Olivia Turner’s Rosalinda and Ian Thomson-Smith’s Falke in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
BREAK out the champagne! York Opera celebrates its 60th anniversary, no less, with this sizzling production of Johann Strauss II’s comic operetta.
Co-directed by two stalwarts of the company, John Soper and Liz Watson, this Die Fledermaus lives up to the work’s reputation as the Viennese operetta par excellence.
Inevitably that starts with the orchestra, who set the style and tone in the overture, here mercifully done without gimmicky mime. So we can concentrate fully on Edward Venn’s excellent control of the orchestra.
Not only are the many tempo changes smoothly negotiated, so are the little hesitations on the upbeats, so characteristic of Viennese style. Throughout the evening, the orchestral underlay is impeccably geared to the singing.
Two soprano principal roles are double-cast, reflecting their difficulty and intensity. Both are carried with confidence. LaLa Marais brings panache and brilliance to her coloratura as Adele, notably in her ‘laughter’ aria, and matches it ideally with a high-spirited personality.
With equally sparkling charm, Olivia Turner, also making her company debut, gives a fiery bite to her Rosalinda, triumphing in her csárdás as the masked Hungarian countess. Their alternates, tonight and on Saturday afternoon, are Stephanie Wong and Alexandra Mather respectively.
Hamish Brown brings a happy-go-lucky charisma to his Eisenstein, while succumbing with pseudo-protestation to the wiles of his friend Doctor Falke (the original ‘bat’ of the title). His franglais routines with prison governor Frank, as both pretend to be French, are comic highlights.
Mark Simmonds makes an amiable Frank, alias Chevalier Chagrin. Ian Thomson-Smith’s light baritone is well geared to Falke, as he becomes the amiable puppeteer of the proceedings.
Molly Raine glides through the trouser role of Prince Orlofsky, cigarette holder poised, and gets the champagne flowing effortlessly at his party. Alex Holland conjures a nicely bumbling buffo as Eisenstein’s lawyer, Blind. Karl Reiff’s tenor is underused in the role of Alfredo, but he does much with little in the opening scene.
Act 3 can easily pall, but John Soper’s antics as sozzled jailer Frosch keep the laughter rolling. Cameo roles consistently make their mark.
The chorus is everywhere disciplined and confident, developing a healthy blend, even if it is required to do rather less dancing than we might have expected; indeed, no choreographer is mentioned.
It is much to the company’s credit that it has made almost all its own costumes and sets over the years, doubtless one reason for its financial stability. John Soper’s sets are evocative without showiness – the prison windows are impressive – and Maggie Soper’s colourful costumes enhance the party atmosphere.
We are fortunate to have a company of this calibre in our midst: it deserves our warmest support.
Here’s to its next 60 years. Break out the champagne indeed!
MARMiTE Theatre’s show announcement poster for Ladies Day at Theatre@41, Monkgate
YORK company MARMiTE Theatre will begin rehearsals on June 21 for Ladies Day, Amanda Whittington’s “racecourse comedy-drama to warm the cockles of your heart”.
Directed again by company founder Martyn Hunter, the company’s second production will run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from September 8 to 12.
Premiered at Hull Truck Theatre in June 2005, Ladies Day’s tale of friendship, sisterly support and, above all, love follows Hull fish-filleting factory packers Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda as they embark on Pearl’s “I’m not retiring” leaving-do.
Nicki Clay’s Geraldine Granger in MARMiTE Theatre’s debut production, The Vicar Of Dibley, last November
Out go the hairnets, wellies and overalls, in come the outrageous hats, high heels and posh frocks, as the four friends set off for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot in the one-off summer when the racing festival relocated to York’s Knavesmire course in 2005.
“As the racing begins and the champagne flows, we find out there is more to the mundane fish-packing lives of our four friends than we first thought,” says Martyn. “As the day unfolds and the races go by, we see their loves, losses and insecurities laid bare, but if their luck holds they could still hit the jackpot and a lot more besides.”
Ladies Day playwright Amanda Whittington
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl will be joined in MARMiTE Theatre’s cast by Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley, Gemma McDonald’s Linda, Chris Gibson’s Joe, Stuart Rae’s Fred and Kevin, Robbie Howe’s Jim, Martyn Hunter’s Barry and Trevor Britain’s Patrick and Tony Christie.
“MARMiTE Theatre had hoped to follow up November 2025’s sell-out debut production of The Vicar Of Dibley with a return to the village of Dibley this year to continue the story of Hugo and Alice as they set out on married life & parenthood,” says Martyn.
“However, due to unforeseen difficulties, we’ve had to postpone a second visit but are keen to return to Dibley in 2027.” Watch this space.
Tickets for Ladies Day cost £15 at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Going out for the summer: Shed Seven, filmed by the huts on Brighton beach, are heading to Halifax this weekend
TICKETS sold out in only six and a half minutes for Shed Seven’s one-off 30th anniversary celebration of A Maximum High, their hit-laden 1996 album from Britpop’s apogee, at The Piece Hall, Halifax, on June 6.
Enjoying their second coming to the max, the York indie band will be opening the West Yorkshire outdoor venue’s summer of 41 shows, playing the 250,000-selling album in its entirety, complemented by a second set of career-spanning greatest hits and crowd favourites, in their only headline show of the British summertime.
“We are looking forward to giving A Maximum High’ the birthday party it deserves,” said lead singer Rick Witter, when tickets went on sale last October.
“We’re especially excited to be revisiting some of the songs we haven’t played for decades. We hope that fans will come from far and wide to join us at this ‘one night only’ huge celebratory event.”
They will indeed be doing that – and in very different circumstances to the last occasion the Sheds played the Piece Hall courtyard on August 28 2021, headlining an all-Yorkshire bill featuring Leeds bands The Pigeon Detectives and The Wedding Present and York’s Skylights.
The album artwork for Shed Seven’s second album, A Maximum High, released on April 1 1996 on Polydor Records
“My big memory of that night was that it was a little weird because it was our first gig coming out of the [Covid-19] lockdown, when we were allowed to mingle again,” Rick recalls. “To go on stage close to all those people actually span my head a little after sitting on my own in my kitchen for months on end! It took a little time to adjust.”
