Tag: Mickey Moran

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Inspired By Theatre to stage bold new vision of Jesus Christ Superstar at Joseph Rowntree Theatre from February 11 to 14

Iain Harvey’s Jesus in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar. All pictures: Dan Crawfurd-Porter

YORK company Inspired By Theatre has released the first official promotional imagery for next month’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.

The newly unveiled images form part of a cinematic campaign that reflects director Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s bold, physical and visual approach.

“Shot in a controlled studio environment, the imagery offers a stark and contemporary lens on the characters at the heart of the story,” he says.

Gi Vasey’s Annas and Joseph Hayes’ Caiaphas

Jesus Christ Superstar has taken the most preparation and development of any Inspired By Theatre show. “The stage work has been shaped over several years of planning and refinement,” says Dan.

“From the outset, I was determined that the show should be defined by a strong and distinctive visual language, closely aligned with abstract, physical and emotionally charged storytelling.”

The shoot was led by director and photographer Dan, with creative support from assistant director Freya McIntosh and production designer Gi Vasey. Hair and make-up was delivered by Chloe Pearson, Jasmine Barnard, Gi Vasey, and Freya McIntosh.

Mickey Moran’s Herod

“Central to the success of the imagery is the cast themselves, whose sustained character work and commitment to the production’s vision are evident throughout the final images,” says Dan.

“The photoshoot was conceived and executed with the same care as a full-scale production, treating the imagery as an artwork in its own right while remaining fully aligned with the vision of our stage production.

“Rather than functioning solely as promotional material, the images are designed to establish the cinematic world of our show in advance of its arrival on stage.”

Josh Woodgate’s Pilate

Dan’s radical new vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s musical is set in a shifting space, part temple, part battleground

The story unfolds through visceral movement, haunting imagery and a pulsating live score, capturing Jesus’s final days as loyalties fracture, followers demand revolution and rulers fear rebellion.

“Gritty, cinematic and unapologetically powerful, our staging pushes the boundaries of what local theatre can achieve,” says Dan.

Richard Bayton’s Peter

“What defines this production is its intensity. The staging is bold, the choreography demands everything from the cast, and the individual performances are so powerful. There’s no coasting, no safe choices.

“We’re embracing a visual and physical language that gives the story a new edge. It’s a Jesus Christ Superstar that commits fully to the story’s momentum and spectacle.”

Joining producer-director Dan in the production team are assistant director and choreographer Freya McIntosh; musical director Matthew Peter Clare; assistant producer Annie Roux; stage manager Steven Hibbs; production designer Gi Vasey; costume designer Molly Whitehouse; lighting designer Daniel Grey and sound designer Ollie Nash.

Rianna Pearce’s Mary Magdalene

In the cast will be Iain Harvey as Jesus; Kelly Ann Bolland, Judas; Rianna Pearce, Mary Magdaelene; Kailum Farmery, Simon Zealotes; Richard Bayton, Peter; Josh Woodgate, Pilate; Mickey Moran, King Herod, Joseph Hayes, Caiaphas, and Gi Vasey, Annas.

The ensemble will comprise Jack Fry; Charlie Clarke; Molly Whitehouse; Tiggy-Jade; Maddie Jones; Pete Stanford; Megan Overton; Anna Ashfield; Emily Pratt and Jasmine Barnard.

Inspired By Theatre in Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 11 to 14, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age recommendation: 12 plus. Box office: 01904 501935 or https://www.josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/musical/jesus-christ-superstar/2832.

Kelly Ann Bolland as Judas

Inspired By Theatre: back story

YORK theatre company founded in 2022, originally as Bright Light Musical Productions. “What began as a passion project has grown into a vibrant creative community with a distinctive artistic voice and a commitment to ambitious, impactful work,” says director Dan Crawfurd-Porter.

Previous productions, including Green Day’s American Idiot (2024) and RENT (2025), at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, have been praised for their energy, integrity, and polish. Jesus Christ Superstar marks the next evolution in the company’s bold storytelling, opening a landmark 2026 season that also will feature Spring Awakening at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from May 20 to 23 and Madness musical Our House at the JoRo in October .

“Inspired By Theatre was built on the belief that theatre can influence, uplift, and spark meaningful change,” says Dan. “The name itself reflects the countless productions, performers, creatives and audiences that continue to inspire and shape the company’s journey.”

Kailum Farmery as Simon Zealotes

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REVIEW: Wharfemede Productions in Musicals Across The Multiverse, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York ****

Emma Burke’s wartime nurse performing Anthem, from Chess

“THE show’s concept is playful, radical too, and has the potential to be rolled out again,” predicted your reviewer, when encountering June 2023’s “out of this world” Musicals In The Multiverse.

