Category: Theatre

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CORONAVIRUS: Mikron Theatre cancel Atalanta Forever and A Dog’s Tale tours

Atalanta Forever…but not now for 2020 after Mikron Theatre Company called off the tour of Amanda Whittington’s new play

MIKRON Theatre Company 2020’s tour of Amanda Whittington’s new women’s football play, Atalanta Forever, is off. The referee showing the red card is, inevitably, Coronavirus Pandemic.

The tour would have opened at the National Football Museum, Manchester, on April 18, and waiting in the wings was a June 2 visit to the Marsden travelling players’ regular York idyll of the Scarcroft Allotments, kick-off at 6pm.  

Also falling foul of COVID-19’s Governmental advice to avoid unnecessary social contact is Mikron’s second show of the summer, Poppy Hollman’s new play A Dog’s Tale, a celebration of canines past and present that explores the enduring love between people and their dogs.

This exploration of “the extraordinary world of heroic hounds, pampered pedigrees and naughty nobblers through the halls and history of Crufts” was bound for Clements Hall, York, in the autumn, with a cast of Mikron stalwart James McLean, company newcomer Thomas Cotran and Rachel Benson and Elizabeth Robin from last year’s brace of shows, All Hands On Deck and Redcoats.

In a statement from artistic director Marianne McNamara, producer Pete Toon, general manager Rachel Root, production manager Jo English and the board of trustees, Mikron say: “It is with an extremely heavy hearts that we have to tell you that we are cancelling our 2020 tour.

“We have worked on every possible scenario and this is the only way that we will survive into our 50th year of touring in 2021.

“Our board has a duty of care for our team, venues and Mikron supporters. We want you all to know that we are thinking of you, and indeed everyone who is part of the Mikron family, in these very difficult times.”

Mikron Theatre Company’s summer mode of transport: Tyseley, a vintage narrowboat. Picture: Jon Gascoyne

The statement continues: “If you’ve already booked tickets for our 2020 season – thank you! – we will honour any ticket refunds: just call or email if you would like us to action this.

“Like many theatre lovers across the world, if you feel that you wish to donate your ticket price to help us come back better than ever in 2021, we’d be so very grateful.

“If you haven’t booked, but you were planning on seeing us in 2020, you can support Mikron now in the following ways:

“As a thank you to you all and to cheer your heart, get your Mikron fix in the following ways:

Mikron praise Arts Council England for being “amazing” “They are doing everything they can to assist the arts, museums and libraries. We genuinely would not be here without them today,” they say.

“We have been able to cushion the financial blow for our creative team as much as possible, and we’re planning for next year in the hope that what we collectively do in the coming months gets us there.

Coronavirus-cancelled canine comedy capers: MIkron Theatre Company’s poster for A Dog’s Tale

“If there is anything else we can do for you, please do keep in touch. We may not be out on the road and waterways this year but we’re still very much here for you on email, and at the end of the phone.”

From the writer of Ladies Day, Ladies Day Down Under and Mighty Atoms for Hull Truck Theatre and Bollywood Jane for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Atalanta Forever tells the story of pioneering women footballers in 1920.

In post-war Britain, women’s football is big news. Across the country, all-girl teams are pulling huge crowds in fund-raising games for wounded soldiers.

Huddersfield amateurs Ethel and Annie take a shot at the big time. Teammates at Atalanta AFC, they are soon tackling new football skills, mastering the offside rule and kicking back at the doubters.

This summer’s audiences would have been invited to “come and cheer for Atalanta as our plucky underdogs learn how to play the game, take on the legendary teams of the era and find the toughest opponent of all is the Football Association”.

Whittington’s play is based on the true story of one of three women’s football teams in Huddersfield in post-war Britain. As told through the lives of two young women, Atalanta Ladies Football Club was formed in 1920 to “provide games for the women of Huddersfield, to foster a sporting spirit, and a love of honour among its members”.

During the Great War, several women’s football teams had sprung up around the country, usually based in factories or munitions works, and proved a great success in raising money for hospitals, war widows and so on. 

