The tour poster for The Choir Of Man, heading for Grand Opera House, York, next summer
RAISE your glasses. The Choir Of Man, the Olivier award-nominated international hit musical with the pub setting, will play the Grand Opera House, York, from June 30 to July 4 2026 on its inaugural UK tour.
After “thrilling audiences night after night in London’s West End”, the producers will be sending a cast of nine (extra)ordinary guys on the road with their combination of beautiful harmonies, foot-stomping singalongs and instrumental flourishes, topped off with tap dancing and soulful storytelling.
Featuring Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry hits to name but a few, this uplifting celebration of community and friendship offers something for everyone – including free beer!
Creator and director Nic Doodson says: “It’s a huge moment for us to launch The Choir Of Man’s very first UK national tour. It’s incredible to see how far the show has come from our start at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017…it feels incredibly special to finally be taking the show on the road at home. Bringing our pub to audiences across the UK has always been a dream.”
The Choir Of Man stage will include a fully functional bar with taps, well-stocked shelves and signage, designed to give the feel of a genuine working pub. Expect vintage fixtures and pub memorabilia to evoke a traditional pub ambience.
The Choir Of Man has sold out three seasons at the Sydney Opera House and multiple American and European tours. The show will embark on its fourth North American tour from December to March 2026, playing 68 shows in 45 cities, including two residencies in West Palm Beach, Florida, and returning to Cleveland.
The Choir Of Man’s West End residency at the Arts Theatre began in 2021, since when it has enjoyed more than 1,000 performances with many sold-out shows and an Olivier award nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
The UK tour is produced by HH Productions, Nic Doodson, Andrew Kay, Global Creative and Kenny Wax. The show carries an age guidance of ten plus.
Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ Jack Fry as Quasimodo, left, and Dan Poppitt as the Voice of Quasimodo in The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, pictured at Selby Abbey
BLACK Sheep Theatre Productions will stage their biggest show yet when presenting The Hunchback Of Notre Dame from October 10 to 18.
Matthew Peter Clare’s “larger-than-life” production marks the York company’s return to the Joseph Rowntree Theatre for the first time since mounting the UK amateur premiere of William Finn and James Lapine’s Falsettos in August 2023.
Combining the forces of Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Peter Parnell and Victor Hugo, ‘Hunchback’ features songs from Walt Disney’s 1996 animated gothic film with special arrangement from Music Theatre International. “We’re presenting the score in its entirety, as seen on Broadway,” says Matthew, whose cast comprises five leads, an ensemble of seven and a choir of 23.
“We have the songs from the film, such as Hellfire and Out There. However, Menken and Schwartz, have expanded on that on a quite incredible scale, usually bringing a darker tone that they really wanted to go for in the film and maybe were not allowed to. They’ve expanded on that theme incredibly well, making it a much more mature piece than the film.”
Jack Fry’s Quasimodo at Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ photoshoot at Selby Abbey
‘Hunchback’ addresses themes of love, acceptance and the nature of good and evil. “Our production revolves around the question of what makes a man and what makes a monster,” says Matthew. “That’s the framing device we’re using to ask both the audience and ourselves.”
In a cast where Matthew has his actors presenting the story, within which they then take on roles, Black Sheep regular Dan Poppitt will play the Voice of Quasimodo in tandem with Jack Fry’s physical embodiment of the bell-ringer of Notre Dame cathedral in 15th century Paris.
“There are parts we’ve taken from Victor Hugo’s 1831 book, such as whereas the Disney film has them all accepting Quasimodo, the implication in the book is that Quasimodo falls very deeply down a pit of despair,” he says.
“There’s a lyric in Someday that says, ‘some day life will be kinder, love will be blinder’, and that’s the key theme in a time when Quasimodo and her entire gypsy community were not accepted.”
Ayana Beatrice Poblete’s Esmerelda
Choreographer Charlie Clarke adds. “Unfortunately, it’s a timely motif for what’s going on now, where there is always this idea of being ‘other’ in this world.”
Quasimodo, the “hunchback” of the title, is best known for his deformity, but Black Sheep will be highlighting his other, arguably more significant impediment.
“The key idea we’re exploring is the fact that in the text and every iteration of Quasimodo, he has been at least partially deaf,” says Dan.
“Jack is a deaf actor who specialises in BSL (British Sign Language), so he performs Quasimodo’s dialogue through signs and I’m there as his interpreter, speaking his lines and singing his songs – and the only person on stage who acknowledges my presence is Jack’s Quasimodo.
“And I will say that Jack, as the embodiment of Quasimodo, puts every emotion that he can into the dialogue and songs.”
Matthew Peter Clare: Black Sheep Theatre Productions founder and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame director
Matthew says: “We’re making more of Quasimodo’s deafness, rather than his deformity, because deafness makes it harder for him to communicate. His deformity doesn’t stop him communicating, though it doesn’t help, as far as society around him is concerned, but the thing that hurts him and affects him is that he can’t communicate.”
Charlie adds: “Jack is such an incredible dancer too, and it’s so beautiful to watch him incorporating dancing into his BSL signing. It’s not just the words. He throws his entire body into it, so it’s like watching a contemporary dancer.”
Filipino-born Ayana Beatrice Poblete will play the other ‘outsider’, the gypsy – or more correctly French Roma – girl Esmerelda, and she reckons the production could not be better timed, given the heated debate on immigration bubbling over in British politics.
