Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot: Immaculate investigations in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
WE know of Agatha Christie’s monumental achievements, but what of Ken Ludwig, whose contribution to Fiery Angel’s European premiere of his adaptation of Death On The Nile is of equal significance?
Born in York – of the Pennsylvania, not Yorkshire, variety – he is “America’s preeminent comic playwright”, as well as author, screenwriter and director, whose work has been performed in 30-plus countries in more than 20 languages.
Screwball comedies are a specialism, but he has carved out a niche too in putting his stamp on Christie’s thrillers, working in tandem again with director Lucy Bailey and producers Fiery Angel after their sold-out collaborations on And Then There Were None in 2023 and Murder On The Orient Express in 2025.
Death On The Nile is his most humorous yet. Par example, if you have never seen Belgian detective Hercule Poirot wiggle and jiggle with his cane while talking of rumpy-pumpy, now is your chance in a play as full of punchlines as suspense and murder.
Indeed, Ludwig even branches out into meta-theatre as Mark Hadfield’s Poirot and Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race form not only a partnership in crime-solving but also a comic double act.
When Colonel Race reveals his exasperation at the tradition of Poirot rounding up everyone to deliver his whodunit verdict, Hadfield’s Poirot counters: “I love it!” We love it too, of course, hence the typically packed audience on Wednesday night, none more excited than young Charlie in the stalls row in front, as the next generation joins the Christie fan club.
Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot, left, Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort, Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle and Libby Alexandra-Cooper’s Linnet Ridgeway in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield make for a playful, yet also serious triumvirate at the heart of Death On The Nile, the balance just right, so that the tension still cranks up but the humour works a treat too, serving as comic relief rather than being irreverent.
Death On The Nile is later-days Poirot when everything is turning as grey as his little cells of logic and brain power, as he contemplates retirement and his luxury paddle steamer cruise beneath the Egyptian sun is for rest and recuperation in the affable company of Colonel Race.
Bailey’s productions opens with the familiar silhouette of Hadfield’s Poirot in dapper hat and coat on a railway platform as Esme Hough’s Jacqueline De Bellefort is mid-clinch with Nye Occomore’s Simon Doyle. It will not end well, his instinct lets us know.
Whoosh, the plot thickens at a meet-the-cast party at the British Museum to mark the imminent return of a sarcophagus to Egypt on board the SS Karnak. Mike Britton’s superbly adaptable set now transforms into the two decks of the steamer, from which no-one can escape in transit.
His use of sliding slatted doors facilitates creating differing bedroom cabins, with connecting balconies, while Oliver Fenwick’s lighting then shines through the slats to add to the air of mystery (along with Bailey’s further use of figures in silent silhouette, or even whispering in an ear while moving furniture in scene changes). Mic Pool’s sound design is vital to the rising sense of claustrophobia too.
Further scenes take place to the front of the sliders, culminating in the aforementioned Poirot dressing-down. On the subject of dressing, everyone is dressing up the max in Britton’s gorgeous designs for the women and elegant suits for the men.
Double act: Bob Barrett’s Colonel Race and Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in Death On The Nile
If one triangle – Bailey, Ludwig and Hadfield – is crucial to the style and interpretation of content, then another is the play’s fulcrum. Hough’s Jacqueline, by now jilted by Occomore’s Doyle in favour of heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Libby Alexandra-Cooper) has followed their every honeymoon step and now on to the steamer, where her choice of colour (red) spells danger.
Alexandra-Cooper’s neurotic Linnet has every right to be nervous, and not only because of Jacqueline’s unwanted presence. What happens next, your reviewer will not divulge, but only the sarcophagus is not under suspicion when the inevitable murder takes place.
Bailey’s cast has so many performances to enjoy, from Alexandra –Cooper’s haunted Linnet to Nicholas Prasad’s shy doctor Ramses Praed, topped off by the comic interplay of Terence Wilton’s veteran theatre darling Septimus Troy and Glynis Barber’s chameleon society butterfly Salome Otterbourne.
Above all else, Hadfield’s Poirot may have a limp from a wartime injury but he has a spring in his impish step, yet he is still fastidious and stern in conducting his investigations, capturing the overlapping tones of Ludwig’s script. Poirot has a closing point to make too: the importance of love and how it should not be cheated.
It would be a crime to miss Fiery Angel’s Death On The Nile, so full of style and wit.
Fiery Angel in Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Mark Britton’s slatted set design for the paddle steamer in Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
JAPANESE prints, a Belgian detective, a Tudor queen and a West Riding pioneer are all making waves in Charles Hutchinson’s early March recommendations.
Exhibition of the week: Making Waves, The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print, York Art Gallery, until August 30, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
MAKING Waves: The Art of Japanese Woodblock Print presents Japanese art and culture in more than 100 striking and iconic works from renowned artists such as Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige and Kitagawa Utamaro, among many others.
At the epicentre of this intriguing insight into the history and development of Japanese woodblock printing is the chance to see Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, one of the most recognisable and celebrated artworks in the world. Tickets: yorkartgallery.org.uk.
York Community Choir Festival 2026: Showcase for choirs aplenty at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Festival of the week: York Community Choir Festival 2026, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Friday, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
THE annual York Community Choir Festival brings together choirs of all ages to perform in a wide variety of singing styles on each bill. Across the week, 43 choirs are taking part in nine concerts, making the 2026 event the largest yet. Concert programmes feature well-known classical and modern popular songs, complemented by show tunes, world music, folk song, gospel, jazz and soul. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Death On The Nile: European premiere of Ken Ludwig’s new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Murder mystery of the week: Fiery Angel presents Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
AFTER tours of And Then There Were None and Murder On The Orient Express, Death On The Nile reunites director Lucy Bailey, writer Ken Ludwig and producers Fiery Angel for the European premiere of a new adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile.
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 resurface, can Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Mark Hadfield), untangle the web of lies? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Nick Patrick Jones’s Henry VIII and Lara Stafford’s Anne Boleyn in Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn. Picture: John Saunders
Historical drama of the week: Black Treacle Theatre in Anne Boleyn, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Black Treacle Theatre presents Howard Brenton’s account of one of England’s most important and intriguing historical figures: Tudor lover, heretic, revolutionary, queen Anne Boleyn (played by Lara Stafford).
