Guy Rhys’s Captain Ahab, centre, leads the whale hunt in Simple 8’s Moby Dick, on tour at York Theatre Royal
SEEKING a whale of a time? Head off to Moby Dick, open studios and musicals full of physical exercise, suggests Charles Hutchinson.
Touring play of the week: Simple8 in Moby Dick, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
SEBASTIAN Armesto’s stage adaptation captures the romantic, ambiguous, richly allegorical spirit of Herman Melville’s novel for Simple8, specialists in creating worlds out of nothing in bold new plays that tackle big ideas with large casts.
Armed with sea shanties played live on stage, planks of wood, tattered sheets and a battered assortment of musical instruments, the ensemble of actors and actor-musicians, led by Guy Rhys’s whale-seeking Captain Ahab, brings Moby Dick ingeniously to life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Wildlife and landscape artist Jonathan Pomroy: Opening his studio at 4 Pottergate, Gilling East, for North Yorkshire Open Studios
Art event of the week: North Yorkshire Open Studios 2024, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm
STRETCHING from the coast to the moors, dales and beyond, 169 artists and makers from North Yorkshire’s artistic community invite you to look inside their studios this weekend.
Among them will be Steve Page (Sheriff Hutton); Russell Hughes (Easingwold); Richard Gray (Easingwold); Justine Warner (Sheriff Hutton); Patrick Smith (Sheriff Hutton); Calum Balding (Thornton le Clay); Sue Walsh (Cawton); Jonathan Pomroy (Gilling East); Stephen Bird (Ampleforth); Mary Raynar (Helmsley); Ruth King (Boltby) and Marcus Jacka (Boltby). For full details, go to: nyos.org.uk. A full brochure is available.
Tim Pearce’s poster artwork for Life Forms In Motion at Blossom Street Gallery, York
York exhibition of the week: Life Forms In Motion, Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York, until June 30
SIX Yorkshire artists give individual responses to the challenge of interpreting the motion of life forms in a range of static media. In a nutshell, time and space condensed into single, dynamic images.
Taking part are Tim Pearce, painting and sculpture; Cathy Denford, painting; Jo Ruth, printmaking; Adrienne French, painting; Mandy Long, ceramic sculpture, and Lesley Peatfield, photography. Opening hours: Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm; Sundays, 10am to 3pm.
Save our lido: Drip Drop Theatre in All Those On Board at Helmsley Arts Centre
Making a splash: Drip Drop Theatre in All Those On Board, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm
NORTH Yorkshire company Drip Drop Theatre presents the premiere of E C R Roberts’s new musical All Those On Board, wherein Bingham-by-the-Sea’s Save The Lido group members are determined to save the town’s long-closed 1930s’ swimming pool from demolition.
They need to come up with the funding before the deadline, no matter to what lengths they must go. Fifteen original songs, live instruments, leg-kicking choreography and colourful swimming hats combine in this lido-themed show for fans of upbeat musical theatre and outdoor swimming in whatever form. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Gary Stewart: Playing the Paul Simon songbook at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ryedale gig of the week: Gary Stewart, The Only Living Boy In (New) York: The Songs of Paul Simon, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
PERTHSHIRE-BORN singer, songwriter, folk musician and Hope & Social drummer Gary Stewart’s compositions are influenced by Sixties and Seventies’ folk artists. Chief among them is New Jersey’s Paul Simon, whose songs Easingwold-based Stewart grew up learning and performing.
Here he interprets such Simon standouts as The Boxer, Mrs Robinson, Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard, Kodachrome and Graceland. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Ryedale Primary Choir: Taking part in Across The Whinny Moor at St Peter’s Church, Norton, on Saturday
Ryedale Festival community event of the week: Across The Whinny Moor, St Peter’s Church, Norton, Saturday, 4pm
THE world premiere of the Community Song Cycle: Across The Whinny Moor follows the trail of North Yorkshire’s Lyke Wake Walk, meeting cheeky hobs, angry mermaids, resourceful giants and wise witches along the way.
The all-age cast for a walk through stories and songs by John Barber and Hazel Gould includes the schoolchildren of the Ryedale Primary Choir, the Ryedale Voices, Harmonia and The RyeLarks choirs, Kirkbymoorside Town Junior Brass Band, storyteller Rosie Barrett and mezzo-soprano soloist Victoria Simmonds, conducted by Caius Lee. Box office: ryedalefestival.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173652657.
Mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds: Singing in Across The Whinny Moor
Tribute gig of the month: The Belgrave House Band presents Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black, Milton Rooms, Malton, June 16, 8pm
THE Belgrave House Band, specialists in reimagining classic albums, have visited Malton previously with their interpretations of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
Now they return with their take on Amy Winehouse’s second album, 2006’s Back To Black, joined by London vocalist Lydia Kotsirea and a full horn section, backing vocalists and rhythm section from the burgeoning Leeds jazz scene. York singer-songwriter Maggie Wakeling supports. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The poster artwork for Calamity Jane, whip crackin’ its way to the Grand Opera House, York, next spring
Show announcement of the week: Carrie Hope Fletcher in Calamity Jane, Grand Opera House, York, April 29 to May 3 2025
IN the week when Nikolai Foster’s production of An Officer And A Gentleman The Musical is on tour at the Grand Opera House, the York theatre announces the booking of another show with the North Yorkshire director at the helm, this one bound for the West End.
Three-time WhatsOnStage Best Actress in a Musical winner Carrie Hope Fletcher will star in the whip-crackin’ musical as fearless Dakota gun-slinger Calamity Jane. “She is one of those roles that doesn’t come around all too often,” she says. “She’s action, romance and comedy all packed into one character, and I can’t wait to take on the challenge of filling her shoes.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Ryedale Primary Choir: Ready to take part in Across The Whinny Moor, the Ryedale Festival community song cycle
DO you believe in magic? Mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds, storyteller Rosie Barrett and an all-age Ryedale cast bring cheeky hobs, angry mermaids, resourceful giants and wise witches to life in Ryedale Festival’s community song cycle Across The Whinny Moor on Saturday afternoon at St Peter’s Church, Norton.
Inspired by the Lyke Wake Walk, this evocative and mysterious tapestry of magical thinking, Yorkshire superstitions and the power of imagination is packed full of local folk legends.
The song cycle gently follows the route of the 42-mile walk across the highest and widest part of the North York Moors National Park, dwelling in spots of interest to explore stories such as The Ballad of Wade and Bell, where, at Wade’s Causeway, the songs tell of mermaids as the first glimpses of the sea come into sight.
Saturday’s 4pm world premiere will feature a cast of more than 100 schoolchildren and amateur singers, who have co-created Across The Whinny Moor with composer John Barber and writer Hazel Gould.
Mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds
Developed through sessions in Ryedale schools, a one-off event for young people and online workshops with choir members, together they have explored local folklore and ideas, creating new segments of text and music that Barber and Gould have worked into the new song cycle.
Conducted by Caius Lee, the Ryedale Primary Choir schoolchildren and the Ryedale Voices, Harmonia and The RyeLarks choirs will be joined by Kirkbymoorside Town Junior Brass Band, Simmonds and Barrett.
