NOT even a flooded house will stop York drag diva divine Velma Celli and sensational singing hairdresser Jess Steel from recording their latest streamed gig.
“Streamed”…what an ironic word that is right now, as Velma’s creator, musical actor and international cabaret star Ian Stroughair, and “work bubble” Jess survey the “carnage” in Ian’s riverside pad by the Ouse.
Exit Storm Christoph, re-enter the defiant duo, who will follow up last Friday’s double bill with the second instalment of An Evening With Velma & Jess, put back from today (22/1/2021) to tomorrow, with the recording having had to be delayed.
Looking forward to still making a splash this weekend, Ian/Velma wades through Charles Hutchinson’s snappy questions.
How are you coping in the flood, Ian? What’s the latest state of play?
“It’s been a long, semi-sleepless couple of days. Fortunately, it hasn’t increased overnight but the kitchen is flooded and I cannot leave by either door. The back door is up to five feet in water and the front is inaccessible. It’s windows and wellies at the moment.”
Without giving the precise location, where is your riparian abode?
“I am right by Ouse Bridge. So, pretty much at the worse possible area but I have food and gin, so I’m gooooood!”
In which room will you now record the streamed gig?
“I think we may be OK to stick to the living room. If not, the four-poster master suite will be perfect!”
Will you adjust the setlist to take in songs about rain and flooding?
Have you ever had to cancel a gig (other than for killjoy Covid) and, if so, what was the best reason for a gig not going ahead?
“It’s never fun to cancel. I did once get stuck in Oz longer than expected and had to cancel a London date.”
Can you say anything at this stage of your plan to play gigs in York restaurants?
“Not too much yet! We are sorting the finer details. As soon as York goes into a tier where we can eat in restaurants, I’ll be shouting it from the rooftops.”
AFTER last Friday’s Large & Lit In Lockdown Again solo show online, York drag diva Velma Celli forms a bubble double bill with powerhouse singing hairdresser Jess Steel tonight.
Together they will be presenting An Evening With Velma & Jess, streamed from the riverside abode of Ian Stroughair, the musical actor inside the fabulous international cabaret creation.
Jess, leading light of Big Ian Donaghy’s fundraising A Night To Remember shows at York Barbican, runs the Rock The Barnet salon in Boroughbridge Road, where her clientele can listen to their favourite vinyl on a classic record player while having their hair styled or enjoying a beauty treatment.
Tonight’s 8pm show is the second in a new series of hour-long Velma Celli streamed gigs in lockdown. “It’s the day of the show, ya’ll,” says Velma on Facebook. “So much work and love has gone into this, so if you fancy some lockdown fun, please tune in and support Jess and I.
“Tickets come off sale at 5pm and you have 48 hours to watch it just in case ya busy, Barbra’s.” To book, go to: http://bit.ly/2XxMqrG.
Here Ian/Velma answers Charles Hutchinson’s rapid-fire questions ahead of showtime.
How did last week’s show go? What were the highlights?
“It was SO much fun and camp. I loved singing all new songs and just having a laugh… with myself!”
Having moved from Bishopthorpe to a riverside house, how did the new location work out?
“Lovely! I am living in my friend’s dreamy townhouse at the moment. Posh!”
What will you be singing tonight?
“OOOOOO, Cilla, Disney, ’60s, ’70s, ‘80s, ‘90s. It’s a real mixed bag this time.”
What will Jess be singing?
“Dolly. Gaga. Amy.”
How come you can perform together in lockdown?
“I am in Jess’s bubble. Yes!”
How would you sum up Jess in five words?
“Talent. Kind. Hilarious. Generous. Fabulous.”
How did you celebrate your birthday yesterday in lockdown?
“With snacks. Facetime. Gin.”
What’s the best birthday present you have ever received?
IN the original 2020 vision of York’s pantomime season, Dame Berwick Kaler made his comeback in Dick Turpin Rides Again in his newly adopted home of the Grand Opera House.
York Theatre Royal had a ball with Cinderella, bedding in a new partnership with Evolution Productions, and the Rowntree Players filled the Joseph Rowntree Theatre with community spirit as ever.
Then, however, the pandemic, rather than pantomime, became the P word on all lips, tearing up the script for the winter ahead. Dick Turpin never left the stable; the Theatre Royal took to the road with the Travelling Pantomime; Rowntree Players made plans for 2021 instead.
Along came a newcomer, however, in the form of York Stage’s inaugural pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, full of beans, routines, slapstick and musical theatre songs at the Covid-secure Theatre @41 Monkgate, under the direction of debutant writer Nik Briggs.
The post-Christmas impediment of Tier 3 status for York curtailed the panto fun and games on December 30, rather than the planned finale of January 3, but Nik can look back on a job well done with reduced-capacity, socially distanced full houses for the majority of shows since opening on December 11.
