Next Door But One artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle, left, receives the “life-changing” £20,000 cheque from Sky Bet’s Steve Birch after winning the Sky Bet Ebor Festival Community Sweepstake at York Racecourse
MATT Harper-Hardcastle attended York Races for the first time on Saturday and headed home with £20,000…without placing a bet.
To explain, Matt is the artistic director and chief executive officer of York community arts collective and charity Next Door But One (NDB1), who won the Sky Bet Ebor Festival Community Sweepstake.
As part of the joint initiative between York Racecourse and Sky Bet, the sweepstake rewards good causes from across Yorkshire in acknowledgement of their hard work within the community. Each shortlisted charity was awarded a £1,000 donation to put towards a project or initiative.
This year, more than 150 entries to the sweepstake were made, leading to a final shortlist of 22, each allocated a runner in the 3.35pm Sky Bet Ebor Handicap from the sweepstake draw.
From a ceremony shown live on TV at the Knavesmire course on Thursday, Matt drew the horse names from one tombola; Pam, from Hull & East Riding Breast Friends, the charities from the other.
Matt turned out to have the magical touch, having drawn Magical Zoe for NDB1. Trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Billy Lee, the hurdler-turned-flat racer lived up to being the favourite in the betting by finishing first past the post, a victory that brought NDB1’s £20,000 grand prize. Second place went to The Clothing Bank with Menfulness taking third, securing £5,000 and £2,000 respectively.
Next Door But One, an award-winning LGBTQ+ and disability-led theatre company, delivers a programme focused on workshops and performances for and with cohorts of the community with disabilities, mental ill health, unpaid carers, women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and LGBTQ+ individuals.
In the wake of Magical Zoe’s triumph, a delighted Matt said: “This is the first time I’ve ever been to the races, so the fact that we’ve come away with £20,000 for the charity is absolutely amazing. This donation has meant that we’ve already reached our funding target for the year, which will continue to be hugely beneficial into 2025.
Next Door But One’s leadership team: creative engagement manager El Stannage, left, producer Joshua Goodman, artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle, associate director Kate Veysey and communications coordinator Anna Johnston
“The donation will be used for our participatory arts programme for marginalised communities. For every £20 invested, we’re able to provide a whole year’s worth of free and inclusive arts engagement for one person, so this means we’re able to make a difference to so many. The whole team would like to thank York Racecourse and Sky Bet for their support. It really is a life-changing amount of money.”
James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship at York Racecourse, added: “The Ebor always proves to be a very special event in our racing calendar, and 2024 proved no different as we saw Billy Lee ride to victory.
“Hosting the shortlisted good causes is always a pleasure, and we’re looking forward to following their journeys and seeing how they utilise the valuable donations they receive.”
Michael Shinners, head of sports PR at Sky Betting & Gaming, concluded: “A huge congratulations to Next Door But One, The Clothing Bank and Menfulness for placing in our community sweepstake.
“The Sky Bet Ebor Festival Community Sweepstake is an annual highlight for us, as we learn about all the amazing work that our charities and good causes support across the Yorkshire region. We hope that our donations for all of those shortlisted go a little or a long way in helping them continue their great work.”
The final 22 shortlisted Yorkshire charities, foundations and community groups were:
Active Independence; Beverley Community Lift; BIADS – Barnsley Independent Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support; Day One Trauma Support; Declan John Foundation; Hornsea First Aid Centre; Hull 4 Heroes; Hull and East Riding Breast Friends; Just ‘B’; Menfulness; MySight York; Next Door But One CIC; Noah’s Ark Centre; Norton Hive Library and Community Hub; Overgate Hospice; Rotherham Cancer Care; Sheffield Mencap and Gateway; Sheffield Steelkings Para Ice Hockey Club; The Clothing Bank; Friends of Rowntree Park, York; The Rainbow Centre, Scarborough, and Yorkshire’s Brain Tumour Charity.
James Brennan said: “As with every year, we have seen so many worthwhile entries to the sweepstake. Choosing 22 from this extensive list is never easy but the final runners reflect a diverse group of worthy causes from across the region.
“The Sky Bet Ebor Festival is the highlight of our racing calendar with this initiative an important part of proceedings. We always look forward to hosting the shortlisted contenders and to showcasing the amazing work they all do.”
Representatives from the 22 shortlisted Yorkshire charities, foundations and community groups for the Sky Bet Ebor Festival Community Sweepstake at York Racecourse on Saturday
Next Door But One’s leadership team: creative engagement manager El Stannage, left, producer Joshua Goodman, artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle, associate director Kate Veysey and communications coordinator Anna Johnston
HOT off winning two York Enterprise Awards, Next Door But One is launching The Producing Hub to expand its provision of professional development for creative talents in the city.
Over the past year, the York community arts collective has supported 68 performing arts professionals to nurture their skills and achieve career goals through a series of workshops, one-to-one mentoring and by providing micro-commissions for new work, such as the Yorkshire Trios showcase at York Theatre Royal Studio in late-March.
“Seventy-five per cent have started a new project or developed an existing one; 68 per cent have applied for and secured new jobs or commissions; 50 per cent have applied for funding for their work, and have showcased that work too,” says Next Door But One (NDB1) chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle.
“As one participant described their involvement: ‘The biggest impact from engaging in NDB1’s professional development is how much confidence I’ve gained. I’ve since secured further professional work, I have less imposter syndrome and feel like I belong in this industry.
