Libby Greenhill’s Medium Alison, Hattie Wells’s Young Alison and Claire Morley’s Aliso in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
YORK company Pick Me Up Theatre will stage Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s award-garlanded musical Fun Home at the York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, from September 10 to 19.
Please note, the seating capacity is only 40, so prompt booking is advised at ticketsource.co.uk/pickmeuptheatrecom for this electrifying version of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel.
The winner of five Tony Awards on Broadway, Fun Home opened at the Young Vic, London, in 2018 to sell-out audiences. Now comes its York premiere, directed and designed by Robert Readman.
Dale Vaughan’s Bruce, Alison’s father in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Meet Alison at three stages of her life as memories of her 1970s’ childhood in a funeral home merge with her college love life and her coming out.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Director Robert Readman was thrilled when the rights to Fun Home became available. “I jumped at the chance to produce this amazing musical – it is such a moving and unusual story and I love the score and the book,” he says.
“Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes as Alison looks back on her complex relationship with her father and finds they had more in common than she ever knew.
Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for next month’s production of Fun Home at York Medical Society
“It’s a remarkable show that won Tony awards for best musical, score, book, leading actor and direction, and we’re very lucky to have such a magnificent, tight cast to bring to life Alison Bechdel’s best-selling book, based on her own life. And I feel the atmospheric, very intimate venue of the York Medical Society will work so well for our production.”
Readman’s cast will be led by Claire Morley as Alison, Libby Greenhill as Medium Alison and Hattie Wells as Young Alison, joined by Catherine Foster as Helen, Dale Vaughan as Bruce, Alison’s father, Teddy Alexander as John, Oliver Smith as Christian, Britney Brett as Joan and the multi-role-playing Cain Branton as JRoy/Pete/Mark/Bobby. Natalie Walker is the musical director.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Fun Home, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, September 10 to 19, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees Content guidance: Themes of LGBTQ+, suicide and strong language. Parental guidance: 12 plus. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/pickmeuptheatre.com.
The cast on the first day of rehearsals for the 2025-2026 tour of James Graham’s Dear England, visiting Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford. Picture: Justine Matthew
THE National Theatre’s 2025-2026 tour of James Graham’s Dear England – “the Gareth Southgate play” – will visit Leeds Grand Theatre from November 4 to 8.
Further Yorkshire runs are booked into Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from October 21 to 25 and Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, for February 17 to 21 2026.
Heading the cast will be David Sturzakeras England manager – and knighted Harrogate resident – Gareth Southgate, alongside EastEndersand Mount Pleasant actress Samantha Womack in the role of team psychologist Pippa Grange.
Directed by Almeida Theatre artistic director Rupert Goold, the cast also features returnees Jass Beki as Bukayo Saka; Courtney George as Alex Scott; Tom Lane as Eric Dier and Miles Henderson in Ensemble roles.
David Sturzaker: Playing Gareth Southgate in Dear England, on tour in 2025-2026. Picture: Michael Shelford
Joining them will be company newcomers Jake Ashton-Nelson as Jordan Henderson; Luke Azille as Jadon Sancho; Ian Bartholomew as Greg Dyke; Ashley Byam as Raheem Sterling; Steven Dykes as Sam Allardyce; Oscar Gough as Harry Kane; Jayden Hanley as Marcus Rashford; Connor Hawker as Harry Maguire; Ian Kirkby as Gary Lineker; Jack Maddison as Jordan Pickford; Liam Prince-Donnelly as Dele Alli and George Rainsford as Mike Webster. In the squad too are Stuart Ash, Natalie Boakye, Sam Craig and Jonathan Markwood.
Premiered in June 2023, Graham’s inspiring, at times heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story of Gareth Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England football manager won the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Play, en route to breaking box-office records in its West End run.
Dear England charts Southgate’s impact when taking over from Sam Allardyce in 2016. As the play’s synopsis puts it: “It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. The England men’s team has the worst track record for penalties in the world, and manager Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land”.
The tour will visit 16 venues fromSeptember 15 2025 to March 14 2026in a co-production with Josh Andrews and Stuart Galbraith for JAS Theatricals. Goold is joined in the production team by set designer Es Devlin, whose credits include Beyonce’s Renaissance world tour and The Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre, along with costume designer Evie Gurney; lighting designer Jon Clark; co-movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf; video designer Ash J Woodward, and co-sound designers Dan Balfourand Tom Gibbons.
Samantha Womack: Playing team psychologist Pippa Grange in Dear England. Picture: Michelle George
They are joined by tour revival director Connie Treves; revival movement director Tom Herron;casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor;associate set designer Alice Hallifax; associate lighting designer Ben Jacobs; associate video designer Libby Ward; associate sound designer Johnny Edwards; casting associate Lilly Mackie and resident director Dan Hutton.
The National Theatre will run a year-long schools engagement programme inspired by Gareth Southgate’s “Dear England” open letter that he wrote to England fans in 2021.
This programme, designed to prompt young people to reflect on their own place in history, just as the footballers in Southgate’s squad were encouraged to do, comes in response to 2025 being the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
It will be delivered to 10,000 pupils in schools across England at assemblies and workshops, using spoken word and sound design to support students to share the hopes and aspirations they have for themselves, and other young people, 80 years from now.
The cast of Dear England at the National Theatre this spring. Picture: Marc Brenner
The resulting sound archive will form a 2025–2026 time capsule. In addition, students will be invited to attend performances of Dear Englandduring the tour.
Dear Englandwas commissioned by the National Theatre and developed with the theatre’s New Work department for its world premiere on June 20 2023 in the Olivier theatre. A sold-out run was followed by a transfer to the Prince Edward Theatre, London, from October 9 2023 to January 13 2024, where box-office records were broken.
Dear Englandwas released to cinemas through National Theatre Live on January 24 2024 and has been screened almost 2,500 times across the UK.
