Ellen Carnazza as TV bakery queen Petronella Parfait in Crumbs, the Badapple Theatre Company play with live bread baking. Picture: Karl Andre
BADAPPLE Theatre Company is celebrating the start of its year as associate company at York Theatre Royal by staging cookery comedy drama Crumbs in the Studio from tomorrow to Saturday.
Under artistic director and writer Kate Bramley’s leadership, Badapple has been bringing original theatre to unusual locations in Yorkshire and far beyond since 1998, but straitened financial times have seen the Green Hammerton company take the decision to stage a solo show.
Starring the chameleon Ellen Carnazza, Crumbs first toured last autumn and is now back on the road this spring with its turbulent tale of the ruthless exploits of former TV baking celebrity Petronella Parfait.
“Let go” from her high-profile TV show under dubious circumstances, Petronella is determined to re-style herself within the fast-paced and cut-throat world of social media influencers, but can she keep the lights on – as well as the oven – in the face of almost certain doom?
The four-day Theatre Royal run follows Badapple’s Theatre On Your Doorstep national tour of 22 rural venues, when North Yorkshire Council provided funding for five performances in “the most remote extremities of North Yorkshire: Clapham-cum Newby, “practically in Lancashire”; Appletreewick; Glusburn, near Keighley; Darley and West Burton, “at the top of the Yorkshire Dales”.
“It’s what we do, taking shows to villages like that, and not only did North Yorkshire Council put in a small amount of money, but also a massive amount of enthusiasm,” says Kate.
In signature Badapple style, Crumbs pushes the limits of live theatre performance with a joyous blend of comedy, clowning and bread baked live on stage.
“We’ve had so much fun touring this outrageous show,” says Kate. “It amazes me every time to see Ellen captivate audiences with the ruthless Petronella, and play five other supporting characters too, some at the same time, while baking bread in front of our very eyes.”
Kate is now spending two days a week at the Theatre Royal. “We’re so delighted to be invited to become associate company at York Theatre Royal this year,” she says. “It’s a real honour and comes as an amazing boost at a crucial time for Badapple, with the hope of some brighter days ahead.
“It’s why I’ve never cancelled a Badapple tour as I believe the sea will trickle over you and someone will step in.”
The proof is the new partnership, where, at the epicentre of Badapple’s year as associate company, Kate will be developing a new play in partnership with the Theatre Royal’s creative team.
“I’ll be working on a script with the support of creative director Juliet Forster over the coming year, to be given a research and development showcase open to the public next March,” she says. “It’s so exciting as I’ve not done work exclusively for a theatre since 2003.
Flour power: Ellen Carnazza’s Petronella Parfait in Crumbs. Picture: Karl Andre
“The association with the Theatre Royal will be built around Badapple pushing into a couple of directions: one is partnerships with theatres; the other is continuing to do what we do in non-theatre spaces.”
Kate continues: “When the Theatre Royal announced it was looking for a new associate company, I went in with my pitch, knowing that we’re not the kind of company the Theatre Royal would usually support, as it’s normally about the building and growth of a company when its first starting out, as a lever to open up opportunities.
“I was hugely aware Badapple was not that company, as we’re long established, but the more I spoke to Juliet and her colleagues, I realised they felt they could help us make a step-change, one of many we’ve made in going back into theatres, but also in helping us on the administration side.
“That means we can access any aspect of the Theatre Royal’s expertise, while we can provide our expertise in rural touring and small-scale touring.”
Kate gives an example. “I’ve been talking with the Futureproof team [the Theatre Royal’s talent development and consultation programme for 18 to 26 year olds], which looks at the future strategy of the Theatre Royal, discussing how the next generation of York theatre practitioners views the way ahead here,” she says.
“It’s exciting that I can offer my expertise and the Theatre Royal can do likewise for Badapple in a symbiotic relationship.”
There will be a practical benefit for Badapple too. “The Theatre Royal will provide rehearsal space for our tours coming up in the autumn, at Christmas and next spring, as well as space for auditions and play development,” says Kate.
