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REVIEW: Charles Hutchinson’s verdict on The Play What I Wrote, York Theatre Royal

Slap-stick: The dustpan-wielding Thom Tuck left has a dust-up with double-act partner Dennis Herdman in The Play What I Wrote. Picture: Manuel Harlan

The Play What I Wrote, Birmingham Rep, at York Theatre Royal until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

THE Play What I Wrote premiered in 2001 with its canny critique of fractious double acts and boundless love for Morecambe & Wise.

If anything, Eric & Ernie now cast an even longer shadow amid a paucity of new comedy duos on TV to follow Mayall & Edmondson, Ant & Dec, Fry & Laurie, Lee & Herring, French & Saunders, Mitchell & Webb, Armstrong & Miller, Coogan & Brydon, Mel & Sue, Newman & Baddiel, Reeves & Mortimer, The Mighty Boosh and Little Britain.

Podcasts appear to be the more favoured home now for comic jousting. That leaves York’s burgeoning satirical musical duo Fladam – Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter – as both a rarity and a breath of nostalgic fresh air in a vacuum of such couplings on stage, although Nettle Soup’s Georgia Firth and Josh Liew showed new possibilities for partnerships in their verbatim theatre piece Stones On The Riverbed at York Theatre Royal’s Green Shoots showcase earlier this month.

The Play What I Wrote now feels part of the past, its patter and patterns of comedy from a bygone age, never being quite as funny as Eric and Ernie and only making you wish the long-gone duo could bring more of their vintage sunshine: Vitamin ‘C’ here standing for comedy.

Writers Hamish McColl and Sean Foley know more than a thing or two about double acts themselves, having been partners in The Right Size from 1988 to 2006. For West End and Broadway hit The Play What I Wrote, they teamed up with Eddie Braben, the chap what wrote little Ern’s plays, and the duo starred in the premiere with Toby Jones, no less.

Dennis Herdman’s Dennis, left, and Thom Tuck’s Thom argue over who should play Eric in their Morecambe & Wise tribute. Picture: Manuel Harlan

For this Birmingham Rep revival, director Foley has brought together the lanky and lean Dennis Herdman and shorter, sterner Thom Tuck, new to each other but a natural dovetail with their contrasting nonsense-aplenty and no-nonsense demeanours.

They play Herdman & Tuck, a double act in trouble after more than a decade together. Tuck, the prickly one, has grown professionally jealous of Herdman, the funny one who gets the gags and the laughs.

Tuck insists the partnership will continue only if they present the latest of his 72 unpublished plays, A Tight Squeeze For The Scarlet Pimple, a French Revolution epic, with a guest star.

Through a series of elaborate deceptions, Herdman and vainglorious producer David Pugh (one of a handful of increasingly manic, prima-donna cameos for a long-suffering Mitesh Soni) dupe Tuck into thinking the play will be presented with Sir Ian McKellen in the company. In reality, Herdman has signed up the comic duo for a Morecambe & Wise tribute, minus Sir Ian.

Hindered by two of their backstage team being ruled out by Covid, the opening performance had a feel of “the play must go on” about it, with more noise than usual behind the golden curtain – and an impromptu explanation from the production manager in a stop for a more complicated scene change.

The auditorium was far from packed, never easy for performers needing to break down the fourth wall to establish a rapport pronto, and consequently Herdman and Tuck’s comic rhythm was not quite there, but then they are playing a failing comic coupling who have to try too hard for laughs. That is their double-edged sword, requiring Herdman and Tuck to be funnier than their act.

This act has legs…or does it? Thom Tuck, left, and Dennis Herdman as failing, fading double act Herman & Tuck. Picture: Manuel Harlan

You could sense the audience expecting more Morecambe & Wise badinage, and whenever we were given tantalising tasters, the mood visibly perked up. Eric & Ernie are a hard act to follow, particularly when they keep hovering in the shadows here.

Under Foley’s direction, the comic tone is bordering on the delirious but thankfully everything picked up after the interval, acquiring a much needed fifth gear with the heavily trailered arrival of a surprise guest. Not Sir Ian (although apparently, he has popped up in the past), but Sue Holderness, best known for playing Boycie’s wife, Marlene, in Only Fools And Horses.

The rest of the week’s guest line-up remains hush-hush, but one upcoming star was very much at home on this very stage only a matter of weeks ago. No more clues.

Sue’s role – or Dame Sue as they honoured to call her – was to be subjected with good grade and good humour to humiliation and mockery at the hands of both Tuck’s hapless, innuendo-bedevilled script and the constant comic interjections of Herdman in playful, handicapping Morecambe tradition.

By now, bolstered by Holderness’s joie de vivre, Herdman and Tuck have found their mojo, never better than when competing to play Eric, and Foley and McColl’s post-modern analysis of the often-complex chemistry and vulnerability of double acts turns from bittersweet to sharply smart yet affectionate.

So much so that the happy conclusion finds Herdman and Tuck tucked up in bed, just like Morecambe & Wise in Braben’s scripts, affirming why each still needs the other, but overall, 21 years since the premiere, even nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.

