The man behind the mask: Barry Humphries, Australian actor, comedian, satirist, artist, author and national treasure
BARRY Humphries will reveal The Man Behind The Mask on his new 2022 tour, visiting the Grand Opera House, York, for his only Yorkshire show on April 13.
The Australian actor, comedian, satirist, artist, author and national treasure, who is set to turn 88 on February 17, will take a revelatory trip through his colourful life and theatrical career in an intimate, confessional evening, seasoned with highly personal, sometimes startling and occasionally outrageous stories of Dame Edna Everage et al.
Tickets for the 7.30pm performance go on sale at £46.50 upwards at 10am tomorrow morning on 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york.
The Brits welcomed housewife and talk-show host Dame Edna with open arms as Humphries’ premier alter ego immediately became a household favourite, later joined by obese, lecherous and offensive Australian cultural attaché, the Honourable Sir Les Patterson and the elderly, childless Sandy Stone, “Australia’s most boring man”, as Humphries has called him.
Side by side: Barry Humphries and alter ego Dame Edna Everage promoting his 2014 show Eat Pray Laugh!, Barry Humphries’ Farewell Tour – not true as it now turns out!
Peeling off his mask to introduce the man behind the clown, Humphries says: “This is a show in which I am the principal character; it’s not Les, it’s not Edna, it’s not Sandy Stone. It is really about this character called ‘me’. I’m not in disguise.”
His York audience can expect a virtuoso comic solo performance filled with laughter, drama and surprise. “There will be an opportunity to ask questions and the magic of technology may even allow appearances – or interruptions – by unexpected guests,” Humphries’ press release teases.
Prompt booking is advised for his return to Yorkshire, where he presented Eat Pray Laugh!, Barry Humphries’ Farewell Tour at Leeds Grand Theatre from February 25 to March 1 2014.
Folu Odimayo, Caldonia Walton and Stuart Waters inVoxed’s debut full-length work, Out Late, premiering at the Stephen Joseph Theatre today and tomorrow
VOXED stage the long-awaited world premiere of their first full-length work, Out Late, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, today (25/11/2021) and tomorrow.
Choreographed and directed by artistic director Wayne Parsons, Ankur Bahl’s dance-theatre crime drama follows the fiercely closeted Sebastian, who falls in love with out-and-proud gay man Vinnie and tries to hide his new relationship from his wife, Fifi.
While unravelling Vinnie’s murder, a dark and twisted story of jealousy, shame and manipulation unfolds as Out Late blends virtuosic choreography with a compelling script, performed by dance-theatre artists Folu Odimayo, Caldonia Walton and Stuart Waters. Angus MacRae provides the music; Pooja Ghai, the dramaturgy.
Parsons says: “I’m proud to finally be presenting Out Late, our first stage production as Voxed. As an artist and choreographer, I’m deeply interested in the intersection between dance and theatre and combining these two art forms to share highly original stories that move people.
“There’s so much I’m excited about in presenting this work: Out Late is our first crime drama, our first full-length work, and features an LGBTQ+ storyline at its heart. I can’t wait to share this work with audiences in Scarborough.”
Voxed’s philosophy as a dance theatre company is to look specifically at the relationship between text and movement in narrative dance theatre works, creating digital, in-person, indoor and outdoor projects with community members, writers, film directors, dramaturgs and performers.
The Voxed journey started in 2013 under the name Wayne Parsons Dance. In 2020, the company evolved and rebranded to reflect its aim to “create a space for us all to be creative, to move, to talk and to share our stories”.
Choreographer, movement director and artistic director Parsons previously created Meeting, a finalist at the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition. Vestige emerged in 2017, and in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Parsons devised #GOGGLEDANCE, a national participatory project, taking place outside people’s homes and placing participants as the stars of a reality TV-style mini-series.
Voxed have become the first dance company to be appointed a Stephen Joseph Theatre associate company.
Out Late will be performed at 1.30pm and 7.30pm today and 7.30pm tomorrow. Box office: 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.
Red Ladder Theatre Company’s My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored
RED Ladder Theatre Company present emerging playwright Nana-Kofi Kufuor’s gripping drama My Voice Was Heard But It Was Ignored at Pocklington Arts Centre tonight (25/11/2021).
Supported by Leeds Playhouse and Oldham Coliseum Theatre, Dermot Dal’s thought-provoking production tells the story of 15-year-old Reece, who is roughly accosted by the police outside M&S.
His young, Black teacher, Gillian, witnesses it all but she does not question or intervene in the disturbing scene that plays out. The events that unfold will change both their lives forever in a tussle for power and an urgent exploration of racial identity.
Tickets for Leeds company Red Ladder’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 01759 301547 or at pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Sophie Hammond’s Jovie and Damien Poole’s Buddy go green for York Stage Musicals’ Elf
AFTER The Flint Street Nativity and last winter’s debut pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk, York Stage Musicals are serving up Christmas cheer again with Elf The Musical.
Such is the anticipation for this show that the Grand Opera House run from today until December 3 has all but sold out already. “Out of the 11 performances, we have around only ten tickets left for each show,” says delighted artistic director Nik Briggs.
