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Rowntree Players seek the missing pieces – the cast – for The Missing Peace premiere

Director Gemma McDonald and writer Ian Donaghy at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre box office

NOBODY thought this morning when they turned the key in the door lock, “well, that’ll be the last time I’ll see you.”

So begins the book The Missing Peace: Creating A Life After Death, written by York musician, author, charity event organiser and motivational conference speaker Ian Donaghy, now adapted for the stage by Rowntree Players performer and York teacher Gemma McDonald and Ian himself.

Gemma loved the book and could not help but imagine it on stage, and so she and Rowntree Players pantomime co-writer and director Howard Ella approached Ian with the idea.

“The Missing Peace lends itself beautifully to the stage and also allows an opportunity for actors of all ages to highlight their talents with heart-breaking and heart-warming monologues,” she says. “It’s a very different, original and powerful production.”

Billed as “One play…fifteen endings”, The Missing Peace will be staged at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on April 17 and 18 with plans for further performances in Yorkshire.

Already confirmed is the recorded involvement of narrator Mark Addy, York star of The Full Monty, The Game Of Thrones and now the new ITV crime drama White House Farm.

“Mark will be in New York when our play opens in April, playing Harry in the Broadway premiere of Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen at the Golden Theatre from March, so he’s very kindly recording the narration before he leaves for the United States,” says Ian.

Next, Gemma will hold an initial meeting for anyone interested in being involved in The Missing Piece on Monday (January 13) at 7.30pm at Door 84 Youth & Community Centre in Lowther Street.

“We’re looking for a variety of actors of all different ages; there really is something for everyone to audition for,” says Gemma. “This is a very exciting project and I can’t wait to start next week.”

Ian shares that excitement. “There’s a big buzz already about this very ambitious production of a truly thought-provoking look into people’s lives after they have lost a loved one.

“The Missing Peace will show audiences that they’re not alone, and I’m also delighted to say that we’re presenting the play as a fundraising event with all proceeds going to local bereavement and hospice charities.”

Rarely will York be so well represented in a production, reckons Ian. “York actors;  York production company;  York set designers; York play written by a man who has made York his home about people who live in York,” he says.

The poster for Rowntree Players’ premiere of The Missing Peace

“As the poster says, ‘One play…fifteen endings’, because it includes Talking Heads-style monologues of people who have survived losing loved ones, illustrating how the power of kindness, friends and family have helped them through.”

After reading numerous self-help books and “I know so much better than you” guides, Ian felt there was a need for a book that “doesn’t tell you how you should be feeling”.

Former teacher, host of A Night To Remember at York Barbican  and still the larger-than-life Big Ian frontman of York band Huge, Ian has branched out into writing about dementia and campaigning to combat loneliness in the elderly, whether at conferences or in a series of moving short films on social media that he shoots in black and white.

He has written as one reviewer called it, “a 200-page cuddle”: a book where people share experiences and “you decide what you get from hearing their emotional stories”.

“My aim is to provide a survival guide for people to find their own ‘Missing Peace’,” says the inspirational writer and speaker. “It’s not a morose bereavement book. It won’t tell you how you should be feeling. It’s a book about how to be a better friend when your friends lose someone.”

Ian continues: “As we all grow older, our favourite characters are written out of our lives and we have to, somehow, carry on without them.

“Friends often feel powerless, so terrified of saying the wrong thing that they may say nothing, leaving their friend bereft and isolated.”

Ian Donaghy with Sally Rasmussen from The Missing Peace premiere sponsors The Chocolate Works Care Village

Consequently, the book and the play highlight the power of kindness and offer some tried-and-tested maverick ideas.

“The book is a scrapbook of monologues and stories from interviews and conversations I’ve had with people all over the UK in my work with older people and children,” says Ian, whose research took in bereavement groups, hospices, nurses, doctors and parents.

“There are stories looking at loss from many different angles. Many may surprise you…there’s even a short story about my father’s special Parker pen that cleverly illustrates how to get the best out of people.