In the meantime, let’s see how the cook crumbles – or not! – in Crumbs. “I love Crumbs,” says Kate. “I heard myself saying to someone that it’s Badapple’s ‘fightback show’, and I have to say that Ellen is the hardest-working woman in theatre in that kitchen.
“I don’t know what more we could have done to create this show, so maybe it has an air of defiance after what Badapple’s been through [with a loss of funding].
“The hope is that we can move forward, not to be stuck in becoming known for one-person shows, though we’re very fortunate that there are some massive one-person shows doing so well, even transferring to Broadway.”
Step forward Jodie Comer (Prima Facie), Minnie Driver (Every Brilliant Thing), Rosamund Pike (Inter Alia), Cynthia Erivo (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) and Daniel Radcliffe (Every Brilliant Thing). “It’s exciting that small-form theatre shows, one teller with a big story, are being more widely accepted by audiences,” says Kate.
“I’m not saying that theatre should depend on this, but in a positive way, there’s an environment where audiences are enjoying these shows and are thrilled by what can be achieved.
“But there’s a natural growth in the shows I’m planning for Badapple. Our autumn tour will be a reprise of Back To The Land Girls, touring as a two-hander, returning after 15 years. Our Christmas show will be a panto mash-up, Cinderella In Boots: a mash-up that absolutely requires three actors and will be very silly.
Kate Bramley: Badapple Theatre Company artistic director and writer
“I’m really looking forward to it after Richard Kay’s Sleeping Beauty & The Beast mash-up sold out in 2024, and it’s going to be me writing it this time.”
Contemplating the shows ahead, Kate says: “Back To The Land Girls was very popular but it hasn’t been out on tour for a long time, so a lot of people haven’t seen it, and I’ll be doing a bit of re-writing to make it more contemporary for the new tour.
“Then we’ll have our crazy Christmas explosion of panto fun, which hopefully will bring us back to where we were two years ago.”
Next spring’s tour will be A Lady About Town. “It’s a play about suffrage and women aged over 21 getting the vote, as we have the 100th anniversary coming up in 2028,” says Kate. “One of the characters is a newspaper columnist and the other is a suffragette activist. They have different ideas about how to achieve the end game, maybe leading to direct action or not.
“It strikes me that now the same thing is happening with climate change and fuel protests in Ireland. There is that dilemma whether violence, in some way or other, becomes the only route to perceived change.”
Looking ahead to the joint project with York Theatre Royal, Kate says: “I’m working on a play called Mama da Vinci, about the relationship between Leonardo and his mother just before he left for Florence to be an apprentice at the age of 15.
“I’ve been doing a lot of reading around this subject, about the theory of who his mother was, as he lived between his mother’s house and his grandfather’s house as he was an illegitimate child.
“I’m really fascinated by the time before he was 15, building up a portfolio as a young boy growing up in rural Italy, with all these neuro-divergent talents that made him a polymath. He was hundreds of years ahead of what he could materialise. He was already a genius as a teenager, reaching across so many disciplines – and I have a teenage son who constantly surprises me!”
Kate continues: “His mother fears she may never see him again after releasing him to the world to be a genius, so it will be a play as much about being a parent as her son being a genius. That’s where I hope the play will have modern relevance.
“My gut instinct is she was very important to Leonardo from the start…but this is all from my imagination, which means I can explore the humanity, the characters behind the story, not just the factual events.”
Badapple’s link-up with York Theatre Royal is a “total game-changer” for Kate. “To be honest, I can’t quite believe it. I now pinch myself that I’m working here two days a week, whether hot-desking or sitting in the cafe,” she says.
“This is the first time in 25 years that I’m working on a play that doesn’t have a commercial deadline. Normally I have a deadline to write to order, though I could never have done that without partnerships with audiences, but it’s nice to be different with this project, to be able to work on something a little more esoteric.”
Badapple Theatre Company in Crumbs, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow (20/5/2026) to Saturday, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Friday and 2pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Also: North Stainley Village Hall, near Ripon, June 25, 7.30pm. Box office: 01765 635236.
Badapple Theatre’s poster for Kate Bramley’s baking play Crumbs