Alison Davis, who runs the three adult choirs, says: “We are thrilled to be part of this community song cycle and have enjoyed working with John and Hazel since January. It was great to see them at choir rehearsals and they’ve taken away a good idea of our level and style and have written some incredible original material for us, quite different from our usual music.”
In amongst the new music, Simmonds will sing works by Schubert (The Erl King), Handel and Rebecca Clarke. Shining Brass will play Mendelssohn’s Baba Yaga and traditional folk tunes, such as The Lyke Wake Dirge and The Lark In The Morning, arranged by Barber.
Ryedale Voices: One of the choirs performing at St Peter’s Church, Norton
Rosie Barrett creates original stories that bring heritage to life, often commissioned by museums, including Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole, where she has worked on its latest exhibition, Believe It Or Not?
Running until November 17 (closed on Fridays), the exhibition showcases more than 200 objects connected with magical thinking and folk beliefs, many of them being explored in Across The Whinny Moor.
Rosie says: “I’ve always had a particular fondness for folklore, which I believe connects us deeply with our ancestors. When we hear the stories that the people of the past heard, we are sharing in the emotions and experiences that they shared, and, by reinventing folk tales, we ensure that they stay relevant for each generation. “
Writer Hazel Gould says: “I love to go walking and often use walking time as a way to clear my head. If I can resist the temptation to listen to a podcast or music, the time I spend walking can often be incredibly helpful if I have an idea that I’m struggling with or need to develop.
Harmonia: On song for Across The Whinny Moor
“There’s something about the rhythm of walking that allows my thoughts a bit of free range, away from the distractions of a busy life, and it becomes a place where the imagination can blossom.
“Walking and stories seem to be perfect partners, so we were delighted to discover more about the Lyke Wake Walk and wanted to use this map across the moors as a way to bring together some of the stories from the rich folklore of the region.”
Hazel continues: “It has been a huge pleasure to learn more. I have loved working alongside our primary school groups and adult choirs to talk about these tales and create songs together, from angry hobs to misunderstood women, sometimes called witches. We hope you like it too.”
Festival artistic director Christopher Glynn says: “Enabling and celebrating local music making is very important to the festival. Presented in association with the Richard Shephard Music Foundation and Ryedale Folk Museum, Across The Whinny Moor brings together the Ryedale Primary Choir, storyteller Rosie Barrett, local choirs run by Alison Davis, the Kirkbymoorside Town Junior Brass Band, star mezzo-soprano Victoria Simmonds and conductor Caius Lee.
Sing when you’re swinging: Ryedale Primary Choir
“John and Hazel have harnessed the rich and wild ideas of all these performers, and we are very excited to hear the result on June 8. Join us!’’
Music foundation chief executive officer Cathy Grant says: “The young people involved in the community song cycle have been brought together by the Richard Shephard Music Foundation, the charity helping to increase musical opportunities for children in our region.
“They come from the Ryedale Primary Choir and local primary schools and are aged between seven and 13. Overall, around 120 children have taken part in songwriting workshops, in-school singing workshops or choir rehearsals, and a group of these will be in the final performance on Saturday, singing alongside the adult choir and other musicians.”
Ryedale Festival presents Community Song Cycle: Across The Whinny Moor, a walk through stories and songs by John Barber and Hazel Gould, world premiere, St Peter’s Church, Norton, June 8, 4pm. Box office: ryedalefestival.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173652657.
Victoria Simmonds performing at the world premiere at St Peter’s Church on June 8Ryedale schoolchildren singing at the Across The Whinny Moor premiere
Driven by a vendetta: Guy Rhys’s Captain Ahab in Simple8’s Moby Dick. Picture: Manuel Harlan
MOBY Dick, Herman Melville’s leviathan tale of vengeful whaler versus great white whale, keeps returning to the Yorkshire stage.
Remember Slung Low’s The White Whale on water at Leeds Dock, the one with headphone sets for the audience, in September 2014?
Or John Godber and Nick Love’s version for the John Godber Company, the one with crates and bicycles, in the repurposed dock of Hull’s amphitheatre Stage@TheDock in June 2021?
Now, from Thursday to Saturday, York Theatre Royal plays host to Sebastian Armesto’s adaptation for Simple 8, the indoor one with sea shanties, planks of wood, tattered sheets and a battered assortment of musical instruments.
Why should you see this one? “It’s mercifully brief and means that if you haven’t read the novel you can watch our show and then pretend that you have,” says a droll Sebastian.
“Mercifully brief”? Two hours, including the interval, should you be wondering, as Royal & Derngate artistic director Jesse Jones’s ensemble cast of nine actor-musicians presents “a fun, fast and joyous production that transports you right to the heart of the hunt for the most famous whale on Earth”.
Mirroring whaling voyages, Jones’s ensemble must apply graft, not only conjuring ships, seas, storms and even whales from sparse means, but also playing and singing all the sea shanties live, in the Simple8 house style of “poor theatre” of multiple roles and minimal materials where “everyone does everything”.
Then add the task of taking the nautical indoors as Guy Rhys’s Captain Ahab and the Pequod crew seek vengeance on Moby Dick, the whale responsible for taking his leg.
Sea shanty singing in Simple8’s Moby Dick, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan
“Not only the setting is a challenge, but so is the size of the novel the play is adapted from, the ‘ginormity’ of the beast, the scale of the drama, the sky, the sea, and then there are the massive themes of the novel,” says Sebastian.
“In taking it indoors, there’s an element within it that suits the forced imaginative leap, where the suspension of disbelief inherent in theatre is directly within the fabric of the novel too.
“In the book, there are chapters and chapters about what a whale is – its bulk, its history – so it’s a novel that’s trying to devise meaning for everything. The whaling industry. Ahab’s character. Whale behaviour. The existential crisis.”
Sebastian continues: “The idea that you have to do it with nothing on stage sort of aligns with the novel’s struggle with itself. That’s my justification for not doing it in a dry dock, though I might enjoy that.
“I’ve seen a Norwegian production with puppets, a dance production, John Huston’s [1956] movie starring Gregory Peck and Orson Welles: whalers in pursuit of Moby Dick to their eventual demise, just as it will destroy you in pursuit of it. I’m sure it’s folly to try to adapt such books, but it’s also part of the pleasure.”
Sebastian reckons Melville’s novel is “one of those books that people would rather prefer they didn’t have to read, with its meandering passages”, but nevertheless he has a long association with Moby Dick.
“I adapted it a long time ago, previously completing an adaptation in 2010, but it wasn’t until 2013 that we first staged it, when I directed it,” he recalls.
“I was told that I did turn into Captain Ahab, obsessed with physical movement, to the detriment of everyone else, which doesn’t surprise me – and I apologise for that.”
Guy Rhys’s Captain Ahab, centre, leading his crew on the Pequod in Simple8’s Moby Dick. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Reviving his adaptation for Simple8’s tour, the script has changed, “as it inevitably will because it will never be complete,” he says. “Watching it fires me with more ideas and more things that I can do. This production and the text are evolving: the play is fluid, rather than solid.
“It’s been rewarding to go back to it. There are bits that I had forgotten, parts of the novel too, though in the end, there are things in the re-write that have not made it into the new version on stage for practical reasons.”
