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Nun better as Hayley Bamford takes on Deloris’s role in Sister Act for York Musical Theatre Company at JoRo Theatre

Hayley Bamford, centre, in rehearsal for Sister Act The Musical with York Musical Theatre Company director Kathryn Addison, right

YORK Musical Theatre Company will perform Sister Act The Musical at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, next Wednesday to Saturday under the direction of Kathryn Addison with Hayley Bamford in the sassy role of “novice nun” Deloris Van Cartier.

As you will recall from Emile Ardolino’s 1992 film, the story is centred on club singer Deloris, who witnesses her partner, nightclub owner Curtis Jackson (Zander Fick), commit murder, forcing the police to hide her in a convent, where she meets the Mother Superior (Kirstin Grififths) and an ensemble of 22 nuns. Cue multiple upbeat numbers as friendships grow and the convent is saved from financial ruin. Hallelujah!

“The company chose this show, and they did ask me for my thoughts,” says Kathryn of Alan Menken’s musical with its 1970s-inspired score. “I think it’s a super piece of theatre that’s even better than the film. It’s ideal for this company. It has everything in it you want in a musical.  

“There’s a real depth to it, beyond the music, with real emotion to Deloris’s story, but it’s also fun and the music is fabulous. The voices are phenomenal. It has a beautiful original score for a show that needs the right style vocally and physically to retain the essence of the movie’s jukebox musical hits.”

Director Kathryn Addison in the rehearsal room with her cast for Sister Act The Musical

Deloris Von Cartier will forever be associated with Whoopi Goldberg’s tour-de-force movie performance and was played by Cleopatra girl group singer, I’d Do Anything  finalist and West End musical actress Cleopatra  Rey in York Stage Musicals’ York premiere at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre: a September 2014 production on which Kathryn worked.

Explaining her choice of Hayley for the role, she says: “Hayley never stops. From  the moment she rocks up, it’s an absolute powerhouse performance.

“We had some amazing auditions for the part, and they all really delivered. I had no preconceived ideas about who should play Deloris, but I needed a special spark and that’s what Hayley brought to the room. That energy.

“It’s an instinct. You can’t necessarily say what it is, but there’s a combination of things that strike you. It’s about having the right style and being able to adapt to the demands of this part, understand what you have to do, and Hayley has done that.”

Hayley Bamford, front, centre, and fellow cast members for York Musical Theatre Company’s Sister Act The Musical

Hayley has long contemplated auditioning for Deloris. “I saw that production at the Opera House, and had considered doing the show with Ripon Operatic Society,” she says. “I thought, ‘I’d love to audition for it’, but the timing wasn’t right, but now it’s come about naturally for me to do it in York, as if it was meant to be.”

Hayley auditioned last autumn and began singing rehearsals in January, followed by floor rehearsals since March. “It’s been such good  fun to do,” she says. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve toyed with it for some time now, because I’ve had it in my mind that Deloris is played by a very famous black actress [Whoopi Goldberg].

“But when John [musical director John Atkin] said it wasn’t written specifically for a black actress, but was first offered to Bette Midler, then I could see Deloris as just a club singer where you have to put your own take on it.

 “Deloris is a woman with dreams, and she has her ups and downs as we all do, but it’s what she learns from her experience that’s important.”

“Like Deloris, we all have dreams to fulfil to work in theatre,” says York Musical Theatre Company actress Hayley Bamford

Hayley has loved the challenge of playing Hayley. “I did The Addams Family a few years ago, but it wasn’t as big a role as this. It’s been good for my brain. Teaching myself things again. Like Deloris, we all have dreams to fulfil to work in theatre.

“Luckily my voice is naturally quite a low voice, the Whoopi Goldberg level, so I can do the American  voice like that, but I think I’m camper than Whoopi – and you don’t want to be a copycat.”

Kathryn rejoins: “What Hayley is very good at is being able to use her physicality in scenes, and it’s very definitely not like Whoopi! It’s Hayley’s interpretation; we get the whole character because she gets the movement right. Hayley is tall with long limbs and that brings individuality to her performance.”

Picking up on Kathryn’s assessment that “Sister Act has everything in it you want in a musical”, she highlights why: “It has humour; it has pathos; wonderful music and movement; it’s family friendly and it’s fun. It takes everyone with it from start to finish, going through everything that Deloris does, and it has something that other musicals don’t have: it has heart.”

Sister Act director Kathryn Addison

Hayley concurs: “It’s one of those shows where you walk out at the end thinking, ‘that’s ticked all the boxes’ and you leave on a high.”

Kathryn adds: “It gains momentum but then there are moments of stillness in the convent too…and there are moments of doubt for the Mother Superior, who has lived without doubt in her life until now, when she ponders whether everything she believes in might not be true after all.”

Sister Act shows how life can be hard but it can turn around at any time, suggests Kathryn. That moment when we need a lift. “Like Hayley thinking the part of Deloris might have passed her by, but now getting to play it with us,” she says.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” says Hayley.