“It’s a good reminder to bring it back to the point that there will always be a ‘separation’ because people are always on edge as they haven’t been exposed to it for a long time, so they think everything is dangerous, but hopefully it will be seen in our show as curiosity,” she says.
“I’m really blessed to get the chance to sing God Help The Outsiders, not only in representing that community, but also because they are outcasts in society and so they feel imposter syndrome, and this is Esmerelda’s response.”
Black Sheep Theatre Productions cast memberJack Hooper, pictured at Selby Abbey
Matthew adds: “This might sound bleak, but I would argue that Esmerelda is the only one in the show who starts out hopeful and remains hopeful despite what happens. It’s a show with twists, and storylines are developed, but her hopefulness is the through-line of the story.”
Ayana rejoins: I actually thought at first, maybe Esmerelda is too positive, when everything is so toxic, but that positivity is not meant for her, but for passing on to others.”
Charlie says: “Esmerelda is the only one that Frolo [the Catholic clergyman and antagonist of Hugo’s tale] sees as anything comparable to a god, and maybe that is why he’s fearful as he thinks of her as an ethereal being, comparing her to an angel. That’s what scares him, whereas Quasimodo and Phoebus see the love that radiates from within her.
“The other factor that marks her out is that not only is she Romani but she is a woman too.”
Black Sheep Theatre Productions n The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 9 to 18. Performances: 7.30pm, October 10, 11 and 14 to 18; 2.30pm, October 11 and 18. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Gemma Curry with Whale, the central character in Hoglets Theatre’s The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale. Picture: Andy Curry
HOGLETS Theatre’s new show is a celebration of the beauty of being yourself and the magic of being different, inspired by the 52-hertz whale and the neurodivergent world.
Presented by the husband-and-wife team of writer and composer Andy Curry and performer, director and puppet-maker Gemma Curry, The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale will be staged by the York company at York Theatre Royal on Friday and Saturday, followed by further Yorkshire performances at Masham Town Hall on October 28, Guiseley Theatre on October 29 and Ripon Arts Hub on October 30.
Fresh from an award-winning, five star-garlanded run at the Underbelly at this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, Hoglets Theatre invites audiences aged four upwards on an exciting, 40-minute adventure packed with beautiful handmade puppets, sea creatures, original songs and gentle audience interaction aplenty.
“I can hear someone out there. They’re singing to me,” vows Whale as he sings his heart out into the deep blue sea but nobody sings back. Is he the only one like him in the whole ocean?
On the cusp of giving up, a mysterious voice echoes through the waves. Determined to find the singer, Whale embarks on an unforgettable adventure, diving through glowing coral caves, dodging wibbly jellyfish and facing wild-eyed sea monsters. Yet will he ever find a friend who hears his song in this story of the power of friendship, empathy and inclusivity?
“There was a documentary about the 52-hertz whale on Disney+ that Andy discovered about five years ago, where he’s on his own because no-one sings like he does, on his frequency, whereas other whales bond through singing, so we saw it as quite an analogy for autism.”
“At the end, Whale realises there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with him and nothing wrong with being different,” says Gemma Curry
Andy and Gemma’s younger son has been diagnosed as autistic. “That was one of the things that led to us doing the play because we realised it was a world that’s not geared to make his life easy because everything is geared to the neurotypical, and teaching kids about neurodivergence does doesn’t tend to happen – although his school has been awarded ADHD Friendly School status,” says Gemma.
“They’re ‘naughty’ or ‘weird’ is what other kids say about autistic children, when actually, no, they are just different.”
Hence the parallels with the 52-hertz whale, so here is the science bit. The 52-hertz whale, known colloquially as 52 Blue, is a whale of an unidentified species that makes its calls at the frequency of 52 hertz; higher than usual for any whale with migration patterns.
“In our story, we’ve made him a Humpback whale, swimming around on his own, encountering lots of jellyfish, an ADHD turtle, and a Moray eel, who wants to meet others but thinks he looks ugly so he stays in his cave,” says Gemma.
“At the end, Whale realises there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with him and nothing wrong with being different. Our story is about belief in yourself and learning about yourself. When we’re born all we know is ourselves; we don’t know how to think. We’re completely questioning ourselves, so we have to find who we are and what we believe in a world where there’s bullying.”
Gemma Curry: Won the Derek Award for Best Children’s Show at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe with The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale
Gemma and Andy worked with Tang Hall SMART and their students when researching and writing the play. “We gave them the script, asking them ‘Does it ring true?’, and asking them how they wanted to be perceived, what questions would you ask and what would you tell your younger self?” says Gemma.
“Hearing their stories was really inspiring: how they had become assured and confident and knew who they were, though a lot of them had experienced issues of being bullied, or not understood, or overlooked, but they were such amazing people.
“I had a little cry when I took the show back there and this guy gave me a hug to say how how much he loved the show.”
Now York at large has the chance to see the Derek Award winner for Best Children’s Show at the Edinburgh Fringe. “We won out of 147 children’s shows, so that was wonderful,” says Gemma.
The last word goes to Gemma’s mum. “As a typical Yorkshire woman, she has a great saying on being different: ‘It wouldn’t do if we were all the same’.” How right she is.
Hoglets Theatre in The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 3, 4.30pm; October 4, 11am and 2pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: Primary aged children and families.
Amelia Atherton’s Phoebe, left, Ronnie Burden’s Joey, Alicia Belgarde’s Monica, Enzo Benvenuti’s Ross, top, Daniel Parkinson’s Chandler and Eva Hope’s Rachel in Friends! The Musical Parody. Picture: Pamela Raith
THIS is the one where you will know all the characters and iconic moments but none of the songs by book and lyric writers Bob and Tobly McSmith and composer Assaf Gleizner.