The primary focus will be on A Maximum High, released in 1996 on Polydor Records on April 1 – this was no April Fool’s Day prank – and going on to peak at number eight, spend 26 weeks on the Official UK Album Charts and spawn five singles, Where Have You Been Tonight? (a hit in 1995), Getting Better, Going For Gold, Bully Boy and On Standby.
Before the year was out, stand-alone single Chasing Rainbows peaked at number 11, making the Sheds the only British band to achieve five Top 40 singles in the UK charts that year.
Thirty years on, Rick looks back to the genesis of that landmark album. “We’d used an unknown producer [Jessica Corcoran] in 1994 for our debut, Change Giver, so it was very innocent, very raw. It was a case of, ‘these are the songs and that’s all we’ve got’, like REM and U2’s first albums,” he says.
“At this point it was all Blur versus Oasis, and we knew we had to hold our own. Out came Where Have You Been Tonight?, and then we kind of scrapped songs, then did a showcase in the record company offices of Bully Boy and Going For Gold, where the record label owner said he wasn’t convinced by Going For Gold!”
Shed Seven’s 2026 line-up: Paul Banks (guitar, keyboards), left, Rob Maxfield (drums), Rick Witter (lead vocals), Tom Gladwin (bass) and Tim Wills (guitars and keyboards)
They could have been dispirited but the Sheds responded by writing Lies, Getting Better and what would become the album-closer, the six-minute Parallel Lines, the Champagne Supernova of A Maximum High.
“I’d written the lyric ‘I’m feeling bright, I feel all new’ and we’d go round town shouting that line,” says Rick. “That set the tone, going into the studio.”
This time, too, they would be working with an established producer, Chris Sheldon, at RAK Studios. “He’d produced Therapy,” says Rick. “They were Mickie Most’s studios, with accommodation rooms for us and big sunken baths that you could imagine Status Quo having been in there!
“We got on a roll with it, and what potentially could have been a ‘difficult second album’ actually became quite easy. We then wrote Chasing Rainbows while we were on tour for the album and thought it was too good to hold back for the next album in two years’ time – and that song is now very much associated with that year.”
For all their achievements in that annus mirabilis, the Sheds did not garner the headlines of the likes of Blur, Oasis and Pulp. “I’ve never really been one to not be myself, and to get magazine covers you had to do something like slap someone around the face, and I’m just not that kind of guy,” says Rick.
Shed Seven’s poster for Saturday’s one-off concert, A Maximum High 30th Anniversary Show, at The Piece Hall, Halifax
“That hindered us in some respects, but that [behaviour] does not compute with me because music is for everybody. There were some nice things said about us by the music press, but also some terrible things, about my haircut, my choice of trousers I was wearing, but if we kept selling records, we were happy just trundling along!
“It was the same story with wanting to stay in York, where we knew everyone and we could stay grounded, whereas if we’d moved to London, I’m convinced we would have been finished by 1999. Going home from London, it was two hours on the train, then you’d be seeing your friends, they’d ask you questions and then they’d tell you about fixing radiators.”
Further hit singles would follow – 15 in total – but A Maximum High would live up to its title until the Sheds’ renaissance was crowned with two number one albums in 2024. “I think we’re now in our second peak,” says Rick, as they look ahead to the biggest ever Shedcember 20 tour in November and December and continue to work on their next album. Already in the can is the video for the first single, filmed in Wakefield, but details will be kept under wraps until early July.
“The surprises” promised for The Piece Hall must remain a secret too until next Saturday’s set.
Shed Seven, A Maximum High 30th Anniversary Show, TK Maxx Presents Live At The Piece Hall, Halifax, June 6, supported by special guests Seb Lowe and The Guest List. SOLD OUT. Doors open at 6.30pm.
Writer Alexander McCall Smith: Taking part in York Festival of Ideas 2026. Picture: Alexander McCall Smith Portraits
NOT only a festival, held on university soil, is full of ideas. So too is Charles Hutchinson in his list of fruitful artistic pursuits as June blooms.
Festival of the fortnight: York Festival of Ideas, Place & Space, until June 12
YORK Festival of Ideas 2026 explores Place and Space in more than 200 mostly free in-person and online events designed to educate, entertain and inspire.
Led by the University of York, the event features world-class speakers, such as Nicola Sturgeon, Dame Kelly Holmes, Alexander McCall Smith and Stuart Rose, performances, exhibitions, tours, family-friendly activities, a Michael Morpurgo celebration day and much more, with topics ranging from archaeology to art, history to health, politics to psychology, football to Manchester’s Music Soul. For the full programme, go to: yorkfestivalofideas.com.
Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Matt Crockett
Musical of the week: SplitLip in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
THE year is 1943 and we are losing the war but, luckily, we can gamble all our futures on a stolen corpse. Singin’ In The Rain meets Strangers On A Train in SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat, the Olivier and Tony award-winning musical take on the unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission that won us the Second World War.
Bursting at the seams with chaos beyond invention, the question is: how did a dead body, a fake love letter and MI5 operative Ian Fleming come together to wrong-foot Hitler? Let Christian Andrews, Holly Sumpton, Seán Carey, Charlotte Hanna-Williams and latest recruit Jamie-Rose Monk tell the tale. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Rosalinda at the double: Alexandra Mather, left, and Olivia Turner sharing the principal role -two performances each – in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
Opera of the week: York Opera in Die Fledermaus, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 4pm
YORK Opera is marking two milestones with John Soper and Elizabeth Watson’s production of Johann Strauss II’s party opera Die Fledermaus: the company’s 60th anniversary and its 40th year of performances at York Theatre Royal.