Traditionally seen as either the pawn of an ambitious family manoeuvred into the King’s bed, or as a predator manipulating her way to power, Anne – and her ghost – re-emerges in a very different light in Brenton’s epic play, premiered by Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in 2010. Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Poetry event of the week: York Poetry Society, Poetry Pharmacy launch celebration, Jacob’s Well, Trinity Lane, York, Friday, 7.30pm to 9.30pm
TO mark Friday’s opening of the third Poetry Pharmacy, part bookshop, part apothecary, part reading room, and venue for readings, workshops, creative writing clubs in Coney Street, founder Deborah Alma talks about its concept of fostering the therapeutic effects of poetry.
Local poets are invited to read poems with this aim in mind in the second half. “Normally we ask of non-members a £3 entry fee, but on this occasion, if you write a poem relevant to the evening, all we will ask is that you read it to us as part of the programme,” says programme secretary Marta Hardy.
Irish dance and magic combine in Celtic Illusion, on tour at York Barbican
Magical experience of the week: Celtic Illusion, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm
AFTER dazzling audiences across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and the USA, this thunderous Irish dance and grand-illusion magic show is making its premiere UK tour in 2026.
Created by Anthony Street, illusionist and former lead of Lord Of The Dance, Celtic Illusion brings together dancers from Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance, who perform to a soaring original score and remastered classics by composer Angela Little. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, as Anne Lister, rehearsing for Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack. Picture: Colleen Mair
Dance premiere of the week: Northern Ballet and Finnish National Opera and Ballet in Gentleman Jack, Leeds Grand Theatre, Saturday to March 14, except Sunday and Monday, 7.30pm, plus 2.30pm matinees on March 12 and 14
THIS groundbreaking new ballet marks a trio of ‘firsts’: the first time the story of Anne Lister has been told through ballet, the first large-scale commission for Northern Ballet since 2021 and the first under artistic director Federico Bonelli.
Yorkshirewoman Anne, the “first modern lesbian”, lived, dressed and loved as she desired, not as 19th century society expected of her. Northern Ballet’s interpretation of her life is choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, leading a female artistic team that includes Sally Wainwright, writer of the BBC/HBO television series Gentleman Jack. Box office: 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.
The poster for the Merely Players’ Fakespeare exposé at Helmsley Arts Centre
The Great Shakespeare Fraud of the week: Merely Players, Fakespeare, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
THERE are two problems with deception: being found out and not being found out. In 1794, noted antiquarian Samuel Ireland is delighted when his son William brings him unknown documents in the hand of Shakespeare, obtained from an anonymous source. However, scholars question their authenticity and denounce Samuel as a forger. The household is thrown into turmoil and family skeletons come tumbling out of cupboards.
Roll forward to 2026, when Samuel, William and their housekeeper Mrs Freeman meet again to sort out the truth of it all, if such a thing is possible. So runs Stuart Fortey’s tragicomic, scarcely believable, deceptively truthful tale of 18th century literary fraud and family deceit. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Very Santana: Celebrating Carlos Santana’s songs and guitar mastery at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute gig of the week: Very Santana, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
VERY Santana’s musical time travel experience celebrates the beautiful guitar melodies and creatively diverse, challenging songs of Carlos Santana, performed with room for extra improvisation.
The set list spans the Santana legacy, from the Abraxas album early peaks of Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va and Samba Pa Ti, through the late 1970s’ hits such as Europa and She’s Not There, to the modern-era Grammy winners Smooth and Maria-Maria. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Harry Enfield: No Chums but a cornucopia of comical characters at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Harry Enfield And No Chums, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
FROM the meteoric rise of Loadsamoney, a Thatcherite visionary, to the fury of Kevin the Teenager, satirical comedian and self-styled “stupid idiot” Harry Enfield reflects on 40 years in comedy, bringing favourite characters vividly back to life on stage.
Then comes your chance to ask how it all works for the former University of York politics student (Derwent College, 1979 to 1982), discover what makes him most proud and find out what would he say to the many who ask, “You wouldn’t be allowed to do your stuff today, would you?”. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Elvis Costello: Revisiting his 1977-1986 back catalogue in Radio Soul! at York Barbican in June. Picture: Ray Di Pietro
Gig announcement of the week: Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Charlie Sexton, Radio Soul!: The Early Songs Of Elvis Costello, York Barbican, June 17
ELVIS Costello will return to York Barbican for the first time since May 2012’s Spectacular Singing Book tour, joined by The Imposters’ Steve Nieve, Pete Thomas and Davey Faragher and Texan guitarist Charlie Sexton.
Costello, 71, will focus on songs drawn from 1977’s My Aim Is True to 1986’s Blood & Chocolate in 1986, complemented by “other surprises”. Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday at https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/elvis-costello/.
Jimmy Bryant: First name out of the pirate’s hat to be confirmed for The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan at Grand Opera House, York
COMEDY turn Jimmy Bryant will brew up a storm of laughter on his return to the Grand Opera House, York, in UK Productions’ swashbuckling pantomime The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan: The Return Of Captain Hook.
After shining as Buttons in Cinderella, the Cumberland Street theatre’s most successful panto ever, Bryant will take to the high seasas Smee from December 5 to January 3 2027 with his combination of comic timing, glorious chaos and heart-warming mischief.
“I’m absolutely pixie-dust levels of thrilled to be sailing back to the Grand Opera House, York!” says actor, comic performer and immersive theatre enthusiast Jimmy. “Last year’s audiences were honestly unforgettable, and the thought of stepping back onto that stage gives me goosebumps.
“Smee is such a brilliantly bonkers character – loyal, chaotic, always in the wrong place at the wrong time – and I promise we are going bigger, bolder and sillier than ever before.
“This show is packed with spectacle, surprises and so much heart. York, get ready, because this Christmas we’re not just going to Neverland…we’re going to blow the roof off it!”
Grand Opera House theatre director Allie Long enthuses: “Cinderella was our most successful pantomime to date, and that was due in no small part to Jimmy’s brilliant and hilarious turn as Buttons.