York Musical Theatre Company in Sister Act The Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, May 21 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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The Arts Barge returns for 2025 season of music, performance and art at Foss Basin. First up, By The Blue Bridge festival

Kai West’s poster design for the By The Blue Bridge festival on the Arts Barge

BULL bassist, illustrator and designer Kai West and Rowan & Friends curator and frontman Rowan Evans launch By The Blue Bridge, a new three-day festival of music and art, on the Arts Barge in York tomorrow.

Moored in the Foss Basin, near the Blue Bridge, the Selby Tony is being readied for the new season of performances, buoyed by internal renovations and the construction of a proper deck house being carried out.

The festival opens with a “late-night-show-style” musical showcase hosted by Sir Dicky Benson, featuring “shorter” performances and interviews with musical acts. Taking part will be Pascallion, ish, Jarmouse, Gabbie Lord, Si Paton and The Wreckliners.

Doors at 6.45pm for the 7.20pm show in a theatre format with a 30-minute interval. Early arrival is necessary.

Saturday daytime features a selection of free workshops, running from 11am to 2pm, including Water Poetry with Becca Drake, Digital Plotting with Des Clarke and a Sound Workshop led by a collective from the Hague. 

A range of musical acts continue Saturday’s proceedings from 3pm until late. Step forward Sinead Una, Rowan & Friends, Captain Starlet, Gaia Blandina, Slagroom, Des Clarke, Gabriella Hunzinger and The Rattlers.

Bull: “Reverse headline” slot on Sunday’s bill at the Arts Barge

Sunday’s theme is “Folky and Weird”, best exemplified by headliners Milkweed, who blend guitar, banjo and vocals with cut-and-paste tape extracts.

York legends Bull play a “reverse headline” slot in a stripped-back format at 2.30pm, preceded by an open-mic session from 12 noon to 2pm.

Sunday’s bill also presents Oli, We Are Hannah, Mugwort, Kirk, Big Rain In The Morning and The Caterpillars.

“The festival will be an eclectic mix of music and art that shows what the Arts Barge does best,” say Kai and Rowan. “It’s the perfect opening for the 2025 season of events at our riverside venue.”

Looking ahead, among the 2025 acts to be hosted by the Arts Barge are:  June 26, Creekbed Carter Hogan, trans folk musician from the USA; August 6, Ryosuke Kiyasu, Japanese experimental solo snare performer; September 12, A Pinch of Salt, experimental music night with Semay Wu, and September 13, Bojocky, London five-piece indie-folk.

The Arts Barge will stage a ‘Short Fringe’ week of theatre events this summer too; more details to be announced soon. Watch this space.

Tickets to attend all three days of By The Blue Bridge cost £15 (£16.50 with booking fee) or £8 (£8.80) for any of the three days at https://wegottickets.com/f/13779/.

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REVIEW: Steve Crowther’s verdict on Gamelan Sekar Petak, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, May 7

Gamelan Sekar Petak in concert at the University of York

AN introduction: “The University of York instruments – named  ‘Sekar Petak’ (‘White Flower’) in honour of Yorkshire’s white rose symbol – was the first purpose-built Javanese gamelan in a British university. The instruments were first assembled and played in 1981, having been commissioned by the Department of Music’s Dr Neil Sorrell from master craftsman Bapak Tentrem Sarwanto.” 

The concert opened with a traditional Javanese gamelan welcome, Ladrang Wilujeng. The beautiful ensemble of instruments – metallophones (saron, slenthem and gender), a variety of gongs, drums (kendhang) and string and wind instruments with Neil Sorrell sitting centre stage performing the exquisite rebab – made up the Sekar Petak.

They were joined by the student-run chamber choir, Animas, and string ensemble, Eoferwic Strings. As the work unfolded, I was reminded of North Indian Classical, both melodic frameworks (ragas) and rhythmic cycles (talas).

Not that the music sounded the same. The melody was pentatonic and the rhythmic cycle a 32-beat structure, which was clearly defined by striking of the gong. Once my well-tempered Western ears became used to the lack of absolute pitch and simply embraced this quite complex, exotic sound world, the experience was a deeply moving one.

Although more processional in nature, this was pretty much true of the following Gendhing Kemanak Ketawang Pangkur. Having said that, I did feel the piece outstayed its welcome, even sounding somewhat dirge-like.

The first half closed with David Hammond’s arrangement of the traditional Kinanthi Juru Demung and was based on an earlier piece in the programme, Inggah Kinanthi Juru Demung. It opened with a lovely soprano solo, answered by the tenors and bass.

To be sure, the first part had echoes of the gamelan music, but the second half clearly embraced the Western choral tradition. And the final section, a simple solo and accompaniment. This was not, however, one of those irritating crossover compositions, but rather one where the composer not only demonstrated a very real understanding of traditional gamelan music, but respected it. Animas’ performance was very good and rewarding.

The first-half highlight was Lou Harrison’s Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Javanese Gamelan (First Movement). Harrison uses a pélog scale, which he helpfully describes as “minor sounding with small intervals and a complicated tuning system”. It still messed with my Western ears, but in a beautiful way.