York Stage Musicals are presenting the York premiere of Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin’s musical, based on the 2003 film, the one with a goofing Will Ferrell.
Should Elf somehow have eluded you, the story follows orphan child Buddy as he mistakenly crawls into Santa Claus’s bag and ends up being transported to his North Pole abode.
Once there, unaware he is human, and not an elf, his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.
Given Santa’s permission, Buddy (played by Damien Poole) must head to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help the Big Apple to remember the true meaning of Christmas.
“We love bringing big Broadway and West End musicals to York: we’ve done Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and Shrek The Musical, and I knew Elf would be perfect for the cast we have: high energy and full of fun,” says Nik.
Elf The Musical director Nik Briggs, left, choreographer Emily Taylor and lead actors Sophie Hammond and Damien Poole at York Stage Musicals’ press launch at Sotano, Little Stonegate, York
“With The Flint Street Nativity and our musical panto, Jack And The Beanstalk, we’ve started bringing alternative Christmas shows to York and Elf perfectly fits that bill.”
How does the musical differ from the film? “The songs, obviously! It’s got a stellar songbook to go will all the comedy that people love from the movie,” says Nik. “The beautiful score is accompanied by a big, brassy band: a 16-piece orchestra directed by the wonderful Stephen Hackshaw. It sounds amazing.”
As affirmed by the ticket sales, Elf has winter winner written all over it. “People love the film; it’s a title they know, and after the past 18 months we’ve all had, it’s the perfect show too see. Pure joy!” says Nik.
“Just as Buddy helps New York to find its Christmas spirit, so Damien and the cast will be helping York to do the same.”
Enthusing over his two leads, Damien Poole, as Buddy and Sophie Hammond, as Buddy’s love interest, Jovie, Nik says: “Damien IS Buddy! He loves Christmas, he’s so full of joy, so energetic, and with his ten years of West End credentials in such shows as Grease and Groundhog Day, he can sustain that throughout the run.
“Sophie is just the most beautiful performer. I remember when she first walked in to audition for Footloose, more than ten years ago, I was just blown away, casting her as Ariel, the preacher’s daughter with the looks and rebellious attitude of a bad girl. She really takes the audience on a journey when she performs.”
After mounting Jack And The Beanstalk at Theatre@41, Monkgate, last Christmas with the requirement for social bubbles, a compact cast and the constant uncertainty over whether the show would have to be called off (only the finale was lost in the end), Nik is once more producing a show under the Covid cloud.
“After the past 18 months we’ve all had, Elf is the perfect show too see. Pure joy!” says director Nik Briggs
“We’ve kept our numbers to what would be the cast size for a tour – around 20 – and we’ve never stopped learning from the shows we’ve done since the pandemic forced changes, starting with the outdoor concerts at Rowntree Park in late-summer 2020 and the panto,” he says, as he attends to the Elf and safety requirements.
“That’s put us in a really good position to run a show like this, with all the requirements for Lateral Flow Tests and wearing masks when necessary.”
After the hit run of Shrek The Musical, directed and choreographed by Damien Poole after his return to Boston Spa from his West End work, York Stage Musicals are thrilled to be back at the Grand Opera House for Elf. “We love working with the team here, and we love the technical possibilities the stage affords us,” says Nik, who has done the set design on top of his directing duties.
“We’ve had the set built by companies and builders around the country for a brand new set design that works perfectly with the space, inspired by New York and Radio City Music Hall, in Midtown Manhattan, which I visited in 2019, shortly before Covid arrived.”
Looking ahead, York Stage Musicals will be returning to the Grand Opera House from April 22 to 30 next year for the York premiere of Gary Barlow and Tim Firth’s Calendar Girls: The Musical. Write that one down on your 2022 calendar and be sure to book early.
York Stage Musicals in Elf The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight (25/11/2021) until December 3. Box office: hurry, hurry to atgtickets.com/York or ring 0844 871 7615.
Copyright of The Press, York
Damien Poole and Sophie Hammond: Actors, teachers and stars of York Stage Musicals’ Elf The Musical
SOPHIE Hammond is completing a full circle as she returns to the Grand Opera House stage in York tonight in York Stage Musicals’ Elf The Musical.
“This is my first time back in a York Stage show since playing Ariel in 2010 in Footloose. I was blonde at the time,” recalls Sophie, her hair now darker, as she takes the role of Buddy’s love interest, Jovie, in Elf.
“That was my first show with York Stage Musicals, as after Footloose I went off to London to train in musical theatre at the American Musical Theatre Academy, where I managed to get myself an agent and went into performing jobs.”
Four years into the profession, Sophie made a career change. “I decided I wanted to teach performing arts at secondary school, and I’ve been teaching at Beckfoot School, in Bradford, for three years, which have whizzed by,” she says.
Sophie performed in the second of York Stage Musicals’ outdoor concerts in Rowntree Park in Summer 2020 and now she is treading the boards once more at the Grand Opera House. “It feels like it’s a nice circle being completed, being back there after 11 years,” she says.