Worry not. Friends! The Musical Parody was a hit in New York and Las Vegas and those songs – and there are songs aplenty – more than punch their weight, adding to the familiar humour with character candour and knowing social commentary.
“Parody” is defined as a “humorous or mocking imitation, using the same form as the original to spoof or satirise”. How is it applied to Friends, the escapades of “the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings” that ran for ten seasons on NBC from September 22 1994 to May 6 2004 and is still watched the world over 21 years later?
Yes, it is a humorous imitation, and yes, it applies the same TV format of a studio recording with you as the audience, but rather than “mocking”, the tone is one of affectionate teasing. Not least in its Act Two references to the pre- and post-Friends years for the famous six, Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry (but understandably stopping short of mentioning his troubled death in October 2023).
As mentioned above, Andrew Exeter’s set and lighting design takes the form of a TV recording studio with cameras, information screens and wooden frameworks denoting Bathroom, Kitchen and Joey or Monica’s Apartments.
On steps warm-up act Kip Kipperson in the first of multiple roles for chameleon Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, later to appear as perky, bleach-blond Central Perk coffee-shop worker Gunther, Tom Selleck & his moustache and Italiano stalliono Paulo. Scene-stealing at its best, topped off by Gunther’s crestfallen rendition of Part Of Their Gang.
Where’s Eva Hope’s Rachel Green when we first encounter Daniel Parkinson’s Chandler Bing, Enzo Benvenuti’s Ross Geller, Alicia Belgarde’s Monica Geller, Amelia Atherton’s Phoebe Buffay and Ronnie Burden’s Joey Tribbiani in Friends Like Us and Typical Day At Central Perk? Ah, here comes Rachel in that wedding dress, and so the pattern is established of replaying favourite moments, leading into songs full of waspish wit, longing and reflective wisdom.
Edward Leigh’s Gunther: Serving coffee and pathos at Central Perk in Friends! The Musical Parody. Picture: Pamela Raith
That’s how to cram 236 episodes into two hours or ten minutes more on first night after an unexplained technical hitch in Act Two, but the show must go on, as the saying goes, and Friends! was at its best after play was resumed.
Writers, director Michael Gyngell and actors alike capture the ticks and tropes of each character, matched by Jennie Quirk’s costume-design precision. The more you watch Belgarde, Atherton, Burden, Benvenuti and especially Hope and Parkinson, the more you warm to characterisation that is faithful, rather than a caricature, but has room for send-ups. No mean feat. Seamlessly, they become funnier too as the rhythm of sketch and song settles satisfyingly.
Parkinson, spoiler alert, doubles up as Chandler’s “long-time on-off girlfriend”, Janice, setting him the impossible task of being two people at once in comedy mayhem tradition. Oh my god, Janice’s song OMG It’s Janice is particularly good.
So many Friends nuggets are here: Joey’s How You Doin’; Chandler and Monica trying to hide their relationship; Monica’s turkey; Ross’s incessant whining and Pivot; Phoebe’s mother-fixated, dire songs and triplet pregnancy; Joey and Chandler’s pets Chick and Duck (in singing-puppet mode), and Rachel’s airport finale. All done with just the right detail, in keeping with the trademark trim editing of the 22-minute TV episodes.
What lifts Friends! The Musial Parody beyond mere pastiche is the editorial input of Bob & Tobly McSmith, forever denying Gunther more than a line and commenting on the absence of black characters in the TV series; the friends never paying at Central Perk, never having money worries, and Monica and Ross Geller being Jewish “not being a thing”, as Ross puts it. Plus how, despite all the bedroom dynamics, Rachel and Monica are never seen naked (“but we know you want to”.
Friends! The Musical Parody works as a show for the initiated, rather than an initiation ceremony, but given Friends’ popularity among old fans and younger, this is the one that’ll be there for you, when the York rain starts to pour this week.
Stars out of five? Pivoting from *** in the first half to **** for the second.
Mark Goucher, Matthew Gale and Oskar Eiricksson present Barn Theatre production of Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Ghosts In The Garden: York’s haunted history told in 58 wire-mesh sculptures
FROM garden ghosts to a lonely whale, Toussaint’s saxophone to Kurdish comedy, Charles Hutchinson finds joy both outdoors and indoors.
Spectral trail of the season: Ghosts In The Garden, across York, until November 2
ORGANISED by York BID (Business Improvement District), the Ghosts In The Gardens sculpture trail has returned to York’s public gardens, ruins, hidden corners and green spaces in a free family event featuring 58 3D wire-mesh figures inspired by York’s haunted history.
Crafted in partnership with York creative team Unconventional Design, the translucent figures range from soldiers to monks, with ten new spectral sculptures to “ensure fresh surprises for returning visitors”.
Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: Opening autumn season at National Centre for Early Music tonight
Jazz gig of the week: Jean Toussaint, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tonight, 7.20pm
THE Jean Toussaint Quintet – saxophonist, composer and bandleader Toussaint, pianist Emile Hinton, bassist Conor Murray, drummer Ben Brown and trumpet player Joti (CORRECT) – showcases his JT5 project’s latest album, recorded at London’s Vortex jazz club in 2024.