The piece opened with simple, “hazy”’ ostinatos, creating a welcome introduction to the violin (Lilian Hetherington) and cello (Liv Dow). Rather than dialogue, as such, the duo played a series of patterns, sometimes decorated (on violin) but mostly a lyrical meandering, with no direction home. The ending was a beautiful sign-off. I would love to hear the whole work.

The final piece, Neil Sorrell’s arrangement of IM Harjito’s Ketawang Dhandhanggula Tlutur, was even more affecting. Like the earlier Double Concerto, the piece seemed to embrace two simultaneous levels; a vocal (Animas) all-female line with Neil Sorrell on rebab and a chorus line – gamelan orchestra and Eoferwic Strings. Both used a distinct mode (sounded minor-ish to me again), with the orchestra sounding the happier of the two. This layering was clearly evident right from the off.

The first section opened with lovely soprano singing followed by an animated, percussive section. I was struck by the independence of the orchestra, which bubbled along quite happily, giving a sense of the timeless. The music didn’t end or cadence, it simply stopped.

The second featured musical conversational chanting. This, and the echoes and repetition, added to the texture. The closing acceleration worked well. The third section was just so calming. A beautiful vocal line acted as a continuum, around which a gently hazy instrumental chorus wrapped it in reassurance: all very poignant and enriching.

Review by Steve Crowther

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 20, from Gazette & Herald

York artist Jill Tattersall stands by her work Genesis, Exodus at the launch of her Finding The Way exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York

Charles Hutchinson finds the way through the human maze to recommend artistic riches aplenty.

Exhibition of the week: Jill Tattersall, Finding The Way, The Human Maze, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, until July 3

THE Wolf At The Door artist Jill Tattersall has overcome a bout of Covid to launch her Finding The Way show at Bluebird Bakery, featuring such works as World On Fire: Such Colours In The Sky; Universal (Dis)Order, Blue Rhapsody and City Of Light And Shadows.

“My brother is an anthropologist, in New York, so I’m very interested in cave symbols, early writing, Japanese and Chinese imagery and themes of communication and language,” she says. “I just have fun with all this stuff!” 

Becky Heslop’s Molly, left, George Green’s social worker Michelle and Charlie Blanshard’s Joe in Next Door But One’s production of How To Be A Kid

Children’s show of the week: Next Door But One in How To Be A Kid, Friargate Theatre, York, Saturday, 12 noon and 3pm

AT only 12 years old, Molly cooks, does the dishes and gets her little brother Joe ready for school. Molly misses her Grandma. Molly looks after her grieving mum, but who looks after Molly?

Once her mum feels better, maybe things will return to normal. Maybe Molly can learn to be a child again in Sarah McDonald-Hughes’ touching, funny story of family, friends and fitting in, suitable for seven to 11-year-olds and their grown-ups. Warning: this show contains dancing, chocolate cake, dinosaurs, superheroes and an epic car chase, plus big topics such as care, mental health and growing up with an even bigger sense of imagination, creativity, joy and hope. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.

Josh Woodgate’s Henry’s Self and Dan Poppitt’s Henry in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ The Inner Selves

Premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Inner Selves, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

BLACK Sheep Theatre Productions present the premiere of director Matthew Peter Clare’s debut play, quick on the heels of the York company’s first Shakespeare show, The Tempest, in March.

Clare charts the declining mental health and marriage of Henry and Nora (played by Dan Poppitt and Charlie Clarke) and the cacophonic assault of their inner thoughts (Josh Woodgate’s Henry’s Self and Chloe Pearson’s Nora’s Self) on one climactic day of mediocrity and boredom. As emotions come to a boil, will this marriage survive, even if only until morning? Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Dara Ó Briain at the double: Playing York Barbican and York Comedy Festival

Comedy gig of the week: Dara Ó Briain, Re:Creation, York Barbican, tonight, 8pm  

IRISH comedian, broadcaster and writer Dara Ó Briain will be “doing his favourite thing: standing in a theatre, telling stories and creating madness with the audience” in Re:Creation, his follow-up to 2023’s So, Where Were We?

Should you miss out on Wednesday’s gig, Ó Briain will be returning to York to co-headline the inaugural York Comedy Festival with Katherine Ryan on July 6 in the finale to Futuresound Group’s second season of Live At York Museum Gardens shows. Box office: futuresound.seetickets.com/event/york-comedy-festival/york-museum-gardens/3288662.

Gizza job: Jay Johnson’s Yosser Hughes in James Graham’s stage adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From The Black Stuff, on tour at Leeds Grand Theatre

Touring production of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd, Royal Court, Liverpool and National Theatre present Boys From The Black Stuff, Leeds Grand Theatre, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

JAMES Graham’s stage adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s BAFTA award-winning television drama Boys From The Black Stuff heads to Leeds with its story of 1980s’ Liverpool, where Chrissie, Loggo, George, Dixie and Yosser are used to hard work and providing for their families, but now there is no work and no money.