LIKE Sophie Hammond, Damien Poole has left London behind to make a new start.
“I’d lived there for 15 years, working in the West End, but four years ago I decided to set up my theatre school, Damien Poole Theatre Arts, which I run in Harrogate, and I also work at the Leeds Conservatoire music school, working with musical theatre degree students,” he says.
After directing and choreographing York Stage Musicals’ September 2019 production of Shrek The Musical – “an amazing experience,” he says – Damien now faces the challenge of balancing his teaching duties with playing the lead character of Buddy in YSM’s Elf.
“I try to make time by changing my times at the theatre school and Leeds, so I can rehearse on Wednesdays and Sundays and have Thursdays off,” he says.
He is relishing taking on the role synonymous with Will Farrell. “Obviously I’m not going to be able to create what Will Farrell did in creating Buddy’s character in the film, but I get to sing and dance, and you get to see more layers to Buddy in the musical,” says Damien.
James Swanton: “Old-fashioned storytelling in a suitably atmospheric space”. Picture: Jtu Photography
AFTER the silent nights of last December, York gothic actor supreme James Swanton is gleefully reviving his Ghost Stories For Christmas trilogy at York Medical Society, Stonegate, York.
“What an enormous relief it is to return to live theatre,” says this former winner of the Outstanding Performing Artist prize in the now dormant York Culture Awards as he prepares for his Dickensian yarn-spinning residency on various dates from December 2 to 13.
Once more, he will be the black-clad, spindle-fingered gatekeeper for all manner of supernatural terrors after memorising three hours of wintery material for his “seasonal roulette of three Dickensian tales”.
Ghost Stories For Christmas comprises James’s solo renditions of A Christmas Carol, The Chimes and The Haunted Man, returning to life anew in York before transferring to the Charles Dickens Museum, in Doughty Street, London, in the run-up to Christmas.
James’s past Dickensian theatre work has met with the approval of notable fellow thesps Simon Callow and Miriam Margolyes, the former describing his West End show Sikes & Nancy as “startling and enthralling”; the latter finding his 2017 performances at the Dickens Museum “extraordinary”, “superb” and “pictorially vivid”.
‘I’m delighted to finally be getting back to live theatre in my home city of York, where it’s hard to imagine a more authentically Dickensian location than the York Medical Society on Stonegate,” says James.
“This year, I’ve scheduled extra performances of A Christmas Carol: the perfect cheering antidote, I feel, to the misery we’ve all been through over the past few years.
“But the two lesser-known stories, The Chimes and The Haunted Man, are also very relevant to our times. The Chimes is absolutely hilarious, but also overbrims with anger at the injustices done to the most unfortunate in society. And The Haunted Man is not only a chilling supernatural tale, but a portrait of a man wrestling with his mental health. These subjects have been much on our minds through the pandemic.”
James judges A Christmas Carol to be “one of the greatest things ever written”. “I’ve found there’s nothing more satisfying to perform as an actor. And there’s no story that audiences are more eager to hear to the end,” he reasons.
As in 2018 and 2019, Ghost Stories For Christmas is selling quickly. “I was shocked 36 hours ago to find that we’d sold 80 per cent of the seats – I think because York Theatre Royal put us in their email newsletter – so I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re completely sold out in the next few days,” says James.
“I’m hoping – if I give the shows next year – to do them at fuller capacity over a longer period. We’re up to seven nights this year, but I wonder if we might build on even that when we get to (I hope) post-pandemic times. Perhaps a bigger venue is something to look into too.”
James Swanton presents Ghost Stories For Christmas, by Charles Dickens, at York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, December 2 to 13. A Christmas Carol: December 2, 3, 6, 7 and 13. The Haunted Man: December 4. The Chimes, December 9. All performances start at 7pm and last approximately one hour. To book, make haste to the York Theatre Royal box office, ring 01904 623568 or head online to yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
“It’s ironic that the Victorian Christmas has come to stand for a fairytale vision of an idyllic past,” says James Swanton. Picture: Jtu Phoography
Ahead of his Dickens of a theatrical task in York, James Swanton answers CharlesHutchPress’s questions.
What form do your three shows take: a reading or rather more than that in each one-man show?
“I’m happy to say that these are fully fledged dramatisations rather than Jackanory-style readings. It is quite the Labour of Hercules: 180 minutes of text to memorise to cover the three one-hour readings! But it’s worth it to ensure these pieces are truly alive. My abridgements are closely based on Dickens’s own performance scripts, so their faith to their sources is absolute.”
Will you use a similar performance style for each tale?
“This is old-fashioned storytelling in a suitably atmospheric space. I’m hoping to use every physical and vocal trick in my repertoire to make the audience see Dickens’s pictures as clearly as I do myself.”
What are the storylines in The Chimes and The Haunted Man?
“Just like A Christmas Carol, these lesser-known works hinge on disenchanted older men who must encounter the supernatural to change for the better. The Chimes is the exuberant tale of a lowly ticket-porter who finds goblins squatting in the bells of his local church.
