The Ariel Collective confronts Stuart Lindsay’s Sebastian in York Shakespeare Project’s The Tempest at Thorganby Village Hall. All pictures: John Saunders
YORK Shakespeare Project (YSP) is completing its 20-year mission to perform all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays with its 35th production and first tour.
Only 35 productions? Twice, plays were amalgamated into a unified presentation. Whatever path was taken, however, The Tempest was always to be the finale, concluding in an “icing on the cake” staging at York Theatre Royal this weekend.
The tour opened at Thorganby Village Hall last Friday and then headed to Strensall and Towthorpe Village Hall for two Saturday performances.
Tonight comes Helmsley Arts Centre; tomorrow, Selby Town Hall; Thursday, The Junction, Goole; Friday, Acomb Parish Church Hall; Saturday, the York climax, to be followed by a Sunday party.
Paul French’s Prospero laying down the lore to suitor Ferdinand (Jacob Ward) and daughter Miranda (Effie Warboys)
Each venue presents different challenges: some have lighting, others do not; some have stage exits,others not so. This has led to one-size-fits-all halls design: Richard Hampton’s stage cloth with a tree daubed on it, along with a brace of monkeys on the branches, and a Pride/rainbow-coloured band, sand and sea around the edge. On that perimeter are placed wooden boxes and chests, swept ashore from the storm.
Thorganby Village Hall’s interior is cream coloured and equipped with most welcoming facilities for serving tea and biscuits. Paul French’s Prospero takes a seat by the door as everyone enters, overseeing proceedings even before the start.
The lighting is of the harsh, stripped variety, beloved of such village halls since the Seventies. Director Philip Parr (of Parrabbola and York International Shakespeare Festival) had talked of touring with a rig for Ian Frampton’s lighting design but decided on keeping the Thorganby hall lights on. Not ideal, but them are the breaks, as a departing Prime Minister quaffed only the other week.
On first night, that denied The Tempest of one of its primary elements in a play as rooted in nature as Macbeth is. In its absence, sound and spectacle became more important, indeed the crux of Parr’s interpretation. Maybe lighting can further add to the atmosphere elsewhere.
Tom Jennings’s Stefano happens across Andrew Isherwood’s Caliban and Jodie Fletcher’s Trincula (covered) with the offer of a reviving stiff drink
One key asset of community productions is the potential for a large cast without the professional companies’ burden of having to pay actors. This manifests itself in the role of Ariel, the freedom-craving spirit. Make that 17, yes, seventeen Ariels: any one of the 350 actors who had appeared in a YSP play had an open invitation from Parr to be part of The Ariel Collective.
Good call! These restless Ariels are everywhere, seated on the boxes, or suddenly springing up to assault the reckless shipwrecked; sometimes speaking separately, sometimes together; scoffing at Caliban’s claim to own the island; mocking anyone with pretensions. Not only shape-shifting sprites, but voice-shifting too, they speak for the island, as much as they answer to Prospero.
In the two decades of YSP, this is one of the very best directorial innovations, rivalling Maggie Smales’s all-female Henry V. A round of applause too, please, for Blacksmith Shop Crafts, in Foggathorpe, and cast members who conjured the Ariel costumes, as decorative as an African wedding.
Head of wardrobe Judith Ireland has overseen The Tempest’s array of costumery, whether dandy for Jacob Ward’s Ferdinand or elegant for French’s waistcoated Prospero or free-floating for Effie Warboys’ Miranda.
Young lovers: Jacob Ward’s Ferdinand and Effie Warboys’ Miranda
The all-important storm scene is drowned in sound, the multitude of Ariels kicking up a right swell of noise, through which Harry Summers’ Boatswain and Lara Stafford’s Gonzala must strive to be heard as they cling to the mast. Yes, words are lost, but they would be in a tempest.
Having already played Lear for YSP, now Paul French takes on Shakespeare’s other veteran role. He has no book of spells, no rod, he must craft his own magic, and his Prospero, the wronged, exiled Duke of Milan, is a man no longer wild with anger, but sanguine and aware of his fading powers in pursuance of revenge.
He prefers calm control, a quiet word, whether in proudly coaching young daughter Miranda (full of wonderment in Warboys’ turn) or seeking to tame Andrew Isherwood’s enslaved monster, Caliban, before administering forgiveness in a radiant glow.
Often too, French will pause for thought before delivering both sentence and his next sentence, always choosing the mellifluous when greater variation of tone could be explored.
In his Northern Broadside actor-manager days, Barrie Rutter decried the convention of Shakespeare’s swansong play being very dark in hue, bringing in blues and yellows and jettisoning the black thunder and rough magic.
Swept ashore: Tony Froud’s prone Alonso and Lara Stafford’s Gonzala, attended to by Andrea Mitchell’s Antonia and Stuart Lindsay’s Sebastian
Parr has retained the thunder but matched Rutter, not only in the bright garb of the Ariel Collective, but also in the humour to be found in those Ariels and Ward’s love-struck Ferdinand, working up a sweat in the interval as he keeps moving the Ariels’ boxes, only for them to move them back (in a representation of collecting wood for Miranda).
Not for the first time in YSP colours, Jodie Fletcher mines the comedy to broadest effect in her Trincula, matched by Tom Jennings’s vainglorious, preening butler Stefano.
Nick Jones, with a dozen YSP productions to his name, combines Ariel duties with composer and musical director credits. He favours Early Music instrumentation and delivers one of the highlights of Parr’s production, the Masque, where Emma Scott and Nell Frampton, last seen as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, reveal pure singing voices as Ceres and Iris, joined by Tracey Rea, always a belting-good singer.
Like the play itself – the prog-rock final flourish to Shakespeare’s gilded career – YSP’s The Tempest is good in parts, underwhelming in others, but that Ariel Collective will live long in the memory.
What next for YSP? Apparently, they will be starting all over again, adding plays by the Bard’s contemporaries too. This represents a chance to shake, rattle and roll out Shakespeare in disparate ways, reflecting changing times through the years ahead and the changing character – and characters – of York too.
The first steps will be taken at YSP’s annual general meeting on October 26 at the Black Swan Inn when the “shadow” committee will table its proposals for the next phase and a and a new chair will be elected.
Box office: yorkshakespeareproject.org; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; Selby, 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk; Goole, 01405 763652 or junctiongoole.co.uk; Acomb, eventbrite.com/e/the-tempest-tickets-400909710737; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Budge up! Peter Steele (Frog), Bird, Hannah Miller (Cat), Dog and Jessica Manu (Witch) try to find room on the broom in Tall Stories’ show. All pictures: Mark Senior
IGGETY Ziggety Zaggety Zoom, Tall Stories’ stage adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s picture book Room On The Broom flies into York Theatre Royal today.
Directed by Olivia Jacobs, this enchanting Olivier Award-nominated production for everyone aged three and upwards is on an autumn tour after a West End summer run at the Lyric Theatre.
Jump on board the broom with the witch and her cat in this fun-filled magical musical adaptation at 1.30pm and 4.30pm today, then 10.30am and 1.30pm tomorrow.
On their travels, they pick up some hitch-hikers – a friendly dog, a beautiful green bird and a frantic frog – but alas this broomstick is not designed for five. Crack! It snaps in two just as the hungry dragon appears. Will there ever be room on the broom for everyone?
Jake Waring (Bird), left, Peter Steele (Frog and Dog), Jessica Manu (Witch) and Hannah Miller (Cat) in a scene from Room On The Broom
Combining puppetry, singalong songs, humour and fun, Room On The Broom’s magical introduction to theatre for young children features a cast of Jessica Manu as Witch; Hannah Miller, Cat; Peter Steele, Dog and Frog and Jake Waring, Bird and Dragon. Jayant Singh is the understudy.
Tall Stories have toured adaptations of Donaldson-Scheffler stories The Gruffalo, The Smeds And The Smoos, The Snail And The Whale and The Gruffalo’s Child, as well as this revival of Room On The Broom. “After a difficult time for touring theatre companies, this story of pulling together in times of adversity feels very apt,” says director and company co-founder Olivia Jacobs.