York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Gemma Curry in Hoglets Theatre’s The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio
Children’s show of the week: Hoglets Theatre in The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, Friday, 4.30pm; Saturday, 11am and 2pm
FRESH from an award-winning Edinburgh Fringe run, York company Hoglets Theatre invite primary-age children and families to an exciting adventure packed with beautiful handmade puppets, sea creatures, original songs and audience interaction aplenty.
Performed, crafted and directed by Gemma Curry, The Tale Of The Loneliest Whale celebrates friendship, difference and the beauty of being yourself in Andy Curry’s tale of Whale singing his heart out into the deep blue sea, but nobody singing back until…a mysterious voice echoes through the waves, whereupon Whale embarks on an unforgettable adventure. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Cooper Robson: Say Owt Slam special guest at The Crescent, York
Sizzling spoken words of the week: Say Owt Slam with special guest Cooper Robson, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm
HEATON slam champion and left-wing, left-field loudmouth Cooper Robson returns to York for a special-guest full set of hard-hitting poetry, raucous comedy and outlandish at The Crescent. Robson sports “more meter than Mo Farrah, more nonsense than a sapling touching Tolkien-tree”, while spouting more trash than a government coastal policy. Box office: thecrescentyork.com or on the door.
Helen Lederer: For bitter, for farce at Pocklington Arts Centre
Comedy conversation of the week: Helen Lederer, Not That I’m Bitter, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
FROM Absolutely Fabulous to French & Saunders, Helen Lederer has been a familiar face in British comedy since her 1980s’ alt. comedy beginnings, being “in the spotlight but not always centre stage”. Now, she brings her signature wit and warmth to page and stage as she shares stories of fame, failure, family and finding your voice when the odds are stacked against you in a man’s world.
Expect sharp observations, outrageous anecdotes and a refreshingly candid take on everything from mental health to midlife reinvention, in conversation with presenter and podcaster Johnny Ianson, as Lederer discusses her memoir Not That I’m Bitter as part of East Riding Libraries Festival of Words. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
The Creepy Boys: Teenage birthday party. Picture: Nick Robertson Photography
“Bizarre comedy with just a splash of the occult”: The Creepy Boys, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Friday, 8pm
THE Creepy Boys, Canadian creators of cult-smash Slugs and 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees, present their existential self-titled show – and you’re invited as they throw their 13th birthday party. Expect games. Gifts. Possibly Satan. Probably Cake.
Combining 2000s’ sexy songs and dances, satanic rituals and Willem Dafoe, horny little boys Sam Kruger and S.E. Grummett will do whatever it takes to make their birthday dreams come true, even re-enacting their own birth, while interrogating the trappings of millennial nostalgia, before driving the show off a wild horror-comedy cliff. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Kae Kurd in What’s O’Kurd: That’s what’s occurring at Pocklington Arts Centre on Saturday
Comedy gig of the week: Kae Kurd: What’s O’Kurd, Pocklington Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
KAE Kurd, British-Kurdish stand-up comedian, Ain’t Got A Clue podcaster and lead writer and voice of ITV’s dating show Loaded In Paradise, brings his new tour, What’s O’Kurd, to Pocklington.
Born Korang Abdulla in Saqqez, Iran, and now based in South London, Kae performed his debut show Kurd Your Enthusiasm at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, since when he has toured Spoken Kurd Tour in 2021 and Kurd Immunity in 2023. He has written for Cunk & Other Humans (BBC), Have I Got News For You (BBC) and A League of Their Own (Sky One), as well as for the i newspaper and Total Politics, and has appeared on Mock The Week and Celebrity Masterchef. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Our Biggest Ever Open Mic: Saturday’s evening of anything-goes entertainment at Milton Rooms, Malton
Open opportunity of the week: Our Biggest Ever Open Mic, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 7pm
THE stage is all yours on Saturday at the Milton Rooms’ “Biggest Ever Open Mic evening” for all manner of performers. Admission is free and doors and the bar will be open at 6.30pm. Tech support will be provided. Go for it! For more information, email info@themiltonrooms.com.
Martin Ledger of Alchemy Live: Finding himself in Dire Straits in a good way at Helmsley Arts Centre
Tribute show of the week: Alchemy Live, The Music Of Dire Straits, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
FORMED by life-long Dire Straits fans and full-time musicians Martin Ledger and Neil Scott, Alchemy Live announced their first show for Friday the 13th in 2022 in York, duly selling out there and around Yorkshire and moving on to theatre shows from January 2023.
Fast forward to 2025 and the launch of an expanded line-up, featuring pedal steel and saxophone, enabling them to tackle the huge production of Dire Straits’ final album On Every Street and the resultant live record On The Night. Every song choice is taken from a specific live performance in Dire Straits’ history, for example the show-opening Money For Nothing from Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985, “with every nuance of Mark Knopfler’s playing technique followed faithfully” throughout. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Pixies: Playing York for first time in 40-year career next May
Gig announcement of the week: Pixies, York Barbican, May 20 2026
CELEBRATING 40 years since their 1986 formation in Boston, Massachusetts, Pixies will head out on their Pixies 40 worldwide tour next year. The British and European leg will open with their long-overdue York debut on May 20 at York Barbican.
Founding members Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will be touring with bassist Emma Richardson as they head to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Tickets for their only Yorkshire concert are on sale at bnds.us/ziwfqx or yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/pixies.
Kara Tointon in the role of Constance in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s touring production of The Constant Wife
THE Royal Shakespeare Company’s touring production of The Constant Wife is to play York Theatre Royal from January 26 to 31 2026.