“Meanwhile, The Haunted Man is a Gothic chiller about a chemist who hatches a bargain with his ghostly double to remove all of his sorrowful memories.”
What have you been up to since you were last to be spotted on a York stage pre-Covid’s grim clasp?
“Continuing my supernatural association, I’ve just been back on a southern stage, thanks to the London Horror Festival, with a very delayed revival of Irving Undead – a production that of course originated at York Medical Society.
“I’ve maintained the home connection by livestreaming M. R. James and Dickens ghost stories with the wonderful York Ghost Merchants throughout the pandemic, from their premises on Shambles to a global audience.
“People would tune in from the most astonishingly far-flung places: various different states in America, Canada, Australia! It was touching to know that people were coming together to share a moment in the middle of the pandemic.’
“And I’ve bashed out horror film after horror film, including the phenomenally popular Host, in which I make the cameo of the century – to absolutely nobody’s surprise – as the demonic spirit who crashes the Zoom call. Business as (un)usual.”
How did you make the Zoom-set Host under Covid conditions?
“The actors shot it at home on their mobile phones during the first lockdown. I struggle to think of any other feature film that’s been partly shot in Acomb – never mind one that went on to reach a global audience.
“Stephen King said he enjoyed it, which was a bit of a thrill, and it was heralded by many critics as the defining horror film of 2020.”
Does the miserable impact of Covid-19’s lockdowns and its refusal to die a death gracefully put the telling of ghost stories in a different light this Christmas?
“I’m sure it does. These tales are all rather death-obsessed beneath their jollier garnishings, though perhaps it’ll make us more inclined to go to these stories for escapism now.
“We only have a very, very little time to get life right; to leave this world fractionally better than when we entered it,” says James Swanton. Picture: Jtu Photography
“It’s ironic that the Victorian Christmas has come to stand for a fairytale vision of an idyllic past. Dickens was under no such illusions: The Chimes is especially furious – an unhinged rant in places – though A Christmas Carol isn’t far behind.”
How will the theatre-going experience at York Medical Society differ from the 2019 production? Masks on? Social distancing?
“To keep everyone safe in these uncertain times, it’s primarily been a matter of reducing capacity to give audiences that vital breathing space, so we’re on course for a sell-out much earlier than usual.
“The dividend is that this should guarantee an even more intimate and special experience for those who are able to secure a ticket. But they better rush!”
What makes York Medical Society such a good setting for your performances?
“It’s a building that feels properly immersive: travelling down that alley to the door with the knocker feels like an approach to Scrooge’s house on that fatal night when Jacob Marley’s face put in an appearance.
“I’ve also been pleased to discover that Henry Belcombe, the second president of York Medical Society, was a social acquaintance of Charles Dickens.”
Were you tempted to look at doing any new additions to your Dickens’ Christmas repertoire? Might that happen in future?
“I think the present three work rather well in concert, each one shedding light on the others. Dickens’s other Christmas books can be terribly twee; I did all five at the Dickens Museum in 2017, and Michael Slater (our foremost Dickens scholar) came to The Battle Of Life on the basis that he couldn’t believe anyone had been mad enough to attempt it.
“Of Dickens’s spookier stories, I last year had a crack at The Signal-Man with the York Ghost Merchants – but a less Christmassy tale can hardly be imagined!”
As a performer, what changes when you revisit material you have performed previously? Do you tweak the text at all?
“The material changes as I change; little details leap out or recede every year. For instance, I’ve this time been struck by how Scrooge, like almost all people who pride themselves on ice-cold rationality, turns out to be a being of emotion beyond anything. He bursts into tears at the drop of a hat throughout his story.
“More practically, the text of The Haunted Man has been in a state of flux from the word go. It’s the only one of the three that Dickens didn’t perform himself – he started preparing a script before abandoning it – so I’m determined to one day crack it.”
What can we learn as a modern society from social reformist Dickens’s ideal of a good Christmas?
“Focus on your family. The Christmas dinner served up by the Cratchits is impoverished indeed, but their delight in each other’s company makes it into a feast.
“But Dickens also means us to acknowledge the entire human family. We are all of us connected and we only have a very, very little time to get life right; to leave this world fractionally better than when we entered it.”
PHOENIX Dance Theatre launch their 40th anniversary celebrations at York Theatre Royal this week after completing their Bernstein Double Bill travels with Opera North.
The 40 Years Of Pheonix birthday programme, presented at 7.30pm tomorrow (23/11/2021) and Wednesday, brings together diverse work from the groundbreaking Leeds company’s past, selected by artistic director Dane Hurst.
“This year marks an extraordinary milestone, and in honour of 40 years since Phoenix’s founding, we’re excited to bring back these iconic pieces, each of which has a unique place in the company’s history,” he says.
“It’s been an honour and a joy to welcome these choreographers and creatives back into the studio – either or in person – and see the works come to life, which together demonstrate the breadth and range that the company’s repertoire has explored over the last four decades.
“On taking up this role earlier this year, I wanted to use the milestone of the anniversary to recognise the spirit and urgency out of which the company was created in 1981. I’m confident that this programme, alongside additional celebratory activities, will achieve just that.”
