Effie Warboys’ Helena, Sam Strickland’s Lysander and Rachael Williams’s Hermia in rehearsal for Husthwaite Players’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream. All pictures: Jack Wells
LOTTIE Alexander directs Husthwaite Players in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Husthwaite Village Hall, near Easingwold, from April 25 to 27.
“What happens when characters – and audiences and readers – are moved from the known to the unknown, from order to disorder?” asks Lottie. “When they step outside their everyday life and enter into a strange dimension, such as the island in Lord Of The Flies, or Neverland, or the wood in A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
“The wood is the centre of Shakespeare’s play, a place inhabited by fairies, ruled over by Titania and Oberon, whose quarrel has had the effect of altering the seasons. The disruptive interaction of the fairies with the mortals who dare to enter the forest, the lovers, and the artisans rehearsing their play, forms the major part of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Despite the play being set in Athens, the wood and the fairies are thoroughly English, as are the artisans who perform their play for Duke Theseus. “Our production is set in 1918 – and the setting is appropriate,” says Lottie.
Marcus Pickstone’s Oberon stands overThomas Jennings’s Demetrius as they rehearse for Husthwaite Players’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“In 1917, in England, the photographs, taken by two young girls, of cut-out paper fairies deceived many in England, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. From the 18th century, England was changed forever, as the Industrial Revolution drove the change from rural life to the new mechanized society, and the countryside was swallowed up by railways and urban and suburban sprawl.
“As a reaction, the interest in stories of fairies and magic abounded, folk tales and ballads were collected by antiquarians, and Spiritualism flourished, particularly post-war.”
Lottie continues: “In the play, Theseus explains to Hippolyta that it is easy for mortal minds to be confused by unusual images and experiences, and, as Puck reminds the audience at the play’s end, it may all have been a dream.”
Casting an eye over her company, Lottie says: “We are a village with a small community, and most of our players are local, but we have been lucky enough to be able to attract outside talent in several of our previous productions.
Thisbe, left, The Wall and Pyramus in the “Wall Play” finale to Husthwaite Players’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream
“For A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we have four talented and dedicated players as our young lovers: Effie Warboys (Helena), Thomas Jennings (Demetrius), Rachael Williams (Hermia) and Sam Strickland (Lysander). Effie and Thomas have most recently performed with the York Shakespeare Project.”
Look out too for Ray Alexander, past director of York Mystery Plays and York Settlement Community Players productions, making an ass of himself in the role of Nick Bottom, the weaver.
“We hope audiences will enjoy our production. After all, as Philip Henslowe says in the film Shakespeare in Love: ‘Comedy, love and a bit with a dog. That’s what they want’!”
Husthwaite Players in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 25 to 27, 7.30pm; doors 7pm. Tickets: £10, children £5, family £25; 07836 721775 or email sheila_mowatt@btinternet.com.
Husthwaite Players’ poster for Lottie Alexander’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Top: The look of love for Natalie Winsor’s Titania and Tweedy the clown’s Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Higgs/Thousand Word Media
BOTTOM has top billing in Everyman Theatre’s touring production of Shakespeare’s most performed, most perfumed comedy.
Tweedy, the Scottish clown with the trademark red stripe in his hair, is the Cheltenham theatre’s regular pantomime daft lad (although he played dame for the first time last winter), as well as being a staple of Giffords Circus for 17 years.
Everyman director Paul Milton had cast Tweedy – real name Alan Digweed – as Estragon opposite Jeremey Stockwell’s Vladimir as the clowning duo in Samuel Beckett’s apocalyptic Waiting For Godot and now reunites them in his ‘Dream’ adaptation.
Tweedy plays the heavy-coated Bottom to Stockwell’s Welsh-voiced Puck and West Country Snug, his fellow Rude Mechanical. The squeak in Tweedy’s Bottom puts you in mind of Harrogate Theatre’s panto clown, Tim Stedman, while the silver tongue and riparian flow of Stockwell’s Puck evokes Richard Burton’s rendition of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood.
Significantly too, Milton has cut out classical Greek references and “bits of speech that now feel quite archaic” in pursuit of creating “accessible Shakespeare” without modernising it.