Atalanta Forever playwright Amanda Whittington

The popularity of the women’s game may be measured by the estimated 25,000 crowd that packed Hillsborough, Sheffield, for the Huddersfield team’s next game with the Dick, Kerr Ladies FC of Preston on May 4, when they lost 4-0 to their much more experienced opponents.

In the wider football world, the growing popularity of women’s football was now causing concern. The FA even saw it as taking support away from the men’s game and on December 5, 1921, they banned women’s teams from using FA affiliated grounds.

Before folding in 1924, the pioneering Huddersfield Atalanta Ladies FC had raised more than £2,000 for various charities.

Writer and co-lyricist Whittington says of her new play: “I was an 11-year-old footballer in the 1980s, the only girl who played in the boys’ village tournament, and I vividly remember being ‘advised’ to stop because it wasn’t appropriate. 

“I still feel the injustice and the sense of shame for wanting to do something I wasn’t meant to. 

“It brings joy to my heart to see football’s now the biggest team sport for girls in Britain.  I wanted to write about the battle the women’s game has fought to survive and prosper – and perhaps to tell the 11-year-old me she was right?”

A newly prescient poster for Mikron Theatre Company’s 2018 tour of Get Well Soon. How we need all those heroes in our NHS in the months ahead, God bless you all

Atalanta Forever was being directed by Mikron artistic director Marianne McNamara, joined in the production team by composer and co-lyricist Kieran Buckeridge, musical director Rebekah Hughes and designer Celia Perkins.

Explaining why Mikron chose to tackle the subject of the fight for women’s football, McNamara says: “Women’s football is making a comeback and not before time. We are thrilled to pay homage to the trailblazing Huddersfield women that paved the way against all odds.

“Just like the great game itself, this will be an action-packed play of two halves, full of live music, fun and laughter with no plans for extra time!”

Mikron’s 49th year of touring would have run from April 18 to October, with the West Yorkshire company travelling hither and thither by road in the spring and autumn, and by river and canal on the vintage narrowboat Tyseley, until October 24.

Let us look forward to whenever Mikron will be putting on their shows once more in “places that other theatre companies wouldn’t dream of”, whether a play about growing-your-own veg, presented in  allotments; one about bees performed next to hives; another about chips in a fish and chips restaurant, as well as plays about hostelling in YHA youth hostels and the RNLI at several lifeboat stations around the UK.

In the meantime, in the spirit of Mikron’s 2018 show by York writer Ged Cooper, please world, Get Well Soon.

For more information, go to mikron.org.uk.

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CORONAVIRUS: Stephen Joseph Theatre suspends all activities this week

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

THE Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, has shut down with immediate effect in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement released today, joint chief executive Caroline Routh said: “Further to current government advice, which stipulates that people should avoid public buildings including theatres to help slow the spread of Coronavirus, our extended management group, including our trustees, has agreed that we will suspend all activities up to and including Sunday (March 22).”

The SJT box office remains open to manage cancellations and will be in touch with customers with bookings that are affected.

“This is a fast-developing situation, and we will be making further announcements over the next few days as things become clearer,” the SJT statement  said. “Please take care of yourself and all those around you.”

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CORONAVIRUS: Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds City Varieties and Hyde Park Picture House close until further notice

The Leeds Grand Theatre auditorium. Picture: Simon Hulme

LEEDS Grand Theatre, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picture House are closing from today “to help slow the spread of Coronavirus”.

The decision was taken with regret following official government advice issued on Monday, stipulating that people should avoid public buildings, including theatres.

The three venues under the Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House Ltd umbrella will “remain closed until further notice and will re-open as soon as possible – following government recommendations”.

Leeds City Varieties Music Hall

Chief executive Chris Blythe said: “We are extremely grateful to all of our audiences who have continued to support us for as long as they can, and to our staff who have worked tirelessly in recent weeks to ensure the safety and enjoyment of audiences. 

“These are unprecedented times – combined we have been open for over 400 years – and closing our venues is not a decision that has been taken lightly. In truth, this will have a severe impact on the future of Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House Ltd. Our future is now uncertain, but the safety of our visitors and staff has always been our priority.”