Combining celebration and reflection, 40 Years Of Phoenix comprises Lost Dog duo Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer’s sensual and confrontational duet Pave Up Paradise; Henri Oguike’s unflinching and thrilling Signal; Shapiro and Smith’s satirical Family; Jane Dudley’s 1938 masterpiece Harmonica Breakdown and Darshan Singh Bhuller’s revamped Heart Of Chaos, inspired by the story of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion;.
“After I became artistic director in January, when the country was in lockdown, I began researching the Phoenix archive. I wasn’t in Leeds at the time – I was in London – and had no access to the VHS tapes of many of the older works,” says Dane.
“But it was exciting to look through photographs, read the write-ups, and to discover the works that were symbolic of the times under my seven predecessors.
“I learned that a lot of the archive is at Leeds University, but the early years under David Hamilton, Phoenix’s founder and first artistic director, are not well documented, so many of those works are now lost.”
Nevertheless, Dane has responded to the challenge of capturing the essence of 40 years of Pheonix since its formation, initially as an all-black troupe, by three teenage friends from inner-city Leeds, Hamilton, Donald Edwards and Vilmore James, encouraged to do so by their tutors, Charles Gardener and John Auty at Intake High School and Nadine Senior at Harehills Middle School.
“After 40 years, in which perhaps three to six new pieces have been created each year, there were still many works to choose from,” Dane says. “It’s been a challenge to distil the full breadth and depth and richness of the company’s achievement into just five pieces; I only wish we could perform multiple birthday programmes!
“But I feel that the final selection is of five essential works that display something of the scope and reach of what dance can achieve. The pieces challenge the dancers technically and they’re all very different musically.”
Lost Dog’s Pave Up Paradise revisits Adam and Eve after their fall from grace, tracking the pair as they squabble over who was to blame for their loss of paradise in a witty and irreverent examination of guilt, innocence and lust for forbidden fruit, accompanied by acoustic arrangements of Jeff Buckley and The Strokes.
“Adam and Eve is the story that keeps replaying generation after generation,” says Dane. “Pave Up Paradise is the universal story of a man meeting a woman, having an encounter, going too deep, and then realising the consequences of their actions. Both characters are equally strong.
“It’s a beautiful, funny, theatrical piece, with a musician live on stage and spoken text for the dancers. Created by male/female choreographic duo Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer, they give both a male and a female perspective on one of the oldest stories in the world.”
Half-Nigerian, half-Welsh choreographer Henri Oguike was raised in a “blighted former steel town in Wales,” as he puts it. His high-octane work, Signal, first stunned Phoenix audiences in 2004 with its frenzy of the battlefield yet sense of calm at the centre of the storm.
“It’s an exhibition of pure physicality, performed to Japanese Taiko drumming, with real live flames on stage and heavy percussive music,” says Dane. “There is a reason why the music has to be loud: you need to feel it in the chest.
“The beating of the drum sends a vibration through the air and the dancers need to feel that vibration and embody a physicality that’s rooted in a primal instinct: of hearing the drumbeat/heartbeat in the womb. This is pure dance: a physical, abstract, virtuoso, powerhouse of a piece.”
Ordinary passions, dramas and tensions that define the complexities of family life and human interaction are transformed into an acrobatic spectacle in Family, a satirical, fly-on-the-wall dance choreographed by husband-and-wife American duo Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith, premiered by Phoenix in 1982.
“It’s a deeply comic look at dysfunctional relationships, whether between husband and wife, mother and daughter, brother and sister, boyfriend and uncle, with music that’s quite circus-like, and it’s interesting for a dance company to do, because you’re like a family of dancers as you travel around, and it all depends on who’s in the company at the time,” says Dane.
Jane Dudley’s Harmonica Breakdown, choreographed in 1938 in response to the Depression in America and the forced migration of workers, features a lone female dancer creating a poetic representation of an individual’s struggle to gain self-respect and dignity in a cruel, volatile world.
“In just three and a half minutes, it encapsulates not only the role of a woman in society at that time, but also the experience of African-American people and the white working class in America in the 1920s and ’30s,” says Dane.
“Starting from a broken-winged position, the woman leans forward against a force that abruptly stops her. Defiantly, she keeps moving. It’s a piece that says so much about how particular groups of people were held back, economically and socially.
“It’s been a very special experience for Yuma Sylla, our newest dancer, to be taught this masterpiece by Dr S Ama Wray, associate professor of dance at the University of California, who studied with Jane Dudley.”
When Dane asked former Phoenix artistic director Darshan Singh Bhuller if he could include Heart Of Chaos, a piece he had created in 1993 when a young choreographer, Darshan would only agree on one condition.
“He said, ‘I will only let you have this work if I can revisit it and place it in the context of the Jack Johnson story’,” recalls Dane. “He told me about the ‘Galveston Giant’, the African-American boxer who became heavyweight champion of the world in 1908. Jack Johnson was a larger-than-life, volatile figure, whose success brought him riches and fame, much to the dismay of white America at the time, who hated him.