2010 Strictly Come Dancing winner Kara Tointon will star in Laura Wade’s new version of W Somerset Maugham’s 1926 comedy, directed by RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey.
Described as “a sparkling comedy of ill manners”, The Constant Wife is set in 1927. Constance is a deeply unhappy woman. “Nonsense,” says her mother. “She eats well, sleeps well, dresses well and she’s losing weight. No woman can be unhappy in those circumstances.”
Constance is the perfect wife and mother, and her husband is as devoted to her as he is to his mistress, who just happens to be her best friend.
The tour poster for the RSC’s The Constant Wife, booked into York Theatre Royal from January 26 to 31 next year
The Constant Wife reunites Olivier Award-winning writer Wade and director Harvey, having worked together on Home, I’m Darling, since when Wade was the executive producer and writer for Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster novel.
Kara Tointon has played Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion in London’s West End, Dawn Swann in EastEnders from 20025 to 2009 and Rose Selfridge in the television period drama Mr Selfridge, as well as Bella Manningham in Patrick Hamilton’s Gaslight at the Grand Opera House, York, in February 2017.
RSC co-artistic directors Harvey and Daniel Evans said: “Our ambition is to bring joy to as many audiences as possible, deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and so we are thrilled to be bringing The Constant Wife to stages across the UK, following its success at the Swan in Stratford.
Kara Tointon as Bella Manningham on tour at Grand Opera House, York, in February 2017
“It will be so exciting to get back into the rehearsal room with our new company, led by the brilliant Kara Tointon, and for us to bring Laura Wade’s razor-sharp script to life.”
The tour is presented by Cunard and David Pugh, five-time Olivier Award and two-time Tony Award winning producer, who said: “I’m delighted to have commissioned Laura Wade to adapt this comedy and to be working with the Royal Shakespeare Company on this new production of The Constant Wife.
“Partnering again with Cunard, with whom I’ve had such a wonderful ongoing relationship, continues to be a joy. For me, in the times that we’re in, there is nothing better than to bring comedy to audiences in theatres all around the UK and to hear people laughing.”
Priority booking for York Theatre Royal members opens today (29/9/2025) from 1pm. Tickets go on general sale on October 4 from 1pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/the-constant-wife. Performances will be at 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn: Marking 60th anniversary of his comedy Relatively Speaking with rehearsed reading and Q&A at the SJT tomorrow. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
FROM garden ghosts to Friends parody, Ayckbourn anniversary celebrations to Toussaint’s saxophone, Charles Hutchinson finds joy both outdoors and indoors.
Anniversary landmark of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Sunday, 2.30pm
AS part of the SJT’s fundraising weekend with Director Emeritus Sir Alan Ayckbourn, Sunday’s 60th anniversary rehearsed reading of Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking will be followed by a Q&A with Sir Alan.
Greg and Ginny are living together, but Greg suspects he is not the only man in her life. Prompted by Ginny’s plan to “visit her parents”, he decides to follow her. Ginny is in fact going to see a considerably older lover, but only to break up with him. Greg mistakes the ex-lover and his wife for Ginny’s parents, a situation only compounded by Ginny’s arrival. Antony Eden directs a cast of Hayden Wood, Gina Burnell, Liza Goddard and Russell Richardson. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Ghosts In The Garden: York’s haunted history told in 58 wire-mesh sculptures
Spectral trail of the season: Ghosts In The Garden, across York, until November 2
ORGANISED by York BID (Business Improvement District), the Ghosts In The Gardens sculpture trail has returned to York’s public gardens, ruins, hidden corners and green spaces in a free family event featuring 58 3D wire-mesh figures inspired by York’s haunted history.
Crafted in partnership with York creative team Unconventional Design, the translucent figures range from soldiers to monks, with ten new spectral sculptures to “ensure fresh surprises for returning visitors”.
Dave Johns: Playing Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club tonight in rare York outing
Comedy gig of the week: Dave Johns, Paul Pirie, Josh Sedman and Damion Larkin, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, YO1 Live Lounge, York Barbican, today, 8pm
I, DANIEL Blake actor and comedian Dave Johns has appeared on the stand-up circuit since 1989. Now highly selective about where and when he performs, tonight’s show is a rare chance to catch him in York.
Scotsman Paul Pirie specialises in blurring the lines between real-life anecdotes and flight of fancy, jumping from bitchy to silly. Yorkshire comedian Josh Sedman is equipped with quips, “Wetherby Teeth” and a lovely head of hair. Promoter Damion Larkin hosts as ever. Doors open at 7:30pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre tonight. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg
Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, today, 7.30pm
AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff; Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899. Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends! The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.
“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: Opening autumn season at National Centre for Early Music on Wednesday
Jazz gig of the week: Jean Toussaint, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, October 1, 7.20pm
THE Jean Toussaint Quintet – saxophonist, composer and bandleader Toussaint, pianist Emile Hinton, bassist Conor Murray, drummer Ben Brown and trumpet player Joti – showcases his JT5 project’s latest album, recorded at London’s Vortex jazz club in 2024.
York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre
Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm
SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died leaving Sue with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.
This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Tom Smith: Editors’ frontman, playing solo show at Stockton on the Forest Village Hall
Indie rock gig of the week: Tom Smith, Stockton on the Forest Village Hall, near York, October 3, 7.45pm
TOM Smith, frontman of Birmingham indie rock band Editors since 2022, heads north to play a seated village hall gig in North Yorkshire, hosted by Off The Beaten Track and The Crescent, York. Expect a selection of new solo work alongside Editors’ favourites. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com.
