, whatever that is!”

Skedaddle Theatre & Shoddy Theatre present A Brief Case Of Crazy, York Theatre Royal Studio, Thursday to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Five upwards.

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Geoff Turner RIP: Tribute to giant gentleman of York theatre world

Geoff Turner in the rehearsal room. Picture: York Light Opera Company

THE funeral of York Light Opera Company president Geoff Turner will be held at York Crematorium, Bishopthorpe Road, York, on July 16 at 1.40pm.

A statement on the York Light Instagram site reads: “Geoff will forever be in our hearts. We know so many of you will want to say goodbye with us, so we’re sharing the details of Geoff’s funeral service.

“The service will be extended to celebrate Geoff’s life, with his last After Show Party at York Racecourse following the service. All are welcome.”

In lieu of flowers, a donation plate will be in place at the crematorium to raise funds for a bench in Geoff’s memory.

Geoff, of South Bank, York, died on June 27, aged 76.  Formerly a civil engineer with British Rail, he was a stalwart musical theatre supporter with York Light Opera Company and NODA, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, and served as a volunteer with Treasurer’s House, Mansion House and the King’s Trust.

Geoff Turner on volunteer duty at York Mansion House. Picture: York Mansion House

On the day of Geoff’s passing, York Light posted: “Today, York Light lost a wonderful president, and the world lost an incredible man.  We’re heartbroken to announce that our president, Geoff Turner, lost his battle with cancer this morning.

“Having been a dedicated member for years before stepping up to presidency, we all share such fond memories of Geoff. He was always a cheerful presence and a true light in every production. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. He will be sorely missed by all.”

On June 29, York Mansion House posted: “We were all hugely saddened to hear of the death of Geoff Turner, our longest-serving volunteer at the Mansion House.

“Geoff had worked with us for 15 years in a variety of roles, most recently as a room guide, and during his time led tours around the house and even played the Lord Mayor three times in public events.

“His enthusiasm for the Mansion House and for history in general was infectious, and visitors always appreciated his passion, expertise and sense of humour.  We will always be grateful for the contribution he made to the life of the house and will all miss him very much.”

Geoff Turner in full stage regalia. Picture: York Light Opera Company

York’s theatre scene and beyond has paid tribute too in multiple postings on Facebook. Jo Sweeting wrote: “I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Geoff in countless productions over the years with York Light Opera Company and enjoying his hospitality partying until the early hours at his home during “show week”. Very happy memories. Gone but never forgotten. Rest easy Geoff.”

Musical director Mike Thompson and director and actor John Hall wrote: “When John and I joined York Light for Showboat in the mid ‘70s, Geoff was one of the existing members who made us very welcome. We became friends and used to have regular Sunday lunch dates at each other’s houses, taking it in turns to cook. Geoff, you will be greatly missed by so many people.”

James W Deller described Geoff as “this gentle man and gentleman”. “He has inspired countless people over the years and has been a stalwart of the city’s community for decades,” he wrote. “His music, his love of history and his professional career, not to mention his support to the York civic parties – past and present – are a testament to his commitment and service. He will be much missed.

“I knew him through my parents and I know he will leave an unfillable gap in the city. Rest in peace, Geoff! The curtain falls for the last time. I hope you can still hear the applause!”

York Opera baritone and St Olave’s Church Choir member Clive Goodhead wrote: “I have nothing but the highest admiration for Geoff and will miss him deeply, as will so many people, whose lives he touched so much.

“Geoff was chair of York Light when I had the honour of holding the same position in York Opera. Thanks to Jim Welsman [former York Musical Theatre chairman] , we had occasion, therefore, to work together as far as possible to support and promote the performing arts in and around York, liaising closely with many others, especially those responsible for the various local venues. May he rest in perpetual peace.”

Geoff Turner, second from left: A commanding presence on stage. Picture: York Light Opera Company

Linda Newton wrote: “I’d known Geoff for many years. Our paths crossed so many times because he was involved in so many things, most recently singing with him in York Theatre Royal Choir. I don’t know how he fitted it all in! He lived life to the full and enjoyed every minute. You’ll be sadly missed, Geoff, by many people. RIP to a kind and generous man.”

Actress and singer Catherine Foster wrote: “A lovely man. He was such a wonderful supporter of theatre in York and always so generous with his praise. He made me feel so welcome when I did a show with him and had a lovely warmth about him generally. I will miss seeing him at the theatre. “

Jennifer Cowling wrote: “Geoff was a wonderful actor and a true theatrical buff, a proud and dedicated president of York Light, a superb NODA rep and an all-round great guy. He will be greatly missed by all of us who knew and worked with him.”

Musical director and radio presenter Adam Tomlinson wrote: “Whenever and wherever you met with Geoff, he was always the same, a true gentleman with time, conversation and humour. His passion and enthusiasm for amateur theatre was infectious and very special. He will be greatly missed in this fabulous musical theatre world of ours.”

York singer, Music Night host and Singphonia choir master Don Pears wrote: “Geoff was a loyal star on and off stage, especially for York Light, but also a great support and help to New Earswick Operatic Society, which was greatly appreciated.

“Both Jo [Pears] and I have very fond memories of performing with this giant of a gentleman. He was an excellent NODA representative and supported many other societies in our region. RIP Geoff, so many memories.”