“I’ve been blown away by the response we’ve had to our panto,” he says. “The respect I have for the art form and the recognition of how panto inspires so many children every year meant it wasn’t an option for me not to have a panto with real scale and spectacle over Christmas in York.
“It’s something I’ve hopefully brought into my own productions across the years. The respect I have for the art form and the recognition of how panto inspires so many children every year meant it wasn’t an option for me not to have a panto with real scale and spectacle over Christmas in York.”
Reflecting on penning his first panto script, Nik says: “It was certainly nerve wracking putting my own script out, having never penned a show before! Especially in York, following in the footsteps of Berwick [Kaler], who I respect greatly.
“Between lockdowns, I went over for a coffee with him, talked through my ideas and came away with the confidence to put pen to paper. He was so encouraging. I’ve had so many great responses to the script, which is a big compliment.”
Described by Nik as “musical theatre with pantomime braces on” and by choreographer Gary Lloyd as a “pansical”, York Stage’s Jack And The Beanstalk was distinctive from past pantos in York.
“The triple-threat West End cast were probably the show’s biggest surprise to a York audience. Having all eight performers be at the top of their game, being super-talented actors, singers and dancers,” says Nik.
“I always knew my panto would be very much a musical fairy-tale, which would feature all the elements of panto that are traditional included into the mix. I cast it knowing I’d need brilliant performers who could bring the skills that the show’s structure demanded. You’ll not see songs like the ones we had in a panto any time soon again, not only in York but across the country.”
In picking his cast of May Tether’s Jill Gallop, Jordan Fox’s Jack Trott, Ian Stroughair’s villainous Fleshius Creepius, Livvy Evans’s Fairy Mary, Alex Weartherhill’s Dane Nanna Trott and an ensemble of dance captains Danielle Mullan, Emily Taylor and Matthew Ives, Nik was seeking “three things”.
“Firstly, talent: the triple-threat capability of every cast member. Secondly, strong links to the city and region, and, finally, they had to be lovely people who would be fun to work with,” he says.
“A lot of the cast I’d worked with before and all of them I’d work with again. We brought together eight actors who became a panto family in less than six weeks! They worked tirelessly to create our sensational show and were a nothing short of a beautiful, talented, naturally diverse collection of Yorkshire talent.”
Nik was adamant his panto should have a Yorkshire flavour, not least May Tether revelling in using her Goole accent in a show for the first time. “Being a Geordie import to York, having lived here for over ten years, one thing that has always blown me away about the city is the amount of talent that stems from here,” he says.
“It’s a no-brainer, therefore, that I would use talent from the area primarily! Especially at Christmas, and with what’s going on at the moment, it was always important that this was a show made in York for the people of York.”
In a coup for York Stage, Nik was able to call on the choreographic skills of West End hotshot Gary Lloyd, whose touring production of Heathers remained in hibernation. “I’ve known Gary’s work for many years [his sister is York Stage Musicals regular Jo Theaker]; I’m always knocked out by his choreography and musical staging,” he says.
“We’d spoken before about working together and this time last year I’d have laughed if you’d said we’d be doing a panto as our first show together, but it has been a brilliant experience. His storytelling through choreography is just so inspiring! As a creative, he was fantastic to work with; he really did inspire me in the rehearsal room every day.”
Given the Government’s ever-changing pandemic rules, navigating a safe passage for a show in late-2020 was a challenge like no other for a theatre director, not least the late rule change that cut the capacity from 80 to 55 (with the audience divided into bubbles divided by Perspex screens either side of the traverse stage).
“The whole process was filled with challenges, but we knew, going into the project, it was never going to be easy,” says Nik. “We took every day as it presented itself to us. I’m very comfortable with change and the need to adapt, so as producer I felt confident leading the production through the Covid storm.
“Some days were harder than others, but we knew what we were doing was too important to walk away from.”
One of the talking points of Nik’s first pantomime was the inspired marketing coup of transforming the famous Bile Beans wall sign on Lord Mayor’s Walk into Bile Beanstalk to point passers-by in the direction of Theatre @41 Monkgate.
“It summed up our production perfectly,” he says. “Something new, something well executed, something in York we’re used to, being flipped on its head and turned for a short period into something new! People’s reaction was brilliant; they understood we were having fun and being playful while respecting the landmark.”
On the subject of creating “something new” for York, what more could Nik bring to a pantomime if he could do such a show under normal circumstances? “Who knows?! Talent and spectacle will always be the main two factors in my shows,” he says.
“I’m always looking to push forward and bring the biggest and best theatre to the city. York’s got two new pantos in 2021 with Qdos and Evolution, two of the country’s biggest panto producers, going head to head at the Grand Opera House and York Theatre Royal. How will that end?”
Looking ahead, Nik’s plans for 2021 cannot be set in concrete while the pandemic still refuses to relent: “Have you got a crystal ball?” he says. “We’ve got rights secured for some brilliant titles over the next two years, but they will only be possible to stage when social distancing is over.
