In the jaws of a Jurassic rampage: Dinosaur meets doctor in Jurassic Earth at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Chris Thompson
JURASSIC Earth’s “live dinosaur show” roams York in an immersive experience for all ages at the Grand Opera House on January 28 at 1pm and 4pm.
State-of-the-art, animatronic, life-like dinosaurs feature in this 75-minute interactive story-telling show where audiences can not only laugh, scream and sing but also “talk to a Triceratops, roar with a T-Rex, look up to a Brontosaurus, scream with a Spinosaurus and run from a Raptor”.
Joined by a zany professor and an eccentric doctor, a team of rangers and dinosaurs brings the Jurassic era to life through a combination of entertainment and education.
Audiences are invited to “bring your biggest roar and your fastest feet as you take Ranger Danger’s masterclass to become an Official Dinosaur Ranger – gaining the skills you need to come face-to-face with the world’s largest walking Tyrannosaurus Rex, a big-hearted Brontosaurus, tricky Triceratops, uncontrollable Carnotaurus, vicious Velociraptors and sneaky Spinosaurus”.
Anything else? You can “feel the excitement of watching a dinosaur egg hatch in front of your eyes and experience the thrill of meeting the cutest Ankylosaurus, Pterodactyl and baby hatchlings”.
Jurassic Earth’s dinosaurs have featured on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky, not least on ITV’s Dancing On Ice where the naughty Raptor snuck up on Holly Willoughby and Ashley Banjo.
For tickets, go to: atgtickets.com/york.
Dinosaur roar: The animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex in Jurassic Earth
Tom Bird: Goodbye York Theatre Royal, hello Sheffield Theatres. Picture: Esme Mai
CHIEF executive Tom Bird is leaving York Theatre Royal after five years on February 3 to take up the equivalent post at Sheffield Theatres, England’s largest producing theatre complex outside London.
Head hunted for a post he “just couldn’t turn down”, he will migrate southwards to replace Dan Bates, who exited Sheffield last year after 13 years to become executive director of Bradford’s UK City of Culture 2025 programme.
From February 6, North Easterner (and Newcastle United fan) Tom he will be in charge of the South Yorkshire trio of Sheffield’s Crucible, Lyceum and Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse (formerly the Studio), working closely with artistic director Robert Hastie and interim chief exec Bookey Oshin, who will stay on as deputy CEO, and the senior team.
He leaves behind a York Theatre Royal where he has overseen an emphasis on community productions and the showcasing of York talent; the departure of innovative artistic director Damian Cruden after 22 years and Britain’s longest-running pantomime dame, Berwick Kaler, after 41; the promotion of Juliet Forster to creative director with a programming team, and new partnerships with Emma Rice’s Wise Children company (and in turn the National Theatre) and Evolution Productions for the pantomime’s new chapter.
Such change could be planned, but then there was Covid, a shadow cast from March 2020, one that not only shut down the theatre in lockdown but led to redundancies and later the loss of £250,000 takings in a flash when the Christmas and New Year week of Cinderella last winter fell foul to a glut of positive tests.
York Theatre Royal chief executive Tom Bird, centre, with creative director Juliet Forster and Evolution Productions director and pantomime writer Paul Hendy
“We were on to our fourth Cinderella by then,” recalls Tom. “It was impossible to continue. It couldn’t have happened in a worse week. Losing those performances was awful, even though we got going again for the last performances.”
Twelve months on, Tom bids farewell with the Theatre Royal in a healthy position. “There’s money in the bank; there’s a great team working here; the pantomime is reinvigorated; the programming is good; there are excellent partnerships in place. I’m really proud of everything we’ve done,” he says.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a mission as such as I guess I wanted to learn that mission as I went along, and I certainly think the Theatre Royal is in a strong position. The relationship with Arts Council England is so important, and to still be on the NPO scheme [for National Portfolio funding for £1.8 million for 2023-2026) is so important.
“If I have one regret – and I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to run Sheffield – it is that it would have been nice to now have had two or three ‘normal’ years at York Theatre Royal as it’s such a wonderful place.”
Looking back on becoming the Theatre Royal’s executive director at 34 – he would later change the title to chief executive – after he and his family moved to York in December 2017, Tom says: “It was a massive change because my unofficial title at the Globe [Shakespeare’s Globe in London] was ‘Mr International’, producing a tour of Hamlet to 189 countries, but my personal circumstances had changed already.