Verdict: ***

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Podcast question of the day: How did soul diva Dionne Warwick defy doctor’s orders?

Dionne Warwick: Nothing stopped her at York Barbican

FIND out in Episode 95 of Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson’s culture podcast Two Big Egos In A Small Car.

Under discussion too are: Temple Newsam’s concert revival in Leeds; Graham and something rotten in Denmark…or not; This Is A René Magritte book update; DJ Charm at Knaresborough BedRock and the media on Johnny Depp & Jeff Beck Watch in York.

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Waggons encircle city streets as York Mystery Plays roll in for second Sunday

Wren Crawford as Jesus in a tableaux of the Guild Of Butchers’ The Crucifixion Of Christ in Shambles Market on Wednesday night. Picture: Lewis Outing

TODAY concludes the week of York Mystery Plays 2022 with a second Sunday of street plays on a roll around York’s city-centre from 11am onwards.

Presented by the Guilds of York and the York Festival Trust, eight plays have been selected by director Tom Straszewski from the 48 that comprise the mediaeval York Cycle of Mystery Plays.

In keeping with tradition, the plays will be wheeled around the bustling streets on waggons, processing from station to station at College Green (free) to St Sampson’s Square (free), St Helen’s Square (free) and King’s Manor (ticketed).

Those plays will be: York Guild of Building’s Creation To The Fifth Day, directed by Janice Newton, of Thinkon Theatre; the Gild of Freemen’s The Fall Of Adam And Eve, featuring the Vale of York Academy, directed by Bex Nicholson; the Company of Cordwainers and York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust’s The Building Of The Ark and The Flood, directed by Paul Toy; St Luke’s Church, Burton Stone Lane, in Herod And The Three Kings, directed by Lynn Comer and Mike Tyler.

The work of the devil: Mick Liversidge’s Lucifer as the unholy host at Wednesday’s performance of The Mysteries In The Market. Picture: Lewis Outing

The Company of Merchant Taylors and Lords Of Misrule’s The Last Supper, directed by Emily Hanson; the Guild of Butchers and Riding Lights Acting Up’s The Crucifixion and Death Of Christ, directed by Kelvin Goodspeed and Jared More; the Guild of Media Arts and Guild of Scriveners’ The Appearance Of Jesus To Mary Magdalene, directed by Jessica Murray, and the Company of Merchant Adventurers’ The Last Judgement, brought forth by Ravens Morris and Paint The Mouse Productions, directed by Alan Heaven, no less.

On Wednesday and Thursday, to mark Midsummer, five plays a night were performed under the umbrella of The Mysteries In The Market, as flat-capped Mick Liversidge sprouted horns to play master of ceremonies Lucifer in a series of interludes edited and directed by Straszewski.

On the first night, Fall Of Adam and Eve, The Flood, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion and The Last Judgement were staged; on the second, Creation To The Fifth Day, The Flood,The Last Supper, The Crucifixion and The Last Judgement.

Tickets for today’s performances at King’s Manor are on sale at yorkmysteryplays.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond in search of algorithms, rhythm and a Snake. List No. 88, courtesy of The Press

Algorithm & blues: Coder and post-classical pianist Larkhall at Micklegate Social. Picture: Samuel White

GLASTONBURY? Out of sight, out of mind, out of pocket, Charles Hutchinson prefers to stay up north for arts and crafts aplenty.

Curioso gigs of the week: Larkhall, Micklegate Social, Micklegate, York, tonight, 8pm; Brudenell Piano Sessions, Howard Assembly Room, Leeds Grand Theatre, tomorrow, 4pm

RECOMMENDED to Nils Frahm and Max Richter neo-classical devotees, Larkhall combines creative coding with beautiful post-classical piano pieces and makes algorithmically created visuals as he plays.

Larkhall is the performance alias of Minnesota mining town-born, Cambridge University-educated, Bath-based composer, coder and new-media artist Charlie Williams, whose intimate York show coincides with this week’s release of his third album, Say You’re With Me, with its theme of men’s mental health.

Can algorithms be art? Charlie reckons so. “My shows are an experience of algorithms creating beauty instead of, like, getting us to buy more stuff,” he says. Box office: larkhall.org.

Frankie Valli: Fronting The Four Seasons in one day at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

Nostalgia of the week: Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tonight, gates, 6pm

THE Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, chronicling the life and times of Frankie Valli and his New Jersey group, has brought so many songs to a new generation.

Cue Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Frankie playing Scarborough at 88 with The Four Seasons, performing Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Rag Doll, Let’s Hang On, My Eyes Adored You, Who Loves You, December, 1963 (Oh What A Night), Grease et al. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Leg up for comic effect: Thom Tuck and Dennis Herdman’s double act in The Play What I Wrote at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Play of the week: Birmingham Rep in The Play What I Wrote, York Theatre Royal, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Thursday, 2pm; Saturday, 2.30pm

WRITTEN by The Right Size comic coupling of Sean Foley and Hamish McColl in tandem with Eddie Braben, the chap what wrote little Ern’s plays, The Play What I Wrote is both a dissection of double acts and a celebration of Morecambe and Wise.