“The next big show we can realistically hope to stage is Elf The Musical at the Grand Opera House next November/December. Before that, we’ll be working on smaller shows with brilliant casts, which will be announced throughout the year.”
Through the year too, Nik will be busy running York Stage School, remotely while Covid regulations prevail, but then returning to Theatre @41 Monkgate. “We’ll be continuing to work with our students through 2021 and will be striving to bring them the best theatrical training possible,” he says.
“We have survived two lockdowns and created brilliant work with them and that will continue this term.”
One lasting memory of Jack And The Beanstalk will be Nik’s impromptu emotional moment at the close of the final show, urging everyone to keep supporting theatre. “I don’t do last-night public speaking: it’s not my style and I cringe at it as people don’t come to hear me speak,” he says.
“They come to be entertained and forget whatever is going on outside, but I was ambushed – while I didn’t have any shoes on – and having received notice only a few hours before that our show would have to close that night, emotions were running high around the building.
“It’s scary producing shows at the moment: Will people support us? Will they come if we stage things? Will this bankrupt me?
“The Government closing theatres in Tier 3, where thousands have been spent to keep people safe, but allowing people to still shop and go around picking up produce just doesn’t make sense. It’s idiotic!”
Nik develops his point: “There are no recorded transmissions in theatre, that’s important to stress. So, it’s important audiences do support whatever is being produced. Otherwise, things won’t be produced, things won’t happen, and that’d make for a very sad cultural landscape,” he says.
“A lot of people have said we were lucky to get to perform 40 of the 45 shows scheduled. At first, I agreed, but with hindsight I’ve re-evaluated and realised that is a very dangerous way to think.
“We all worked tirelessly and sacrificed a lot to ensure we created a brilliant show that people could enjoy safely. There was no big financial reward dangling at the end of the run to tempt us to cut corners; we simply wouldn’t have staged the show if we thought we were doing anything unsafely or were creating risk.
“Our friends and family were among the audiences; we wouldn’t have risked them. So, we were lucky we didn’t fall short sooner because of the Governments poor management but there was nothing lucky in losing our final five shows.”
The timing of the Elf production rules out a second York Stage pantomime next winter, but what are Nik’s wishes for 2021? “To get people vaccinated quickly so we can get back to sitting close together, sharing stories and experiences in theatres across the city,” he says.
AFTER his “Fleshius Creepius” panto villain in York Stage’s Jack And The Beanstalk, Ian Stroughair planned to pull on his drag rags for a live Velma Celli show on January 15 at his adopted winter home of Theatre @41 Monkgate.
He anticipated more shows would have followed too, but then came York’s new impediment of Tier 3 status post-Christmas, and inevitably tighter restrictions still to come until the jabs make their point.
Consequently, he announces instead: “Darlings, as we head back into a lockdown in York, Velma Celli is back on the streaming! My first show, Large & Lit In Lockdown Again, is on Friday (8/1/2021) at 8pm. I would love you to join me for an hour of camp cabaret fun! Get those requests and shout-outs in!”
In 2020, Velma hosted a series of streamed shows from Case De Velma Celli, alias the drag diva’s Bishopthorpe kitchen. Firstly, on April 29, a fundraiser for St Leonard’s Hospice, followed by Large & Lit In Lockdown and virtual versions of the cabaret queen’s hit shows Equinox, Me & My Divas and A Night At The Musicals.
Usually to be found once a month gracing The Basement stage at City Screen, York, Velma returned to live performance in York by signing up for a rugby club – York RI Rugby Union Football Club, in New Lane, Acomb, to be precise – for An Evening Of Song outdoors under the September stars.
Jack And The Beanstalk saw Ian turn to the dark side as the vainglorious “Fleshius Creepius”, and now, newly moved into a riverside abode in York, he is ready to return to Velma Celli mode from Friday.
Tickets for Virtual Velma start at £10 via http://bit.ly/3nVaa4N. Watch this space for news of an online show every Friday from Ian’s new HQ.
Here, Ian answers Charles Hutchinson’s quickfire questions at the outset of a new year still shrouded in uncertainty for the arts world.
From where will you be streaming the January 8 show? Still as a kitchen-sing drama or from a different room at your new riverside pad?
“The living room.”
On a technical level, what did you learn about doing digital streams from your earlier series of shows?
“That tech is stressful but once you have a system, it’s a piece of cake.”
What will the new show feature: any songs making their debut?
“Expect lots of divas as per. I’m gonna whack in some classic Amy Winehouse too: Back In Black.”
Will a remote guest be joining you?
“Not this time. You get Velma all to yourself.”
Your 2020 ended on a high with the villainous Fleshius Creepius in York Stage’s Jack And The Beanstalk. How did it feel to be back on stage in a show with a proper run to it?
“It was EVERYTHING. Such a joy and a wonderful experience. Feel so lucky and positive for a return of theatre as a whole!”
What did you enjoy most about performing this pantomime – a new hybrid of “pansical” or “musical theatre with pantomime braces on” – in your home city?