“I’ve been invited in by some of the most inspirational, wonderful people, who have shared their innermost thoughts and emotions to help others, so thank you to them.”

The play will deliver an optimistic boost in the opening scene, saying, “If you are watching this play you, already have a 100% survival record. Congratulations!” It will go on to listen, in particular, to the views of children and our oldest generation, who are often ignored, says Ian.

“Children haven’t made their minds up yet and so give you unedited ideas, without any spin, and older people realise they can reflect on their successes and failures, so they either have wonderful experience or a hard-earned wisdom,” he suggests.

Sarah Atkinson, of St Leonard’s Hospice, one of two York charities to benefit from ticket sales for April’s premiere

“The play isn’t a magic wand, a flow chart through the grieving process, and it won’t kiss it better, but it will start the conversation you may need to have between siblings, family or friends.”

Every scene, by the way, is named after a song, such as Everybody Hurts, I Don’t Wanna Talk About It, These Foolish Things and All You Need Is Love. 

Two York charities, St Leonard’s Hospice and Bereaved Children Support York, will share the profits from the premiere production.

Jo Cole, founder of Bereaved Children Support York, says: “Grief can be very lonely and isolating. This play gives so many examples of how different people have coped with the loss of a loved one that you’re bound to find something that makes you realise it’s not just you feeling the way you do. To have this play raise awareness will help so many families.”

Janet Bennett, left, Lisa Curtis and Jo Cole, of Bereaved Children Support York, the second charity to receive a donation from The Missing Peace’s run at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Ian concludes: “The stories and monologues will make you smile, some will make you cry, but they will all make you think.

“We’re all broken biscuits when we lose someone. We can either dwell on the cracks or make the best cheesecake ever.”

Rowntree Players present The Missing Peace, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 17 at 7pm; April 18, 2.30pm and 7pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk. This production is sponsored by The Chocolate Works Care Village.

Copyright of The Press, York

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No laughing matter as Great Yorkshire Fringe exits York stage left after five years…but who’s to blame?

In happier days: Great Yorkshire Fringe founder and director Martin Witts. Picture: Steve Ullathorne

THE comedy is over for the Great Yorkshire Fringe after five years in York, blaming the “city-centre management” for the decision to exit stage left.

In a formal statement this morning, founder and director Martin Witts said: “Our experience of sponsoring, curating and managing an event in this small city of ours has led us to the conclusion that until a well-managed and efficient city-centre management is implemented, a festival of our size cannot thrive and does not have a place in York.”

Henning Wehn: regular performer at the Great Yorkshire Fringe in York

This is the second summer festival to fold in York city centre in quick succession in the wake of the loss of the ten-week Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, run by North Yorkshire entertainment impresario James Cundall, whose Lunchbox Theatrical Productions company went into liquidation in October after two summers of Shakespeare plays at a pop-up Elizabethan theatre on the Castle car park.

Mr Witts, who lives in York, also runs the Leicester Square Theatre and the Museum of Comedy, in Holborn, London. In his full statement, he said: “The Great Yorkshire Fringe has had five fabulous years in York, 1,200 shows, 9,000 performers and 110,000 show patrons, plus a fantastic array of volunteers, festival crew and local venue staff.

Podcaster and comedian Richard Herring: interviewed a former Lord Mayor of York, Councillor Dave Taylor, at the Great Yorkshire Fringe

“We have sadly come to the decision that we will not be continuing into 2020. We would like to thank all of the acts who have performed, our food and beverage providers, the staff, both from York and London, and our loyal team of volunteer staff.

“The biggest thank-you of all to our wonderful patrons, York residents and visitors alike who have visited us and the city of York for the last five years. We hope that we have given you some amazing memories.”

The Great Yorkshire Fringe logo from the front cover of each year’s brochure

Mr Witts added: “Thank you to all that have been involved in the Fringe over the past five years; it has been a privilege to work with you. We will continue to invest in the local cultural scene of York.