Thom Wall insists on performing yet another of his hapless plays, an epic set in the French Revolution. Partner Dennis Hayward prefers to continue with their failing comedy duo instead, believing a tribute to Morecambe & Wise will restore Wall’s confidence. First, he needs to persuade a mystery guest to appear in the play what Thom wrote, with a different star for each show. Box office: 01904 623658 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Snake Davis: Saxophonist plays Cop’ Carnival’s debut jazz night on Tuesday

Community event of the week: Cop’ Carnival Day, Copmanthorpe Recreation Centre, Barons Crescent, York, July 2, 11.30am to 6pm

NOW in its 51st year, Cop’ Carnival Day retains its familiar format of dance troops, bands, traditional games and attractions next weekend. Tickets cost £5 in advance or £8 on the day.

In addition, Cop’ Carnival’s first jazz night, hosted with York Gin, presents An Evening With Snake Davis, saxophonist to the stars, on Tuesday at 7pm. Two nights later, the carnival’s comedy bill features Steve Royle, Tom Wrigglesworth, David Eagle and compere Alex Boardman from 8pm.

Throughout the festival, 30 artists are exhibiting at Copmanthorpe Methodist Church nightly from 7pm, admission free. Box office: copmanthorpecarnival.org.uk.

Strictly between them: Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice team up for Him & Me

Dance moves of the week: Anton & Giovanni, Him & Me, Grand Opera House, York, Tuesday, 7.30pm

 STRICTLY Come Dancing judge Anton du Beke and 2021 champion professional Giovanni Pernice are joined by dancers and singers for Him & Me, a night when the Ballroom King meets the Jive Master. Expect dance, song, light-hearted fun and banter.

Both Strictly stars will be making their second York appearance of 2022; Anton & Erin’s Showtime played York Barbican in February; Giovanni’s This Is Me followed suit in March. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.

Fran, frankly: Fran Lebowitz’s evening of acerbic New York wit and astute observation at Grand Opera House

Social commentator of the week: An Evening With Fran Lebowitz, Grand Opera House, York, Wednesday, 7.30pm

FRAN Lebowitz, New York purveyor of urban cool, cultural satirist and author, will be typically forthright and unapologetically opinionated in her dry-humoured social commentary on anything and everything, with a Q&A to boot.

After Pretend It’s A City, Lebowitz’s Netflix documentary series directed by filmmaker and friend Martin Scorsese, here comes her acerbic insights on gender, race, gay rights and the media, plus her pet peeves of celebrity culture, tourists, and baby strollers. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.

Who’d be a teacher? Sam Jackson’s Nick struggles with more than the paperwork in Foxglove Theatre’s The Brink

Shock of the new: Foxglove Theatre in The Brink, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Thursday to Saturday, 7.30pm

IN Brad Birch’s darkly comic, explosive psychological thriller, history teacher Nick is a normal person, working a normal job, who lives a normal life, but he suffers a downward spiral fuelled by dreams and whispers of a bomb buried under the school.

“Thrilling, turbulent, unconventional, The Brink is an unwavering dive into dark and prominent subject matter, alien to the established York stage,” says Nathan Butler, director of new York company Foxglove Theatre. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Velma Celli’s poster artwork for A Brief History Of Drag

Spectacle of the week: Velma Celli in A Brief History Of Drag, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm

YORK drag diva Velma Celli makes her Pocklington debut with A Brief History Of Drag, brandishing a triple threat of heavenly vocals, theatrical swagger and razor-sharp wit.

The creation of West End musical actor Ian Stroughair, Velma “celebrates the most iconic drag moments in film, stage and popular culture in the company of her voluptuous backing singers and breath-taking band”.

This electrifying cabaret embraces the songs and style of Queen, David Bowie, Boy George, Lady Gaga, Tina Turner and many more with panache and flamboyance. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Suzanne Vega: Booked into York Barbican for February 2023 concert

Big signings of the week for 2023: Suzanne Vega, York Barbican, February 22; Mike + The Mechanics, York Barbican, April 12

GLASTONBURY acoustic stage headliner Suzanne Vega will play York Barbican as the only Yorkshire show of the New York folk singer-songwriter’s 14-date tour next year, with Luka, Marlene On The Wall and Tom’s Diner to the fore.

Mike + The Mechanics will return to York Barbican next spring on their Refueled! 2023 Tour, promising “all the hits and a drop of Genesis” – Mike Rutherford’s other band – plus songs from latest album Out Of The Blue. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

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The Play What I Wrote doubles up on double acts with nod to Eric and Ernie in York Theatre Royal week of mystery guests

The long and short of it: Dennis Herdman and Thom Tuck argue over who should be Eric Morecambe in their Morecambe & Wise tribute. Picture: Manuel Harlan

THE Play What I Wrote is both a dissection of double acts and a celebration of Morecambe and Wise.