When lavish host Prince Orlofsky seeks fresh amusement at his New Year’s Eve party, what better place for disguises, deception and revenge served with chilled champagne? Alexandra Mather and Olivia Turner share the role of Rosalinda; likewise, Stephanie Wong and LaLa Marais both play Adele, alongside Molly Raine’s Orlofsky and Ian Thomson-Smith’s Falke. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The book cover artwork for Fiona Mozley’s Awake Awake
Book event of the week: An Evening with Fiona Mozley, Awake, Awake, Waterstones, Coney Street, York, June 4, 7pm
“WHAT if you can no longer trust your memories,” asks York author Fiona Mozley in her third novel, Awake Awake, published on June 4 by John Murray.
Booker-Shortlisted for her debut Elmet, and now resident in Edinburgh, Fiona returns to her home roots to discuss her new meditation on memory, loss and moral courage in a York-located story that revolves around a woman haunted by vivid memories of things she suspects never could have happened.
Her hour-long talk will be followed by a Q&A between Fiona and the audience and a book-signing session will be held afterwards. Tickets: £6, Waterstones Plus Card members £5, at https://www.waterstones.com/events/an-evening-with-fiona-mozley-at-waterstones-york/york.
Writer-performers Molly Whitehouse and Dan Poppitt in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ premiere of Love At First Bite
Premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Love At First Bite, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 4 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
JOSH Woodgate directs Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse’s seductive new work Love At First Bite, wherein dating can be hell, but what if one of them were a creature of the night? What happens when Alan and Minnie meet at a speed-dating night? A spark flickers. Dates follow. Laughter lingers.
“Yet beneath the rhythms of a familiar rom-com, something waits in the dark,” say Poppitt and Whitehouse, who play the lovers in York company Black Sheep’s premiere. “One of them is a vampire – but the secret shifts. Each night, the actors trade fangs and the audience is left to wonder who is hunter, who is prey.” Blending sharp-fanged wit with a brush of gothic shadow, their play toys with romance, rewrites folklore and invites audiences to consider what it means to love…and to hunger! Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Sofia Romano in Silver Stage’s murder mystery Club Mistero at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Freya Chaston
Immersive murder mystery of the week: Silver Stage & Solent University present Club Mistero, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
LOSE yourself inside the dazzling but dangerous Club Mistero in 1920s’ New York City, where a flighty barman, outspoken diva, secretive showgirl, neglected wife and an owner with eyes on every corner all become suspects when someone is, seemingly, nowhere to be found. Clutch your pearls, ol’ sport, murder is afoot.
In the heart of a speakeasy, surrounded by deception and secrets, a web of betrayal, revenge and power is spun, whereupon tensions rise as the line between friend and foe is blurred, but who will survive the night? Silver Stage’s Evelyn Foy, George Mclean, Niamh Boyle, Sofia Romano and Borna Vitlov will keep you guessing to the very end. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Alchemy Live! pay tribute to Dire Straits at Malton’s Milton Rooms on Friday
Tribute gig of the week: Alchemy Live!, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
FORMED in 2020 by lifelong Dire Straits fans Martin Ledger and Neil Scott, Alchemy Live’s debut in York was delayed until May 13 2022 by the pandemic lockdowns. By January 2023, they were progressing to theatre shows.
Frontman Ledger says: “It has always been the ethos to concentrate on getting the music and sound right, rather than just putting on headbands and shiny jackets. Dire Straits themselves were always about the music first and we are fully committed to upholding that. Mark Knopfler has these little percussive flourishes in his playing, which are really difficult to re-create but without them it’s just not Knopfler.” Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Rick Astley: Opening the summer season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre
Let the seaside season begin: Rick Astley, TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Friday, gates open at 6pm
IN the wake of 2025’s number two album, Are We There Yet?, last November’s paperback edition of his autobiography, Never, and April’s Reflection arena tour, Newton-le-Willows crooner Rick Astley opens the 2026 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.
Now 60, Astley has enjoyed two chapters of success, kicking off with Never Gonna Give You Up topping the charts in 1987, leading to BRIT award success and further hits with Together Forever and Whenever You Need Somebody. After stepping away from the limelight, he marked his half-century by returning to the top spot with his comeback album, 50, and has never looked back, playing Glastonbury and the Royal Albert Hall and performing The Smiths’ songs with Blossoms and Frank Sinatra and swing classics at Henley Festival. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Director Courtney Brown in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook
Musical kicks of the week: Pickering Musical Society in Let’s Do It!r, The Cole Porter Songbook, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
IN a sparkling showcase of wit, romance, sophisticated melodies and clever lyrics, Pickering Musical Society celebrates the joyous Cole Porter Songbook, performing beloved songs from Anything Goes, Kiss Me, Kate and High Society and such hits as You’re The Top and I Get A Kick Out Of You under the direction of Courtney Brown.
The Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance’s vibrant tap, jazz and contemporary routines combine stylish choreography, glamorous costumes and a tribute to the Great American Songbook. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Charlotte Hanna-Williams’s Jean Leslie, Jamie-Rose Monks’ Johnny Bevan, Sean Carey’s Charles Cholmondeley, Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu and Christian Andrews’ Hester Leggatt in Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical. All pictures: Matt Crockett
LIKE Six The Musical, Operation Mincemeat’s reputation precedes its York arrival.
Six began as a Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society student show at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe; Operation Mincemeat was a Hail Mary of a change of tack by Edinburgh Fringe purveyors of “weird comedy” SplitLip, premiered at the New Diaroma Theatre, London, in May 2019. Edinburgh that summer, the West End in May 2023 and Broadway in February 2025 ensued, and now comes its first-ever tour.
The technical demands of SplitLip’s bravura show necessitated a two-day “get-in”, leading to the decision six weeks ago to switch the first night from Monday to Tuesday.
Unusually too, that led to the reviewers being posted in Rows D and E in the Stalls, rather than the familiar Row B and C in the Dress Circle, a regular position that affords a more panoramic view and less attrition for the ears. So near the stage, you can see the whites of the eyes, but music can take on the aural impact of white noise, particularly when those songs are often so hyper-energetic and intense.
Charlotte Hanna-Williams’ Jean Leslie in Operation Mincemeat
On the tour poster by the Clifford Street entrance, the wording ‘77 five-star reviews’ had been struck through to say ‘88’, as if a dare to reviewers to keep that count rising for “the best reviewed show in West End history”.
