Tag: Natalie Roe

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REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until Saturday ****

Harry Summers’ Reverend Planter and Stuart Lindsay’s Doug O’Graves in York Shakespeare Project’s Sonnets In Bloom at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York. All pictures: John Saunders

SONNETS In Bloom 2025 is the ninth iteration of York Shakespeare Project’s summer sonnet celebration. Make that Sonnets In Full Bloom at the flower fete in the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate,  where the emphasis is on the new.

New director, Josie Connor; new scenario writer Natalie Roe; nine debutants among the 12 sonneteers; seven Shakespeare sonnets making their YSP bow among the 13 featured here.

Welcomed with a complimentary drink, the audience takes its place on benches and seats arranged in circular fashion around the churchyard, to the muffled accompaniment of evening street sounds from Goodramgate’s restaurants and bars.

Oliver Taylor’s broken-hearted forager Arti Choke

YSP’s Sonnets have taken myriad forms: sonnet walks around the city centre and Dean’s Park; sit-down sonnets under Covid social distancing; sonnets in the Bar Convent gardens. Holy Trinity, favourite York church of the loved-up Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister, has been a regular host, and this time war, more than love, is in the air.

More specifically, an alternative version of the war of the roses breaks out among the competitors in a fractious regional leg of Summer In Bloom. Given the profusion of puns among Roe’s humorous character names, perhaps it could be renamed Punfight At The OK Floral. Hoe hoe.

First of those horticultural names is the cactus-loving Reverend Planter (Sonnets’ debutant Harry Summers in genial mood), who will oversee the “arrival of participants with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?” All in good time, all in good time, although all will be revealed within a fast-moving hour.

Difference of opinion: Tom Langley’s Ally Lottment, left, and Benjamin Rowley’s Pete Shoveller clash in Sonnets In Bloom

Under YSP’s format, each colourful character will move seamlessly from amusing introductory scene/mood/motive-setting chatter – either with a fellow character or breaking down theatre’s fourth wall in direct address to Rev Planter’s flock – to performing an apt sonnet from Shakespeare’s repertoire of 154. In the vicar’s case, “When I Consider Everything  That Grows”.

The sonnets, the characters, the names, keep a’coming. Next, James Tyler’s Tom Martow, proud Yorkshire marrow connoisseur (“to marrow, and to marrow, and to marrow”). Then Stuart Lindsay’s gravely serious Scottish sexton Doug O’Grafves, dour digger of depths and confirmed misanthropist.

Next comes the interplay of returnee Grace Scott’s May Blooms, fantastic flower arranger and generational rose grower; Lily Geering’s Lily White, unfailing friend to May; Benjamin Rowley’s Pete Shoveller, poet and patient but tongue-tied pursuer of Lily, and Sonnets returnee Emilie Knight’s Rose Thorn, May’s ruthless rival. Annie Dunbar’s Blossom Springs, conscience-stricken apprentice to Rose, becomes entangled in the floral furore too.

Tipsy-topsy-turvy encounter with wine: Xandra Logan’s Inny Briation

Bubbling away is the intrigue of the appearance/non-appearance of Stuart Green’s Freddie Firm-Carrot, celebratory gardening superstar. In a running joke, Tom Langley’s Ally Lottment, disdainful PA  to Firm-Carrot, keeps being mistaken for his absent boss, before Firm-Carrot turns up at last, his lack of interest in his brief for the day indicated by calling Goodramgate “Goodramsgate”.

Debutant Oliver Taylor catches the eye with his lovelorn Arti Choke, kitchen warlock and broken-hearted forager, while returnee Xandra Logan makes the most of the boozed-up indiscretions of Inny Briation, home winemaker and anywhere, anytime wine-drinker.

Connor directs with momentum and a sense of mischief, matching the fun in Roe’s script, and fittingly the whole cast assembles for the final sonnet, delivering one line each of “That Time Of Year Thou May’st In Me Behold”, book-ended by a joint first and last line in a communal floral finale.

Celebrity selfie: Grace Scott’s May Blooms with Stuart Green’s gardening superstar Freddie Firm-Carrot

Coming next from YSP after this summer’s display of flower power will be Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, “the play that outsold Shakespeare”, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from October 22 to 25 (box office, tickets.41monkgate.co.uk

York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, tonight, 6pm and 7.30pm; tomorrow, 4.30pm, 6pm and 7.30pm.

Box office: 01904 623568;  https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Price, including a drink: £10 or £5 for age 14 to 17.

