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REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project’s Macbeth for the cyberpunk age

Emma Scott as Macbeth and Nell Frampton as The Lady in York Shakespeare Project’s Macbeth. Picture: John Saunders

York Shakespeare Project in Macbeth, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee; all sold out. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

SOMETHING wicked this way comes…eventually, delayed from March 2020 by lockdowns, rather than the notorious Macbeth curse per se.

Leo Doulton, “sometimes director, sometimes writer, repentant historian”, as his Twitter feed puts it, has persisted with his original vision of a “cyberpunk” Macbeth.

Eight cast members remain from the original unlucky-for-some 13, stopped in their tracks a week away from opening night last year; three have changed roles; five new additions have come on board, most notably Nell Frampton taking over from Amanda Dales as The Lady.

Frank Brogan’s Macduff. Picture: John Saunders

Crucially, however, Emma Scott’s Macbeth is still leading Doulton’s company, hurled into a dystopian, dizzying future as Doulton and his set and costume designer, Charley Ipsen, slice up Shakespeare’s dark, dreak tale of vaulting ambition, multiple murders and supernatural forces in new ways.

First of all, this is a shortened Macbeth, with no interval, no tedious, unfunny Porter scene, done and dusted in under two hours. Everything, everyone, is in a hurry; not once does Scott’s Macbeth sit down; nor do the guests at the dinner ruined for Macbeth by the ghost of Banquo (Clive Lyons). Instead, they stand, dotted around the perimeter of the John Cooper Studio’s rectangular black-box design.

Frampton’s The Lady is in a rush too, so much so, they trample loudly through several lines as they move around the fringes, imparting instructions in noisy boots. Tony Froud’s Ross and Frank Brogan’s gruff Yorkshireman Macduff are restless too, delivering a line, moving, delivering another, moving on again.

Nell Frampton’s The Lady. Picture: John Saunders

This sense of impermanence is deliberate, and maybe that is one reason why the walls are lined to the brim with swatches of wallpaper, rather than full rolls. Equally, this dissonant imagery is part of the cyberpunk mood board, just as the dried leaves around the ramps evoke Macbeth’s stultifying impact on nature’s course.

Doulton has responded to the pandemic, he says, by emphasising the uncertainty of the play’s inhabitants. “None of them, except perhaps the Witches, knows what’s going on,” he reasons. Hence a production that never stops moving in “an ever-changing world of illusory realities”.

In effect, all the world’s a stage here. The audience is seated around four ramps with a central dais that may or may not signify the Stone of Scone (but is not made of stone). Rarely is centre stage used as centre stage, except by the rightful king, Duncan (Elizabeth Elsworth).

Diana Wyatt as Second Witch. Picture: John Saunders

Scott’s Macbeth will as likely deliver a soliloquy from the up-lit recesses as from the epicentre; Frampton’s The Lady plots from the shadows; likewise, the discussions of Rhiannon Griffiths’s strategist Malcolm and Brogan’s exhausted Macduff are framed by the walls.

As for the spectral weird sisters, those midnight hags, the three Witches (Joy Warner, Diane Wyatt and Xandra Logan), they hover amid the parched twigs and branches on the mezzanine level, Macbeth never in touching distance, and they disappear from view as quickly as they enter.

The implication is that the once “worthy” Macbeth and The Lady know they will not be king and queen for the long haul, once their knives are out, hence that centre stage is so often barren.

Director Leo Doulton

On the one hand, this is an audacious directorial move by Doulton, but, on the other, you will likely have to move your head and body position more often than a learner driver negotiating that all-important three-point turn in their test but for much longer. The stage configuration is not the same as a theatre-in-the-round, where you become accustomed to not being able to see a face at all times. You may decide, on occasion, to sit and listen, rather than turning round.

In his interview, Doulton made the interesting point that Macbeth is not all about death, death, more death and the fear of death, although he did note: “It would be impossible to present Macbeth in the same way as when we started work on it before the pandemic. We’ve moved from a world where we fear quite specific things to one where we fear more pervasive, invisible ones, such as the pandemic and the climate crisis.”

Naming uncertainty, innocence and corruption’s constant presence as the themes and motifs that stood out in our new times, he suggested Shakespeare’s tragedy is “more concerned with the art of being human while alive and mortal: how to act, what legacy we’ll have, and how to understand a world far larger than us. Its deaths are from violence and the supernatural, not disease.”

Emma Scott’s Macbeth. Picture: John Saunders

In other words, this is not a Covid-clouded Macbeth, but one that in the absence of moral certainty and leadership, fears a longer damaging legacy, not least the impact of climate change, when there may no longer be trees to move from Birnam Wood to Dunsinane.