Six The Musical swanned in with much the same anticipation, or hype, if you prefer, and reviewers couldn’t resist giving six out of five verdicts for a novelty girl-power musical that put the herstory into history, turning Henry VIII’s wives into a competitive sextet vying to be lead singer in a girl band, as much a concert as an historical drama.
Operation Mincemeat is rooted in history too: the improbable but true story of perhaps the Second World War’s “most audacious intelligence coup”, the one where MI5 operatives deceived Nazi Germany over the intended invasion target of Sicily in 1943 by floating a dead body with the fake, misleading documents of a Royal Marines officer on to the Spanish coast.
That bizarre plot could make a play, and twice it has been transformed into a film, drawing on Ewen Montagu’s book for 1956’s The Man Who Never Was and 2021’s Operation Mincemeat, the Colin Firth one directed by John Madden.
Christian Andrews’ Hester Leggatt
Jamie-Rose Monk’s Colonel Johnny Bevan
SplitLip’s David Cumming, Natasha Hodgson, Felix Hagan and Zoe Roberts bring a comedy troupe’s sense of satire, experimentation, sketch structure, restless energy and order from chaos, beloved of Monty Python, The Fast Show and Patrick Barlow’s National Theatre of Brent shows and The 39 Steps revamp.
Consequently, the character-driven storytelling is Operation Mincemeat’s strongest suit, the humour delightfully British, knockabout, full of mischief, fizz, sometimes fury, and send-ups of British intelligence stereotypes, with room aplenty for pathos too to complement all the quips and stings so quick off the lips.
However, the songs are so prominent that Operation Mincemeat feels rather too close to a sung-through musical, and too often they go on too long and could do with more melody, rather than the propulsion and force typified by the lurid Nazi rap of Das Ubermensch that opens Act Two. Christian Andrews’ rendition of Hester Leggatt’s paean Dear Bill is a rare sobering intervention.
One review elsewhere in the country had suggested the “big question on our lips was: how on earth do you make a successful comedy musical about a wartime story?” Mel Brooks might wish to point you in the direction of 1967’s film The Producers and subsequent 2001 Broadway musical, featuring Springtime For Hitler et al.
Holly Sumpton’s Ewen Montagu
Brooks had a better balance of dialogue and music, but if Operation Mincemeat’s songs overplay their hand, former Sheffield Theatres artistic director Robert Hastie and tour director Georgie Straight nevertheless deliver a sophisticated, sassy, technically slick, fast-moving comic romp with stylish set and costume design by Ben Stones, full of elegant lines, intelligence-office minutiae, German cabaret club chic and classic English suits, jackets, braces and ties, as crisp as Jenny Arnold’s choreography.
Above all, Operation Mincemeat has superb performances by a cast of five, each kept busy with playing “Others” as well as the five principals, Holly Sumpton’s pin-sharp, pin-striped Ewen Montagu; Sean Carey’s awkward Charles Cholmondeley; Montagu’s co-devisor of Operation Mincemeat; Christian Andrews’ fastidious senior secretary Hester Leggatt; Jamie-Rose Monk’s Colonel Johnny Bevan, the intemperate boss, and Charlotte Hanna-Williams’ eager-to-learn 19-year-old clerk, Jean Leslie.
Part of the comedic impact lies in the multitude of gender swaps in the role-playing, designed to counter the Boys Club strictures that prevailed at the time. Company new recruit Monk has particular fun as ‘Our Man in Huelva’ and MI5 operative Ian Fleming; Carey’s Cholmondeley delivers a series of amusingly baffling one-liners; Andrews maximises his series of outré Others, especially his glitter-spattered coroner; Hanna-Williams has the peachiest singing voice; Sumpton, immaculate in dress code, sometimes inscrutable in manner, is both the ace and the joker in the pack.
A bells-and-whistles finale looks ahead to what the protagonists did next, but crucially too the show pays tribute to Glyndwr Michael, the homeless Welshman, who had died of rat poisoning in London, his body subsequently being given the invented persona of William Martin for Operation Mincemeat’s act of deception.
SplitLip’s Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical runs at Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.Also Hull New Theatre, July 6 to 11,7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/.
Wright & Grainger: Stories, poems, songs and gentle chaos in Say It & Play It at The Old Paint Shop on June 11. Picture: Afternoon Film
YORK Theatre Royal Studio is being transformed once again into The Old Paint Shop cabaret club for a month-long season of shows.
The June 4 to 26 programme opens with Queer Spaces, a joyful celebration of Pride in Thursday’s 7pm showcase of work by queer artists in the aftermath of May 30’s York Pride fiesta on Knavesmire.
This sparkling one-off night of new LGBTQ+ performances by actors, poets and writers includes award-winning artists trying out new material for the first time. Produced by Yorkshire queer touring theatre company Roots (Fringe First winners with Happy Meal), the show’s proceeds will support new local artists.
The season continues with a mix of Old Paint Shop favourites and exciting new acts, performing a mix of comedy, live music, burlesque and more.
Seating will be cabaret club-style and unreserved, offering an intimate theatrical experience, where audience members are encouraged to grab a drink at the bar, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
June 5, 5 The Penny Magpie Theatre Company presents 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche, 8pm, SOLD OUT.
WELCOME to 1956 whenthe Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is holding its annual quiche breakfast. As the assembled ‘widows’ await the announcement of the society’s prize-winning quiche, the atomic bomb sirens sound. Has the Communist threat come to pass? How will the ‘widows’ respond as their idyllic town and lifestyle faces attacks?
Winner of a national Best Amateur Production award after a sell-out run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, in 2024, 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche is a tasty recipe of humour, sexual innuendos, unsuccessful repressions and delicious discoveries, written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hopgood.
June 6, Story Time with Mama G, 1pm and 3pm
MAMA G will be sharing original stories, songs and some of the best picture books on the market in an uplifting story time for the whole family. Expect dancing and giggles galore as pantomime dame Mama G shares the power of being who you want and loving who you are!