“We’re thrilled to have Jimmy returning, and we can’t wait to welcome him — along with the rest of The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan cast — to the stage for what promises to an unforgettable pantomime season at the Grand Opera House.”
It’s Smee: Jimmy Bryant in the poster for UK Productions’ 2026 pantomime at the Grand Opera House, York
UK Productions producer Martin Dodd adds: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Jimmy Bryant back aboard at the magnificent Grand Opera House, York, for this year’s panto, which is going to be to be a ship-shape riot!
“Jimmy’s Smee will be a masterclass in comic chaos, the perfect first mate to mischief, mayhem and a certain ticking crocodile lurking in the wings. There’ll be pirates, planks and plenty of hooks, but the biggest catch this Christmas is your ticket. So, hoist the mainsail, gather your crew and hook your tickets now!”
Bryant’s theatre credits include Cockfosters (Southwark Playhouse), Costard in Love’s Labour’s Lost (Cockpit Theatre), Al Capone in Peaky Blinders: The Rise, Herr Kutte in Jack & The Beanstalk (Cheltenham Playhouse), In The Dead Of The Night(UK tour), Doctor Who: Time Fracture (BBC/Immersive Everywhere) and The Immersive Wolf Of Wall Street (Stratton Oakmont Productions).
Among his film credits are Morris in PINKY! (ESA Films) and ROBBED The Movie, written and directed by Bryant.
Uniting leading UK pantomime producer UK Productions with the Grand Opera House for the fifth time, The Further Adventures Of Peter Pan is designed to appeal to families, offices, families and friendship groups alike.
Audiences are invited to “race to book before the best seats walk the plank”. “In panto land, it’s never too early to secure your spot, because once tickets start flying, they’ll be gone quicker than Peter Pan with a sprinkling of pixie dust. Grab your seats now before they’re swallowed by the crocodile,” reads the press release.
Further casting will be announced. Tickets are on sale at atgtickets.com/york.
Mark Hadfield as Hercule Poirot in Death On The Nile, on tour at Grand Opera House, York, from March 3 to 7. Picture: Manuel Harlan
MARK Hadfield arrives at the Grand Opera House, York, next Tuesday to play legendary private detective Hercule Poirot in the European premiere of a new stage version of Death On The Nile, carrying the approval of none other than Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The two actors are friends. “He’s been incredibly encouraging,” says Mark of his conversations with Sir Kenneth, who has played Agatha Christie’s fastidious puzzle solver in three film outings marked by his moustache topiary.
Encouragement came from Michael Maloney too, another actor friend who took on the role of the Belgian sleuth in the tour of Murder On The Orient Express that visited York last March.
As with the UK and Ireland tour of Death On The Nile, that Fiery Angel production combined Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of a Christie novel by Ken Ludwig with direction by Lucy Bailey.
“They both encouraged me to do this because they said, ‘you will have so much enjoyment in bringing him to life’,” says Mark of Branagh and Maloney. “And I think Death On The Nile is one of Christie’s best stories, so that also drew me in.
“Poirot’s journey within it is fascinating to play, because he goes from being on what he thinks is a relaxing holiday to having to solve a murder.”
The killing in question happens in 1937 when Poirot is holidaying on a luxury steamer on the River Nile in Egypt, where a couple’s idyllic honeymoon is cut short by a brutal murder. Once secrets buried in the sands of time resurface, can the world-famous detective untangle the web of lies to solve the case?
On tour from last October in Salford to May 23 in Plymouth, Mark is following in the orderly steps of Maloney, Branagh, Albert Finney, Peter Ustinov and David Suchet in playing Poirot, a familiar character that has elicited myriad interpretations. “The challenge is to try and incorporate people’s expectations but also to bring in a few surprises,” he says.
“I’m not expecting people to say, ‘oh my God, that was the most original Poirot I’ve ever seen’ by giving him a punk hairdo or what have you. But I hope to find that balance of pleasing people while leaving them going, ‘we haven’t seen that before’.”
After solving a murder on the Orient Express, Poirot is heading into his later years. “He may even be thinking of retiring,” suggests Mark. “He talks about old age and life having passed him by. There’s more of a hint of melancholy than people might be used to from him.”
Mark hopes next week’s audiences will find Death On The Nile to be “delicious, like opening a two-tray box of chocolates where you enjoy the first layer so much that you have to have the second layer too.
Christie’s story combines escapism with a timeless theme. “It’s gloriously evocative of travel in that time, but it’s also about how we should nurture love and try to be as kind as we can,” says Mark. “That’s something we could learn from with everything that’s going on at the moment.”
Mark has performed at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and Sheffield’s Crucible and Lyceum theatres but never in York previously. “York’s theatres have eluded me, though I have visited the city. This will be my first time on a York stage, so I’m really looking forward to it,” he says.
Most memorably on a Yorkshire stage, “I did the original West Yorkshire Playhouse production of The 39 Steps with Fiery Angel in June 2005,” says Mark, who played myriad roles in the guise The Clown in Patrick Barlow’s adaptation, directed by Fiona Buffini.
In another first for Mark, “Death On The Nile is the first time I’ve worked on a production with Lucy [Bailey], though I’ve known her for a long time and I’ve done workshops with her on other projects.
“Very kindly Lucy was very keen for me to do it, and it does help a great deal that the director has seen you have the capability for the part, especially one as illustrious as Poirot.”
Mark continues: “I was desperate to do it, and knowing that Lucy was keen, I didn’t need much convincing, though I had an elderly mother to think about – when ruminating over whether I could do the tour.
“That’s why I met up with Kenneth [Branagh] and Michael [Maloney], the previous Poirots. We met up at a Tottenham match, as Kenneth is a devoted Spurs fan – I’m a Manchester United fan – and he said ‘you have to do it’. That helped with the decision because it was nice to have that support.
Mark Hadfield – with grey moustache – at the publicity photographic shoot for Fiery Angel’s tour of Death On The Nile. Picture: Jay Brooks
“When we met up again, Kenneth shared his research for the role, where he said the thing that struck him most about Poirot was his kindness – when there are so many facets you could pick out: his meticulous attitude, his aloofness. So that was something that stayed in my mind.”