“We’re looking forward to bringing a sprinkling of magic to families this autumn with this funny, fast-paced, high-energy show. Come and join us – there’s plenty of room on the broom!”
Toby Mitchell, Tall Stories’ artistic director and co-founder, says: “We’ve produced 31 shows in our 25 years of existence, including five adaptations of much-loved books by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, alongside many smaller-scale shows.
Broom with a view: Jessica Manu’s Witch in flight
“We first brought Room On The Broom to the stage in 2008 and since then it’s toured nationally and beyond, including France, Germany, the United States, Australia and the Far East.
“We were delighted that the show was nominated for an Olivier Award [for Best Family and Entertainment production] in 2013, and we’re particularly excited about bringing some magical spells, catchy songs and lots of laughter to family audiences this autumn, following the uncertainty of the last couple of years. We can’t wait to see all those smiling faces.”
Room On The Broom has toured the UK and Ireland extensively, as well as numerous international tours to Australia (including Sydney Opera House), Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Poland. The show has been translated into German, touring regularly with Junges Theater, Bonn. A soundtrack of the show’s songs is on sale at tallstories.org.uk
Jacobs is joined in the production team by designer Morgan Large, puppet designer Yvonne Stone, lighting designer James Whiteside, choreographer Morag Cross and composers Jon Fiber and Andy Shaw.
Tickets for today and tomorrow’s performances cost £15 on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/room-on-the-broom/.
Hannah Miller’s Cat doing what capricious cats do in Room On The Broom
Apphia Campbell: Black Is The Colour Of My Voice at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Steve Ullathorne
INSPIRED by the life and songs of Nina Simone, American writer, director and performer Apphia Campbell wrote her play Black Is The Colour Of My Voice in 2013 and revisits it regularly.
She has returned to the stage for the autumn tour that brings her to the Grand Opera House, York, tonight (26/9/2022), after Florence Odumosu undertook the spring travels that came to the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, in March.
Already, Campbell’s play has had sell-out seasons in Shanghai, New York, Edinburgh and London, where she made her West End debut at Trafalgar Studios in 2019.
“This is a new tour, with me performing it again, as I always did until Flo performed it in the spring,” says Florida-born Apphia. “That was new; that was brilliant! I wanted to take a step back from the show, let it grow seeing it performed by someone else.
“We found Flo and she was superb, doing 25 dates, which was a massive tour, and it was great for the play to take on a new life and for it to be seen in a new way. Seeing Flo made me think of doing it in a different way, with the different response of the audience.
“Now it feels new to me again, because I could try new ways of performing it, and as a writer it was affirming to know that it could have a life beyond me.”
Complemented by multiple iconic Nina Simone songs sung live by Apphia, the play follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father.
She reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy, destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
“I wrote it back in 2013 when I was living in China, in Shanghai. That’s where I first performed it too; there were quite a few locals who came to see it who were not familiar with Nina, as well as the ex-pats who did,” Apphia recalls.
“I ended up doing three runs because it was so successful. Backstage was just a wicker panel, and after the shows these Chinese women would come by and hug me so tight, sobbing, saying they couldn’t believe how much Nina had been through and how she had persevered.”
Simone’s story is not as well-known as her songs. “That’s true, especially the perspective the play gives on her relationship with her father, who was such a powerful figure for her, particularly in her formative years,” says Apphia.
“Her introduction to music was through him, as he was singer, and he would introduce her to music that wasn’t necessarily gospel. I was really bowled over by that relationship when I read Nina’s autobiography.
“Her family wasn’t necessarily political, and she wouldn’t say she was political, but what changed was when she came into the realm of artists and activists after she met Lorraine Hansberry, the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway.”
Hansberry’s best-known work, the play A Raisin In The Sun, highlights the lives of black Americans in Chicago living under racial segregation.
“It’s not just about the hits, the Nina songs that people know, though also people have said that the songs they do know, they now hear in a new way,” says Apphia Campbell. Picture: Steve Ullathorne
“Lorraine Hansberry was quite political, and she told Nina of the importance of using her voice, having a voice for a movement, and she emboldened her to do that,” says Apphia.
In choosing the Nina Simone songs for the play, “it was really important to use songs that either enhanced the feelings of what I was trying to say or that let the lyrics contextualise that moment in the piece,” says Apphia.
“It was hard to narrow it down, but it was vital to think about how the songs would affect the audience because creating a mood was so important to Nina. So, it’s not just about the hits, the songs that people know, though also people have said that the songs they do know, they now hear in a new way.”
Apphia was determined to show the softer side to Nina. “When I started doing this show in 2013, there was no documentary about her, no film. Though people did focus on the political side of her too, they would tell these crazy stories about pulling guns on people or walking off stage,” she says.
“But she was also a pioneer and trying to figure out who she was, and she didn’t fully understand the full impact of what her music meant to black people. Certainly singing political songs did affect her career and not always in a positive way.
“That made it important to show her vulnerability, her tender side, and I feel happy that people have connected with that.”
Apphia is keen to distance herself from comparisons with Nine Simone. “The character in the play is not called Nina Simone, but Nina Bordeaux,” she says. “Sometimes people get caught up on that thing of, ‘Does she look like Nina?; ‘Does she sound like Nina?’, and because her voice is so unique, I’ve given the character I play a name to give me more freedom to explore moments in Nina’s life and to use my voice to be more authentic emotionally.
“I’m very happy with that decision, where I don’t need to sound like Nina. I just want you to connect with the lyrics in the most authentic way and to tell the story as my authentic self, channelling Nina.”
At its heart, Black Is The Colour Of My Voice is a tale of redemption. “The play takes place during the few days of a ritual that Nina did when her father passed away, when she went to Liberia, where she saw a witchdoctor, who said, ‘I see someone trying to connect with you from the afterlife…and he likes carnation milk,” says Apphia.
“The witchdoctor said, ‘go to this room, don’t smoke, don’t drink, for three days, and you will hopefully resolve your issues’. I thought, ‘what would you do for three days in bed, clutching carnation milk?’!
“It was one of those images where I was thinking, ‘what would you do except reflect on ‘how did I get to this point?’. It felt like the most natural way to go through her life in the play, thinking about the decisions that had got her to that point.”
Seabright Productions presents Apphia Campbell in Black Is The Colour Of My Voice, Grand Opera House, York, September 26, 7.30pm. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York. Suitable for age 12 upwards.
What is Apphia Campbell’s favourite Nina Simone song?
“Plain Gold Ring. I find myself humming it two or three times a week. I love her voice, I love her storytelling; I love the piano playing, and it’s so mysterious, with all the spaces in the song…but there was no way to put it in the show.”
Dame Prue Leith: First tour at 82 next year (or 83, as her birthday falls on February 18, part-way through the 34-date run)
THE Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith’s debut tour, Nothing In Moderation, is in the 2023 diary for March 2 at the Grand Opera House, York.
Running from February 1 to an April 6 finale at the London Palladium, the 34-date UK and Irish itinerary by the restaurateur, chef, cookery school supremo and doyenne of food writers also takes in Sheffield Memorial Hall on February 28.
Tour tickets will go on sale from 10am on Thursday (29/9/2022) at Mickperrin.com; for York, on 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York.
Nothing is off the menu in this frank, funny show, wherein Dame Prue will share anecdotes about her life: taking audiences through the ups and downs of being a restaurateur, novelist, businesswoman and Bake Off judge; how she has fed the rich and famous; cooked for royalty and even poisoned her clients – all to be told for the first time.
In the second half, she will be joined on stage by Clive Tulloh, who will take questions for Dame Prue from the audience “that they’ve always wanted to ask”.
Dame Prue Leith will be “singing the praises of food, love and life”
Dame Prue says: “I’ve never done a stage show before and at 82 [83 by the time she plays York] I’m probably nuts to try it, but it’s huge fun, makes the audience laugh and lets me rant away about the restaurant trade, publishers, TV and writing, and sing the praises of food, love and life.”
Baking guru Dame Prue Leith has been a judge on the world’s biggest baking TV show, The Great British Bake Off, since when 2017, when she joined Paul Hollywood after the switch to Channel 4.