This gives more space for clowning interjections by Tweedy’s nimble, quick-thinking loon, whether being hit by a plank of wood or Moon’s lamp, wrestling with a deckchair, being dragged back by an unseen dog or quoting Shakespeare’s Richard III as he gives the kiss of life to a pantomime horse.
The stuffed horse promptly drops three plops…for Tweedy to demonstrate his juggling skills. Oh, and how he could resist expelling Bottom burps, putting the ‘f ‘ into art, in the way that so many panto fools do.
This might feel like a commercial pantomime’s habit of shoehorning a star name’s speciality act into a show, but here it is entirely in keeping with the character of Nick Bottom, the weaver, the attention seeker, the egotist, who reckons he can play every part in the Mechanicals’ play. Tweedy is the show’s comedy advisor too, although Botom would probably reckon he should have that duty!
Milton restricts his cast to only ten, so everyone aside from Bottom has two or three roles, switching from the Athenian court to the forest fairyland, pretty much all of them playing a fairy.
This makes for a wholly satisfying ensemble experience, a seamless Dream, classical and magical, with a relish for the words as much as for the fractious fizz in the clashes of Troy Alexander’s Oberon and Natalie Winsor’s Titania and the young lovers (Oliver Brooks/Nadia Shash and Thomas Nellstrop/Laura Noble).
Milton has assembled a superb production team too: Charles Cusick-Smith and Phil R Daniels’ gorgeous set and costume designs for court and forest alike; Michael Childs’ delightful compositions; Michael E Hall’s midsummer lighting and Steve Anderson’s sound design that fills the auditorium with atmospheric woodland wildlife.
Above all, Tweedy’s Bottom makes an ass of himself with glee, cheek and joie de vivre. Bottom’s up indeed.
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7pm; tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Bottom: Tweedy the clown in his ass-ured performance as Nick Bottom, the weaver, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Higgins/Thousand Word Media
The eyes have it: Love-struck Natalie Windsor’s Titania and Tweedy the clown’s Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media
GOTHIC Austen, a clowning Bottom, a dose of the blues, a Technicolor dreamcoat, open studios and a reactivated newsroom satire feature in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for a busy diary.
York play of the week: Cheltenham Everyman Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, York Theatre Royal, April 9 to 13, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
EVERYMAN Theatre Company’s staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream puts a new twist on the familiar tale by casting comedy clown Tweedy as Bottom and making him “comedy advisor” on Paul Milton’s production to boot.
The night’s magic, mischief, and mayhem unfold in an enchanted Athenean forest, intertwining the romantic misadventures of four young lovers, the playful meddling of mischievous fairies and the comedic antics of amateur actors, culminating in a tale of love, mistaken identity and reconciliation engineered by Jeremy Stockwell’s meddlesome Puck. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Tom Killner: Soul-drenched Southern rock and Americana at York Blues Festival
Festival of the week: York Blues Festival, The Crescent, York, today, 1pm to 11pm; doors, 12.30pm
NAME of the week? Step forward The 20ft Squid Blues Band, participants in this weekend’s York Blues Festival, curated by Paul Winn and Ben Darwin, hosts of Jorvik Radio’s Blues From The Ouse show and the Ryedale Blues Club.
Performing too will be Dirty Ruby, Bison Hip, The James Oliver Band, Hot Foot Hall, York band DC Blues, The Milk Men and Tom Killner. Tickets update: Sold out; for returns only, yorkbluesfest.co.uk.
Ceramicist Patricia Qua, who will make her York Open Studios debut in Hemplands Drive, York
Preview of the week: York Open Studios, Hospitium, York Museum Gardens, York, today and tomorrow, 10am to 4pm
YORK Open Studios 2024 hosts a taster exhibition this weekend at the Hospitium, ahead of the full event on April 13, 14, 20 and 21. More than 150 artists who live or work within a ten-mile radius of the city will be welcoming visitors to 100 workspaces to show and sell their art, ranging from ceramics, collage, digital, illustration, jewellery and mixed media to painting, print, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood. Among them will be 29 new participants. Full details can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk.
Back in the news: The original cast reassembles for Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening! at Leeds Grand Theatre
Breaking News of the week: Drop The Dead Donkey: The Reawakening!, Leeds Grand Theatre, April 9 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
THIRTY years since the launch of the trailblazing television series Drop The Dead Donkey, the Globelink News team is back, live on stage for the first time. Original cast members Stephen Tompkinson, Neil Pearson, Susannah Doyle, Robert Duncan, Ingrid Lacey, Jeff Rawle and Victoria Wicks reunite for a new script by sitcom writing duo Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin.