Cooper Robson: Say Owt Slam special guest at The Crescent, York
Sizzling spoken words of the week: Say Owt Slam with special guest Cooper Robson, The Crescent, York, October 3, 7.30pm
HEATON slam champion and left-wing, left-field loudmouth Cooper Robson returns to York for a special-guest full set of hard-hitting poetry, raucous comedy and outlandish at The Crescent. Robson sports “more meter than Mo Farrah, more nonsense than a sapling touching Tolkien-tree”, while spouting more trash than a government coastal policy. Box office: thecrescentyork.com or on the door.
Pixies: Playing York for first time in 40-year career next May
Gig announcement of the week: Pixies, York Barbican, May 20 2026
CELEBRATING 40 years since their 1986 formation in Boston, Massachusetts, Pixies will head out on their Pixies 40 worldwide tour next year. The British and European leg will open with their long-overdue York debut on May 20 at York Barbican.
Founding members Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering will be touring with bassist Emma Richardson as they head to the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Tickets for their only Yorkshire concert are on sale at bnds.us/ziwfqx or yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/pixies.
Edward Leigh’s Gunther in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, next week. Picture: Pamela Raith
FRIENDS! The Musical Parody is the one with new songs and iconic moments – pivot points – from 236 television episodes squeezed into two hours on stage.
After New York and Las Vegas hit runs for satirical duo Bob and Tobly McSmith’s show, now the Hairspray musical producers and The Full Monty stage director are taking the escapades of “the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings” on the UK road. Next coffee stop, Grand Opera House, York, from September 30 to October 4.
Join not only Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City, but also such supporting staples as Central Perk coffee shop worker Gunther, played by Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, in this nostalgic musical comedy replete with an original musical score and favourite lines aplenty.
“Everyone seems to know Friends but didn’t know there was a musical – and not did I,” admits Edward, as he settles into a multi-role-playing role that calls on him to be the warm-up master of ceremonies for the show-opening re-creation of the live taping of a Friends TV episode and to launch Act Two with a Friends quiz.
“We started rehearsals in London, then did a six-week run at the Barn Theatre in Cirencester over the summer, before coming back for a couple of weeks’ rehearsals for the tour. We opened at Nottingham Theatre Royal last Wednesday and got a very strong response. Really lovely. The cast got a little teary!”
What does putting Friends on stage bring to stories of a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor or never quite quitting the day job? “Because it’s live, it’s on stage and it’s theatrical, it’s heightened, though the TV show has many moments above reality,” says Edward.
Edward Leigh’s Gunther craves to “Part Of Their Gang” in his song in Friends! The Musical Parody. Picture: Pamela Raith
“But because our show is a parody and we’re playing in a live setting, it allows us to be as big in our performances as we want to be.
“Part of the challenge is taking iconic moments from the ten TV seasons and then converting them into a coherent two-hour musical, with some of those moments being turned into original songs, such as for Ross’s ‘pivot’ and Gunther’s aria of unrequited love for Rachel.”
Before landing the role of Gunther, Edward had “watched Friends but never avidly”. “Then I did watch it for professional reasons and I found I knew a lot more of it than I realised,” he says.
Friends! The Musical Parodyis set in Joey’s apartment, Monica’s apartment and Central Perk. “We also have the opening credits on a sofa by the fountain,” says Edward.”We’re cramming in as much as we can on stage in a musical.
“The songs are all original with a slight homage to the Friends theme tune too, so the core of the show is the songs that we learnt from day one in the rehearsal room.”
The inclusion of ‘Parody’ in the show title is significant. “It’s a fair assumption that it’s a comedy show! But that’s not the whole show,” says Edward. “There are definitely satirical songs but genuinely heartfelt moments too, but we do lean into the parody element, particularly for my song Part Of Their Gang, lamenting how Gunther is never part of the group.
Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
“Maybe other than in the first episode, it was a running gag that Gunther was pretty much in every episode, becoming a fan favourite and consistently part of the show. In our show, I play Gunther and a variety of iconic characters, with Gunther always being on the periphery, but still very much in love with Rachel. For that song there’ll be familiar faces that appear without being expected.”
Why is Friends is still so popular 31 years since its first American broadcast? “I can make an informed guess, but if I knew the answer, I would make my own TV series!” says Edward. “But it offers comfort: you watch it with friends, just as you first did at seven o’clock each episode.
“We’ve noticed the love of fans of the TV show, who bring their family, maybe those who discovered Friends through streaming, and they love how our show has a warmth, a silly warmth, to it. It’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously and nor do we. That’s what people are enjoying about it.”
The central focus may be on Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe, but the likes of Gunther have a chance to shine too. “That’s part of why Friends is such a brilliant TV series. Everyone has a moment in our show to show good they are, so it’s an ensemble piece despite the titular leads.”
Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york. Warning: May cause spontaneous PIVOT-ing!
Knaresborough actor Edward Leigh, who has appeared previously at the Grand Opera House in A Boiling Frog, Shrek The Musical and We Will Rock You
Edward Leigh: the back story
EDWARD’S family moved to Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, when he was three. After attending King James’s School, when he performed at the Frazer Theatre, he moved away to study theatre at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts from 2011 to 2014.
On graduating, he worked abroad for two years, performing on cruise ships and appearing in an Italian tour of The Blues Bothers that took in Sicily and Sardinia. “Unbeknown to me, The Blues Brothers is really big in Italy!” he says.