Significantly too, the existential fear and threat of the Covid 19 virus, its enforced lockdowns and resulting isolation, have given new resonance to the psychological and psychiatric impact of an unknown threat in Moby Dick.
“I come back to the initial discussion about putting Moby Dick on stage, being forced to imagine, when even the characters in the book don’t see Moby until the last 15 pages,” says Sebastian.
“Mime is very important to this production, particularly the idea that the actors are collectively committing to something that is completely imaginary, so there’s a lot of very intense physical storytelling, emphasising how they are grappling with something that they don’t fully understand.
“Post-pandemic, everyone has been grappling with something they couldn’t see, didn’t understand and were contained and confined by. That sense of being pursued by an unseen threat, endangering your survival, is really clear post-Moby Dick, with its imprint on other stories, from Joseph Conrad’s novels to Jaws.”
Simple8, in association with the Royal & Derngate, Northampton, present Moby Dick, York Theatre Royal, June 6 to 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sebastian Armesto: the back story
Sebastian Armesto: Actor, writer and director
Born: June 3 1982. Son of historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto.
Education: Eton College.
Occupation: Film, television and theatre actor, writer and director.
Acted in high-profile theatre productions in Great Britain, including shows at National Theatre and Royal Court, London.
Writes and directs theatre with Simple 8 company.
Productions include directing and adapting Les Enfants du Paradis; co-writing and directing play based on William Hogarth’s The Four Stages Of Cruelty and new versions of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and Moby Dick.
Influence on directing style: 1981 Ashes-winning cricket captain, psychotherapist and psychoanalyst Mike Brearley’s book The Art Of Captaincy: What Sport Teaches Us About Leadership.
Tim Pearce’s poster artwork for Life Forms In Motion at Blossom Street Gallery, York
SIX Yorkshire artists are giving six individual responses to the challenge of interpreting the motion of life forms in a range of static media at Blossom Street Gallery, Blossom Street, York. In a nutshell, time and space condensed into single, dynamic images.
Taking part in Life Forms In Motion are Tim Pearce, painting and sculpture; Cathy Denford, painting; Jo Ruth, printmaking; Adrienne French, painting; Mandy Long, ceramic sculpture, and Lesley Peatfield, photography.
“Fascinatingly, it is the relative scarcity of practitioners working in contemporary fine art who specialise in subject matter that springs from the realms of sport, dance, music and wildlife that makes this exhibition so fresh and original,” says Tim.
Opening hours: Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm; Sundays, 10am to 3pm.
Ceramic sculptures by Mandy Long at Blossom Street Gallery
The locations on Navigators Art & Performance’s Micklegate Art Trail for the York Festival of Ideas
YORK arts collective Navigators Art & Performance is making a double contribution to the York Festival of Ideas fortnight.
This morning marks the official launch of the Micklegate Art Trail, an innovative community engagement project, highlighted today by activities in participating venues from 11 am.
Running until June 23 at 10am to 4pm each day, the trail is a collaboration between shops, restaurants, artists, makers and community groups.
Artists taking part will be: Adele Karmazyn; Ala Jazayeri; Angela Scott; April Gibson; Brenda Christison; Caroline Lewis; Chalky the Yorkie; Chrissy Buse; Desmond Clarke; Donna Maria Taylor; Eliiot Harrison; Em Goldie; Emma Parker; Fiona Kemp; George Willmore; Hellboreia; Isabel Bullon Benito; Jude Redpath; Katie Fleming; Katie Lewis; Lara Aitken; Larrissa Guida Lock; Leon Francois Dumont; Lincoln Lightfoot and Linda Harrison.
So too are: Lisa Power; Lu Mason; Lucy Churchill; Mark Kesteven; Matthew Fawcett; Melissa Hill; Naomi Wells Smith; Nicholas ESRJ King; Nick Kobyluch; Nick Walters; Nicola Glover; Nicola Harper; Pete (The Plasterer) Baker; Phil Bixby; Poppy Burr; Richard Mackness; Rizak; Schiewe Ceramics; Simon Pagan; Sola; Steve Beadle; Susan Bradley; Tom Bennett; Tom Maynard and Zoe Phillips.
Twenty locations will be putting artists’ work in the window: The Punch Bowl, Plaskitt & Plaskitt Interior Design and Blossom Street Gallery, all Blossom Street; Bridal Relived; Brewdog; Old School Barber Shop; Holy Trinity Church; Cads of Micklegate; Skosh; The Falcon; 84 Sandwich Bar; Dannie Lea Hair & Beauty; Divine Coffee Roasters; Eliza Lamb; Hudson Moody; Oxfam Bookshop; Cafe Fleur; Fancy Dance Shop and Amnesty Bookshop, all Micklegate, and The Hooting Owl, Rougier Street.
The Micklegate Art Trail brochure
Tonight, Navigators Art & Performance turns the focus on York-poet W H Auden at Museum Street Tavern, where York musicians, poets and performers will be gathering for An Exploration of W H Auden’s Poetry in Words, Music and Performance from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
“Wystan Hugh Auden was born in Bootham, York, in 1907. Informed by science and engineering, his fascination with the world and its workings was expressed in a myriad of poetic forms, earning him the title the Picasso of modern poetry,” says Navigators Art & Performance.
“As well as over 400 poems of both profundity and great wit, he wrote drama, es-says, libretti, travel writing and works of criticism: a range that reflects the multi-faceted nature of human life and his own aliveness to all of it.
“Openly gay and defiantly anti-establishment, he was controversial and influential in his views on politics, morals, love, and religion, and widely recognised as a leader of the British avant-garde at a time of cultural and creative flux in Europe.
“His editor recognised him as ‘the first poet writing in English who felt at home in the 20th century. Auden died in Vienna in 1973. We hope you will make him feel at home in the 21st century too.”
In the words of W H Auden in 1927: “All genuine poetry is in a sense the formation of private spheres out of a public chaos.”
Tonight’s programme:
Introduction About York Trailblazers.
Hugh Bernays talk; Jealous Love (Auden, unpublished)
Auden’s Face (original)
Charlotte Shevchenko Knight: Night Mail (Auden)
Musée des Beaux Arts (Auden)
Ukrainian as In (original)
Richard Kitchen: O What Is That Sound (Auden)
Look, Stranger (Auden)
StreetLines: extract 2 (original)
Anthony Vahni Capildeo (recorded material) Letters from Iceland (Auden)
Letters from Jorvik (original)
Janet Dean: 1st September 1939 (Auden)
England 2020 (original)
Three Dresses: My Mother Wonders
How I Felt About Her Death (original)
JT Welsch: Lullabye – duet with Janet Dean (Auden; guitar)
As I Walked Out One Evening (Auden; guitar).
Part Two, after 20-minute interval
Alan Gillott talk; Influence (original)
Carrieanne Vivianette: This Thing (original)
Performative interpretation of a poem by Auden (title to be revealed!)
JT Welsch: The Fall Of Rome (Auden; guitar)
Funeral Blues (Auden; guitar)
Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell: Poem XVII Auden)
If I Could Tell You (Auden)
Behold the Body Of The Moon (original)
Lower On Your Arms Reversed (original)
Richard Kitchen: Clerihews (various)
Jane Stockdale: Silent Lands (original; acapella)
If I Could Tell You (Auden; guitar)
As I Walked Out One Evening (Auden; Shruti box).