What are they supposed to do? Work harder, work longer, buy cheaper, spend less? They just need a chance. Life is tough but the lads can play the game. Find the jobs, avoid the ‘sniffers’ and see if you can have a laugh along the way. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

Mike Scott: Leading The Waterboys at York Barbican on Thursday

York gig of the week: The Waterboys, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm and Leeds O2 Academy, June 15, doors 7pm

THE Waterboys showcase “the most audacious album yet” of Mike Scott’s 42-year career, Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, on their latest return to York Barbican, having  played their “Big Music” brand of folk, rock, soul and blues there in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2023.

Released last month on Sun Records, their 16th studio album charts the epic path of the trailblazing American actor and rebel, as told through a song cycle that depicts not only Hopper’s story but also the saga of the last 75 years of western pop culture. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Leeds, academymusicgroup.com.

Kieran Thorpe: Introducing new songs at Helmsley Arts Centre

Ryedale gig of the week: Kieran Thorpe and special guest Henry Bird, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

TOULOUSE singer-songwriter and novelist Kieran Thorpe has travelled and performed across Europe for a decade, from rural anarchist bookshops to the stages of Cambridge Folk Festival and Glastonburyas songwriter and keyboard player with The Buffalo Skinners.

 A trained baker too, with plans to build an artist residency and studio at the French farmhouse he is restoring, he will be showcasing songs from his forthcoming follow-up to 2021 album A Room With A View.

Support act Henry Bird, who grew up on the North York Moors a few miles from Helmsley, is a traveller, classicist, historian, chef, bicycle builder, vintage motorbike enthusiast and songwriter, whose lyrics deal with the nature of the road, love, leaving and memory. Box office:  01439 77170 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Hello, Dolly!, goodbye musicals: Pickering Musical Theatre cast members line up at Pickering Station to promote the society’s farewell to musical theatre productions. Picture: Robert David Photography

All aboard for “our most extravagant show ever”: Pickering Musical Society in Hello, Dolly!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

PICKERING Musical Society will say goodbye to staging musicals after 106 years with Luke Arnold’s production of Hello, Dolly!, promising an extravagant last hurrah, although the society’s pantomimes and Songs From The Shows will continue.

Set in bustling 1890s’ New York, Jerry Herman’s musical follows the irrepressible Dolly Gallagher Levi (Rachel Anderson), witty matchmaker, meddler and professional “arranger of things”, as she sets out to find a match not only for others, but for herself too. Box office: 01751 474833, at kirktheare.co.uk or in person from the theatre box office, open Tuesdays, 11am to 1pm.

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Pickering Musical Society’s final musical, Hello, Dolly!, will be ‘our most extravagant show ever’ says director Luke Arnold

Hello, Dolly!, goodbye musicals: Rachel Anderson’s Dolly Levi and Tim Tubbs’s Horace Vandergelder promoting Pickering Musical Society’s summer show at Pickering Station. Picture: Robert David Photography

THE buzz is building in Pickering as rehearsals intensify and preparations gather pace for Pickering Musical Society’s final musical, Hello, Dolly!

Luke Arnold’s production of Jerry Herman’s Broadway classic will bring colour, charm and musical magic to the Kirk Theatre from June 10 to 14.

Set in bustling 1890s’ New York, Hello, Dolly! follows the irrepressible Dolly Gallagher Levi, witty matchmaker, meddler and professional “arranger of things”, as she sets out to find a match not only for others, but for herself too.

Packed with such numbers as Before The Parade Passes By, It Only Takes A Moment, Put On Your Sunday Clothes and the show-stopping Hello, Dolly!, the Pickering production promises laughter, heart and glorious theatrical flair.

All aboard for Pickering Musical Society’s farewell to musicals: Luke Arnold’s company for Hello, Dolly at Pickering Station. Picture: Robert David Photography

Rachel Anderson will lead Arnold’s cast as Dolly Levi, bringing warmth, chutzpah and comedic sparkle to the role made famous by Carol Channing, Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. 

Tim Tubbs will return to the Kirk Theatre stage as Horace Vandergelder, having last delighted audiences as Henry Higgins in Pickering Musical Society’s 2023 production of My Fair Lady. Expect him to invest wit and theatrical gravitas into the stubborn half-a-millionaire.

Look out for Stephen Temple as Cornelius Hackl and Jack Dobson as Barnaby Tucker, two adventure-seeking clerks from Yonkers, alongside Paula Cook as the stylish milliner Irene Molloy and Danielle Long as her assistant Minnie Fay. 

Courtney Brown will play the romantically frustrated Ermengarde, opposite Will Smithson as her passionate artist beau, Ambrose Kemper. Rounding out Arnold’s company will be John Brooks as the uptight maître d’, Rudolph Reisenweber.

Courtney Brown’s Ermengarde, left, Will Smithson’s Ambrose Kemper and Paula Cook’s Irene Molloy. Picture: Robert David Photography

Behind the scenes, the excitement is just as palpable. One of the most ambitious sets in the society’s history is coming together piece by piece to transform the Kirk Theatre stage into everything from bustling 1890s’ New York streets to the opulent interiors of the famed Harmonia Gardens restaurant.