“Our experience of sponsoring, curating and managing an event in this small city of ours has led us to the conclusion that until a well-managed and  efficient city-centre management is implemented, a festival of our size cannot thrive and does not have a place in York.”

Sean Bullick: Make It York

Responding to Mr Witts’s statement, Sean Bullick, managing director of Make it York, the organisation in charge of the city centre, said he was sorry the Great Yorkshire Fringe would not be returning this year, but did not rule out a resurrection.

“The Great Yorkshire Fringe was a valued addition to the city’s diverse events calendar and we are sorry to hear it will not be returning next year,” he said.

American singer Curtis Stigers: smooth performance at York Barbican at the 2017 Great Yorkshire Fringe

“It is disappointing that the organisers feel this way as over the last five years Make it York have offered significant marketing and operational support for this festival.

“However, we understand there have been some infrastructure challenges connected to putting on an event of this scale in a city-centre space.

“We would welcome the opportunity to discuss options to bring the event back to the city in future years as part of the ambitious programme of events we are developing.”

Al Murray;The Pub Landlord raises a glass to the inaugural Great Yorkshire Fringe on the first day at the White Rose Rotunda in July 2015.

Mr Witts, who took his first steps in the entertainment business working alongside York actor Mark Addy in the York Theatre Royal carpentry team, set up the Great Yorkshire Fringe on a village green laid down in Parliament Street with street food and coffee, gin and craft beer stalls either side of the pathway, and the  ever-present double-decker bus, Bob The Box Office.

At one end was the White Rose Rotunda spiegeltent, at the other The Turn Pot tent, and in the middle, the star-lit Teapot, where the festival presented comedy, music, variety acts, magic, theatre and children’s entertainment each July.

Jerry Sadowitz: magic and menace at the Great Yorkshire Fringe

For last summer’s festival run from July 18 to 28, Mr Witts spread out into more locations than ever:  the Grand Opera House, York Barbican, The Arts Barge on the River Ouse, 41 Monkgate and The Basement at City Screen, all complementing the spiegeltent and tent.

Among the acts over the five years were German ambassador of comedy Henning Wehn; Pocklington-born podcaster Richard Herring; Reginald D Hunter;  Michael Palin; Tony Slattery; Omid Djalili; Jerry Sadowitz;  Al Murray: The Pub Landlord; Austentatious; S!it-Faced Shakespeare;  American singer Curtis Stigers; jazz singer Clare Teal; Ronnie Scott’s All Stars and Shed Seven drummer Alan Leach in a fusion of stand-up and quiz show.

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The director’s view on 20 years of City Screen as Tony Clarke looks at past, present and future of cinema-going in York

Buena Vista Social Club: tonight’s choice of film to mark 20 years of City Screen, York

JANUARY 7 2020 marks 20 years since City Screen, York, opened on its riverside site in Coney Street.

General manager Tony Clarke and associate general manager Cath Sharp have been there since the opening, and to mark the anniversary they have selected Buena Vista Social Club for a special show at 8.30pm tonight.

Tony says: “Wim Wenders’ film about ageing Cuban musicians has probably best stood the test of time, and so we’d like to show it again on our 20th anniversary and offer the screening free to Picturehouse members.” Please note, tickets are available to members only in person at the City Screen box office.

Ahead of tonight’s 20th anniversary screening, Tony Clarke looks back on two decades of City Screen. Charles Hutchinson asks the questions.

What are your first memories of City Screen opening in Coney Street, Tony?

“As with many regeneration projects like this, the construction works ran behind schedule – in a major way. We opened the doors without power to some parts of the building; we had to run extension cables from the parts of the building that did have power.

“When I started working at City Screen – which was mid-December 1999, so nearly a month before opening – the riverside bar was just a concrete floor. It was impressive to see how quickly this area was fitted out in a week or so.”

What were City Screen’s objectives at that time?

“They are not that dissimilar to our objectives today. They have always been to give customers the best cinematic experience by showing a broad range of films in auditoriums that are comfortable and where the presentation matters.