The poster artwork for The Basement Sessions #4
“The Festival of Ideas has a different theme every year and the great thing about it is that if you’re organising an event that might fit, you just contact the organisers and propose it,” says Navigators Art co-founder Richard Kitchen.
“If they like your proposal, you’re in! We did that for the first time last year and it was an amazing success, particularly our sold-out performance event, which we hope will happen again this year.
“By demand, we’re hoping to repeat the Auden event in October, when the associated York Trailblazers sculpture project will be in place at various locations in York.” Watch this space for updates.
In addition, on June 8,Navigators Art & Performance’s The Basement Sessions #4 offers a night of music, spoken word and comedy at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse at 7pm with Percy, Amy Albright, Cai Moriarty, Danae, Suzy Bradley, Kane Bruce, Rose Drew and John Pease.
For tickets andfull festival details, visit: yorkfestivalofideas.com.
Angels Of The North: Headlline drag act at York Pride today
PRIDE pageantry and wartime memoirs, open studios and open-air Status Quo lead off Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.
Celebration of the week: York Pride, Knavesmire, York, today
NORTH Yorkshire’s biggest LGBT+ celebration opens with the Parade March for equality and human rights from Duncombe Place, outside York Minster, at 12 noon, processing through the city-centre streets, up Bishopthorpe Road to the festival’s Knavesmire site.
Pride events will be spread between the main stage, Queer Arts’ cabaret tent, Polymath’s dance tent and a funfair, complemented by a licensed bar and marketplace. Among the main stage acts will be headliners Angels Of The North, alias winner Ginger Johnson, Tomara Thomas and Michael Marouli, from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 5, plus Max George, Big Brovaz & Booty Luv, Jaymi Hensley, Janice D and Eric Spike. Full details: yorkpride.org.uk.
Into the woods: George Stagnell as Dennis “Hank” Haydock in the short film In The Footsteps of Hank Haydock, premiered at Helmsley Arts Centre tonight
D-Day landmark of the week: Everwitch Theatre, Bomb Happy D-Day 80, In The Footsteps Of Hank Haydock (film premiere) and Sleep/Re-live/Wake Repeat (live performance), Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight, 7.30pm
TO commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day, Bomb Happy playwright Helena Fox has created two poignant, lyrical new works telling the stories of two Yorkshire Normandy veterans from conversations and interviews she held with them in 2016.
Featuring York actor George Stagnell, the short film In the Footsteps of Hank Haydock: A Walk In The Park was shot on location in the Duncombe Park woodland with its lyrical account of Coldstream Guardsman Dennis “Hank” Haydock’s experiences in his own words. In Sleep/Re-Live/Wake/Repeat, playwright Helena Fox and vocalist Natasha Jones bring to life the first-hand experiences of D-Day veteran Ken “Smudger” Smith and the lifelong impact of PTSD and sleep trauma through spoken word and a cappella vocals. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
York artist Adele Karmazyn: Taking part in North Yorkshire Open Studios
Art event of the week: North Yorkshire Open Studios 2024, today and tomorrow, June 8 and 9, 10am to 5pm
STRETCHING from the coast to the moors, dales and beyond, 169 artists and makers from North Yorkshire’s artistic community invite you to look inside their studios over the next two weekends.
Taking part in and around York will be Robin Grover-Jacques, Adele Karmazyn, Anna Cook, Boxxhead, Simon Palmour, Duncan McEvoy, Evie Leach, Jane Atkin, Jane Dignum, Jen Dring, Parkington Hatter, Jo Walton, Kitty Pennybacker, Lu Mason, Robert Burton, Lincoln Lightfoot, Sharon McDonagh, Claire Castle, Rosie Bramley, Emma Welsh, Lesley Peatfield, Gonzalo Blanco and Freya Horsley. For full details, go to: nyos.org.uk. A full brochure is available.
Isobel Staton: Directing Cain and Abel for A Creation For York, today’s York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust promenade production
York community play of the week: York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust in A Creation For York, around Micklegate, York, today, from 2pm and 3.30pm
YORK Mystery Plays Supporters Trust stages a trilogy of 20-minute plays from the Creation cycle, directed by Katie Smith, Dan Norman and Isobel Staton under Dr Tom Straszewski’s mentorship.
The promenade procession starts with Smith’s The Creation Of Man at St Columba’s, Priory Street, at 2pm and 3.30pm, and progresses to Holy Trinity, Micklegate, for Norman’s The Fall Of Man at 3pm and 4.30pm, then onwards to St Martin’s Stained Glass Centre, Micklegate, for Staton’s Cain And Abel at 4pm and 5.30pm. Tickets: ympst.co.uk/creation.
The poster artwork for Navigators Art & Performance’s night of live music, spoken word and comedy, The Basement Sessions #4, at City Screen Picturehouse
Navigators Art & Performance at York Festival of Ideas (festival running from today until June 14)
YORK arts collective Navigators Art & Performance presents the Micklegate Art Trail, a collaboration between shops, restaurants, artists, makers and community groups, from today until June 23, 10am to 4pm, including a special exhibition at Blossom Street Gallery. Tomorrow is the “official” launch day with activities in participating venues from 11 am.
Tomorrow comes As I Walked Out One Evening, An Exploration of W H Auden’s Poetry in Words, Music and Performance with York musicians, poets and performers at Museum Street Tavern, York, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. On June 8, The Basement Sessions #4 offers a night of music, spoken word and comedy at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse at 7pm with Percy, Amy Albright, Cai Moriarty, Danae, Suzy Bradley, Kane Bruce, Rose Drew and John Pease. Tickets and full festival details: yorkfestivalofideas.com.
Rain or shine: Francis Rossi, left, leads veteran band Status Quo at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tomorrow
Coastal gig of the week: Status Quo, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Sunday, gates 6pm
DENIM rock legends Status Quo open the 2024 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre, where they played previously in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Led as ever by founder Francis Rossi, who turned 75 on Wednesday, they must pick their set from 64 British hit singles, more than any other band. The support act will be The Alarm. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/statusquo.
Georgia Lennon, as Paula Pofriki and Luke Baker as Zack Mayo in An Officer And A Gentleman, on tour at Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: An Officer And A Gentleman The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, June 4 to 8, 8pm, Tuesday, 7.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday, plus 2.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees
NORTH Yorkshireman Nikolai Foster directs Leeds-born actor Luke Baker as fearless young officer candidate Zack Mayor in the Curve, Leicester touring production of An Officer And A Gentleman.
Once an award-winning 1982 Taylor Hackford film, now Douglas Day Stewart’s story of love, courage and redemption comes re-booted with George Dyer’s musical theatre arrangements and orchestrations of pop bangers by Bon Jovi, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie and the signature song (Love Lift Us) Up Where We Belong. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Guy Rhys, centre, as Captain Ahab in Simple8’s Moby Dick, setting sail at York Theatre Royal next week
Touring play of the week: Simple8 in Moby Dick, York Theatre Royal, June 6 to 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
SEBASTIAN Armesto’s stage adaptation captures the spirit of Herman Melville’s novel – romantic, ambiguous and rich with allegory – for Simple8, specialists in creating worlds out of nothing in bold new plays that tackle big ideas with large casts.