Before Bake Off, South African-born Dame Prue had long enjoyed success in her career as a restaurateur, chef, writer and journalist. In the 1960s and ’70s, she ran her own party and event catering business and then set up Leith’s Food and Wine to train professional chefs and amateur cooks.
Dame Prue has written multiple cookery books and many features on food for publications such as The Guardian. She has appeared on TV shows aplenty, including Great British Menu and My Kitchen Rules.
The poster for Dame Prue Leith’s Nothing In Moderation tour, visiting York and Sheffield
Two quick questions for Dame Prue Leith on cooking for Christmas Day
Which do you prefer, goose or turkey, Prue?
“Either. We sometimes have goose; sometimes turkey. Turkey is much cheaper and it can be absolutely delicious, but do get the full bird. Just the turkey crown doesn’t have the full flavour. Turkey also gives you the best gravy.”
How do you make sprouts more exciting?
“I note that in America, at the moment, sprouts are the most fashionable vegetable, toasted and roasted in oil in a hot oven.
“But I prepare them the day before, then very briefly roughly chop them up in a liquidiser, mixing in cream, garlic, salt and pepper, sometimes bits of bacon, then bung them in the microwave for a couple of minutes – and you have sprouts for sprouts haters!”
Kevin Kennedy, centre, as bar owner and rock guru Dennis Dupree in Rock Of Ages; Picture: The Other Richard
CORONATION Street legend and musician Kevin Kennedy returns to the Grand Opera House, York, from tomorrow, to reprise his role as bar owner Dennis Dupree in Rock Of Ages.
He previously appeared there in April 2019 in a musical giddy with Eighties’ rock classics, arranged and orchestrated by Ethan Popp, and now he will be joined by Cameron Sharp as demigod Stacee Jaxx in Nick Winston’s latest touring production.
“It’s incredible to be able to put your two passions together – one being of course acting and the spoken word and the other being music, which is something I’ve loved throughout my life,” says Kevin, 61, who found TV fame as Curly Watts in Corrie and has played in bands too, such as Bunch Of Thieves and The Paris Valentinos with Johnny Marr, no less.
“To put those [passions] together is a perfect marriage, and in a vehicle such as Rock Of Ages, it’s a whole lot of fun as well.”
Outlining the show’s story, set in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, Kevin says: “It’s about a rock club called The Bourbon Room, which is absolutely legendary; every single band you could think of has played there.
“It’s an icon of rock’n’roll and absolutely the place to be, but the local council are attempting to close it down, so we’re fighting them. Alongside all of that, there’s a beautiful love story, lots and lots of jokes and, of course, some of the most incredible music from the Eighties like Here I Go Again, The Final Countdown and I Want To Know What Love Is.”
Those songs are played loud and proud by a live band in a show that invites audiences to “leave it all behind and lose yourself in a city and a time where the dreams are as big as the hair, and yes, they can come true”.
Within that world, Kevin’s character, The Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree, is “an absolute rock guru”. “He’s given all these now legendary bands their stars and he’s been in bands himself,” he says. “He’s also embraced the drug culture and intense sexuality of the 1980s with much enthusiasm and regularity!
“He’s a very interesting man to play: he’s got a good heart at his core, but he’s a child of his culture and loves his sex, drugs and rock’n’roll! He’s a lot of fun to play.”
“It requires a lot of energy,” says Kevin Kennedy of appearing in Rock Of Ages
Assessing the biggest differences between working in TV and the theatre world, Kevin says: “TV is a totally different skill and technique to theatre. Not least because you may put something in the can after filming and not get the payback of that for months or even years. You can almost film it and then forget about it.
“With theatre, however, it’s obviously live and live theatre is one of the last true shared experiences you can have – along with football! In the theatre, you’re all together and sharing one experience, which is happening live, right in front of you, and there’s not a lot of that left.
“That generates its own energy and excitement as no two shows are the same. The show that you come and see will never be exactly the same as that ever again, which is quite an exciting thought.”
Kevin happened to love Eighties’ rock already before doing the show. “I was a youngish man in the 1980s and not a huge fan of some dance music, so the last refuge of guitar music, to a certain extent, was that brilliant American glam rock that we showcase in Rock Of Ages. They played their own instruments and performed live on stage, so I had a huge respect for that.”
Does Kevin draw on his own experiences as a musician when faced by the challenges of performing this full-on style of music on stage? “It requires a lot of energy,” he says. “However, once the show gets going, it’s so much fun and no longer feels like work.
“Once you’ve done the hard work of learning the lines and where to stand, we’ve been allowed to just have so much fun with it. Audiences are absolutely loving it because it’s just bonkers.”
Ask him to pick a favourite moment or number in the show, and Kevin proffers: “Numerous moments! Although what I really enjoy is watching the other members of the cast doing their big solo numbers because they’re all so incredibly talented and it’s great to watch and learn from them. It’s been so lovely to see them grow into their characters from the first rehearsal through to our performances on tour now, where it all comes to fruition.”
Pressing him to name a favourite song, he decides: “Oh, the entire finale is my favourite as it’s just one big fat rock’n’roll number.”
As he heads to York, Kevin as always will be carrying a cafetière, some coffee (“obviously,” he says), his Manchester City mug and, most important of all to him, a PlayStation.
This week’s Grand Opera House audiences are in for a great time, he promises. “Whether you’re a seasoned theatregoer or you’ve never been to a show before, you’ll have a lot of fun. If you want to come dressed in your leather trousers and embrace your inner Eighties’ rock star, then do that! Even bring along an inflatable guitar if you want,” he says. “Everything is just a whole lot of fun.”
Rock Of Ages rocks out at Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York.
Kenny Kennedy: Actor, soap star and musician
Kevin Kennedy profile:
Born: Wythenshawe, Manchester, September 4 1961. Member of Manchester Youth Theatre; studied drama at Manchester Polytechnic School of Theatre. Made professional debut in 1982 at Greenwich Theatre, London.
Best known for soap-opera role as Norman “Curly” Watts, paperboy, dustman and supermarket assistant manager, in 1,563 episodes of Coronation Street, 1983 to 2003. Filmed scenes for 50th anniversary DVD in 2010.
West End theatre credits include: Amos in Chicago, Adelphi Theatre; ageing hippie Pop in Queen & Ben Elton musical We Will Rock You, Dominion Theatre.
Played both Caractacus Potts and The Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang musical, becoming first actor to have done so.
Played Dennis Dupree in 2018-2019 UK tour of Rock Of Ages, including at Grand Opera House, York, in April 2019. Appeared in national tours of The Rocky Horror Show, The Commitments and Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends.
Popped up as an Angel in guest role in Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas Special on BBC One in 2019.
Played Detective Banks in Billy Zane film Rupture in 2020.
Played bass in the band The Paris Valentinos with Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke, of The Smiths fame.
Signed by pop impresario Simon Cowell to BMG Records, released Present Kennedy album in 2002.
Giving him back a taste of his own medicine: Bella Manningham (Faye Weerasinghe) turns on husband Jack (Robin Simpson) in HT Rep’s Gaslight
HT Rep in Gaslight, Harrogate Theatre/Phil & Ben Productions, today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk
THREE Plays, Three Weeks, One Cast, the HT Rep 2022 season at Harrogate Theatre, is in week two.
First up was Mike Leigh’s riotous Seventies’ comedy of bad manners, Abigail’s Party. Next week, John Godber’s bus drivers are at the wheel of Men Of The World.
The meat in the HT Rep sandwich is Gaslight, Patrick Hamilton’s psychological thriller that gave rise to the now familiar term of “gaslighting”, used in British law and endless accusatory domestic arguments alike.
Written in 1938 and suffused with Freudian psychology, this “Hamilton horror” carries the framework of a Victorian melodrama, realised so evocatively in Geoff Gilder’s dark, stifling furniture design, Stephanie Newall’s gloomy, foreboding lighting and Marcus Hutton’s spooky sound design.