Having re-settled in Knaresborough, he married in 2019. “We met at school. It’s a real Knaresborough love story,” he says.
He has appeared in such shows as A Boiling Frog, at the Grand Opera House, York, in his “am-dram” days; Shrek The Musical with Mark Goucher Productions, playing Papa Bear and Shrek cover. “It was a fun role with a lot of prosthetics,” he recalls. “It would take an hour to put them on and 45 minutes to take them off after each show.”
He toured in We Will Rock You on either side of the Covid lockdowns, first as Ensemble and cover Brit, then Ensemble and Brit, playing the Grand Opera House in February 2022.
“It’ll be like coming home to appear there in Friends!,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
He will be on tour in Friends! The Musical Parody until May 2 2026.
Joanne Shaw Taylor: Promoting new album Black & Gold at York Barbican
FROM blues guitar to saxophone solos, culinary festivities to Friends on song, Charles Hutchinson finds the ones to entertain you.
Blues guitarist of the week: Joanne Shaw Taylor, York Barbican, Thursday, 7.30pm
DISCOVERED by Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at 16, and now 39, West Midlands blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Joanne Shaw Taylor showcases her tenth studio album, Black & Gold, on her return to York Barbican.
Known for her blazing guitar work and soulful voice, Shaw Taylor fuses blues, rock, soul and pop into her live set of new songs such as Hell Of A Good Time, fan favourites from past albums and nods to blues greats. Support comes from Ferris & Sylvester. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival
Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28
HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.
Further events will be two taste trails; Bedern Hall Pork Pie Competition; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; Chocolate Bar Challenge; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.
Katie Spencer: Introducing new album What Love Is at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tom Arran
Folk gig of the week: Friday Folk Night presents Katie Spencer, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, September 26, 7.30pm
RAISED in the East Yorkshire flatlands on the fringes of Hull, Katie Spencer’s music is influenced by the landscapes that shaped her. Her songwriting and guitar playing reflect a sense of space and movement, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Michael Chapman.
New album What Love Is will be released on October 3. Produced by Matt Ingram, known for his work with Laura Marling, its ten compositions explore themes of love, introspection and personal growth. Her live performances are peppered with humour and storytelling. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Tom Little: Headlining Hilarity Bites Comedy Club bill at Milton Rooms, Malton. Picture: Alexis Dubus
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents Tom Little, Seeta Wrightson and Kieran Lawless, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
TOM Little, 2015 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner and BBC Radio New Comedy Award finalist, plays the well-read fool, taking on diverse facts but refusing to deal with them conventionally.
Bradford-born Seeta Wrightson, 2025 Female Pilot Club winner, spins engaging stories with wit, drawing on her dual Asian and British heritage. From humble beginnings, she has wandered through life wondering exactly where she fits, having adventures aplenty figuring it out. Nothin’ Butt Funny Comedy award winner Kieran Lawless is an Irish comedian based in Manchester. Doors and bar open at 7pm.Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Snake Davis: Sax to the max at Helmsley Arts Centre
Saxophonist of the week: Snake Davis Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
STILL highly in demand as a session player, cheering up records by Olly Murs and Shania Twain lately, and playing to crowds of up to 70,000 with Japanese rock god Eikichi Yazawa, saxophonist Snake Davis gains most joy from performing warm, friendly venues such as Helmsley Arts Centre.
Leading his four-piece band, featuring guitar, bass guitar and drums, Davis plays “the floaty to the danceable”, from soul to jazz, Northern Soul to pop and world, original material to classic sax pieces such as Baker Street and Night Train. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Actors, Audiences And Ayckbourn, It’s All Relative, The McCarthy, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday, 7pm
AN evening of Sir Alan Ayckbourn in two halves opens with Ayckbourn archivist Simon Murgatroyd exploring the creation of Relatively Speaking on its 60th anniversary. The second half is a chance to hear stories from a group of actors with years of experience of working with the former SJT artistic director and prolific playwright. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Dame Imogen Cooper: Piano concert at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg
Classical concert of the week: Dame Imogen Cooper, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
AFTER playing St Peter’s Church, Norton, at July’s Ryedale Festival, pianist Dame Imogen Cooper returns to Ryedale this weekend to play Bach’s Nun Freut Euch, Lieben Christen G’mein, arranged by Kempff; Bach’s chorale-prelude Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland, arranged by Busoni and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 899 (Op. 90). Post-interval, her programme continues with Beethoven’s Seven Bagatelles (OP. 33) and Schubert’s Four Impromptus, D. 935 (Op. posth. 142). Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Apollo Theatre Company’s merry crew in Round The Horne
Nostalgia of the week: Apollo Theatre Company inRound The Horne, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 29, 7.45pm; September 30, 1.30pm and 7.45pm
FROM 1965 to 1968, no show on British radio was bigger than the ground-breaking Round The Horne. Classic comedy fans will be in their element as Apollo Theatre Company transports the audience back to the anarchic, boisterous atmosphere of the BBC’s Paris Theatre during the recordings, complete with a live band and sound effects.