She has been telling stories since 2018. In that time, she has been a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent, performed her show off-Broadway, performed at libraries, festivals, prides, museums and theatres all over the UK and penned the book Oh Yes I Am!, published in 2024.Suitable for age three upwards.
June 6,Haus of Games: Pride Month Party, 8pm
FASTEN your seatbelts and prepare for turbulence, darling, aboard Spread Eagle Airlines. The Isolation Creations are back, ready to take you sky-high with their old-school drag spectacular, Haus of Games.
This time, these Trolley Dollies take you on a first-class flight full of bingo, party games, music, and mayhem, all served with their signature blend of Carry On-style comedy, retro glamour and outrageous charm.
Celebrating Pride Month with laughter, glitter and a generous serving of nonsense at 30,000 feet, this camp fest of fun promises fabulous prizes and more double-entendres than an in-flight safety demo. Think Lily Savage meets Dame Edna, with more than a splash of Les Dawson. Dress code: Seaside Summer Holiday or Mile High Club chic; prizes for the best-dressed passengers!
June 10, Amber Topaz in Red, 8pm
INTERNATIONAL cabaret siren Amber Topaz presents a new, classy, sassy, fabulous musical revue, celebrating redheaded musical theatre stars of stage and screen.
This delicious cocktail of Old Hollywood glamour and West End and Broadway classics is brimful of iconic show-stopping numbers, honouring the formidable flame-haired trailblazers that have shaped musical theatre herstory.
From the golden era of Hollywood to the bright lights of Las Vegas, Red embodies legendary artists such as Rita Hayworth, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Shirley MacLaine, Gwen Verdon and many more. The show is choreographed and directed by Nikki Woollaston, resident director of the Les Misérables worldwide tour.
June 11, Wright & Grainger Say It & Play it, 8pm
FRIENDS and working partners since Easingwold schooldays, Wright & Grainger serve a carefully curated evening of stories, poems, songs and gentle chaos.
Known for their internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning adaptations of Ancient Greek myths, sometimes Alexander Flanagan Wright & Phil Grainger do something a tad different.
Say It And Play It will be a set full of their shorter stuff, the collaborative stuff, the poems that stand on their own, the beautiful tracks they have been writing.”It’s a gorgeous weave of our home-grown stuff, grown and told on home turf,” they say.
June 12, Tracey Collins, An Evening With Elvis Lesley, 8pm
COMEDIAN Tracey Collins (Shell Suit Cher, Audrey Heartburn) brings her one-woman musical comedy show to the York stage in the guise of Elvis Lesley, who is preparing to leave their day job in the UK and gyrate their way back to the bright lights of Las Vegas!
Brilliantly reworked songs, surreal stories, heart-stopping hip gyrations and a whole lotta chaos are in store but will Elvis Lesley nail the famous lip curl, sensuous croon and jiggly legs? Find out when witnessing Elvis as you have never seen them before!
June 13, The Jazzville Quartet with Kirsty Hughes, 8pm
YORK jazz combo The Jazzville Quartet present an evening led by London-based fabulous Kirsty Hughes, who sings in a variety of styles and settings, including West End shows and cabaret.
Royal Academy of Music graduate Kirsty will be showcasing her love of Judy Garland and the great jazz singers in an intimate cabaret-style performance, joined by piano maestro, arranger and composer Alec Robinson, saxophonist Alex Fisher, double bassist Tim Murgatroyd and drummer Steve Hanley.
The Jazzville Quartet will explore the Great American Songbook in a joyful celebration of swing and Latin classics and haunting jazz ballads. A few surprises are in the pipeline too.
June 17, Neil Haigh’s Comedy Masterclass Ruined by Stewart Wright, 8pm
NEIL Haigh’s Comedy Masterclass Ruined By Stewart Wright combines clowning, improvisation and theatrical storytelling as a beleaguered acting lecturer channels 20 years of disappointment into a one-off masterclass amid a backdrop of professional pressure and personal crisis. Will a surprise guest be his ruin or saviour?
Haigh’s experience with groundbreaking theatre company Cartoon de Salvo and Wright’s 30 years as a comic character actor (Smack The Pony, Bridget Jones’s Diary) combine exquisitely in their stage duo, shaped with BAFTA-nominated Justin Sbresni as their comedy consultant.
York audiences may recall Wright from his role as Welsh welfare officer Sergeant Dave in the Theatre Royal premiere of Debbie Isitt’s Military Wives – The Musical last September.
June 18, Rock Paper Goose, 8pm
YORK indie pop band Rock Paper Goose comprises multi-instrumentalists Nathan Greaves (vocals, guitar, synth) and Olly Whitehouse (vocals, synth, bass). They write catchy melodies over the top of infectious, colourful music that takes equal inspiration from rock, pop and EDM to create life-affirming shows full of playful energy and joy. Songs from September 2025’s debut album, Okay!, will be complemented by new, unreleased material.
June 19, Velvet Jazz Night with Luka Watabe, 8pm
LUKA Watabe brings rich, smooth vocal styling and Old Hollywood glamour to her sophisticated repertoire of classic jazz standards and modern songs, delivered with a sleek jazz twist by her professional musicians.
June 20, Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, 8pm, sold out
YORK’S international burlesque artist Freida Nipples returns to the Old Paint Shop with some of her favourite and most fabulous performance artists from across the UK and further afield.
From burlesque to drag and beyond, the unexpected will be in store. “Get ready to be dazzled, shocked and in awe by these performers,” says Freida. “Only a few things are guaranteed, glamour, gags and giggles. Get ready to explore the world of The Exhibitionists.”
Freida’s past Theatre Royal shows have paraded drag queens, acrobats, whipcrackers, circus artists, sideshow performers and stripteasers of many different flavours, from comedy caricatures to sensual fan dancers.