“Working with the entire team. Everyone was sensational. The most talented cast I’ve ever worked with.”
What were your highlights of 2020, aside from the pantomime?
“Reconnecting with York. I’ve fallen in love with it big time. Growing up here was a very different place and time, especially for the LGBTQIA+, but now it’s SO much more diverse.”
What realistic hopes do you have for yourself in 2021?
“That I can stay afloat until venues can open. It’s hard but, my lord, I’ll plod on.”
What hopes would you still have for 2021 in an ideal world?
“That theatre and the arts in general would have a boom and rebirth. I’m hopeful but realistic it may take longer than I dream.”
If you could address the Government, why do the arts matter?
“We need the arts more than we ever thought. It’s entertainment. It’s escapism. It’s culture. We all need it.”
Every year like clockwork, you wolf down the first clutch of chocolates from your Advent calendar, then panto arrives.
Men as women.
Women as men.
Two crew members as a horse.
Oh yes, it is!
Oh no, it isn’t!
Children’s eyes agog.
But not in 2020.
The year that the show MUSTN’T go on.
Just watch the news.
Tisn’t the season to be jolly!
As theatres up and down the land spend Christmas in darkness, a shard of light could be seen down an alleyway off Monkgate.
It’ll never work.
How could it work?
Necessity is the Mother of Invention.
This needed ideas, creativity and the personnel to pull it off and even then one announcement could pull its plug at any moment.
This had failure written all over it.
As we walked past the finest piece of genius marketing on Boxing Night, extending the locals’ favourite landmark – the Bile Beans sign on Lord Mayor’s Walk – to read “Bile BeanSTALK”, we were smiling even before the first line.
“Where’s the Minster?”, people ask? “It’s just over the wall from the Bile Beans sign.”
After a balanced diet of cheese and Toblerones, could this be the panto to keep us “healthy, bright-eyed and slim?”.
As we walked through the door, greenery festooned every bannister and surface.
With a tiny capacity of only 60 to meet Covid safety requirements, this was not so much a family panto as a “bubble panto”.
Jack was played by the endearing Jordan Fox, who somehow managed to be both idiot and hero at once.
Flesh Creep was played by the joyously evil-turned-up-to-11 Ian Stroughair, who was nearly eight feet tall with hat!
A three-piece dance troupe featuring dance captains from both the Grand Opera House (Emily Taylor) and Theatre Royal (Danielle Mullan) felt like a luxury as did a small house band (Jessica Douglas, Sam Johnson and Clark Howard).
Corners could have easily been cut but weren’t. Quality clearly means everything to writer-director Nik Briggs.
The cast faced magnetic north as a convoy of beautiful original songs and production numbers ran through the show, choreographed by West Ender Gary Lloyd .
The harmonies as all the cast sang together were spellbinding, as the hairs on the backs of your arms acknowledged this wasn’t another panto re-heat -this was fresh.
I could listen to May Tether (who played Jill) sing the terms and conditions of an insurance policy and she’d make it sound like Carole King had penned it.
Where many pantos have actors, singers or dancers with on obvious ‘also ran’ in their skill set, every cast member was a Swiss Army knife of lethally sharp talent.
Rarely do you get soulful vocals from a panto fairy (Livvy Evans) and even the Dame, played by Alex Weatherhill, showed off a range to stop Mariah Carey warbling her festive favourite.
Surprisingly, the cast showed no fatigue from the three-shows-a-day schedule but it begs the question why this wasn’t in a bigger venue with Covid measures in place. I can only imagine that the paperwork and risk assessments took more paper than the script in this impossible year. The audience were even guided to do hand gestures, as everybody desisted from shouting “Oh yes he is” all night.
Every ticket in this traverse set-up was a golden ticket as each group was separated into plastic booths. This is “in your face” theatre – but socially distanced of course – that you can feel, not just watch.
Featuring some of the most original gags I have ever heard in a panto to reflect the times, plus a couple of very well-known faces on screen who could grace any stage in the land, this is a show full of surprises: doing the same things differently. Proving that theatre can adapt to fit around the safety of its audience to give a Christmas to remember to a year many of us would like to forget.
In 2020, when Amazon have delivered everything to your doorstep, Briggs has delivered not just a panto, but also West End-quality musical theatre, while maintaining a safe distance, and NOBODY will be writing ‘Return to Sender’ on this triple threat-laden package.
York’s Tier 2 status meant that the doors could open, but there is nothing Tier 2 about this show in Monkgate. This is top-tier entertainment for all of your bubble.
Review by Ian Donaghy
Show times: December 29, 2pm (sold out) and 7pm; December 30, 2pm (sold out) and 7pm; New Year’s Eve, December 31, 12 noon (sold out); January 2, 2pm (sold out) and 7pm; January 3, 1pm and 6pm.
Please visit yorkstagepanto.com for an update on performances once York’s new Tier status is confirmed in the Government briefing tomorrow (30/12/2020).