Lily Geering’s Lily White, unfailing friend to May Blooms in Sonnets In Bloom

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Sonnets in Bloom turn Holy Trinity Goodramgate churchyard into competitive garden fete with writer Natalie Roe and director Josie Connor at helm for YSP

Sonnets In Bloom script writer Natalie Roe, left, and director Josie Connor on a churchyard bench at Holly Trinity, Goodramgate, York, where the 50-minute performances will be staged

YORK Shakespeare Project’s summer celebration of Shakespeare’s sonnets returns to the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, from August 15 to August 23.

In the ninth iteration of these annual YSP shows, Sonnets In Bloom brings together the Bard, director Josie Connor, scenario scriptwriter Natalie Roe and a cast of 12 sonneteers.

“The last two shows have attracted record audiences so we’re delighted again to be offering a summer taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible,” says producer Maurice Crichton.

The year’s show has been scripted by Natalie Roe in her first involvement with YSP’s Sonnets project. “Natalie has incorporated a record 13 sonnets into her script, including seven that have not featured in previous YSP productions,” says Maurice.

“Shakespeare wrote at least 154 sonnets. We have plenty more to go at but the new ones in this show mean we will have featured more than a third of the total across the nine sonnets productions we have so far put on.”

In Natalie’s script, “Reverend Planter is very excited that his church is hosting the regional leg of Summer in Bloom. You are all warmly invited to enjoy a complimentary drink and to see the goings-on. Participants are arriving with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?”

“The churchyard and Goodramgate were very inspiring,” says Natalie. “There are lots of little references that I’ve put in because, if you know a space well, why not?! So there are references to the trees and the shops and restaurants on the street.

“I’ve been inspired by the nature in Shakespeare’s sonnets. It was being outside in the gardens at Bar Convent for the Sonnets there that gave me the idea of using sonnets full of nature and growth.”

Natalie has a copy of Shakespeare’s Sonnets that she bought on a National Express coach trip to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage at Stratford-upon-Avon in her school days. “It’s full of stars and love hearts next to the parts that I particularly liked as a moody teenager,” she says.

“For Sonnets In Bloom, I went through it and picked ones that fitted with performing outdoor theatre in a beautiful churchyard setting in the summer, and that’s why we have the setting of a church flower show, which is ripe for having lots of comedic characters, and then thinking about which sonnet would suit them.” Step forward Reverend Planter, the grave digger and assorted members of the congregation.

“It’s lovely to be able to create characters around a concentrated theme and the concentrated emotions in the sonnets, where I enjoy the richness of the imagery and there’s a frequently a metaphor that is then beautifully elaborated on.

“When writing the monologue that leads into each sonnet, what I’m looking for is for the character to have a dilemma, and in some ways Shakespeare’s sonnets come with the dilemmas ready made.”

York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Sonnets In Bloom 2025

Josie Connor is directing YSP for the first time, having worked with Natalie previously when she directed her script, Leaves, for York Settlement Community Players’ pub theatre initiative, The Direct Approach, in 2023.

“When Nat contacted me about Sonnets In Bloom, there was no doubt in my mind about saying yes,” says Josie. “I had heard Nat speak about the Sonnets shows in previous conversations and why they’re such a hit each year, I was very excited to be asked to be a part of this collaborative project this year – and her script compliments the churchyard setting brilliantly.

“Working with Nat is always a pleasure. Her work has great realness with comedic timing, even in dramas, and I think we’re both fans of creative collaboration. Nat and I met on a film set in 2017, where I saw her understanding for production as a whole, so reconnecting again to collaborate creatively while I’m building as a director was a no-brainer.”

In turn, Natalie says: “I was already a friend of Josie when she directed Leaves for The Direct Approach. Scripts are sent in anonymously, and she picked mine before knowing it was by me, so the play found her.”

Now they are in tandem again, working on Sonnets In Bloom’s wide variety of colourful characters, who each find an opportunity to give voice to one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

This year, the cast of 12 is mostly new to the Sonnet shows and younger too. “Only three performers have been involved previously, and with a new writer and a first-time Sonnets director, this production will take a fresh look at a trusted format,” says Maurice.

The cast in full comprises new sonneteers Harry Summers, James Tyler,Stuart Lindsay, Benjamin Rowley, Oliver Taylor, Tom Langley, Annie Dunbar, Lily Geering and Stuart Green, alongside returnees Grace Scott, Emilie Knight and Xandra Logan.

“When we were casting, we were looking out for the usual understanding of what they’re reading, energy and wanted to see not only what they could offer, but mainly see how and if each actor takes direction,” says Josie.

