Category: Theatre

Posted on

Maisie Smith takes on first American role as Marge Sherwood in The Talented Mr Ripley, on tour at Grand Opera House, York

“Marge was ahead of her time,” says Maisie Smith, who plays the American writer and photographer in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

THE press release for The Talented Mr Ripley’s visit to the Grand Opera House, York, ends with this question: how far would you go to become someone else?

In the case of the acting world, the answer is the whole way for every change of role. For Maisie Smith that means transforming into Marge Sherwood – the character portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow in  Anthony Minghella’s 2000 film and Dakota Fanning in the 2024 Netflix series – in Mark Leipacher’s touring production. Next stop, Grand Opera House, York, from January 19 to 24.

“I was so, so intrigued when the role came through and it’s very different to any character I’ve played,” says Maisie, who last appeared on a Yorkshire stage as Fran in her musical theatre debut in Strictly Ballroom The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre in July 2023.

“This time it was a very quick process, at very short notice. I was asked, ‘could you read a scene from the script – and you can pick the scene’. I did it on tape, filming myself when I was on holiday at the time, on a fishing trip with my boyfriend in a little lake cabin.”

Not the ideal audition scenario, especially when Maisie had to evoke living in “the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy”. “I was in this wooden cabin, in Shropshire, and I had to drive into the nearest high street to get an internet connection! It’s such a glamorous lifestyle, as they say!”

Nevertheless, the self-tape worked and the role of Marge was hers. “That was in maybe June/July last year, and we started rehearsals in August. The tour began last September [at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre, marking the 70th anniversary of Patricia Highsmith’s novel], and we’ve just had a few weeks off [since November 22] for a Christmas break,” says Maisie. “Our first week back is in York.”

Director Mark Leipacher has adapted Highsmith’s psychological thriller for its first major UK tour, casting The Crown star Ed McVey as dangerously charismatic antihero Tom Ripley, who is scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything.

When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf (Bruce Herbelin-Earle), Tom leaps at the opportunity. However, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets on the Amalfi Coast, he is seduced by the freedom, wealth and effortless charm of Dickie’s life.

As fascination turns to obsession and his grip tightens on Dickie’s world, the lines between truth and deception begin to blur in Highsmith’s tale of deception, desire and deadly ambition. What starts as an innocent opportunity spirals into a chilling game of lies, identity theft, and murder. 

Maisie has seen the film and the monochrome TV series, but not read the read the book. “I feel a bad actress for not reading it, but I have seen the director’s notes that he wrote years ago as this play has been in the making for six years,” she says. “I couldn’t believe it when Mark said he’d been working on it for so long.”

Maisie Smith’s Marge Sherwood and Bruce Herbelin-Earle’s Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Assessing the role of Marge, she says: “I see her as a really interesting character in this play. What I love about her and what I try to drill into is that she is one of the only people who is suspicious and recognises Tom Ripley for what he is, so she’s very valuable person in the story.

“It’s a story that’s ahead of its time because she was ahead of her time: she’s very independent; she’s a writer and photographer and has her own house in Italy. She has a boyfriend but is not in a committed relationship, which was really futuristic for a woman at that time.

“That’s why this story has been told again and again over 70 years because it’s never dated and will never go out of style.”

Marge is new territory for 24-year-old Maisie. “I haven’t played an American before, and the oldest era I’d played before this was Strictly Ballroom, set in the 1980s. Lots of characters I play are of a more juvenile age. Like Tiffany [Butcher], my character in EastEnders, was  only a couple of years younger than me,” she says.

“Tiffany was quite cocky, cheeky, whereas Marge is very intelligent – and I’ve really had to rein in my Southend accent! Once I got the part, they brought in someone to work on the accent with me as Marge has this old-school American accent.”

Maisie, you may recall, finished as a finalist in the 2020 series of Strictly Come Dancing, recorded under Covid conditions. “It was so crazy but I was 19, so I think, looking back on it, it was the first time I’d ever done live TV, and the first time I’d ever been Maisie, rather than playing a character, and I did find the whole experience nerve-wracking,” she says.

“I wish I hadn’t stressed about everything – did people like me; did I do that dance right? – but then I thought, ‘no, just be yourself, who cares what people think!”

She continued to play Tiffany for another year, “but I was itching to do theatre”, a change of tack that has been rewarded with significant roles in Strictly Ballroom and now The Talented Mr Ripley. “This new character, Marge, is the most different from me. Everything about her is different from me. It’s always  a challenge but that’s what you want.”

Hence Maisie will keep asking herself that question: how far would you go to become someone else?

The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

Adultery, murder and beautiful music add up to Death Of Gesualdo as Tableaux Vivants and The Gesualdo Six play NCEM

Death Of Gesualdo: Bringing together The Gesualdo Six, Tableaux Vivants and a puppet for new drama of jealousy, murder and sublime madrigal music at NCEM

THE Gesualdo Six are reuniting with director Bill Barclay for the world premiere of Death Of Gesualdo, a daring new successor to their international hit Secret Byrd.