June 26, Karl Mullen, 8pm
YORK pianist Karl Mullen, upright-piano busker, The Phoenix fixture and Leeds Piano Competition Pub Piano Champion, closes the season by serving up his high-energy mix of everything from Chopin to Oasis, via Led Zeppelin and Les Dawson, packed with outrageous and heartfelt stories from decades of gigging and street playing.
Tickets can be booked on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Rachel Anderson in Pickering Musical Society’s Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook
GRAHAM Spink was invited to attend Monday’s dress rehearsal of Pickering Musical Society’s upcoming concert Let’s Do It!, The Cole Porter Songbook.
HAVING been involved in amateur theatre for most of my life, I was amazed at just how polished and professional the production already looked with more than a week still to go before opening night.
The first thing that catches the eye is the magnificent full-size grand piano taking pride of place centre stage. Director Courtney Brown and Luke Arnold have certainly pushed the boat out with this production, and it is refreshing to see a different style of staging, with a compact jazz band positioned on stage alongside the performers, rather than hidden away in the orchestra pit.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from an evening dedicated to one of the legends of the Great American Songbook, but the programme has been cleverly structured.
The first half focuses on music from Cole Porter’s hit musicals, including Kiss Me, Kate and Anything Goes, while the second half takes on a more intimate cabaret atmosphere.
Here, the on-stage musicians and grand piano really come into their own, acting as both backdrop and accompaniment for a selection of Porter’s best-known songs, ranging from upbeat jazz numbers to moody, sensual ballads.
The production features a relatively small principal cast, wonderfully supported by the talented students of the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance. Even at this stage, the standard of performance was exceptional.
Personal highlights for me included Anything Goes from the musical of the same name, Too Darn Hot from Kiss Me, Kate and the charming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? from High Society.
To conclude, I would like to thank Luke and Courtney for inviting me to enjoy this early preview of what promises to be a thoroughly entertaining and stylish production.
I would highly recommend the show and encourage everyone to book tickets before they sell out — I have already been online this morning and booked ours!
Pickering Musical Society presents Let’s Do It!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833 or www.kirktheatre.co.uk.
Rosalinda at the double: Alexandra Mather, left, and Olivia Turner, in rehearsal for their shared role – two performances each -in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
YORK Opera is marking not one but two milestones with John Soper and Elizabeth Watson’s production of Die Fledermaus from tomorrow to Saturday.
This year is the company’s 60th anniversary and the 40th anniversary of its first appearance at York Theatre Royal: hence the summer production choice of Johann Strauss II’s party opera, wherein lavish host Prince Orlofsky seeks fresh amusement at his New Year’s Eve party. What better place for disguises, deception and revenge served with chilled champagne?
On an earlier occasion, Doctor Falke had been humiliated by his old friend Herr Eisenstein, who persuaded him to dress for a party as a bat [Die Fledermaus]. After much amusement and ridicule, eventually he was abandoned to wander the streets of Vienna. Falke plots his revenge with a cocktail of hidden secrets, mistaken identities and a splash or two of champagne that leads to a comedy of errors that soon takes flight. Will the bat be revenged?
Olivia Turner and Alexandra Mather will share the role of Rosalinda; likewise, Stephanie Wong and LaLa Marais both will play Adele, after the decision to double cast the principal roles was made in response to the high calibre of talent displayed at the auditions.
Olivia Turner: Making her York Opera debut as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
Here Olivia and Alexandra a series of questions on being the two faces of Rosalinda in York Opera’s Die Fledermaus.
How would you describe Rosalinda’s character?
Olivia: “She is a glamorous and spirited character who enjoys flirting with her many admirers. She is intelligent and likes to think she can outwit her unfaithful husband.”
Alexandra: “She’s sassy, spirited and more than a little mischievous. She’s intelligent and enjoys staying one step ahead of everyone around her. While she’s quick to challenge her husband’s infidelities, she’s not entirely innocent herself, which gives the character a wonderfully cheeky hypocrisy. She’s fun-loving, free-spirited, flirtatious and full of personality.”
Do you play a different role on the nights when you’re not playing Rosalinda?
Olivia: “No, I will only be performing the role of Rosalinda tonight and on Friday.”
Alexandra: “No. Rosalinda is quite a substantial role, so we’re making the most of our nights off when we’re not performing! That said, I’ll certainly be there watching and cheering Liv on. I’ll be performing the role of Rosalinda tomorrow and on Saturday.”
Alexandra Mather rehearsing a scene from Die Fledermaus with Karl Reiff. Picture: David Kessel
Have you performed in Die Fledermaus previously?
Olivia: “No, this is my first time performing in Die Fledermaus, but I watched a production at the Royal College of Music, which I really enjoyed.”
Alexandra: “No, this is my first time, although it’s a piece I’ve wanted to do for a very long time. I’ve been familiar with and loved the music for years, so it’s a real pleasure finally to be performing it.”
What’s your big number in the show?
Olivia: “Csárdás, where I am disguised as a Hungarian Countess and am trying to convince the party I am Hungarian through the music of my homeland.”
Alexandra: “Like Liv, my showcase number is the Csárdás. However, my personal favourite piece to perform is probably the Watch Duet. I remember seeing a performance featuring Joan Sutherland when I was about 14 and becoming completely obsessed with it. It’s one of the pieces that first sparked my interest in opera, so performing it now feels particularly special.”
Have you worked separately or together in rehearsal?
Olivia: “During rehearsals we would generally run the scenes separately to allow each of us to explore our own ideas and styles, but we have been supporting each other throughout the process, which has been helpful.”
“Rosalinda is a glamorous and spirited character who enjoys flirting with her many admirers,” says Olivia Turner. Picture: John Saunders
Alexandra: “A bit of both. We’ve rehearsed scenes separately so that we could each develop our own interpretation of Rosalinda, but we’ve also spent a lot of time watching and learning from each other. It’s been a very supportive process, and it’s always useful to have someone nearby who knows your lines when you suddenly forget them!”
What is your history of performing with York Opera?
Olivia: “This is my first time. Everyone has been so welcoming and it has been a pleasure to be involved in this 60th anniversary production.”