“It’s going to be hugely enjoyable to watch those seven funny, flawed characters from Globelink News being plunged into the cutthroat world of modern 24-hour news-gathering and trying to navigate their way through the daily chaos of social media, fake news, and interim Prime Ministers,” say the writers. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
Go, go, Joseph: Lead actor Reuben Khan in York Stage’s poster for Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: York Stage in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grand Opera House, York, April 12 to 20, 7.30pm except April 14, 15 and 19; 2.30pm, April 13 and 20; 4pm, April 14; 5pm and 8pm, April 19
BE ready to paint the city in every colour of the rainbow as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical dazzles the Grand Opera House in York Stage’s vibrant production, directed by Nik Briggs, with musical direction by Adam Tomlinson and choreography by Lesley Hill.
Reuben Khan leads the cast as Joseph, joined by Hannah Shaw as the Narrator, Carly Morton as Pharaoh, Martin Rowley as Jacob, Finn East as Simeon and Matthew Clarke as Potiphar, among others. Tickets are selling fast at atgtickets.com/york.
Shareefa Energy!: Guest performance poet at April 12’s Say Owt Slam at The Crescent
Spoken word clash of the week: Say Owt Slam, featuring Shareefa Energy!, The Crescent, York, April 12, 7.45pm
SAY Owt, “York’s loveable gobby gang of performance poets”, take over The Crescent twice a year for raucous, high-energy nights of verse that combine a slam war of words with a guest performer.
“In a slam, poets have three minutes to wow the audience to become the champion,” says host Henry Raby. “It’s fast, frantic and fun: perfect for people who love poetry, and those who think they hate poetry too.”
Special guest Shareefa Energy! is a poet, writer, activist, educator, creative campaigner, workshop facilitator and arts and wellbeing practitioner of Indian and Muslim heritage from working-class Highfields in Leicester. Box office: thecrescentyork.com or on the door.
Robert Gammon: Performing with Maria Marshall and Alison Gammon at St Chad’s Church
Dementia Friendly Tea Concert: Maria Marshall, Robert Gammon and Alison Gammon, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, April 18, 2.30pm
CELLIST Maria Marshall opens this Dementia Friendly Tea Concert with Faure’s Elegy, accompanied by pianist Robert Gammon, who then plays two short solo Grieg piano pieces. Alison Gammon joins them for Beethoven’s trio Opus 11 for clarinet, piano and cello.
The relaxed 45-minute concert, ideal for people who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert, will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall. Seating is unreserved; no charge applies to attend but donations are welcome for hire costs and Alzheimer’s charities.
Lucy Worsley: Revelations about Jane Austen at York Barbican
Show announcement of the week: An Audience with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen, York Barbican, October 14, 7.30pm
FOLLOWING up her Agatha Christie tour, historian and presenter Lucy Worsley’s latest illustrated talk steps into the world of Jane Austen, one of English literature’s most cherished figures as the author of Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility and Persuasion.
Through the houses, places and possessions that mattered to Austen, Worsley looks at what home meant to her and to the women like her who populate her novels. Austen lived a “life without incident”, but with new research and insights Worsley reveals a passionate woman who fought for her freedom. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: Exhibition launch, Makiko, Picture Imperfect, York Theatre Royal, April 8 to 28
Exhibition poster for Makiko’s Picture Imperfect at York Theatre Royal
YORK photographer Makiko has shifted her focus to the mental health of vulnerable children in her Picture Imperfect exhibition at York Theatre Royal.
After her trip to photograph scenes from Gunkanjima (Battleship Island), as well as a spiritual journey to the uninhabited island of Nozaki, Japanese-born Makiko has responded to the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The result is this month’s Theatre Royal foyer exhibition featuring remote portrait photography, colour photos taken by children and a short film on the theme of the lives of vulnerable children and teenagers in the artist’s community in York, exploring their struggles with mental health and their developing identities.
Makiko’s project has received funding from Arts Council England and was conceived to work alongside The Island, a charity that offers mentorship and safeguarding for young people in the community regardless of their socio-economic circumstances or life experiences.
