The Russian is Homecoming: Comedy turn Olga Koch tries to figure out “who the heck she is” at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow
GODBER’S comedy, protest art, Russian and American comedy, an adventurous Scott, a DH Lawrence spoof, one of the Wainwrights, operatic Handel, Turkish songs, mountainous films and Velma’s witches find Charles Hutchinson spoilt for choice.
Yorkshire play of the week: John Godber Company in John Godber’s Sunny Side Up!, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, 1.30pm, 7.30pm today; 7.30pm, tomorrow; 2.30pm, 7.30pm Saturday
Coastal comedy: John Godber and Jane Thornton in Sunny Side Up! at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. Picture: Martha Godber
THE John Godber Company returns to the SJT with Sunny Side Up!, the coastal comedy premiered by the Godbers in a family bubble in the Round last autumn.
In Godber’s moving account of a struggling Yorkshire coast B&B and the people who run it, down-to-earth proprietors Barney, Cath and Tina share stories of awkward clients, snooty relatives and eggs over easy.
Writer-director Godber plays Barney and Graham alongside his wife, fellow writer Jane Thornton, and daughter, Martha Godber. Box office: 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.
Activist-artist Richard Lees’ campaigning prints are on show at York College
Exhibition of the week: Richard Lees, Justice, York College gallery, until October 21, open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday
A STALWART activist Hull artist once at the heart of the Rock Against Racism movement is exhibiting four decades of prints in his first York show, with his latest justice campaign project to the fore.
The exhibition title, Justice, is derived from printmaker Richard Lees’s linocuts inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I feel that all art has some element of politics in it, even if it’s to distract you,” he says. Entry is free but booking is essential via yorkcollege.ac.uk.
Barron’s night: Sara Barron will keep her Enemies Closer in York on Saturday
Comedy at the double at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York: Olga Koch, Homecoming, tomorrow (8/10/2021); Sara Barron, Enemies Closer, Saturday, both 8pm
BORN in Russia, educated at an American school in Staines, and now starring over here on Mock The Week and in her own BBC Radio 4 show, Olga Koch is touring her third show.
New passport in hand, tomorrow Olga will try to figure out who the heck she is as an immigrant and certified teen drama queen.
Saturday’s headline act, no-holds-barred Sara Barron, from Chicago, Illinois, is on her first British tour, examining kindness, meanness, ex-boyfriends, current husbands, all four of her remaining friends and two of her 12 enemies in Enemies Closer. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Mike Scott: Back at York Barbican with Memphis keyboard player Brother” Paul Brown, Irish electric fiddler Steve Wickham, drummer Ralph Salmins and bassist Aongus Ralston on Saturday
Return of the week: An Evening With The Waterboys, York Barbican, Saturday, 8pm
FROM the “Big Music” of the mid-1980s, to the Celtic swell of Fisherman’s Blues, to all manner of soul, rock, blues and folk since then, Mike Scott has been ever the adventurer with The Waterboys.
Last year came their 14th studio album, August 2020’s Good Luck, Seeker, and seekers of those songs in a live format should venture to the band’s regular York haunt this weekend. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Turning Lady Chatterley’s Lover upside down: Subversive writer-actor Lawrence Russell in a shocking moment for Lord Chatterley in Happy Idiot’s Not: Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Send-up show of the week: Happy Idiot in Not: Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
HAPPY Idiot team up with Worthing Theatres to rip through Lawrence Russell’s subversive, witty and, yes, rude parody of D H Lawrence’s once-banned bodice-ripper.
Russell’s Lord Chatterley will be joined in Ben Simpson’s cast by Christina Baston’s Lady Chatterley, Wesley Griffith’s Mellors and Rebecca McClay’s Mrs Bolton, with Chris Jamieson as the narrator and a score by Savage & Spies, for an evening of high drama, high comedy and highly raised eyebrows. Box office: 01439 772112 or at helmsleyarts.co.uk
Turkish delight in song: Olcay Bahir in her National Centre for Early Music debut on Sunday
World music concert of the week: Olcay Bayir, Dream For Anatolia, National Centre for Early Music, York, Sunday, 6.30pm
TURKISH singer Olcay Bayour makes her NCEM debut with her four-piece band, performing songs from her albums Neva and Rüya (Dream).
Born in the historical city of Gaziantep, she moved to Britain as a teenager and trained in opera. Now she showcases ancient poems and original songs in Turkish, Kurdish, and Armenian, reflecting her Anatolian heritage, wrapped in music of deep roots yet applied with contemporary, sophisticated arrangements, suffused with irresistible rhythms. Box office: 01904 658338 or at ncem.co.uk.
On fire: English Touring Opera in Handel’s Amadigi at York Theatre Royal
Two nights at the opera: English Touring Opera in Handel’s Amadigi, York Theatre Royal, Monday and Tuesday, 7.30pm
ENGLISH Touring Opera returns with James Conway’s new production of Handel’s “magic opera” Amadigi on a tour where William Towers and Tim Morgan share the title role.
Francesca Chiejina and Jenny Stafford play sorceress Melissa, whose infatuation with Amadigi drives her to imprison his love Oriana (Harriet Eyley) and torment him and his companion turned rival, Dardano (Rebecca Afonwy-Jones), with shape-shifting spells and devilish devices. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Taking to the mountains: Spectacle galore at Tuesday’s BANFF Mountain Film Festival night at York Barbican
Film scenery of the week: BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour, York Barbican, Tuesday, 7.30pm
THE BANFF Mountain Film Festival joins the world’s best adventure filmmakers and explorers as they push themselves to the limits in the most remote, breath-taking corners of the globe.
Witness epic human-powered feats, life-affirming challenges and mind-blowing cinematography on the big screen in a new collection of short films. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Rufus Wainwright: Follow him to York Barbican on Wednesday to discover how to Unfollow The Rules
Rule-breaker of the week ahead: Rufus Wainwright: Unfollow The Rules Tour, York Barbican, Wednesday, doors 7pm
CANADIAN singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright will be accompanied by a new band, under guitarist Brian Green’s musical direction, for his set of arch classics and new cuts from his latest album.
“I consider Unfollow the Rules my first fully mature album; it is like a bookend to the beginning of my career,” he says. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Under discussion: David Suchet’s Poirot years and much more besides from a 52-year career on stage and screen
Chat show of the week ahead: David Suchet, Poirot And More, A Retrospective, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday, 3pm and 8pm
DAVID Suchet is retracing his steps as a young actor on a tour of 20 theatres in conversation with Geoffrey Wansell, journalist, broadcaster, biographer and co-author of Poirot And Me.