In February 2024, the BBC announced its commission of a four-part drama of Dear England, based on the stage production, for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Tane Siah’s Bukayo Saka and Gwilym Lee’s Gareth Southgate in Dear England at the National Theatre this spring. Picture: Marc Brennen
Graham’s play returned to the National Theatre in Spring 2025, updated to reflect the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, Southgate’s final chapter as England manager that ended, spoiler alert, with defeat to Spain in the final. The regional premiere was staged in a four-week run at The Lowry, Salford, that opened on May 29.
The 2025/2026 national tour is supported by Incentivising Touring: Repayable Grants for Theatre and Dance, a pilot scheme developed by Arts Council England to support larger-scale productions to tour to regional venues.
Dear Englandwas among the first to receive a share of more than £2million as part of the first round of the scheme, designed to create the opportunity for more people to see high-quality shows close to where they live.
Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary on Dame Judi Dench Walk
AUGUST’S arrival heralds the return of riverside art and Georgian festival frolics in Charles Hutchinson’s guide to a cornucopia of culture.
Art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, by Lendal Bridge, York, today and tomorrow, August 9 and 10, August 16 and 17, 10am to 5.30pm
YORK River Art Market returns for its tenth anniversary season by the Ouse riverside railings, where 30 artists and designers will be setting up stalls on each of the six days.
Organised by York artist and tutor Charlotte Dawson, the market offers the chance to buy directly from the makers of ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, soaps, cards and more besides. Admission is free.
York Stage summer school participants in rehearsal for Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr
Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2pm and 4pm
HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows eager trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those aspirations to unite, inspire and make anything possible.
The show includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys. York Stage director Nik Briggs has put this production together in a week with 50 Summer School performers and technical skills trainees. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
James Dowdeswell: Headlining tonight’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm
JAMES Dowdeswell, from the BBC’s Russell Howard’s Good News and Ricky Gervais’s Extras, combines deft stand-up with daft stories in his erudite, off-the-cuff headline set this weekend. A comedic authority on beer, wine and pubs, he is the author of The Pub Manifesto: A Comedian Stands Up For Pubs.
On the bill too are northern humorist Anth Young, Scotland-based Singaporean comic Laura Quinn Goh and regular host Damion Larkin. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.
Faithless: Bringing Mass Destruction to Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight
Coastal gig of the week: Faithless and Orbital, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today. Gates open at 6pm
RETURNING to the concert platform last year after an eight-year hiatus, Faithless remain one of the most influential, boundary-pushing electronic acts of the 21st century with 17 Top 40 singles and six Top Ten albums to their name. Here come Salva Mea, One Step Too Far, Mass Destruction, Insomnia, God Is A DJ et al.
First up will be Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s electronic duo Orbital, whose music draws on ambient, electro, punk and film scores, spread across ten albums. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Sasha Elizabeth Parker in Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, at Brancusi restaurant
Fringe preview of the week: Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, Fairy Tales For Adults, Brancusi (upstairs), Micklegate, York, August 4, 8pm
FEMME Fatale Faerytales’ Once Upon A Time will be 50 minutes of adult storytelling with a feminist agenda, featuring a “real-life faery” who promises to tell truths that will “make your hair curl and your eyes sparkle”.
“It was the faeries who taught the witches, the wise women, all that they know,” says performer Sasha Elizabeth Parker, who is en route to Scotland for her Edinburgh Fringe debut. “Women spun faerytales on their tongue to spread the word among adult ears. Wise words made infantile by men. Let the faery whisper her words into your ears. Hear her tale of truth. Faeries cannot lie. This, I promise you. She’ll change you, transport you, introduce you to a whole new world and show you a view brand new.” Box office for returns: wegottickets.com/location/29645.
The poster artwork for Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined
Circus show of the week: Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined, York Barbican, August 4, 3pm and 7pm
CIRQUE’S new show is “bolder, braver and more breathtaking than ever before” as The Greatest Show Reimagined takes the original Circus meets Musical Theatre spectacle to new heights. Experience West End showstoppers paired with circus acts showcasing breathtaking feats of agility to “transport you on a vibrant, kaleidoscopic journey bursting with colour, energy, and excitement”. Britain’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Max Fox leads the cast of vocalists and circus performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drum pyrotechnics on the Arts Barge
Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, August 6, 7.30pm
PIONEERING snare-drum soloist Ryosuke Kiyasu has redefined percussion since 2003, releasing more than 200 albums, both solo and with his band, drawing 23 million views for his 2018 Berlin live set and featuring on BBC News.
He drums for noise-grind duo Sete Star Sept, the Kiyasu Orchestra and Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and co-founded Canada’s cult hardcore unit The Endless Blockade. Box office: artsbarge.com/events.
Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar dexterity at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, August 6, 7.30pm
VIRTUOSO finger-style Spanish guitarist Iago Banet, who moved to London from Galicia in 2014, combines gypsy jazz, blues, country, Dixieland, swing, pop, folk and Americana in his acoustic repertoire, as heard on his third album, 2023’s Tres.
He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/iago-banet/iago-banet-the-galician-king-of-acoustic-guitar/e-dykrpy.
Joe Standerline in The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t, Joseph Peterson’s 18th century romp, revived for the York Georgian Festival. Picture: Gareth Buddo
Festival of the week: York Georgian Festival 2025, August 7 to 11
ORGANISED by York Mansion House, in tandem with York businesses, the York Georgian Festival will be a whirl of dashing dandy fashions, extravagant feasting and romantic country dancing in a celebration of a golden social scene hidden within the brickwork of York’s abundant 18th century architecture.
Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats through the Georgian period; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen; The Radical Georgian Women and a revival of 18th century York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.
York Minster: Heritage Fair today
In Focus: Heritage Fair of the week: York Minster Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management, Deangate, York, today, from 10am
EXPLORE two new buildings – the Heritage Quad and the Works & Technology Hub – that have established York Minster Precinct’s status as a world-class campus facility for research, education and training in traditional craft skills.
Visitors can see the extensive sustainable initiatives delivered through the construction of these two new buildings, including the latest photovoltaic technology and rainwater harvesting techniques.