This transition will be a huge technical feat, with masses of equipment installed already in the theatre and much more still to come. Each set piece is being constructed with care to capture the grandeur and playfulness of the era, promising an immersive theatrical experience.

Meanwhile, the wardrobe department, led by the experienced Maureen Symonds, is working tirelessly to bring 1890s’ fashion to life. From flowing gowns and parasols to straw boaters and pinstripes, the costumes are starting to arrive and they are “nothing short of dazzling”. The attention to period detail will transport audiences to a world of elegance, charm and timeless theatrical glamour.

Joined in the production team by returning musical director Clive Wass, Arnold’s Hello, Dolly! is shaping up to be a vibrant and polished production, full of energy, colour and his trademark dynamism.

Jack Dobson’s Barnaby Tucker and Danielle Long’s Minnie Fay

“It is extremely sad that this will be our final musical production,” says Luke. “However, we do not aim to go quietly! The team have pulled out all the stops to create what will be our most extravagant production ever produced by Pickering Musical Society.

“I am very grateful to friends and past members for coming out to help and support the production, both on stage and behind the scenes, bringing with them equipment, set and technical know-how that will be combined to create a spectacular result.

“The production is already emptying the coffers, so anyone who may wish to help sponsor our last musical production, or by advertising in our programme, please do get in touch.”

Tickets are selling fast for the last Pickering Musical Society musical after 106 years. Rising production costs have enforced this decision, but please note, the society’s pantomimes and music-from-the-shows productions will continue.

Pickering Musical Society presents Hello, Dolly!, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, June 10 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheare.co.uk. Alternatively, buy in person from the Kirk Theatre box office, open Tuesdays, 11am to 1pm.

Pickering Musical Society’s poster artwork for Hello, Dolly! at the Kirk Theatre, Pickering

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Question: Why will NE Theatre York shows no longer be reviewed? Here is the answer

Steve Tearle’s cast for The Sound Of Music at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre: the last NE Theatre York show to be reviewed by CharlesHutchPress

“OUR reason for going forward without professional reviews is simple really,” says NE Theatre York chairman, director and producer Steve Tearle. 

“As we are a diverse and inclusive company, we create a safe environment for everyone and build up confidences to a level to get them on the stage and start to have faith in themselves and above all self-belief. 

“For instance, we had 27 people on the stage for The Sound Of Music [Joseph Rowntree Theatre, April 29 to May 3] that had never been on stage or sang before. Twenty of these  27 had to sing in Latin. It was a wonderful, outstanding achievement. To which we celebrated that success.”

Steve’s statement, on behalf of the NE Team, continues: “Professional reviews are always open to individual interpretation, and they should be, but they do tend to compare and rate.

“They can lead to people feeling let down, disappointed in themselves, and can create personal setbacks. They also can go against everything we have achieved with that individual, even ourselves.

“This has been already been proved with the cast and the team. Hence the time to change. Therefore, we have added this into our manifesto. 

NE Theatre York chairman and director Steve Tearle with his dog Millie Bell, who appeared on stage in The Sound Of Music

“The team and myself have made the decision not to invite any professional reviewers to ensure that we have put our cast first and put the people ahead of the company. 

“We sell tickets based on the campaigns we create around each the show; creating different campaign’s for different demographics. 

“I have also found out, with the help of some market research, that previews are better than reviews to sell tickets for our company as we are only in the theatre for a small limited time.”

Did you know?

FORMED in 1914 as the New Earswick Dramatic Society, the society has mutated into New Earswick Dramatic and Operatic Society, New Earswick Operatic Society, New Earswick Musical Society, latterly NE Musicals York, NE and now NE Theatre York. “NE” stands for New Exciting Theatre York.

Coming next: Carousel, The Fully Staged Concert, Tempest Anderson Hall, York

NE Theatre York’s poster artwork for Carousel at Tempest Anderson Hall

NE Theatre York will present a fully staged concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel at Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, York, from June 5 to 7.

After the sold-out spring run of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound Of Music at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, director Steve Tearle is turning his focus to another R&H favourite, Carousel, premiered on Broadway in April 1945.

This time, follow the swaggering path of carefree carnival barker Billy Bigelow as he falls in love with the sweet but naive mill worker Julie Jordan, but romance comes at the price of both their jobs.

The story turns darker still when Billy participates in a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child. After the heist goes wrong, Julie turns to her Aunt Netty for comfort. Meanwhile, Julie’s best friend, Carrie Pepperidge, has her eyes on Mr Snow, leading to a marriage proposal.

Cue such R&H classics as June Is Burstin’ Out All Over, If I Loved You, When I Marry Mister Snow, Blow High, Blow Low and the iconic Liverpool and Celtic terrace anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone.

NE Theatre York principal players for Carousel: top row, Kit Stroud and Maia Beatrice; bottom row, Finlay Butler and Rebecca Jackson

Tearle’s cast for this tale of hope, redemption and the power of love will be led by Kit Stroud as Billy Bigelow; Rebecca Jackson as Julie Jordan; Maia Beatrice as Carrie Pepperidge; Finlay Butler as Mr Snow and Perri Ann Barley as Aunt Netty.  