Armed with sea shanties played live on stage, planks of wood, tattered sheets and a battered assortment of musical instruments, the ensemble of actors and actor-musicians, led by Guy Rhys’s whale-seeking Captain Ahab, brings Moby Dick ingeniously to life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
In Focus: Northern Silents presents G W Pabst’s film Diary Of A Lost Girl, starring Louise Brooks, at NCEM, York, June 11
“From the pit of despair to the moment of personal awakening”: Louise Brooks’s
TRAILBLAZING New York raga pianist Utsav Lal will provide the live score for Diary Of A Lost Girl, a rarely shown gem of German silent cinema starring Louise Brooks, at the National Centre for Early Music, York, on June 11 at 7.30pm.
Premiered in Vienna, Austria, on September 12 1929, and now screened by Northern Silents, G W Pabst’s film traces the journey of a young woman from the pit of despair to the moment of personal awakening.
Directed with virtuoso flair by Pabst, Diary Of A Lost Girl (PG, 104 minutes) represents the final pairing of the Czechia-born Austrian filmmaker with American silent screen icon Louise Brooks, mere months after their first collaboration in the now-legendary Pandora’s Box, for which Brooks had arrived in Berlin on October 14 1928 to play alluring temptress Lulu.
In Diary Of A Lost Girl, she is pharmacist Robert Henning’s innocent daughter Thymian, who is traumatised by the suicide of housekeeper Elisabeth after her father expels her from the house.
Even more so when Henning’s assistant rapes Thymian. Pregnant, she refuses to marry her assailant, prompting her outraged father to sendher to a reformatory for “wayward women”, where a cruel regime prevails. Henning, meanwhile, makes advances towards new housekeeper, Meta, who insists Thymian should not be allowed to return home.
Thymian escapes with her friend Erika but discovers that her child has passed away. She joins Erika in working at a brothel, then marries a count, but can she ever escape her past?
Pianist Utsav Lal, noted for his innovative performances at Carnegie Hall, Southbank Centre and around the world, will improvise a unique live score at the 7.30pm screening.
Huddersfield-based Northern Silents will return to the NCEM with another fusion of new music and vintage film on October 15. Watch this space for more details.
Tickets for Diary Of A Lost Girl are on sale on 01904 658338 and at ncem.co.uk.
In Focus too: Anita Klein, 30 Years In York, exhibition launch at Pyramid Gallery, York, today at 12 noon
Poster artwork for Anita Klein’s 30 Years In York exhibition at Pyramid Gallery, York
ARTIST Anita Klein will attend today’s opening of her Thirty Years In York exhibition of paintings, linocuts and etchings at Pyramid Gallery, York.
“Anita was one of the first artist printmakers to be shown here and has shown her work in York constantly since June 1994,” says Terry Brett, owner and curator of the gallery in Stonegate.
That first exhibition marked a dramatic change in both the look of the gallery and its fortunes under the new ownership of Terry, who took the keys to Pyramid Gallery on May 31 1994 with his then partner and wife Elaine.
“As soon as Elaine and I had taken over the gallery, I contacted the Greenwich Printmaking co-operative who ran a shop in Greenwich market,” Terry recalls. “They agreed to do a show and I collected work by 15 artists in my car.
“Several of those artists have supplied Pyramid Gallery regularly for 30 years. The first print that sold was a small drypoint print by Anita Klein, which I had put in the window one evening, before the show had opened.”
Terry continues: “Anita was not a big name in the art world in 1994, but she certainly had a following and has since had a very successful career as an artist with features on BBC Radio and national newspapers and magazines.
Pyramid Gallery curator Terry Brett with Anita Klein works and a copy of her 2022 book Out Of The Ordinary, charting her career since 1982
“‘From working with Anita and other former Greenwich artists, such as Mychael Barratt, Trevor Price and Louise Davies, I have come to realise that the relationship between artist and gallery is something that is really worth nurturing. I place great importance on visiting the South East London-based artists, personally collecting the work for each show.”
To mark the start of Terry Brett’s 30th year as a gallerist, Anita Klein is travelling up from London to attend today’s opening from 12 noon to 2pm, when she will sign copies of her 2022 book, Out Of The Ordinary, too.
Australian-born Anita began her career by studying painting on degree and post-graduate courses at the Slade School of Art, where she was influenced by Paula Rego, who encouraged her to “draw what she wanted to draw”.
In response, she started to capture scenes depicting ordinary moments of her own life. Given expert guidance at the school, she learnt to reproduce those sketches using the various techniques of printmaking.
She met her future husband and artist Nigel Swift at the Slade. From the outset, Anita’s artistic diary of her life has often featured amusing or romantic scenes of the two of them or sometimes only ‘Nige’ in the throes of some activity that Anita has observed and captured in a sketch.
In 1984 she was awarded the Joseph Webb Memorial prize by the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers to spend the summer drawing from the Italian masters. Anita and Nigel stayed in a flat in Arezzo, Tuscany, and filled sketch books with sketches of Italian frescoes.
Casserole, linocut, by Anita Klein
Soon after, they married and had two children, Maia and Leia, Anita recording it all in many small prints using techniques that included woodcuts, etching, lithograph, aquatint and drypoint. When their daughters were small, she made small sketches while they were asleep and developed them into drypoint prints at a printmaking evening class.
For her first solo show in 1986, she had a year to prepare enough images to fill a gallery in London, which led her to simplify the way she worked. Fortunately for all her followers and collectors, the first show was successful and led to another solo show elsewhere.
Many years later, after she supplied her work to as many as 60 galleries, the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers elected Anita to the prestigious position as president. During those 38 years, her work and life has been profiled in national newspapers and magazines and on BBC Radio 4’s Home Truths, presented by John Peel.
In 2007, Anita and Nigel bought a flat in a medieval hilltop town in Tuscany. After painting large oils from her studio in London for many years, she started to paint in acrylics on canvas when staying in Italy.
By using acrylics, she was able to roll up the paintings and carry them back to London, which in turn enabled Pyramid Gallery to show a few of her paintings, along with a larger exhibition of the prints.
For Terry, the choice of Anita Klein to begin a year of anniversary celebratory shows, is apt. “My own family life corresponds quite closely with Anita’s in that I got married about the same time and had two daughters, Elinor and Suzy, just two years prior to the births of Maia and Leia,” he says.
Artist Anita Klein: 30 years of exhibiting at Pyramid Gallery, York
“I could relate to almost every image that Anita created about her family life. When I was helping my two daughters learn to drive, Anita produced a print that could easily have been about us. We even had a similar car. ‘Picking Maia and Leia up from School’ or ‘Driving to Ballet’ could also easily have been about my own family.”
When asked how she came to start documenting her own life, Anita says: “There was no plan to start with. Drawing my everyday life was at first a continuation of the kind of drawings I did as a child. And as I spent the first 20 or so years of my career bringing up my two children with no extra childcare help, it was really the only subject matter I knew.
“Looking back, I can see that I have always wanted to hold onto and celebrate the ordinary. The small repetitive joys that can so easily go unnoticed and unappreciated.”