“The more I began to know the charity, the more I learned of a darker reality and of things such as child trafficking and sexual exploitation,” says Makiko. “All the children involved in this project have experienced early life trauma or pre-existing mental challenges or both.
“The conceptualisation of the project coincided with the lockdowns imposed by the UK government to combat Covid-19. Northern England was particularly hard hit: this in turn has had a profound impact on these children’s lives.”
The Covid strictures placed significant restrictions on how Makiko needed to approach her work, imposing the necessity of a creative solution to comply with social distancing and meeting the necessary regulations.
The artist provided the children with disposable cameras to shoot their everyday life. Much of her own photo-shooting was carried out remotely during the lockdown, to document what they were doing and thinking at home.
“Once the restrictions were lifted in early spring 2022, I visited the children during the art activity sessions and let them express themselves both in front of my viewfinder, as well as in writing,” says Makiko. “Subsequently, the work was exhibited at York Open Studios in April that year.”
The story is intertwined with the experience of Makiko and her younger son following their relocation back to the United Kingdom. “He suffered from assault and racial discrimination at school, resulting in school refusal and being housebound for several years,” she recalls. “This provided a precursor to the isolating experiences that children would go on to face during the pandemic.”
Makiko encountered direct racial abuse too, including a physical assault. “Both of us had struggled to fit into the environment,” she says. “The UK has continued to manifest deep division in the aftermath of Brexit, including rises in racism, anti-social behaviour and hate crimes in general.”
Most importantly, Makiko realised that the entire process worked as a catalyst, helping her to recover from a psychological wound she had endured over the past few years. “I began to better understand what my younger son and other children have experienced,” she says. “This included an insight into the thoughts and behaviours of Generations Z during a unique period of UK history.”
This project was carried out when Makiko was a mentee of Magnum Photos during 2021-2022. The exhibition is produced in collaboration with The Island and in association with York Theatre Royal. Its accompanying photobook version will be published in 2024. For more information on Makiko, go to: makikophoto.com.
Makiko’s Picture Imperfect runs at York Theatre Royal, St Leonard’s Place, York, from April 8 to 27; on view from 10am, Monday to Saturday
Makiko: the back story
AWARD-WINNING photographer who has lived, studied and worked in Japan, France, North America, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Studied photography at International Center of Photography in New York.
Since 2006 her work has been exhibited in Japan, North America, and Europe. Best known for her black and white photography.
At present at Royal College of Art in London.
Features among 89 award-winning professional photographers from around the world in What Does Photography Mean To You?, selected by Scott Grant (Bluecoat Press).
Particular interest in high-functioning autism. In 2014 she launched her first documentary/photography book, Beautifully Different. Re-published in Japanese in March 2016.
Look into my eyes: Tweedy’s Bottom and Natalie Windsor’s Titania in Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media
PROFESSIONAL clown Tweedy will be making an ass of himself as “rude mechanical” Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at York Theatre Royal from April 9 to 13.
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company director Paul Milton has not only put this new twist on Shakespeare’s tale of magic, mischief and mayhem but appointed the Scottish-born performer as the “comedy advisor” too, utilising his clowning knowledge to give the touring production a modern facelift.
“Throw in Tweedy’s physical slapstick, and we think this is a really enjoyable show for everybody, especially families and students,” says Milton of his aim to “create an accessible Shakespeare show that will appeal to a present-day audience”.
Tweedy will be making his second appearance in York after being one of 35 international acts in Cirque Berserk’s February 2015 show at the Grand Opera House. “There were no animals, apart from a man in a horse’s head pulling a mini-caravan,” read the Press review. “There was a clown, Tweedy from Scotland, with his juggling and unicycling and unfeasibly large and loose trousers.”
Tweedy appears regularly in the Everyman pantomime and also performed in Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting For Godot in 2019, prompting chief executive Mark Goucher to put his name forward to director Paul Milton for Bottom: his first ever Shakespearean role (although he did direct Redshift Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing “a long time ago”).
“They suggested Bottom to me and I went ‘yeah’, because it’s a great role…but then initially I wasn’t 100 per cent sure because when I’ve seen Bottom being played, he’s quite arrogant and not that likeable, and as I play the clown, that didn’t feel quite right,” says Tweedy.