Box office: online only at yorkstagepanto.com. Please note, audiences will be seated in household/support bubble groupings only.
WHO better to mark Panto Day than York Stage’s villain, Ian Stroughair, whose performance in Jack And The Beanstalk combines a craving for power with towering stage domination.
Stroughair’s intemperate character, Flesh Creep, is so hell-bent in his quest, he could spare only three minutes for these short, sharp, snappy answers to CharlesHutchPress’s equally quickfire questions.
What was the first pantomime you ever saw and what do you recall of it?
“Leeds. Not sure which, but I was frightened to death by the baddie.”
What was your first pantomime role?
“Dandini in Cinderella, The Regent Theatre, Stoke.”
What has been your favourite pantomime role?
“Dandini.”
Who have you not yet played in pantomime that you would love to play?
“Dame. Not old enough, I don’t think, though.”
Who is your favourite pantomime performer and why?
“Julian Clary. Utterly fabulous.”
This year’s pantomime will be an experience like no other…what are your expectations of performing a show in these strange circumstances?
“My expectations are that it will be awesome.”
Which pantomime role should Boris Johnson play?
“The Evil Queen.”
Who or what has been the villain of 2020?
“Trump.”
Who or what has been the fairy of 2020?
“Netflix.”
How would you sum up 2020 in five words?
“It has been a mess.”
What are your wishes for 2021?
“For theatres to boom.”
What are your hopes for the world of theatre in 2021?
“For theatres to boom.”
Happy Panto Day, Ian.
York Stage’s Jack And The Beanstalk runs at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, until January 3. Box office: yorkstagepanto.com
York Stage in Jack And The Beanstalk, John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, until January 3 2021. Box office: yorkstagepanto.com
THIS is a York pantomime season like none before.
York Theatre Royal has, like a council politician, taken to the wards seeking votes, in this case for the audience choice of Travelling Pantomime. Dame Berwick Kaler’s comeback on board Dick Turpin Rides Again, after his headline-making crosstown transfer to the Grand Opera House, has gone into Covid-enforced hibernation for a year. Likewise, Rowntree Players have taken the winter off.
Yet, what’s this? A newcomer bean-sprouting up at Theatre @41 Monkgate, courtesy of York Stage’s debut pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, a show stuffed with West End talent with York and wider Yorkshire roots, bedding in nicely with socially-distanced performances for maximum audiences of 55 at the Covid-secure heart of Monkgateshire.
Once temperature tested at the doors and hands cleansed, you are led up the beanstalk-clad stairway to your brightly-coloured seat in the John Cooper Studio, a black-box theatre here configured as a traverse stage, the bubble-compliant audience sitting to either side or upstairs on the mezzanine level.
Safety division comes in the form of screens, like on Have I Got News For You, giving a different Perspextive on watching a show, but in no way impeding the view. Actors are socially distanced – they exchange elbow greetings; romance is replaced by best friendships – and audience members are close to the stage in this intimate setting, but not too close. The dame does not dispense sweets and we are asked to refrain from shouting.
Not your normal panto, then, in this all-too abnormal year, except that writer-director Nik Briggs’s 2020 vision for pantomime still has all the elements: the song and dance; the puns and punchlines; the slapstick and the transformation scene; the dame (Alex Weatherhill) and Daisy the cow; the drama-queen baddie (Ian Stroughair) and his narcissism; the topical and the local references; the daft wannabe superhero dreamer (Jordan Fox) and the fairy (Livvy Evans); the principal girl (May Tether) and her plain-speaking principles.
Then add the all-action ensemble (Matthew Ives, Danielle Mullan and Emily Taylor) and the band, a trio of musical director Jessica Douglas, fellow keyboard player Sam Johnson and York’s premier league drummer, Clark Howard, parked upstairs but omnipresent and on the button, The Great British Bake Off theme tune et al.
Briggs has called his show “a musical with pantomime braces on”; his choreographer, Gary Lloyd, a big signing from the West End and tour circuit, has coined the term “pansical”. That may suggest a slightly awkward new hybrid, but like the cult rock’n’roll pantomime at Leeds City Varieties, the musical driving force here is a winning addition to the tradition.
Ninety minutes straight through – intervals are so last year – Jack And The Beanstalk is full of beans, lovely to look at and lively too, loud at times but rarely lewd (blame the dame for those “innocent but guilty” moments, met with knowing laughter).
Surprise celebrity cameos pop up on video, and York Mix Radio’s morning team of Ben Fry and Laura Castle provide the pre-recorded countdown chat pre-show.
Briggs is breaking his duck as a pantomime writer, and his script is a little mannered by comparison with the highly experienced Paul Hendy’s way with words for the Travelling Pantomime, but he does know the notes, he does play them in the right order, and the jokes invariably hit home, especially those that play on the Covid conventions of 2020.