 “This will be a fully staged concert version with 29 voices,” says Steve. “The score will be given its full glory with an 18-piece orchestra led by Joe Allen. “You get every word said, so you can follow the story between the songs. Projections will transport the audience to Middle America to capture every moment of the story.”

The composers are said to have regarded Carousel as their personal favourite among their works. In 1999, Time magazine named Carousel as the best musical of the 20th century.

Tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are on sale at ticketsource.co.uk/netheatre-york.

Hitting the sweet spot

NE Theatre York will mount the York premiere full production of Roald Dahl’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The New Musical at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from November 22 to 29, including matinees on November 22, 23 and 29. Tickets will go on sale from August 8 on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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Next Door But One turn spotlight on young carers & mental health in How To Be A Kid, on tour in schools and theatre spaces

George Green, left, Charlie Blanshard and Becky Heslop in rehearsal for Next Door But One’s production of How To Be A Kid

NEXT Door But One are teaming up with Our Time Charity to raise awareness of mental health, young carers and young people’s experience in care in this week’s tour of How To Be A Kid.

Hot on the tails of premiering Hospital Doors, Matthew Harper-Hardcastle’s spotlight on the lived experience of disabled, LGBTQ+ and unpaid carer communities in York, the York community arts collective is staging Sarah McDonald-Hughes’ play for ages seven to 11 and their grown-ups.

At only 12 years old, Molly cooks, does the dishes and gets her little brother Joe ready for school. Molly misses her Grandma. Molly looks after her grieving mum, but who looks after Molly?

Now her mum is feeling better, maybe things will return to normal. Maybe Molly can learn to be a child again in McDonald-Hughes’ touching, funny story of family, friends and fitting in.

As well as touring to Park Grove, Badger Hill and Clifton Green Primary Schools and Out Of Character at York St John University, How To Be A Kid will have public performances at York Explore today and tomorrow at 5.30pm and Friargate Theatre on Saturday at 12 noon and 3pm.

Associate director Kate Veysey directs a cast of graduates making their NDB1 debutwith support from the company’s professional development programme: Becky Heslop as Molly, Charlie Blanshard as Joe and George Green as Taylor/Mum/more besides.

Becky Heslop’s Molly, left, and George Green’s Taylor in a scene from How To Be A Kid. Picture: James Drury

How To Be A Kid was written originally for Paines Plough’s Roundabout Theatre. “I was reading a lot of scripts, looking to do something at Next Door But One, and gave two plays to my 11-year-old daughter to choose from,” recalls Kate. “This was the one that resonated with her as it’s for her age group.

“The reason it sparked NDB1’s interest is that it’s allowed us to work with communities we’ve worked with before, but on separate projects, whereas this time it’s more collective, bringing those communities together.

“So we’ve done workshops with young carers, young people in care and Out Of Character, whose members have experience of mental health issues, getting feedback from them and taking it into the rehearsal room. It’s always important to tell stories with communities, so it’s an on-going process.”

Becky says: “My question in a workshop with young carers was to ask ‘what part of the day is the most challenging and what is the most relaxing and rewarding?’.”

Kate continues: “So that informs the characterisation, and the story of how Molly, a young carer at 12, has to do all the washing, get her brother out the door for school and find time to do her homework.

“It’s really important that, when we take the story back to the communities, they see their influence on the piece and how we’ve drawn on their experiences.”

Charlie Blanshard in the role of Joe in How To Be A Kid. Picture: James Drury

Charlie is playing the youngest character, six-year-old dinosaur-loving Joe. “It was interesting in the workshops to learn how the situation affected the youngest child; sometimes it impacted on them; sometimes they weren’t aware of it,” he says. “It can bring siblings closer, but if it goes wrong, the extremities in the relationship can be made worse.”

Becky rejoins: “Working with young carers and going into the community was eye-opening; to see their daily lives, to try to understand what they faced, and to really appreciate them as people.  There are challenges there and we want to recognise that and show the human side.”

George says: “Particularly for playing the role of Mum, I found it helpful to work with Out Of Character, learning of the lived experience, where the patience to deal with anything comes from; the need for kindness to yourself.

“We gave them an open question about what piece of advice they would give to Molly, with answers written on paper for us to take away, and  so many suggested ‘speak to Mum’, along with ‘do one useful chore’ and ‘do two things for yourself’.

“I was really struck by the overwhelming kindness, walking into that space, where everyone was in a very giving mood.”

Why should we see How To Be A Kid this week? “Because it’s a beautifully epic, hilarious adventure rooted in reality,” says Charlie.

Becky Heslop’s Molly, left, George Green’s social worker Michelle and Charlie Blanshard’s Joe in How To Be A Kid. Picture: James Drury

“It’s fun, it’s honest and it’s playful. They are the three words to describe it – and there’s lots of cake and dinosaurs and dancing. It turns a light on grief, mental health and carers in a positive way, “ says Becky.

“I think it’s fun that means something, an hour of escapism, where you learn something, but not in a preachy way,” says George.