There will be three areas to explore:
The Heritage Quad: 10am to 4pm
Visitors can speak to York Minster stonemasons and see live carving, whilst touring brand new facilities and meeting other heritage craftspeople such as joiners and guilders. There will be an opportunity to try out some of the applied craft skills needed to care for an ancient estate like York Minster’s. Free, pre-booked tickets required.
The Works & Technology Hub: 10am to 4pm
Visitors can engage with the cutting-edge technology now operational in the Works & Technology Hub. They will see live demonstrations of saws and digital modelling, as well as speaking to York Minster staff and partners to understand how technology links with heritage crafts. Free, pre-booked tickets required.
Heritage Pavilion: 10am to 4pm
A heritage pavilion, located in Minster Gardens in front of the York Minster Refectory, will provide an opportunity for people to talk to our heritage partners. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone considering a career in the heritage industry to speak to the many experts in their respective fields. No tickets are required to attend the careers pavilion.
Blue Light Theatre Company founder members Perri-Ann Barley, left, Devon Wells and Craig Barley
BIG changes lie ahead for The Blue Light Theatre Company as they announce their pantomime for 2026.
Acomb Working Men’s Club has been home to the York company’s panto since Blue Light was formed by York Ambulance Service staff in 2013, but financial constraints have led to the club’s decision to downsize by building a smaller venue on the existing Front Street site.
“Unfortunately this means that there’ll no longer be the space or facilities for such a large production,” says Blue Light stalwart Perri-Ann Barley. “We do have a new venue, though: New Earswick Folk Hall. We’re very excited about this new chapter, although sad to leave the club behind after 12 years. They have been so good to us.
“The team at Blue Light express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone at the Acomb WMC; the committee past and present, the bar staff and the members for welcoming us into the club back in 2013 and allowing us to use this wonderful space, for rehearsals as well as the shows.
Blue Light Theatre Company’s cast for Owt O’ This World at New Earswick Folk Hall
“Without this kindness, the company wouldn’t have been able to raise so much money for our chosen charities, the Motor Neurone Disease Association York Group and York Against Cancer. The total now stands at £25,000.”
Perri continues: “For anyone who has previously attended the pantomimes, they would have seen that, even though the club concert room was huge, the stage and dressing rooms were tiny. However, that just made the challenge even more exciting, surprising the audience with creative and technical feats such as flying magic carpets, flying superheroes, disappearance tricks, transformation scenes and, best of all, a levitating witch!”
“But it’s onwards and upwards for the increasingly popular Blue Light Theatre as we announce our new venue as New Earswick Folk Hall. With great facilities, larger stage and backstage areas and fantastic support from the staff and management, the Blue Light cast is very excited for this new chapter.”
Blue Light Theatre Company’s poster for Owt O’ This World, next January’s intergalactic pantomime
The first panto at Blue Light’s new location will be Owt O’This World! – An Intergalactic Giant Yorkshire Pudding Filled Family Panto, written by Perri with additional script material by Steven Clark.
“Directed by Craig Barley and choreographed by Devon Wells, this Yorkshire vs Space-themed offering is ready to launch and take our audiences on an exciting new journey from January 28 to 31 2026,” says Perri.
Tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are on sale on 07933 329654 or via ticketsource.co.uk/thebluelighttheatrecompany
Geoff Turner’s Sir Thomas Graspall in Mr Joseph Peterson’s The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. Picture: Gareth Buddo
IN a celebration of 18th century theatre and the lives of York’s Georgian players and comedians, The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t will open the York Georgian Festival 2025.
Presented by Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, at Merchant Taylors’ Hall, Aldwark, on August 7, the hour-long 7.30pm performance promises entertainment, wit and historical intrigue.
Think of all the delightful clichés of 18th century theatre: mannered acting; plays with double titles; characters whose names give away their personalities;wicked uncles, clever servants, comedy foreigners; physical comedy and happy endings.
“Joseph Peterson’s The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t delivers all of this with a hearty dose of charm,” says director Sarah Cowling, York tour guide and Churches Conservation Trust volunteer at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, who is fascinated by York’s Georgian theatrical scene.
Andrea Mitchell’s Belinda. Picture: Toni Wainwright
“Joseph Peterson, a parishioner from Goodramgate, described in the parish register as ‘comedian’, wrote this piece specifically to delight and amuse the citizens of York – the city he ‘reveres’. When it was first performed in 1738, it is very likely that it was performed in the very hall we will be performing in on August 7: Merchant Taylors’ Hall.
“Very likely”, Sarah? “The source I had for proof that the piece was performed in York has proven unreliable. It is ‘most likely’ that it was performed here in York – as it was written for the city and the original Dramatic Personae are all from York – but I cannot find the playbill or proof. It is ‘most likely’ that it was performed in Merchant Taylors’. Indeed some of the original actors are known to have performed in there,” she says.
“After success at last year’s Georgian Festival with a read-through of Peterson’s masterpiece, Merchant Taylors’ have been kind enough to offer use of the hall for this year’s ‘off-book’ production.”
Peterson’s theatrical romp is billed as “a tale of a ward trapped into marriage against her late father’s wishes; divided couples reunited; sword fights; terrible French accents; clever tricks and a satisfying ‘happily ever after’”.
Nick Patrick Jones’s Sir Fopling Conceit. Picture: Gareth Buddo
“The driving force behind this production is the fascinating figure of Mr Joseph Peterson, an actor, parishioner of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, and writer,” says Sarah. “Peterson was so dedicated to his craft that he added new meaning to the phrase ‘dying on stage’ – later in life, quite literally dying mid-performance.
“The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t is very much a vehicle for Mr Peterson. He wrote it, he introduces it, appears in it and wraps up the proceedings.”
Born in 1710, Peterson married Margaret Whare in St Michael le Belfrey at the age of 22. In January 1738, their son Joseph was baptised at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, hence his listing as a ‘comedian’ in the parish records.
“He was a key member of Thomas Keregan’s company of actors, performing in productions such as Twin Rivals, The Shepherd’s Opera and The Trepan or Virtue Rewarded,” says Sarah.