Faye Weerasinghe’s Bella in Gaslight: “On edge, fragile, enervated…and abused, a victim of mental torment”
As the HT Rep flyer puts it: “It’s London in 1880. Bella Manningham (Faye Weerasinghe) is rich with a nice home and servants – yet she’s lonely. She lives far from her family with her husband, Jack (Robin Simpson), who is stern and overbearing. Before long Bella thinks she may be losing her mind. Or is she?”
Couldn’t have put it better. Who doesn’t love a psychodrama, one that is all the more enjoyable for seeing last week’s company in such contrasting roles?! Weerasinghe’s accent has gone from love-a-duck Essex to Received Pronunciation (RP), and if her fidgety neighbour Angela was overawed, overimpressed and overexcited in Abigail’s Party, now her Bella is even more on edge, fragile, enervated…and abused, a victim of mental torment.
Simpson has transformed from put-upon, belittled husband Lawrence to being the one doing the putting down, the humiliating, as the suffocating, controlling, cruel husband, Jack Manningham. If you have seen Simpson in dame or Ugly Sister mode at York Theatre Royal, then the contrast is even more of a treat.
Dig by dig, drip by drip, Jack is driving Bella towards madness with his combination of staying out every night, maligning her in front of the maid, fancy Nancy, and quizzing her about missing pictures, jewellery and lists.
Ian Kirkby’s dapper inspector, looking to administer his brand of Rough justice in Gaslight
Katy Dean, boastful but empty hostess Beverley last week, is the saucy young maid this week, while Janine Mellor has switched from timorous neighbour Sue to assured, reassuring, unflappable housekeeper Elizabeth.
The new face in the company is Ian Kirkby, in his one appearance this season as retired detective Rough, who arrives out of thin air, with Jack out on yet another of his secretive errands. Rough by name, but something of a dapper dandy by nature, he is anxious to finally crack a long-unsolved crime in the house.
Kirkby plays Rough with a magician’s flourish, a stern yet kindly air towards Bella and a feather-light comic touch. He carries an air of mystery too, combined with unbreakable investigative purpose as he seeks to bring Rough justice.
Ben Roddy, one half of the HT Rep co-producers Phil & Ben Productions, directs Hamilton’s dark delight with a Rough-like eye for detail, his Gaslight turned up to full effect, replete with Victoriana, suspense and just the right weight of humour.
Nancy (Kate Dean) adjusts the gaslight in Gaslight, amid the gloom of Jack (Robin Simpson) and Bella (Faye Weerasinghe) Manningham’s domestic blister
Over the Moon: Chef Stephanie Moon, delighted to be cooking in the York Food and Drink Festival demonstration kitchen on Wednesday at 1pm
FOOD for thought from Charles Hutchinson as he contemplates what’s on the menu for autumn days and nights out.
Festival of the week: York Food and Drink Festival, Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square, York, packed with flavour until October 2
IN its 26th year, York Food and Drink Festival offers demonstrations and hands-on participation, taste trails and wine tastings, markets and street food, with two marquees and live music until 9pm.
Look out for the free Food Factory cookery classes in the Museum Gardens and the Coppergate Centre; trails through the doors of artisan food producers, delicatessens and restaurants; Bedern Hall crowning York’s finest pork pie at its York Pork Pie competition and York Mansion House hosting a week-long tea exhibition and tasting. Head to yorkfoodfestival.com/programme for the full five-course details.
For the love of Nina Simone: Apphia Campbell in Black Is The Colour Of My Voice, Grand Opera House, York, Monday, 7.30pm
Apphia Campbell: Brings her play to York on Monday
INSPIRED by the life of Nina Simone, writer, director and performer Apphia Campbell’s play follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father.
Complemented by many of Simone’s most iconic songs sung live, she reflects on the journey that took her from a young piano prodigy, destined for a life in the service of the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/York.
Cameron Sharp: Confirmed for Stacee Jaxx role in Rock Of Ages
Musical of the week: Rock Of Ages, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2.30pm Saturday matinee
CAMERON Sharp returns to the rock demi-god role of Stacee Jaxx on the latest tour on Rock Of Ages after earlier appearances in the West End and on the road. He joins Coronation Street legend Kevin Kennedy, playing ornery Bourbon Room owner Dennis Dupree once more in this tongue-in-cheek musical comedy kitted out with classic rock anthems galore, from The Final Countdown to We Built This City, all played loud and proud.
The storyline invites you to “leave it all behind and lose yourself in a city and a time where the dreams are as big as the hair, and yes, they can come true.” Box office:0844 871 7615 or atgtickets.com/york.
Lucy Worsley: Uncovering the real, revolutionary, thoroughly modern Agatha Christie
History meets mystery: An Evening With Lucy Worsley On Agatha Christie, York Theatre Royal, Monday, 7.30pm
THE Queen of History will investigate the Queen of Crime in an illustrated talk that delves into the life of such an elusive, enigmatic 20th century figure.
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was just an ordinary housewife, a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure, when clearly she wasn’t? Agatha went surfing in Hawaii, loved fast cars and was intrigued by psychology, the new science that helped her through mental illness.
Sharing her research of the storyteller’s personal letters and papers, writer, broadcaster, speaker and Historic Royal Palaces chief curator Lucy Worsley will uncover the real, revolutionary, thoroughly modern Christie. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Steve Hackett: Revisiting his Genesis past in Foxtrot At Fifty at York Barbican
Golden celebrations of the week: Steve Hackett, Genesis Revisited – Foxtrot At Fifty + Hackett Highlights, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm; Don McLean, 50th Anniversary of American Pie, York Barbican, Wednesday, 7.30pm
GUITARIST Steve Hackett, 72, revisits Genesis’s landmark 1972 prog rock album Foxtrot, the one with the 23-minute Supper’s Ready, preceded by an hour of highlights from his six years in the band and his solo career.
New Rochelle troubadour Don McLean, 76, marks the 50th anniversary of his 1971 album American Pie and its 1972 top two single, the poetic 8 minute 36 sec title track, a double A-side that had to be split over two sides of the vinyl with its mysterious, mystical tale of lost innocence “the day the music died”. Expect Vincent, Castles In The Air and And I Love You So too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Missus in action: Katherine Ryan mulls over life, love, marriage and motherhood at York Barbican
Comedy gig of the week, Katherine Ryan, Missus, York Barbican, Thursday, 8pm
AFTER previously denouncing partnerships, Canadian-born comedian, writer, presenter, podcaster and actress Ryan has since married her first love…accidentally.
“A lot has changed for everyone,” says the creator and star of Netflix series The Duchess and host of BBC Two’s jewellery-making competition All That Glitters, who looks forward to discussing her new perspectives on life, love and what it means to be Missus. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Budge up! Everyone tries to find Room On The Broom in Tall Stories’ staging of Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler’s picture book. Picture: Mark Senior
Children’s show of the week: Tall Stories Theatre Company in Room On The Broom, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday, 1.30pm and 4.30pm; Wednesday, 10.30am and 1.30pm
IGGETY Ziggety Zaggety Boom! Jump on board the broom with the witch and her cat in Tall Stories’ adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s picture book.
When they pick up some hitch-hikers – a friendly dog, a beautiful green bird and a frantic frog – alas the broomstick is not meant for five. Crack, it snaps in two just as the hungry dragon appears.
Will there ever be room on the broom for everyone? Find out in this 60-minute, magical, Olivier Award-nominated show for everyone aged three upwards. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Wild Murphys, wild times: Tribute band revel in Irish bar favourites in One Night In Dublin
Irish craic of the week: One Night In Dublin, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Thursday, 7.30pm
IRISH tribute band The Wild Murphys roll out the Irish classics, Galway Girl, Tell Me Ma, Dirty Old Town, The Irish Rover, Brown Eyed Girl, Seven Drunken Nights, Whiskey In The Jar, Wild Rover and Molly Malone.