As for Michael Maloney, “he said he loved creating characters and that Poirot had been a joy,” says Mark. “I’ve been finding that too, and I keep finding more, little things where I think, ‘I’ll try that’ as he’s a multi-faceted character and an absolute pleasure to play.”
Mark’s research had included reading film historian Mark Aldridge’s 2020 book Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective In The World, covering the character’s evolution across novels, stage, radio and screen from 1920 to 2020, the centenary of his debut.
This informs his playing of a role that combines familiarity with flexibility. “I know all the performances that have been done on screen, apart from John Malkovich [in BBC One’s The ABC Murders in 2018],” he says.
“I’ve not ignored the likes of Peter Ustnov and Albert Finney, as well as David Suchet. Peter and Albert were so memorable, partly because they each had a very different look, like Albert going for Poirot’s vanity, whereas Peter’s Poirot was very charming and avuncular. With David Suchet, it was the precise, physical aspect.”
Mark’s research also took in reading Christie’s first detective novel, Poirot’s debut in The Mysterious Affair At Styles. “As it’s his first appearance, you get a bit of background, how he came over from Belgium in the First World War, in which he served and was injured, arriving here as a refugee, like Kenneth showed in Murder On The Orient Express.
“I’ve gone for the physicality of Poirot being in his sixties, with a slight limp, using the cane as a necessity, rather than as a fashion accessory. By Death In The Nile, he’s been through a lot, where he’s got to the point where, if he could, he would retire.
“The script backs this up, where he’s reflecting on his life and growing old, where the lovers on board seem incredibly young, whereas he’s an older man who’s seen too much and grown tired.”
Mark continues: “It’s a great leap for the audience to see this man who, in the first half, is looking forward to the trip with the colonel [Colonel Johnnie Race], going up the Nile for rest and recuperation, but then the murder occurs, and he has to revert to being the Poirot everyone expected him to, with him finding this murder particularly distasteful.”
Mike Britton’s set design opens at the British Museum before the luxurious paddle steamer takes centre stage. “It’s a two-tier set with the lover dying on the upper deck,” says Mark. “What we want to achieve is a very claustrophobic feeling, where Mark creates such spaces as a cabin and a saloon by using sliders.
“Theatrically, you have to keep cranking up the tension until the denouement, where you know that everyone on board is a suspect and the intrigue builds as to who’s done it, as everyone has a back story in relation to the character who’s murdered. Everyone has a motive for committing the crime.
“The theatrical setting heightens that tension and suspense, as do the sound effects of Mic Pool, who I worked with previously at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.”
Britton’s set looks “absolutely gorgeous and sumptuous”, says Mark. “He’s done the fabulous costume designs too. He’s done a lot of research to capture the socialite world aboard the steamer in 1937. Everybody looks immaculate.”
Ludwig’s script is vital too. “He’s basically a writer of comedies, doing that very successfully, but here he’s managed to create the suspense and tension while making it witty too, with a nice strain of humour, even at the end,” says Mark.
“It’s a risk, but it works, as the audience goes through the excitement of wondering ‘whodunit’ and we can relieve all that tension with humour.”
Mark’s Poirot will, of course, have a moustache. “It’s quite a challenge as moustaches are mentioned a lot with Poirot, though I know there were films made in the 1930s where Poirot didn’t have a moustache, which caused confusion [Irish actor Austin Trevor’s Poirot in 1931’s Alibi, Black Coffee and Lord Edgware Dies],” he says.
“I haven’t gone for the severity of Kenneth or David’s moustache. I’m greying quite rapidly, and when we did the photos for the press releases, you can see mine is quite grey, but that doesn’t have a dynamic look on stage, where it has to be darker – and I did read that Poirot dyed his hair and moustache.
“I’m letting my moustache grow – so, yes, it’s genuinely attached! – and it’s become a smart, reverent gesture towards moustache twiddling . My wife complains ‘Will you stop playing with your moustache’, but I just can’t stop! It will grow even more, so it does have its own character.”
Glynis Barber’s romantic novelist Salome Otterbourne in Fiery Angel’s Death On The Nile. Picture: Jay Brooks
AMONG those joining Mark Hadfield’s Poirot on the steamer on the Nile will be flamboyant romance novelist Salome Otterbourne, played by Glynis Barber. “In the play, she’s very different to how she is in the book and in the various films – and she’s quite a character, which makes her fun to play,” she says.
“She is larger than life and she brings a lot of energy to the stage. She’s the loudest, bubbliest and most theatrical character, that’s for sure.”
A further draw for Glynis was the team behind Death On The Nile. “Lucy [Bailey] is a fabulous director and Fiery Angel is an amazing company. Plus this one hasn’t been done on stage before in the UK, so that makes it exciting,” she says.
A version of the play was staged in Washington, but now Ken Ludwig has rewritten it for its European premiere. “And the response has been phenomenal,” says Glynis. “I’ve had so many messages from people I know – and people I don’t know- going, ‘I definitely want to see that’. I’ve even got one friend who is flying in from Spain to Edinburgh to see it.”
Death On The Nile is her first theatre work since The Best Man in 2018 in London’s West End. “After the pandemic, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to return to it, because, after being isolated for all that time, I’d gotten cold feet,” says Glynis.
“But the fact that it’s a scary prospect is a good reason to do it, and I thought, ‘if I am going to go back to theatre, this is a really good play to do so with.”
Glynis understands the lure of a Christie story on stage. “The plots keep you guessing and they’re a very good way to escape the world for a couple of hours,” she says. “Who doesn’t want a bit of that, especially these days?”
Highlighting the central theme, Glynis says: “It’s about love, which is deeply pertinent for every age, and in this story it’s a very profound theme. Unless we all become AI bots, love is universal and that is something that will never change.”
Mark Hadfield’s Hercule Poirot in a scene from Fiery Angel’s production of Agatha Christie’s Death On The Nile. Picture: Manuel Harlan
One last question for Mark Hadfield
How did you settle on your voice for playing Hercule Poirot?