Knowing how fortunate he is still to be able to represent an eminent London artist with such a large following, Terry asked Anita: “What does Pyramid Gallery and York mean to you?”.
“Pyramid Gallery has been very good to me over the years, showing and selling my work from the very early days of my career while other galleries have come and gone,” she says. “At one point I had prints in over 60 galleries worldwide.
“These days I have cut this down substantially – the Internet and social media enables me to reach a wide audience, and Pyramid is one of only a small handful of galleries that has a large selection of my work.”
Eating Pizza, linocut, by Anita Klein
Mounting this exhibition has enabled Terry to pause a while and “take a long look at the gallery more as a pleasurable activity than as a business”.
“Sometimes I can become a bit too focused on the sales figures and the marketing, but in recent weeks I’ve been looking forward to celebrating the landmark of having been nurturing the gallery for three decades, as if it were a part of me that I have to ease through challenges and crises,” he says.
“Pyramid Gallery has become a meeting point for those that need to create and those that need the joy of feeling moved or inspired. It really is more about people than it is about art.
“It gives me a glowing feeling of warmth that I am able to connect a great artist like Anita, who is a storyteller and recorder of social history and of human emotions, with those who visit the gallery for exactly the same experience that inspired the creation of the images.”
For Terry’s 30th anniversary show, Anita will be showing two or three acrylic paintings alongside coloured linocut prints and many black-and-white images of various sizes with a price range from £96 for a small etching up to £7,000 for a large painting.
Here Terry Brett puts questions to Anita Klein
Pyramid Gallery owner Terry Brett with works by Anita Klein
You first supplied Pyramid Gallery as part of a show by Greenwich Printmakers in 1994. How important was that co-operative to you and was it an easy decision to be part of that show?
“Greenwich Printmakers was a vital first step to exhibiting and selling my work, both through their gallery in Greenwich Market and through their ‘outside exhibitions’. Those exhibitions introduced my work to a number of regional galleries, including Pyramid.
“In the days before social media it was crucial to get your work seen as much as possible in galleries, so that first show was a great opportunity for me.
In those days you were bringing up two small daughters and doing your art on the floor when they were napping. Many of your drypoints were quite small – was this by choice or a necessity?
“I did some painting when my children were small, but without a studio in the early days I was limited to small-scale work. I drew my drypoints while the children slept and printed them once a week at a printmaking evening class.”
Do you enjoy being ‘dragged out’ of London to open a show in York?
“It’s wonderful to have exposure of my work in York, and it’s always a pleasure to visit such a fascinating and vibrant city.”
When did you realise that other people would very quickly find parallels in their own lives and connect so easily with your work?
“It came as a surprise at first that other people saw themselves in my work. I thought my life was unique! Now I know that we are all much more alike than we think, especially in the most private parts of our lives.”
Cold water wild swimming has become an important activity to you. Does the need for a new image in your art ever drive you to do find new places to swim?
“Not really. I can always make up the backgrounds! But I’m always on the lookout for beautiful places to swim, so just as with all other parts of my life this feeds into my work.”
George Stagnell, playing D-Day veteran Dennis “Hank” Haydock, in a scene from In The Footsteps Of Hank Haydock: A Walk In The Park, filmed in Duncombe Park woods
TO commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day this year, Bomb Happy playwright Helena Fox has created two poignant, lyrical new works telling the stories of two Yorkshire Normandy veterans from conversations and interviews she held with them in 2016.
One a film, the other a combination of word and song, they will be premiered by Everwitch Theatre at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday night (1/6/2024).
York actor George Stagnell, part of Everwitch Theatre’s original Bomb Happy touring cast in 2017, stars in the short film In The Footsteps Of Hank Haydock: A Walk In The Park.
Shot by York company InkBlot Films on location in the woodland of Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, the 30-minute film recounts Coldstream Guardsman Dennis “Hank” Haydock’s experiences in his own words, both his training in the Second World War tank encampment in those woods and on the frontline.
In Sleep/Re-live/Wake/Repeat: Smudger’s Story, writer Helena Fox and vocalist Natasha Jones bring to life the first-hand accounts of D-Day veteran Private Ken “Smudger” Smith, from Armley, Leeds, and the lifelong impact of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and sleep trauma through verbatim spoken word and haunting a cappella vocals.
Word and song will be complemented by the first showing of black-and-white images from Ken Smith’s personal photo collection that follow his journey during an equally traumatic time in the Middle East after victory in Europe.
Playwright Helena Fox, left, and singer Natasha Jones: Presenting Sleep/Re-Live/Wake/Repeat: Smudger’s Story at Helmsley Arts Centretomorrow
“Both the film and live performance use first-hand testimonies of two Second World War veterans, ordinary Yorkshire lads who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances, following their unique journeys from civilian to soldier and back to civilian,” says Helena.
“At times humorous, at times harrowing, both film and spoken-word performance allow a close-up insight into life on the frontline and give a rare glimpse into life for someone beset by memories of war.”
George Stagnell, who will be heading up from his new London home to attend Saturday’s premiere, played Private Ken “Cookey” Cooke, from York, in Fox’s play Bomb Happy.
For In the Footsteps of Hank Haydock: A Walk In The Park, he switched to Guardsman Dennis “Hank” Haydock, conscripted at 18 from Sheffield to serve as a Sherman tank gunner in the 2nd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards.
“The chance to play Hank Haydock first came about in 2021 when Helena got in touch to ask if I’d be interested in doing this performance piece around Duncombe Park, where he had trained,” says George.
“We performed it in June, with social distancing [under Covid restrictions), doing a walk around the remains of the Nissen huts and tank maintenance pits in the woodland.
George Stagnell as Ken ‘Cookey’ Cooke, second from right, with Joe Sample as Ken “Smudger” Smith, left, Carl Wylie as George “Merry” Meredith, Thomas Lillywhite as Albert “Bert” Barritt and Adam Bruce as Dennis ‘Hank’ Haydock in Everwitch Theatre’s Bomb Happy in 2017. Picture: Michael J Oakes
“I stepped in for another actor who couldn’t do it, ending up learning 13 pages of script in two weeks, and it was a really good challenge, having not been able to do any acting during Covid. I thought ‘I’m going to be rusty’, but each day I worked on it, I became ingrained in it.”
Helena invited Jay Sillence and Mike Leigh Cooper, from InkBlot Films, to attend one of the hour-long performances. “Straightaway they said they really wanted to turn it into a short film, but the whole thing then ended up being postponed till summer-autumn 2022 because we all had other commitments, rather than September 2021 as first planned.”
Lines restored to his head, George took on the unfamiliar task of being filmed in 2022. “It was tricky because, truth be told, I don’t have a huge amount of film experience, though I’m keen to do more,” he says. “I had a chat with Helena where she said, ‘it’s still story telling’.
“Bomb Happy was a physical play, creating scenes behind boxes or having to crouch down. With the filming, it’s all about the words, trusting in Hank’s memoir, and it helps that’s his own words, which makes it so poignant and gut-wrenching.
“We made a few cuts as we didn’t want it to be the full-hour but more concentrated, with lots of close-up head shots.”