Joy Warner’s Corinna. Picture: Gareth Buddo
“Before the establishment of York Theatre Royal, one of the venues used for theatre in York was the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, where we will stage our lively production, mirroring where The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t may have been performed nearly 300 years ago.”
18th century life on stage was often unpredictable. In 1746, Peterson left York theatre for the Norwich Theatre Company, where he continued to thrive. “However, in October 1758, while performing Measure For Measure at Market Cross Theatre in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, he collapsed mid-performance. His last words were, ‘reason thus with life if I do lose thee I lose a thing that none but fools would keep a breath thou art…’, says Sarah.
“He died in the arms of fellow actor Mr Moody. Curiously, Mr Moody had previously experienced another actor’s death in his arms on stage in Harrogate!”
What can next Thursday’s audience expect? “It might help to know that A Raree Show is essentially a peep show – images in a box, not necessarily risqué. In our production, the Raree Show refers to various current events (current to the 1730s), adding a satirical edge to the performance.”
The cast for last summer’s York Georgian Festival read-through of The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t
Funds raised from this charity performance will be used to conserve the First World War Roll of Honour from Bedern National School, displayed at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate. “The performance of the work, written by a former more than 100 years ago,” says Sarah.
Summing up next Thursday’s performance, she concludes: “We invite our audience to step into the 18th century and revel in the theatrical artistry of The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. With its captivating storyline and historical insights, this production is sure to be an unforgettable highlight of the York Georgian Festival.
“The show has sold out, which is brilliant, but there’s a whole catalogue of these funny little York-grown Georgian shows. I really hope we can unearth more.”
York Georgian Festival: Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, presents Joseph Peterson’s The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, Aldwark, York, August 7, 7.30pm; doors 7pm. SOLD OUT. Booking link for returns: tps://bit.ly/3EnRhEY.
Who’s in the cast for The Raree Show of The Fox Trap’t?
York tour guide Mad Alice: Making cameo appearance in The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t
Sir Thomas Graspall, played by Geoff Turner; Squire Timothy and Smart, Joe Standerline; Manly, Matt Tapp; Belamour, Zander Fick; Sir Fopling Conceit and Mr Joseph Peterson, Nick Patrick Jones; Servant and Mrs Peterson, Aileen Bloomer; Belinda, Andrea Mitchell; Corinna, Joy Warner, and Betty, Mad Alice (in a cameo by The Bloody Tour of York guide Alicia Stabler).
Principled politician: Martin Shaw’s Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons. Picture: Simon Annand
SHAKESPEARE’S history plays still pop up. So too the ancient Greek tragedies and the Jacobean revengers’ tales, yet rarely do they tour, but why not in this turbulent political age?
Theatre should be more than an escape, more than yet another transfer from film to musical, a belief reinforced by the political dramas of David Hare and James Graham and indeed His Last Report, York Theatre Royal’s on-going community play about York social reformer Seebohm Rowntree.
Theatre Royal Bath Productions and Jonathan Church Theatre Productions’ West End-bound revival of Robert Bolt’s witty, wise and waspish A Man For All Seasons only emphasises how there should be a more regular place on our stages for proper, heavyweight political dramas that make us look at the malpractice of our own times.
Latterly in theatreland, Henry VIII has been infamous for his wives’ revenge musical, SIX, conducted like a cross between a pop concert and a rap battle. Harry makes no appearance in that show, where he is given six of the best in pugilistic putdowns.
Gary Wilmot: Comedic star turn as The Common Man in A Man For All Seasons. Picture: Simon Annand
In Bolt’s 1960 play, Henry is restricted to a cameo, a look-at-me, pouting, petulant flash Harry in the manner of Rik Mayall’s Lord Flashheart in Blackadder, but his constant threat, his greater-than-God arrogance, is omnipresent.
Orlando James was absent on press night, but understudy Huw Brentnall did such a fine job that his rowdy, ruthless, buffoonish Henry received pantomime villain boos for all his narcissism, boasting of his best-in-class legs, boat, grasp of Latin (only to be outdone by Rebecca Collingwood’s bright spark Margaret More) and song-writing.
Bolt’s humour, such a strong suit throughout, is at its best here, and all the while, it is impossible not to think of President Trump and his need to be centre of attention, his need for an instant response, his constant craving of change.
By dint of his restriction to one scene, Bolt’s Henry III is a caricature, but the man for all seasons of the title, Martin Shaw’s Sir Thomas More is wholly rounded, a legal brain in the tradition of the brightest barriers, treated with due gravitas by Bolt.
Political intrigue and religious conflicts in A Man For All Seasons, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Simon Annand
Shaw had first played him in 2006 and wanted more of his More in 2025 for all manner of reasons: a chance to work again with Jonathan Church after their West End collaboration on Hobson’s Choice in 2016; a return to the beautiful Theatre Royal Bath; his appreciation of Bolt’s writing and his relish for playing More.
At 80, the erstwhile star of The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently retains stage presence, theatrical heft and the timing and know-how of delivery, but the absence of amplification exposes his voice, which sometimes loses clarity in Act One, although he then over-compensates in his stentorian last speech.
That said, his principled, prayerful Lord Chancellor More, refusing to endorse Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon, is a wholly admirable, decent and dignified figure, sticking to his religious beliefs under the kind of pressure that would have modern-day politicians buckling.
If Shaw’s More is steadfast, Gary Wilmot’s comedic star turn, The Common Man, is the chameleon with the survival instincts of a cat, playing all manner of downstairs roles, from messenger to pub landlord to jobsworth jailor.
Orlando James’s Henry VIII making demands of Martin Shaw’s Sir Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons. Picture: Simon Annand
Each one finds him seeking to outwit yet live off the upstairs world at a price, tirelessly breaking down theatre’s fourth wall in direct address to the audience that recalls Shakespeare’s smart fools. Living on his wits, Wilmot’s Common Man is a radiant joy throughout, cheeky yet somehow never in danger of the chop amid the mayhem of all the political machinations around him.