“He owned cars, he owned nightclubs, he broke the taboo of black men consorting with white women and married three white women, one of whom was Etta Duryea, who took her life in 1912 because he was abusive.”
Against the modern-day Leeds backdrop of Azeem Rafiq highlighting “institutional racism” at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Dane says: “For me, Heart Of Chaos is the jewel in the crown of this 40th anniversary programme: a piece from the Phoenix archive that has been re- worked for our times.
“Although it’s rooted in history, this is a story for the present day, when we’re still dealing with the issue of racism and inequality in sport and in wider society.”
Challenging segregated sport and white America in the era of Jim Crow and the Jazz Age, with music by Wynton Marsalis, Dane describes Darshan’s Heart of Chaos as being filmic in style. “That’s because he’s a filmmaker as well as a choreographer,” he says.
Phoenix Dance Theatre – or Phoenix Dance Company as the company was first called after Charles Gardener first suggested using ‘Phoenix’ – have been true to the meaning of that word. “I think there’s a magic that lies within this company, and it comes from how it was founded by three teenagers against the odds, with a love for dance and their community, telling their stories, and that humbleness, that humanity, still underpins the company.
“Phoenix has risen to the heights, then fallen, then risen again. I was a young member of the company in 2009, when everyone was sent packing for a mixture of artistic differences and personal and financial reasons at that time.
“What has happened to Phoenix is true to the myth; it reaches great heights, then burns out, and to keep going, it then has to reinvent itself as a new troupe, completing a cycle again and then starting anew again.”
Phoenix’s dancers have diversified over 40 years too. “The thing is, the world is changing and more and more countries are becoming diverse because of people’s ability to travel,” says Dane. “Phoenix represents that melting pot of culture and the company will grow and develop with everything that is strong about what makes Britain Britain now, multiculturally, and we must celebrate that as a company, reaching out to people from every background.
“Dance transcends all barriers of language, race, sexuality and religion. When the body moves in its symmetry, you can only feel the beauty of the body moving in space – and that is the one thing we all identify with: being able to move.”
Broadening out this point, Dane says: “Dance moves us emotionally; it challenges us intellectually; it transports us in fantasy. In dance, the human body reaches incredible heights of sheer physicality and precision of execution, in unison, to music.
“Without a word being uttered, dance can communicate across so many different barriers: barriers of language, barriers of culture, and also barriers of ingrained perceptions. Culturally, we are all shaped according to where we live and the structures of our society, so we see the world very differently from each other. But when the body moves to music and a particular story is told without recourse to language, it can reach and touch everybody.”
Looking ahead, Dane says: “My hope is that the company will nurture its legacy over the next 40 years and continue to make amazing new work, because when we let the heart speak through the art, we can make a connection with everyone. If we can continue to do that, it will be a job well done.”
It will, however, be a job done without Dane, who will be leaving Phoenix to return to his native South Africa on December 4. “I don’t think we’ve been able to take stock yet of how much the pandemic has affected us. My family in South Africa is going through its own horrible times: I have lost three relatives to Covid.
“Since the pandemic, everything we do is being looked at again and re-evaluated. In my case, I left my family in 2003 to chase my dream of being an international artist, but now I need to go home to take care of my family.
“The company has put together a good vision for the future, with the tour running until next May and a programme in place until 2023. Even though I am leaving, it is with a heavy heart, and I will not lose my connection with the company. I’ll be only 12 hours away!”
What’s more, Dane will travel from South Africa for Phoenix’s celebration gala at Leeds Playhouse on February 12 next year, when nine companies will take part in the 40th anniversary event. “I’m coming over specially for that to cheer everyone one,” he says.
Phoenix Dance Theatre in 40 Years Of Phoenix, York Theatre Royal, November 23 and 24, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
MOSCOW City Ballet will present The Nutcracker at the Grand Opera House, York, on January 23 2022.
Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, this enchanting tale is both an eternal winter favourite and the perfect introduction to Russian classical ballet with its timeless story of Clara being whisked away on a fairytale adventure by her Nutcracker Prince.
Moscow City Ballet is among the world’s most prestigious touring ballet companies, showcasing works from the Russian and Soviet ballet heritage, whether the classics, such as Swan Lake and Giselle, or children’s favourites, such as The Nutcracker and Cinderella.
Moscow City Ballet’s performances combine Russia’s best dancers and beautiful sets and costumes with a live orchestra and breath-taking choreography.
Tickets are on sale at atgtickets.com/york or on 0844 871 7615.
A Christmas tree on January 23? Yes, in Moscow City Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Grand Opera House, York
Forty years on: ABBA’s voyage back to the recording studio
NOW, even podcaster Graham Chalmers has bought into ABBA’s return after 40 years, buying comeback album Voyage.
Hear his verdict in Episode 65 of Two Big Egos In A Small Car, under questioning from Charles Hutchinson. Together they then recommend 2022 releases that could just be fabber than Abba.
Under discussion too are next January’s relaunch of bespoke Charm gigs in Harrogate; seeing/not seeing Soft Cell’s home-coming 40th anniversary show in Leeds…and Colin Firth’s hair in Eva Husson’s new upstairs/downstairs film Mothering Sunday.