“Our range of films encompasses quality mainstream, independent, arthouse and foreign language. We have always considered cinema-going to be a social event, so we offer great drinks and food in our cafe bar for pre-show or post-show get-togethers.”

What have been City Screen’s principal achievements over the past 20 years?

“We’ve built loyal and trusting audiences through our membership scheme and established City Screen as a cultural hub right in the city centre.”

The Buena Vista Social Club musicians playing in Amsterdam in April 1998

How has City Screen changed over those 20 years and do you think its role has changed within the York cinema scene?

“As a cinema, City Screen has changed with the shift in the industry to digital filmmaking and exhibition. Celluloid film has been succeeded by digital: we no longer use 35mm film and mechanical projectors; we now play ‘content’ in high definition from computer files, servers and digital projectors.

“This change in technology has enabled us to diversify our programme and screen productions live from the New York Metropolitan Opera or the National Theatre via satellite.”

What else?

“As a business, our cafe bar has grown in popularity with our food menu, dishes made fresh and to order, plus the range of drinks – not only barista-made coffee but the wines and beers.

“We’d always set out – and this is the ethos of Picturehouse as a company – to be a neighbourhood cinema with our roots firmly in the communities of York. I think we’ve achieved that.

“Our programming has expanded, not only with what is called alternative content, opera and theatre shows broadcast into the auditoriums, but also with new community-orientated programme strands such as Toddler Time, Big Scream, Autism-Friendly and Dementia-Friendly screenings.”

Where does arthouse cinema fit into film programming in 2020? Would you like there to be more arthouse screenings at City Screen?

“A fundamental aspect of Picturehouse’s programming and vision is to show arthouse films and this will continue to be the case at City Screen.

“There are particular programming strands where arthouse films are featured, such as the Discover strand, and we’ll be continuing to build audiences for this kind of cinema, which doesn’t always get the exposure it deserves.

How have cinema-going tastes and habits changed over the past 20 years?

“There are always technological changes that affect cinema-going tastes and habits – digital being the one I mentioned and the effect that has had on our programme with alternative content and the like.

“There are other technological innovations for experiencing cinema such as 3D, 4DX: innovations less appropriate to the City Screen experience, it’s fair to say. “There’s certainly an appetite for the big ‘tentpole’ event titles such as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars and the latest James Bond, but always a very busy period around the awards season in the first few months of the year too. Last year, for example, saw the release of The Favourite and Green Book and this time Little Women and 1917.”

Before Sunset: City Screen director Tony Clarke’s favourite film of the past 20 years

City Screen is about so much more than showing films: question-and-answer sessions; satellite screenings of ballet, theatre, opera and exhibition openings in London; food and drink; exhibitions in the bar and the first-floor corridor; The Basement programme of music and comedy. Discuss…

“As you say, City Screen is so much more than showing films. We have a lot of cultural activity going on in the venue, whether this involves directors discussing their films and work in Q&A sessions, either in person or via a live satellite feed; live broadcasts of theatre and opera shows taking place in London or New York; an ongoing programme of art exhibitions in the bar or on the second floor that features the work of local artists and community groups,; plus a curated programme of performing arts events in the 100-capacity Basement with lots of comedy, music and cabaret.”

What has been your favourite film from the past 20 years?

“I know it’s part of a trilogy, but I’m going to choose Before Sunset [Richard Linklater’s 2004 sequel to his 1995 romantic drama Before Sunrise, again starring Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke].”

What makes for a good cinema-visit experience in 2020?

“A venue with a relaxing atmosphere, where friendly and passionate staff work, where the auditoriums are comfortable, and where the quality of the picture and sound are second to none.”

How do you see cinema and cinemas progressing over the next decade?

“The next decade will be interesting in how film, TV and on-demand streaming services in the home will affect cinema exhibition and cinema-going.