Central to those machinations, as Henry VIII imposes the Church of England in a breakaway from Rome, is the relentless quest of Henry’s hitman, Edward Bennett’s venal Thomas Cromwell, to bring down More by stealth, applying every trick in the book, bending the truth, with cruel humour to boot.
Church’s direction brings out all the nuances, the intelligence, the lyricism, the delight in verbal jousts in Bolt’s supreme script, and while A Man For All Seasons may feel old-fashioned, right down to Simon Higlett’s dark, austere wooden set, that is only because plays of such depth, such vision, such brio, are too rarely staged today.
A Man For All Seasons runs at Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Flo & Jones: Florrie Stockbridge, left, and Helmsley Arts Centre artistic director Natasha Jones team up to perform at Kirkbymoorside Gateway To The Moors Music Festival
KIRKBYMOORSIDE’S three-day music festival and The Three Inch Fools’ garden comedy catch Charles Hutchinson’s eye as August arrives.
Festival of the week: Kirkbymoorside Gateway To The Moors Music Festival, Friday to Sunday
BOOTLEG 60s play the Sixties Night at Kirkbymoorside Memorial Hall on Friday (8.30pm), followed by The Breeze, supported by PJ, at Saturday’s Country Night (8pm). PJ will be holding a line-dancing class that day too (3pm). Sunday afternoon’s 1940s Tea Dance combines afternoon tea and a glass of fizz with Forties’ music, featuring DJ Lynne and Bev Martin (2pm).
All Saints’ Church plays host to Carrie Martin and John Drakes on Friday, from 5.30pm; Saturday performances by Wounded Bear at 2pm, Flo & Jones at 4.30pm and Jazz with John Lane & Friends at 7.30pm, then Sunday’s 2pm concert by Moorland Voices & Friday Orchestra Quartet.
Ryedale singers play for free in pubs and cafes on Saturday; teenage band Chocolatebox perform at the White Swan on Saturday afternoon (12.30pm); David Swann & Friends are in action at the Methodist Church on Sunday (4.30pm). Look out for classical, brass band, children’s disco, open-mic and history walk events too. For more information and tickets, go to: kirkbymoorsidetown.co.uk/gateway-to-the-moors-music-festival.
The Three Inch Fools: Heading to Helmsley Walled Garden to present Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Outdoor play of the week: The Three Inch Fools in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helmsley Walled Garden, Helmsley, Friday, 7pm. Gates open at 6pm
ON Midsummer’s eve, deep in an enchanted forest, mischief is stirring in Cumbrian company Three Inch Fools’ staging of Shakespeare’s comedy. The Fairy King and Queen are feuding, four runaway lovers are tying themselves in knots, and a troupe of “Rude Mechanical” actors is preparing a theatrical extravaganza destined to impress. Put shape-shifting trouble-maker Puck at the helm, and the course of true love will never run smooth.
Bring cushions and camping chairs, but no umbrellas, to James and Stephen Hyde’s tenth anniversary open-air adventure, part of a summer tour of 136 performances at 112 locations. Come prepared for the weather: the performance will continue, come rain or shine. Box office: helmsleywalledgarden.org.uk.
Faithless: Bringing Mass Destruction to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this weekend
Coastal gig of the week: Faithless and Orbital, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday. Gates open at 6pm
RETURNING to the concert platform last year after an eight-year hiatus, Faithless remain one of the most influential, boundary-pushing electronic acts of the 21st century with 17 Top 40 singles and six Top Ten albums to their name. Here come Salva Mea, One Step Too Far, Mass Destruction, Insomnia, God Is A DJ et al.
First up will be Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s electronic duo Orbital, whose music draws on ambient, electro, punk and film scores, spread across ten albums. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Orland James’s Henry VIII and Martin Shaw’s Sir Thomas More, right, in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Simon Annand
Political play of the week: A Man For All Seasons, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
NOW 80, The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently star Martin Shaw plays Sir Thomas More: scholar, ambassador, Lord Chancellor, friend to King Henry VIII and a man of integrity in Robert Bolt’s play, directed by Jonathan Church.
When Henry demands a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, clearing the way for him to marry Anne Boleyn, the staunchly Catholic Thomas is forced to choose between loyalty and conscience, committing an act of defiance that will lead only to the ultimate price. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Alligators: Snapping into blues action at Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week number one: Ryedale Blues Club, The Alligators, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 8pm
EAST Yorkshire electric blues trio The Alligators formed in 2004 to play old-style rhythm & blues with the classic line-up of guitar, bass and drums. Concentrating on a live sound rooted in Chicago, New Orleans and Texas blues, slide guitar features heavily in several numbers. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Alex Voysey: Best Of The Blues at Kirk Theatre, Pickering. Picture: Tony Cole Photography
Blues rock gig of the week number two: The Alex Voysey Blues Band presents Best Of The Blues, Kirk Theatre Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
NOMINATED for Contemporary Blues Artist of the Year, Album of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year in the 2025 UK Blues Federation Awards, guitarist Alex Voysey combines tracks from his May 2024 album Blues In Isolation with material from his inspirations, Joe Bonamassa, Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, Keb Mo and many more. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
York Stage’s poster for Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2pm and 4pm
HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows eager trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those dreams to unite, inspire and make anything possible.
Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Hitting the sweet spot: Sweet Legacies exhibition at York Theatre Royal
Exhibition of the week: Sweet Legacies, York Theatre Royal, until August 3
YORK Theatre Royal’s foyer is transformed into a pop-up exhibition of photography, visual arts, audio, film and more as part of the Sweet Legacies community engagement project. The project has seen the Theatre Royal work with 22 community groups across the city to put on a series of fun, free and inclusive activities and events. Admission is free.
James Dowdeswell: Headlining Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club at The Basement on Saturday
Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Saturday, 8pm
JAMES Dowdeswell, from the BBC’s Russell Howard’s Good News and Ricky Gervais’s Extras, combines deft stand-up with daft stories in his erudite, off-the-cuff headline set this weekend. A comedic authority on beer, wine and pubs, he is the author of The Pub Manifesto: A Comedian Stands Up For Pubs.