Kick back in Murphy’s Pub, sing along and imagine being back in Temple Bar as Middi and his band roar into York. “Ah, go on, go on, go on!” they say. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Tom Robinson at 72: Sing if you’re glad to be grey at The Crescent
2-4-6-8, don’t be late: Tom Robinson Band and TV Smith (solo), The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm
PUNK veteran, LGBTQ rights activist and BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson returns to The Crescent with his band to reactivate 2-4-6-8 Motorway, Glad To Be Gay, Up Against The Wall, The Winter Of ’79 and the cream of his early albums, 1978’s Power In The Darkness, 1979’s TRB Two, and beyond, maybe War Baby.
Support comes from TV Smith, once part of Seventies’ punks The Adverts, of Gary Gilmore’s Eyes notoriety. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Don McLean: Marking American Pie’s golden landmark at York Barbican on Wednesday
Samson Fox: Victorian inventor, civil engineer, entrepreneur, industrialist, philanthropist and Harrogate mayor
AMID the cost of living crisis, the environmental crisis, the endless political upheavals, Britain needs a modern-day equivalent of Samson Fox.
Who, you ask. Spot the fox weather vane at Grove House when struggling along the traffic light-choked Skipton Road in Harrogate, and you will have found the former family abode of this Victorian inventor, civil engineer, entrepreneur, industrialist, philanthropist and Mayor of Harrogate with grander political ambitions – until the scandal of a damaging legal battle with author Jerome K. Jerome stopped him in his tracks.
His acting-dynasty descendants – great grandson Edward, Freddie and Emilia Fox – have been the ones to acquire fame, but now playwright and Dr Who writer Gavin Collinson will resurrect the life and deeds of a pioneer lost from the history books with today’s world premiere of The Man Who Captured Sunlight at the Royal Hall, Harrogate.
Such a play is long overdue, reckons Freddie. “Maybe I’m being a little over the top here, but there’s a sort of Elon Musk quality to him. Somebody who is a totally self-made man. Who has used his money not just for the wider community, but the world.
“No-one would really know who Samson was, and yet if you trace the history of his inventions and the legacy of what they created now, he is probably one of the most important names in industry for this country. So yes, a bit of celebration of Samson’s genius is long overdue.”
Freddie Fox: Actor and great-great grandson of Samson Fox
The Fox-Jerome court case will take centre stage in Collinson’s play, but above all it champions a forgotten English inventor who generated huge wealth and spearheaded the Industrial Revolution, while also supporting the poor and investing in the arts. Not least he explored green energy with his Water Gas plant, Europe’s first, in Harrogate’s Parliament Street.
Born into poverty in Bowling, Bradford, on July 11 1838, Samson worked in the mills from the age of nine, became an apprentice toolmaker, then set up his own toolmaking business.
He revolutionised train travel, engine construction and street lighting and, after moving to Harrogate, he was elected the town’s mayor three times. He co-founded the Royal College of Music in London and was instrumental in building Harrogate’s Royal Hall.
His greatest invention was probably the corrugated boiler flue used in steam ships. Fox found that by corrugating flues, the same amount of metal became far stronger, reducing accidents and failures, and increasing efficiency. It saved countless lives at sea.
The name of Collinson’s new play, The Man Who Captured Sunlight, refers to how Fox had “bottled the sun” with his hydrogen Water Gas that provided some of the world’s first street lighting. At the time, visitors travelled far and wide to witness this wonder.
“Samson was the early forerunner of hydrogen power, which is what everyone is turning cars into now,” says Freddie. “It’s quite remarkable how ahead of the curve he was.
Gavin Collinson: Playwright, crime novelist and Dr Who writer
“If you look at the legacy of an idea like Water Gas or the boiler flue, these are things that have benefited millions of people over the course of history.”
Writer Gavin Collinson has “only sentimental” connections with Harrogate. “I’m originally from Blackpool, in Lancashire, and I used to come over to Harrogate for the second-hand bookshops and to go to Bettys, before it became a carnival!” he says.
“But Harrogate genuinely has a special place in my heart. Each year I go up to the crime festival [the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival], as my other job is writing thrillers, so I go there to see what the opposition are up to!”
Did he know of Samson Fox? “To be honest, I’d kind of heard of him vaguely but didn’t know of his achievements, but I was only aware of the figure, and not his footprints on Harrogate, until I watched the programme where Emilia Fox retraced her family history,” says Gavin.
“Once I was on board for the play, I started reading old newspaper articles and that was the beginning of the route I took.”
“100 per cent, Samson Fox’s story should have been told before now,” reckons playwright Gavin Collinson
Gavin agrees “100 per cent” that Samson Fox’s story should have been told before now. “But I think the reason that’s not happened is because lots of what we know about Samson are just anecdotes,” he says.
“There’s nothing wrong with that but when you look more deeply into his story, the loyalty of his brother, and how people were either ‘Team Jerome’ or ‘Team Samson’, you find there are so many stories to tell.
“He was 65 when he died and he’d succeeded in everything he’d done. He was seeking to go into politics [planning to stand for election as an Walsall] and if he’d succeeded in that, he could have brought green energy to the nation. Imagine what would have happened to his Water Gas, which was so much cleaner than coal or coke or crude oil.
“The boiler flue was not important in itself but in how many lives it saved. That story has not been told in that way until now.”
What does Gavin make of the court case that Fox brought against Jerome? “Jerome K Jerome, most famous for Three Men In A Boat, was also a newspaper editor, described as a ‘grating spokesperson for no-one but himself’,” he says.
Joe Standerline’s Samson Fox, right, having his day in court, or rather more than one day, in his very long case, in a scene from The Man Who Captured Sunlight
“Jerome took umbrage at Samson Fox’s business dealings and called him out as a fraud, even though he’d funded the Royal College of Music. It’s fascinating to look at the letters of the college director, praising his generosity, but Jerome said he’d made his money out of false means and should be denigrated, not celebrated.
“Jerome contested that Samson Fox was looking for investment in companies that he knew would fail, but I would contend that despite Samson’s reputation as a businessman, as soon as he had to get down to business, he would run away from it.
“But did Samson know they would fail, or was he raising money honourably by investment? , That was the big question of the trial that he brought against Jerome that became pivotal to his life?”
Gavin’s research unearthed a “fascinating” coincidence. “I’ve not seen it mentioned before, but Jerome K Jerome’s lawyer was Lockwood [England’s top prosecutor, Solicitor-General Sir Frank Lockwood], the lawyer who brought down Oscar Wilde,” he reveals.
“Lockwood was known for his wit, and Samson was heard to say, ‘I should have employed him’. Samson won the trial but he was haunted by it; the damages he received were perfunctory. Jerome K Jerome was ruined by it. For him, it was disastrous, whereas Fox was wealthy and could afford his lawyer.”
The poster for The Man Who Captured Sunlight at Royal Hall, Harrogate, designed by Christian Alexander Bailey
What would Gavin want today’s audiences to take from The Man Who Captured Sunlight? “On one level, and this is going to sound trite and shallow, I just hope people will enjoy it. I’ve seen historical plays that feel like wading through treacle, but with this play, there’s romance, there’s humour, suspense, jeopardy,” he says.
“We’re telling the story of ‘a guy who died years ago that no-one remembers’, but in this case everyone who’s taking part is really enjoying telling that story and if it helps to shed light on Samson Fox, the man, not the historical figure, then great.
“We’re trying to explore the man behind the achievements, seeing his resonance now, what he did for engineering and rail rolling stock that we still use today, whether it’s a train in the Scottish Highlands or a bullet train in Japan.
“His sense of family is important too, where he is ‘the star’, but he has a good lieutenant by his side in his brother William.
“Ultimately, with the fuel crisis at the moment, it makes telling his story now really interesting.”
The final word and recommendation to see Collinson’s play goes to Freddie Fox: “Having just put the script down, I can honestly say I thought it was brilliantly written. Insightful, moving, funny, poignant,” he says.
“I think it’s a really terrific portrayal of its subject and characters. Gavin has woven the poetry and theatre of the Fox family of today into the fabric of the lives of our industrialist predecessors – a beautiful touch. In short, I loved it!”
The Man Who Captured Sunlight, performed by North Of Watford, at Royal Hall, Harrogate, today (23/9/2022), 2.30pm and 7pm. Box office: harrogatetheatre.co.uk.
What Did Samson Fox Ever Do For Us?