Premiered at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, tomorrow and on Saturday, the haunting theatrical concerto, exploring the tormented life and music of Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo, will then head north to the National Centre of Early Music, Walmgate, York, for 6.30pm performances on Sunday and Monday.

Commissioned by St Martin’s as part of its 300th anniversary and produced by Concert Theatre Works,  this collaboration with the NCEM and Music Before 1800 in New York City utilises the sextet of Gesualdo singers, six Tableaux Vivants actors and a puppet in “living tableaux to illuminate the forces that shaped the violent life, psyche and visionary work of innovative madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613), Prince of Venosa.

He may be infamous for murdering his unfaithful wife and her lover in an explosive fit of jealousy, but among composers he is revered for anticipating chromaticism – the musical technique of using notes outside the main diatonic scale to add colour, tension, and expression – by 200 years.

Choreographed by Will Tuckett, the dancers enact tableaux vivant – vivid images, like paintings brought to life –filled with iconography to superimpose Gesualdo’s psyche on to his most chilling music. The result will be “the boldest look yet at how the life and music of this enigmatic prodigy must function together for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows”.

Director Bill Barclay says: “Gesualdo’s tortured mind led him into a life of violence and suffering, concluding in astonishing tales of witchcraft and malfeasance and appalling tales of sorcery and flagellation. However shockingly macabre his biography is, the Prince of Venosa’s malignant narcissism can be traced to key incidents from his upbringing in the zero-sum game of Catholic politics.”

Opening on the composer’s deathbed, Death Of Gesualdo promises to be a visceral “Stations of the Cross” for the composer’s tortured conscience as much as a bold study of his inseparable life, psyche and music.

Bill says: “I want people to hear the brilliance of Gesualdo’s music, but also to feel the immense human suffering that shaped it. This staging seeks to reveal the guilt and retribution woven through his extraordinary music, brought to life by The Gesualdo Six – some of the finest polyphonic singers in the world.”

The creative team brings together Barclay, Gesualdo Six director Owain Park, Olivier Award-winning choreographer Will Tuckett, best known for his work with The Royal Ballet and his visionary cross-disciplinary approach; former Handspring Puppet Company director Janni Younge and American costume designer Arthur Oliver.

“We so enjoyed doing Secret Byrd with Bill, and when we see Bill, we like to throw around a few ideas, and this is what’s emerged next – as we’re really well positioned to sing Gesualdo’s music,” says Owain.

He suggests Death Of Gesualdo has three layers: musical, dramatic and another layer that “provokes discussion and thoughts without necessarily coming up with the answer to the questions asked”.

“Bill is more interested in providing more questions than answers,” he says, highlighting the need for a balance between what is said and left unsaid. “When we debut the project in London and York, we will know more about that, but for now I can say it’s something we’ve never done before.

“It will be interesting to see how we present music differently, where it will heighten things in a way that you wouldn’t in concert. It becomes more sensory, like smell and touch, as we create pictures to be discovered. I think there’s going to be space for more development – which is interesting – and maybe audiences will need to come again.

“There’s more chance for spontaneity, and that’s exciting, like in sport, where you never know what the result will be, if the formula is right, whereas in music you do, but you can take different routes to the same result, but Death Of Gesualdo is more of a change from that, with the chance to be different each time.”

Secret Byrd visited more than 25 cities, with plans afoot to revisit it in the UK, Ireland and USA. “Last time, the NCEM was at the end of the first tour, so how lovely this time that Delma [NCEM director Delma Tomlin] and the NCEM are at the forefront of this new project, as we’ve built up such a wonderful relationship with them,” says Owain.

For creator-director Barclay, when St Martin’s wanted a “splashy” production to mark its 300th anniversary and suggested Gesualdo, his instinct was to resist at first. “I wasn’t drawn to the murder of his wife and her lover, the central event of his life,” he recalls, “I cherish the music, like anyone else, but I wasn’t just going to do a concert because I knew I had to reckon with the man.”

 He enjoys counterpointing singers  with other artists, and once he found a video of Tableaux Vivants, he saw the possibilities in Death Of Gesualdo. “I found their work whimsical and beautiful and was struck by how this artform could re-create horrible things in beautiful ways,” he says.

“They can create quite grotesque images  but because they’re created right in front of you, there’s a sense they can be done both playfully and beautifully. It struck me as a way I could thread the story of the murder into the performance without all the violence,  taking Gesualdo’s music as a framing device, not for the murder, but to explore what’s going through his mind  and then opening up the topical subject of odious men.

“It made me think about cancel culture today…and what lessons have we learnt from the social media accelerant that can force someone to be treated as guilty until proven innocent?”

Citing composer Richard Wagner and jazz musician Miles Davis as further examples of “odious” creative talents, Bill says: “What I’m trying to get at is, can you separate the art from the man?

“With Death Of Gesualdo, I’m suggesting that if you consider his life over the music he created, a different picture emerges of this tortured soul, who was probably bisexual. I’m not trying to inspire pity in my audience as to whether he was forced to commit an honour killing or not, but with a sensitive artist such as Gesualdo, he was tortured by various ailments, from bulimic narcissism to bipolarity.”