On the bill too are northern humorist Anth Young, Scotland-based Singaporean comic Laura Quinn Goh and regular host Damion Larkin. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.
James Willstrop: Squash champ, actor and writer, taking Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man? to Friargate Theatre, York, and the Edinburgh Fringe
FROM squash court champion to stage leading man, James Willstrop explores what success really means and what really matters in his debut solo show based on true events.
In a preview of his Edinburgh Fringe run at The Space @ Niddry Street (Lower) from August 1, former squash world number one-turned-Harrogate writer-performer James presents Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man? at Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, on Monday night.
In his 50-minute musical ode, he ponders what happens when a self-obsessed, international squash player – dreaming only of becoming world champion – falls for someone who desperately wants a child before her body clock expires. “Where’s the solution when two dreams collide?” he asks.
James tries to find answers in the form of his beautiful mother, Lesley, who died ten years earlier, when he was only 16, nearly 17. Through his reflections and memories of her, while this supreme athlete endures one of the most brutal training sessions he has ever done, can he find a way to discover whether dedication to his lifelong craft and drive to become world champion matters most, or whether bringing a child into the world supersedes it?
“It’s a slightly nerdy, unique slant [on the subject of ambition]: you don’t get too many sporting plays,” says James. “I wanted to look at how much it overtakes you and how healthy is your desire to get to that level? What is the cost of it and what really matters?
“It does become quite skewed, but maybe it has to because what I achieved took a lot of dedication and effort. But it’s also a story about life and parenthood and how what matters changes over time. But if we didn’t have these ambitions, whether in art or sport, we wouldn’t get anywhere, would we?”
Father and son
Since childhood, Norfolk-born James has loved to act, perform and write, alongside his 23 years as a professional squash player, and now he combines the demands of parenthood with teaching squash and playing such Pick Me Up Theatre roles on the York stage as Dr Frederick Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Bill Sikes in Oliver Twist and acid-tongued theatre critic Patrick Burns in Nativity! The Musical.
He has written two books, Shot And A Ghost: A Year In The Brutal World Of Professional Squash and Interviews With Inspiration: Heroes And Icons…And What Drives Them To Succeed, as well as putting pen to paper for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Now he has taken on a very different writing challenge. “Everything has to be said in 50 minutes in this show,” he says.
“Sometimes I found myself thinking, I’m writing a story for the stage for the first time, I’m not an expert playwright, am I trying to squeeze in too much about my mum and my son? Is this too much?”
Those feelings, however, had to play second fiddle to his need to express himself. “A lot of it is written through the regrets of memory as you begin to entertain being a father, thinking about what you get wrong [when growing up] and how you treated your parents. But it’s also about connection with my son Logan, Vanessa and Lesley.”
James attended a creative writing course at Leeds University just before the first Covid-19 lockdown. “They were encouraging me to keep theatricality in my writing,” he recalls. “I had Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads in my mind and I knew I didn’t want it is to be like a lecture.
“I want to ‘keep it theatrical’, so I’ve been working on how I can use movement, and it’s not a monologue as I’m trying to use other voices too.”
James Willstrop’s Doctor Frederick Frankenstein in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Young Frankenstein
He does make one comparison with squash. “On the squash court, you want to be in the centre, controlling the court, and you can do that on stage too,” says James.
A key ingredient in the show is the music: six original songs by Willstrop with arrangements by York musical director, orchestrator, composer and jazz group leader Sam Johnson, who will be playing keyboards on stage, complemented by recorded musicians.
“It’s been great to work on as James has written the words and tunes that I’ve fleshed out into fuller arrangements,” says Sam. “The thing I noticed from James’s voice notes is that they feel ‘through-sung’, as in a musical, where I’m putting form and structure to it.
“There’s still melody in the songs and they’re not forcing themselves into the story structure, so they feel natural where they are placed.”
James rejoins: “I’m just concerned to match how in good musicals songs are furthering the story, rather than just saying ‘I love you’ or expressing feelings. They must enhance the story,” he concludes.
James Willstrop in Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man?, Friargate Theatre, York, July 28, 7.30pm. Box office: ridinglights.org. Edinburgh Fringe, Venue 9, The Space@Niddry Street (Lower), August 1 to 9, 7.25pm; August 11 to 16, 5.25pm; August 18 to 23, 7.25pm. Box office: 0131 2260000 or edfringe.com. Age guidance: 12 plus.
The poster for James Willstrop’s Edinburgh Fringe-bound solo show, Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man?, previewing at Friargate Theatre, York, tomorrow
James Willstrop: the squash facts
ONE of only 23 world number one players in the history of men’s squash; one of England’s best ever players, gaining 80 caps. Won three world team championship titles for England. Became official world number one in January of 2012, a position held for 11 out of 12 months. British National Champion four times; Commonwealth Gold Medallist in 2018 and 2022.
Natural History Museum takes to the stage in Dinosaurs Live at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
THE dinosaurs are roaring and roaming anew and love is in the air in Charles Hutchinson’s top tips for summer joy.
Children’s show of the week: Natural History Museum presents Dinosaurs Live, Grand Opera House, York, today, 2.30pm and 4.30pm
FOR the first time since 1881, the “home of dinosaurs”, London’s Natural History Museum, is going on tour, teaming up with Mark Thompson Productions for a “dinosaur adventure like no other”.
Suitable for age three upwards, the show takes a pre-historic journey to the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods as life-like dinosaurs come alive on stage. In addition, today’s audiences will learn more about fossils, time scales and how our planet has changed over hundreds of millions of years. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Junk Drawer Theatre Company exploring the vicissitudes love in Thank You, I Love You at Theatre@41
Love stories of the week: Junk Drawer Theatre Company, Thank You, I Love You, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, today, 7pm
STEP into a world where love is found in the quiet moments, the whispered goodnights and the spaces between words in Lucy Connor-Mulhall’s Thank You, I Love You’s 70-minute exploration of connection: romantic, platonic and everything in between.