Nevertheless, Doulton and Ipsen have fun with the cyberpunk setting, serving up blue drinks, having blue rather than red blood, and staging the fight scenes in a stylised, no-contact manner, while Neil Wood’s menacing lighting captures both light and shade.

As for Scott’s Macbeth: at times, she is as much Hamlet as Macbeth, young, poetic, burdened; more worrier than warrior.  

Review by Charles Hutchinson

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The Young’uns sing out for working-class hero Johnny Longstaff in folk musical adventure at York Theatre Royal

The Young’uns Michael Hughes, David Eagle and Sean Cooney performing The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff. Picture: Pamela Raith

MAY 2015. Teesside folk trio The Young’uns have just concluded a gig in Somerset when up comes Duncan Longstaff with two pieces of paper.

On one is a black-and-white picture of a man. “This is my dad,” he says. On the other is a list of achievements that reads like a litany of defining moments of early 20th century working-class struggle. “This is what he did,” he explains.

Duncan hoped the Stockton-on-Tees vocal, accordion, guitar and keyboard group might write a song about his father. One song? They duly wrote 17, whereupon a show about Johnny Longstaff was born.

From tonight to Saturday, The Young’uns – Sean Cooney, David Eagle and Michael Hughes – perform a theatrical version of The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff at York Theatre Royal, the show now featuring songs from the original album alongside new material and animation.

Young’un Sean Cooney recalls the May 2015 night that spawned their musical celebration of northern working-class activism. “It was really special. Duncan Longstaff, who was in his late-60s/early 70s, had heard us on the radio and knew we were from the north-east, from Stockton-on-Tees, Johnny’s hometown.

“He had this lovely photograph of his dad, this scruffy-looking lad, and as he was aware we wrote songs about real people, with a north-east flavour, he thought we might get one song out of it.

“But it turned out there were six hours of recordings of Johnny at the Imperial War Museum, and once we’d made time to listen to them properly, we realised we had something really special that could never be just one song.”

The resulting show, the true story of The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff, is billed as a “timely, touching and often hilarious musical adventure, following the footsteps of a working-class hero who chose not to look the other way when the world needed his help”.

The Young’uns singing an a cappella number in The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff. Picture: Pamela Raith

Johnny’s journey took him at 15 from poverty and unemployment in Stockton, through the Hunger Marches of the 1930s, the mass trespass movement and the Battle of Cable Street, to fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War.

That journey is recorded not only on tape but also in writing. “Duncan kept bombarding us with stuff: Johnny had written his memoirs, but they’d never been published, and suddenly there were these 600 pages, left at my front door,” recalls Sean.

“Then he lent us Johnny’s books, with corrections that he’d written down the side when he didn’t agree with the accounts of what had gone on.

“With all these resources, we thought we’d love to use Johnny’s voice from the recordings and tell his story through song.”

The Young’uns drew inspiration from the ground-breaking BBC Radio Ballads documentaries produced by folk musician Ewan MacColl and Charles Parker in the late 1950s for the BBC Home Service. “They pretty much put working-class voices on the radio, with Peggy Seeger and Ewan MacColl writing songs to go with those voices,” says Sean.

“For our show, the songs and story are very much interwoven with Johnny’s voice. You’ll hear Johnny talking and then we’ll break into song, and there’s a special sequence at the finale, with our voices, Johnny’s voice, a little bit of narration…and then Johnny singing.

“At the end of those six hours of recordings at the Imperial War Museum, you hear him breaking into song. He’s singing The Valley Of Jarama [also known as El Valle del Jarama], and for those people who know about the Spanish Civil War, that was the song that was always being sung.”

The Young’uns first envisaged The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff as a radio series, “but then came the touring opportunity to put together something new for the road, with a promoter arranging dates for us for March 2018,” recalls Sean.

“We thought, ‘yes, let’s take it on the road’, but as we sat in the pub at Sheffield railway station [Sean lives in Sheffield] in May 2017, I was thinking, ‘we’ve only done three months’ work on it so far, we’ve only got ten months to go’, and we still didn’t know if we’d just do the songs, with us introducing them, or whether we’d use Johnny’s voice.

The Young’uns incorporate Scott Turnbull’s animation in their theatrical performances of The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff. Picture: Pamela Raith

“That’s when we came up with the idea of doing the show as ‘gig theatre’ with a backdrop image of Johnny behind us. It felt exciting and trepidatious at the same time, but the reaction we got was so great that what was originally going to be a side project, diverging from our main work, became much more than that.”