“It feels a very accurate, well-written script,” says Katie. “When we shared it with communities who had lived experiences, they recognised what Sarah wrote about. Audiences will feel it mirrors them if they’ve experienced what happens, or, if they haven’t, they will understand it better or feel challenged.”

Kate’s cast members have enjoyed their debut involvement with NDB1. “As an actor, it’s been great to work with people with lived experiences and then applying that to the rehearsals and how that changes the story,” says Charlie.

“It’s been great to be part of the creative development programme, with us all being actors in the first two years of being in the profession.”

Becky says:  “For me, as an actor, it’s really opened my eyes to the work of young carers. I’ve learned about myself too and about communities. If the community can be the storyteller, as they’re the one that knows the story best, then we should go to them for those stories.”

How To Be A Kid director Kate Veysey

George says: “I think, massively, I’ve learned about the power of community and the strength of shared experiences and how that can lighten the load.”

Kate says: “Having the people we have working on this production has brought something special to it. With every play, I’m careful about who I choose, and these actors have created something with a beautiful balance of sensitivity and joy, with moments of really high energy and moments where we need to sit back and feel it. Everyone has worked together to enable all those things to happen.”

What will this week’s audiences take away from How To Be A Kid? “A better understanding of communities who are quickly labelled,” suggests Charlie.

“They will see the communities here in a different way,” says Becky. “I hope it will make people give more time to the person on their left and their right.”

George says: “I think the audience will take away the thought that everything can be addressed by talking about it, getting to deal with the elephant in the room by starting a conversation.”

Kate concludes: “If they’ve had a lived experience, they will feel heard. If they haven’t, they will feel more of an understanding of how they can support the communities and have those tricky conversations.”

Next Door But One at work on How To Be A Kid

Working with the community

TRUE to form, Next Door But One are partnering with charities and services at the forefront of supporting the real-life communities that inspired How To Be A Kid.

York Carers Centre and Show Me That I Matter (York’s Children in Care Council) have attended rehearsals to provide learning and development to the cast and creative team, while NDB1 are partnering with Our Time Charity to highlight the support that young people can access if they recognise themselves within the characters portrayed on stage.

Poor parental mental illness and serious mental illness is an issue that affects one in three children in every UK classroom. Children who have a parent with a mental illness often face unique challenges at school and at home.

Our Time Charity is the only UK charity dedicated to this issue. Based on 20 years of listening to families, the charity has shown that, although the impact of a parent’s mental illness can be long lasting, relatively small interventions can make a big difference, changing the course of a young person’s life.

This week’s tour will combine a colourful and imaginative performance with a workshop and resource booklet that utilises Our Time’s expertise and tools to support communities to understand the impact of parental mental illness and how to access further support.

For How To Be A Kid tour dates and tickets, go to: www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk.

Next Door But One’s poster artwork for How To Be A Kid

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Fiery Angel confirms Grand Opera House run for Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile next March, directed by Lucy Bailey

The poster artwork for Death On The Nile, heading for the Grand Opera House, York next March

DIRECTOR Lucy Bailey will complete her hat-trick of Agatha Christie thrillers at the Grand Opera House, York, with the European premiere tour of Death On The Nile, booked in for March 3 to 7 next year.

After And Then There Were None in November 2023 and Murder On The Orient Express in March 2025, the production will reunite Bailey with writer Ken Ludwig and producers Fiery Angel for the British and Irish itinerary.

On board a luxurious cruise under the heat of the Egyptian sun, a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. As secrets buried in the sands of time finally resurface, can world-famous detective Hercule Poirot untangle the web of lies and solve another crime?

James Prichard, of Agatha Christie Limited, says: “With a hugely successful tour of Murder On The Orient Express still delighting UK audiences, we are thrilled to be partnering once again with Lucy Bailey, Ken Ludwig and the team at Fiery Angel to bring another of my great grandmother’s most celebrated stories to UK stages.”

Death On The Nile director Lucy Bailey. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Death On The Nile will be Bailey’s fifth Christie play since staging Witness For The Prosecution – still running at London’s County Hall – and  her second Poirot. “I’m delighted to be following Murder On The Orient Express with another of Poirot’s most famous cases, Death On The Nile,” she says.

“It takes place in the midsummer heat of Egypt and is one of Agatha Christie’s most passion-driven thrillers. A group of holiday makers attracted by the ancient beauty of the Nile find themselves in a living nightmare of jealousy and revenge. Trapped on board a pleasure steamer and adrift on the Nile, it’s a voyage into the heart of darkness.”

Casting is to be announced.

Fiery Angel presents Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7 2026, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Age guidance: 12 plus. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Opera North in Simon Boccanegra, St George’s Hall, Bradford, April 24; Hull City Hall, May 17

Andrés Presno as Gabriele Adorno and Sara Cortolezzis as Amelia Grimaldi in Opera North’s Simon Boccanegra. Picture: James Glossop

OPERA North did obeisance to Bradford’s status as UK City of Culture 2025 by opening its annual springtime concert staging there. And how.