“Cinemas have always adapted and developed, so that they retain something different and unique about their experience for customers. It’s an event and a night out to go to the cinema to see a film rather than watch at home – I suppose cinema and cinemas will progress along these lines.”

York enters 2020 with four cinemas – City Screen, Everyman, Vue and Cineworld – all in very good, ultramodern order. Can a city of York’s size embrace that number of cinemas, and what does it say about the popularity of film-going that we now have that many?

“Four cinemas in York does mean there will be increased competition between them all. York has a regional draw so will attract cinema customers from further afield, but most likely to those venues outside of town with car parking, so Cineworld and Vue Cinema are certainly popular in York.”

What distinguishes City Screen from the others?

“The programme is more diverse and curated to audiences, it has a wonderful city-centre location on the river with great views, and the staff and the quality of service are great too, which all offers a unique experience for customers.”

Will there be further celebrations of City Screen’s 20th anniversary?

“Yes, they will continue throughout 2020 with more special events once the ‘Oscar season’ is over, so keep an eye out for those too.”

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Silky to top Laugh Out Loud comedy bill at York Barbican on January 31

Silky: headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at York Barbican

SILKY, Nick Doody and Joey Page make up the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill, hosted by Damion Larkin, at York Barbican on January 31.

Liverpudlian-in-exile Silky made the final of the 1995 BBC New Comedy Awards in only his fourth gig, when competing against Lee Mack and The Mighty Boosh’s Julian Barratt.

Silky, who lives in Leeds, has performed internationally in China, the Philippines, the Gulf, Singapore, the United States, Australia (Melbourne Comedy Festival) and all over Europe.

Nick Doody: ;political satirist

In Britain, he has played the Glastonbury Festival, headlined the world’s smallest comedy festival at Frampton Mansell, appeared on Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Brookside and Heartbeat and done warm-up spots for BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Nick Doody, who specialises in political comedy and satire, supported the influential Bill Hicks at Hicks’s invitation while still a student. He has performed in Ireland, Germany, Spain, France and Croatia, as well as Britain, and has written for The Secret Policeman’s Ball, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, The Now Show, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Friday Night Project. His BBC Radio 4 show Bigipaedia has had a second series confirmed.

If the crown fits: surrealist comic Joey Page

Indie comedian Joey Page’s brand of inventive, surrealist humour has found favour with Noel Fielding, who invited him to support him on tour.

Doors open at 7.30pm for the 8pm start in the Fishergate Bar. Tickets cost £17 at lolcomedyclubs.co.uk, on 0203 356 5441 or in person from the Barbican box office or £22.95 on the door.

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Blanc ‘challenges preconceptions of what dance and dancers look like’ in SJT show

Sarah Blanc in My Feminist Boner at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Pictures: Roswitha Cheshire

SARAH Blanc travels from beauty product addict to born-again feminist, choreographer and comedian in her partly autobiographical show My Feminist Boner at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, on February 13.

Blanc’s performance “grapples with extreme societal pressures on the female body and the conflict women feel between indulging in the beauty industry and maintaining their feminist ideals”.

Sarah Blanc “grapples with the conflict women feel between indulging in the beauty industry and maintaining their feminist ideals”

“Why does the world place such unattainable beauty standards on women? What does it mean to be a feminist today?” she asks.

My Feminist Boner combines honest confessionals and a show-and-tell of beauty contraptions with conversations with her feminist-hating Dad, progressively grotesque movement and satirical humour, as Blanc reveals her anger at “the commodification of women’s bodies” and exposes the absurdity of the beauty industry.

Sarah Blanc: angry at “the commodification of women’s bodies”

Blanc, an independent choreographer and performer from Ireland, creates bold work that straddles the boundaries of dance, theatre and comedy. She makes not only solo shows but also ensemble work for adults and children with her all-female inclusive dance company Moxie Brawl.

“I create work that challenges preconceptions of what dance and dancers look like, that champions the representation of diverse bodies on stage,” she says. “My work aims to take risks without alienating people and is engaging to a wide range of audience.”