A scene from The Coppergate Woman, York Theatre Royal’s 2022 community play. Picture: Jane Hobson
“We’d moved out to Kent; I’d been working as executive producer nationally and internationally, and though there was a lot of gloom about regional theatre at the time, I just thought, I’d love to get back north, to run a theatre.
“We’d co-produced plays to York, and there’s just something about the Theatre Royal, the building; the gorgeous auditorium.”
Nevertheless, Tom admits he was in for a surprise. “At first I thought, if you just transplanted London theatre here, it would work, but that was not the case,” he says. “York is a city of inequality, not the city that you would expect, and therefore not the theatre you would expect. You need to offer a cultural menu that caters for everyone. You have to fully fit in with the needs of the community, which is an exciting thing to do.
“After Damian left (in summer 2019), we wanted to make sure that we would be programming in a more collaborative way than we’d done before. I think there’s since been the same amount of co-producing of shows, but we also said we wanted to do ‘very Yorkshire’ productions, like The Coppergate Woman community play and David Reed’s world premiere of Guy Fawkes last autumn.
“We’ve created the programming team, led by Juliet Forster, with associate director John R Wilkinson and resident artists, that naturally produces a wide range of voices and makes sure everything is rigorously tested as to what we will put on that stage and why.”
Wise Children’s co-production of Wuthering Heights with the National Theatre and York Theatre Royal
Community theatre is crucial, Tom says: “It’s what audiences want. It’s absolutely what people in the community say they want to see. The audiences for our community plays are phenomenal. July’s production of CJ Sansom’s Sovereign is already on track to sell out. York wants theatre shows that tell stories of the city and we’ve always tried to do that in an experimental way, which leads to us taking risks.”
For all the weight of its history, York needs to be averse to standing still. “The city has to make sure it’s always being dynamic in its culture and outlook, otherwise it will take on the profile of being frozen in aspic,” warns Tom.
“That’s why we did a hippy-trippy, Covid-influenced Viking story [The Coppergate Woman] and a dark comedy version of Guy Fawkes that people didn’t expect. You have to be ambitious and surprising. That’s a word we use all the time: the reward for York audiences is to be pleasantly surprised.”
As for the changing of the old guard in the pantomime, Tom says: “I’m conscious that it’s what I’ll be remembered for here, which is a shame. Bringing down the curtain on something is not what I want to be remembered for, but, to an extent, whoever had my job at the time, was going to have to deal with it in some way.
“Maybe someone else would have taken a different route, or taken it earlier, but I worked on three of Berwick’s pantomimes, so it wasn’t as though I didn’t know what I was dealing with, but there was an issue coming down the road in ten to 15 years’ time , maybe earlier: family audiences were not coming to the panto in2017-2018, so what was going to happen in future years?
“I’d grown an affinity with the company in those three years, as everyone does; you realise the exceptional quality of performers like David Leonard, but in all conscience, I could not responsibly leave the situation as it was.
Berwick Kaler playing Molly Motley in his last York Theatre Royal pantomime, The Grand Old Dame Of York, in 2018-2019. He co-directed and wrote the next year’s show, Sleeping Beauty, his last involvement with the Theatre Royal panto after 41 years
“I got a lot of public criticism – and a lot of private criticism too – and really there was a lack of understanding of what I was trying to achieve in making the change, which may have been my fault as I could have it explained it earlier, but everything I said at the time still stands.
“The audiences were declining and there was no obvious way of turning it around with that product still in place, and I would say that the decision to go into a partnership with Evolution Productions has been proved to be the right one.
“The new pantomime is still growing and we know there’s still work to do, but we’re really happy with how it’s going.”
After such highlights as The Travelling Pantomime’s socially distanced performances to York neighbourhoods in the first winter of Covid, the Love Bites and Green Shoots showcases for York professional theatre-makers, the Wise Children/National Theatre/York Theatre Royal co-production of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, and Tom’s groundwork for Kyiv City Ballet’s first ever British visit in June, he moves to Sheffield in the year he turns 40.
In the words of Lord Kerslake, chair of Sheffield Theatres Trust board: “We have appointed a driven, experienced and creative leader who will help shape the next chapter of this world-class organisation.”
Just as Tom Bird has shaped York Theatre Royal’s future too.