“I worked with a lovely voice and dialect coach, Edda Sharpe. I did a Zoom meeting with her for an hour before rehearsals started, where I did the voice and she said, ‘it’s not far off’.
“All we had to do was make it more Belgian, where the French mouth is tighter and the Belgian mouth is more smiley, so whereas the French say ‘Ze’, the Belgian says ‘de’.
“I also worked with Edda in rehearsals, where she would give me little things to think about. Lucy [director Lucy Bailey] said the focus was to find the tonal range, which makes it interesting.
“That’s been a good challenge, bringing Poirot alive. All these things, we’ve looked at, worked on and reflected on on a daily basis – in case we go to Belgium!”
Fiery Angel presents Death On The Nile, Grand Opera House, York, March 3 to 7, 7.30pm plus Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Showmanship: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum in Barnum The Circus Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
PHINEAS Taylor Barnum may have been “America’s greatest showman” – his biography sold second only to the Bible in his lifetime – but Barnum is not America’s greatest ever musical.
Bill Kenwright Ltd and Watermill Theatre throw razzle-dazzle and razzmatazz aplenty at composer Cy Coleman, lyricist Michael Stewart and book writer Mark Bramble’s show, from Lee Newby’s circus set and costume designs to Strictly Come Dancing alumna Oti Mabuse’s choreography, from circus director Amy Panter’s array of acrobatic talents to the company of actor-musicians playing 150 instruments between them.
All topped off by a star lead turn from Lee Mead, who combines verbal and visual twinkle and tightrope walking with resolute singing, from his opening There Is A Sucker Born Every Minute to Out There, in his personable portrayal of Barnum.
However, in keeping with the essence of Barnum’s infamous spinning of humbug – deceit and lies by another name – director Jonathan O’Boyle’s production is rather more style than substance, especially in Act Two.
This is not to suggest that Barnum is a big flop under the big top, merely that its high qualities in performance cannot compensate for an underwhelming score that pales by comparison with the Oscar, Grammy and Tony-winning songwriting of Ben Pasek and Justin Paul for 2017’s The Greatest Showman.
“Barnum’s the name, P T Barnum, and I want to tell you that tonight, on this stage, you are going to see – bar none – every sight, wonder and miracle that name stands for,” proclaims Mead’s inspirational Barnum, showman, businessman, politician and visionary, whose gift for humbug carries far more eloquence, chutzpah and wit than today’s quotidian, rather than quotable, politicians, even trumping Trump for braggadocio.
His humbug is not of the “Bah, Humbug” variety of Charles Dickens’s misanthropic cynic Ebenezer Scrooge, with his distaste for deception, but more a brand of playful bluster, full of exaggeration and theatrical hoaxing delivered with a showman’s flourish that may be on foreign terms with the truth but is all in the cause of entertainment.
Alas he needs a little of that humbug to cover this biographical 19th century tale’s musical failings: the lack of knock-out songs in the weaker second half, with nothing to match its opening Come Follow The Band, where Mead’s Barnum is dressed as a clown.
That said, the transition from the black-and-white stars and stripes and costumes – reminiscent of Humbug mints – for Dominique Planter’s Blues Singer belting out Black And White to the riot of colours in the reprise of the Act One stand-out The Colours Of My Life is the high point of O’Boyle’s direction.
Acrobatic and circus skills play their part but would benefit from more highlights to match the wow-factor dexterity of the bow-and-arrow routine, and overall they are outshone by the actor-musicians’ prowess on multiple instruments, with the brass playing being a particular delight.
The visual scale ranges from the big to the small, from the life-sized model of an elephant to Fergus Rattigan as General Tom Thumb, singing Bigger Isn’t Better on his return to a York stage for the first time since playing Tudor sleuth Matthew Shardlake in York Theatre Royal’s 2023 community play Sovereign.
Amid the surface-level showmanship, Barnum finds its heart in P. T. Barnum’s relationship with his steely wife Charity (Monique Young), full of her own bright ideas and suggestions, and his six-month fling with opera singer Jenny Lind, the Swedish Nightingale (Penny Ashmore).
Mead shines brightest but Young pulls heartstrings too and Ashmore is the very definition of a polymath with her spectacular singing of Jenny Lind’s Obbligato and Love Makes Such Fools Of Us All, her heavenly harp and piano playing, and even her dancing on point, once serving in the ensemble, for the Finale.
Overall, this Barnum is a better performance than its source material, good in individual parts but not great.
Barnum The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight and tomorrow, 7.30pm; Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Stripped back: The Full Monty to return in 2027 tour
THE 30th anniversary of Peter Cattaneo’s Sheffield stripping film The Full Monty will be marked by the 2027 tour of screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy’s spin-off play that will visit the Grand Opera House, York, from July 12 to 17.
The tour will be mounted by the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, and Buxton Opera House in association with Mark Goucher and David Pugh.
Tickets will go on sale to ATG+ members on Wednesday, March 11 at 10am, followed by general sales from Thursday, March 12 at 10am. Star casting will be announced in due course.
Beaufoy’s heartfelt play tells the story of an ordinary group of men in South Yorkshire’s Steel City striving to reclaim their dignity and pride. Fast paced and irresistibly humorous, it remains strikingly relevant today, resonating powerfully in an era marked once again by a cost-of-living crisis.
What happens in The Full Monty? Gaz and his mates find themselves down on their luck, cast aside and underestimated, but determined to fight back, even if it means revealing more than they ever imagined.
Beaufoy says: “A lot has changed in Britain since The Full Monty appeared 30 years ago. What hasn’t changed is our need for laughter, compassion and dignity. I’m so delighted the ‘Monty Men’ are back on the road with all their flaws, jokes and wobbly bits, bringing a bit of much-needed joy to audiences once again.”
Echoing the 1997 smash-hit film, next year’s touring production will deliver a rollercoaster of humour and heartbreak as audiences are invited to relive the iconic music of the 1990s, cheering on the unforgettable group of lads as they prepare to put on the show of their lives.
Beaufoy received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for The Full Monty, later winning an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slumdog Millionaire.