Samson Fox, portrait by Bukovac
Putting transport on the right track
Fox realised that the lighter you could make a train, whilst keeping it safe, then the more economically it would travel. He invented lightweight structures and components for rail transportation and influenced the way the train design industry (and arguably other similar industries) progressed.
From the sleepy sleeper to Edinburgh and the overcrowded train you take into London, to the fastest trains in the world that blur along the rails in China, their design is all predicated on Samson’s realisation and early inventions.
His pioneering work on railways helped to ensure that train transport remained affordable to the average woman and man wanting to travel.
Taking the pressure
No-one cares about the corrugated boiler flue as such, even though it is arguably Fox’s greatest invention. What did it do? It made engines more powerful and much safer.
Boring? Maybe, but before his invention, thousands of people had perished at sea when engines blew up and their vessels sank. His invention allowed greater pressure within an engine, making maritime transport for the public faster and safer and industrial plants more productive.
Thousands of lives were saved and engine construction was revolutionised. Check out the engine of any car fuelled by petrol and you will find pressure distribution systems – Samson invented their antecedent.
Thank him for the music
Fox did not invent the Royal College of Music, in London, but his money made it possible. Every year a diverse intake further their art and their trade there, later to entertain audiences around the world. College alumni include Alfie Boe, Rick Wakeman, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, who in abandoned his History degree at Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1965 to study at the RCM and pursue his interest in musical theatre.
No Stone left unturned: Angela Stone has been appointed Pocklingtoin Arts Centre’s new director after a “carefully executed recruitment process” by Pocklington Town Council
ANGELA Stone is the new director of Pocklington Arts Centre, taking up her post next month as the successor to Janet Farmer, who retired in April after 25 years.
Bringing considerable experience in arts management, Angela has been appointed by Pocklington Town Council after a carefully planned and executed recruitment process.
She was selected from a range of strong candidates attracted to the position both regionally and nationally, as Town Mayor Councillor Steve McNann explained: “Angela conveys a clear passion and commitment to the arts and measurable first-hand experience of managing a thriving venue as a hub of the community.
“We are thrilled to welcome her to the team at such an exciting time of growth and potential for Pocklington Arts Centre and the wider town and surrounding villages.”
Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) is an award-winning multi-arts venue in the town’s former cinema that presents a diverse programme of live music, comedy and theatre, films new and classic, exhibitions and workshops, complemented by festivals in the Old Station and outdoor concerts.
Sited in Market Place, the 200-seat venue with a ground-floor second performance and exhibition space and upstairs bar draws a loyal audience from across East Riding, boosted by visitors from further afield, sometimes much further.
A network of more than 50 volunteers from the 480-strong Friends of Pocklington Arts Centre plays an integral part in the customer experience.
Outgoing director Janet Farmer bade farewell to Pocklington Arts Centre in April after 25 years
A new team is in place already to work alongside Angela. Dave Parker, formerly of City Screen, York, is the venue manager, filling the shoes of the long-serving James Duffy, and Isobel Bielby has followed Sara Morton into the role of marketing and administration officer.
“I feel inspired by the incredible legacy of Janet Farmer and James Duffy for their commitment to creating the venue we all know and love,” says Angela. “Creativity, community and collaboration are the cornerstones from which we will establish our foundations for continued growth.
“I believe it is our collective responsibility, working collaboratively with our partners at Pocklington Town Council, Arts Council England and East Riding of Yorkshire Council to create adaptive space for inclusive shared experience.
“We will anticipate and respond to the changing demands of our evolving audience and our environmental impact on the spaces we manage.”
Up next at PAC will be the first Wolds Pride celebration on Saturday, a free event from 12 noon to 5.30pm featuring live performances, drag artists, LGBTQ+ story time and a creative corner with arts and crafts for all.
Bluegrass metalheads Hayseed Dixie’s September 27 show has sold out; Northumberland Theatre Company present Chris Connaughton’s all-female three-hander production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on September 29; Vonda Shepherd plays greatest hits and favourites with her full band on October 4.
China Crisis duo Eddie Lundon and Gary Daly revisit their Eighties’ hits in a night of Wishful Thinking on October 6; East Yorkshire singer-songwriter Katie Spencer is booked in for October 14 and Americana folk singer Lady Nade for the next night.
For further details of the autumn season and tickets, visit pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Storm brewing:York Shakespeare Project cast members in rehearsal for Philip Parr’s production of The Tempest. Picture: John Saunders
YORK Shakespeare Project completes its mission to perform all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays inside 20 years with its first tour, staging The Tempest across North and East Yorkshire from tomorrow (Friday).
Once described by Professor Michael Dobson, Shakespeare Institute director at the University of Birmingham, as “the most ambitious amateur Shakespearean venture in the country”, the project has drawn 350 actors and 300 backstage crew since its debut with Richard III in 2002.
Parrabbola director Philip Parr, founding council member and chair of the European Shakespeare Festivals network and director of York International Shakespeare Festival, has the honour of overseeing YSP reaching its target with a company led by Paul French as Prospero, Effie Warboys as Miranda and Jacob Ward as Ferdinand.
“It’s the final fling, putting pressure on Philip and Paul,” says YSP chair Councillor Janet Looker, former Lord Mayor of York and a stalwart of the project since its inception in 2001.
“Certainly, it comes with issues of responsibility, not just for the production, but for the whole project,” says Philip. “I don’t think you can divorce the play from the event, or the nature of that event, the final production, so there’s a responsibility to those who first thought of doing it 20 years to bring it to a conclusion that feels right.
Lara Stafford’s Gonzala in rehearsal. Remember her Rosalind in As You Like It in the Residence Garden, York Minster, in July 2008 when she was Lara Pattison?
“It’s been impossible not to plan this production without thinking about the context of it being the end of this remarkable mission. We’ve been able to recruit a cast full of people who have performed in different YSP productions across the years, along with some who are performing with YSP for the first time.”
Fiona Mozley, 2017 Man Booker Prize-nominated author of Elmet, Hot Stew and Soho (AdN) had hoped to re-join the YSP ranks for The Tempest but is no longer able to add to her teenage performances in The Taming Of The Shrew and Love’s Labours Lost.
Bringing the stormy play’s island setting and disrupted world to life through communal storytelling in a new interpretation that highlights colonisation, reconciliation and change, The Tempest is an ideal grand finale, argues Philip.
“Shakespeare’s last play deals with many themes that are relevant both to this moment for YSP, but also ones that our society continues to grapple with today: disconnection, corruption, reconciliation and the difficulty of generational change,” he says.
“I’m excited about the way we’re approaching telling this story, using the performing collective to create the island and the ‘magic’ that permeates it, and using the musical skills of many of the performers to ensure the ‘isle is full of noises’.
““Creating a sense of place in the audience’s mind is even more important in this play, because so much of it is storytelling, narration. There’s very little theatre in terms of dramatic events. People just talk a lot and you have to frame that up.”
Effie Warboys’ Miranda makes her point to Paul French’s Prospero in rehearsals for The Tempest. Picture: John Saunders
The YSP committee had taken the decision to undertake a tour as the finale long before Philip was involved. “Originally, we’d always intended to do the last week at York Theatre Royal but the finances got too complex, so it was suggested, ‘well, let’s do something completely different’: a tour. Being at the Theatre Royal on the last night will be the icing on the cake,” says Janet.
“Doing this tour is an example of how YSP has never sat still but has always looked at new ways of doing things, taking on new challenges dynamically.”
Philip adds: “It has a sense of reward for the project to finish at York Theatre Royal and to end with these eight performances, seven on the road, at six venues, concluding back in York. That’s more performances than many productions get; a two-week run with a big cast to present it.
“It’s a big commitment to make and it’s a tour that comes with different demands: some venues have stage exits, some don’t; some have lighting, some don’t, so we’ll be taking a small lighting rig to illuminate the stage.
“I haven’t been to all the venues. I’ve been to some, had video tours of some, but that’s not unusual for a tour. We’ve created a set that’s not difficult to grapple with too, fitting easily into each venue.”