Written by The Right Size comic coupling of Sean Foley and Hamish McColl in tandem with Eddie Braben, the chap what wrote little Ern’s plays, the West End and Broadway hit is doing the rounds anew, playing York Theatre Royal from Monday for a week in a Birmingham Rep touring production directed by artistic director Foley.

Premiered in 2001, Foley and McColl wanted their play to be inspired by Eric and Ernie rather than a tribute act to the beloved double act, and so they came up with a comedy duo of their own.

“The show is a tease,” says Foley of the combination of the expected and unexpected. “It’s a really lovely dance between the idea of you’re watching a Morecambe and Wise tribute show but actually you’re not. So, whenever we tease people with ‘here’s a bit of them’, they come to understand what the show is – which is a sophisticated but daft homage.”

The duo’s partnership is in trouble after 12 years. The shorter, prickly one, has grown professionally jealous of the tall one with the gags, insisting the failing partnership will revive only if they present the latest of his 72 unpublished plays, a very serious French Revolution epic with a hapless, innuendo-bedevilled script and a guest star.

Through a series of elaborate deceptions, the lanky one and oleaginous producer David Pugh dupe the little’un into thinking the play will be presented with Sir Ian McKellen in the company. In reality, he has signed up the comic duo for a Morecambe & Wise tribute, minus Sir Ian.

The Play What I Wrote is at once a delightful nostalgic re-creation of Eric and Ernie’s comic sunshine – you wish for even more of the old magic – and a smart post-modern analysis of the often complex chemistry and vulnerability of double acts. In a show of unalloyed joy, the happy conclusion finds the comedy duo abed, just like Morecambe & Wise, affirming why each needs the other.

The two clashing comedians will be played by Dennis Herdman and Thom Tuck, joined by Mitesh Soni, playing their comedy sidekick Arthur and all manner of other roles.

The cast can spot quickly if Eric and Ernie devotees are present. “But I don’t actually think it’s important at all for people to know Morecambe and Wise,” says Tuck.

“It’s just an extra sprinkling for the people who enjoy it, but at the first reference to them you can tell what percentage of the audience are Morecambe and Wise fans because you can hear the murmur ‘they’re doing it’.

“In a later scene, we do ‘What do you think of the show so far? Rubbish’. Some days that will get a round of applause and some days it will get a big laugh, but it doesn’t really matter between the two.”

The Play What I Wrote nods to Eric and Ernie by having a mystery guest in each performance, in keeping with their television shows: a convention that requires the cast to rehearse constantly with new actors.

During the Birmingham run, Tom Hiddleston, Kara Tointon and Sue Holderness were among those to pop up, but the guests for York remain a mystery, as an exploratory call to communications manager Amy Goodman affirmed.

“There are big changes depending on the guest star and the audience will react differently as well,” says Herdman. “They all bring something unique and change our dynamic instantly and we’re all either fawning around them or trying to pull the rug from under them.

“It’s fun! It’s lovely to have them on stage and be able to take the mickey and play with them. They’ve all been up for it and most have been terrified as well! It’s nice that they have a certain status and yet they are also clearly flesh and blood and a nervous human being.”

Director Foley praises the energy of Herdman, Tuck and Soni. “What is dazzling, and these guys do it completely brilliantly, is making all of the show look like it’s a high-wire act and things can go wrong at any time. That is really brilliant comic acting.

“Someone said to Eric Morecambe, ‘I love all your improv lines and your ad-libs’ and he responded, ‘It takes a lot of rehearsal to get them right’ and that’s the same with The Play What I Wrote.

“With this show you need the chemistry between the cast. We were very lucky that from final auditions, when we saw Dennis and Thom together, they were immediately a double act. Then we added Mitesh in and it just worked.”

Tuck notes how Eric and Ernie’s humour crosses generations through fitting into a comic tradition. “The ingrained thing about British people is that we like cheekiness and there’s a sort of ‘anti-establishmentism’ in Morecambe and Wise’s work,” he says.

“Whether it’s a look direct to camera which says ‘we know this is stupid’ or the play with the guest star, it’s ‘let’s muck about’. British audiences from variety onwards have had that sort of fun. It’s always high on the priority list.”

The Play What I Wrote, York Theatre Royal, June 27 to July 2. Box office:  01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

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Bradford’s bouncing forward as City of Culture 2025. Time for Two Big Egos In A Small Car to celebrate and speculate

CULTURE podcasters Graham Chalmers and Charles Hutchinson consult their crystal ball to predict what the future holds for West Yorkshire’s “Second City” after being anointed City of Culture 2025.

What else is on Two Big Egos In A Small Car’s agenda in Episode 94? God Save The Queen in 2022; Danny Boyle’s Pistol and Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis; Live At Leeds heads outdoors; ever-happy André Rieu; after Abbatars, who’s next?

To listen, head to: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1187561

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Foxglove Theatre’s young blades head for dark side to shake up York’s stage scene

Too much paper work: Sam Jackson as teacher Nick in Foxglove Theatre’s The Brink

NEWLY formed York company Foxglove Theatre aim to “fill the blind spot” of York’s theatre scene by producing thought-provoking, dark and contemporary work.