Suchet, 75, will be looking back fondly on his illustrious five-decade career, shedding new, intimate light on his most beloved performances as they discuss the actor behind the Belgian detective and the many characters he has portrayed on stage and screen. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
“Out come the witches, creeps and freaks,” promises York vocal drag queen Velma Celli for a Halloweenish Equinox show at Impossible York
The glam night with the Halloweenish swish: The Velma Celli Show: Equinox, Impossible York Wonderbar, York, October 15, 7.30pm
YORK drag diva deluxe Velma Celli’s October residency night at Impossible York will be a Halloweenish twist on Velma’s Equinox show, the one with “witches, creeps and freaks”.
“I’ll be doing Hocus Pocus, I Put A Spell On You, Radiohead’s Creep, A Thousand Years from Twilight and much more gorgeous musical gore besides,” says Velma, the spectacular creation of musical theatre actor, cruise-ship headline act and Nola jazz singer Ian Stroughair. Box office: impossibleyork.com/wonderbar.
Sacconi Quartet’s Ben Hancox (violin), Robin Ashwell (cello), Hannah Dawson (violin) and Cara Berridge (cello): Performed Schubert’s incomparable String Quartet in C and York composer Nicola LeFanu’s newly commissioned Quartet, both a celebration and a reflection. Picture: Emilie Bailey
FORTUNE favours the brave. Back in May when the Covid outlook was far from clear, the British Music Society of York (BMS) took the courageous decision to go ahead with their 100th season in October. It had already been delayed a year.
This quintet – a string quartet with added cello – was the happy result, in a members-only evening last Friday.
Schubert’s incomparable String Quintet in C was preceded by the world premiere of an engaging new BMS commission for the same forces from Nicola LeFanu, one of the society’s two vice-presidents.
Titled simply Quintet and lasting some 20 minutes, it lives up to the composer’s typically lucid programme-note as a combination of celebration and reflection, which are mirrored in two contrasting themes. The faster of these provides a rondo motif while the slower inspires its diversions.
The device works excellently. The two cellos generally operate as a pensive pair, while the higher strings interrupt, sometimes intensely, always excitedly, often preferring a catchy iambic rhythm when not adding twinkling filigrees. But all of the instruments have something individual to say.
At the centre of the work is a solemn chorale, after which the second cello has a broad, yearning passage – which Tim Lowe attacked with relish. This is the signal for mounting urgency that is capped by a return to the opening cello duet at the close. Did I detect here the semitone with which Schubert so determinedly ends his quintet?
Second cellist Tim Lowe: “The engine” in Schubert’s String Quartet in C
The Sacconi and Lowe brought fervent application to their task, clearly enjoying its challenge. The music makes real sense on a first hearing, but would also repay deeper listening. It certainly commends itself as a partner to the Schubert.
Any players faced with one of the towering monuments of Western music will feel humbled. This manifests itself in different ways. Here there was a studied intensity to the first two movements of the Schubert, before an earthier Scherzo and a finale infused with the spirit of dance.
The mood of anticipation in the introduction was satisfied when the Allegro got going, but the repeat of the exposition was much tauter (and rhythms wittier too) than its first statement.
Second cellist Lowe was the engine, as in several places later, for the development section. He also ignited more fire in the middle of the slow movement – although the pregnant rests that followed were a tutti effort, before the heart of the Adagio hovered beautifully again.
In the Scherzo, the ensemble really began to relax, so much so that its Trio almost ground to a halt, it was so leisurely. In the circumstances, the return of the Scherzo came almost as a relief.
The finale, so often a let-down in this work, was anything but: there was even an element of mystery before the main theme returned. Doubt lingered as to whether all five players shared the same overall vision for this piece. But the BMS is back in business. Hurrah!
Colours From A Hot Land, inspired by Indian travels, by Simon Crawford
ACCORDING To McGee’s campaign to “alleviate anxiety caused by uncertain times” gathers pace with the duo exhibition Colour & Ceramics at the ever-revolving gallery in Tower Street, York.
No sooner has she launched her own collection Affirmations, in celebration of the reviving powers of tea, than artist and gallerist Ails McGee has curated a new show by Simon Crawford and David Austin Duckworth for the front gallery opposite Clifford’s Tower.
“Colour is underrated in Britain,” she says. “After 19 months of relentless bad news online and in the papers, it’s sometimes an obligation for creatives to stop reflecting the anger of the times and instead try and find a little optimism. That’s why there’s such an explosion of colour here at the moment.”
Colour & Ceramics sees the launch tomorrow of new collections from painter Simon Crawford and painter and ceramicist David Austin Duckworth, on the back of Crawford’s return from a trip to India.
Knaresborough artist Simon Crawford at work in his studio
“This has provided a portal into the theme of the exhibition,” says gallery co-director Greg McGee. “Simon’s art has been exhibited internationally, with shows in Moscow and, a little closer to home, at the Dean Clough galleries in Halifax, helping give this collection an extra heft and pull for collectors across the UK.
“But it’s also the fact Simon travels and soaks up his experiences with such obvious wonder and gratitude that imbues his paintings with such ripples of light and dark.
“To hear him talk of watching the Indian jungle come to life from his train window in the red light of the evening is thrilling, and then to hear him talk of how Covid-19 has decimated the shanty towns of Amritsar and Mumbai is a reminder that recent history has been a nightmare for millions of people.
Whinny Bank, Rievaulx, by Simon Crawford
“Art is never going to fix these problems, but it can be a hammer we can use to help shape our response. In this case, it’s a very colourful hammer.”
Crawford has brought back to his North Yorkshire studio a new appreciation of colour and energy, even filtering his depictions of North Yorkshire’s Whinny Bank at Rievaulx through the conduit of a Punjabi palette.
Looking forward to exhibiting at According To McGee, he says: “The concept is a brilliant one from the gallery: brightening these rather grim days through colour.
A David Austin Duckworth painting in the front window of According To McGee, York
“India is visually explosive and an eyes-out-on-stalks experience. A love affair was ignited by the intensity of the Indian palette. This show will set the visual taste buds tingling as the English autumn approaches.