Ken “Smudger” Smith, Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry veteran, standing in the corn at Hill 112, where he fought in July 1944. Picture: Paul Reed
Bomb Happy had spread the focus between five D-Day veterans, “Hank” Haydock, Ken “Smudger” Smith, Ken “Cookey” Cooke, Albert “Bert” Barritt and George “Merry” Meredith, but first the Duncombe Park walk and now the film have “gone a lot deeper” into Hank’s character. “A lot of it has come from Hank’s wartime diaries and memoirs that Helena was allowed to use, whereas the other accounts were verbatim from her interviews,” says George.
His filming was done largely in one continuous take in July, on the hottest day of the year, re-taking only a few lines “if we felt the need”. “That was part of the excitement, doing it only one go, so it was like theatre in that sense,” he says. “You allow Hank’s words to do the work for you.
“Sadly I never got to meet him, but one of the things I’d been told was that he was reserved and a deep thinker, and I strongly connected with that. Like all the veterans in Bomb Happy, he was still able to find positive things in his reflections, like funny memories of his training camp days, or reminiscing about the start of a relationship, still feeling beauty in such horrific circumstances alongside remembering the more difficult experiences.”
*In addition to the film and live performance, Saturday’s programme will feature a new short story of an act of reconciliation for the 80th anniversary of D-Day: Our Mum, Our Dad, And A Door Handle, written and performed by Dorothy Bilton, daughter of Bomb Happy D-Day veteran Bert Barritt.
Everwitch Theatre, Bomb Happy D-Day 80, In The Footsteps Of Hank Haydock (film premiere) and Sleep/Re-live/Wake/Repeat: Smudger’s Story (live performance), Helmsley Arts Centre, June 1, 7.30pm. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Bomb Happy definition
“BOMB Happy is a slang phrase we use for being under fire for many days at a time,” said D-Day veteran Ken “Smudger” Smith. “It does describe the condition you become.”
“I adore playing the loveable and slightly bonkers Fairy Bon Bon, so cannot wait to put on my wings once more,” says Grand Opera House-bound Dani Harmer
OUT with the old, in with the new, for the Grand Opera House pantomime in York, following the exit of Berwick Kaler and co after three years.
In come BAFTA award-winning Dani Harmer, Phil Reid, Leon Craig, Phil Atkinson and David Alcock to star in Beauty And The Beast, UK Productions’ third panto at the Cumberland Street theatre, from December 7 to January 5. Further star-studded casting for Belle and the Beast will be announced shortly.
Best known for playing the title role in the CBBC series Tracy Beaker and its sequel Tracy Beaker Returns, from the age of 13, and later My Mum Tracy Beaker in 2021, Harmer will wave her wand as Fairy Bon Bon.
“I can’t think of a better place to be spending the Christmas period,” says Dani Harmer of her return to York
Bracknell-born Harmer, now 35, has appeared in numerous pantomimes and West End musical theatre shows, including playing the title role in York Barbican’s 2012 panto, Cinderella, when she had to miss two performances that clashed with her commitments competing in BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing that season.
In the “craziest fortnight of my life”, she had to combine rehearsing each morning at the Barbican and spending each afternoon and evening at the University of York, practising routines with partner Vincent Simone, first for the semi-final, then three for the final: a tango, jive and show dance (Bohemian Rhapsody). “It’s been the best thing I have ever done,” she said at the time.
Earlier that year at York Barbican too, she appeared as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz, returning there in March 2015 for two performances as Beauty in the Easter pantomime Beauty And The Beast. In between, she played not-so-innocent Janet in The Rocky Horror Show at Leeds Grand Theatre in June 2013
Dani Harmer in the role of Beauty in Beauty And The Beast at York Barbican in March 2015
Now she will star in Beauty And The Beast in York for a second time, switching from Beauty to Fairy Bon Bon. “I’m super excited to be back in my favourite panto of all time, Beauty And The Beast,” says Dani.
“For those that don’t know, I have always been completely obsessed with this story, so it is a real joy for me to be bringing it to life on stage. And I adore playing the loveable and slightly bonkers Fairy Bon Bon, so cannot wait to put on my wings once more.
“And even more exciting to be coming to the gorgeous city of York! I can’t think of a better place to be spending the Christmas period. So, bring on the Yorkshire puddings and I really hope you enjoy our magical beauty of a show.”
Phil Reid’s Louis la Plonk
Joining Dani will be award-winning comedian Phil Reid as Louis la Plonk and panto dame extraordinaire and musical theatre star Leon Craig as his larger-than-life mum, Polly la Plonk, after West End appearances in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Disney’s Aladdin.
Musical theatre star Phil Atkinson, from The Bodyguard, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Little Shop Of Horrors, will play the dastardly Hugo Pompidou, with David Alcock, from The Mousetrap and the BBC’s SAS: Rogue Heroes, as his assistant in villainy, Clement.
Producers UK Productions will be “pulling out all of the stops to bring their award-winning version of this timeless tale to York”. Managing director and producer Martin Dodd says: “We are delighted to be returning to the beautiful Grand Opera House and even more so that we can bring one of our favourite productions for the Christmas season.
Phil Atkinson’s dastardly Hugo Pompidou
“The show is filled with comedy, show-stopping tunes, a cast of top musical performers, magic and an award-winning script by Jon Monie [prize winner for Best Script in the 2019 Great British Pantomime Awards]. It’s a fantastic show for young and old and one that is sure to make your Christmas complete.”
Grand Opera House theatre director Laura McMillan says: “This year our Christmas is set to be a cross between a hilarious pantomime and a spectacular West End musical, really something for everyone.
“The audience are in for a festive treat, with a show packed full of award-winning talent and stars from the West End. There’s no doubt Beauty And The Beast will be a huge hit with something for all the family.”
Expect “larger-than-life characters, an unmissable transformation moment, slide-splitting comedy and stunning sets and costumes”, promises the panto press release.
And then there were nuns: York Light Opera Company’s flyer for Nunsense: The Mega-Musical
THE Little Sisters of Hoboken will be bigger than ever in Nunsense: The Mega-Musical, York Light Opera Company’s summer show at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York.
Running from June 26 to July 6, the divine delights of Dan Goggin’s musical are being directed by Neil Wood with musical direction by Martin Lay.
“Get ready for a heavenly dose of laughter as we present a side-splitting extravaganza brimming with witty humour, toe-tapping tunes and heavenly hilarity,” says Neil.
In the wake of the unfortunate passing of four beloved sisters – now “chilling out in the freezer” after a “culinary catastrophe” involving soup – the remaining Little Sisters of Hoboken find themselves in a sticky situation. To raise funds for a proper burial – and perhaps a new cook! – the nuns take centre stage for a riotous revue like no other.
For the uninitiated, Dan Goggin’s 1985 off-Broadway musical promises a night of unforgettable entertainment, featuring:
● An all-singing, all tap-dancing cast of the Little Sisters of Hoboken, each with their own delightful personality.
● A script packed with jokes and side-splitting situations.
● Show-stopping song-and-dance numbers.
● A heart-warming message of community, perseverance and finding humour even, in the face of adversity.