Hyde Park Picture House, Brudenell Road, Leeds

Mr Blythe went on: “We will continue to follow advice from the Government and work closely with the touring companies and artists that are due to visit our venues over the coming months and hope that we will be able to open our doors again very soon. We thank everyone for their continued support and loyalty.” 

Audience members for a performance/screening that has been cancelled will be contacted in due course by staff. “All customers are entitled to a refund, but as Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House Ltd is a charitable enterprise, those who can afford to are encouraged to donate the cost of their ticket to show support for the future of our venues,” today’s statement said.

“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to provide regular updates. Ticket holders are asked to bear in mind that our customer service teams are extremely busy, and we would appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding at this time.”

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CORONAVIRUS: Selby Town Hall cancels shows until the end of April

Selby Town Hall

SELBY Town Hall is cancelling all public ticketed events from today initially until the end of April.

The decision has been taken “in light of the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday and the UK government’s instructions regarding social distancing”.

A statement from Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones said: “This is a fast-changing situation, and we will be monitoring advice from the Government and Public Health England on a day-by-day basis to inform our course of action from May onwards.   

“Rest assured that the health of our customers, performers, volunteers and staff is our highest priority.”

The Selby Town Hall auditorium

Selby Town Hall will be contacting all ticket holders “as soon as we can”. “It may be possible to rearrange some performances either for later in the year or early 2021, while others will sadly be cancelled altogether,” said Chris.  

“To all our customers, you are fantastic. We are incredibly grateful for the support you have given, and continue to give, to the venue. We ask for your patience while our small team deal with what is an unprecedented situation.

“It will take us a few days to establish new dates for shows or confirm full cancellations. The most important message for the moment is not to travel to shows here in the near future, to stay safe, and to look after one another. We will be in touch with you all individually in due course.”


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York Theatre Royal cancels shows until April 11. Donations sought

York Theatre Royal executive director Tom Bird

YORK Theatre Royal is cancelling all public performances and events until April 11 after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Coronavirus briefing on avoiding unnecessary social contact.

Ticket holders are being asked to consider donating the price of their tickets to the theatre, Britain’s oldest playhouse outside London.

Shows at theatres nationwide have been cancelled in response to yesterday’s Government advice on the Coronavirus pandemic, asking the public not to go to theatres, pubs and clubs.

The Theatre Royal box office will be in touch with ticket holders for the next four weeks of performances, covering March 17 to April 11, and they are being requested not to contact the box office directly but wait to be called.

Executive director Tom Bird said: “The closure of theatres in the UK puts York Theatre Royal, along with hundreds of other theatres, into a critical situation. We are asking that people consider donating their ticket purchase to the theatre at this time. As a charity, their support is crucial to our survival.

“If they cannot do this, we’d ask that they consider a credit to their account. If none of this is satisfactory, they can choose a refund.”

York Theatre Royal further advises: “If the closure period is extended, we will be in touch with bookers for future performances in good time, and we’ll also post updates to our website and social media channels.

“It’s with enormous sadness that we take these measures, but the safety of our audiences, staff and community is of utmost importance. 

“We are looking at ways we can be of use to the wider York community during this time. More details regarding these plans will follow.”

The theatre building, in St Leonard’s Place, is remaining open at present, including the café and box office.

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Thought for the morning after…Was this the day the music died?

Just what exactly did happen yesterday?

HAS there ever been a more cynical, anti-arts, pro-insurance industry posh pals statement from Prime Minister Johnson than yesterday’s first Coronavirus daily briefing?

For one so notoriously careless with words, despite his love of a luxuriant lexicon, his careful avoidance of enforcing a shutdown of pubs, clubs, theatres etc, in favour of merely recommending “avoiding unnecessary social” interaction, effectively amounts to washing his and his Government’s hands of the future of one of the power houses of British life: the entertainment industry.