” I create work that challenges preconceptions of what dance and dancers look like,” says Sarah Blanc

Blanc has worked in dance and inclusive practice for more than ten years and has delivered projects for Greenwich Dance, GLYPT and East London Dance, along with choreographic commissions such as A Pacifist’s Guide To The War On Cancer for Complicité/Bryony Kimmings. Her 2016 solo show It Started With Jason Donovan won a 2016 Brighton Fringe Award.

Tickets for My Feminist Boner’s 7.45pm performance in the McCarthy are on sale on 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.

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Academy of St Olave’s to boost Accomplish Children’s Trust at January 25 concert

Alan George: musical director of The Academy of St Olave’s

YORK chamber orchestra The Academy of St Olave’s will perform in support of the Accomplish Children’s Trust at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, on January 25.

Under the musical direction of Alan George, they will present a wide-ranging programme pf music from the classical era to the 20th century, opening with two contrasting Mozart works: the exuberant overture to his first mature opera, Idomeneo, and the elegiac Masonic Funeral Music.

“The second was composed in memory of two of Mozart’s fellow Freemasons, which unusually features three basset horns – a low-pitched member of the clarinet family – and a contrabassoon in the woodwind section,” says Alan.

“There’s also contrast between the pair of Scandinavian works that complete the first half: Grieg’s ever-popular Holberg Suite for string orchestra, evoking a bygone Baroque age, and Nielsen’s Serenata In Vano, a quirky quintet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass that the composer described as ‘a humorous trifle’.”

The 8pm concert will conclude with Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 in E flat major, composed in 1793 for the composer’s second visit to London.

“We’re thrilled to begin the new decade with such a diverse programme of music, from Mozart’s seldom-heard masonic music – including the extremely rare opportunity to hear three distinguished basset horn players – to Nielsen’s eccentric quintet. Alongside Grieg’s neoclassical masterpiece and one of Haydn’s finest symphonies, our audience are in for a real treat.”

Concert proceeds will go to the Accomplish Children’s Trust, a Christian charity with connections to St Olave’s church that aids children with disabilities and their families in Africa. The trust supports projects that address education, medical care and income generation for families through grants to grass-roots organisations in Uganda, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More information on the charity’s work can be found at accomplishtrust.org.uk.

Tickets are on sale at £14, concessions £13, students and children £5, at academyofstolaves.org.uk, from Visit York, in Museum Street, on 01904 555670 or on the door.

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Why Tim Stedman is as happy as Harry to be Harrogate panto’s daft lad for 20 years

Tim Stedman as Happy Harry in Snow White at Harrogate Theatre

TIM Stedman has made his name playing the silly billy in Harrogate Theatre’s pantomime for 20 years: Buttons, Muddles, Simple Simon, Idle Jack. You know, the daft lad; the dimwit; the village idiot, the baffled buffoon.

Now he is adding a new name to that portfolio of fools, Happy Harry, in Snow White, but isn’t that traditionally Muddles’s panto patch?

What’s going on, Tim? “Well, I dare say, in the present PC climate, calling me names like Silly Billy may not be politically correct, so we’ve changed the name from Muddles. For this reason, we’ve changed it to Happy Harry, and some people have now suggested using the same name every year,” he says.

“I don’t have a problem with these PC issues myself, and I do think my pantomime character is of a simple type. He has a foolish innocence about him; he’s either happy or sad, and everything is new to him each time he goes through the door. When he says something or thinks something, it’s a wonderful, fresh, beautiful thing, just like children experience things.

“Like at one of our performances, where, when I said ‘I’m exhausted’, someone shouted out, ‘Well, don’t run then’! You can’t argue with that.”

Tim made his Harrogate debut in Sleeping Beauty in 2000, having been brought to North Yorkshire by Rob Swain. “He’d been a very good director at the New Vic, where he was associate to director Peter Cheeseman, and I got a job there in Hansel And Gretel straight out of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in the mid-1990s.