“My work takes you on a journey through the Rajasthan landscape of pink saris against pale green and yellow mustard fields. India made me reimagine my vision of the English landscape.”
Complementing Crawford’s vivid compositions, fellow Knaresborough artist David Austin Duckworth continues his Cornwall Inspired collection in celebration of the elements, especially those found in Cornwall.
David Austin Duckworth in his studio
“Not all of us managed to get to Cornwall this summer, so experiencing David’s artwork is the next best thing. David’s paintings are alive with light and turquoise seas, and his Raku-fired ceramics ache with how precious nature is. Simon and David work well together, and it is a duality we’d like to continue to exhibit.”
Greg concludes: “We’re excited! There’s a whole load of reasons for people to visit York city centre; we like to think that contemporary art is increasingly up there at the top of the list.”
Simon Crawford & David Austin Duckworth: Colour & Ceramics runs at According To McGee, Tower Street, York, from October 7 to 21; open daily, 12 noon to 5pm, except Sundays, or by appointment on 07973 653702.
According To McGee gallerist Greg McGee with a painting by David Austin Duckworth
Lydia Hasoon left, as Imani, Halema Hussain as Aaliyah and Jag Sanghera as Hussain in Freedom Studios’ Aaliyah: After Antigone. Picture: Tim Smith
FREEDOM Studios will premiere Aaliyah: After Antigone as a simultaneous live performance and digital online experience at Impact Hub Bradford, Digital Exchange, Peckover Street, Bradford, from October 8 to 16.
From the intercultural theatre producers of Black Teeth And A Brilliant Smile and Brief Encounters at Bradford Interchange and CARBON: Imagineering comes Bradford playwright Kamal Kaan’s new contemporary adaptation of Sophocles’s Greek tale, an examination of the fragile nature of citizenship that “makes us question our own relationship to ourselves and our country”.
Set in the local authority offices in Bradford, Aaliyah: After Antigone follows the plight of British Bangladeshi sisters Aaliyah and Imani as they seek to save their brother Syeed, who has been deported by the Home Office.
Aaliyah must rise up and face the might of the Home Secretary, Parveen Parvaiz, but Aaliyah’s political activism puts her own life in danger.
Directed by Alex Chisholm and Dermot Daly, the cast comprises Halema Hussain as Aaliyah, Lydia Hasoon as Imani, Jag Sanghera as Hussain and Siddiqua Akhtar as Parveen Parvaiz. Design is by Miriam Nabarro and sound design by Ed Clarke.
Kamal Kaan has written for stage, screen, and radio, including Fathers Land In Mother Tongue (BBC Radio 4), On Hearing The First Cuckoo In Spring (Leeds Playhouse/BBC Radio Leeds) and The Weather Machine (SkyArts/Leeds Playhouse/Stage@Leeds), and was story consultant on Clio Barnard’s Ali + Ava, selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Kaan says of Aaliyah: After Antigone: “This modern adaptation of Antigone is about taking the essential drama from the original and transplanting it into our contemporary world. The two sisters, Antigone and Ismene, are now Aaliyah and Imani: two British-Bangladeshi sisters.
“With their own citizenship under threat, the play becomes a fierce battle of loyalty, family, love and politics, all set within the landscape of Bradford.”
Director Alex Chisholm adds: “We commissioned Aaliyah: After Antigone in late-2019 as a live/digital hybrid. Kamal, Carbon: Imagineering and Freedom Studios had previously collaborated in re-creating Tajinder Singh Hayer’s North Country as a streamed performance for Facebook Live.
“Fascinated by the theatrical possibilities of the digital medium, we wanted to create a piece that was digital and live at the same time. The story of Aaliyah was the result: simultaneously both present (at Impact Hub Bradford) and remotely digital (on your device) experiences that are equal but different.
“The past 18 months has underlined the relevance and resonance of this story, both in our enforced embrace of all things digital, but also the question of who gets to belong, who gets to be sacrificed, and who has to fight back.”
Tickets for the live performances are priced at Pay What You Can (£0/£4/£6/£10) and Pay What You Feel for the digital performance, available from freedomstudios.co.uk.
Aaliyah: After Antigone playwright Kamal Kaan. Picture: Tim Smith
Here Bradford playwright and actor Kamal Kaan answers questions on Aaliyah: After Antigone:
This project was commissioned as a live/digital hybrid wherein Freedom Studios and CARBON: Imagineering would explore “storycasting” and live digital art. How much did that influence your writing, Kamal?
“This project was always intended to be a hybrid show and was commissioned pre-Covid in 2019. With the limitations and social distance of Covid, it gave rise to the popularisation of digital work.
“The show was specifically created to be a hybrid experience as this would allow a wider audience and access to live theatre on a more national and global platform. I like to make work that doesn’t allow a building to be a barrier in terms of travel and access and hybrid work offers a generous way to invite a wider demographic.”
Why do a contemporary version of a Greek tragedy? Do you have a special interest in Greek tragedy?
“I’ve always loved the story of Antigone and studied it for A-Level, years before I knew I was ever going to be a writer. It was the first Greek tragedy I’d read and loved and it was an honour to have been asked by Freedom Studios to write my own contemporary version.
“The story still remains relevant for a modern audience as the themes of family, love, justice, faith are timeless and universal themes.”
How have you found the experience of working with Alex Chisholm?
“It was wonderful collaborating with Alex Chisholm, co-director and dramaturg for the play. Alex is of Greek heritage and her knowledge and passion for Greek literature is inspiring. The production then became a celebration of our cultures to create a contemporary Bengali-Hellenistic hybrid drama and it has been such a nurturing and joyous journey working with Alex. She also bakes the best cakes!”
Halema Hussain as Aaliyah in Aaliyah: After Antigone. Picture: Tim Smith
Aaliyah: After Antigone has been made for in-person and remote viewing experiences to be “different but equal”. How will it differ from the live-streaming of theatre shows that boomed during lockdown?
“What sets Aaliyah: After Antigone apart from streaming theatre is that it’s not a pre-record. It’s designed and will be produced more like a live television drama – with a five camera set-up – and what the audience watches on the digital stream is fed through software and an editor that will decide what’s the best shot for the audience to see from each camera.
“It’s very exciting as theatre is rarely produced like this. But to capture that exciting live element of theatre, by doing a broadcast like this, feels like the most honest way to give two types of audiences a similar theatrical experience.”
You were story consultant on Clio Bernard’s Ali + Ava. What did your role entail and did you make it to Cannes?