York Shakespeare Project’s banner image for The Tempest
The cast will feature no fewer than 17 Ariel spirits, “The Ariel Collective” as they will be known. “You want to do a celebratory production, so I had a rule that said, ‘if you have been in a YSP production, you have the right to be Ariel’, and it’s been nice that so many people have come out of the woods!” says Philip.
Twenty years of YSP leads to this finale, a play that reflects on ageing, politics and leadership, acquiring knowledge, and the power of magic to transform. “The more experiences you bring into it, the more you see in the conversations about human nature and the chance the play gives to all the characters to go back to where they were but with new knowledge, just as we’d like to be able to go back 20 years but with the knowledge acquired in those years.
“The Tempest might have been Shakespeare wishing that too, and now it’s a treat to find that across all the characters. Because Shakespeare has learnt it all, he can do it all in this play at a time when everyone believed in magic.
“Part of what I was looking at was, if you don’t believe in magic, who is Ariel? By having so many Ariels, Ariel can be in anything that is there. They can make things happen, but in a natural way.”
Janet adds: “Having so many Ariels means they can project from all around the stage because is Ariel is never in only one place.”
Jacob Ward’s Ferdinand and Effie Warboys’ Miranda in a scene from York Shakespeare Project’s The Tempest. Dress rehearsal picture: John Saunders
Philip rejoins: “With so many voices, you have a spectrum from high soprano to low bass, and how Ariel speaks depends on Prospero’s tone. Then, if they want to tell him off, a lower voice will be used. Prospero has to learn that ruling is about husbanding your resources.”
Philip could not have been more thorough in his preparations for staging The Tempest. “I’ve seen 15 productions this year,” he says. “Three in Poland at the last Shakespeare festival there, which was all about The Tempest. Two in Rumania, one in Italy. A couple here, and more! I had to stop in the end, but every one of them has been an influence.
“You take ideas from past productions, then come up with a thousand ideas and throw 999 of them away.”
Janet says: “The actors then have to take it over and you can’t stop them at that point.” Philip agrees: “That ownership is important because you have to make a choice and then everyone needs to go with that decision. At each performance, that decision is inspired by all sorts of things: the audience, the space, the mood of the night, the actors.”
Twenty years, 37 plays in 35 productions, the mission is complete. Appropriately, the last word goes to Janet, the chair: “It’s difficult to believe that it’s been 20 years since our very first production. We thought we were being rather ambitious when we started – would we really be able to keep this going for 20 years? And we weren’t always sure we’d get there, especially with the events of the past two years.
The Ariel Collective confronting Stuart Lindsay’s Sebastian in the dress rehearsal at Thorganby Village Hall. Picture: John Saunders
“But the commitment of the many supporters who have participated in our productions over the years has seen us reach this last play. We always knew we wanted to finish with something special, and this tour and a finale at York Theatre Royal will be an exciting and unique experience for all the actors and crew, and will give us a chance to share not just the story of The Tempest, but the community ethos of York Shakespeare Project, with a much wider audience. It is a very fitting way to mark the end of this journey.”
The celebratory party the next day (October 2) will be well deserved.
York Shakespeare Project presents The Tempest on tour at Thorganby Village Hall tomorrow (23/9/2022), 7.30pm; Strensall and Towthorpe Village Hall, Saturday, 2.30, 7.30pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, September 27, 7.30pm; Selby Town Hall, September 28, 7.30pm; The Junction, Goole, September 29; Acomb Parish Church Hall, September 30, 7.30pm and York Theatre Royal, October 1, 7.30pm. Box office: yorkshakespeareproject.org and venue box offices; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Shakespeare Project’s plot summary for The Tempest:
PROSPERO uses magic to conjure a storm and torment the survivors of a shipwreck, including the King of Naples and Prospero’s treacherous sister, Antonia. The embittered Caliban plots to rid himself of Prospero but is thwarted by the spirit Ariel.
The King’s young son Ferdinand, thought to be dead, falls in love with Prospero’s daughter Miranda. Their celebrations are cut short when Prospero confronts his sister and reveals his identity as the usurped Duke of Milan.
The cast comprises:
David Denbigh; Sonia Di Lorenzo; Jodie Fletcher; Nell Frampton; Paul French; Tony Froud; Emily Hansen; David Harrison; Bronte Hobson; Judith Ireland; Andrew Isherwood; Tom Jennings; Nick Jones; Stuart Lindsay; Michael Maybridge; Sally Maybridge; Sally Mitcham; Andrea Mitchell; Tim Olive-Besley; Megan Ollerhead; Tracy Rea; Eleanor Royse; Emma Scott; Julie Speedie; Lara Stafford; Harry Summers, Effie Warboys and Jacob Ward.
Production team:
Director, Philip Parr; assistant director, Terry Ram; stage managers, Janice Newton and David Harrison; musical director, Nick Jones.
History in the making as York Shakespeare Project completes mission to perform all 37 plays with plans to start all over again!
How it all began: John White’s production of Richard III at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, in 2002. Picture: Jeremy Muldowney
YORK Shakespeare Project’s tour of The Tempest will complete “the most ambitious amateur Shakespearean venture in the country”.
Such is the judgement of Professor Michael Dobson, Shakespeare Institute director at the University of Birmingham, describing the mission to perform all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays inside 20 years.
York Shakespeare Project (YSP) was formed in 2002 by a group of actors seeking to replace the challenge and excitement of taking part in the York Minster Millennium Mystery Plays in 2000.
Alan Lyons, an early chair of the project, described its origins in the programme for YSP’s first play, Richard III, staged at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre from October 30 to November 2 2002. “There I was, sitting with Frank Brogan as he dreamt up the idea of the York Shakespeare Project. ‘It won’t work,’ I said. An hour later I changed my mind.
“Maybe I was captivated by the idea. Maybe it was Frank’s persuasive tongue. I am still not sure why. This show [Richard III] is the result of hard work and effort put in by a great number of people since Frank had his original idea.”
After a few years away, Frank Brogan is once more a member of the YSP committee that oversees the project. “In the early days, it was said that the actor who would play Miranda in our concluding production of The Tempest had yet to be born”, Frank recalls.
It almost worked out that way. University student Effie Warboys was not even three months old at the time of Richard III’s opening night in 2002. Now she has been cast by director Philip Parr as Miranda in a tour that adds up to eight performances, seven on the road, at six venues, climaxing at York Theatre Royal on October 1.
Janet Looker, YSP chair and former Lord Mayor of York, has seen every YSP play. “There have been so many memorable productions”, she says. “For 20 years, York Shakespeare Project has frequently surprised and delighted me with the wide variety of performances put on under its banner.
York Shakespeare Project’s 2019 production of Cymbeline. Picture: John Saunders
“So many highlights! A memorable Romeo And Juliet, set in the Fifties’ street gang culture with an amazing female Mercutio [Cecily Boys]: a bravura performance!
“As You Like It in the shade of York Minster, an outdoor production that used the trees and landscaping of the Minster garden to brilliant effect in creating the Forest of Arden – and a Rosalind [Lara Pattison] and Orlando [Toby Gordon] who were probably genuinely as young as the original concept.
“A funny, but moving outdoor production of Much Ado about Nothing, set in the immediate post-war era of the 1940s with Land Girls and ARP wardens and brilliantly evocative use of contemporary music.”
More highlights, Janet? “Hamlet in an old church with ghost and eavesdroppers appearing from behind gloomy pillars, and the background of a dim church around us.
“Henry VI – in two parts – in York’s Guildhall, a building older than the play, but less than a mile from the very gate where the Duke of York’s head was placed: “that York may overlook the stones of York”.
“A stunning all-women cast for Henry V, which was set during the First World War and movingly married the France through which Henry marched, with the trenches in Flanders Field. As an added bonus, one night it was acted on St Crispin’s Day, giving an added shiver to the famous speech.
“Henry VIII, set in King’s Manor, the house where Henry himself stayed when he visited the city, again adding an extra frisson.
“So many memories, and I look forward to adding The Tempest, our last production, to that list. Thank you a hundred times to YSP for giving one Shakespeare fan so much pleasure over the project.”