Such a comic ass-et: Tweedy the clown in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media
“But I just had to think about how I would play him. I realised that it’s not dissimilar to how I clown around in that he gets super-excited. That over-excitement leads to him saying he can do anything, and in that child-like quality, I can see the clown in him.”
Tweedy brings his clowning skills to his second role as comedy advisor for Shakespeare’s tale of love, mistaken identity and reconciliation, set in an enchanted forest wherein the romantic misadventures of four young lovers, the playful meddling of mischievous fairies and the comedic antics of amateur actors (the “rude mechanicals”) intertwine.
“The beauty of physical comedy is you don’t need to rewrite anything; you just add slapstick to what’s already there,” he says. “As a clown I find physical comedy appeals to all ages and generations, so I’m excited to add this element to the production.
“Putting a lot of physicality and slapstick in there feels really good with the mechanicals team I’m working with.”
As for his own performance as Bottom: “There’s the romantic thing going on with Titania, but there’s also that ridiculous thing of being transformed into an ass. Physically that’s fun to play,” he says.
Tweedy is joined in the cast by his old friend Jeremy Stockwell as the meddlesome Puck after playing Estragon to Stockwell’s Vladimir in the Everyman Theatre’s Waiting For Godot. “Paul [Milton] put us together for that, and afterwards I said ‘No, never again with Paul!” he says, playfully as it turns out, because Stockwell was within hearing distance after entering the rehearsal room.
Tweedy the clown with his trademark red tuft
In truth Tweedy had loved performing that play alongside Stockwell. “You’re on stage the whole time,” he says. “I see them as clowns in a dire situation, and you know what they say about clowns: ‘when you look into the eyes of a good clown, you see the humour in the human condition’,” he says.
“Jeremy and I come from similar backgrounds; we love to play and draw the audiences in so they feel involved, and of course we love to create mischief, so I’m really looking forward to having lots of fun.
“Bottom and Puck don’t spend much time together in the play, but Jeremy is also playing one of the mechanicals, Smug, so we do have scenes together. It’s always great if you have chemistry with someone as it becomes infectious. The thing with the clown is to have fun and joy, and when audience sees how much joy you’re having, it rubs off on everyone else. We’re very lucky that it’s a great cast, where we’re having great fun with the play.”
Should you be wondering how Tweedy acquired that name, he explains: “When I first joined Zippo’s Circus, I was going to call myself ‘Weedy the clown’ as my last name is Digweed, but I was told there was already a Weedy, so Zippo himself suggested adding the ‘T’ to make it Tweedy. It just felt right and had a Scottish connection too.”
As ever, Tweedy will be parading his trademark red tuft. “When I first started, I wore big traditional make-up, big shoes etc,” he says. “I never really liked wigs so dyed all my hair red. During a show I did a routine where I’d fall into a birthday cake; I’d lie there for a really long time; I found it got good laughs just to lie there.
“One day, however, the candles didn’t go out. I was lying there thinking, ‘this is getting a bigger reaction than usual’. I then smelled singed hair and realised my hair was on fire. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt. All that was left was a red tuft, which I really liked the look of, so I kept it. I like to think of it as a modern equivalent of a red nose as I no longer wear a clown nose.”
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, York Theatre Royal, April 9 to 13, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Copyright of The Press, York
Did you know?
TWEEDY has worked as a comic stuntman at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show at Disneyland Paris, performing alongside cowboys and Native Americans.
And finally…
How did you react to receiving a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to circus and the local community in the honours list, Tweedy? “Initially confused. I nearly didn’t get it; for some reason they couldn’t get hold of me to accept it; they phoned my agent who thought it was a joke. By the time I got the email to accept, the deadline had passed. Lucky they didn’t stick to the deadline.
“When it was announced, I felt very proud. It’s not something as a clown I expected. It’s also good news for circus as it’s the first time it’s been specifically for circus, opposed to entertainment.”
Rebecca Banatvala, back, AK Golding, middle, and Sam Newton, front, in Northanger Abbey at the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Pamela Raith
GOTHIC Austen, a clowning Bottom, dark pop chat, vintage blues and harmonious folk feature in Charles Hutchinson’s suggestions for a busy diary.