The album recording ensued and then came a show in Toronto where “we became really pally with the team there, and they said, ‘Have you heard of Lorne Campbell at Northern Stage’, as they’d worked with Lorne on Sting’s shipbuilding musical, The Last Ship, so they had a connection with him,” says Sean.

The Young’uns met up with artistic director Campbell in September 2019. “We knew we had a show that was so personal and special to us, and we wondered, ‘what would they want to do with Johnny, with us?’, but Lorne was great, saying he just wanted to heighten it, to bring it to bigger audiences,” says Sean.

“The key, he said, was to ‘make you as comfortable as you can be, and no, you won’t have to act’. Because the backbone of the show is Johnny’s voice and the songs, we’d never thought about the visuals, but Loren brought in an animator, Scott Turnbull, from Teesside, and now these beautiful images are built into the songs and there’s a lot of movement in the show too.”

From tonight, Johnny’s voice and Sean’s songs will unite and resonate anew. “We never strive to make links with today, but it’s clearly obvious,” says Sean. “He was fighting for the future in the 1930s, and the biggest parallel now is the fight to deal with climate change.”

Like The Young’uns, Johnny was a young’un when he started out on his adventures. “He was 15 when he walked from Stockton to London; 17 when he crossed the Pyrenees, but though they’re now seen as huge politically charged events, when Johnny lived through them, he didn’t grab that significance,” says Sean.

“He went on the Hunger March to look for work, and when he was told he was too young at 15, he followed them in secret until he was discovered, and they then said he could join.

“He went on the Cable Street march because he’d met a Jewish refugee. He didn’t understand Fascism’s doctrines; he just wanted to make human connections.”

At 17, The Young’uns made their under-age way into singing in the back of The Sun Inn pub in Stockton for the first time. “We stood up and sang unaccompanied, and it just felt natural,” Sean says. “As we were 40 years younger than anyone else there, we got called ‘The Young’uns’, and unfortunately the name stuck, but we realised we had a voice and it connected with people.

The Young’uns with an image of Johnny Longstaff behind them. Picture: Pamela Raith

“It felt welcoming, it felt ordinary, because as a kid I couldn’t access music at school, where it felt like it was for someone else, for other people, as I couldn’t play an instrument.

“But once we discovered that world of folk music, where everyone is encouraged – big voice, little voice, in tune, out of tune – this group of people who met in the back room of a pub, sharing songs and stories – wondered why we had never been taught this at school.

“Learning sea shanties that everyone could sing, we found the audience singing along with us, and from that moment, we wanted to keep doing it.”

Twenty-one years down the line, with three BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards to their name, The Young’uns are not so young’uns at 36, but their return to the stage after the pandemic lockdowns has had the same exhilarating impact on them. “For so many people in our world, it’s been incredibly emotional to get back out there,” says Sean.

Even more so, when spreading The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff. “In many ways there’s potential for people, when they see a show poster or hear a story of Johnny, to pigeonhole it in our divided land, but we want to stress the humanity in that story and in what other people did in the 1930s.

“Johnny became a member of the Labour Party, but in the Spanish Civil War, people came from different backgrounds to fight Fascism, from public schools too.

“When people hear Johnny’s voice, there’s great respect for that voice and what he’s saying. It’s  a different kind of story, that’s not well known, but…”

…thanks to Duncan Longstaff’s two pieces of paper, The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff is now being sung loud and proud.   

The Young’uns in The Ballad Of Johnny Longstaff, York Theatre Royal, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Further Yorkshire concerts by The Young’uns: Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax, December 11, 7.30pm; The Greystones, Sheffield, December 12, 3pm and 8pm; The Coliseum Centre, Whitby, December 17, 7.30pm. Box office: Halifax, squarechapel.co.uk; Sheffield, ents24.com/sheffield-events; Whitby, eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-younguns.

Copyright of The Press, York

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Fastlove returns with new George Michael tribute, the Everything She Wants Tour

Fastlove: Recalling the highs of George Michael

FASTLOVE’S globe-trotting tribute to George Michael is on the road with a new show, the Everything She Wants Tour, visiting the Grand Opera House, York, on November 3.

Direct from the West End, the celebratory night combines a full video and light show with all the hits from Wham! onwards, taking in Careless Whisper, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Faith, Father Figure, Freedom! ’90, Faith, I Knew You Were Waiting et al.

Tickets for next Wednesday’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.

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What hasn’t yet been written about The Beatles that still needs to be said?

FIND out in Episode 61 of Two Big Egos In A Small Car, when arts podcasters Chalmers & Hutch make room for a special guest.