The Full Monty tour production will be directed by Michael Gyngell, with choreography and intimacy direction by Ian West, set and costume design by Jasmine Swann, lighting design by Andrew Exeter and sound design by Chris Whybrow. The casting director is Marc Frankum.
Child’s play: Andrew Renn, Jon Cook and Jess Murray, back row, with Mark Simmonds and Victoria Delaney in York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders
FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman P.T. Barnum to Selby Abbey’s light installation, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice.
Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, until February 28, 7.45pm nightly, except Sunday and Monday, plus 2pm Saturday matinees
FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.
Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them, but their innocence is short lived as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Cole Stacey’s social media posting for his Rise@Bluebird Bakery gig
Folk gig of the week: Cole Stacey, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York tonight, doors 7.30pm
VISCERAL singer-songwriter Cole Stacey weaves together British folk, 1980s’ pop, spoken word and ambient electronics, as heard on last February’s debut album with its symbiosis of “lost” places and forgotten words, stretching back to the 13th century, paired with his lyrical songwriting and field recordings.
“I’d like to invite you to come along with me on the next chapter as I head out to share Postcards From Lost Places in some unique and inspiring settings, beginning in York tonight,” says Stacey. “I loved my time and bread last year playing at Bluebird Bakery, so I’m very delighted to be invited back for an intimate gig in their fully working bakery. It’s a special setting and one I’m thoroughly looking forward to!” Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk.
Dnipro Opera in Carmen, on tour at York Barbican
Opera of the week: Dnipro Opera (Ukrainian National Opera) in Carmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Dnipro Opera, from Ukraine, performs Georges Bizet’s Carmen in French with English surtitles, accompanied by an orchestra numbering more than 30 musicians.
Feel the thrill of fiery passion, jealousy, and violence of 19th century Seville in Carmen’s story of the downfall of naive soldier Don José, who falls head over heels in love with seductive, free-spirited femme fatale Carmen. Whereupon he abandons his childhood sweetheart and neglects his military duties, only to lose the fickle Carmen to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Showman extraordinaire: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum in Barnum: The Circus Musical at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.
Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Alexandra Mather’s Anne Egerman and Jason Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman in rehearsal for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music
Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
SET in turn-of-the-20th century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.
Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the North Yorkshire company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, celebrating music from Walt Disney’s animated films at York Barbican
Movie music of the week: Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, York Barbican, February 25, 7.30pm
THE Novello Orchestra’s Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic performance is a symphonic celebration of Disney music, animation and memories, a century in the making, under the direction of creative director Amy Tinkham, music director Giles Martin and arranger and orchestrator Ben Foster.
Favourite characters and music from across the Walt Disney Animation Studios catalogue come to life on the concert hall stage and screen in new medleys and suites on a magic carpet ride through Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Moana, Alice In Wonderland, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Frozen, The Lion King, Fantasia, Encanto, Beauty And The Beast and more. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Homeward bound for Selby Abbey: Imitating The Dog’s large-scale installation
Installation of the week: Selby Light 2026, Selby Abbey, February 26 to 28, 6pm to 9pm
SELBY Abbey will be the setting for Homeward, Leeds company Imitating The Dog’s large-scale installation celebrating our different stories and the unified feeling of finding home, framed by the question How Did You Get Here?
Inside, the installation continues as a walk-through experience, complemented by Jazmin Morris’s Through The Liquid Crystal Display, a series of visual code illustrations inspired by Selby Abbey. The trail then extends into the town centre with works by Selby College students. Admission is free.
Phoenix Dance Theatre in Interplay: World premiere opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday. Picture: Drew Forsyth
Dance show of the week: Phoenix Dance Theatre, Interplay, York Theatre Royal, February 27, 7.30pm; February 28, 2pm, 7.30pm
LEEDS company Phoenix Dance Theatre’s world premiere tour of Interplay opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday, featuring dynamic works by Travis Knight and James Pett (Small Talk), Ed Myhill (Why Are People Clapping?!), Yusha-Marie Sorzano & Phoenix artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis (Suite Release) and Willis’s Next Of Kin.
Across duet and ensemble works, Interplay explores themes of duality and shared authorship, revealing how distinct artistic voices can intersect to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Each piece offers a unique perspective, united by a bold physicality and a deep curiosity about human relationships, rhythm and collective experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Levellers: Levelling The Land anew at York Barbican this autumn
Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, York Barbican, October 29
BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success in part built on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.
To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Box office: https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.
Jodie Comer’s defence lawyer Tessa Ensler in Prima Facie. Picture: Rankin
YOU won’t see a better performance in York this year, but chances are, you won’t see it, as all eight shows sold out within 20 minutes of general sales opening 11 months ago.
Killing Eve star Jodie Comer is completing her Prima Facie journey with a nine-city tour, revisiting the remarkable role that brought her both Olivier Award and Tony Award success in Australian lawyer-turned-playwright Suzie Miller’s solo play.
The Grand Opera House last had such a pre-show buzz when Six The Musical played York for the first time in October 2022, building all the more for Wednesday night’s 7.30pm start as the clock ticked towards 7.45pm.
Then, suddenly, the pre-show music desisted, and there was Comer’s defence lawyer Tessa Ensler, atop a table, frozen for the only moment in silhouette on Miriam Buether’s set of row upon row of case-note files. For the next 100 minutes, she will not stop, draw breath, save for the only costume not conducted on stage, when a drenching in the rain necessitates an exit, also allowing the plotline to move forward 1,016 days.
Comer does everything, and I do mean everything, not only voicing every character in the reportage style of Miller’s writing, but even turning the tables physically as the tables turn on her metaphorically in an adrenalised shock of a performance as Miller’s Prima Facie “takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game”.
That game is the game of law, where the playing pitch is the courtroom and Comer’s Tessa is the working-class Liverpool lass-turned-Cambridge-educated defence lawyer hotshot, showing off her case-winning skills to a percussive beat in a razzle-dazzle opening to Justin Martin’s searing production that could swap the wig and gown for top hat and tails.
We learn that a defence lawyer’s modus operandi has one over-riding rule: “It’s not what you know; it’s what you don’t know,” Tessa says. As in, not knowing whether the defendant did in fact commit the crime.