Danielle Bird’s Charlie Chaplin, front, being lifted by Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel in a scene from Charlie & Stan with fellow cast members Sara Alexander (Charlie’s Mum and show pianist) and Nick Haverson (Fred Karno and show drummer). Picture: Matt Crockett
CHARLIE Chaplin and Stan Laurel could have been the greatest comedy double act that nearly was, and now they are in Told By An Idiot’s fantasia Charlie & Stan.
On tour from February 7 to March 4 after playing the 47th London International Mime Festival in a run at Wilton’s Music Hall, writer-director Paul Hunter’s silent comedy visits York Theatre Royal from February 14 to 18 in a poignant celebration of two Englishmen who changed the world of comedy
First told by Told By An Idiot in 2019, then revived by producer David Pugh for social-distanced performances and a run outdoors at Cornwall’s Minack Theatre under pandemic restrictions, Hunter’s “trueish” piece of magical storytelling returns in 2023 with its intertwining of real-life events with a fantastical reimagining of Chaplin and Laurel’s two years spent touring together before either became famous.
“The initial starting point was a friend of the company bringing us the idea of telling the story of the then unknown Charlie and Stan setting sail for New York in 1910 as part of Fred Karno’s music hall troupe, sharing a cabin and travelling around North America for 18 months with Stan as Charlie’s understudy,” says Paul, whose revival kickstarts Told By An Idiot’s 30th anniversary year.
“Stan got homesick and came home; Charlie received his invitation to go to Hollywood and within five years became one of the most famous faces in the world.”
To make Charlie & Stan, Paul created a detailed storyboard structure and then fleshed out the scenarios with the actors, just as with Chaplin would eschew a script in favour of thinking, “the only thing I want to do is make something in a particular place” and then work from there.
Told By An Idiot writer-director Paul Hunter
“I knew I didn’t want to have mime or be experimental or avant-garde, but just tell the story without words but with the help of props and a jazz piano score by Zoe Rahman [played live by Sara Alexander] in a very captivating 85 minutes straight through to mirror the length of Chaplin’s films such as The Gold Rush.”
Paul may “play fast and loose with the facts” in his non-verbal, highly physical show but he did investigate into why a partnership failed to materialise. “Chaplin never mentioned Laurel even once in his autobiography, whereas Stan talked about Charlie, about him being our greatest comedian, until his dying day,” he says.
“Maybe this was the greatest double act that never was, but Chaplin was never going to share the spotlight with anyone, after his horrendous childhood. Maybe he was also jealous of Laurel because he was so talented too. Like when Stan had to go out on stage on his own when Karno refused to increase Charlie’s pay – and there was Charlie, sitting watching him from the fourth row!
“Ultimately, Laurel found his soul mate in Oliver Hardy, whereas Chaplin was a complete one-off, not only an extraordinary performer but also there’s an argument to say he was one of the greatest film directors, working in the dark with new skills as filmmaking changed.”
Paul’s show is based on fact, but “we refer to it as a true fantasy, where setting sail for New York leads us into the world of imagination with flash-forwards to Stan bumping into his future comedy partner and Charlie’s Little Tramp character evolving,” he says.
“We made a very conscious decision that all scenes should be completely inventions of our own, rather than taken from any film – and I love how we’ve been able to hoodwink people into thinking they are movie scenes!”
Setting sail for America: Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel, left, and Danielle Bird’s Charlie Chaplin. Picture: Matt Crockett
Chaplin was 21, Laurel a little younger, when they headed to America. “It’s a big thing, particularly for our two performers, that we wanted to cast them close to the ages that Charlie and Stan would have been,” says Paul.
“Danielle Bird (Charlie) and Jerone Marsh-Reid (Stan), who did the last tour too, are both in their early 20s. If cinema is a palace of dreams, then theatre is its own world of make-believe, and that’s reflected in the casting.
“When I was absorbed in the world of Chaplin, I was fascinated by his movement: he could have been a ballet dancer. Nijinsky even asked him where he trained as a dancer, but he didn’t, but Charlie had this feminine grace, which opened it up to a woman playing the role.
“At times the audience just see Chaplin and forget Dani is a woman. Every night Chaplin has to get a woman out of the audience to swim – and I think it would be more difficult if a man were playing him. There would be more reluctance to go on stage but they trust a woman and that allows us to go further.”
Likewise, when picking Jerone for Stan, Paul says: “He’s mixed race, from Stafford, and again I thought there’s no point finding someone who can do an impression of Stan Laurel, but they had to capture the spirit.