Let it be Knaresborough DJ, author and Beatles buff Rory Hoy, who discusses his new book, The Beatles Acting Naturally: Obscure, Rare, Unfinished And Abandoned Film And TV Projects Of The Fab Four.

Just enough time too to squeeze in Adele’s return and The Rolling Stones leaving Brown Sugar out of their American tour set list.

Head to: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1187561/9409115

Book ahoy: Rory Hoy holds The Beatles Acting Naturally aloft
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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Opera North in Carmen, Leeds Grand Theatre

Chrystal E. Williams in the title role in Opera North’s Carmen. Picture: Tristram Kenton

OPERA North was riding high coming into this new Edward Dick production.

Buoyant through lockdown with multiple streamed events via its own digital platform ON Demand, its backstage efforts were centred on a huge Music Works development.

The outcome of this is the new Howard Opera Centre, named after its principal benefactor Dr Keith Howard, who contributed some 60 per cent of the £18.5 million cost. It will house management and rehearsal studios for the company itself, while providing educational spaces for youngsters to explore their potential.

Within months, a new bar and restaurant with public access will open next to the Howard Assembly Room (now freed exclusively for smaller-scale events), the result of imaginative enclosure of a former Victorian street.

Camila Titinger as Micaëla and Erin Caves as Don José in Opera North’s Carmen. Picture: Tristram Kenton

Sadly, all this excitement did not generate a Carmen to do it justice. It is a besetting sin of Carmen producers that they feel the need to re-interpret Bizet, not to say Mérimée, in tune with modern attitudes.

This runs a serious risk of dumbing down, even presumption: this show’s Carmen, Chrystal E. Williams, was quoted in the programme as declaring that “it would be easy just to do a conventional Carmen”, as if convention were a dirty word – or easy.

It is hard to portray an incorrigible man-eater as a saint, albeit one who is the figment of solely male imaginations. Indeed, after Opera North’s last attempt at the work, Daniel Kramer’s brutalist affair ten years ago, no-one would have been surprised if the company had played this one straight down the middle.

Instead, what we have is a good night out, but with little relevance to the original. Time and place are not identified in Colin Richmond’s sets, but we can tell that this is a border town. Since the smugglers are dealing in drugs, we have every reason to assume that we are on the United States-Mexico border.

Phillip Rhodes as Escamillo with members of the Chorus of Opera North. Picture: Tristram Kenton

The action opens in a bordello masquerading as a night-club, whose clientele is mainly in uniform, doubtless drawn by the illuminated ‘GIRLS’ on scaffolding dominating the scenario. Not exactly an advertisement for women’s lib, especially given female staff sashaying around in flimsy underwear, to the designs of Laura Hopkins.

If these girls are smoking anything, it is coke, not cigarettes. Still, it has to be said, the ladies of the chorus bravely put their best foot forward; if they feel uncomfortable, it certainly does not show.

Immediately noticeable is the sparkling form of the orchestra, with Garry Walker at the helm for the first time as music director, a year later than planned. Theirs is much the most positive contribution to the evening.

Walker keeps rhythms consistently crisp but is equally alive to atmosphere: nerve-jangling chromatics in the card scene, for example, and velvet horns in Micaela’s song a little later. His tenure is off to a cracking start.

Nando Messias as Lillas Pastia: “Makes several androgynous incursions during the second half”. Picture: Tristram Kenton

Neither of the principal pair is vocally quick out of the blocks and he has to gentle them into the fray. Williams is lowered on a swing onto the night-club stage, to be embroiled at once in a fan-dance: it is an eye-catching entrance, in keeping with her charm.

When the stage swivels and we see the ‘real’ Carmen – at her make-up table, wig removed, cuddling what we assume is her daughter – her mezzo, although still light, begins to bite. But it is not until Act 3 that we hear what might have been: genuine passion.

The same applies to Don José. Erin Caves only joined the cast five days ahead of curtain-up, Covid having effectively removed two previous candidates. His safely surly opening is understandable, but does little to convince of his interest in Carmen or offer any reason for her pursuit of him.

If there is any electricity at their first encounter, it is low-voltage, like Caves’ tenor. It is only when his bile is up, much later, that he finds real resonance. His eventual throttling of Carmen prolongs her agony unjustifiably.

Erin Caves as Don José and Chrystal E. Williams as Carmen. Picture: Tristram Kenton

Phillip Rhodes’ Escamillo arrives on an electrically-powered bucking bronco, a cowboy not a toreador; there is no hint of the bull-ring. The swagger of his ‘Toreador’ song certainly raises the vocal temperature but thereafter gradually dissipates, lessening the likelihood that he would offer José any real threat. So when José chases him across the scaffolding that now stands in for a mountain fortress, we are entitled to wonder what all the fuss is about.