First up – after an initial February staging circa St Valentine’s Day at University of York DramaSoc – will be their debut at Theatre@41, Monkgate, from June 30 to July 2 with Welsh writer Brad Birch’s The Brink: a comedy replete with blood, murder and death, sexual imagery and ephebophilia (sexual attraction to post-pubescent adolescents and older teenagers, aged 15 to 19).

Formed by producers Ione Vaughan, 21, and Ivy Magee, 20, and director Nathan Butler, 21, Foxglove’s vision is to create and promote thrilling theatre that encourages audiences to engage with live performance as naturally and readily as with their favourite television and streaming platforms.

“Amazing effects and chilling performances are not bound solely to our screens but can be enjoyed to the fullest live on stage as well,” reasons production manager and lighting designer Ivy.

Sam Jackson’s Nick, a school teacher on the brink, is confronted by Abel Kent’s Mr Boyd, the troublesome head teacher who plays with his already fragile sense of reality

“Our company believes in preserving theatre in an age of multi-media, not by binding ourselves to tradition but through adapting the stage alongside the screen.”

Cue The Brink, suitably provocative, dark and contemporary, with unsettling time shifts to boot, premiered at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in June 2016.

History teacher Nick is a normal person, working a normal job, who lives a normal life, but he is stuck in an everlasting cycle of stasis at 27. Caught up in a downward spiral fuelled by dreams and whispers of a bomb buried under the school, he begins to lose control in a play with survival at its heart.

“The Brink is a psychological thriller and dark comedy that’s impossible to summarise in just one word,” says Ivy. “But if I had to: explosive!” 

Sam Jackson’s Nick recounts his recurring nightmare

Why stage The Brink, Nathan? “Thrilling, turbulent, unconventional, it encapsulates everything we want to bring to the York theatre scene,” he says. “It’s an unwavering dive into dark and prominent subject matter, alien to the established York stage.

“So, if you’re a Black Mirror, Love, Death And Robots or simply a psychological thriller fan, this is certainly the play for you. By utilising technology and special effects as additional storytellers, we invite you to celebrate the unique capabilities of contemporary theatre.”

You might expect the burgeoning talents of Foxglove Theatre to want to head to this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, but Nathan says: “In my mind, I’d rather do it here – York has a good theatre scene – rather than taking the 50,000 steps needed to go to the Edinburgh Fringe. Let’s take one step: let’s play York – and our Crowd Funding goals have been reached and exceeded already.”

Nathan admires the work of Brad Birch, an award-winning playwright and screenwriter with plays such as Missing People, Black Mountain, Gardening For The Unfulfilled and Alienated, as well as The Brink, to his name.

“I saw The Brink when it premiered at the Orange Tree, when I was part of National Theatre Connections, and I fell in love with it. Then I acted in it in 2018 for the In Yer Face Company, when we took it to Leatherhead Festival, and it was my favourite thing I did with them.

Sam Jackson’s Nick confides in Harshavardhini Pareek’s Jo, his fellow teacher

“There’s just something about it: it starts off so accessible, you feel you could be watching a TV show or a film – but on stage – where you’re in that comfortable space, feeling like you could be having popcorn!

“But then there are these little hints that something isn’t right and you start feeling differently about what’s going on as Nick’s mental health deteriorates. You’re thrust into this visceral world where you see someone’s descent in front of you.”

Nathan is using a cast of four featuring Sam Jackson, 21, as Nick; Zoe Freeman, 21, as girlfriend Chloe/Jessica; Harshavardhini Pareek, 20, as teacher Jo, and Abel Kent, 22, as head teacher Mr Boyd/Martin.

“There’s so much competition for Sam; everyone wants him for DramaSoc shows,” says Nathan, “We thought, ‘we’re not going to get him’, but thankfully he said yes. The reason he’s so amazing is that my vision for Nick is that ‘this could go anywhere’, and from the very beginning Sam’s portrayal was amazing.”

Grim reaping: Sam Jackson’s teacher Nick imposes a different form of school cuts in The Brink

Birch’s play will be performed on an end-on set designed by Lily Ball, 21, with costume designs by Emily Youngson, 21, sound design by Kai Tangaki, 22, and stage management by Charlotte Powell, 21.

The running time will be two hours without an interval. No interval, Nathan? “It’s a play that gets faster and faster as it goes on. It’s very accessible, as I say, and by the end you’ll be clinging to your seat, I promise.”

Given the amateur status of the company, no-one is being paid, but the Crowd Funding campaign has covered the production costs. “Our long-term goal is that if this goes well, it will only be the start for Foxglove Theatre – and I just love York!” says Nathan.

Foxglove Theatre in The Brink, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, June 30 to July 2, 7.30pm. Tickets: £8, general admission; students, £6; Crowd Funding donators, £5. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Copyright of The Press, York

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After the travelling Hero and Cinderella, now Faye Campbell confirms third York Theatre Royal pantomime role in a row

Campbell scoop: York Theatre Royal has booked Faye Campbell for her third pantomime

FAYE Campbell will complete a hattrick of York Theatre Royal pantomimes in successive years after signing up for All New Adventures Of Peter Pan.