“He’s being played by an actor who never thought he’d even be seen for the chance to play Stan, but that’s the nature of theatre: a world of imagination, rather than filling in the gaps for the audience, which makes the audience feel smarter – and all our work loves to do that!”
Told By An Idiot in Charlie & Stan, York Theatre Royal, February 14 to 18, 7.30pm plus 2pm, Thursday and 2.30pm, Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Copyright of The Press, York
Creating a world of imgination: Told By An Idiot actors Jerone Marsh-Reid’s Stan Laurel, left, and Danielle Bird’s Charlie Chaplin in Paul Hunter’s “true fantasy” Charlie & Stan. Picture: Matt Crockett
Tony Froud: Directing York Shakespeare Project’s rehearsed reading of the rarely performed Edward III
PHASE Two of York Shakespeare Project begins with a staged rehearsed reading of Edward III upstairs at the Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, on February 7.
This rarely performed 1592 history play is now widely accepted as a collaboration between William Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd, replete with its celebration of Edward’s victories over the French, satirical digs at the Scots and depiction of the Black Prince.
Rehearsed February readings will be a regular part of YSP’s broadened remit to include work by the best of Shakespeare’s contemporaries, alongside a second staging of all his works, over the next 25 years.
Tony Froud’s cast will be led by Pick Me Up Theatre luminary Mark Hird in the title role. “At short notice, I’ve been able to bring together a strong cast that mixes YSP stalwarts, such as Liz Elsworth and Emma Scott, with new faces to us, such as Mark,” says Tony.
Hird’s King Edward will be joined by Elsworth’s Derby and Queen Philippa; Scott’s Gobin de Grey, Villiers, Frenchman 3 and Captain; Ben Thorburn’s Prince Edward; Nell Frampton’s Warwick and Salisbury; Bill Laverick’s Audley and Messenger and Stuart Lindsay’s Lodowick, Frenchman 4 and King David.
Mark Hird: Cast as King Edward in Edward II, his York Shakespeare Project debut
In the company too are: Sally Mitcham’s William Montague, Jon Copland, Herald 1, Frenchman 2 and Earl Douglas; Joy Warner’s Squire, Artois and Frenchman 1; Tom Jennings’s Herald 2 and Prince Charles; Jodie Fletcher’s Herald 3, Lorraine, Mariner and Messenger 2; Harry Summers’ King John and Lara Stafford’s Prince Philip and Countess Salisbury.
“It will be a one-night-only show, following the pattern of Ben Prusiner’s season of John Fletcher comedies and Jim Paterson’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which showed the impressive quality of performance that can be achieved in a short time by a good cast,” says Tony.
“The rehearsed reading puts a great emphasis on the language, so do come along to meet some colourful characters and hear some fabulous language in a plot that will take you from London to Calais via Northumberland and Crecy.”
Tickets for the 7.30pm performance cost £5 on the door or at eventbrite.com/e/edward-iii-tickets-518511741577.
Meanwhile, preparations are well under way for Dr Daniel Roy Connelly’s debut YSP production of Richard III at Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, from April 26 to 29. Auditions are in their “final phase”.
Alan George: Conducted Academy of St Olave’s Winter Concert
The Academy of St Olave’s Winter Concert, York St John University Creative Centre Theatre, York, 21/1/2023
THIS concert in support of the Jessie’s Fund charity celebrated the music of Schubert, Beethoven and Schumann.
The opening of Schubert’s Incidental music for Rosamunde did seem a tad tentative, hardly surprising given the occasion and new venue with its somewhat dry acoustic. But the Academy quickly hit their stride with a confident Overture brimming with energy and lovely woodwind contributions, dancing gracefully in their many pastoral guises.
This is the first time I have heard this pick’n’mix of musical treats, and the performance was a delight: warm and dignified (Ballet music in B minor), humming nobility (Entr’acte in D major), decisive tempo shifts and a lovely delivery of that melody (Entr’acte in Bb) and so forth.
Then we were suddenly transported to the musical grown-ups’ table with a thrilling performance of Beethoven’s “heroic” Overture Leonore No. 3. This is a truly remarkable work, symphonic in scope and depth.
The musical journey from dark to light, despair to hope was compellingly conveyed in this focused, driven performance. The ‘distant’ trumpet call (signalling the liberation of Florestan and Leonore) was very telling.