Camila Titinger gives an engaging Micaela, whose aria is a touch short on warmth; she is mistakenly encouraged to make much of her pregnancy. Amy Freston’s Frasquita and Helen Évora’s Mercedes are tirelessly flighty, raising everyone’s spirits, while the spivvy smugglers of Dean Robinson and Stuart Laing bring an element of light relief. Matthew Stiff is a firm if stolid Zuniga.

With the Lillas Pastia of Nando Messias making several androgynous incursions during the second half, there is no end to the mixed messages of this ill-focused production. Thank heaven we have five children who know exactly what they have to do, working with a chorus that does its level best to sound persuasive. But the saving grace is the orchestra – focused on unvarnished Bizet.

Martin Dreyer

Further performances on October 26 and 28, then on tour until November 19, returning to Leeds in February 2022.

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REVIEW: Tutti Frutti’s The Princess And The Pea as Theatre Royal Studio reopens

Hannah Victoria’s Princess and the pea in Tutti Frutti’s The Princess And The Pea

The Princess And The Pea, Tutti Frutti, York Theatre Royal Studio, 6pm this evening, then on tour. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

SINCE Covid’s cloak turned theatres dark, York Theatre Royal’s dormant Studio could have been added to York playwright Mike Kenny’s Museum of Forgotten Things.

Thankfully, after being used for storage and rehearsals, the Studio has been re-awakened for performances anew, albeit with a capacity reduced from 100 to 71. Out goes seating to the sides; in comes a head-on stage configuration.

A masked-up CharlesHutchPress took up a front-row seat at a morning performance full of excited Badger Hill Primary School children. How lovely to be part of such an occasion full of happy, enchanted faces.

This show is a revival of Leeds children’s theatre company Tutti Frutti’s colour-suffused, playful staging of Mike Kenny’s updated adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s story, set in a place where what you see is not what it seems: the aforementioned Museum of Forgotten Things.

Sophia Hatfield in The Princess And The Pea at York Theatre Royal Studio

 In his trademark way of bringing fresh perspectives to familiar stories, he refracts Andersen’s tale of The Princess And The Pea through the status of princesses today, against a backdrop that has moved on again even from the 2014 premiere, in our world of celebrity royals, social-media influencers, selfies and preening Love Island and Kardashian saturation coverage.

“Princesses seem to be back with us as a cultural phenomenon,” Kenny writes in his programme note. “The assumption is generally that a ‘real’ princess is very sensitive and high maintenance. If you read Andersen’s original, you can’t quite tell if he’s supporting or actually taking the mickey out of this attitude”.

Kenny creates a framework where three narrator-curators at the museum, a mother, son and their trainee, delve into the mystery of how a little green pea ended up there in a magical hour of storytelling, songs and silliness.

Bossy-boots Mother (Sophia Hatfield) becomes Queen; layabout Son (Mckenzie Alexander) transforms into the Prince and eager Trainee (Hannah Victoria) will emerge as the Princess of the title.

The “other” princesses in The Princess And The Pea, as sent up by Hannah Victoria, Sophia Hatfield and Mckenzie Alexander

All three raid the museum drawers to play “every type of princess you could imagine” in a send-up of 21st century reality TV types (and maybe even York hen parties) as the spoilt, work-shy, silver-spoon-in-his-mouth Prince is instructed by the Queen to conduct his search for the “real Princess” he should marry.

Kenny’s play follows the Prince’s passage from birth, his privileged, demand-everything, spend-spend-spend progress to this point being denoted by numbered props, whether in a suitcase lining, on an umbrella or inside a hat that also turns into a cake-mixing bowl.

Devotees of Peter Greenaway’s cult 1988 film Drowning By Numbers will recall a similar numerical conceit reaping dividends.

Anyway, back to the storyline. Kenny notes how Andersen reveals nothing about the Princess, beyond her taking the “pea test” to prove she is a real princess, and he duly gives her a story about “what it means to be ‘real’”, rather than a Disney-glossy  princess.

On song: a musical number for Sophia Hatfield, Hannah Victoria and Mckenzie Alexander

Rather than pretty dresses, tantrums and tiaras, Victoria’s Princess has worked in a kitchen, is blown in by the winds and is left standing in the rain until the wastrel Prince – with all staff laid off – has to answer the door himself.

Kenny, very much the people’s playwright, revels in keeping it real, not royal, with delightful mischief in his storytelling as he mirrors Andersen and the Shrek films in his irreverence towards royalty.