Bill is thrilled to be teaming up with Owain Park and The Gesualdo Six again. “Owain is a genius, he’s a treasure, and his star burns very brightly. He’s young and he’s just at the beginning of what we expect to be a wonderful career,” he says.

“Working with these wonderful singers at this point benefits everybody, most of all the audience, and we now have two pieces that we can tour around the world as the arts become more interdisciplinary. It’s fun!

“I’m delighted that they [The Gesualdo Six] have trusted me to work with them, rehearsing for longer than they normally would for concerts – and putting on make-up for the performances!”

The Gesualdo Six and Tableaux Vivants, Death Of Gesualdo, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, January 18 and 19, 6.30pm to 7.40pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Posted on

REVIEW: The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday *****

Daniel Burke, left, and John Mackay in the funeral scene in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

IN the Dress Circle at Tuesday’s press night were assembled rows of Year 9 pupils, all studying The Woman In Black. They talked with bravado of not screaming, albeit some with more conviction than others.

Your reviewer, a veteran with many years’ service to watching Stephen Mallatratt’s meta-theatrical adaptation of Scarborough novelist Susan Hill’s ghost story, struck up conversation with the excited students, predicting that boisterous ghost bluster would make way for shrieks by the fright night’s denouement.

Sure enough, their reactions would alter once the early humour faded away, consumed by the gravest, ghostly, ghastly deeds in the fog and murk of Eel Marsh House, the remote mansion haunted by the hollow-faced spectral figure of the title.

No matter how often The Woman In Black plays its cards, it can still surprise, startle, jolt and, yes, scare beyond shredded nerves, such is the adroit sleight of hand of Robin Herford, still directing the show, as he first did in a pub setting at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in December 1987.

Train of thought: Daniel Burke and John Mackay in a travelling scene in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

Returning once more to the Grand Opera House – home to its own story of a resident ghost who greets new members of staff by name on first acquaintance in the auditorium – The Woman In Black is a celebration of the unrivalled power of theatrical storytelling, invention and the imagination, as much as the British love of chills, thrills and spills.

Like buses on a good day, another one will be coming around the corner soon in the form of Danny Robins’s 2:22 A Ghost Story from March 30 to April 4, a smart invader from modern-day London wrapped inside a state-of-the-nation character study that first played York in May 2024.

The Woman In Black is of an earlier vintage, a place of hats and overcoats, a pony and trap, worn briefcases, piles of faded papers and a rocking chair, where, as ever, “the action takes place in this theatre in the early 1950s”.

The Grand Opera House’s plush velvet design is ideal for Mallatratt’s theatrical conceit of a play within a play staged in a  disused theatre within a theatre, in which Michael Holt’s gauze set enables the stealthy revelation of a shadowy, creaking stairwell, deathly cold dark passages, a large locked door and, most disturbingly, a child’s bedroom with toys and clothes untouched from 50 years ago.

The Woman In Black director Robin Herford. Picture: Mark Douet

Rod Mead’s sound design, orchestrated on tour again by Sebastian Frost, wraps itself around all corners of the auditorium to keep the audience on alert, aided by the ironically named Kevin Sleep’s light design that cranks up the tension, changing suddenly to leave  you wondering restlessly where the Woman In Black might next appear, with no escape from her cape.

As ever, the casting for what is essentially a two-hander (save for the ghostly Jennet Humphrey’s interventions) is as key to the time-honoured production’s success as all the theatrical effects.

John Mackay, as stultified, haunted lawyer Arthur Kipps, and Daniel Burke, as The Actor he hires to tell his story, are a double act in theatre’s best traditions, as adept at storytelling as light humour and then darkening horror as Kipps seeks to exorcise the fear that has burdened his soul for so long, to end the curse on his family.

“For my health, for reason”, his story must be told, he says, and with the help of Burke’s boundlessly enthusiastic Actor, on the wings of imagination, his rambling book of notes will become a play so powerful that it no longer feels like a play, but an all-consuming reality destined to play out forever.

In the gloom of Eel Marsh House, John Mackay, left, and Daniel Burke play out a scene on a pony and trap. Picture: Mark Douet

The Actor becomes Kipps, the young solicitor sent to attend to the isolated, wretched English marshland estate of the newly dead Alice Drablow, while Mackay’s Scottish-toned Kipps, once he sheds his stage novice reserve, takes on all manner of roles, from narrator, hotel host and taciturn pony-and-trap driver, to an even more haunted old solicitor and wary landowner.

All the while, Kipps is ever more traumatised by his fears rising anew, and likewise Mallatratt applies the cunning skills of of a magician as the drama within takes over from the act of making it, while simultaneously glorying in theatre, dapper acting skills and the abiding appeal of a ghost story (especially in York, with its multitude of ghost walks) .

No need for high-tech special effects, this is old-fashioned theatre-making, where the terrifying theatrical re-enactment is applied with only two chairs, a stool, a trunk of papers, a hanging rail of costume props, dust sheets over the stage apron and a theatre curtain as frayed as everyone’s nerves by the end, an ending full of eternal foreboding. Welcome back, The Woman In Black.