Queen’s counsel: Ben Elton, director of 20th anniversary tour production of We We Will Rock You. Picture: Trevor Leighton
WRITER Ben Elton is to direct the 20th anniversary tour of We Will Rock You, the futuristic musical he scripted for Queen. Week two will bring his 2022 cast to the Grand Opera House, York, from February 14 to 19.
“I can hardly believe it’s been 20 years since We Will Rock You premiered in London, or that much of what we thought was science fiction in the script back then has turned into science fact,” says Elton, the Eighties’ godfather of political stand-up comedy, writer for stage and screen and novelist.
“I guess Queen were always ahead of the game! I’ve directed this show all over the world and I can’t wait to bring it home to the UK with a brand new production and a fabulous cast of young Bohemians, Bohemians, most of whom were rocking in their cradles when this adventure first began.”
Queen guitarist Brian May: musical advisor for We Will Rock You. Picture: Rankin
Powered by 24 Queen songs, We Will Rock You tells the story of a globalised future without musical instruments where a handful of rock rebels, the Bohemians, fight against the all-powerful Global soft company and its boss, the Killer Queen, in the cause of freedom, individuality and the rebirth of the age of rock.
Scaramouche and Galileo, two young outsiders, cannot come to terms with the bleak conformist reality, joining the Bohemians to embark on the search to find the unlimited power of freedom, love and rock.
The tour cast will be led Ian McIntosh as Galileo and Elena Skye as Scaramouche, with Jenny O’Leary as Killer Queen, Adam Strong as Khashoggi, Michael Mckell as Buddy, Martina Ciabatti Mennell as Oz, David Michael Johnson as Brit.
We Will Rock You: Touring 27 venues on 20th anniversary tour. Picture: Johan Persson
The ensemble will include Laura Bird, Kate Leiper, Joanne Harper, Anna Davey, Edward Leigh, Spin, Karen Walker, David Muscat, Damien Walsh, Laura Ava-Scott, Victoria Collins, Joseph Connor, Louis Clarke-Clare and Jacob Fearey.
The idea for the musical emerged from a meeting between Hollywood actor Robert De Niro and Queen musicians May and Roger Taylor in Venice in 1996.
De Niro’s daughter was a fan of the ubiquitous British band, prompting De Niro to ask if the rock legends had ever thought of creating a musical based on their songs.
Queen drummer Roger Taylor: Musical advisor on We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You was born, premiered at the Dominion Theatre in May 2002, with May and Taylor as musical advisors, and the musical has since played to 16 million people in 19 countries.
Kicking off at the Kings Theatre, Portsmouth, the 2022 tour will visit 27 venues, including a second Yorkshire run at Sheffield City Hall from August 29 to September 3.
York tickets are on sale at 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york; Sheffield, sheffieldcityhall.co.uk.
So frustrated: Paul Chowdhry has his say on Covid, fame, England’s football team and Tom Cruise’s chopper at the Grand Opera House, York, tonight
IMAGINE if you could have a busy week ahead? Let Charles Hutchinson fill your diary.
Angriest comedy gig of the week: Paul Chowdhry, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 8pm
AFTER barely surviving the pandemic, British-Asian stand-up Paul Chowdhry tackles the UK’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis and why the rules of six only worked for white people in Family-Friendly Comedian (No Children).
Two years of pent-up frustration go into this new tour show, where Londoner Chowdhry also discusses fame, England football fans and Tom Cruise landing his helicopter in someone’s garden. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york.
Chesca Cholewa: Writer of Imagine If Theatre Company’s My Old Man
Studio play of the week: Imagine If Theatre Company in My Old Man, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm
IMAGINE If Theatre Company, from Leeds, is touring a part-theatre, part-film production of Chesca Cholewa’s humorous and heartfelt play My Old Man.
When Michal Piwowarski’s granddaughter, Tasha (played by Cholewa), finally moves out, his whole world changes. The school dinner-lady becomes his favourite person, a new neighbour moves on to the street, and Michal (Paul Shelley) has to face his biggest battle yet as My Old Man follows the trials and tribulations of this old, blind Polish soldier. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorkthreatreroyal.co.uk.
Songs and Stables’ leadership: Kate Stables brings her band This Is The Kit to The Citadel tomorrow night
Experimental gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Citadel, Gillygate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
KATE Stables’ experimental folk quartet This Is The Kit return to York for a special show at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ, presented by Please Please You, The Crescent and Brudenell Presents. Support comes from Nuala Honan and Pavey Ark. Box office: brudenellsocialclub.seetickets.com.
York artist Karen Winship, taking part in the Inspired Christmas event at York Cemetery Chapel
Christmas shopping? Opportunity presents itself at Inspired, York Cemetery Chapel, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
INSPIRED, the annual Christmas show by York artist and designer makers, will be held at York Cemetery Chapel, in Cemetery Road, York, this weekend.