He has fun at the expense of Alexander’s callow Prince for being devoid of social graces and practical know-how, but tellingly he rewards him for toughening up when needs must, and likewise he sends up the Queen’s blinkered, old-school ways and haughty airs for being out of date.

Further pleasures come from Kenny raiding the cupboard of familiar fairytale characters and now forgotten things, from Goldilocks’s porridge spoon to Cinderella’s glittering glass slippers.    

Playwright Mike Kenny: “Revels in keeping it real, not royal”

Harris’s cast of actor-musicians thrives on Kenny’s fast-moving sense of fun and games, constant scene and character changes and cheeky humour, allied to his storytelling prowess.

Alexander, a natural for the silly-billy daft lad in pantomime, instantly bonds with the audience with his wide-eyed playing and he loves the chance to be a princess too; Victoria makes for a grounded, streetwise Princess and Hatfield is both fun yet more serious as the older hand in the company.

They team up joyfully for Christella Litras’s compositions too, singing characterfully as well as contributing violin, accordion, saxophone and more to complement Litras’s keyboards.  

So much to enjoy here, topped off by Catherine Chapman’s designs, where the stage colours of blue and green, pink and orange, yellow and gold are matched by the actors’ attire. Look out for such clever details as cupboard drawers turning into suitcases – as well as the numbers popping up on myriad objects.

At the finale, the curators change the museum name from Forgotten to Remembered Things. Your reviewer loved this show in 2014; happy to report, it is now even better than first remembered.

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York Opera to return to York Theatre Royal after two-year hiatus with The Magic Flute

Alexandra Mather’s Pamina, Mark Simmonds’s High Priest Sarastro and Hamish Brown’s Prince Tamino in York Opera’s The Magic Flute. Picture: John Saunders

YORK Opera will return to York Theatre Royal after a pandemic-enforced two-year gap with Mozart’s The Magic Flute next week.

Sung in English to orchestral accompaniment, Mozart’s last great operatic masterpiece will be performed on November 2, 3 and 5 at 7.15pm and on November 6 at 4pm.

The story follows Prince Tamino and his quest to rescue his beloved Pamina from the grasp of her mother, the evil Queen of the Night, and return with her to the world of light presided over by Sarastro, the High Priest of Isis and Osiris.

Premiered in 1791, the year of Mozart’s death, The Magic Flute has a deep and serious theme: the ultimate triumph of light and enlightenment over the powers of darkness and superstition. Yet the story of a Prince finding his true love in a world of dragons, magic bells and magic flute serves as an operatic pantomime too, making it the perfect introduction to opera.

David Valsamidis: Making his York Opera debut as bird catcher Papageno

York Opera’s stage director for The Magic Flute is John Soper, a long-serving member, baritone soloist and publicity designer, who has designed the sets too. Musical direction is in the hands of Derek Chivers, whose last appearance with the company was as musical director and conductor for Carmen in 2018.

Among the many soloists will be Mark Simmonds as High Priest Sarastro, Heather Watts as Queen of the Night, Hamish Brown as Prince Tamino and Alexandra Mather as Pamina, while bass David Valsamidis makes his York Opera debut as Papageno, the Queen of the Night’s bird catcher.

To complement these five major roles, a dozen more named solo parts ensure York Opera’s wide-ranging vocal talent will be on display.

Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Heather Watts, as the Queen of the Night, left, and Alexandra Mather, as Pamina, in York Opera’s The Magic Flute. Picture: John Saunders

Meanwhile, a note from York Opera…

OPERA is possibly the most demanding of all the arts, especially for any young singers dreaming of becoming established performers.

Those setting out on such a road need reliable opportunities to learn and develop their craft both as singers and actors. Where are they to receive the support that they need?

Look at how York Opera responds to this need. This amateur opera group prides itself on its high standards and its determination to employ York and district orchestral musicians to accompany the productions of grand opera and other works, staged twice a year for more than 50 years.

Latterly too, York Opera has welcomed an influx of younger singers, who have complemented and extended the range of expertise within the group.

Alexandra Mather: York opera singer attended the Glyndebourne Academy in 2019. Picture: James Belloris

In addition, plans were in place to try out a handful of new stage directors and musical directors, moving on from their roles as assistants or repetiteurs. They were to have the support of an overall production manager, Clive Marshall, one of York Opera’s most experienced producers, and would have taken charge of four fully staged operatic excerpts to be performed at York’s National Centre for Early Music.

Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic brought everything to an abrupt halt. Now, nearly two years later, York Opera is almost back on track.