No formal closures means no chance of insurance pay-outs. In an already increasingly intolerant, Right-veering Britain, with its Brexit V-sign to Europe, could it be this is another way to try to suffocate and stifle our potent, provocative, influential, politically challenging, counter-thinking, all-embracing, anti-divisive, collective-spirited, often radical, always relevant, life-enriching, rather than rich-enriching, font of free expression, protest and empowerment?

Was this the day the music died?

History shows that the arts, the pubs, the theatres, the counter-culture, has always found a way to bite back, to fight back, often at times of greatest repression and depression. No Margaret Thatcher, no Specials’ Ghost Town.

We and our very necessary social interactions shall be back, hopefully after only a short break. Meanwhile, we are all in the hands of science, that equally progressive bedfellow to the arts.

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Joseph Rowntree Theatre shuts down “until further instruction it is safe to re-open”

The Joseph Rowntree Theatre: York’s Art Deco community theatre

THE Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, is closing until “further instruction that it is safe to re-open”, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement issued late last night, chair of trustees Dan Shrimpton said: “Today (March 16),  the Government announced that unnecessary social contact should be avoided, including visits to social venues such as theatres.

“The safety of our community is paramount, and in light of this announcement, it is with a heavy heart that we will be closing the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, until we receive further instruction that it is safe to reopen.

“Needless to say, this is desperately disappointing for the producing companies, our audiences, volunteers, indeed everyone who forms part of the Joseph Rowntree Theatre’s community.”

The statement on behalf of the Haxby Road theatre continued: “We will be issuing further advice in the coming days on how we are going to manage ticket refunds and exchanges. We appreciate that you will have questions about bookings and refunds; however, we would ask that you please bear with us and wait for us to contact you.

“Thank you in advance for your support. We appreciate that this is a very worrying time for everyone in our community.”

Among the upcoming shows in the diary at York’s community theatre are: York St John University MPS’s Guys And Dolls, March 19 to 21; The Bev Jones Music Company’s Guys And Dolls, March 25 to 28; Flying Ducks Youth Theatre’s Crush: The Musical, April 2 to 4; Jessa Liversidge’s Songbirds, April 5, and Rowntree Players’ premiere of Ian Donaghy’s The Missing Peace, April 17 and 18.

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Grand Opera House, York, suspends all shows with immediate effect, but Tom’s Midnight Garden goes ahead tonight at Theatre @41 Monkgate

Lights out: Ellen Kent Company’s La Boheme at the Grand Opera House on Friday falls victim to Coronavirus social contact measures

THE Grand Opera House, York, is suspending all shows with immediate effect in light of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Coronavirus statement to “avoid unnecessary social contact”.

Mark Cornell, group chief executive officer of the Ambassador Theatre Group, the theatre’s owners, has issued a group-wide statement. “In response to the Prime Minister’s statement this evening, advising the UK public to avoid unnecessary social contact, including in theatres, we regret to inform you that shows in all Ambassador Theatre Group UK venues are temporarily suspended with immediate effect,” he said.

“We understand that this decision comes as a disappointment, and a massive inconvenience for those of you already on the way to a venue this evening, but ultimately we all want the same thing: the health and safety of our communities, and we believe this is the correct decision to make.”

Mr Cornell’s statement continued: “Given the current ambiguity and lack of clarity as to how long our theatres may be closed for, we hope to provide you with an update within the next 48 hours regarding the exchange of tickets. We will be consulting with industry bodies including the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre and the government over the immediate future. 

“For now, we would like to thank you for your understanding and patience, and to recognise the incredible efforts and support of producers, artists, partners and customers over this difficult period.”

The Grand Opera House has no show tonight, but Round The Horne is in the diary for Wednesday; Psychic Sally, 10 Years And Counting for Thursday; Ellen Kent Company’s La Boheme for Friday and Madama Butterfly for Saturday, and the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story for March 24 to 28.

Meanwhile, Tom Bird, executive director of York Theatre Royal, was holding a meeting this evening. A statement will follow.