“As well as making my own work as a writer, I work as a dramaturg and script consultant. It was a dream come true to work with the most wonderful writer/director Clio Barnard (The Arbor, The Selfish Giant).
“I spent three years working with her on Ali + Ava: a love story set and filmed in Bradford. The process involved giving feedback on treatments, scripts, locations, character research, production and post-production. Working so closely with Clio gave me a detailed insight into the film-making process.
“Clio and myself were heartbroken not being able to go to Cannes for the red-carpet premiere due to travel restrictions and other commitments. However, I was invited to be with Clio for a virtual link-up up with Cannes for the screening! So yes, we were there in spirit.
“However, we will get to be there for the snazzy London premiere, during the same week as the production of Aaliyah: After Antigone. How wonderful to have the launch of two projects simultaneously.”
What’s next for you after Aaliyah: After Antigone? Any particular ambitions?
“I’m about to shoot my own BFI-funded short film that I’ve written and is being directed by the wonderful Bradford-based television director Dominic Leclerc. The ambition with this is to then turn the short film into a feature.
“I’ve also co-written my next BBC Radio 4 afternoon drama with the joyful Leeds writer Mary Cooper, due to be broadcast by the end of this year.
“I’m also working on a BBC TV series called The Secret Lives Of The Amir Sisters, adapted from the books by former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain, and I’ve pitched several ideas for my own BBC television drama. I also hope to collaborate with Clio Barnard again.”
Lydia Hasoon. left, and Halema Hussain in their roles as British Bangladeshi sisters Imani and Aaliyah. Picture: Tim Smith
What are the advantages – and disadvantages! – of living in Bradford, both in your personal life and your career. Do you ever have any thoughts of moving?
“I am Bradford born and bred from a large British-Bangladeshi working-class background. My father worked in the mills and was very proud to be a Bradfordian.
“Having lived away for several years while I undertook my undergraduate degree at Cambridge University and my Masters [in TV fiction writing] at Glasgow Caledonian University], I returned back home to Bradford due to personal reasons.
“I strongly objected against having to move to London to make it in the arts. I found, once I rooted myself back in my own city, my work began to flourish and I’m constantly and infinitely inspired by the people and landscape that envelope me. Bradford has the space to breathe and allows the mind to dwell and I’ve found that is crucial for the creative process.”
Aaliyah: After Antigone premieres as a simultaneous live and digital online performance from October 8 to 16, plus a British Sign Language-interpreted matinee on October 16 at 2pm. Tickets for the live performances are priced at Pay What You Can (£0/£4/£6/£10) and Pay What You Feel for the digital performances, available from freedomstudios.co.uk.
Hull artist and activist Richard Lees at the launch of his Justice exhibition of past and present protest prints
A CAMPAIGNING Hull artist at the heart of the Rock Against Racism movement is exhibiting at York College until October 21.
The Justice show spans four decades of prints by Richard Lees in surprisingly his first show in York, with his latest campaign project to the fore.
“The exhibition is called Justice because my most recent linocut work has been inspired by – and is in solidarity with – the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and other justice campaigns,” said the East Yorkshire printmaker and stalwart activist at the launch.
A spread of Richard Lees’ prints at his Justice exhibition
“The show covers what’s happening now but also goes right back to the 1970s when I was a student in Hull producing prints for Rock Against Racism.”
Founded in 1976, the protest movement hosted several large-scale tours, concerts and smaller club events with big-name artists from diverse musical genres.
“I feel that all art has some element of politics in it, even if it’s to distract you,” said Richard, whose exhibition takes in his past print work – both silk screen and lino – created in response to equality, environmental and human rights issues in Great Britain and internationally.
Activist Richard Lees’ prints, “created in response to equality, environmental and human rights issues in Great Britain and internationally”
“I just want to show young people what can be achieved by being part of a movement for equality. I’m absolutely thrilled to have been invited to exhibit at York College and I’m looking forward to speaking to the students.
“This is the first time my work’s been to York but it’s previously been on display in London at Warner Bros Records, in Manchester, Edinburgh and Hull.”
Hull Rock Against Racism: Look at those 1970s’ prices for The Undesirable Aliens and The Abstracts’ gig
Richard, a former English teacher, was invited to bring his work to York College by art & design tutor Danielle Stubbs, who said: “It’s a pleasure to have the work by Richard Lees on show in our gallery as the first show for this academic year.
“We believe the themes within Richard’s prints will encourage greater awareness, and the printing methods used will be an inspiration for all students within the college.”
Please note: the Justice exhibition is open to the public, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, but booking is essential, with further details at yorkcollege.ac.uk or on 01904 770200. Admission is free.
A Richard Lees poster print for the This Is Hull Rock Against Racism UK Poster Tour 2016
Preparing For Autumn, by Stephen Todd, at Kentmere House Gallery, York
STEPHEN Todd’s allotment produce is on show for the first time at Kentmere House Gallery, Scarcroft Hill, York.
“As the gallery is surrounded by allotments, it seems entirely appropriate to mount an exhibition of them,” reasons curator Ann Petherick.
“I have in any case always found that artists are fascinated by them: everyone from Stanley Spencer to Tessa Newcomb. Is it something about the contrast between orderliness and chaos maybe?”
Allotments In Autumn will be on show until December 6, marking the York debut of Todd, a Sheffield artist who has exhibited in London with the New English Art Club, as well as at many regional galleries and internationally too in Brussels, Belgium, and Sofia, Bulgaria. Solo shows have been held at The Ropewalk, Barton-upon-Humber, and Cupola Gallery, Sheffield.
Spring On Its Way, by Stephen Todd, from his allotment series of paintings
“Stephen’s work combines painting, drawing and occasionally photography, and along with allotments, it encompasses landscapes, seascapes, estuaries and the human form at prices ranging from £300 to £500,” says Ann.
“Painting and drawing are fundamentally about instinctive responses, and my work is based on strong mark making, often incorporating text, whether legible or not,” says Stephen. “Ultimately my work attempts to be strong, visual and aesthetic in quality.
“I paint places where I have an emotional connection, either personal or through ideas and thoughts that interest me. They provide a location where I can explore ideas, from personal history to classical references to the process of painting itself. The Humber Estuary is a major source of inspiration.”