All these developments came under the umbrella of York Opera’s Stepping Stones project, one that received a boost from Australian soprano Danielle de Niese, whose home at Glyndebourne, in Sussex, has its own springboard: the Glyndebourne Academy.

This operatic development project aims to support gifted and talented young singers, and so far, two York Opera members, Andrew Powis and Alexandra Mather, have taken part, with hopes that others will do so in future.

Soprano Danielle de Niese: Letter of support to York Opera

Learning of this involvement, Danielle de Niese has provided a letter of support. “I was approached by the president of York Opera, Clive Goodhead, after a performance of Massenet’s Cendrillon at Glyndebourne Opera House. He explained that York Opera has a proud and firm reputation as a long-standing, highly successful amateur group up in Yorkshire.

“One of York Opera’s charitable aims is to provide opportunities for young singers, especially those who might entertain the idea of becoming future professionals. In this respect, its aims have much in common with those of Glyndebourne’s Academy programme.

“The latter is widely recognised as an amazing opportunity for young singers. Always massively oversubscribed, it represents a real achievement and outstanding opportunity for anyone who passes its auditions.

“York Opera, I am told, is delighted to have seen two of its younger members, Andrew Powis and Alexandra Mather, joining the project in recent times. I am most happy to offer both of these singers my best wishes for their operatic futures.

York Opera singer Andrew Powis, who has studied at the Glyndebourne Academy

“I am also more than pleased to offer my sincere appreciation to York Opera. It has my whole-hearted support as a vital early stepping stone for younger opera singers aspiring to be professionals one day.”

Alexandra Mather will be playing Pamina in The Magic Flute and around a dozen other principals and chorus members in next week’s production at York Theatre Royal are younger singers.

“Opportunities of this sort are vital if the United Kingdom is to provide reliable home-grown experiences as stepping stones for the next generation of professional opera performers,” says Clive Goodhead.

“Amateur groups of the quality and stability of York Opera deserve greater recognition and support themselves. The group is a registered charity (No. 700279), one of our aims being to educate in the art of opera. We are self-supporting, actively welcoming of new members and always seeking sponsorship.”

More information can be found at yorkopera.co.uk.

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Will Young marks 20 years since Pop Idol win with hits album and 2022 autumn tour. York Barbican, Hull and Sheffield await

Will Young at 42: Heading for York, Hull and Sheffield on 20 Years Tour in 2022. Picture:

WILL Young will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his Pop Idol win with a 22-date tour next autumn, playing York Barbican on the second night, October 13.

Further Yorkshire dates on the 2022 itinerary of the 20 Years Tour will be at Hull Bonus Arena on October 21 and Sheffield City Hall on October 24. Tickets go on sale from 9am on Friday via aegpresents.co.uk and at yorkbarbican.co.uk, bonusarenahull.com and sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.

Since pipping Bradford musical theatre star Gareth Gates to win Pop Idol’s first series in 2002, Young has become the TV talent show’s most successful contestant, chalking up the best-selling single of the Noughties, Evergreen/Anything Is Possible, ten million record sales and eight UK top three albums, topped off by this year’s Crying On The Bathroom Floor.

Pop Idol was broadcast to as many as ten million viewers when it first aired, shooting South Londoner Young to fame and rewarding him with a record deal to release his debut chart-topping album, From Now On, after receiving a 4.6 million votes from the public.

Next year’s anniversary will be marked by the release of 20 Years – The Greatest Hits, a compilation that will span his Pop Idol winner’s single, Evergreen, and the number ones Light My Fire and Leave Right Now to Crying On The Bathroom Floor track Daniel and two new songs, yet to be named.

The album will be available next May on CD, deluxe signed CD & vinyl LP via Sony Music; fans can place pre-orders from today at will-young.myshopify.com to gain exclusive access to the tour pre-sale from Wednesday. 

Look out too for Young’s Crying On The Bathroom Floor Remix EP, set for release on Cooking Vinyl with six Sudlow remixes of Will’s interpretations of Daniel, Crying On The Bathroom Floor and latest single Indestructible.

Evergreen Will Young, 42, answers questions on his past, present and future:

What has been keeping you busy, Will?

“I just managed to have a lovely two-week break in Greece. I studied ancient history and was completely excited and overwhelmed at finally being able to visit the Acropolis, the birthplace of democracy.”

Young in younger days: Will after his Pop Idol success in 2002. Picture: Indira Cesarine


Can you believe two whole decades have passed by so quickly since your Pop Idol win?

“I love the phrase ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ and the last 20 years have been more fun than I could ever have imagined. I’ll never forget how people took the time to pick up the phone and vote for me. It’s kept me humble and grateful ever since.” 