Through fragmented memories, late-night conversations and the weight of unspoken emotions, Junk Drawer Theatre Company’s Rachael Lanaghan, Emine Altinsoy, Billy Abbey, Holly Carter, Luke Quarrington and Isobel Pilot’s characters navigate love, loss, and longing. Some hold on too tightly, others learn how to let go, in a reminder that love is not so much the grand gestures, more the smallest, softest things, such as a shared bed, a stolen glance, a promise to light the sky for someone who needs it. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Texas singer Sharleen Spiteri: On song at Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight
Coastal gig of the week: Texas, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, tonight. Gates open at 6pm
THIS weekend, Sharleen Spiteri leads Glasgow band Texas through five decades of hits, from I Don’t Want To Be A Lover, Say What You Want and Summer Sun to Inner Smile, Mr Haze and Keep On Talking. Rianne Downey supports. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Ronan Keating: Returning to York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend today
Irish craic of the whip of the week: Ronan Keating, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, today. Gates open at 11.15am; first race, 1.25pm; last race, 5pm
IRISH singer, presenter and talent-show judge Ronan Keating returns to the York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, back on the Knavesmire track where he performed with Boyzone in July 2018.
Expect both solo and boy band favourites. “If you’re going to a festival or a racecourse, you have to give the people what they want, what they’re expecting, and because of the Boyzone documentary that’s on Sky and NOW TV, I’ll be doing more Boyzone hits than normal this time,” he says. For race-day tickets, go to: yorkracecourse.co.uk.
Helena Mackie: Oboe soloist at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s concert at Ryedale Festival
Ryedale Festival finale: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Final Gala Concert, Hovingham Hall, Sunday, 6.30pm
THE ‘Liverpool Phil’ make their Ryedale Festival debut this weekend, exploring the Italian vistas of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No 4, complemented by Mozart’s Oboe Concerto (featuring soloist Helena Mackie), Faure’s serene Pavane and Poulenc’s mischievous, charming Sinfonietta. For the festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com. Box office: 01751 475777.
James Willstrop: From squash court to stage in musical ode to beautiful mothers, sporting ambition and fatherhood at Friargate Theatre
Edinburgh Fringe preview of the week: James Willstrop in Daddy, Tomorrow Will I Be A Man?, Friargate Theatre, York, July 28, 7.30pm
JAMES Willstrop, cynical and driven only by his sporting success, is on the verge of becoming world number one in squash. A chance meeting leads to an agonising dilemma that threatens everything he has worked so hard to achieve.
Through tender recollections of his mother Lesley, who died when he was 17, and by undertaking the hardest training session of his life in real time, Willstrop learns lessons about ambition, success and love in the Harrogate sportsman, actor and writer’s solo musical ode to beautiful mothers, sporting ambition and fatherhood. Box office: ridinglights.org.
Annie Kingsnorth, left, Martin Shaw and Abigail Cruttenden in Robert Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons at the Grand Opera House, York
Political play of the week: A Man For All Seasons, Grand Opera House, York, July 29 to August 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
THE greatest, most powerful and dangerous figures who shaped English history are brought vividly to life in Robert Bolt’s award-winning play, directed by Jonathan Church on a tour that visits York in its only northern outing before a West End run.
Now 80, The Professionals, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently star Martin Shaw playsSir Thomas More: scholar, ambassador, Lord Chancellor, friend to King Henry VIII and man of integrity. When Henry demands a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, clearing the way for him to marry Anne Boleyn, the staunchly Catholic Thomas is forced to choose between loyalty and conscience, committing an act of defiance that can only lead to the ultimate price. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
York Stage: Celebrating 100 years of Disney songs in Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 1, 7.30pm; August 2, 2pm and 4pm
HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows an eager group of trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As the trainees set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those dreams to unite, inspire and make anything possible.
Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys to surprise and delight Disney devotees of all ages. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Sweet Legacies: Exhibition at York TheatreRoyal to tie in with this summer’s community play, His Last Report
Exhibition of the week: Sweet Legacies, York Theatre Royal, until August 3
YORK Theatre Royal’s foyer is transformed into a pop-up exhibition of photography, visual arts, audio, film and more as part of the Sweet Legacies community engagement project.
The project has seen the Theatre Royal work with 22 community groups across the city to put on a series of fun, free and inclusive activities and events.
The free exhibition is open to all to learn more about the project and the Rowntree family to coincide with the Theatre Royal and Riding Lights community play His Last Report.
In Focus: York Proms, York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday
Soprano Lucy Farrimond: Performing at Sunday’s York Proms
NO tickets will be available on the gate for Sunday’s seventh York Proms at York Museum Gardens, presented by classical chart-topping York soprano Rebecca Newman.
Topping the bill will be rising operatic singers soprano Lucy Farrimond and tenor Oscar Bowen-Hill, performing with the orchestra under director Ben Crick.
Royal Northern College of Music graduate Farrimond made her BBC Proms solo debut in 2019 aged 21, singing Haydn’s The Creation at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and has performed on the BBC, ITV, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4.
Bowen-Hill has graduated with BSc 1st Class honours in Cognitive Science and Singing, sings with the London Philharmonic Choir and is embarking on the next steps of his career with scholarships at St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, London, and Oxford Bach Soloists.
Farrimond and Bowen-Hill will lead the Proms finale, including Jerusalem and Land Of Hope And Glory, rounded off with fireworks lighting up St Mary’s Abbey, as well as performing operatic arias and show songs. Classical orchestral pieces and film music will feature too.
The main stage will be complemented by York Proms’ biggest ever community stage, presenting more than 200 York performers, including the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir in its centenary year, opening the event with a rendition of the National Anthem with the orchestra.
Taking part too will be York Rock Choir, Lucy’s Pop Choir, Bridge Shanty Crew, York Musical Theatre Company and the Katie Ventress Dance School.
Gates will open at 5pm for Fast Track tickets and at 5.30pm for Standard. Picnics are permitted, including alcohol and glass bottles but bags will be checked on arrival. Picnics are allowed, with alcohol and glass bottles, although bags will be inspected on arrival. Camping chairs? Yes. Tables, parasols, trolleys and BBQs? No. No dogs will be admitted, except for assistance dogs.