Play of the week outside York: Northanger Abbey, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until April 13, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ZOE Cooper adapts Jane Austen’s coming-of-age satire of Gothic novels in a co-production by the SJT, Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, Octagon Theatre, Bolton, and Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, starring Rebecca Banatvala (Cath), AK Golding (Iz) and Sam Newton (Hen) under Tessa Walker’s direction.
In a play fizzing with imagination, humour and love, Cath Morland knows little of the world, but who needs real-life experience when you have books to guide you? Cath seizes her chance to escape her claustrophobic family life and join the smart set in Bath. Between balls and parties, she meets worldly, sophisticated Iz, and so Cath’s very own adventure begins. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Megson: Folk duo Debs and Stu Hanna at Helmsley Arts Centre
Folk concert of the week: Megson, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
BRITISH folk duo Megson combines Debs Hanna’s vocals, whistle and piano accordion with Stu Hanna’s guitar, mandola and banjo on songs filled with perceptive lyrics and exquisite musicianship. An infectious mix of heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars mark their concerts, topped off with northern humour between numbers.
Chalking up 13 studio albums in 20 years, the four-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominees and two-time Spiral Earth Award winners will be showcasing their latest release, March 2023’s What Are We Trying To Say?. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Red, a dare: Tweedy’s Bottom, clowning around and chancing his luck in love in the Everyman Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media
York play of the week: Cheltenham Everyman Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, York Theatre Royal, April 9 to 13, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
THE Everyman Theatre Company staging of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream puts a new twist on the familiar tale by casting comedy clown Tweedy as Bottom and making him “comedy advisor” on Paul Milton’s production to boot.
The night’s magic, mischief, and mayhem unfold in an enchanted forest in Athens, intertwining the romantic misadventures of four young lovers, the playful meddling of mischievous fairies and the comedic antics of amateur actors, culminating in a tale of love, mistaken identity and reconciliation engineered by Jeremy Stockwell’s meddlesome Puck. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
John Robb: Rock’n’roll tales at Pocklington Arts Centre
Pop chat of the week: John Robb: Do You Believe In The Power Of Rock’n’Roll?, Pocklington Arts Centre, April 11, 8pm
JOHN Robb discusses his life in music; his pop culture book Art Of Darkness: The History Of Goth; being the first person to interview Nirvana; inventing the word Britpop and his adventures on the post-punk frontline.
Blackpool-born Robb is an author, musician, journalist, television and radio presenter and pundit, music website boss, publisher, Louder Than Words festival boss, eco-warrior and talking-head singer of The Membranes. His special guest is The Sisters Of Mercy co-founder Gary Marx. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Pianist Robert Gammon: Performing with Maria Marshall and Alison Gmmon at musical tea concert
Dementia Friendly Tea Concert: Maria Marshall, Robert Gammon and Alison Gammon, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, April 18, 2.30pm
CELLIST Maria Marshall opens this Dementia Friendly Tea Concert with Faure’s Elegy, accompanied by pianist Robert Gammon, who then plays two short solo Grieg piano pieces. Alison Gammon joins them for Beethoven’s trio Opus 11 for clarinet, piano and cello.
The relaxed 45-minute concert, ideal for people who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert, will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall. Seating is unreserved; no charge applies to attend but donations are welcome for hire costs and Alzheimer’s charities. On-street parking along Campleshon Road complements the church’s small car park.
The Nightcreatures’ Henry Botham and Tom Davies: Blues songs and stories at Milton Rooms, Malton
Blues gig of the week: The Nightcreatures, Farewell To Storyville, Songs and Stories from New Orleans, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 12, 8pm
THE Nightcreatures duo of pianist Henry Botham and guitarist and singer Tom Davies take a journey to old New Orleans for a night of songs and stories, serving up a spicy gumbo of filthy blues, funky grooves and classic tunes.
Old blues, Mardi Gras songs and vintage New Orleans material are explored, drawing on the heritage of Dr John, James Booker, Professor Longhair, Allen Toussaint and the great Louisiana bluesmen. Jenny Wren and Her Borrowed Wings, a trio led by singer and double bassist Jenny Trilsbach, support. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Sam Jewison: Interpreting the Great American Songbook at the SJT
Jazz gig of the month: Sam Jewison, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, April 27, 7.30pm
JAZZ singer and pianist Sam Jewison returns to the SJT after a sold-out show in 2023 to perform his interpretation of the Great American Songbook in a fusion of jazz, classical and popular music.