Artist Stephen Todd at work in his Sheffield studio
In addition to his exhibitions, Todd has received awards to undertake research projects at places of historic significance, such as classical sites in Greece and Turkey, the Celtic Roman Rig in South Yorkshire and the Neolithic site of Arbor Low in Derbyshire.
“I’m interested in exploring the relationship between meaning and evidence of the past: how it affects what we observe and how we recollect it. How do we determine what we see? How do we ‘construct facts’?” he ponders.
Kentmere House Gallery is open on the first Saturday and Sunday of each month, 11am to 5pm; on Thursday evenings, 6pm to 9pm, and at other times by arrangement on 01904 656507 or 07801 810825 or by taking a chance on ringing the bell. “Please phone in advance if travelling any distance,” advises Ann.
AS No Time To Die opens at last, Two Big Egos In A Small Car podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson consider the future direction of James Bond in the post-Daniel Craig era.
What else is up for debate? Petrol, panic stations and the arts. Angela Carter on sexism in Hollywood before #MeToo. Interviewing Michael Parkinson on the art of interviewing. Defining craft beer – or not – at Harrogate Beer Week.
The final curtain: Lizzie Wort as Marilyn Monroe in The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe
THIS is The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe: August 5th, 1962. Marilyn as she has never been seen before: alone in her bedroom in a dressing gown and underwear; no glitz, no glamour, no masks.
So begins writer-director Elton Townend Jones’s play, presented by Dyad Productions on tour at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on Sunday night with Lizzie Wort in the role of Monroe.
Overdosed on pills, the woman behind the icon unravels her remarkable life and travels back through the memories of her closest relationships. Repeatedly stalked by a mysterious caller, the Hollywood icon tells all – Joe DiMaggio, Clark Gable, Arthur Miller, her mother – revealing a biting intelligence and an imperfect body, leading us in real time to the very moment of her death.
A five-star hit at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe, The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe comes from the St Albans company’s stable of touring shows such as Orlando; Jane Eyre: An Autobiography; Dalloway; Female Gothic; I, Elizabeth; The Diaries Of Adam And Eve; Christmas Gothic, The Time Machine and Austen’s Women.
Here, CharlesHutchPress puts questions to writer-director Elton Townend Jones and actor Lizzie Wort, previously seen on a York stage in the Theatre Royal and Tutti Frutti production of When We Lived In Uncle’s Hat in October 2010.
Elton Townend Jones: Writer-director of The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe
What hasn’t yet been said about and by Marilyn Monroe that still needs saying, Elton?
“Almost everything! The collective impression of Marilyn is a combination of dizzy blonde, untalented actor, bimbo, and victim of a convoluted and conspiratorial political death.
“The woman herself – the complex and intelligent troubled female behind the painted icon – is obscured not only by the circumstances of her death but also by her own on-screen persona.
“That said, it’s evident, if one takes a moment to look at movies like Some Like It Hot, The Misfits or The Prince And The Showgirl, that she’s a tremendously gifted actor, but The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe is about the fascinating, likeable real person that seems to have been lost in all of that.
“However, it’s not really a play solely about Marilyn. Working backwards through time from the moment of her death, we travel through her entire life via her relationships and loves. It’s a play about love and how we share and express that emotion.
“But more than that, this is a piece about all of us – yes, a great focus on the female experience of life, but a piece about our private troubles; about how we treat and are treated by others; about kindness and how we don’t do enough of that; about how we grow, how we endure our pains and celebrate our pleasures. It’s a play about living, surviving, enduring and giving ourselves to others.
“In many ways, it’s autobiographical to me – and I drew on much of my own life experience and relationships to give Marilyn a ‘voice’.
“Many reviewers and audience members comment on the authenticity of the female experience I depict, and seem to marvel at my ability to have tapped in to that. That’s very flattering and humbling, but really, I just wrote myself into Marilyn.
“I don’t consider different thoughts and responses to certain events or moments in life as belonging to one gender or another. Marilyn’s story is everybody’s story – she’s just an ordinary person living in extraordinary circumstances – and the play, though peppered with dark and difficult moments, is ultimately inspirational and life affirming; optimistic.”
What above all else drew you to Marilyn’s story and why should you be the one to voice it?
“I became interested in Marilyn when I was a schoolboy in Yorkshire. Aged 12, I saw Some Like It Hot and read an article about her in a Sunday supplement that had been left in the art room for use in making collages.
“The play, though peppered with dark and difficult moments, is ultimately inspirational and life affirming; optimistic,” says writer Elton Townend Jones of The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe, starring Lizzie Wort
“From there, I read a few books and found myself identifying with the frailties of this fascinating and admittedly beguiling figure. I always suspected there was more going on under the surface that had yet to be revealed and knew – even at that early and naïve age – that I wanted to do some kind of theatrical representation of her; to investigate her and do justice to the truth of her.
“Fast-forward a generation and I’m a theatre director and I knew that I still had this itch to represent Marilyn on her terms and not the terms of the conspiracy theorists or her detractors. It’s called ‘The Unremarkable Death’, and the idea behind that really is that it’s a play about the inspirational, the positive – in spite of the many terrible and painful things she endured – a play about her ‘Remarkable Life’.
“It’s not her death that we should be focusing on: her life, her vivacity, her vulnerable but brilliant open- heartedness is bigger than that. There’s a lot to enjoy in this story, and a lot of comedy and laughter.”
Will Marilyn Monroe ever fade into the distance and be allowed to rest or will she be like those other ill-fated 20th century blondes/blonds, Diana, Princess of Wales and Kurt Cobain?
“I think her story has endured because of the myths and legends built around her death. Had she made it past 1962, she would have undoubtedly gone on to more significant movie work – perhaps not immediately, but there would certainly have been a revivalist interest in her as a performer and icon.
“One could imagine her turning up as an older, more seasoned actor in films by Cassavetes, Scorsese, Lynch and Tarantino even.
“Still, I think we’re at a very interesting transitional period of cultural history. The digital sphere is expanding beyond our ability to keep up with it, and I think we are beginning to gradually disconnect ourselves from much that was once culturally important or relevant.
“I think that within the next five to ten years, much of what we held up as iconic from the mid-20th century will be forgotten, which is an incredible shame, but that’s how we progress. I think we’ll be too busy dealing with other, more pressing matters than cultural nostalgia.
“But Marilyn’s story is currently still important – perhaps more important than we give it credit for. This piece was first written and performed almost a decade ago, but since then its relevance has increased, resonating with the #MeToo movement and other issues of inequality or institutional abuse and injustice perpetrated on women both in the celebrity sphere but also in ‘normal’ life.