His reinvention of the pantomime cow is a particular joy, even if the dame’s nutty slapstick routine is hampered by having to play safe.
Briggs’s characters, bold and playful and bright, will appeal to children and adults alike. The singing is the ace card. What voices, whether Weatherhill’s operatic entry; professional debutante Tether’s arrival as Yorkshire’s next Sheridan Smith with her gift for investing personality in every line or the appealing Fox’s top-notch prowess in big numbers and ballads alike.
Evans’s Fairy Mary is fun and feisty, especially in her battles with Stroughair’s long-fingered, stove-pipe top-hatted Flesh Creep, commanding the stage with that irrepressible swagger and spectacular singing we know from his drag diva, Velma Celli.
You will never have a better chance to see Gary Lloyd’s flamboyant, fab-u-lous choreography so close up it is almost personal, dazzlingly pretty in the transformation scene, bouncing madly on and off trampolines in Stroughair’s high point, Jump (the Van Halen anthem).
Bean there, done that? Not until you have seen this new brand of York pantomime.
Review by BARSTOW TEASDALE. Copyright of The Press, York
YORK has seen plenty of Ian Stroughair this year, online largely, from his Bishopthorpe kitchen in his cabaret guise as drag diva divine Velma Celli.
From December 11, the West End musical actor, singer and dancer can be enjoyed in his home city like never before, making his York pantomime bow in York Stage’s Jack And The Beanstalk at the Covid-secure, socially distanced Theatre @41 Monkgate.
Given his glamorous, glorious-voiced alter ego as Velma, you may have expected Ian to slip into the dame’s costumes, but “perhaps I’m a little young for dame,” he says.
Instead, 6ft 5 in his boots and stove pipe top hat, Ian will be switching to the dark side, entering stage left as Flesh Creep in writer-director Nik Briggs’s 90-minute production on a traverse stage.
“Yeah, finally I’m doing a panto in York,” he says, wiping away the face paint from his photo-call session. “Before the pandemic lockdown changed everything, I was supposed to be auditioning for the York Theatre Royal pantomime [Cinderella, pre-lockdown], but that didn’t happen.
“Just like I was going to be doing Funny Girls for three months, taking over from Betty Legs Diamond, so I should have been going up to Blackpool for that, but then all the theatres shut suddenly. So instead I got on the train and came home to York.”
In globe-strutting Velma Celli mode, Ian had been performing in Australia before the escalating Coronavirus pandemic sent him packing back to Blighty, quarantining in York from a week before lockdown.
He refused to be downtrodden, instead writing and cycling to keep show-fit and embracing the nascent possibilities of steaming concerts live and sparkly from the improvised Case De Velma Celli kitchen stage.
“It was tricky at first because we were trying to navigate the technology to make it look and sound good, so it was a big learning curve, but so many friends were just sitting at home moaning, and I thought, ‘no, there are still ways to be artistic and you just have to think outside the box and work harder than everyone else,” recalls Ian, who began with an April 29 fundraiser by Velma for St Leonard’s Hospice, York.
Later, for his kitchen-sing dramas, he presented Velma in Large & Lit In Lockdown and virtual versions of the cabaret queen’s hit shows Equinox, Me & My Divas and A Night At The Musicals.
Usually to be found once a month gracing The Basement stage at City Screen, York, Velma returned to live performance in York by signing up for a rugby club – York RI Rugby Union Football Club, in New Lane, Acomb, to be precise – for An Evening Of Song outdoors under the September stars.
Velma playing to playing a rugby club crowd in York on a Friday night…that’s brave, Ian? “Someone suggested there and I went down and met the lovely Caroline Knight and I was sold. Lovely people there and I grew up in Acomb, so it just felt right,” he says.
“The crowd turned out to be mainly people who come to my shows at City Screen, but we did have a LGBTQ rugby team in!”
Rehearsals for Jack And The Beanstalk began at Theatre @41 on November 23, reuniting Ian with West End choreographer Gary Lloyd, who has headed north to York, where his sister, Jo Theaker, is a leading light with York Stage.
“Gary directed and choreographed me in a show called What A Feeling! for a UK tour and the London Palladium,” Ian recalls. “I was 23, so it was nearly 15 years ago. It’s still the hardest-working show I’ve ever done because Gary’s choreography is always spectacular, so it’s great to be working with him again. He’s one of the very best.”
Ian has previous form in pantomime, playing Dandini in 2015/16 in Cinderella at the Regent Theatre, Stoke. “I loved every minute. We were fortunate to win a couple of Great British Pantomine Awards,” he says.
“I was nominated too, for Best Actor, which was lovely. Julian Clary beat me. It was me, Julian and Samuel Holmes, who were nominated; they’re both panto veterans, Julian with his £20,000 worth of costumes at the Palladium…and then me in my panto debut!”
Now comes the sinister sidestep to playing the baddie Flesh Creep in Jack And The Beanstalk. “I’ve never done baddie before, so I’m going to take out Velma’s ‘potty’ mouth and replace it with some sinisterly articulated elocution,” says Ian, elongating his words.