She will play Elizabeth Darling from December 2 to January 2 in the third co-production with Evolution Productions after appearing in the title role in Cinderella last winter and as The Hero in Jack And The Beanstalk and Dick Whittington in 2020’s Travelling Pantomime tour of York wards.

Faye Campbell as The Hero in York Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime

Faye joins CBeebies’ Maddie Moate, already announced to shine as Tinkerbell in this swashbuckling adventure with an extra sprinkling of fairy dust magic. Laughter, music and family fun galore is promised in Paul Hendy’s fresh, fun take on J.M. Barrie’s story.

Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster, who will be directing All New Adventures of Peter Pan, says: “We are so pleased to welcome Faye back for this year’s pantomime. She has such talent and enthusiasm and was so popular with our audiences here as Cinderella last year and across the city in The Travelling Pantomime in 2020. We can’t wait to get her back on our stage!”

Further casting will be announced in coming months. Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Faye Campbell as Cinderella in last winter’s York Theatre Royal pantomime

Introducing who will play The Coppergate Woman in York Theatre Royal’s summer community production

YORKSHIRE actress Kate Hampson will lead the community cast in The Coppergate Woman at York Theatre Royal, joining a 90-strong ensemble from July 30 to August 7.

“Having lived in York for more than half my life, I have enjoyed many a trip to learn about the Vikings in Coppergate,” says Kate, who trained at York St John University and The Utrecht School of Arts.

“I am therefore absolutely thrilled to be playing the part of the Coppergate Woman at the brilliant York Theatre Royal, only a short stroll across town! It’s an epic tale written by the multi-talented Maureen Lennon. I’m so excited to work with the wonderful community cast and can’t wait to get started!”

Welcoming Kate to the Theatre Royal, co-director Juliet Forster says: “I’m very excited to be working with Kate Hampson, who has come on to my radar only relatively recently, and I have been looking for the right project to work with her on ever since.

“I know she is going to make a brilliant Coppergate Woman.  It is wonderful to have discovered such a phenomenal acting talent right on our doorstep, and with Nordic ancestry to boot!”

“I’m so excited to work with the wonderful community cast and can’t wait to get started,” says Kate Hampson, an actress with Nordic ancestry who will play The Coppergate Woman

Born, brought up and still living in Yorkshire, Kate’s theatre credits include Tapestry (Northern Broadsides); Mary Barton (Alnwick Playhouse and tour); Trouble (West Yorkshire Playhouse); New Playwrights (York Theatre Royal); Gaudette (Obra Theatre Company), Mumsy (Hull Truck); Not Yours Mine (Oldham Coliseum) and Vignettes (Hope Mill Theatre). Last winter, she played Mother and Mrs Perks in Hull Truck Theatre’s The Railway Children.

Among her television credits are Happy Valley (BBC); Doctors (BBC); I’m With Stupid (BBC); Emmerdale (ITV); Eternal Law (Kudos/ITV); Hollyoaks (Channel 4); Where The Heart Is (ITV) and Coronation Street (ITV).

Now comes The Coppergate Woman, Hull playwright Maureen Lennon’s play inspired by the discovery in a shallow pit by the River Foss of the remains of an unknown woman, now displayed in a glass case in Jorvik Viking Centre in York as The Coppergate Woman.

Weaving Viking legends with the stories of modern-day York people, this epic new play draws on Norse myths and legends, focusing on the central figure of The Coppergate Woman.

Tickets for this main-house production are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Kate Hampson with the poster image for The Coppergate Woman, Maureen Lennon’s community play co-directed by Juliet Forster and John R Wilkinson
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Deafinitely Theatre tell Everyday true stories of deaf women and non-binary people’s experiences of surviving abuse

Cherie Gordon in Deafinitely Theatre’s Everyday. Picture: Becky Bailey

FOUR people come together to perform a ritual of community and catharsis in Deafinitely Theatre’s Everyday at York Theatre Royal tonight and tomorrow.

Gathering up true stories of deaf women and non-binary people’s experiences of surviving abuse, they form a witches’ coven like no other: one with a cauldron of newt’s eyes and butterflies, deep scars, and blazing signs.

Commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, writer-director Paula Garfield’s visually rich, playful and urgent world première combines British Sign Language and spoken English in the company’s distinctive bilingual style.

Drawing on interviews with women and non-binary people exploring domestic abuse in the deaf community, Everyday is a defiant and empowering new work that marks Deafinitely Theatre’s 20th anniversary.

Writer-director Paula Garfield, centre, in rehearsal for Everyday

Here Paula Garfield discusses her new play:

What can audiences expect from this 20th anniversary world premiere?

“A fantastically skilled cast of three women and one non-binary person in a collaborative ensemble telling, for the first time, the stories of deaf people’s diverse experiences of domestic violence.

“We’ve seen raised discourse within mainstream media, with the likes of the #MeToo movement; however, domestic violence remains a taboo subject within the deaf community and the stories of deaf and disabled people have yet to be told.