“These are issues that the play takes great care to confront; these are issues that myself, the show’s producer, Rebecca Vaughan, and Dyad Productions are keen to explore and address in all our work.”
“This is a play about Marilyn Monroe and Marilyn Monroe only,” says playwright Elton Townend Jones. “Somebody else can write that conspiracy stuff, not me.”
Marilyn’s death has forever been the subject of conspiracy theories. Are you pouring more fuel on that fire, like an Oliver Stone film might, or is there a different reason for giving Marilyn her voice here?
“As I’ve suggested, this play isn’t about any of that stuff. Yes, the Kennedys are mentioned and they form an important backdrop to the final hour of her life, but really that’s just context. This is a play about Marilyn Monroe and Marilyn Monroe only.
“Somebody else can write that conspiracy stuff, not me. Having done masses of research on her life and career, I was able to join the dots in a way that I don’t think anyone had before, finding a definite connection between the way she died, the lateness on set, the miscarriages, the colitis, the endometriosis, the childhood abuse.
“This is my reading of Marilyn. I’ve made connections – and they may not necessarily be correct, but they’re certainly compelling. It’s up to the audience to decide whether or not this is the definitive Marilyn.
“Let’s not forget that this is a work of fiction, so I do have creative and artistic licence, but everything in the play is based on true events and things she said and did.
“Having a skilled and hauntingly apposite actor like Lizzie Wort play Marilyn only adds to the play’s veracity. If nothing else, this is a powerful and emotionally resonant piece because of her performance.”
What do you love about Marilyn Monroe?The films? Everything else? The iconic imagery? The mystery? The too-soon snuffing out of the candle in the wind?
“The iconic imagery is important to me. I adore her ‘look’ in her final years. The older, more experienced, lived-in look. It appeals to me aesthetically. There’s life in those eyes. Things that can’t be unseen.
“She is a powerful icon across much of her Hollywood career, but I personally identify with the pained vulnerability of those later years and always have.
“As I said, I wrote myself into this play and I suppose I identify with Marilyn because my own past has its own legacy of abuse, heartbreak and loss. As Marilyn is burdened by the pain of her childhood experiences, so am I; for both of us, this has resonated into our adult lives, and I think there was something about this that I ‘felt’ intuitively when I was 12, but couldn’t articulate until I was a playwright in my 40s.
“And I love her movies, particularly everything from after she took classes at the Actors Studio: she is amazing in the intense drama of The Misfits and the unparalleled comedy of Some Like It Hot, which are, for my money, two of the best movies you’ll ever see. She’s simply remarkable.”
“It is a gift of a part. An absolute dream role,” says actor Lizzie Wort of the opportunity to play Marilyn Monroe
How did you create your characterisation of Marilyn Monroe, Lizzie? From Elton’s script; from research; from films and interviews?
“Elton was very clear from the beginning that he wanted us to find a Marilyn that of course was recognisable as the well-loved icon, but also had a different, previously unseen side to her. This was such a gift for me in terms of finding the characterisation.
“To be cast as such a huge icon felt intimidating at first, and potentially limiting, but being able to dig beneath the surface opened up so many possibilities for her and my understanding of her, which was hugely rewarding and exciting.
“I was able to use her films and interviews to find elements of her on-screen persona to bring to the part, but could also draw from Elton’s script, which gives her such a strong and articulate voice. There were times when watching her was incredibly useful and then times when I had to turn it all off and approach the part as a new person, as a regular woman, using my empathy for her and connecting my own personal life experiences.
“Elton has written such a tremendously well rounded, rich character, who is flawed, gets angry, is at times selfish, bitingly intelligent, wry, playful, warm and deeply soulful.
“It is a gift of a part. An absolute dream role. It also feels so relevant to women today. She was a female in a male industry in a time when women weren’t allowed a voice. And, sadly, that struggle continues. To finally give her that voice, and in doing so, give other women that chance too, was such an exciting process and journey of discovery.
“Her experiences are relevant still today and that played a large part in forming my characterisation of her.”
You are playing Marilyn at her final curtain – the Greek tragedy finale rather than the Hollywood rise and stumble – all alone at her 12305 Fifth Helena Drive home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. What are the principal challenges this scenario presents: the mortal versus the immortal?
“I would say this isn’t a Greek Tragedy finale either. It is indeed tragic, and we see her unravel as she reflects on her life, but it is also joyous and uplifting. It is full of hope and wit. She shines so brightly in this piece and her demise is all the more quiet and simple, once her story is truly understood. The play is about her life, finally, rather than focusing on the many possible ways she may or may not have died.”
Why are we endlessly fascinated by Marilyn Monroe?
“There are two elements to this. One is the endless fascination we have with celebrity in general. This is referenced in the play and she makes the point herself that we all invest in celebrity stories. We want to revel in other people’s lives. It’s a fascination that has existed for a long time now.
“Marilyn’s death was unexpected and far too early. To have a young, vibrant life cut short so suddenly was shocking. People feel that they know a person, feel they are connected to them, are invested in them. To lose them so early always feel tragic and unfathomable.
“The controversy surrounding her death and the fascination over how she died continues to this day. She was a hugely popular star, made all the more famous by her death, so this keeps her as an interesting character.
“But, of course, the fascination also goes beyond conspiracy. Marilyn was unusual. The more I have studied her, the more clearly I see how she was essentially always able to be many things to many people.
Lizzie Wort as Mum, second from left, in York Theatre Royal and Tutti Frutti’s When We Lived In Uncle’s Hat in 2010
“She had an effortless ability to draw people in. She instinctively knew how to capture people’s interest. How to charm people. She had the perfect blend of vulnerability and unbridled joy. She was hugely likeable. And that’s not actually an easy thing to accomplish as a Hollywood star. To be likeable in the truest sense. She was somehow approachable and relatable, while also being totally unobtainable.”
What is your favourite Marilyn film and film role and why?
“I adore The Misfits [1961]. She is just so raw and beautiful in it. I also love The Prince And The Show Girl [1957]. It’s not necessarily my favourite film, but her performance is utterly electric. She outshines [Laurence] Olivier.
“I always feel a sense of pride and excitement for her when I watch it. You can see her making different choices in it, from how she previously might have, earlier in her career. I find it thrilling to watch, knowing she was at the beginning of a new chapter of her career, having left The Actors Studio.”