A quick check of the York Proms website confirms that Adult General Sale, Disabled and Child tickets are still on sale; Adult Fast Track and Teen tickets have sold out. To book, go to: yorkproms.com/collections/tickets-2025.
Billy Heathwood’s Riley, left, and Antony Jardine’s Seebohm Rowntree in His Last Report at York Theatre Royal. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
YORK Theatre Royal’s latest summer community play is in keeping with the progressive tenet of York social reformer Seebohm Rowntree’s trio of reports from 1899, 1936 and 1951. Community pulling together in enlightening enterprises. Welfare for the common man. Live well, play well, work well. He would probably have made the tickets free, but that isn’t practical.
“Made with passion, joy and enthusiasm”, in collaboration with York Christian theatre company Riding Lights, His Last Report involves 250 volunteers, from 100-strong cast and 55-larynxed York Theatre Royal Choir and new choir recruits, to wardrobe, props, stage management, hair & make up, technical, marketing, front of house and photography.
“The past is back. And it’s got something to say,” reads the tagline. It turns out it has a lot to say, arguably too much, over its two-and-three-quarter-hour span that crams in everything from politics to chocolate recipe improvements; cow parlour udder-pulling to aerial acrobatics; King Lear to Lloyd George and Winston Churchill; Caribbean chocolate trade slavery to the idyll of New Earswick; moo jokes to a salty dig at Saltaire visionary Sir Titus Salt.
Under the direction of Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster and Riding Lights artistic director Paul Birch, everything is thrown in, including the kitchen-sink style of British theatre and films of the gritty, grainy late-Fifties and Sixties, with echoes of Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera too.
Amelia Donkor, one of two professional actors leading Juliet Forster and Paul Birch’s cast, in the role of Gulie Harlockin His Last Report. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
Misha Duncan-Barry and Bridget Foreman’s script has the restless, questing energy of York-born professional actor Antony Jardine’s Seebohm Rowntree, his name taken from his mother’s surname of Swedish-German origin, we learn in one of many facts dropped in with humorous relish.
We start at the end, Seebohm despondent post-reports, before heading back to 1890s’ York with personal secretary Gulie Harlock (Amelia Donkor), where his Quaker family’s cocoa works is booming, new Rowntree factory et al, under the noble guidance of father Joseph (Mark Payton, in a performance as bubbly as Aero, with a lightness of humour to match).
But something is not hitting the sweet spot for chemist, industrialist and philanthropist Seebohm. Blue-collar life is bitter, when it needs to be better for the factory workers, housed in the city’s back streets and snickelways. In tandem with Donkor’s perspicacious Gulie, he advocates better working and living conditions, improved wages and the provision of education for all and facilities to bolster both mental and physical health.
He never invented a chocolate bar called Nirvana, but his vision of a promised land of healthier, happier, wealthier workers that in turn benefits the productivity of businesses provides the seed bed for the welfare state, attracting the support of Churchill (Colin Beveridge) and Lloyd George (Andrew Wrenn).
Maurice Crichton’s Frank Benson, centre, in King Lear guise in His Last Report, with principals and ensemble looking on in His Last Report. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
Welcome to New Earswick, the model of a village to house the workforce, with a school and a library. Welcome to Rowntree’s world of Yearsley Swimming Pool, the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, gymnastics, pageants and plays. All’s well but can it end well? Ah, there’s the rub. Finance. All the good things cost money.
Jardine’s Seebohm is haunted by the spectral figure of an impoverished child, Riley (Edmund Djimramadji/Billy Heathwood) that only he can see, and all around him the figures don’t add up. The second half turns post-modern, with modern clothing interwoven with period couture, references to writers Misha and Bridget and an in-joke impersonation of the Theatre Royal’s costume department Scottish supremo Pauline.
Rather than ending well it ends Orwellian, Jardine’s despairing Seebohm observing the Britain of today, the Britain of cuts to the arts and libraries, swimming pool and factory closures, robots replacing workers, jargon replacing plain speaking, and being number 52 on the waiting list when phoning the GP at 8am.
Maurice Crichton gives us his best King Lear in the guise of grandstanding actor Frank Benson railing against the way Shakespeare is taught at schools. You may find yourself thinking, “are we going too far off the beaten track here?”, but Crichton, not for the first time, makes every second in the spotlight count.
There is nevertheless a feeling that His Last Report is preaching to the converted, those of us who do go to the theatre, who know of its value beyond cost. Who needs to listen? Those who don’t go, those who slash and burn.
A modern-day board meeting full of blue sky/dark cloud thinking as His Last Report turns theatre of the absurd. Picture: S R Taylor Photography
You might wish the solution were as simple as waving a magic wand. Seebohm Rowntree tried to do more than that, but the truth is that in this rotten world, the good things increasingly cost too much, when even chocolate bars and tins are forever diminishing in size.
Forster and Birch’s cast and choir, as much as Duncan-Barry and Foreman, make an impassioned, worthy case for wishing that life could be as Seebohm envisaged. The theatrical scale is grand, the humour uneven, the ensemble spectacle impressive, orchestrated by David Gilbert’s movement direction. Edwin Gray’s compositions and sound design, in tandem with Madeleine Hudson’s vocal musical direction, are impactful throughout.
Returning after designing previous Theatre Royal community productions The Coppergate Woman and Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes, Sara Perks’s set design is five-star quality, whether evoking the Rowntree building, factory floor, boardroom, train carriage or cow parlour, complemented by Craig Kilmartin’s lighting and Hazel Fall’s delightful costumes.
One last thought, where is the Seebohm Rowntree of today?
York Theatre Royal and Riding Lights Theatre Company present His Last Report at York Theatre Royal until August 3, 7.30pm except Sundays and Mondays, plus 2pm matinees, July 26 and August 2 & 3. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Gymnastic skill: Christie Barnes’s Brynhild Benson in His Last Report. Picture: Natasha Sinton