Having lost his mother a few years ago, Ian says Christmas “can be a difficult time”, but “if you can’t laugh at a pantomime you must be dead inside”. “So, I can’t wait to be spreading the joy this Christmas. I’m loving it, after the only things that got me through this year were fried food and wine!”
Looking to the day when he may yet emulate his “idol and a living legend”, York’s long-running dame Berwick Kaler, Ian says: ”Panto producers do keep trying to get me to play Ugly Sister, and should I ever play dame, it’s a role where it’s all in the rhythm and instinctive comedy timing. That’s something you can’t teach but you can get better at it.
“It’s an exhausting role and should be the heart of every great panto. I prefer the dame to not be too polished aesthetically; a tad rough around the edges ideally.”
York Stage presents Jack And The Beanstalk at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, from December 11 to January 3; show times, Monday to Saturday, 2pm and 7pm; Sundays, 1pm and 6pm; Christmas Eve, 12 noon and 5pm; New Year’s Eve, 12 noon. Box office: online only at yorkstagepanto.com. Please note, audiences will be seated in household/support bubble groupings only.
CHRISTMAS in York would not be complete without a family outing to the pantomime, reckons York Stage producer Nik Briggs.
No wonder he is excited to announce his company will be bringing a brand new professional staging of Jack And The Beanstalk to the city this winter, billed as “a panto made in York for the people of York”.
Running from December 11 2020 to January 3 2021 at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, the 90-minute, Covid-secure show will feature Ian Stroughair, alias York’s international drag diva Velma Celli, in wicked mode in the cast of eight laden with West End talent from Yorkshire and the North East.
Nik says: “Join us this December for some magical Christmas entertainment as we present Jack And The Beanstalk in the Theatre @41 building in the heart of York on Monkgate.
“Our traditional family pantomime will be performed in a traverse setting in the John Cooper Studio, with the audience placed either side of a central stage with a capacity of 80 and no interval in the show.”
“Covid-secure safety measures will be in place and, for the first time at a York Stage show, Perspex safety screens will be placed between households and support bubbles so that our audiences can safely enjoy the show.”
Introducing his cast, Nik says: “We’re so excited to be bringing a sensational show to York this Christmas with the most exciting casting!”
Taking on the challenge of climbing the beanstalk will be West End actor Jordan Fox (from Kinky Boot, Friendsical, Beautiful) as Jack, who must take on the evil Flesh Creep, played by Ian Stroughair (Cats, Fame, Chicago and Rent, as well as award-winning drag vocalist Velma Celli).
Supporting Jack on his quest will be another York-born West End talent, Livvy Evans (Tina, Motown, Soho Cinders), as Fairy Mary and Alex Weatherhill (Chicago, All Male G&S) as Dame Trott.
York Stage are thrilled to be giving May Tether, a favourite of past York Stage Musicals shows, her first professional contract, playing Jill, following her graduation from London drama school Trinity Laban in July.
Completing the cast will be Matthew Ives (The Boyfriend, Closer to Heaven, La Cage Aux Folles); Emily Taylor (Great British Pantomime Award nominee and regular choreographer of the Grand Opera House pantomime) and Danielle Mullan, the North Easterner who captained the dance team in Berwick Kaler’s York Theatre Royal pantomimes for many years.
Looking forward to York Stage adding a new string to their bow after this summer’s open-air musical theatre concerts in Rowntree Park, Theatre@41 board chairman Alan Park says: “Christmas isn’t Christmas without panto. We’re delighted York Stage are taking full advantage of Theatre@41’s flexible space to ensure York families will still be able to safely enjoy a full all-singing and all-dancing pantomime.
“We can’t wait to welcome audiences back and for the building to echo with music and laughter again.”
Summing up what lies in store in Jack And The Beanstalk, Nik says: “With an exciting cast filled with West End talent, all born and bred in Yorkshire, and a creative team made up from those who brought shows such as Shrek, The Sound Of Music and Hairsprayto York, audiences can be assured of a show of true panto magic!”
“Expect glitzy sets and costumes, a show filled with singing and dancing, lots of laughs and, of course, a huge beanstalk! Audiences can book now for a giant slice of traditional Christmas fun at one of the city’s most magical, bean-sized theatres for all the family!”
Tickets for the 40 performances are on sale at yorkstagepanto.com
Jack And The Beanstalk in a nutshell…
PANTOMIME: Jack And The Beanstalk, presented by York Stage Ltd.
WHERE: John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41, Monkgate, York, YO31 7PB.
WHEN: December 11 2020 to January 3 2021.
SHOW TIMES: Monday to Saturday, 2pm and 7pm; Sundays, 1pm and 6pm; Christmas Eve, 12 noon and 5pm; New Year’s Eve, 12 noon.
RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes with no interval.
AUDIENCE CAPACITY: 80, seated in household/support bubble groupings only.