What do you love about Marilyn Monroe? The films? Everything else? The iconic imagery? The mystery? The too-soon snuffing out of the candle in the wind?
“I love how strong she was. She endured so much as a child, as a young woman, from the industry, from the press, from men. She carried a huge amount of trauma within her, but still radiated warmth and joy.
“People talk a great deal about what she was feeling truly behind that beautiful big smile. I spent a lot of time studying photographs and looking at her eyes, that seemed to be saying something altogether different from her smile.
“It’s clear she covered up a lot of pain and sadness. Physical pain due to various health issues and also emotional struggles. However, I also believe she was a bright soul who genuinely adored life, adored people, had a thirst for knowledge, wanted to love and be loved.
“When someone goes through personal pain and grows up with traumatic experiences, it shapes who you are and the way you view and receive the world. It can sometimes enable a person to feel both sides of the coin.
“You can feel the pain and the torture of your experience existing deeply in your body and have a sense from childhood of the fragility of life. But, if you are lucky, that pain can also then give you an even greater appreciation of the beauty and joy of life all the more deeply. And I truly think she had that appreciation.
“It has been my favourite discovery about her. To realise that the golden Hollywood smile was actually real. Not because she was a one-dimensional blonde movie star who just smiled vacuously for the cameras. It was a smile that expressed all her pain and joy simultaneously.
“She understood life deeply. She felt it all deeply. I find that incredibly beautiful. And I think fundamentally THAT’S why we all love her. She radiated humanity. Heartbreak and joy in a single smile.”
Dyad Productions in The Unremarkable Death Of Marilyn Monroe, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 10, 7.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk
“Marilyn understood life deeply. She felt it all deeply. I find that incredibly beautiful. And I think fundamentally THAT’S why we all love her,” says actor Lizzie Wort
Justin Currie: Leading Del Amitri through songs old and new, lonesome and blue at York Barbican
JUSTIN Currie’s Glaswegian band, Del Amitri, last played York Barbican in May 2002, but come a York Saturday night in September 2021, here we were, all singing along like before, “And we’ll all be lonely tonight and lonely tomorrow”.
Ah, yes, we shall, but on this night we were all lonely together, when so many recent months had been spent in loneliness and disconnection brought on by the pandemic, but here we were, revelling in what we had missed. Nights together, lost in songs that had so much individual impact but hold us in collective thrall.
Held back to the last encore, Nothing Ever Happens is one such song, forever Currie’s definitive work, on the one hand capturing monotony, mundanity and routine but also despairing at how the worst human traits prevail, no matter the protestations, as “American businessmen snap up Van Goghs for the price of a hospital wing”…or now billionaires throw money at an egotistical space race.
Of course, plenty has happened in those 19 years, not least Del Amitri re-forming in 2014, touring that year and in 2018, and releasing their seventh studio album – and first since 2002’s Can You Do Me Good? – in May when Fatal Mistakes made the top five.
That chart placing was one affirmation of devotion to a band whose sustained quality, hooks and smart lyrics of heart-on-sleeve sentiment, wit and grit, gnarled social comment and pop culture references, shared experience, nocturnal journeys, and love’s dreams, dashed realities and drowned sorrows have cut deeper than might be first apparent.
As Currie said in an interview earlier this year: “We’ve got a reputation: ‘They’re OK, but they’re not terribly with it’. And that’s fine, but it’s nice to hear people coming back to us years later, saying, ‘Actually, they’re really good songwriters’.”
In a nutshell, these songs have a timeless air, and as Currie says, who cares if “they’re not terribly with it”. That’s the difference between pop and rock; these songs were built to last, and 38 years on from Del Amitri forming, the flow from 1985’s self-titled debut to this year’s renaissance is seamless.
Like Del Amitri’s songs, Currie has weathered well, lean and lanky in jeans and denim jacket with rock-god locks at 56 but he and guitarist Iain Harvey acknowledged the passing of time by opening with an acoustic When We Were Young. The full house tapped immediately into that nostalgia, those shared yesterdays.
But hey, it was good to be alive, more than ever, at CharlesHutchPress’s first Barbican gig in far too long. Currie looked no less grateful to be reconnecting too, but largely let the songs do the talking, aside from an opening amused aside about York’s Food and Drink festival.
Lining up with Currie on bass and vocals, Harvie and Kris Dollimore on guitars, Jim McDermott on drums and Andy Alston on keyboards and accordion, Del Amitri moved between songs old and new, giving an airing to seven out of the 13 tracks from Fatal Mistakes, to go with those set-list staples Always The Last To Know, Kiss This Thing Goodbye, Driving With The Brakes On, Move Away Jimmy Blue, Roll To Me, Spit In The Rain and Stone Cold Sober.
All Hail Blind Love, You Can’t Go Back and first encore Empty were further highs, and from an album made in lockdown, second encore I’m So Scared Of Dying had a chilling resonance, taking nothing for granted even in a world where Nothing Ever Happens.
Here were songs of renewed meaning from a band with an infamously meaningless name. Welcome back Del Amitri. See you in the year 2040…but preferably much sooner.
Wendi Peters and Bill Ward in the artwork for The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, touring York Theatre Royal from tomorrow (5/10/2021)
BILL Ward and Wendi Peters, who shared four years together on Coronation Street, are reuniting for the Haunted Season at York Theatre Royal.
From tomorrow to Saturday, they will be taking prominent roles as Baltus Van Tassel and Mariette respectively in Philip Meeks’s stage adaptation of Washington Irving’s The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, replete with illusions by Back To The Future Musical’s Filipe J Carvalho.
In Irving’s infamous story, Hallowmas celebrations are fast approaching, when the residents of Sleepy Hollow spin tall tales of legends and unsightly entities, but who can tell truth from nightmare?
Enter Ichabod Crane into an eerie world of secrets and unsettling tradition as he starts his teaching post. When disturbing events overwhelm the small town, however, he finds himself swept up in a dangerous mystery that leaves him doubting his own sanity.
Here Bill and Wendi discuss their present and past roles, horror stories and what scares them.
How would you describe the show and your character?
Bill: “The show is a high energy, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Part horror, part comedy. Very physical. Think Hammer House of Horror meets Kneehigh. We’re all multi-role playing, which will be great fun.