Sure enough, here comes the bigger, bolder sequel, still with a “big cast, bags of energy and enthusiasm, and a fun idea for a show”, still with Helen “Bells” Spencer as director and Matthew Clare in charge of the remarkable musical arrangements as songs are freed from the chains of their usual presentation.

The company and venue has changed, from the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company and art deco Joseph Rowntree Theatre to Spencer and Nick Sephton’s Wetherby-based Wharfemede Productions and black-box Theatre@41, Monkgate.

The show title has replaced ‘In’ with the broader-sounding ‘Across’ to reflect an even more expansive multiverse: alternative worlds where musical favourites and newer works are turned on their head, taking on a new life with a change of gender, era, key or musical style, as musical director James Ball and his band, out of view behind curtains but worthy of a standing ovation in their own right, deliver Matthew Clare’s diverse, dazzling arrangements with such brio.

Nick Sephton and Helen “Bells” Spencer’s tender rendition of I Don’t Need A Roof

Attending Monday night’s dress rehearsal, the technical rough edges with the projection would be ironed out by tonight’s opening  show, and likewise Bells Spencer was keeping herself busy in taking notes, and even adjusting actors’ stage positions mid-number to achieve the right balance. Choreographer Connie Howcroft, when not performing, kept an eye on the big numbers too.

Musicals Across The Universe sits inside an end-on set design, usually bare to enable use of the full stage, even the stairway, with the occasional addition of chairs too, while projections, whether of a blur of Fake News or images of wartime Poland, accompany assorted numbers. Costume changes are frequent, sometimes amusing, often witty, always striking.

Act One opens with the full company finding its voice in Facade, a number from Jekyll And Hyde that is the essence of putting on a front, but with the truth still bursting through. As Long As He Needs Me, Nancy’s troublesome song from Oliver!, becomes more mournful, less desperate, in Jai Rowley’s interpretation.

The Place Where The Lost Things Go, from Mary Poppins Returns, is transformed into a children’s song, all the more moving in Matthew Warry’s performance, supported by Laertes Singhateh and Emelia Charlton-Matthews.

Lauren Charlton-Matthews: Outstanding rendition of Dear Bill from Operation Mincemeat. Picture: Simon Trow

Anthem, from Chess, takes on a Jazz Age air in Emma Burke’s rendition; Lauren Charlton-Matthews chose Dear Bill, from the Grand Opera House-bound Operation Mincement for her solo number, duly delivering the show’s best storytelling singing. 

Go The Distance/Defying Gravity, from Hercules/Wicked, vie for centre stage in a mash-up for David Copley-Martin, Emily Hardy, Naomi Mothersille and Zander Fick; partners Spencer and Sephton bring tender romance to Big Fish’s I Don’t Need A Roof and Tess Ellis revels in the stark solo spotlight in Miss Saigon’s Why God? Why?

Two Act One favourites follow in quick succession, first Rosy Rowley’s lonesome Mr Cellophane, from Chicago, her face marked by a painted tear, accompanied by the Dance Core in white masks with crimson lips and matching dark tears.

Listen, from Dreamgirls, branches out from dialogue to Jai Rowley expressing himself in British Sign Language, learned expressly for this performance, to be interpreted in song by James Ball as Matthew Warry takes over on piano.

Exchanging sign language: James Ball, left, and Jai Rowley in Listen

After the men-in-black smooth chops of When She Loved Me, from Toy Story, you will go potty for Connie Howcroft’s polka-dotty reinvention of Friend Like Me from Aladdin, with her Dance Core in tow.

Mickey Moran, outstanding in the 2023 show, comes to the fore in Act Two’s opening Queen Medley from We Will Rock You, both on lead vocals as bravura as Freddie Mercury and on guitar too. The show must go on, and indeed does with Naomi Mothersille leading Make Them Hear You from Ragtime.

Richard Bayton and James Ball address songs to each other as gay lovers on the path to separation, first in Bayton’s confessional Just Not Now, from I Love You Because, then Ball, wrought with tragedian drama in Abba’s The Winner Takes It All, from Mamma Mia!, the show’s outstanding solo turn.

It’s Never That Easy/I’ve Been Here Before, from Closer Than Ever, find Spencer, Howcroft, Emily Hardy and Naomi Mothersille in harmony; Tess Ellis, in cream, stands out from the crowd in the heartfelt Someone Like You, from Jekyll & Hyde, and Ben Holeyman does likewise in Gypsy’s Don’t Rain On My Parade. Take note of Kirsty Barnes, notebook in hand, in Santa Fe, from Newsies.