This thrilling P J Harris production was much more a staging than a mere concert. Indeed with the orchestra in full view on stage, this was red-blooded Verdi in tooth and claw, conducted with immense verve by the company’s principal guest conductor Antony Hermus.

The relatively narrow stage remaining for the singers was divided by designer Anna Reid into three cubicles, as if adjoining rooms, but without back walls so that the orchestra was visible beyond.

Banners proclaiming “Plebe” and “Patrizi” hung above, the one in yellow-edged red, the latter in blue-tinged purple. Helpfully, the various characters wore rosettes and even scarves in these colours proclaiming their allegiance.

Topically we were faced with an election in Italy, if in Genoa rather than the Vatican. Otherwise there was little in the way of props, apart from a desk in the council chamber and a rostrum.

Vazgen Gazaryan as Jacopo Fiesco in Opera North’s Simon Boccanegra. Picture: James Glossop

All the principals wore smart casual, modern dress. Singers in concert performances routinely use scores; there were none here. All were left free to act.

The casting of this intense political drama is key to its success. Here the company lands a
tremendous coup, with three singers new to the company, two of whom are also making their British debuts. The only female among the five principals is Amelia (née Maria Boccanegra), sung here with considerable finesse by Sara Cortolezzis.

It is a propitious first appearance in this country, enhanced by instinctive acting. A diminuendo to a pianissimo at the top of her range was spine-tingling; her duet with
Boccanegra (Roland Wood) in which they discover that they are father and daughter brought tears to the eyes as it built to an ecstatic cabaletta.

Wood’s splendidly forthright baritone cuts a commanding figure, not least in the pivotal Council Chamber scene, bringing his daughter’s abductor down to size.

Here Harris makes a virtue of the cramped conditions on stage by lining the hostile populace down the sides of the stalls, with further chorus members hurling crisp fury from the balconies. The resulting “surround sound” plunges the audience into the heart of the action. Opera does not come more hair-raising than this.

Roland Wood as Simon Boccanegra and Mandla Mndebele as Paolo Albiani in Opera North’s Simon Boccanegra. Picture: James Glossop

Andrés Presno’s Italianate tenor as Gabriele makes him the perfect partner for Cortolezzis and their combined decibels generate plenty of electricity. There is sufficient menace in Mandla Mndebele’s baritone, another British debutant, to justify his opponents’ hostility and cast Paolo as the villain in this tale.

Vazgen Gazaryan’s bass, new to this company too, lends a never less than ominous gravitas to his Fiesco. Richard Mosley-Evans, stepping up from the chorus, holds his own in this company as Pietro.

It almost goes without saying that the chorus relishes its emotional interjections to the utmost, its basses in particular. The involvement of the orchestra, too, is total, personified by the way its leader acts her role with her entire torso.

It is one of those evenings where teamwork reigns supreme: morale is clearly sky-high. Alas Bradford didn’t know what it was missing on this first night. There were too many empty seats.

Review by Martin Dreyer

Further performances at Hull City Hall, May 17, 7pm (box office, hulltheatres.co.uk); Southbank Centre, London, May 24, 7pm (southbankcentre.co.uk).

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Late Music, Freedom Dances, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, May 3

Northern School of Contemporary Dance dancer Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma: Performed with Trio Agile at York Late Music’s Freedom Dances concert

Trio Agile is as versatile as its name implies. Susie Hodder-Williams plays flute, alto flute or piccolo with Chris Caldwell concentrating on alto sax and bass clarinet, while Richard Horne handles all manner of percussion, tuned and otherwise. It’s an unusual combo but it offered 11 composers plenty of scope.

The two wind players collaborated on two pieces of their own making, Prelude, which was slow and winding, and Light Dances, where virtuoso sax inspired livelier, tighter movements in the dancers.

In general, more rhythmic music produced more discernible dance steps, whereas slower scores resulted in less legwork and more waving of arms – and thus less clear-cut connections between music and movement.

Two regulars on the Late Music roster delivered pieces that were essentially balletic. The clockwork momentum of David Lancaster’s The Compendium Of Ingenious Mechanical Devices, featuring bass clarinet, cowbells and woodblock, proved ideal backing for Antonio Bukhar Ssebuuma’s twirling solo.

The underlying minimalism of Steve Crowther’s Once Upon A Time Harlequin Met His Columbine ideally pictured Columbine (piccolo) and Harlequin (bass clarinet) with two dancers playing hide-and-seek against piano backing.

Tom Armstrong’s fascinating potpourri of sounds in Aunt Maria’s Dancing Master, including tea cups and pebbles, inspired more classical steps and leaps. Paul Honey’s flickering Pizzica was well matched with mercurial, puckish movements. The evening took its title from a telling piece by James Else, where two dancers intertwined to sinuous backing.

All of the music had more or less instant appeal, although not all suggested dance. Other composers involved were Angela Elizabeth Slater, David Power and Athena Corcoran-Tadd. But perhaps the most fascinating, and certainly the most unusual, was the raga by Supriya Nagarajan, in which the composer herself chanted and the dancers moved more closely together as the vocals became increasingly urgent. It was that kind of evening, full of delightful surprises.

Review by Martin Dreyer