PW Productions in The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

Be Amazing Arts to hold open auditions for March 26 to 28 run of Disney’s Newsies Jr musical at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

Be Amazing Arts’ poster for Disney’s Newsies Jr, playing at the JoRo in March

OPEN auditions are now live for Malton company Be Amazing Arts’ next production, Disney’s Newsies Jr, to be staged at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from March 26 to 28.

Based on the hit Broadway show, Newsies Jr follows a spirited band of newsboys as they rally together to fight for what’s right against the powerful newspaper publishers of New York City. Filled with uplifting messages of courage and friendship, this family-friendly production will leave you cheering, dancing and believing in the power of standing strong together!

“This high-energy, feel-good musical is packed with unforgettable songs, dynamic choreography and an inspiring story about young people standing up for what they believe in,” says managing director James Aconley. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for performers to grow in confidence, develop their skills and be part of something truly special.

“We welcome performers of all experience levels. Whether this is your first show or you’re already stage-mad, we’re looking for enthusiasm and commitment, a willingness to learn and work as part of a team and a love of performing (singing, dancing and acting).”

Why take part? “Being involved in a Be Amazing Arts production means professional, supportive direction; high-quality training in a fun and encouraging environment; making new friends and creating unforgettable memories, and experiencing the thrill of performing on stage in a full-scale musical production,” says James.

What happens next? All audition information – including dates, age guidance, what to prepare and how auditions will run – can be found at beamazingarts.co.uk. To register for the auditions, go to https://beamazingarts.co.uk/newsies/.

“If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch with our team,” says James. “We can’t wait to meet the next generation of newsies and start this exciting journey together. Seize the day – and we’ll see you at auditions!”

Be Amazing Arts, Disney’s Newsies Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 26 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501395 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Posted on

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 3, from Gazette & Herald

York Printmakers: Tenth anniversary exhibition…with cake on Saturday

IN his third highlights package of the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out a riparian exhibition, a brace of pantos, murderous deeds in 1950s’ Italy and a transatlantic folk talent.

Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers, Rivers of York, City Screen Picturehouse, York, until February 7

CELEBRATING York Printmakers’ tenth anniversary, Rivers of York presents original hand-made prints inspired by the River Foss and River Ouse. Head to City Screen’s upstairs lounge today from 2pm and 4pm for Prints and Cake, a chance to share cake, find out more about the prints and meet the artists who created them.

On show are a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, linocut, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock, lithography and stencilling, in works that explore the rivers’ place in the history, ecology and culture of York from Roman times to the present. 

Paula Cook’s villainous Queen Lucrecia and John Brooks’s scheming Chamberlain in Pickering Musical Society’s Snow White

Panto time: Pickering Musical Society in Snow White, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, until January 25, 7.15pm, except January 19; 2.15pm, January 17, 18, 24 and 25  

DIRECTED for the tenth year by resident director Luke Arnold and scripted by Ron Hall, Pickering Musical Society’s 2026 pantomime blends familiar faces with new turns, led by Alice Rose as Snow White in her first appearance since Goldilocks in 2018.

Local legend Marcus Burnside plays Dame Dumpling alongside mischievous sidekick Jack Dobson as court jester Fritz, his first comedic role. Company regular Courtney Brown switches to comedy too as Helga; Paula Cook turns to the dark side in her villainous debut as Queen Lucrecia; Danielle Long is the heroic Prince Valentine, John Brooks, the scheming Chamberlain and Sue Smithson, Fairy Dewdrop. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.littleboxoffice.com.

Jack Robinson’s PC World and Evie-Mae Dale’s Sergeant Pong in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime 

Panto time too: Malton and Norton Musical Theatre in Aladdin – The Pantomime, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 1.30pm, 5.15pm; Sunday, 2pm; January 20 to 23, 7.15pm; January 24, 1pm, 5.15pm

BETWIXT York roles in York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy and Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn, Harry Summers continues to corner the market in dark roles as wicked magician Abanazar in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin.

Fresh from his villainous scene-stealing in The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Jennings plays the Emperor. Further principal players in the mystical land of Shangri-La include Harriet White’s Aladdin, Isabel Davis’s Princess Jasmine; Rory Queen’s dame, Widow Twankey, Tom Gleave’s Wishee Washee, Mark Summers’ Genie of the Lamp and Annabelle Free’s Spirit of the Ring. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The Steelers: Paying tribute to Steely Dan at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday 7.30pm

THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972. 

Once described as “the American Beatles”, Becker and Fagan’s songs are noted for their clever lyrics and sophisticated arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf, left, and Ed McVey as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Game of lies of the week: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BEFORE its West End run, The Talented Mr Ripley plays the Grand Opera House with a cast led by Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith as Marge. Tom is a nobody, scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie, Tom leaps at the opportunity. 