Alexandra: “I’ve been performing with York Opera for nearly ten years, and I feel incredibly privileged to be part of the company. They are one of the most welcoming and supportive groups I’ve ever worked with. It may sound clichéd, but they really do feel like a family. York Opera provides opportunities for performers to sing and act at a very high level alongside a full orchestra and exceptional musicians, and I’ve always felt both challenged and supported here.”
What is the principal joy of singing on the York Theatre Royal stage?
Olivia: “I am very excited as this will be my first time singing on the Theatre Royal stage.”
Alexandra: “York Theatre Royal is a fantastic venue. It’s large enough to feel exciting and impressive, but intimate enough that you never lose the connection with the audience. Smaller comic moments still land beautifully, and you can really feel the audience responding to what’s happening on stage. It’s also wonderful to bring local audiences into a thriving local theatre and support a venue that plays such an important role in York’s cultural life.”
York Opera in Die Fledermaus, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow (3/6/2026), Thursday and Friday, 7.30pm, Saturday, 4pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Alexandra Matherin the role of Rosalindain York Opera’s photoshoot at Little Wold Vinery, South Cave, Brough. Picture: David Kessel
Four more questions for Alexandra:
What does sharing the role with Olivia bring to the production?
“It’s a really interesting opportunity to see another person’s interpretation of the role and to learn from their approach. Every performer brings something different to a character, so it’s fascinating to watch how Liv has developed her Rosalinda. It’s also been lovely getting to know her throughout the rehearsal process, and we’ve been able to support each other along the way.”
What are the primary delights of Die Fledermaus as a “party opera”?
“The joy of Die Fledermaus is that it’s light, frothy and enormous fun. It’s wonderfully easy to watch and enjoy. The waltzes and Strauss melodies sweep you along and create an atmosphere of pure celebration.
“At the same time, it has moments of genuine beauty, such as the Act II ensemble Brother Mine, where the pace briefly slows and you’re treated to some glorious, warm-hearted music. It’s a show that balances comedy, elegance and charm perfectly.”
Alexandra Mather in discussion with Die Fledermaus co-director Elizabeth Watson. Picture: David Kessel
How does the directing partnership of John Soper and Elizabeth Watson work?
“They work together extremely well because they bring different strengths to the production. John is a fantastic designer who creates and builds all of our sets himself, so he approaches the show with a very strong visual perspective. Liz is particularly skilled at character work, relationships and emotional storytelling.
“John also has an excellent comic instinct and a brilliant sense of timing, while Liz excels at shaping the more romantic and emotional moments. Together they create a really effective balance.”
What is coming up next for you in 2026?
“Next, I’ll be appearing in Michael Frayn’s classic farce Noises Off with Pick Me Up Theatre at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in October. I’m very much looking forward to swapping one kind of comic chaos for another and trading operatic farce for one of the greatest stage comedies ever!”
Alexandra Mather‘s Rosalinda, left, and Stephanie Wong’s Adele, enjoying York Opera’s photoshoot at Little Wold Vinery ahead of this week’s production of Die Fledermaus. Picture: David Kessel
Ralf Little’s British intelligence officer Alec Leamas in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. Picture: Johan Persson
FOR the first time, a novel by John le Carré, master of the modern spy genre, is being brought to life on stage in a thrilling adaptation of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
Ralf Little, best known for playing Detective Inspector Neville Parker in Death In Paradise, Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps, will lead the cast as Alec Leamas in Second Half Productions and The Ink Factory’s tour of the Chichester Festival Theatre production.
“It is a huge privilege to be stepping into the shoes of one of John le Carré’s great literary creations, Alec Leamas, as we bring the murky world of his Cold War masterpiece to life on stage,” says Oldham-born actor, writer, presenter, narrator and former semi-professional footballer Little, 46. “I first read The Spy Who Came In From the Cold when I was 16 and it has stayed with me ever since.
Ralf Little: Touring 21 venues in the role of Alec Leamas in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.Picture: Michael Wharley
“Reading David Eldridge’s brilliant script, I once again found myself drawn into the story’s unexpected twists and turns, its high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse between East and West, which David has captured so thrillingly in the play. Despite being written in the Sixties, it feels startlingly relevant to the times we are living in now. I can’t wait to share this story with audiences old and new as we take it to cities right across the UK.”
Named in TIME Magazine’s All-Time Greatest 100 Novels and still a best seller after more than six decades, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold takes a journey through the fog-shrouded terrain of Cold War espionage, deception and moral compromise, adapted by Eldridge (Beginning; Middle; End, all National Theatre) from the work of Le Carré, creator of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Night Manager.
Disillusioned, weary and hardened, British intelligence officer Alec Leamas is ready to come in from the cold, until veteran agent George Smiley persuades him to take one final mission —dangerous, deceptive and deeply personal — against the East German Secret Service. Despatched into enemy territory, deep undercover, he finds his convictions tested and his defences breached by Liz Gold, a quietly defiant librarian, whose compassion threatens to thaw his frostbitten heart.
Ralf Little’s Alec Leamas, left, in a scene from The Spy Who came In From The Cold. Picture: Johan Persson
After a sold-out run at Chichester Festival Theatre and a West End premiere at @sohoplace in a14-week run from November 2025 to February 2026, the play is on a 21-venue tour from March 21 to August 22, under the direction of Jeremy Herrin (Grace Pervades; A Mirror; People, Places & Things; Long Day’s Journey Into Night).
Little’s Alec Leamas is joined by Grainne Dromgoole as Liz Gold, Tony Turner as George Smiley, Nicholas Murchie as Control and Peter Losasso as Hans-Dieter Mundt. Completing the cast are Eddie Toll as Fielder, Melody Chikakane Brown as Miss Crail/President of the Tribunal, Jeff D’Sangalang as Ashe, Jonny Burman as Riemeck/Kiever and Jo Servi as Pitt/Ford, with Clara Wessely and James Burman in the ensemble.
The creative team includes designer Max Jones, lighting designer Azusa Ono, sound designer Elizabeth Purnell, composer Paul Englishby, movement director Lucy Cullingford and tour director Joe Lichtenstein.