Following the interval was a chocolatey-rich delivery of Schumann’s wonderful Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish). I love this work, indeed I love the musical generosity of thiswork. And so did the orchestra. Under the assured musical direction of conductor Alan George, the performance oozed clarity and confidence.
The Rhenish has no introductory welcome, the starting trigger is fired with the players delivering a high-energy, joyful first movement. There was much to admire here, but balance is the key for the necessary clarity, and this performance had it. I particularly enjoyed the quite extraordinary sound world of the fourth “Cathedral Scene” movement, with gorgeous, ecclesiastical (perhaps?) trombone playing.
But I will leave the final word to the orchestral leader Claire Jowett. Ms Jowett has performed this vital, always understated, almost unnoticed role for more years than I care to remember (sorry Claire). And yet the importance of leading the strings with such certainty of purpose is integral to the success and confidence of all concerned.
FROM giant dinosaurs to a heavyweight comedian, hardcore songs to a royal reading, Charles Hutchinson seeks to make life eventful.
Dinosaurs make a comeback: Jurassic Earth, Grand Opera House, York, January 28, 1pm and 4pm
JURASSIC Earth’s “live dinosaur show” roams York in an immersive, interactive, 75-minute, storytelling experience for all ages with state-of-the-art, animatronic, life-like creatures.
Audiences are invited to “bring your biggest roar and your fastest feet as you take Ranger Danger’s masterclass to become an Official Dinosaur Ranger – gaining the skills you need to come face-to-face with the world’s largest walking T Rex, a big-hearted Brontosaurus, tricky Triceratops, uncontrollable Carnotaurus, vicious Velociraptors and sneaky Spinosaurus”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Tim Lowe: Cellist and York Chamber Music Festival director, performing Messiaen’s Quartet For The End Of Time at York Minster
Holocaust memorial concert of the week: York Chamber Music Festival, Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet For The End Of Time, York Minster, Tuesday, 7pm
YORK Chamber Music Festival marks Holocaust Memorial Week – and the start of the festival’s tenth anniversary – with a performance of “one of the greatest pieces of music from the 20th century”, written and premiered in the German prisoner-of-war camp at Stalag VIIIa, Gorlitz, in 1941.
Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet For The End Of Time will be played by John Lenehan, piano, Sacha Rattle, clarinet, John Mills, violin, and festival director Tim Lowe, cello, in York Minster’s Lady Chapel under John Thornton’s restored 15th century Great East Window (the “Apocalypse Window”). Box office: tickets.yorkminster.org.
Lloyd Griffith: Comedy measured out as One Tonne Of Fun at The Crescent, York. Picture: Matt Crockett
Comedy gig of the week: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Lloyd Griffith, One Tonne Of Fun, The Crescent, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
AFTER Covid stretched Lloyd Griffith’s last tour to “eight years or so”, he returns with his biggest itinerary to date, One Tonne Of Fun.
Since school, he has always been a show-off, and 20-odd years later, nothing’s changed, so expect stand-up, dubious impressions and a sprinkling of his (incredible) singing from the comic with Ted Lasso, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Soccer AM, Question Of Sport, Not Going Out and House Of Games credits. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Ewa Salecka: Directing Prima Vocal Ensemble at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Choral concert of the week: Prima Vocal Ensemble, Lift Every Voice, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, January 29, 7.30pm
EWA Salecka directs Prima Vocal Ensemble in a life-affirming concert that weaves its way through diverse generations and genres with live accompaniment.
Living composers Lauridsen, Gjeilo, Whitacre and Jenkins sit alongside favourite numbers from Les Misérablesand The Greatest Showman, complemented by songs by Annie Lennox, Elbow, the Gershwins and Cole Porter and a tribute to the people of Ukraine. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls: Playing York Barbican at the end of January
Hardcore York gig of the month: Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, York Barbican, January 31, 8pm
FRANK Turner, punk and folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire, will be accompanied by The Sleeping Souls in York as he draws on his nine studio albums from a 17-year solo career.
Last year, the former Million Dead frontman, 41, topped the UK Official Album Chart for the first time with FTHC (his anagram for Frank Turner Hardcore) after his previous four all made the top three. Support slots go to Lottery Winners & Wilswood Buoys. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Rosemary Brown: Author gives an insight into the remarkable life of Nellie Bly at York Theatre Royal
Who was Nellie Bly? In Conversation With Rosemary Brown, York Theatre Royal, February 4, 5.15pm, free admission
YORK Theatre Royal and Tilted Wig’s touring adaptation of Jules Verne’s madcap adventure Around The World In 80 days features not only the fictional feats of Phileas Fogg but also the real-life story of Nellie Bly, American journalist, industrialist, inventor, charity worker and globe-crossing record breaker.