In the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by Dickie’s freedom, wealth and effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession in Patricia Highsmith’s story, whereupon an innocent chance turns into a chilling game of lies, identity theft and murder. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Elanor Moss: Songs of the nuances of life lived in relation to others at Pocklington Arts Centre

Folk gig of the month: Elanor Moss, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 29, 8pm

ELANOR Moss, an “emotionally transatlantic” talent with family roots in Lincolnshire and Baltimore, Maryland, draws on influence from homes familiar and felt in songs that turn over the nuances of life lived in relation to others, taking inspiration from the British and American folk canons alike.

In keeping with such heroes as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Sibylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, her subject is “always people in all their lovely flawed-ness”. Ned Swarbrick supports. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

John Doyle: Returning to York Theatre Royal to direct The Secret Garden The Musical this spring

Welcome back to nature: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to his old patch to stage his trademark actor-musician interpretation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden in a new revival of the Broadway musical with a score by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

In 1906 North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was), newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her widowed uncle in a moorland house of memories and spirits. Determined to breathe new life into her aunt’s mysterious neglected garden, she makes new friends while learning of the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.  Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Amber Davies in the poster for Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in April

Casting announced for: Made At Curve presenting Legally Blonde The Musical at Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies will play Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, fresh from playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.

Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee. North Yorkshireman  Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

Pick Me Up Theatre to stage Tony Award winner Next To Normal at Theatre@41. Who’s in Andrew Isherwood’s cast?

Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for Next To Normal at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

AFTER directing Cole Porter’s Anything Goes with such pizzazz, Andrew Isherwood takes the reins again for Pick Me Up Theatre’s spring production of Next To Normal at Theaytre@41, Monkgate, York.

Winner of three 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical Score and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt’s intimate exploration of family and illness, loss and grief explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness.

Dad Dan is an architect; Mom rushes to pack lunches and pour cereal; their daughter and son, Natalie and Gabe, are bright, wise-cracking teens, appearing to be a typical American family. Their lives are anything but normal, however, because mother Diane has been battling manic depression for 16 years. 

Combining Yorkey’s book and lyrics with Kitt’s music, Next To Normal takes audiences into the minds and hearts of each character, presenting the family’s story with love, sympathy and heart.

Isherwood’s cast comprises Monica Frost as Diane; Dale Vaughan as Dan; Niamh Rose as Natalie; Matthew Warry as Gabe; Fergus Green as Henry and Ryan Richardson as Dr Fine/Dr Madden.

Isherwood is joined in the production team by musical director James Robert Ball and producer/designer Robert Readman.

Pick Me Up Theatre in Next To Normal, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 25 to April 4; 7.30pm except March 29; 2.30pm, March 28, 29, April 4. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/seasons/eb56fa81-e805-45d4-99e5-81e3cdf15cf9.

Posted on

Cast & creative team announced for The Secret Garden The Musical, directed by John Doyle at York Theatre Royal

Catrin Mai Edwards: Cast as Martha in The Secret Garden – The Musical

THE cast and creative team is in place for John Doyle’s revival of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Secret Garden – The Musical at York Theatre Royal.

Performed by a company of actor-musicians from March 17 to April 4, the show has music by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

Doyle, Theatre Royal artistic director from 1993 to 1997 and Tony Award winner, will direct a cast led by Catrin Mai Edwards as Martha; Joanna Hickman, Lily; Henry Jenkinson, Archibald; Elliot Mackenzie, Dickon; Ann Marcuson, Mrs Winthrop; Elizabeth Marsh, Mrs Medlock; André Refig, Neville, and Steve Simmonds, Ben.

Estella Evans: Sharing role of Mary Lennox

Estella Evans and Poppy Jason will share the role of Mary Lennox and Christian Buttaci and Dexter Pulling will do likewise as Colin. The ensemble is completed by Stephanie Cremona, Matthew James Hinchliffe, Lara Lewis, and Melinda Orengo. 

Completing the creative team alongside director-designer Doyle are musical supervisor and orchestrator Catherine Jayes, co-designer David L Arsenault, costume designer Gabrielle Dalton, lighting designer Johanna Town, sound designer Tom Marshall and casting director Ginny Schiller CDG.

Adapted from American-English author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 children’s novel, the moving and timeless story of love, loss, healing and hope is set in North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was) when  newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widower uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a moorland house inhabited by memories and spirits from the past. 

Poppy Jason: Sharing role of Mary Lennox

On discovering her Aunt Lily’s mysterious garden, Mary is determined to breathe new life into its neglected greenery with the help of her new friends,as she learns the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature. 

Director John Doyle says: “It’s such a privilege to bring the story of The Secret Garden back to its Yorkshire roots and to bring it to life on the York Theatre Royal stage with the support of this wonderful creative team. We have an immensely talented cast of actor-musicians on board and I can’t wait to start rehearsals next month.” 

Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes adds:“We are thrilled to be welcoming John Doyle, our former artistic director, back to York Theatre Royal for this incredible production of The Secret Garden – The Musical. 

Director-designer John Doyle

“This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the spring season here at YTR and we are looking forward to York audiences experiencing this new take on such a beloved musical.”