“Everyday’s audiences will see these heartfelt and diverse stories told through the mediums of visual and physical theatre using British Sign Language, English and creative captioning.”

What was your writing process and what research did it involve?

“When Deafinitely Theatre was first established, we began creating devised productions, using the experiences of the deaf community to inspire those stories. We then shifted towards adapted screenplays, using scripts of well-known playwrights, such as Shakespeare and Sarah Kane.

Giving the finger: Cherie Gordon, Zoë McWhinney, Fifi Garfield and Bea Webster in a scene from Everyday. Picture: Becky Bailey

“This time, as we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I wanted to revert to our original method of working and create a devised play.

“During lockdown, I couldn’t help but see the numerous news reports showing the rapidly increasing rates of domestic abuse due to the impact of the pandemic. The problems were exacerbated by people unable to go out or to work and feeling trapped in their own homes.

“This prompted me to post on Facebook to see if anyone would come forward about their own experiences, and being a member of the deaf community, people knew me, and felt they could entrust me with their stories.”

What happened next?

“After speaking with several women and non-binary people, I invited some of them to be involved in a period of research and development with the actors, and I asked survivors to oversee the script. At the end of each stage of research and development, we shared our progress with an invitation-only audience and asked them for feedback upon which we would build.”

“The deaf community needs deaf-led theatre: deaf directors, deaf creatives, deaf people and deaf stories,” says Everyday writer-director Paula Garfield. Picture: Becky Bailey

What do you hope audiences will take away from Everyday?

“I really want our audiences to be struck by this production and the vulnerability of deaf women and non-binary people facing domestic abuse. I want people to see the vital need for equal rights as their hearing counterparts when it comes to accessing domestic-abuse support services.

“A lot of the services across the UK are not accessible to deaf people; SignHealth is the only deaf-led organisation that provides support for deaf adults who experience domestic abuse. However, they can only support those who live in England, and I think this is mainly due to funding.

“We are lacking in refuges that accept members of the deaf community, as many will not house them due to ‘health and safety reasons’, which takes us right back to the issue of deaf rights, which in this context, seem to be almost non-existent.

“We’re also in need of more deaf Independent Domestic Violence Advocates, with very few trained practitioners expected to offer support to those all over the country. I believe we have a responsibility to create more training opportunities and to encourage more deaf people to pursue this career pathway where services are so desperately needed.”

 Zoë McWhinney and Cherie Gordon in Everyday

What are you most looking forward to about taking the production on tour?

“I’m so pleased to be touring the production because the deaf community isn’t only based in London, there are strong deaf communities across the UK. I’d love for us to be touring even wider and further afield one day.

“Working with Birmingham Rep Theatre has been a long-standing dream of mine, so I’m over the moon that we’re included in their programme. The same is true for our collaborations with Northern Stage and York Theatre Royal; I have hopes that this marks the beginnings of many more touring productions for Deafinitely Theatre in the future.

“I’d love for theatres across the UK to become aware that they have deaf communities and audiences who need to see themselves represented in theatre. The deaf community needs deaf-led theatre: deaf directors, deaf creatives, deaf people and deaf stories.”

“To drive improvements, we need to raise awareness, and that is a part of what I hope Everyday will achieve,” says Paula

Why should York audiences see Everyday tonight or tomorrow?

“I believe Everyday has poignant messages for both deaf and hearing audiences. I hope that Everyday will empower a deaf audience, making them aware of some of the more nuanced signs of abuse, help break the stigma surrounding abuse, and raise awareness of support services.

“I hope that deaf audiences will feel seen and understood, and for those who may have experienced domestic abuse to know that they are not alone.

“I want a hearing audience to understand that anyone can experience domestic abuse and that for deaf people there are additional barriers. The community have faced historical oppression by means of language, education and access to services and many of these difficulties still exist today. To drive improvements, we need to raise awareness, and that is a part of what I hope Everyday will achieve.”

Deafinitely Theatre in Everyday at York Theatre Royal on June 21 and 22 at 7.30pm. Box office:  01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age recommendation: 16 plus

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More Things To Do in and around York for June 18 to June 26, as the Romans invade again. List No. 87, courtesy of The Press

Cherie Gordon in Everyday, on tour at York Theatre Royal in Deafinitely Theatre’s 20th anniversary tour. Picture: Becky Bailey

FROM the Pride parade to Roman festivities, Americana musicians to English prog legends, defiant deaf theatre to bracing art, Charles Hutchinson savours a diverse diary ahead.

Empowering play of the week: Everyday, Deafinitely Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.30pm

FOUR people come together to perform a ritual of community and catharsis. Gathering up true stories of deaf women and non-binary people’s experiences of surviving abuse, they form a witches’ coven like no other, replete with a cauldron of newt’s eyes and butterflies, deep scars, and blazing signs.