“I also did The Rise And Fall Of Little Voice there, playing the nervous telephone repair man Billy, and when Rob moved to Harrogate Theatre to be artistic director, he invited me there.”

In the room too was director Lennox Greaves. “I said I was really nervous, and he said he was really nervous too as he’d never done panto, so we really hit it off straightaway,” Tim recalls.

” I made my character a little bit vulnerable, a little bit impetuous, and very innocent, so children can laugh at that combination ,” says Harrogate Theatre pantomime buffoon Tim Stedman

Greaves gave him a good piece of advice: “Lennox was very clear: he said, ‘the dame is there to entertain the adults; you are there to keep the children entertained’.

“I made my character a little bit vulnerable, a little bit impetuous, and very innocent, so children can laugh at that combination.”

Tim was blessed to work for his first seven years with Scottish beanpole actor Alan McMahon as the Harrogate dame. “He’s such a talented man and I learnt a lot from him. I was the baby of the bunch at the start and I knew I needed to be good, but I couldn’t help but learn from Lennox and Alan.

“Alan was very encouraging from the start, telling me that ‘if you’re the comic, have a gag whenever you come on’. That’s why I started doing the cracker jokes and the straightforward physical jokes; jokes children tell in the playground the next day and will irritate the adults!”

Tim remembers his first note from Rob Swain. “It said: ‘Make us feel safe when we watch you’. His second one was ‘Don’t let your first mistake become your second, or you will make another one’.

“If I did make a mistake that first year, Alan would turn to the audience and say, ‘well, it is his first job’!”

Twenty years later, the Harrogate Theatre pantomime revolves around Stedman’s brand of strawberry-cheeked, squeaky-voiced buffoonery, but he is not one to rest on his laurels. Ahead of the first of 76 performances of Snow White, he admitted: “Even after 20 years, I still feel nervy. You never lose that.

“I do feel a sense of pressure to make it better each year. I’m terrified of complacency. Perhaps I shouldn’t say this to you, but I’m terrified of people writing things that aren’t positive.”

Tim Stedman’s Happy Harry, left, with Howard Chadwick’s No Nonsense Nora the Nanny, Zelina Rebeiro’s Snow White, Pamela Dwyer’s Fairy Ruby Rainbow, Colin Kiyani’s Prince Lee, front, and Polly Smith’s Wicked Queen Ethel Burger in Harrogate Theatre’s Snow White

Rest assured, Tim, the reviews have been typically enthusiastic, but he is quick to point out that the show’s success is not down to him. Instead, he emphasises the importance of being a team player. “Anything extraneous I keep brief, like the ad-libs, because if we focus on the story and the characters in the story, that’s far better than putting Tim Stedman out front, because it’s not about me,” he says.

“If the story’s good, that’s what matters. I put the icing on the cake and maybe the cherry.”

Snow White marks Phil Lowe’s 13th year as director and his 11th in pantomime partnership with co-writer David Bown, Harrogate Theatre’s chief executive, and they are as important to the show as Stedman.

”If we can do it in the same vein each year, like when I grew up watching Morecambe and Wise and The Two Ronnies every Christmas, we can entertain everyone from age three to 93, and if we can do it with a bit of magic, then hey, we’ve done our job!” says Tim.

Could he ever envisage playing a different pantomime role? “It’s been mooted…though I quite like what I’m doing! And you have that ego problem with actors, thinking that because you’re good at something, you can do something else just as well!” he says.

“I’ve worked with some really good dames, Alan McMahon, now Howard Chadwick, and it’s different from what I do.”

What about moving over to the dark side as the panto baddie? “They have the most fun, but I suspect there would be uproar if I came on as the villain, though I’ve often suggested it would be fun for the villain to have an assistant coming on from a different side,” says Tim.

Surely he will return for pantomime number 21, Cinderella, come November 25? “I’ve not been asked yet, but I love doing what I do here, and it’s so lovely when people come up in the street to say hello,” he says. “Harrogate is such a lovely place to work.”