The Secret Garden – The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17  to April 4; previews, March 17 and 18, 7.30pm, March 19, 2pm; press night, March 19, 7pm; March 20, 7.30pm; March 21, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 23, 6.30pm; March 24 and 25, 7.30pm; March 26, 2pm, 7.30pm; March 27, 7.30pm; March 28, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 30, 6.30pm; March 31, 7.30pm; April 1 and 2, 2pm, 7.30pm; April 4, 2.30pm, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Posted on

Harry Summers and Thomas Jennings walk the tightrope of panto villainy and goodness in Aladdin at Malton’s Milton Rooms

Harry Summers’ Abanazar with Thomas Jennings’s Emperor in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime

YORK Shakespeare Project regulars Harry Summers and Thomas Jennings often share the car journey from Malton to York for rehearsals and performances.

No such need – except for this interview, conducted at City Screen Picturehouse – applies to their participation in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime.

Thomas has been appearing in the Milton Rooms pantos for more than a decade; from Saturday, Harry will be in his third show after making his debut in Dick Whittington in 2024, opposite Thomas’s King Rat.

“I think I can claim that I got you involved,” says Thomas. “Rory [regular dame Rory Queen] rang me up to ask ‘Do you know anyone who could play Alderman Fitzwarren’, and I suggested Harry.”

“The Alderman was a very nice but not terribly intelligent chap, shall we say,” says Harry. “Then last year I ended up being the third level-rated villain, as Rancid, still two spots below the giant and the witch in the villainy pecking order.

“Thomas was the giant, Buster Gutbucket, who didn’t do any rehearsals and then turned up and got all the glory!”

Harry will be joined in the cast by 17-year-old son Alexander. “I remember when he came to see Thomas as Abanazar, so this year it’s come full circle as I’ll be playing Abanazar and Alexander will be the Executioner,” he says.

In keeping with his York Shakespeare Project performances, and indeed his work at York Dungeon, Thomas tends to be drawn to darker roles. “It’s been 99 per cent baddies, and one per cent kings and fathers to the romantic interest,” he says.

Thomas Jennings’s Emperor with Isobel Davis’s Princess Jasmine in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime

“Villains tend to be particularly enjoyable to play, but it’s also a challenge to find the darker elements within a good character, or the goodness in a dark character.

“This year I’m a goody, but still one who employs an executioner and orders his daughter to get married. He’s a little perplexed why she keeps refusing! In truth, the Emperor is a terrible, terrible person, but I love how panto glosses this over!

“The main thing that upsets him is Princess Jasmine getting kidnapped, but if Abanazar had come to him to propose a marriage for her, he would have been interested!”

Harry found himself recalling a past performance as evil magician Abanazar when rehearsing the role. “It’s an absolutely wonderful opportunity to play him. I saw Ian McKellen’s Widow Twankey at the Old Vic [in the 2024-2005 pantomime season], when Roger Allam was Abanazar, which was fantastic.

“In rehearsals, I was thinking ‘why does this remind me of Roger Allam?’, and then I remembered I’d seen him in the London show!”

Abanazar can be played myriad ways. “I find it interesting, having played Abanazar not that long ago, to be watching Harry now and seeing how different his interpretation is,” says Thomas. “When I approached the role, I wanted to make him genuinely dark, whereas what I’m finding interesting about Harry is the naughtiness and mischievousness that he’s bringing to the character.”

Harry, who has played such villainous roles as Shakespeare’s Richard III and Lucifer in the York Mystery Plays, rejoins: “If you play the baddie only one way – all-evil, all-angry, all-ambitious – you miss out on a lot of the jokes in there. There’s a huge enjoyment to be had in the evil in Abanazar, and it does help when you get lines like, ‘oh, I love being evil’.

“I prefer the ‘poetic justice’ that happens in panto. In this one, I don’t change my evil ways! I just get stopped from doing what I was doing.”

Harry Summers’ Abanazar with Harriet White’s Aladdin in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime

Thomas comments: “Abanazar is also the anti-dame. There’s a nudge and wink to the audience, and you always get a response out of the audience, just as the dame does.”

He loves playing to pantomime audiences: “It’s interesting how every night that audience can be different,” he says. “Sometimes you get an audience where they’re waiting for someone to give them ‘permission’ to laugh, and you only need one person to make a noise to set off the ripple effect.

“Then sometimes magic can happen when an error is turned into something that is then used every show. Different actors work in different ways, and for some if they have to veer off script, they’re gone, but Harry and I have both been actors at York Dungeon, where we can keep to the script but you should expect to go off script too.”

Coming next for Harry will be Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn, playing the dual servant roles of Parrott and Simpkin in Howard Brenton’s exploration of Anne as a revolutionary figure through James I’s perspective, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, from March 3 to 7.

Thomas will be going on tour with Parrabbola, performing Shakespeare works. Watch this space for more details to follow.

Joining them in Mark Boler’s cast for Aladdin will be Harriet White’s Aladdin, Isobel Davis’s Princess Jasmine, Rory Queen’s Widow Twankey, Tom Gleave’s Wishee Washee, Mark Summers’ Genie of the Lamp and Annabelle Free’s Spirit of the Ring, among others.