In a free talk, director and adaptor Juliet Forster will be in conversation with Rosemary Brown, author of Following Nellie Bly, Her Record-Breaking Race Around The World, a book inspired by this human rights and environmental campaigner’s aim to put female adventurers back on the map. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tony Froud: Directing York Shakespeare Project’s rehearsed reading of Edward II
The second coming of…York Shakespeare Project, Edward III, rehearsed reading, upstairs at Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green, York, February 7, 7.30pm
PHASE Two of York Shakespeare Project begins with a staged rehearsed reading of Edward III, the rarely performed 1592 history play now widely accepted as a collaboration between William Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd, replete with its celebration of Edward’s victories over the French, depiction of the Black Prince and satirical digs at the Scots.
Rehearsed readings in February will be a regular part of YSP’s revamped remit to include work by the best of Shakespeare’s contemporaries. Tony Froud’s cast includes Liz Elsworth, Emma Scott and Mark Hird, best known for his work with Pick Me Up Theatre. Tickets: on the door or via eventbrite.com.
Home work: Sara Howlett, Sophie Bullivant and Laura Castle in rehearsal for Rowntree Players’ spring production of Teachers Leavers ’22
Spring term school play: Rowntree Players in Teechers Leavers ’22, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 16 to 18, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
REHEARSALS are underway for Rowntree Players’ production of Teechers Leavers ’22, former teacher John Godber’s update of his state-of-education play, commissioned for £100 by Hull Truck Theatre in 1984.
Actor Jamie McKeller, familiar to York ghost-walk enthusiasts as Deathly Dark Tours spookologist Doctor Dorian Deathly, is working with a cast of Sara Howlett, Sophie Bullivant and Laura Castle as they “put in the hard work needed for this very physically demanding play”. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Shooting from the lip: Linus Karp’s Diana telling untold untruths in Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story. Picture: Dave Bird
DO you know the story of Diana, Princess of Wales? Probably. But do you know writer-performer Linus Karp’s story of Diana?
“We very much doubt it,” says Linus, Swedish-born artistic director of Awkward Productions, the harbingers of theatrical chaos responsible for the revenge comedy Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story.
On tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York on February 3 and 4, this humorous, if tasteless, celebration of the people’s princess finds 6ft Iin Linus’s Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life through a combustible combination of drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry and “a lot of queer joy”.
Definitely not a Royal verité show, Diana marks Linus’s return to Monkgate, where he performed How To Live A Jellicle Life: Life Lessons From The 2019 Hit Movie Musical ‘Cats’, last February. “I had such a good time, I simply had to come back,” he says.
Linus Karp in the poster for last year’s tour show, How To Live A Jellicle Life
Here, Linus Karp discusses Diana, drag, truths and untruths with CharlesHutchPress
How did this latest performance at Theatre@41, Monkgate, come about?
“Alan [Park], who runs the venue, has been calling me daily to get me to come back. I finally said ‘yes’. It was a bit much really, but he is a sweetie, so why not?!”
What attracted you to the figure of Diana, Princess of Wales, who, like Marilyn Monroe, has never been allowed to rest peacefully?
“Probably just that – how today she is more myth and legend than an actual human who lived. It’s a very interesting thing to explore.”
Linus Karp’s Diana in a scene from Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story with a cardboard cut-out Prince Charles. Picture: Dave Bird
Does that mean venturing into the Untrue is inevitable or is it a chance for mischief-making on your part?
“If one had to stick to the truth, most stories would be a lot more boring. I don’t want the audience to know what’s coming next – there are more interesting ways to tell a story than to show what actually happened.”
Have you had to deal with libel laws? Scrap that, you can’t libel the dead, can you, but you can label them. Discuss…
“Diana had a great sense of humour and I’m convinced she’d enjoy the show and the loving way she’s portrayed.”
Do you buy into any of the conspiracy theories surrounding her death?
“Not really, except for that she lives on the moon with Elvis. That’s a fact.”
“Diana was an outsider who dared to speak her mind and go against her powerful husband and his family,” says writer-performer Linus Karp. Picture: Dave Bird
Where might a gun and a knife fit into the show?
“Well that would be giving out spoilers – but who could Diana possibly want revenge on…?”