Tim Stedman plays Happy Harry in Snow White at Harrogate Theatre until January 19. Box office: 01423 502116 or at harrogatetheatre.co.uk.

Did you know?

Tim Stedman has appeared in three roles in Emmerdale: Kevin Harmon in March 2014; locum veterinary surgeon Joseph Gibson in April 2016, and Jeremy, the leader of a surrogacy support group, in March 2019.

Charles Hutchinson

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Snap decision as Richard Beaumont takes father’s advice: business career first, then focus on photography

Dawn In The South Bay, Scarborough, by Richard Beaumont

THIS week is the last chance to see Scarborough photographer Richard Beaumont’s exhibition at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

In his debut show, Scarborough And Its Surroundings, he takes a personal look at his coastal hometown.

The Harbour Entrance At Whitby, by Richard Beaumont

“As a schoolboy in the 1960s, I wanted to be a photographer,” says Beaumont. “I didn’t particularly see it as a way of making money; I just wanted to create pictures of what interested me at the time.

“My father had other ideas about a possible future career and carefully steered me towards studying the science subjects, university and a career in business, saying that there would be time for photography when I retired.”

Scarborough photographer Richard Beaumont: debut exhibition

That time has come. “Following retirement in 2013, the passion was still there and I gradually began to revive my interest,” says Beaumont. “In 2017, I successfully completed a postgraduate diploma in photography at the British Academy of Photography and now accept the occasional assignment and continue to build my portfolio.”

Summing up his photography, he says. “I like to observe as well as see and create a bit of language in each shot that I take.”

The Lighthouse And South Cliff, Scarborough, From The Outer Harbour, by Richard Beaumont

Scarborough And Its Surroundings – A Personal View runs in the SJT corridor gallery until Saturday, January 12. Gallery opening hours are 10am to 6pm, Mondays to Saturdays, except during show times (mostly evenings, but some afternoons too, so please check the website, sjt.uk.com, before travelling). Entry is free.

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Rugby and whisky enthusiast Paul Blackwell “likes to paint a bit” for Village Gallery show

Duncombe Park, in pastel, by Paul Blackwell

NORTH Yorkshire artist Paul Blackwell will exhibit his Treescapes at Village Gallery, Colliergate, York, from January 14 to February 22.

Blackwell and his wife, fellow artist Anne Thornhill, ran a gallery in Grosmont, on the North York Moors, for more than 20 years before selling up and moving to an 18th century farmhouse overlooking the Esk Valley near Whitby. Here they have a barn studio, where they both continue to work.

Ash Tree In The Late Autumn Light, in pastel, by Paul Blackwell

Blackwell uses many different media, from oil and acrylic to pastel and pastel pencil. “Paul is passionate about wildlife and the natural landscape and a lot of his work is done from the 14 acres they have as a small nature reserve,” says Village Gallery owner and curator Simon Main.

Blackwell reveals he has always had two passions in his life. “The first is rugby and the second, malt whisky,” he says. “But I also like to paint a bit: landscapes mainly.

Paul Blackwell and Anne Thornhill’s home and studio in the Esk Valley

“My work is a reflection of my interest in the complex and emotional interchange of colours, as I attempt to convey the vibrancy and radiance of a landscape and the depth of its emotional impact.

“I often use the medium of pastel as it’s particularly suited to my way of working, using colour juxtapositions to create energy and dynamism, rhythm and balance.”

The Strid Woods, in pastel, by Paul Blackwell

After starting work on site, usually in monochrome, Blackwell enjoys exploring the colour structure once back in the studio. Frequently keeping the formal content simple, he creates a uniformity of atmosphere and feeling through his application of colours, as can be seen at Village Gallery from next Tuesday.

Gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. In addition, the gallery will play host to a preview evening on January 13 from 5pm to 8pm, when Paul Blackwell will be on hand to discuss his work. Free tickets are available from Simon Main on 07972 428382 or 01904 411444 or at simon@village-on-the-web.com.