Still on…then off: Jimmy Dalgleish as Tom, left, Olivia Caley as Hattie and Jack Hambleton asTom in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Tom’s Midnight Garden. Picture: Matthew Kitchen

Tonight’s 7.30pm performance of Tom’s Midnight Garden at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkate, York IS going ahead, but Pick Me Up Theatre artistic director Robert Readman will call off this week’s run after that.

His Twitter statement at 6.38pm this evening read: “In light of the Government’s latest measures, we will be closing Tom’s Midnight Garden after tonight’s show. Do come if you have tix for another day and we will accommodate as many as possible. We are also sad to announce the postponement of Sondheim 90 and The Pirates Of Penzance. “

Sondheim 90: A Birthday Concert, in celebration of Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday was to have taken place on Sunday; Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance from April 17 to 25, both at 41 Monkgate.

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Sheridan Smith to play Cilla a lorra, lorra more times on tour that visits Leeds Grand

The poster for Sheridan Smith’s return to playing Cilla Black, this time on tour in Cilla The Musical

SHERIDAN Smith will revisit her portrayal of Cilla Black in Cilla The Musical at Leeds Grand Theatre from November 9 to 21.

She first played the late Liverpool pop star and television presenter in Jeff Pope’s award-winning ITV mini-series Cilla in 2015.

The part was written for Smith originally for a stage show but was then transferred to television, whereupon her performance won her a 2015 National TV Award and TV Choice Award and she was nominated for a BAFTA and EMMY Award too.

Now, expecting a baby in May, 38-year-old Smith has agreed to step inside the role of Cilla once more in impresario Bill Kenwright’s stage production, penned again by Pope.

Sheridan Smith in the role of Cilla Black for ITV’s 2015 mini-series Cilla

Her past theatre credits include her first Olivier Award nomination for Little Shop Of Horrors at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, and her first Olivier Award and WhatsOnStage Award for playing Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical.

Smith, from Epworth, near Doncaster, then won an Olivier Award and an Evening Standard Theatre Award for her role as Doris in Flare Path. Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler at The Old Vic brought her another WhatsOnStage Best Actress Award and she enjoyed a celebrated run in the West End as Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl in 2018.

Cilla The Musical’s heart-warming musical adaptation of Pope’s television series first toured in 2017, when nominated for Best New Musical in the WhatsOnStage Awards.

Kara Lily Hayworth played Cilla after ten rounds of auditions and a final four sing-off at The Cavern in Liverpool for the tour that visited the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2018.

Kara Lily Hayworth played Cilla in the tour of Cilla The Musical that visited the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2018

Directed by Kenwright and Bob Tomson, Pope’s story “follows the extraordinary life of an ordinary teenage girl from Liverpool, Priscilla White, and her rocky, yet incredible, rise to fame”.

By the age of 25, she was recognised as international singing star Cilla Black. By 30, she had become Britain’s favourite television entertainer, leading to such series as  Blind Date and Surprise Surprise.

The musical score features such Cilla landmarks as Anyone Who Had A Heart, Alfie and Something Tells Me.

Tickets are on sale on 0844 848 2700 or at leedsgrandtheatre.com.

Did you know?

JEFF Pope wrote the screenplays for Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman; Essex Boys; Philomenaand Stan & Ollie. His television work includes the BAFTA-winning ITV drama Mrs Biggs and Cilla, both starring Sheridan Smith.

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REVIEW: Clocking Pick Me Up Theatre in Tom’s Midnight Garden

Tom Tom club: Olivia Caley’s Hattie with the two Toms, Jimmy Dalgleish, left, and Jack Hambleton, in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Tom’s Midnight Garden. Pictures: Matthew Kitchen

REVIEW: Tom’s Midnight Garden, Pick Me Up Theatre, John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, until Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568; at pickmeuptheatre.com or in person from York Gin, 12, Pavement, and York Theatre Royal box office

IT is grimly impossible not to see everything anew in the context of the crippling Coronavirus.

Within moments of Tom’s Midnight Garden opening, the word “quarantine” is mentioned, and audience members turn to each other – keeping a certain distance, of course – in recognition of its heightened resonance.