On reflection, would you have succeeded as a pop star without that ‘sliding doors’ moment of auditioning for Pop Idol?

“I don’t think I would’ve become a pop star at that time without Pop Idol because I don’t think anyone would’ve signed me, an openly gay politics student.  That’s what was so beautiful about the show.”

How did it feel how to receive such a mountain of votes from the British public?

“It was such a new experience, not just for me, but also for everyone involved in the TV show. No-one knew it was going to become such a huge success, to the point where it was even debated in parliament! The whole thing was a rollercoaster of fun and laughs and it felt very validating to be voted for by so many people.”  

What can fans expect from the 20th anniversary live shows next autumn?

“I’m going to be playing most of my singles from over the last 20 years, possibly in chronological order. I’m also going to have a request section where me and my pianist will have learnt every single one of my songs,  including all the B-sides.”

How did you feel to be back on stage at last in front of a live audience for your handful of intimate ‘A Night With’ shows?

“Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like I had been away for that long. I thought I might be more nervous because it had been such a long time due to Covid. However, my muscle memory of gigging kicked in and I absolutely loved interacting with the audience, singing so many of my songs with just a piano. It was a beautiful experience.” 

The poster for Will Young’s 20 Years Tour next autumn

Will songs from this year’s Crying On The Bathroom Floor feature in the 2022 tour show?

“I will definitely be playing the singles from the latest album. I have been so thrilled with how well the whole record has been received. Sometimes things just fall into place and, with the combination of great production plus brilliant artists and songs, it worked out really well. I’m very proud of it.”

Not only did you shine a spotlight on some of your favourite, more leftfield modern female pop artists on this album, but also you wrote to each of them to explain why you recorded their song. Many replied to you – what was the loveliest response you received?

“All of the responses were lovely, but I was particularly moved by Clare Maguire’s response. Her single Elizabeth Taylor is such a special song and she’s such a kind person. I was so pleased that she was really thrilled with my version.” 

Your new single is a remix of your version of Swedish pop artist Robyn’s Indestructible. What attracted you to that song and Robyn in general?

“Robyn was very much an artist I wanted to cover; she’s so well respected as a pop artist and songwriter. I felt like Indestructible was the song of hers that I could do a good original-sounding version of.”

Did your dogs and passion for gardening help you during the pandemic lockdowns?

“Animals are a huge passion of mine; having rescue dogs to look after with all their various operations and rehabilitation definitely kept me focused. One of my concerns I’m exploring is how dogs like beagles are tested on in laboratories when they don’t need to be. If I can shine a light on animal cruelty, then I will.

“When it comes to gardening, I absolutely love it and get so much satisfaction out of it. I loved appearing on Gardeners’ World; it’s one of my favourite TV shows.” 

After the success of your role as Emcee in Cabaret, do you have any plans to return to acting in the near future?

“I’m very excited as I’ve just signed up with a new brilliant acting agent and I already have some plans in place for next year – more news coming soon.”

“I’m going to be playing most of my singles from over the last 20 years, possibly in chronological order,” says Will Young as he looks ahead to his 20 Years Tour

Will Young Facts

* Evergreen/Anything Is Possible is officially UK’s fastest-selling debut single of all time.

* Two BRIT Award wins: British Breakthrough Act in 2003 and British Single of the Year for Your Game in 2005.

* Young’s Leave Right Now won 2004 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

* Performed at opening ceremony of 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Nelson Mandela’s Unite The Stars charity concert in South Africa in 2006 and Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium in 2007.

* Has performed live duets with Elton John, James Brown, Queen and Burt Bacharach.

* Starred in 2005 film Mrs. Henderson Presents alongside Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins.

* Mental health advocate, official ambassador for Women’s Aid and animal rights’ activist.

* Author of 2020 book on gay shame, To Be A Gay Man. Several follow-up books are in the works.

* Regularly guest-presents Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 2.

* Performed at Glastonbury Festival three times.

* Co-hosted first two seasons of Homo Sapiens LGBTQI podcast with Christopher Sweeney; new mental health podcast will launch in 2022.

* In his music-making, Young has collaborated with Burt Bacharach, Eg White, Sia, Steve Lipson, Cathy Dennis and Richard X.

* Played Emcee in Cabaret at Leeds Grand Theatre in October 2017.

* Played Dalby Forest, near Pickering, in June 2012 and Scarborough Open Air Theatre in June 2016. Last played York Barbican on Lexicon tour on October 20 2019.

Will Young as Emcee in Cabaret, on tour at Leeds Grand Theatre in 2017. Picture: Jim Marks
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