Building on the success of last June’s “riotous, rude and relevant” I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, York Light will stage a “mega-sized version” of Goggin’s show with an expanded cast, new characters and even more musical mayhem.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to return to York Light Opera Company to direct their summer show for the second year running,” says Neil. “Nunsense: The Mega-Musical is an exciting, hysterical and entertaining show and I’ve been lucky enough to cast 12 exceptionally talented actresses who encapsulate their various characters to perfection. It’s a wonderful show, which I’m sure audiences will adore.”
One cast hitch has required a novel solution, Neil reveals: “As with producing any show, you come across little hiccups, and our Father Virgil [Matt Tapp] being sent to the Highlands a month before opening night is possibly the most extreme hiccup I’ve had to deal with as a director.
“So, what’s the solution? Do you find one actor who can cover all ten shows at late notice? No! Instead, we’ve found ten actors who can do one night each with limited rehearsal! Keep your eyes on social media to find out who.”
Inspiration came from comedy national treasures Eric and Ernie. “I got the idea having seen the guest actors in The Play What I Wrote, which is a show based on the life of Morecambe and Wise, and it’s worked exceptionally well!” says Neil.
“We had such a good response from the gentlemen of York Light Opera Company and within days had managed to cast all ten performances. However, that’s just one little treat for the audience…
“…Throw in tap dancing, tightrope walking and ventriloquism and you know you are in for a night you will never forget.”
York Light Opera Company in Nunsense: The Mega-Musical; Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 26 to July 6, 7.30pm (except June 30, July 1 and July 6); 3pm, June 29 and 30, July 6. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Who’s who in the cast?
Reverend Mother Mary Regina: Joy Warner; Sister Mary Hubert: Clare Meadley (except July 5 and 6), Alison Davies , July 5 and 6; Sister Robert Anne: Emily Rockliff; Sister Mary Amnesia: Annabel van Griethuysen; Sister Mary Leo: Emma Craggs-Swainston; Sister Julia, Child of God: Kathryn Addison, replacing Pascha Turnbull, with only five days of rehearsals to go; Sister Mary Brendan: Sarah Foster; Sister Mary Luke: Chloë Chapman; Sister Mary Wilhelm: Madeleine Hicks; Father Virgil: as explained above; Brother Timothy: Ben Wood; Sister Mary John: Alison Davies (except July 5 and 6); Sister Mary Matthew: Amy Greene; Sister Mary Mark: Sophie Cunningham.
Simple8’s Moby Dick scriptwriter, Sebastian Armesto
OCTOBER 1839. The Pequot is soon to sail out of Nantucket and her skipper, one Captain Ahab, needs a crew in Simple8’s production of Moby Dick, on tour at York Theatre Royal from June 6 to 8.
Seeking fortune and adventure, a humble schoolmaster named Ishmael ships aboard, joining a company charged with one task: to wreak revenge in the hunt for the white whale that took Ahab’s leg – the infamous Moby Dick.
Combining theatrical flair and invention, Sebastian Armesto’s adaptation captures the spirit of Herman Melville’s novel – romantic, ambiguous and rich with allegory – for the award-winning Simple 8, specialists in creating worlds out of nothing in bold new plays that tackle big ideas with large casts.
Complete with sea shanties played live on stage, planks of wood, tattered sheets and a battered assortment of musical instruments, the ensemble of actors and actor-musicians brings Moby Dick ingeniously to life.
Guy Rhys plays Captain Ahab, joined by Mark Arends (Ishmael), Jonathan Charles (ensemble), Hannah Emanuel (Starbuck), Syreeta Kumar (Manx), Hazel Monaghan (ensemble), James Newton (Flask), William Pennington (Stubb) and Tom Swale (Queequeg).
“It is a great pleasure to bring together this supremely talented ensemble of performers,” says director Jesse Jones. “Together, as a company we will conjure the world of the play using their musical ability, dynamic physicality and powerhouse performances to breathe life into this poignant yet playful production.”
Simple8, in association with Royal & Derngate, Northampton, present Moby Dick, York Theatre Royal, June 6 to 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
In focus: Guy Rhys on playing Captain Ahab
Guy Rhys’s Captain Ahab, centre, leading his crew in Simple8’s Moby Dick. Picture: Manuel Harlan
SOMETIMES, as he makes his first appearance on stage in Moby Dick, Guy Rhys becomes aware that heads are turning in the front row as audience members wonder, “Is it real?”
The ‘it’ is Captain Ahab’s peg leg, a legacy of the seaman’s brush with a mighty whale – the Moby Dick of the title – that the vengeful Ahab is determined to hunt down and kill.
The answer is that the leg is fashioned from one of Guy’s old prosthetics to resemble Captain Ahab’s whalebone peg leg. The leg previously made an appearance, wrapped in leather, when the actor played a one-legged pirate.
Guy, who was born with a leg deformity that led to amputation when he was eight, does not consider himself a disabled actor and has only shown his prosthetic leg in four shows.
Those roles included Hercules . “I’d just got this brand-new blade and thought I’d show it off. I thought it would make Hercules look cool,” he says.
“The lack of a leg hasn’t been an issue as an actor. I only show the prosthetic when it’s suitable for the show. It’s got to be right. If you’re playing a pirate in Peter Pan, why not use the prosthetic? And obviously if you’re playing Captain Ahab, you’ve got to use it.
“One of my prosthetics has been redesigned as a peg leg. It looks great and the noise that my right leg and left peg leg make on the wooden boards has been put into the music. The musical director, Jonathan Charles, has mimicked the sound I make walking as Ahab and turned it into a sound bite.”
Simple8’s production of Moby Dick is very physical, and consequently the peg leg can become uncomfortable. Guy makes what he calls ‘pit stops’, when he leaves the stage to pull off the prosthetic for a few seconds to stop his leg swelling up. “I wouldn’t spend a day on that peg leg,” he says.
He does not know if the producers were looking specifically for an amputee for the part of Ahab but sees such casting as being in the spirit of a show that does not hide anything. There is no trickery. Everything is real, everything is done on stage with no hiding as Ahab and his crew hunt the whale that cost him his leg. Sea shanties are sung live; Ahab’s boat, the Pequot, is built before the audience’s eyes.
Guy was already well acquainted with Melville’s story because John Huston’s 1956 film version is one of his favourite films. “I’m an amputee so Captain Ahab is a bit of a legend to me,” he says.
“This stage version is like the film – action-packed. The 850 pages of the book are down to 63 pages in this version by Sebastian Armesto. It has really interesting spectacle and is really quite punchy.”
Moby Dick marks Guy’s first visit to York Theatre Royal in a career taking in roles in everything from Macbeth to Grimm Tales, from Much Ado About Nothing to Mother Courage. Yet acting was not always a goal. He was washing dishes for a living when theatre first entered his life and he “needed something to do on a Monday night”.
This turned out to be a theatre group that more or less took over his life. “I ended up virtually living in the theatre, going to Russia and meeting Peter Brook,” he says, referring to the great director.
Then Guy decided to go to drama school but lacked the necessary finance. His path instead took him to managing a Blockbuster Video shop.
“I watched films, read plays, went to art galleries and finally applied to the Drama Centre in 1997,” he says. “They offered me a place on the spot and I got three scholarships. The past has been a rollercoaster ride which is like every theatre career.”