Life is a Cabaret for Zander Fick, surrounded by the Dance Core in Musicals Across The Multiverse. Picture: Simon Trow

Zander Fick, fresh from playing drag star Loco Chanel in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, dons fishnets, shiny red Latex top and matching high heels and lipstick, to darken Sally Bowles’s Cabaret, from Cabaret, into being more in keeping with the Emcee.

Bayton and Ellis, Holeyman and Barnes play two couples in declamatory tandem in the mash-up of Million Dreams and How Far I’ll Go from The Greatest Showman and Moana, and mother and child partnerships, Spencer and Singtaheh, Rowley times two and Charlton-Matthews a deux, express the bond movingly in Mamma Mia’s Slipping Through My Fingers. Abbie Law savours the last solo showcase in Shouldn’t I Be Less In Love With You, from I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

The full company assembles for Blame It On The Boogie, from MJ The Musical, a celebratory finale led flamboyantly by Rosy Rowley and Mickey Moran that has everyone dancing to the Multiverse max.

Wharfemede Productions present Musicals Across The Multiverse, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 10 to 13, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Rosy Rowley. front, left, and Mickey Moran, front, right, lead the outbreak of dancing in Blame It On The Boogie, the finale to Musicals Across The Multiverse

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Bev Jones Music Company branches out into classic rock with Steve Coates’s jukebox hits at Joseph Rowntree Theatre

The poster artwork for One Night Of Classic Rock at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York

THE BJMC [Bev Jones Music Company] is going into partnership with the newly formed Steve Coates Music Productions. First up will be January 20’s performance of One Night Of Classic Rock at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York.

“Steve is entering York’s amateur music scene with a sell-out show,” says delighted BJMC producer Lesley Jones. “The show has a waiting list for return tickets, such is its popularity. I think Steve simply came up with a brand new idea and it’s worked!”

Lesley first met Steve six years ago. “He’s not a music theatre fan, but after going to a show he said, ‘why can’t I do a rock show from my jukebox?’. After a few drinks he says I convinced him he could and the rest is history,” she says. “The next show is in the diary already and Steve is now contacting other venues in other towns.” 

Billed as a “one-of-a-kind production designed for true rock fans, featuring a passionate cast of singers and six-piece band, all paying tribute to their favourite rock heroes”, the 7.30pm show combines “an impressive sound and light show with thunderous anthems from everyone’s favourite rock bands”.

“Get ready to have your mind blown with the familiar classic riffs everyone remembers,” says Lesley. “The sound will be phenomenal with perfect harmonies, solid rock accompaniment and fabulous vocals.

For those about to rock: BJMC cast members in rehearsal

“All the songs are taken from Steve’s own jukebox – a real original – that includes AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Meat Loaf, Tina Turner, Status Quo, Queen, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, plus many more.”

The One Night Of Classic Rock band will be led by Mickey Moran, joined by fellow guitarists Eddie Oktay Stock and Liam Stevenson, keyboard player James Rodgers, saxophonist Sam Lightwing and drummer Jez Smith.

Moran will be among the lead vocalists too, alongside York Opera singer and dietician Annabel Van Griethuysen, Clare Meadley, Jack Storey-Hunter and Chris Hagyard, restored to full health after illness forced the last-minute cancellation of the BJMC’s Guy And Dolls last October.

The sixth principal vocalist will be former York Light Opera Company leading lady Ruth McNeil, who is a “massive rock performer” in her home city of Nottingham.

The backing singers will be Adele Barlow, Alison Laver, Linsey Dawn, Rosie King, James Noble and Sam Lightwing, when not on his saxophone. 

Annabel Van Griethuysen: Switching from opera to classic rock

Looking ahead, the BJMC’s partnership with Steve Coates will lead to performance programmes spanning a variety of music genres, from West End musicals to opera, jazz to cabaret, as well as this month’s newcomer: rock.

“Steve has also offered to produce our Les Miserables Youth Edition next January, which I’m looking forward to staging as a one-off youth production, open to all young singers in the North Yorkshire area, with no financial commitments required,” says Lesley.

The next BJMC classic rock night is booked for January 11 2025 at 7.30pm at the JoRo. “As this month’s show is holding a waiting list for any return tickets, maybe next January we’ll do a matinee as well or two nights,” says Lesley.

“Steve says that with the level of interest we’ve had, we must definitely consider extra dates. It’s a shame to have a list of disappointed potential audience members. However, he hopes to stage another show mid-year in another venue elsewhere in Yorkshire.” Watch this space.

As for January 20, ticketholders should “dig out those leathers and boots, grab a glass of beer or wine, and let’s rock the aisles,” says Lesley.