“That’s a very important part in the casting process; it reassures me that they will work well with any other actor, location and situation they’re put in.”

One last question for Josie: What can Shakespeare say in a sonnet that he cannot in a three-hour play?! “Let me call him and get back to you on that…do you think he’d be in the Yellow Pages?” she says.

York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15 to 23, 6pm and 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm, August 16 and 23. Box office: 01904 623568; yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Running time: 50 minutes.

Sonnets In Bloom 2025 cast members Emile Knight, left, Annie Dunbar, Oliver Taylor, Benjamin Rowley, Lily Geering, Harry Summers, James Tyler, Grace Scott, Tom Langley, Stuart Green, Stuart Lindsay and Xandra Logan at Holy Trinity churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

What’s coming up next for Josie Connor?

“I HAVE some exciting projects in the near future/next year, which will continue my directing path,” she says. “However, for now I’m keen to collaborate with more actors and try out new pieces!”

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Writer Natalie Roe and director Josie Connor team up for Sonnets In Bloom 2025 at Holy Trinity. Who’s new in the cast?

Sonnets In Bloom script writer Natalie Roe, left, and director Josie Connor in the Holy Trinity churchyard, in Goodramgate, York, where the York Shakespeare Project performance will take place

YORK Shakespeare Project’s summer celebration of Shakespeare’s sonnets returns to the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, from  August 15 to 23.

Sonnets In Bloom brings together the Bard, director Josie Connor, scriptwriter Natalie Roe and a cast of 12 sonneteers.

“The last two shows have attracted record audiences so we are delighted again to be offering a summer taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible,” says producer Maurice Crichton.

“This year we return to Holy Trinity Goodramgate, where site co-ordinator Gemma Murray and her team of volunteers made us so welcome last year.”

The year’s show has been scripted by Natalie Roe in her first involvement with YSP’s Sonnets project. “Natalie has incorporated a record 13 sonnets into her script, including seven that have not featured in previous YSP productions,” says Maurice.

Harry Summers: One of nine new sonneteers taking part in Sonnets In Bloom 2025

“Shakespeare wrote at least 154 sonnets. We have plenty more to go at but the new ones in this show mean we will have featured more than a third of the total across the nine sonnets productions we have so far put on.”

In Natalie’s script, “Reverend Planter is very excited that his church is hosting the regional leg of Summer in Bloom. You are all warmly invited to enjoy a complimentary drink and to see the goings on. Participants are arriving with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?”

Josie Connor is directing YSP for the first time, having worked with Natalie previously when she directed her script, Leaves, for York Settlement Community Players’ pub theatre initiative, The Direct Approach, in 2023.

As ever, Sonnets In Bloom features a wide variety of colourful characters, who each find an opportunity to give voice to one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

“It’s a lovely experience,” says YSP chair Tony Froud. “You can sip your complimentary drink on a summer’s evening in a delightful setting. Very often, the characters slip into a sonnet and the audience hardly notice that the language has become Shakespearean. And you can look forward to the odd surprise or two.”

Sonnets In Bloom 2025 producer Maurice Crichton

This will be the ninth time that YSP has put on a show based on Shakespeare’s sonnets, having first staged Sonnet Walks in 2014 , when audiences divided into groups met colourful characters as they walked around the streets of York, in the run-up to Le Grand Depart of that summer’s Tour de France.

In 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, the format was adapted to become Sit-Down Sonnets, when guiding a socially distanced group around the streets was impracticable. Sit-down shows have prevailed ever since.

This year, the cast of 12 is mostly new to the Sonnet shows and younger too. “Only three performers have been involved previously, and with a new writer and a first-time Sonnets director, this production will take a fresh look at a trusted format,” says Maurice.

The cast in full is: Harry Summers*; James Tyler*; Stuart Lindsay*; Grace Scott; Benjamin Rowley*; Emilie Knight; Oliver Taylor*; Tom Langley*; Xandra Logan; Annie Dunbar*; Lily Geering* and Stuart Green*. (*New to the sonnets.)

York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15 to 23, 6pm and 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm, August 16 and 23. Box office: 01904 623568;  https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Price, including a drink: £10 or £5 for age 14 to 17. Running time: 50 minutes.

York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Sonnets In Bloom 2025

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What would happen if Picasso met Einstein in a Paris bar and Elvis turned up too? Ask Steve Martin and the Settlement Players

Mark Simmonds rehearsing for the role of Albert Einstein in York Settlement Community Players’ production of Picasso At The Lapin Agile. Picture: John Saunders

PARIS. 1904. Wine o’clock, on a not-so ordinary evening at the Lapin Agile. So begins the absurdist play by American comedian, actor, writer, playwright, producer and musician Steve Martin, to be staged by York Settlement Community Players next week.