Expect to hear new treatments of songs from the Broadway stage, Hollywood screen and golden age of American popular music, made famous Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Oscar Peterson, from the pens of Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. Joining Jewison will be Fraser Smith (tenor saxophone), Harry Sankey (guitar), Harry Evans (double bass) and Joe Dessauer (drums). Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Lucy Worsley: Revelations from the life of Jane Austen at York Barbican
Show announcement of the week: An Audience with Lucy Worsley on Jane Austen, York Barbican, October 14,
FOLLOWING up her Agatha Christie tour, historian Lucy Worsley’s latest illustrated talk steps into the world of Jane Austen, one of English literature’s most cherished figures as the author of Pride And Prejudice, Sense And Sensibility and Persuasion.
Through the houses, places and possessions that mattered to Austen, Worsley looks at what home meant to her and to the women like her who populate her novels. Austen lived a “life without incident”, but with new research and insights Worsley reveals a passionate woman who fought for her freedom. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Hoglets Theatre’s poster for A Midsummer Night’s Mischief, playing York Theatre Royal Studio on March 8 and 9
THE fairies in the forest are starting a fight, but which side are you on? Team Titania or Team Oberon? Come on down! It’s all kicking off in the forest in Hoglets Theatre’s Shakespeare-loving children’s play A Midsummer Night’s Mischief at York Theatre Royal on March 8 and 9.
Based on Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the York company’s interactive, larger-than-life, fun production is designed especially for five to 11-year-old children, but everyone is welcome.
“Expect wild characters, raucous singalong songs, puppets, stunts, and some frankly ridiculous disco dancing,” says Hoglets Theatre founder, writer and performer Gemma Curry. “While we love the bard, no previous experience of Shakespeare is required!”
A Midsummer Night’s Mischief is the tenth Hoglets production, following on from their sell-out Yorkshire tours of Wood Owl And The Box Of Wonders and The Sleep Pirates and December 9’s two spectacular Christmas performances of The Nutcracker at York Minster, accompanied by the cathedral organ no less.
Writer Gemma will be joined in the cast at York Theatre Royal by Claire Morley and Becky Lennon, who replaces Charlotte Wood from earlier performances. Song lyrics are by Andy Curry and Lara Pattison; costumes by Julia Smith; set design by Andy Curry and choreography by Charlotte Wood.
Hoglets Theatre in A Midsummer Night’s Mischief, York Theatre Royal Studio, March 8, 4.30pm; March 9, 10.30am. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/midsummer-mischief/
Claire Morley, left, Charlotte Wood and Gemma Curry in an earlier performance of Hoglets Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Mischief
Hoglets Theatre CIC: the back story
Not-for-profit children’s theatre company and associate children’s theatre company of York Theatre Royal.
Stages original theatrical productions across the country, aimed at primary and preschool-aged children.
Runs interactive workshops for schools, libraries and groups.
Provides child-centric consultation and content creation for museums, organisations, apps and publications.
Mission statement: “Everything we do is centred around storytelling and the amazing impact that stories, imagination and creativity can have on young minds.”
All revved up to read the riot act: Robin Simpson’s Manky, left, and Paul Hawkyard’s Mardy know how to make an entrance in Cinderella at York Theatre Royal
DIRECTOR Juliet Forster first noted Robin Simpson and Paul Hawkyard’s stage chemistry when they played two of the Rude Mechanicals in her Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in York in July 2018.
Now York Theatre Royal’s creative director has cast them us unruly stepsisters Manky and Mardy in Cinderella.
Both have dame roles in their panto locker, Robin last year donning the frocks for the Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime, having appeared in the Lawrence Batley Theatre panto in Huddersfield in the past few years.
“I was never under contract though; it was always just a case of them giving me a call early in the year, so it was a very free and easy arrangement,” he says.
Last Christmas, the Huddersfield panto was cancelled, and so Robin was able to continue an association with York Theatre Royal that began with The Little Mermaid in 2005 by appearing in Juliet and Evolution Productions’ writer-producer Paul Hendy’s first collaboration, the Travelling Pantomime.