Toby Gordon: Progressed from York Shakespeare Project minor roles to playing the Devil in the 2016 York Mystery Plays at York Minster. Picture: T Figgins
Since 2002, more than 350 performers have taken part in the plays, aided by 300 backstage crew. Some have appeared only once, but one, retired lecturer Nick Jones, has made as many as 12 appearances. “The project was always a crazy but wonderful idea,” he says. “When I returned to York in 2010, it was already 15 plays in, so of course I couldn’t resist getting involved.
“It was never obvious that we would survive but here we are, approaching our last play, in which I’ve got a small part and am arranging the music. It’s been a unique experience.”
In the desire to avoid a clique, no company of regulars was ever established. Every play has started with genuinely open auditions, with each of the 24 directors being granted total discretion over casting.
YSP has been the stepping stone for many a York actor to move onto greater things. Toby Gordon progressed from minor parts in the 2007 production of Henry VI and a volatile Hotspur in the 2010 Henry IV to star as the Devil in the 2016 York Mystery Plays at York Minster.
He will be playing Joey in the final London run of The Guild of Misrule’s immersive staging of The Great Gatsby, produced by Immersive Everywhere at Gatsby’s Mansion within Immersive/LDN, in Mayfair, until January 7 2023.
Charlotte Wood, who played Cordelia in King Lear in 2016, will take the title role in Cinderella, this winter’s pantomime at the Lighthouse Theatre in Poole.
After appearing for YSP in Maggie Smales’s Henry V in 2015 and Madeleine O’Reilly’s Coriolanus in 2018, Claire Morley is completing her hattrick of all-female Shakespeare productions inChris Connaughton’s three-hander version of Macbeth for Northumberland Theatre Company, whose tour visits Pocklington Arts Centre on September 29.
Mediaevalist and 2017 Man Booker Prize-nominated authorFiona Mozley cites her appearances in YSP productions not only as an essential formative influence on her writing but as fun: “Aged 15, I was cast as Biondello in YSP’s second production, The Taming Of The Shrew. I had a great time and have fond memories of the rehearsals and performances,” says the writer of Elmet, Hot Stew and Soho (AdN) .
Claire Morley, centre, as Henry V in Maggie Smales’s all-female Henry V. Picture: Michael Oakes
“Early exposure to the arts is gold. We all know that the books we read as teenagers stay with us for life, and this is doubly true of acting in plays. I can vividly remember whole passages of the text and regularly think about the complex ideas Shakespeare was teasing out. I learnt a huge amount from my participation in YSP, not only The Taming Of The Shrew but also Love’s Labours Lost, and carry it with me in my own writing.”
Fiona had hoped to re-join the YSP ranks as part of the Collective Ariel (18 actors in total), returning to the boards alongside her father Harold Mozley, who has been an active member of YSP for the past 20 years, but now neither Fiona, nor Harold, is able to do so.
Janet Looker looks back with pride and forward with optimism. “I’ll be passing on the baton to a new chair and a revitalised committee, which will take the project forward. Plans are in place. It’s not in our nature to sit on our laurels.
“The project will continue and intends to perform all of Shakespeare’s plays all over again, this time alongside the best of his contemporaries, and maybe some of the modern takes on the plays too. That might take a little longer. Maybe a 25- year project this time.
“This is the end of York Shakespeare Project One, completed with the odd slippage, given the impact of Covid, but there’s a very strong desire to take the project onwards with YSP Two. We have a very committed committee wanting to take on the next step.
“Some of us will bow out, but YSP Two will find its feet; the challenge is to keep driving it forward. We’ve never had a consistent committee, we’ve always had different people coming on board, but there’s always been a core vision. I look forward to supporting YSP, and particularly the younger faces very keen to give it new momentum.”
York Shakespeare Company’s productions
Richard III, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 30 to November 2 2002. Director: John White
The Taming Of The Shrew, Pocklington Arts Centre, June 13 and 14; Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, June 17 to 21 2003. Director: Paul Toy
The Comedy Of Errors, Friargate Theatre, York, December 3 to 6 2003. Director: Chris Rawson
Titus Andronicus, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 21 to 24 2004. Director: Paul Toy
Peter Watts’s Hamlet in John Topping’s 2013 production. Picture: John Saunders
Love’s Labours Lost, Friargate Theatre, York, December 1 to 11 2004. Director: Chris Rawson
Romeo And Juliet, Rowntree Park, York, July 13 to 24 2005. Director: Sarah Punshon
Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Friargate Theatre, York, November 29 to December 3 2005. Director: Ali Borthwick
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rowntree Park, York, July 19 to 30 2006. Director: Mark France
King John, Friargate Theatre, December 5 to 9 2006. Director: Jeremy Muldowney
Henry VI, Parts 1, 2 & 3, produced in two parts, York Guildhall, July 12 to 22 2007. Director: Mark France
As You Like It, Residence Garden, York Minster, July 16 to 27 2008. Director: Roger Calvert
The Merchant Of Venice, Studio Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, November 12 to 22 2008. Director: Cecily Boys
Julius Caesar, Studio Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, June 10 to 20 2009. Director: Mark Smith
Richard II, Studio Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, November 17 to 21 2009. Director: Hugh Allinson
Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, Church of St Martin-cum-Gregory, Micklegate, York, July 29 to August 15 2010. Director: Tom Cooper
Much Ado About Nothing, Rowntree Park, York, June 29 to July 9 2011; The Dell, Stratford-upon-Avon, July 16 2011. Director: Paul Taylor-Mills
Troilus And Cressida, Upstage Centre Youth Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, November 15 to 19 2011. Director: Paul Toy
The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Rowntree Park, York, June 25 to June 27, May 30 to Diamond Jubilee Tuesday, June 5 2012. Three performances rained off. The Dell, Stratford-upon-Avon, June 10 2012. Director: Tom Straszewski
Paul French’s Lear and Charlotte Wood’s Cordelia in Ben Prusiner’s King Lear in 2016. Picture John Saunders
Othello, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 23 to 27 2012. Director: Mark France
Hamlet, St Martin-cum-Gregory Church, Micklegate, York, July 18 to August 3 2013; The Dell, Stratford-upon-Avon, August 11 2013. Director: John Topping
Measure For Measure, Friargate Theatre, York, December 5 to 8 2013. Director: Matt Simpson
Twelfth Night, York Theatre Royal Studio, April 3 to 12 2014; The Dell, Stratford-upon-Avon, June 7 2014. Director: Mark Smith
All’s Well That Ends Well, Friargate Theatre, York, November 27 to 30 2014. Director: Maurice Crichton
Timon Of Athens, De Grey Rooms Ballroom, York, May 14 to 17 2015. Director: Ruby Clarke
Henry V, Upstage Centre Youth Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, October 21 to 31 2015. Director Maggie Smales
Pericles, Prince Of Tyre, Upstage Centre Youth Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, April 19 to 23 2016. Director: Sophie Paterson
King Lear, Upstage Centre Youth Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, November 30 to December 10 2016. Director: Ben Prusiner
Henry VIII, King’s Manor, Exhibition Square, York, March 30 to April 1 2017. Director: Ben Prusiner
The Winter’s Tale, John Cooper Studio@41 Monkgate, York, October 24 to 28 2017. Director: Natalie Quatermass
The Two Noble Kinsmen, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, De Grey Rooms Ballroom, York, May 2 to 5 2018. Director: Tom Straszewski
Coriolanus, Friargate Theatre, York, November 28 to December 1 2018. Director: Madeleine O’Reilly
Cymbeline, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, Aldwark, York, March 1 to 3 2019. Director: Ben Prusiner
Antony & Cleopatra, John Cooper Studio, 41 Monkgate, York, October 28 to November 2 2019. Director: Leo Doulton
Macbeth, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 26 to 30 2021. Director: Leo Doulton
The Tempest, on tour, September 23 to October 1 2022. Director: Philip Parr
Did you know?
YORK Shakespeare Project’s tour of The Tempest is being accompanied by a retrospective exhibition in celebration of 20 years of YSP productions, running in the York Theatre Royal foyer until October 1. Admission is free.