Taking part will be Jo Bagshaw and Richard Whitelegg, jewellery; Catherine Boyne-Whitelegg, pottery; Petra Bradley, textiles; Sally Clarke, collage printmaking; Angela Newdick, collage and surface pattern design; Adi French and Karen Winship, painting, and John Watts and Wilf Williams, furniture.
PQA York’s poster for Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr at the JoRo
Children’s show of the week: PQA Productions in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow and Saturday, 7.30pm
PAULINE Quirke Academy (PQA) York journeys under the sea with Ariel and her aquatic friends in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr, adapted from Disney’s Broadway show and film, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story of sacrifices made for love and acceptance.
Young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her magical ocean home and fins behind for the world above. First, however, she must defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with evil sea witch Ursula and convince Prince Eric she is the girl whose enchanting voice he has been seeking. Separate casts perform the two shows. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Adam Sowter, Florence Poskitt, Alexandra Mather and Andrew Roberts in rehearsal for Saturday’s Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny
Witty and warm songs of the week: Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
FLADAM duo Florence Poskitt and pianist Adam Sowter take to the Theatre@41 stage with thespian friends Alexandra Mather, Andrew Roberts and Andrew Isherwood for two shows of musical comedy joy.
Fladam’s own topical witty ditties will be complemented by a celebration of Morecambe & Wise, Bernard Cribbins, Victoria Wood and more. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Scarlett Waugh, left, and Libby Anderson: Sharing the role of Dorothy in NE Musicals York’s production of The Wizard Of Oz
Sparkling slippers of the week: NE Musicals York in The Wizard Of Oz, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Tuesday (23/11/2021) to Saturday
DIRECTOR Steve Tearle has assembled a cast of 60 for NE Musicals York’s energetic staging of The Wizard Of Oz, led by Libby Anderson and Scarlett Waugh, who will alternate the role of Dorothy.
Further roles go to Maia Stroud as Glinda; YO1 presenter Chris Marsden, the Wizard of Oz; Perri Ann Barley, Wicked Witch of the West; Finley Butler, the Scarecrow; Kristian Barley, the Tin Man, and Tearle himself as the Cowardly Lion.
Expect an all-singing, all-dancing production with special effects by Adam Moore’s team at Tech247. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Phoenix rising again: Phoenix Dance Theatre celebrate their 40th anniversary this autumn, opening their tour at York Theatre Royal
Dance celebration of the week: Phoenix Dance Theatre in 40 Years Of Phoenix, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.30pm
PHOENIX Dance Theatre launch their milestone 40th birthday programme at York Theatre Royal, bringing together highlights from the Leeds company’s groundbreaking history.
Phoenix will combine celebration and reflection in a show featuring Lost Dog duo Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer’s Pave Up Paradise; former artistic director Darshan Singh Bhuller’s Heart Of Chaos; Henri Oguike’s Signal; Shapiro and Smith’s satirical piece Family and Jane Dudley’s 1938 masterpiece Harmonica Breakdown. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Director Nik Briggs, left, choreographer Emily Taylor and lead actors Sophie Hammond and Damien Poole at the launch of York Stage Musicals’ festive show, Elf! The Musical
Christmas musical of the week: York Stage Musicals in Elf! The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 25 to December 3
YORK Stage Musicals present the York premiere of Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin’s Elf! The Musical, directed by artistic director Nik Briggs.
Based on Will Ferrell’s 2003 film, Elf! follows orphan child Buddy to Santa’s North Pole abode, where, unaware he is human, his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.
Given Santa’s permission, Buddy (Damien Poole) heads to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help the Big Apple to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Amaka Okafor: Taking part in the staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s Maryland at Friargate Theatre, York
Play readings of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company presents Maryland, Friargate Theatre, York, November 26, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
TWO staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s 30-minute protest play will feature Amaka Okafor, from the original Royal Court Theatre cast, Laura Pyper, Mark Holgate, Cassie Vallance, Kesiah Joseph, Patricia Jones and Meg Blowey.
Kirkwood wrote Maryland as a “passionate and furious act of resistance to draw attention to the shocking numbers of women who repeatedly suffer violent abuse throughout Britain. The play is not specific; it addresses issues of police behaviour and a culture of violence against women and girls”.
After sold-out performances in London, the Royal Court offered Maryland for free for theatre companies to perform in solidarity and protest. York company Riding Lights has taken up that opportunity, with associate director Bridget Foreman directing the readings. Box office: 01904 613000.
James: Teaming up with Happy Mondays for a Manchester night out in Leeds
Gig of the week ahead outside York: James and special guests Happy Mondays, Leeds First Direct Arena, November 25, doors, 6pm
ALL of 33 years ago, Factory label mates James and Happy Mondays first toured together. Now, two of Manchester’s champion bands reunite for a November and December arena tour.
“Last played with them in 1988, hopefully this time they won’t steal our rider or try and spike my drink,” tweeted Tim Booth, James’s Clifford-born frontman, when announcing the dates with rapscallion rascals Shaun Ryder, Bez and co.
James, who played Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer, will be showcasing their “sweet 16th” album, All The Colours Of You, released in June. Box office: firstdirectarena.com. Stage times: Happy Mondays, 7.30pm; James, 9pm.