Commissioned by New Diorama Theatre, Deafinitely Theatre’s playful, urgent, defiant world premiere by writer-director Paula Garfield combines British Sign Language and oral English as it draws on interviews to explore domestic abuse and mental health in the deaf community. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Davina De Campo: Performing at York LGBT Pride at Knavesmire

Fiesta of the week: York LGBT Pride, June 18, from high noon

THE York Pride Parade leaves from outside York Minster at Duncombe Place. Best advice: arrive at 11.45am, ready for departure at 12 noon, with the parade arriving at Knavesmire (Tadcaster Road end) between 1pm and 1.30pm.

On the main stage, hosts Miss Sordid Secret and DJ Kira introduce live music and entertainment from Nadine Coyle, Davina De Campo, Duncan James, Marcus Collins and Jo O’Meara. York Pride is a free family-friendly event, but donations are welcome.

Dolphin Hotel, by David Finnigan, at According To McGee, York

Exhibition launch of the week: Contemporary Painting: Elementals and Synthesis by Freya Horsley and David Finnigan, According To McGee, Tower Street, York, June 18 to July 11

EXHIBITING Freya Horsley, from York, alongside David Finnigan, from Scarborough, is “not so much a duo show, more like two exhibitions in one gallery,” says According To McGee co-director Greg McGee.

“Freya and David are far removed in terms of subject and mark making, but there’s enough intersection to be able to build an event like this.”

Horsley’s Elementals works focus on seascapes full of bristling light and spray, serenity and inner-lit joy; Finnigan’s four new Synthesis paintings are geometric abstractions influenced by sound and modulation. 

Sunday’ll be the day for That’ll Be The Day! at Grand Opera House, York

Tribute gig of the week: That’ll Be The Day!, Grand Opera House, York, June 19, 7pm

THIS long-running show, now into its 36th year, celebrates the golden age of rock’n’roll and pop from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

That’ll Be The Day combines comedy sketches and impersonations with stellar vocals and musicianship, fronted by director, producer and vocalist Trevor Payne. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/York.

Courtney Marie Andrews: Third time lucky for Phoenix singer-songwriter as she returns to Pocklington at last

Americana gig of the week: Courtney Marie Andrews, Pocklington Arts Centre, June 19, 8pm

AMERICAN singer, songwriter, poet, musician and now artist Courtney Marie Andrews makes her long-awaited return to Pocklington this weekend.

Phoenix-born Courtney, 31, twice had to postpone the follow-up to her December 2018 gig. The focus was expected to be on the 2021 Grammy-nominated Old Flowers, but now that she has announced the October 7 release of ninth album Loose Future on Fat Possum, hopefully she will showcase new material too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Yes, it is Yes: Playing Close To The Edge at York Barbican

Progressing to the past: Yes, York Barbican, Wednesday, 8pm

PROG rock pioneers Yes’s Album Series Tour 2022 celebrates the 50th anniversary of Close To The Edge, the September 1972 album inspired by Siddharta and their “state of mind” at the time.

Wednesday’s concert combines the iconic album in full with further Yes classics, performed by Steve Howe, guitars, Geoff Downes, keyboards, Jon Davison, vocals, Billy Sherwood, bass guitar, and Jay Schellen, drums and percussion. Legendary Yes artwork artist Roger Dean opens the show with a video wall of images and graphics and a reflection on his long history with the band. Tickets remain valid from the postponed May 19 2021 date. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Felice Brothers, James, second from left, and Ian, right, with band members Will Lawrence and Jesske Hume

If you are yet to discover…The Felice Brothers, Pocklington Arts Centre, Thursday, 8pm

THE Felice Brothers, the folk rock/country rock band from the Hudson valley of upstate New York, are led by Ian and James Felice, joined on this tour by Will Lawrence on drums and Jesske Hume on bass.

Inspired equally by Woody Guthrie and Chuck Berry, they began in 2006 by playing subway platforms and sidewalks in New York City and have since released ten albums, the latest being 2021’s From Dreams To Dust. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Charge! The Eboracum Roman Festival is on its way

Festival of the week: Eboracum Roman Festival, June 25 and 26, all day

THE Legions of Rome take over York Museum Gardens for a packed weekend of outdoor festivities featuring a Roman Living History Encampment between 10am and 5pm each day; the Kids Army and Roman-themed family activities run by Playful Anywhere from 11am to 3pm on both days. Entry is free.

Head inside the Yorkshire Museum to discover Roman treasures, especially the new exhibition The Ryedale Hoard: A Roman Mystery.  

Authors of Roman fiction and non-fiction will chat and sign books in the Tempest Anderson Hall from 10am to 4pm each day.

The Chemical Brothers: Get ready for Block Rockin’ Beats at Castle Howard

Big beat of the week: The Chemical Brothers, Castle Howard, near York, nearer Malton, June 26; gates open at 5pm 

HEY boy, hey girl, electronic pioneers The Chemical Brothers are taking to the stately-home grass this summer as Manchester big beat duo Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, both 51, galvanize rave diggers.

Expect such dancefloor nuggets as the chart-topping Setting Sun and Block Rockin’ Beats, Hey Boy, Hey Girl, Let Forever Be, It Began In Afrika, Star Guitar, Galvanize, Do It Again. Got To Keep On and Go. Camping will be available. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.