Robin Simpson in York Theatre Royal’s Travelling Pantomime last winter
“It was a lovely script and such a lovely show to do, when we were all so happy to be in that situation of being able to perform when so many places were in Tier 3, but there we were in Tier 2, taking every day as a blessing, testing every other day, but still worrying that it would be shut down or that someone would test positive,” he says.
“We were always living on a knife edge, but we got through most of the run and we had such a blast because people were delighted they could see a show again and were so happy to see their children enjoying themselves.”
Lawrence Batley Theatre’s creative team changed with a new chief exec coming in; likewise, York Theatre Royal was looking to move on from Berwick Kaler’s 40-year damehood.
“Both theatres were starting afresh, and with me facing a choice, I thought it would be a good time for me to move on, as they could start with a clean slate at Huddersfield, and performing in York always feels like coming home,” says Robin, who lives in Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield.
“York Theare Royal is such a wonderful theatre and I’ve done so many shows on that stage. I think York is the city I’ve worked in the most, playing at the National Railway Museum and Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre as well.”
Paul Hawkyard, standing somewhat taller and wider than Robin at 6ft 2, was born and raised in Leeds, and, as chance would have had it, he had just moved back to Yorkshire after many years of living down south when the opportunity to appear alongside him in Cinderella came about.
Paul Hawkyard as Bottom in Juliet Forster’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York in 2019
“We’d loved being in the Scottish play [Macbeth] and A Midsummer Night’s Dream together in 2018,” he recalls. “Robin played the Wall in ‘the Wall Play’, I played Bottom, and we’d bring the show to a stop on numerous occasions, getting told to stop doing that!
“We were neighbours in the dressing room and got on so well, putting the world to rights, waiting for our cues, scrambling to the stage, so it’s lovely to be doing this show together.”
Actor and wildlife artist Paul has shed four stones since first playing Bottom. “I got diabetes and I packed in everything after that. I started the Blenheim Palace production in 2019 at one size and ended it at another. I don’t think the costume lady was very pleased!” he says of his fitness regime. “I started doing boxing workouts again and I’m no longer in the diabetic range.”
Paul subsequently left behind Bordon, Hampshire, for a new beginning in Selby. “Covid kicked in hard, and that was a big factor in deciding to return north. It meant I could come back because a lot of auditions are done on Zoom now, so you’re in a position where you don’t have to live in or near to London,” he says.
“I had a look around a lot of areas in Yorkshire and settled on Selby. I’d only been there once before, but I just wanted to be somewhere near York, as I love the place, and Selby is just down the road. I saw the house and that was it!”
Weight loss, house move, and now Paul has become engaged too, to Nicola Filshie. “I decided to marry the girl I’ve known for 26 years, who lives in Glasgow, so I spend a time a lot of time going up there. We’ve worked together a few times, and now we’ll be marrying next October,” he says.
Double trouble act: Robin Simpson and Paul Hawkyard’s comic tour de force as things turn ugly for Cinderella’s stepsisters at York Theatre Royal
Paul contacted Juliet Forster before making the move to Selby. “I said I was moving to Yorkshire and it would be lovely to see her, asking her to keep me in mind if anything came up.”
Lo and behold, up came the Ugly Stepsister partnership with Simpson in Cinderella. “We are very different,” says Paul. “He’s quietly brilliant and I’m very loud!”
Making his professional debut in pantomime, he first played Simple Simon in a Pantoni Productions show in his early 20s and has since appeared as Buttons, assorted dames and even the villainous Abanazar out in Dubai.
By comparison, Robin has always played dame. “Maybe a lot of dames see themselves as appealing to the adults, with the comedian turn for the children, but I’ve never thought of it like that. You have to appeal to everyone. I don’t want to alienate children,” he says.
Somehow, this even applies when playing the outwardly unappealing, antagonistic stepsisters Manky and Mardy. Robin and Paul may enter each time to ever more raucous jeering, but they are lovably absurd, boastful villains, mean but funny. “Aren’t we brilliant?” they jest. They are, as it happens!
COVID UPDATE 23/12/2021
NO performances of Cinderella from December 23 for a week after a Covid outbreak among cast members. Provisionally, the production will resume on December 30, with two extra performances being added to the run that ends on January 2. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