What makes Diana ripe for a drag act?
“Drag is a queer performance form and Diana is a queer icon. Not only was she a glamourous and stylish woman who, despite her fame and privilege, was an outsider who dared to speak her mind and go against her powerful husband and his family, but she also had famous friendships with queer legends like Elton John, Gianni Versace and Freddie Mercury.
“Most importantly, she really helped shape the narrative around AIDS, showing that its victims are worthy of love and human affection. Her stance and bold support of AIDS and HIV victims have improved countless queer lives.
“Becoming a drag act is a big compliment, and though I’m obviously not the first, I am surprised there aren’t more drag Dianas.”
Diana in heaven: A drawing for Linus Karp’s show
Diana died (August 31 1997) before you were born (November 16 1999). What has led to your fascination with her?
“First of all: yes, I’m very young. I would have to thank my legend of a mother-in-law who really helped me step up my Diana interest to the next level.”
What do you enjoy about writing and performing a solo show?
“Mainly getting the chance to go to York and to be interviewed – even when the interviewer shares a first name with the antagonist of the story.”
What are your principal assets as a performer? London Pub Theatres reckon you are “naturally funny”. Or maybe is it that you are a waif-like chameleon, David Bowie style?
“Some people say I’m not just a pretty face. I disagree.”
Last November, you ran a workshop at The Pleasance, London, on creating, funding, producing, marketing and performing a solo show and the unique challenges that come with it. What were the biggest challenges of putting together Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story?
“Money. The trickiest thing about making theatre is always making it work financially. The margins are always tight; even a production that does well rarely makes much profit and putting on a show is always a big financial risk.
“Making sure we support independent, new and diverse voices is key. We don’t want a landscape where only those with money or big companies can afford to create theatre.”
“If one had to stick to the truth, most stories would be a lot more boring,” says Linus, with a message for any naysayers. Picture: Dave Bird
As a Swede, what drew you to performing in Britain?
“My Diana references just wouldn’t land as well on a Swedish audience. I simply had to move.”
What’s your next project/production?
“I don’t know yet as I’m going to make the most of being Lady Di for as long as I can – but I promise it will be equally stupid, queer and joyful.”
What is there left to be told that hasn’t been told before?
“Trans rights are human rights and the Tories are destroying the country.”
Awkward Productions present Linus Karp in Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 3 and 4, 7.30pm.Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Back story: Linus Karp tells all about his drag princess to CharlesHutchPress. Picture: Dave Hird
Chris Helme: Frontman at the helm of The Seahorsesfrom 1996 to 1999...alongside the guitar pyrotechnics of Stone Roses old boy John Squire
IN this special extended edition, Two Big Egos In A Small Car podcast duo Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson interview York musician Chris Helme, co-founder of The Seahorses with Stone Roses guitarist John Squire.
As he marks 25 years since their debut, Do It Yourself, by revisiting the songs on a DIY solo acoustic tour, Chris spills the beans on his journey from busker to Glastonbury-playing frontman, Hollywood recording sessions with Tony Visconti, a top two album and a parting of the ways brought on by that familiar curse, musical differences.
Linus Karp: Invitation to join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life at Theatre@41. Picture: Dave Bird
FROM a drag Diana to a DIY staging of Harry Potter, synth pop turned symphonic to a long-running Agatha Christie mystery, Charles Hutchinson goes in search of entertainment new and old.
Royal verité show? Probably not! Linus Karp in Diana: The Untold And Untrue Story, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 3 and 4, 7.30pm
DO you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know writer-performer Linus Karp’s story of Diana? “We very much doubt it,” say Awkward Productions, the harbingers of theatrical chaos responsible for this humorous, if tasteless, celebration of the people’s princess.
Join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life through a combination of drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry and “a lot of queer joy”. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Sketch of Lendal and street in progress by Steve Beadle, one of the Navigators Art artists exhibiting at Helmsley Arts Centre
Exhibition of the week: Navigators Art, Moving Pictures II, at Helmsley Arts Centre, until March 3;Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10am to 3pm; Thursdays, 11am to 3pm, and during event opening times
YORK collective Navigators Art are represented by seven artists at Helmsley: Kai Amafé, prints and 3D work; Steve Beadle, paintings and drawings; Michael Dawson, paintings; Richard Kitchen, prints and collages; Katie Lewis, textiles and paintings; Timothy Morrison, constructions, and Peter Roman, paintings.