Adapted for the stage by David Wood, the doyen of such transitions from print to boards, Philippa Pearce’s beloved novel is a testament to the power of imagination, perhaps the most precious gift of all in childhood, but one that dims through experience as we age.

Right now, we might all wish that the clock could strike 13 and take us to somewhere magical, as it does in Tom’s Midnight Garden, although George Orwell’s opening line to 1984, where the clocks en masse were doing exactly that, is contrastingly heavy with sinister forewarnings.

Pick Me Up director-designer Robert Readman sets up the black-box John Cooper Studio in a traverse configuration, the audience to either side of a stage book-ended by a door and lonely Tom’s bedroom away from home at one end and a door and bored brother Peter’s bedroom back home at the other, where he is quarantined with measles.

The setting is the dull 1950s, when Tom (a role shared by Pick Me Up debutant Jimmy Dalgleish, in action on press night, and Jack Hambleton) is staying with his kindly Aunt Gwen (Maggie Smales) and pipe-smoking, Daily Mail-reading Uncle Alan (Andrew Isherwood).

At Tom’s end too is the aforementioned grandfather clock, with its figure of an angel and an inscription, Time No Longer, taken from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 10, Verse 6, and still today the subject of much conjecture as to its possible meaning.

Even within Tom’s Midnight Garden, it draws a scoffing comment, but if instead it can been seen as advocating that the limitations, the boundaries, of time be removed, rather than as the end of time, then it becomes the doorway to limitless imagination.

Ed Atkin as Peter, left, Jimmy Dalgleish as Tom, Olivia Caley as Hatty, Jack Hambleton as Tom and Beryl Nairn as Aunt Grace in Tom’s Midnight Garden

On the John Cooper Studio’s mezzanine level are not only the bedrooms but also passageways to either side (not ideal, alas, as anyone moving above you on your side is out of sight, and Readman might need to re-block those moments to facilitate seeing them better).

Musical director Tim Selman, meanwhile, is positioned in clear view at his piano beside Atkin’s Peter. Behind him are cellist Lucy McLuckie and violinist Robert Bates, and together they perform a second string to Atkin’s bow: his newly composed score that accompanies scenes played out in the midnight garden of the title.

Occasionally on first night, the beautiful music impacted on the clarity of the dialogue but the sound balance can be remedied.

A chorus gathers, chiming the mantra “Time no longer”, as if bringing the clock to speaking life. Each day, that clock is wound up fastidiously by the mysterious Mrs Bartholomew (Beryl Nairn), so stern of face she unnerves Tom’s aunt and uncle.

When it strikes 11, 12, 13, pyjama-clad, inquisitive Tom leaves his bed, makes his way downstairs, across the hall and out of the door into a magical garden, initially depicted as a bright light. A garden that only he can enter. A Victorian garden, where he encounters Victorian orphan Hattie (Olivia Caley), the joyless Aunt Grace (Beryl Nairn, part two), Bible-reading gardener Abel (Isherwood, part two) and assorted playful Victorian children.

The garden scenes are played out on the empty expanse between the two doors. No flowers, no secret passageways, everything left to our imagination, save for chairs and gathered, elasticated black and white ribbon strands at all four corners through which cast members pass, not exactly with the greatest of ease.

Decide for yourself what they symbolise; maybe the erosion of time; maybe the imagination at work; maybe time travel; maybe they just look aesthetically pretty, matching the black and white of Readman’s overall design.

Here, across the time divide, Tom and Hattie can see each other when others cannot see him, and time passes at a different rate for each of them. This is a place of mystery and magic, but something darker if Abel’s biblical bent is to be believed, as if Tom were as meddlesome as Shakespeare’s Puck or J M Barrie’s Peter Pan.

Although imaginative, neither Readman’s direction, nor design, are as magical as his best work. Wood’s script, however, captures fully Pearce’s possibilities of make-believe, drawing you deep into Tom and Hattie’s world, where sweetness and sadness elide, brought to life so evocatively by the outstanding Caley, Dalgleish, Atkin, Smales and Nairn and Isherwood at the double.

Charles Hutchinson

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