“We’re also reliant on the army of volunteers who do the set building and back-stage work and make such an important contribution behind the scenes,” says a grateful Harry.

Malton and Norton Musical Theatre in Aladdin – The Pantomime, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 1.30pm, 5.15pm; Sunday, 2pm; January 20 to 23, 7.15pm; January 24, 1pm, 5.15pm. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

“If you play the baddie only one way – all-evil, all-angry, all-ambitious – you miss out on a lot of the jokes in there,” says Harry Summers, pictured in rehearsal for his role as Abanazar

Posted on

Cast confirmed for first tour of The Choir Of Man, raising voices and glasses at Grand Opera House from June 30 to July 4

A scene from a previous production of The Choir Of Man, whose first tour is bound for Grand Opera House, York. Picture: The Other Richard

FULL casting is in place for The Choir Of Man, whose first UK & Ireland tour will play the Grand Opera House, York, from June 30 to July 4.

Direct from the West End, the Olivier Award-nominated worldwide hit will take to the road from March 14, when it opens at the New Wimbledon Theatre.

The producers have confirmed the participation of the Jungle Choir Community Project, a new nationwide initiative that invites choirs to take part in the production on opening night in every touring city.

Set in The Jungle pub on stage, The Choir Of Man is billed as “the best trip to your local you’ll ever have”, where the cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys combine beautiful harmonies and foot-stomping singalongs with world-class tap dance and soulful storytelling.

The tour cast will feature Gustav Melbardis as Maestro (The Choir Of Man NCL, Rent); Oluwalonimi (Nimi) Owoyemi as Poet (The Second Woman, Young Vic, The Wind In The Willows, Shakespeare North Playhouse); Levi Tyrell Johnson as Hard Man (The Choir Of Man, West End, Hamilton, UK & Ireland tour); Ben Mabberley as Joker (Calamity Jane, UK tour, Blood Brothers, UK tour) and Rob Godfrey as Beast (The Choir Of Leicester, Aladdin, Wolverhampton Grand).

In the cast too will be Joshua Lloyd as Barman (Chicago, The Lion King, UK & Ireland tours), Sam Walter as Romantic (The Choir Of Man, West End, Kinky Boots, NCL) and Aaron Pottenger as Bore (The Choir Of Man, NCL, Ragtime).

On swing duty will be Sam Ebenezer (The Choir Of Man, West End, The Mousetrap, West End), Jared Leathwood (The Choir Of Man, West End, Billionaire Boy, UK tour), Niall Woodson (The Choir of Man, West End, Frankie’s Guys, UK tour) and Lewis Dragisic (The Choir Of Man, West End, Twelfth Night, UK tour).

Featuring hits from Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry, to name but a few, this uplifting celebration of community and friendship offers “something for everyone – including free beer”!

The Jungle Choir Community Project will involve a search for choirs in each touring city, who will be invited to attend the opening night performance and take part in the show’s final moments.

Participating choirs will be offered discounted tickets and rehearsal materials in advance and will be invited to experience the opening-night performance as part of a wider celebration of music and community. Interested choirs should email officeassistant@kennywax.com.  

Nic Doodson, creator and director, says:  “The Choir Of Man has always been about individuality, generosity, humour and the joy of making music together, and this company embodies all of that.

“As we take the show around the UK and Ireland for the very first time, it felt vital to open the doors even wider and invite local choirs to raise their voices with us. Every city has its own musical heartbeat, and welcoming those voices into the show on press night is a powerful reminder of why this piece exists: to celebrate community, connection and the extraordinary feeling of singing together.”

The Choir Of Man has played three sold-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House, Australia, and multiple sold-out American and European tours. The show is on its fourth North American tour, playing in 45 cities until March 2026, with the 68 shows including two residencies in West Palm Beach.

The Choir Of Man’s West End journey began in 2021 at the Arts Theatre, where it has enjoyed more than 1,000 performances with many sold-out shows and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play, before concluding its run on January 4 2026.

The Choir Of Man is created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay and directed by Doodson, with musical supervision, vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Jack Blume; movement direction and choreography by Freddie Huddleston; monologues written by Ben Norris; scenic design by Oli Townsend; lighting design by Richard Dinnen; costume design and co-scenic design by Verity Sadler; sound design by Sten Severson and casting by Debbie O’Brien.

The UK Tour is produced by HH Productions, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Global Creative and Kenny Wax,  whose collective credits include award-winning shows Six The Musical, Bluey, The Play That Goes Wrong, 42 Balloons, Maddie Moate’s Very Curious Christmas and many more. 

The Choir Of Man, Grand Opera House, York, June 30 to July 2, 7.30pm; July 3, 4pm, 8pm; July 4, 2.30pm, 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Posted on

Daniel Burke on art of playing The Actor in The Woman In Black at Grand Opera House

Shadow play: Daniel Burke as The Actor in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

FIRST staged in a pub setting in 1987 by the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s ghost story The Woman In Black returns tonight to the Grand Opera House, York, two years to the month since its last visit.