“The title Moving Pictures is deliberately open to interpretation by the audience as well as the artists,” says co-founder Richard Kitchen, who will be stewarding an 11am to 3pm open day tomorrow (15/1/2023). Exhibition entry is free.
Textile art by Katie Lewis, another of the Navigators Art artists on show in Moving Pictures II at Helmsley Arts Centre
Fundraiser of the week:White Rose Theatre in A Gala Night (and day) Of Musical Theatre, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
THE Katie Ventress School of Dance, York Musical Theatre Company and guest soloists will be accompanied by a band under the musical direction of John Atkin in these uplifting gala concerts to blow away the post-Christmas blues.
Favourites from Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Anything Goesare promised. All proceeds will go to the JoRo’s Raise The Roof campaign. Box office for the last few tickets: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Electrifying Eighties: Calling Planet Earth gives a symphonic coating to Duran Duran and co
Nostalgia of the week: Calling Planet Earth, A New Romantic Symphony, York Barbican, January 21, 8pm
A NEW Romantic Symphony heads out on a journey through the electrifying Eighties to revisit the songs of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, The Human League, Ultravox, Tears For Fears, Depeche Mode, Japan, ABC, Soft Cell and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.
Symphonic arrangements combine with “stunning vocals” in a parade of hits that defined a decade. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Pottervision: Lukas Kirkby and Tom Lawrinson re-create first film Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone with DIY props, wigs and charity-shop costumes
Magic with mayhem? Pottervision, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, February 10, 7.45pm
LUKAS Kirkby and Tom Lawrinson gather up DIY props, charity-shop costumes and wizarding wigs for their “ridiculous re-creation” of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, staged with multiple role-playing and limited resources after two fellow performers drop out.
What could possibly go wrong?! Find out in Pottervision, a fantastical spectacular for casual fan and avid squib alike. Please note: suitable for age 16 upwards on account of adult language and dark humour. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Miles & The Chain Gang: New single to promote at Alne Village Hall
Back on the Chain Gang: Alne Music Club presents Miles & The Chain Gang, Alne Village Hall, Main Street, Alne, February 11, 7.30pm
YORK band Miles & The Chain Gang head to their first gig of the year with an imminent new single in their locker, Charlie. Recorded last September at Young Thugs Studio in York, it features Miles Salter, guitar and vocals, Tim Bruce, bass, Daniel Bowater, keyboards, Steve Purton, drums, and Mat Watt, guitar.
“We’re filming the video in the next few days with our video guru Dave Thorp,” says Salter. Tickets: from d.lepper27@btinternet.com or on 01347 838114.
Dimitra Ananiadou: Violinist to peform recital with pianist Richard Whalley at NCEM
Take a bow:Dimitra Ananiadou & Richard Whalley, A Travel Through Time, National Centre for Early Music, York, February 25, 7pm
DIMITRA Ananiadou returns to York to travel back in time for a violin recital that explores the creation of Baroque, classical and 20th century music with the aid of her special bows.
Composer and pianist Richard Whalley will be accompanying her on the journey through JS Bach’s Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor (Ciaccona), Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice for Solo Violin No. 24 Op. 1, Beethoven’s Violin Sonata Op. 30 No. 2 and Fritz Kreisler’s Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Gaetano Pugnani. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Todd Carty: Playing Major Metcalf in 70th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap
Mystery play in York:The Mousetrap, Grand Opera House, March 6 to 11, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
AGATHA Christie’s mystery The Mousetrap, “the longest running play in the world”, takes in more than 70 venues on its 70th anniversary tour, including a return to York’s Grand Opera House.
EastEnders’ duo Todd Carty, as Major Metcalf, and Gwyneth Strong, as Mrs Boyle, feature in Ian Talbot’s cast for this tale of intrigue and suspense set at Monkswell Manor, a stately countryside guesthouse where seven strangers find themselves snowed in as news spreads of a murder in London. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover – to their horror – that a killer is in their midst. Whodunnit? Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
Terry Hall, centre, with his fellow long-time members of The Specials, Lynval Golding and Horace Panter
IN Episode 119, Two Big Egos In A Small Car arts podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson look back on the life, music and cultural impact of Terry Hall RIP.
Under discussion too are the future (or not) of Edinburgh International Film Festival and contrasting music memoirs by errant Englishman Peter Doherty and Barabra Charone, American PR legend for the biggest names in rock.