We learn too that in a world where we now have the Donald Trump-trademarked “alternative truth”, as well as half truths, lies, damned lies and statistics, we have “legal truth”. Not “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” of the oath to be taken on the Bible when entering the dock or witness box, but what constitutes the truth in law. A kind of law unto itself.
In a nutshell, Comer’s Tessa goes from defending the defendant at all costs to being put through the prosecution grilling herself after she is sexually assaulted. You forget you are a watching a play; you are living every moment, as Tessa is.
A barrister is often compared with an actor, with the need to perform, to express skill at delivery of lines, supplemented by a keen sense of the moment, and above all the ability to move an audience/jury. Here, in Comer’s hands, the two fuse into one, her performance so complete that I hesitate to call it a performance.
And yet, of course, it is: acting of the highest quality, a tour-de-force feat of movement and memory and emotion, of initial humour, then horror, steely resolve and despair, a woman operating in what is still a man’s world, where the jury numbers eight men to four women, and the defendant has all his braying buddies in the gallery.
No wonder, this tour carries the tagline “Something Has To Change”, a sentiment topped off by 1 In 3 (I’m Fine), the climactic song of the startling soundtrack by Self Esteem’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor .
Your reviewer – and yes, I did pay for a prime stalls seat, in the absence of press tickets – has not seen such furious, relentless female intensity since Diana Rigg in Medea in more than 40 years of reviewing.
Prima Facie is a Greek tragedy for today, and on her return to a North Yorkshire stage for the first time since her professional debut as spoilt, mouthy but bright Ruby in the Stephen Joseph Theatre world premiere of Fiona Evans’s The Price Of Everything in November 2010, Jodie Comer affirms she is a talent for the ages.
Prima Facie, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm; tomorrow, 3pm and 7.30pm. SOLD OUT.
Victoria Delaney in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders
FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman P.T. Barnum to a Phil Collins tribute, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice amid the incessant rainfall.
Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight to February 28, 7.45pm, except Sunday and Monday; February 21 and 28, 2pm matinees
FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.
Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them. Their innocence is short lived, however, as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Blue Remembered Hills director Fleur Hebditch
Spooky adventure of the week: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in The Addams Family Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Flying Ducks Youth Theatre undertake a whimsical, spooky musical adventure into the delightfully dark world of the hauntingly eccentric Addams Family on a night of unexpected revelations.
When Wednesday Addams falls in love with a “normal” boy, chaos ensues. As the two families converge over dinner, secrets are revealed and the true meaning of family is put to the test. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Kathryn Williams: Opening Mystery Park Tour at Pocklington Arts Centre
Time’s shifting tides of the week: Kathryn Williams, Mystery Park Tour 2026, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm
KATHRYN Williams, the Liverpool-born, Newcastle-based folk singer-songwriter, novelist, podcaster, tutor and artist long celebrated for her quiet emotional depth and lyrical precision, promotes her 15th studio album, last September’s Mystery Park, with support and special guest guitarist Matt Deighton in tow.
Opening her 12-date tour in Pocklington, 2000 Mercury Music Prize nominee Williams marks 27 years of diverse, multi-faceted music projects with a reflective, textured work, made in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, shaped by time’s shifting tides. “This is the most personal record I’ve made,” she says. “The artwork is my own painting, based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets. Each part of it ties into the songs: a map of memories.” Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Megson’s Debs Hanna and Stu Hanna: Performing at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday
Folk gig of the week: Megson, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
FOUR-TIME BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees and double Spiral Earth Awards winners Megson combine heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars, topped off with northern humour.
Hailing from Teesside and now based in Cambridgeshire, husband-and-wife folk roots duo Debs Hanna (vocals, whistle, piano accordion) and Stu Hanna (guitar, mandola, banjo) followed up 2023 studio album What Are We Trying To Say with Megson – Live In Teesside, recorded at Stockton-on-Tees Arc in 2025. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Ryedale film event of the week: Summit Stories, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm
THIS evening of adventure films to raise funds for the Scarborough & Ryedale branch of Mountain Rescue England & Wales features a variety of exciting off-piste adventures, such as ski mountaineering, mountain climbing and mountain biking.
Created by elite athletes from around the world, the Faction Collective’s 150 Hours From Home, Blair Aitken of British Backcountry’s 10 In A Weekend, Commencal’s Dolomites and Jessie Leong’s The Last Forgotten Art contain scenes to take the breath away. The mountain rescue team, by the way, supports adventurers when things go wrong and conducts day-to-day searches and rescues off the beaten track. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Seriously Collins: Taking Phil Collins at Face Value in tribute to solo and Genesis years at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute gig of the week: Seriously Collins – A Tribute To Phil Collins & Genesis, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
RETURNING by popular demand, Seriously Collins relive the hits of Phil Collins and Genesis, taking a musical journey through the songs that defined an era, echoing Collins’s soulful solo sound and re-creating the energy, intricacy and intensity of his more expansive original band. Expect “no gimmicks, just a genuine tribute to one of the greatest artists of our time”. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Lee Mead, centre, as showman P. T. Barnum, surrounded by actor musicians and circus acts in Barnum: The Circus Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees
MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.
Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Maggie Smales’s Madame Armfeldt and Libby Greenhill’s Fredrika rehearsing for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music
Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
SET in turn-of-the-century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.
Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the York company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Levellers: Revisiting Levelling The Land at York Barbican this autumn. Picture: Steve Gullick
Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, Levelling The Land 35th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October 29
BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success built in part on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.
To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am from https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.
Lee Mead’s American showman P. T. Barnum in Barnum: The Circus Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith
LEE Mead will lead the cast as legendary circus showman, businessman and politician P. T. Barnum in Bill Kenwright Ltd’s tour of Barnum: The Circus Musical at the Grand Opera House, York, from February 24 to 28.
West End performer and television star Mead, now 44, made his breakthrough when winning the BBC One reality show Any Dream Will Do in 2007, going on to star in the Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tour that brought him to the Cumberland Street theatre in 2010.