In Montmartre’s iconic cabaret bar favoured by struggling artists, anarchists and intellectuals alike, two soon-to-be legends find themselves sitting next to each other. Spanish-born Cubist painter, sculptor and theatre designer Pablo Picasso and German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, pumped up with egos as big as their intellects, have plenty to discuss.

As the streets outside grow darker, the cafe is lit up with dizzying debate about the promise of the 20th century, but events take a surreal turn when a certain blue suede shoe-wearing singer from the future shows up. Yes, Elvis is not leaving but, rather, entering the building.

The challenge of directing Martin’s work as he plays fast and loose with history over 80 unbroken minutes falls to Natalie Roe in her first production since taking over from Livy Potter – now to pursue her acting career full time – as Settlement Players’ chair last month.

“This is his most famous play, an off-Broadway hit from 1993 that I’ve been looking to be performed in the UK,” says Natalie. “I saw it at Keene Stage College [the liberal arts college] in New Hampshire, when I was on an international exchange from York St John University (which had really attracted me to the university).

“I had a friend in the cast, another exchange student, from Ghana – us international students really stuck together! – who was playing the role of Freddy, and I loved it.”

Why? “It’s very funny. It has jokes that you don’t immediately get, which is unnerving, but equally if something is funny, it still makes you laugh 20 years later,” says Natalie.

“What I liked is that it was a mix of very silly humour and very intellectual humour and it has a lot to say about both art and science.

“The question is: how will these two great personalities, Picasso and Einstein – both young at this time before they become famous – get on when they meet in a bar in Paris. Steve Martin plays with this idea, where Picasso is as much a mathematician as Einstein is an artist.”

To add to the spice, in the triangular structure the renascent Martin favours once more as co-writer of the mystery comedy-drama series Only Murders In The Building, throws “arguably the greatest musician of the 20th century” into the mix. “That’s possibly Steve Martin’s way of dealing with genius and innovation, by having a time-travelling Elvis turn up!” says Natalie.

James Lee in the rehearsal room as he prepares to play Pablo Picasso on the cusp of creating Cubism. Picture: John Saunders

“We also have the bar staff, Freddie, the owner, Germaine, Sagot, the art dealer. Many of them are real historical characters, like Freddie, who did own the bar that Picasso used to frequent in Montmartre.

“Picasso was hanging out at this bar in Paris; Einstein was working in the Patent Office in Berne, so it is conceivable that they met!”

What Steve Martin delivers is a meeting of minds on October 8 1904, when both men are on the cusp of changing the world through ideas. Einstein will publish his theory of relativity in 1905; Picasso will paint his revolutionary work Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in 1907.

“There’s a lot of referencing to what they think will happen in the 20th century, so you do get the idea that Steve Martin is at the same time looking back over what happened over the next 90 years,” says Natalie.

“In talking about what might happen, the value of art is discussed in terms of what is the meaning behind a painting, and is a piece of art worth more than it costs to buy it. Is one person’s opinion worth more than someone else’s, and in turn that thought chimes with Einstein’s theory of relativity.”

Martin’s Pablo Picasso is “quite critical of Einstein and his theories at the beginning of the play,” says Natalie. “Picasso’s issue is that he knows he’s on the cusp of something but he doesn’t know what it is. Part of his journey is his discovery of what turns out to be Cubism, and in Martin’s play it could be argued that his meeting with Picasso and of course Elvis from the future ignites his mind.”

Billed only as The Visitor rather than by name in the cast list, the Elvis in Picasso At The Lapin Agile has to be “iconic, almost like a Fairy Godfather”, says Natalie. “Young Elvis too. As part of the audition process, I made every actor do an Elvis impression.” She chose York actor Ray Raper, a regular player in Settlement Players’ Direct Approach performances when aspiring directors directs new works in a pub setting.

Settlement stalwart Mark Simmonds plays Einstein. “He’s very energetic,” says Natalie. “He studied Mathematics, which I didn’t know beforehand, but he seemed to ‘exude Maths’! You have to believe he could do all those equations – and you do!”

For Pablo, she picked James Lee, one of the York scene’s fast-rising talents. “He has a lot of stage presence. Pablo is a tricky part because it’s comedic, it’s poetic, but it’s also moody – and I knew straightaway that James had what I was looking for.”

York Settlement Community Players in Picasso At The Lapin Agile, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 29 to November 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age recommendation: 14 upwards. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.