PRICE: Ranging from £20 to £27.
TICKETS: Available online only, via www.yorkstagepanto.com
Writer, director and producer for York Stage Ltd: NIK BRIGGS
Musical director: JESSICA DOUGLAS
Cast: JORDAN FOX as Jack; MAY TETHER as Jill; IAN STROUGHAIR as Flesh Creep; LIVVY EVANS as Fairy Mary; ALEX WEATHERHILL as Dame Trott; EMILY TAYLOR, MATTHEW IVES and DANIELLE MULLAN, Ensemble.
YORK drag diva Velma Celli is signing up for a rugby club in her home city.
Velma, the cabaret creation of West End and international musical actor, singer and dancer Ian Stroughair, will play at York RI Rugby Union Football Club, in New Lane, Acomb on Friday night after a spring and summer of lockdown shows live-streamed from Ian’s Bishopthorpe kitchen.
In the wake of such online diva delights from Case de Velma Celli as Large & Lit In Lockdown, Equinox, Me And My Divas and A Night At The Musicals, here comes An Evening Of Song, live in the Acomb open air.
“Bring your bubble, chairs and campness to York RI Club, New Lane for a spectacular outdoor evening of music and laughs beneath the stars,” says the club website. “Joining Velma will be some of Yorks greatest vocal talents!”
Here, Charles Hutchinson asks Ian/Velma to stretch out on the psychiatrist’s sofa for a spot of quick-thinking self-analysis and more besides.
What did you learn about yourself in lockdown?
“That I wasn’t spending enough time at home.”
Were there good things to being back in York, quarantining after your Australian shows in your home city, rather than in the Big Smoke?
“Goodness, yes. It’s just such a beautiful place and people are lovely.”
What were the best aspects of doing shows online?
“Learning how to do it well. A new skill, it was tricky, but we got there.”
What were the worst aspects?
“Learning how to do it well. A new skill, it was tricky, but we got there.”
Is there long-term potential for online shows, given that not everyone can get down to London…or even to The Basement, at City Screen, your regular York haunt?
“Yes, I think it will continue to bridge the gap well into 2021. Theatre and the like are going to be baby-stepping it for a long time, so online can keep us all entertained: something we have all learned we need so much in our lives.”
How did you feel to be performing to a live audience again in person at Proud Cabaret All Stars in London last Friday and Saturday? What have you missed most?
“It was AWESOME! I will never forget it. The atmosphere was incredible. It was at a stunning venue on Embankment…it’s HUGE! I’ve missed it all but mostly the cast. The energy and, of course, the audience.
You’re playing a rugby club in York on a Friday night…that’s brave! Discuss!
“Someone suggested there and I went down and met the lovely Caroline [Knight] and I was sold. LOVELY people there and I grew up in Acomb, so it just feels right.”
What will feature in An Evening Of Song…the title would suggest a show that can go anywhere, span any genre, climb every musical mountain?
“HA! Yes, it will be a mixed bag of whatever I fancy on the day and of course requests online. Message me on Facebook, peeps!
“Pop, rock, impressions and some musical theatre (obvs).”
Did Lockdown give you a chance to experiment anew with the powder and paint?
“I didn’t. I only wear make-up for the show and I enjoyed the break. It takes forever!”
If anyone is heading down to London on October 8, what can they look forward to in That Drag Show, “an evening of debauched fun and fabulosity at London’s newest drag revue show”, with you, Karla Bear and Portia at the Proud Cabaret City?
“The triple threats, sent from the Gods. The girls are AWESOME! Really talented folks, so the place might explode.”
Who are Karla Bear and Portia? What do they each specialise in?
“Karla is an Ozzie import and she wasted no time making a stamp on the UK drag scene, appearing in Kinky Boots in the West End within weeks of arriving.
“She was in the Australian cast of Wicked. She won Drag Idol UK, was the closing act at London LGBT Pride in 2019 and is the girl next door you don’t want your daddy to meet!
“Portia is a West End legend and made an infamous splash into Soho when she originated the role of Young Bernadette in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert at The Palace Theatre and also in La Cage Aux Folles. She’s one of London’s most sought-after hosts and has more legz than a bucket of chicken.”
What is the impact on the live drag scene of this sudden burst of TV shows – the latest being Canada’s Drag Race on BBC Three – for drag addicts needing their glamorous fix?
“Drag is hugely popular now, which must be a good thing.”
“Please get your tickets in advance of the day as we need to organise tables cos of good ole Covid,” says Velma. “Get those [song] requests in darlings at https://www.facebook.com/VelmaCelliCabaret/”
Velma Celli, Karla Bear and Portia in That Drag Show, Proud Cabaret City, Mark Lane, London, EC3R 7AH, October 8, 8pm, doors 7pm. Tickets: £20 to £50 at https://www.ticketweb.uk/event/that-drag-show-proud-cabaret-city-tickets/10698715