Lee is no stranger to Barnum, first playing the show-hosting Ringmaster in a school production when he was 13 or 14 in his home town of Southend-on-Sea.
“I had such a brilliant time and I thought the story and the characters were wonderful. And it had all these fantastic songs, like Come Follow The Band, The Colours Of My Life and There Is A Sucker Born Every Minute.”
Lee’s friend Chris was cast in the lead role. “And he was a great Barnum, but I remember thinking, ‘It would be lovely to play that part one day’.”
Now, three decades later, his wish has come true at last as he headlines a lavish new UK tour of the 1980 musical by Cy Coleman (music), Michael Stewart (lyrics) and Mark Bramble (book).
Barnum: The Circus Musical tells the story of legendary American showman, marketing genius and master of spectacle P.T. Barnum, who revolutionised entertainment in the 1800s through the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the Greatest Show on Earth.
Premiered on Broadway in 1980 and fronted by Michael Crawford at the London Palladium in 1981, ahead of a UK tour, the show has been revived numerous times since, both here and around the world.
As he steps into the ring for the 2026 tour, Lee says: “It’s an absolute classic and I can’t quite believe I now get to play Barnum some 30 years after that school production. I think I must have somehow manifested it.”
“This is definitely my most challenging role,” says Lee Mead of playing P. T. Barnum
Barnum’s tour show is directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing alumna Oti Mabuse and features more than 20 actor-musicians, alongside acrobats and international circus acts.
Starring as Barnum is not only a dream come true for the Any Dream Will Do winner but also an homage to his grandfather Bert and grandmother Lil, who did not have much money, meaning that a trip to the theatre was very rare for them.
“But they saved up for a year and a half to see Barnum at the London Palladium and they loved it,” says Lee. “It stayed with them their whole lives. Sadly they’re no longer with us, but I know they would have been so proud to see me in it. Every performance is going to be for them.”
Since Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Lee has starred in Wicked, Legally Blonde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chicago and Sister Act and plenty besides. “But this is definitely my most challenging role,” he says.
“It’s one of those rare roles for a leading man. It’s an enormous part, with huge monologues and so many songs, and I don’t think I leave the stage for two hours, apart from the interval of course.”
Then add the tightrope walking, a discipline that has required several months of intense training for Lee. “It’s the kind of thing you learn at 24, not 44,” he says. “I’ve had to get myself fit and put in the work. The rope is about 7ft off the ground and, although I trained with a harness on, there’s no harness during the show itself.
“You have to use your whole body, your whole core and every ounce of your focus and energy to get across that wire, but I like a challenge.”
Does he play an instrument too in this actor-musician show? “I don’t, no. I already have enough to do with the acting, singing, dancing and tightrope walking!” he says.
Lee Mead in the poster image for Bill Kenwright Ltd’s tour of Barnum: The Circus Musical
As with Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, the musical looks at the real man behind the on-stage showman, not least how he had a wife named Charity but became infatuated with Swedish singer Jenny Lind.
“So he’s a flawed character, as most human beings are,” muses Lee. “As an actor, it’s interesting to explore that side of him alongside all the spectacle. It makes for great drama.”
When researching the role, “it was interesting to learn about Barnum’s tenacity and his drive, which I think you have to have to be as successful as he was,” says Lee. “At times he kind of put his wife to one side, even though she was so supportive and loving, so I guess you could say that he was very selfish.
“But he wanted the world to see all these amazing acts that he brought together, like the oldest woman in the world, Joice Heth and General Tom Thumb. It was his passion.”
Lee picks The Colours Of My Life as his favourite song in the show “because the melody is beautiful and it’s about him trying to explain to Charity why he is the way he is, with all the different colours to him as a person and why he wants to light people up, entertain them and make them happy,” he says.
Since his schooldays productions of Barnum and Grease, Lee has enjoyed the camaraderie of the stage life and the chance to lose himself in different characters. “Then, as time went on, I discovered I had a bit of a talent for it and I worked really hard, trying to get better and better,” he says.
He attended Whitehall Performing Arts College in Essex, performed on the Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry and at Bridlington Spa Theatre, played Levi and the Pharaoh in a touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and was in the The Phantom Of The Opera ensemble in the West End.
Any Dream Will Do then launched him to stardom. “It was a bit of a blur, although I remember certain moments in detail, so it was very surreal,” he recalls of competing on the BBC One talent show in front of a panel that included composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and impresario Bill Kenwright, winning the public vote and then playing the lead at London’s Adelphi Theatre.
Oh what a circus: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum, centre with actor-musicians, acrobats and circus acts in Barnum: The Circus Musical. Picture: Pamela Raith
“You never think anything like that would ever happen to you, and the TV show was seen by around 13 million viewers every week. Even now, more than 18 years later, I get people stopping me in the street or at the supermarket and saying that they voted for me. I feel very blessed, because it opened up all the parts that have come my way since.”
His subsequent career highlights include performing at the London Palladium on his 40th birthday with a full orchestra as he followed in the footsteps of legends such as Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.
Singing in front of H.M. The Queen and the Royal Family at the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2019 is way up there too, along with playing Caracticus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
“I remember seeing it as a teenager, with Michael Ball in the lead and thinking ‘I’m going to play that role one day’. Again, as with Barnum, I must have manifested it somehow,” says Lee.
His television work has included stints as Nurse Lofty Chiltern on Casualty and Holby City, but his appearance as himself on Motherland drew the biggest response from the public. “I played Lofty for five years in total but I’ve had more people stop me and ask about Motherland, even though I was only in one episode. That’s the one thing in my career that I haven’t done yet that I would love to do: to have a recurring role in a sitcom.”
For now, however, Lee is focusing on Barnum. “I get to be in one of the greatest, most iconic musicals ever,” he says. “I’m still in shock that I’ve landed the part, to be honest, and I can’t wait to take it around the country and to see the smiles on the audience’s faces.”
Lee Mead stars in Barnum: The Circus Musical at Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Also Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, March 31 to April 4, 7.30pm plus 2pm Wednesday & Thursday matinees and 2.30pm Saturday matinee, 01274 432000 or https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/; Hull New Theatre, June 2 to 6, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees,https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/