Combining infamous movie spoofs with regular characters such as Julian & Sandy, Rambling Syd Rumpo and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, Round The Horne’s merry crew drew up to 15 million listeners per week and made stars of Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden. Now take a step back in time to experience this vintage comedy live. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Alicia Belgarde (Monica), left, Daniel Parkinson (Chandler), Enzo Benvenuti (Ross), Eva Hope (Rachel), Amelia Atherton (Phoebe) and Ronnie Burden (Joey) in Friends! The Musical Parody, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
The one where they sing: Friends! The Musical Parody, Grand Opera House, York, September 30 to October 4, Tuesday to Thursday, 7.30pm; Friday, 5.30pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
NEW York and Las Vegas hit Friends The Musical Parody is a musical comedy packed with iconic moments from all ten seasons of the beloved television series, complemented by an original musical score. Join Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, the world’s most famous group of twenty-somethings, as they navigate love, friendship and life’s ups and downs in 1990s’ New York City.
“Whether you’re in a love triangle, trying to make it as an actor, or just can’t quit your day job, you’ll be laughing, crying, and quoting your favourite lines all night long,” the show promises. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Sue Ryding, left, recalling her 40-year comedy partnership with the late Maggie Fox (inset) in LipService in Funny Stuff at Pocklington Arts Centre
Reflections on grief: LipService in Funny Stuff, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 2, 7.30pm
SUE Ryding is one half of legendary satirical duo LipService. In March 2022, her comedy partner, York actress and writer Maggie Fox, died and Sue was left with a shipping container full of 40 years of stage props, costumes, wigs, hats, shoes, sheep, you name it.
This show looks at all the “stuff” we accumulate, hoard and hate to let go in her humorous and creative response to grief, wherein Sue struggles to part with a life-sized stuffed sheep, a badger onesie, some ruby slippers, a sinking bog, Charlotte Bronte’s knickers and a host of soft toys. Touring anecdotes are combined with archive footage from LipService shows. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Tom Chambers: Putting the morose into Chief Inspector Morse in Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts. Picture:
THIS is Re-Morse, a new staging of Alma Cullen’s Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, the first Morse stage play.
Taken on a small tour in 2010 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in a 90-minute version in March 2017, it returns for a nationwide tour on a grander scale, mounted by Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep, with a cast led by 2008 Strictly champ Tom Chambers as Morse and Tachia Newall – Macbeth in Amy Leach’s Macbeth at Leeds Playhouse in 2022 – as Lewis in the detective double act.
Cullen wrote more than a handful of episodes for the television series that ran from 1987 to 2000, based on Colin Dexter’s books. House Of Ghosts is an original story, set as ever in Oxford, in 1987, although Colin Richmond’s functional set design does not evoke the city of dreaming spires, typified by the Crown pub being represented by two men – Morse and Lewis – leaning on a bar in Alas Smith And Jones mode.
Cullen’s play mirrors both the two-hour span of each TV episode and the familiar structure of short scenes, while adding a theatrical element by rooting the play in a production of Hamlet. Or, rather, two productions, one warming up for a London run at the Oxford Playhouse in 1987; the other, a student production in 1962 with the same director in his gilded youth and Morse forever in the background in a bit-part.
Detective double act: Tachia Newall’s Lewis, left, and Tom Chambers’ Morse in Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts. Picture: Johan Persson
This is the House Of Ghosts, a reference both to figures re-emerging from Morse’s academic past and to the significance of ghosts [Hamlet’s father] in Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Cullen’s play opens with Spin Glancy’s Justin, already highly strung and later prone to putting powders up his nose, putting too much ham into a Hamlet monologue. Enter young actress of her generation Rebecca Downey’s Ophelia (Eliza Teale), who suddenly drops dead, blood spewing from her mouth. This is not Ophelia’s usual death by drowning, but death for real, alas poor Rebecca.
Chambers’ Morse, taking on the John Thaw mantle in the year Thaw first played him, happens to be in the audience, bringing the performance and production run to a halt, much to the ire of Lawrence Baxter (Robert Mountford), the vainglorious, uncompromising director in desperate need of a hit.
Into the web of intrigue Cullen spins not only the reckless, crushing Lawrence from Morse’s student past, but also the now dipso actress Verity (Charlotte Randle) and university historian Ellen (Teresa Banham), one of Morse’s unrequited loves from his salad days.
Re-appearing too is Paul Kincaid (Mountford, part two), once the doyen of Oxford student actors and Baxter’s rival in bed-post conquests, but now answering God’s calling as a Monsignor (who takes Rebecca’s funeral at the outset of the superior Act Two).
Stoking up old history: University historian Ellen (Teresa Banham) and Inspector Morse (Tom Chambers) in Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts. Picture: Johan Persson
Glancy’s Justin and James Gladdon’s “piece of north eastern rough”, Freddy, the uppity Laertes to his flaky Hamlet, are at odds with each other both on and off stage. Enter the fray Lawrence’s wife Harriet (Olivia Onyehara, from the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s The 39 Steps and Pilot Theatre/Northern Stage’s A Song For Ella Grey), pre-occupied with IVF treatment in London.
The plot thickens, revelations pile up, not least of Baxter’s practice of bedding his leading lady pre-show to bring out the best performance, but House Of Ghosts does not hold a candle to the TV series, and some of the acting under the normally reliable Anthony Banks’s direction is surprisingly histrionic. The sozzled meltdown of Randle’s Verity at the Crown, however, is a comic gem.
Act Two is much more sure-footed, not least in the partnership of Chambers, bringing the morose to loner Morse with a frown worthy of Thaw, and Newall’s matter-of-fact, diligent Sergeant Lewis, craving a night in alone with his wife.
Revisiting an old favourite is not always a good idea, and in truth Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts induced a feeling or remorse in your reviewer.
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep present Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: atgtickets.com/york