Second Half Productions and The Ink Factory presents Chichester Festival Theatre in John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, Grand Opera House, York, June 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The poster for Ralf Little’s appearance in John le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
Who’s the sucker in this vampire rom.com relationship? Writer-performers Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse rehearsing Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ premiere of the mutable Love At First Bite
“HAVE you ever wondered what it would be like to finally meet someone you truly connect with – only to discover they might be a blood-sucking vampire?” ponders Josh Woodgate, director of Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ premiere of Love At First Bite.
“This play explores exactly that, blending the warmth and charm of a romantic comedy with the darkly playful twist of vampire lore. Audiences can expect laughter, surprises, awkward dates, emotional turns and a story that constantly keeps you guessing.”
Written and performed by Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse, who will be joined by the multi-rolling Charlie Clarke, Love At First Bite will shape-shift every performance from Thursday to Saturday at Theatre@41, Monkgate, where the York company staged The Tempest and The Inner Selves last year.
“With a unique theatrical style, sharp comedy and an ever-changing mystery at its centre, the show invites you to fully immerse yourself in a love story with a very unexpected bite,” says Josh.
In a nutshell, Poppitt and Whitehouse’s seductive new work imagines a world where dating already can be hell, but what if one of them were a creature of the night? When Alan and Minnie meet at a speed-dating night, a spark flickers, dates follow, laughter lingers, yet “beneath the rhythms of a familiar rom-com, something waits in the dark,” say Dan and Molly, who play the lovers.
Director Josh Woodgate in rehearsal with Molly Whitehouse for Love At First Bite
“One of them is a vampire, but the secret shifts. Each night, the actors trade fangs and the audience is left to wonder who is hunter, who is prey.”
Blending sharp-fanged wit with a brush of gothic shadow, Love At First Bite toys with romance, rewrites folklore and invites audiences to consider what it means to love…and to hunger!
“What excites me most about the play is its unpredictability,” says Josh. “The audience is constantly invited to question and reassess what they think they know, and the anticipation of not knowing who the vampire is each night creates a really thrilling theatrical experience. That sense of uncertainty keeps the story alive and ever changing.”
He has found the process of adapting the story from page to stage “very natural”. “By using a minimal set alongside ambience and music, we’ve been able to transition with fluidity between scenes through sound and atmosphere, rather than relying on large set changes,” says Josh. “This allows the audience to imaginatively immerse themselves in each location and moment.
“Dan and Molly’s writing already contains all the warmth, humour and nuance of a classic romance, so my role has largely been about bringing that to life physically in focusing on movements, rhythm and comedic timing to ensure the humour lands naturally and the story speaks for itself.”
“As they also wrote the piece, they bring such a deep understanding of the world, the relationships and the tone of the show, which has been invaluable in the rehearsal room,” says Josh Woodgate of working with Dan Poppitt and Molly Whitehouse
Josh’s approach to utilising Theatre@41’s black-box design has involved “reimagining the layout by rotating the playing area by 90 degrees, creating a wider and more dynamic performance space for the actors”. “Most of the action takes place centrally, allowing the relationships and interactions to remain the focus, while either side of the stage houses two apartments spaces representing the separate homes of the human and the vampire,” he says.
The rehearsal process with Poppitt, Whitehouse and Clarke has been “incredibly creative and rewarding,” says Josh. “As two of them also wrote the piece, they bring such a deep understanding of the world, the relationships and the tone of the show, which has been invaluable in the rehearsal room.
“They’ve embraced every challenge and idea I’ve thrown at them with openness and creativity, pushing the comedy when needed, while also allowing the quieter, more emotional moments the space to breathe and resonate.”
Love At First Bite is Molly’s first piece of writing for the stage in a “very long time”. “It’s been amazing to focus in again on how to put across the ideas and emotions that had been bouncing around in my brain,” she says. “Passion for the source inspiration has helped massively, and getting to dig even deeper into what I thought I was an expert on has been great fun. I hope the audience can join us in celebrating that nerdiness.”
Love At First Bite grew from Dan’s initial idea for a vampire rom.com. “It was all we talked about all evening,” recalls Molly. “The ideas just kept flying and I knew we were on the same page. Working alongside someone who sees how the cogs turn and is on your wavelength, with the same dark humour and love of the game has been a pleasure.” Molly duly took the lead on Act One; Dan did the lion’s share on Act Two.
Love At First Bite director Josh Woodgate, left, with cast members Molly Whitehouse, Dan Poppitt and Charlie Clarke
Molly describes herself as a huge horror fan, but is even more fascinated by “vampire lore and its complexity”. “I remember my Mum showing me Interview With The Vampire when I was way too young – and I was hooked,” she says. “As I got older and learned more about vampire lore from other movies, books and folklore, it became an absolute fascination with how cultures used mythology to explain phenomena they couldn’t understand.
“I’ve always looked for ways to use that in my own work, taking an idea and using it as a metaphor to comment on something else; a way to get a bigger idea across in a way that makes my perspective make sense to an audience.
“Vampires are a perfect way to do that: they can live through massive chunks of history; they live in the shadows, keep their powers a secret, and the somewhat parasitic nature of drinking blood leans into exploring power and relationship dynamics in a twisty way that gives you massive scope for creativity.”
Summing up what audiences can expect from Love At First Bite, Molly says: “If you’re a fan of Notting Hill or The Lost Boys, there’s something in here for you. It’s a rom.com at heart, so audiences can expect something funny, fast paced and really relatable with a cheeky supernatural twist.
“It follows a new couple navigating all the usual excitement and awkwardness of a fresh relationship but with the minor complication that one of them is a vampire. What makes it really fun is the vampire switches between the two characters, depending on the performance. So you’re not just watching one version of the story – there are two completely different dynamics at play and it genuinely changes how you see the relationship unfold.
“It’s got a lot of laughs, a bit of bite, and that all-tto-recognisable feeling of ‘Do I really know this person?’.”
Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ retro-style move poster pastiche for Love At First Bite