Elderly lawyer Arthur Kipps (played by John Mackay) is obsessed with a curse he believes was cast over his family by the spectre of a “Woman in Black” 50 years ago. Whereupon he engages a sceptical young actor (Daniel Burke’s The Actor) to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul, but as they delve into his past, the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to blur. 

“It will be my first time performing in York,” says Daniel. “Though I did come up here in 2019 to rehearse with Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in a big tent in a shopping-centre car park [more precisely the specially constructed rehearsal village at the York Designer Outlet, where eight productions were knocked into shape].

“I went down to Blenheim Palace for the summer to play Paris in Romeo And Juliet and multi-rolled a few smaller roles in Richard III.”

Daniel Burke’s The Actor with John Mackay’s Arthur Kipps in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

Daniel first auditioned for The Woman In Black a couple of years ago. “It didn’t go my way but Robin [director Robin Herford] kept me in mind,” he says. “I’d first auditioned with a self-tape, but this time I auditioned in person with Robin last June, when I was doing a production of  The Girl On The Train (which came to Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and later Leeds Grand Theatre).

“The contract was rubber-stamped in mid-June, but I had to miss the first week of rehearsals when I was finishing the tour, so it was only three weeks for me, four for John, with the associate director [Antony Eden] filling in for me in the first week.

“He’s worked with Robin for many years and is as familiar with the play as Robin is – he’s played both parts and he’s directing a tour that’s happening in the USA this year.”

Three weeks may look a short lead-in to a two-hander, but Daniel says: “By the time we got to the end of my third week with John, we’d reached the point where we felt we really needed an audience.”

Director Robin Herford in rehearsal for The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

The tour opened at the Storyhouse, in Chester, in late-September last year for an itinerary that resumed after a Christmas break at Darlington Hippodrome last week.

“I hadn’t ever seen the play, and John hadn’t either, so I think Robin was pleased to work with two actors who were completely fresh to it,” says Daniel. “He knows it so well from directing it and from playing both characters numerous times that he found it refreshing to have actors new to the story as we asked new questions that Robin wouldn’t have heard before.

“Our production has developed really well; John is a lovely man to work with and he’s a very funny man too. It’s such an intense piece, where it’s beneficial if you can find some light to bring into the room.

“We found our rhythm organically on tour, and that’s especially important to my character, as he’s trying to convince Kipps to go with his idea, but once it gets rolling, you can really go along for the ride.”

Fright night: The Actor (Daniel Burke) in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

Daniel has thrived on the experience of putting a production together with such an experienced director. “Robin was very open to our suggestions. He had his ideas of what direction he wanted to go, but then sometimes you could have an idea for a scene or you might ask about the logic of why a character was doing something, when every so often you would need clarification, and we would try new ideas, and if they worked, he would incorporate them.”

In creating his version of The Actor, “Robin led me down the line of him being quite a successful young actor, who had played the young romantic leads that were available to him,” says Daniel.

“Robin steered me to go that way, and that was my instinct as well because The Actor has a lot of positive energy, thinks on his feet and sees Arthur as someone he can help but also maybe as one of the trickiest characters he’s had to deal with, but he sees that as a challenge rather than as a problem.”

The Woman In Black is proving as enjoyable to perform as Daniel could have wished. “It’s a good challenge and it’s very enjoyable, and when it’s a two-hander you can’t pop to your dressing room for a breather, so the audience is really getting its money’s worth. I’ve done other rewarding roles, but this is the one where you’re involved all the time,” he says.

Daniel Burke (The Actor) in an enlightening moment in The Woman In Black. Picture: Mark Douet

“There’s also a big old human element to it, as it’s a sad story, not only for Arthur but also for the ghost, the Woman in Black, Jennet Humfrye, and you hope that the audience will walk away afterwards feeling sympathetic for Jennet as well as for Arthur.

“There was this attitude towards women who were pregnant out of wedlock and found themselves abandoned by family, and on top of that losing a child, and then that spirals into madness. I think that makes  a ghost story better than if it’s just a horrible, evil spirit.

“It adds a layer of complexity to the story that become a lot more effective and satisfying, both for the audience and the actors playing it.”

PW Productions present The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Daniel Burke

Daniel Burke: back story

DANIEL’S theatre credits include UK Tour of The Girl On The Train, Troilus And Cressida for
Royal Shakespeare Company, and Imperium Part I and Part II, for RSC and at Gielgud Theatre, West End, London.

Also appeared in Bang Bang at Exeter Northcutt Theatre and on UK tour; Romeo And Juliet and Richard III, for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, Blenheim Palace; Hamlet, Richard II and Romeo And Juliet for Guildford Shakespeare Company; The Comedy Of Errors, at Mercury Theatre, Colchester; Love All, Jermyn Street Theatre; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Great Gatsby, Storyhouse’s Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre; The Circle, Theatre Royal Bath and UK Tour.

Television credits include The Witcher for Netflix and Lord Of The Rings Rings Of Power for Amazon Prime.