“My main character is Baltus Van Tassel, who’s the elder statesman of the village, who’s trying to keep the village together during some pretty tricky times.
“But I also get to play a naughty 90-year-old female cook, a hard-drinking coach driver and a crazy, delusional Dutch captain. What’s not to like?!”
Bill Ward in rehearsals at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, for The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
Wendi: “It’s a folk horror: intriguing, scary, clever, witty with spectacular illusions. You’ll be on the edge of your seat! My main character, Mariette, is the strange widow of Sleepy Hollow.
“She lives on the outskirts of the village, alone, and has a few secrets that are revealed throughout the play. She takes Ichabod under her wing when he arrives and insists that he stay with her.”
What drew you to the play initially?
Bill: “The story – it’s a classic. I was particularly intrigued as to how they were going to do the Headless Horseman. There’s a fair amount of magic both in the story and also our telling of it. Putting that kind of a thing onto a stage is always good fun.
“Plus the physicality. I like doing plays where movement is an integral part of the show, and this is very much like that.”
Wendi: “I loved the script, it’s very clever, with multi-role playing, which is always great fun. I couldn’t put it down. I’d never seen the film but knew of the story. This is a completely new, and wonderful, adaptation by Philip Meeks. I’ve also never appeared in a horror piece, so was intrigued by that. It’s really exciting!”
Were you familiar with the original Washington Irving text, or had you seen other adaptations of the tale, and will you be drawing inspiration from them?
Bill: “It’s obviously a very famous tale – a classic – but actually I hadn’t read it till now. I loved it. It’s surprisingly short as a story, only 20 to 30 pages long. What’s interesting about that is that the shell of the story, the structure if you like, is there, but what each adaptation does is to fill in the considerable blanks for themselves.
“What the original story is big on is mystery and mood – so I’m sure we’ll be taking a fair bit of that and sprinkling it into our production.”
Wendi Peters during rehearsals for her role as Mariette in The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
Wendi: “I wasn’t familiar with the text and I’d never seen the film. I knew the story and started watching the film but, 20 minutes in, I stopped it. It’s so very different from our adaptation, and, if I’m honest, I wasn’t really enjoying it.
“Our production is so much more exciting and moves at such a fast pace. I’m seeing this as a whole new piece of writing and story, and I love the idea of creating something from scratch.”
Have you worked with any of the cast or creative team previously?
Bill: “Yes, I was lucky enough to work with Wendi [Peters] for four or so years, quite a few years ago now on Coronation Street. Great fun. I was playing a pretty nasty piece of work, Charlie Stubbs, and I remember the show would often cut from scenes involving my character wandering around being hugely unpleasant, to Wendi’s character, Cilla, mucking about in a bubble bath with the family dog.
“I also know the writer, Philip [Meeks], from panto among many other things. Not only is he a great playwright and screenwriter, he’s also a rather brilliant dame. We worked together up in Sunderland a few Christmases ago. Happy days.”
Wendi: “Most of the cast are a lot younger than me, so our paths haven’t crossed. It feels strange to now be the mother, sometimes grandmother, of the cast. I guess I’m getting old. However, Bill and I worked together at Corrie. We were there over the same four-year period but our characters were rarely in the same storyline. It’s going to be great to catch-up again after 14 years.”
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow promises to shock and scare audiences. What scares you the most?
Bill: “Heights. Can’t stand them. I’ll do anything to avoid them. Urgh!”
Wendi: “I’d say, on the whole, I’m quite a brave person, although I don’t like, or watch, many horror films. I don’t really believe in the paranormal. I once did a ghost-hunting programme and found it quite funny. Having said that, I don’t like the dark much, especially in the situations I’m unsure of.”
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow playwright Philip Meeks
Why has The Headless Horseman – a legendary figure in the horror genre – stood the test of time?
Bill: “Because it plays to our imaginations and to one of our strongest emotions: fear. Fear of the dark. Of death. Of the fantastical. Of being caught in a chase you cannot possibly win – the stuff of nightmares the world over.
“The Headless Horseman was arguably one of the first true horror creations: larger than life and truly unforgettable.”
Wendi: “I think it was one of the first horror stories written and creates such a vivid image in people’s head. Hopefully, when people see our production, they’ll take away more than just an image in their heads.”
What do you want audiences to take away from this production?
Bill: “The thing that theatre does so well: that sense of being transported, for a couple of hours, toanother world entirely. It’ll be an energetic, enjoyable, scary, funny, night out. And I really think we’ve all missed that, as a country, and as a community over the last 18 months: that sense ofbeing out, together, having fun, sharing and telling stories.”
Wendi: “It’s been such a terrible 18 months for theatre, both for actors and audiences, that I think everyone will be thrilled to be there and just be entertained.
“As a piece, I’d like them to come away having been scared and on the edge of their seats, but also having relaxed and laughed. They will go away with a few questions too, hopefully.”
What is the biggest difference for you between performing on stage and screen?
Bill: “Rehearsals! They pretty much don’t exist in television anymore, certainly not in the serial dramas and soaps. That’s one of the things that makes TV so invigorating to do: bringing your performance in on the day, standing, and delivering, knowing you have 40 minutes to nail it.
“Hopefully, when people see our production, they’ll take away more than just an image in their heads,” says Wendi Peters
“But I love the sense of exploration you get with theatre: that sense of looking at a piece of writing (particularly a new piece of writing like this) from a number of different angles, and directions, trying all sorts of things out on the rehearsal-room floor, and seeing what best serves the play.”
Wendi: “I’ve been so lucky, having worked in all aspects of theatre, TV and radio. I love that it never seems monotonous or boring and enjoy learning new things too.
“The main difference is the level of playing. On stage, you are performing to hundreds and have to make sure the back row is included. I love touring because you are in a new space each week to explore your performance.
“TV is much more intimate and held back. I love doing both but if I had to choose one for the rest of my career, it would definitely be theatre.”
What are you most looking forward to while on tour?
Bill: “I’ve always been a bit of a traveller at heart. I’ve been round the world with a backpack a couple of times. So, I love getting out and about around the country, especially to towns and cities, and theatres, I haven’t spent time in before. A real treat. Oh, and I’ll be taking my camera, as always.”
Wendi: “Seeing a couple of theatres that I haven’t worked at before, but mainly just being back on stage, entertaining audiences, and doing the job I love.”
The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow, York Theatre Royal, October 5 to 9, 7.30pm nightly; 2pm, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