“The experience of working with NDB1 made me feel validated that I have the skill to pursue acting professionally, and what my USP [unique selling point] is in the industry. I’m able to effectively communicate what I can offer the industry and NDB1 has been instrumental in helping me understand this’.”
James Lewis-Knight, artistic director of Clown Space, recipients of Next Door But One support for professional development
Matt reflects: “We’ve always said that NDB1 is a place where creatives can hang their hat. Being a freelance artist can often feel very lonely, isolating and a bit discombobulating,” he says. “We saw this acutely during Covid. As the world started to open up again following the pandemic, we had an influx of local creatives getting in touch for advice.
“Sixty-seven per cent had had a large proportion of their work cancelled; 50 per cent had struggled to secure the same amount of work since; 42 per cent had considered leaving the industry and their chosen career altogether, and 58 per cent have felt a significant disconnection from the industry as a whole. Local freelancers are the lifeblood of NDB1’s work, so we knew we had to do something about it.”
Since those shockwaves of 2021, NDB1 has provided 28 micro-commissions to writers, directors and actors, run three programmes of professional development workshops, a full year’s coaching for emerging companies and countless one-to-ones with York artists to provide bespoke advice and signposting.
“Now we are launching our most ambitious and robust programme of support for creatives through The Producing Hub Next Door But One,” says Matt. “‘It’s a way to pull together and formalise all the responsive support we’ve been providing into something we can really shout about and invite more people into.”
Firstly, backed by funding from City of York Council (through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) and Arts Council England, over the next year NDB1 will provide producing support for Thunk-It Theatre’s next tour of New Girl and for the company development of Clown Space, the York company run by professional clown James Lewis-Knight and Emily Chattle that specialises in teaching clowning, full mask and physical theatre.
“Clown Space are at a point where they need support with their creative business plans, vision values and funding mechanisms,” says Matt.
Creative 1:1s. Seed Funding.Seminars. Next Door But One has help and advice on hand for York arts talents
Thunk-It Theatre artistic director Becky Lennon says: “We are thrilled to be joining The Producing Hub. We’ve been lucky to be supported by NDB1 since we first began in 2020 and are excited to be co-producing our now Arts Council England-funded production, New Girl, this autumn with the wonderful support from the NDB1 Team.
“The Producing Hub is a great way for us to learn how to produce our own work in a supported professional set-up. We cannot wait to see how we develop with the amazing backing from the team.”
Secondly, in partnership with York Theatre Royal, NDB1’s Opening Doors will return from November 2024 to provide a series of free professional development workshops built from the needs expressed by York creatives.
“We’re also really excited to take our informal one-to-one surgeries and the ‘cuppa catch-ups’ we regularly have with creatives to provide regular opportunities for creatives to sit with members of the NDB1 team and get the advice they need,” says Matt.
NDB1 associate director Kate Veysey adds: “I think it’s down to our approachability, but we regularly have creatives getting in touch to ask our advice on new projects, to look over applications and even just to be a friendly face to artists who are new to the city.
Thunk-It Theatre in New Girl: Receiving Next Door But One support for next tour
“We really see the value in these quick, responsive interventions and happily go offering space, support and coffee, but as a small team ourselves we were reaching capacity.
“From September, however, NDB1 will be offering bookable slots around the city, for York creatives to set the agenda and receive the headspace of our leadership team on whatever is needed.”
This 1:1 service has been made possible with a grant from YOR4Good, partnering with the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies, and with the support of Explore York library service and Theatre@41, Monkgate.
Kate continues: “We’re excited by this as we can offer seed funding to support creatives to overcome particular barriers to their desired career progression. This could be affording fees for training courses, hiring space to have a table-read of a new script or even covering access costs to take up new opportunities.”
In addition, a casting call is open until September for NDB1’s May 2025 production of How To Be A Kid. “We’ll be casting from new graduates from the past two years, who’ll do a three-week rehearsal process, incorporating professional training as part of a touring production, with advice on, for example, acquiring professional headshots and talking to casting agents,” says Matt.
To stay up to date with these opportunities and to learn how to engage NDB1’s services, creatives are advised to sign up to the mailing list and fill out Expression of Interest forms, available via the website: nextdoorbutone.co.uk.
Double winners: Kate Veysey, second left, El Stannage, Matt Harper-Hardcastle amd Anna Johnston, of Next Door But One, with Warrick Dent, left, from LNER, after receiving the Community Changemaker and Inclusive Business awards at the 2024 York Enterprise Awards. Picture: Alex Holland
Adam Kay: If laughter is the best medicine, head to the Grand Opera House
SHORT plays, doctor’s tales, pop memories, life 11,000 years ago, women in word and song, egg hunts and a Sondheim celebration put the spring into Charles Hutchinson’s step as a new season arrives.
Doctor in the House: Adam Kay: Undoctored, Grand Opera House, York, March 23, 7.30pm
BILLING himself as “the nation’s twelfth-favourite doctor”, This Is Going To Hurt author Adam Kay follows a record-breaking Edinburgh Fringe run and West End season with a tour of tales from his life on and off the wards.
Expect Kay’s ‘degloving’ story to feature “because people ask for refunds if they don’t hear it”. Post-show, he will be signing books. Last few tickets: atgtickets.com/york.
Navigators Art & Performance’s poster for GUNA: Views and Voices of Women at The Basement
Navigators Art & Performance presents: GUNA: Live!, Views and Voices of Women, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, March 23, 7pm
TO complement Navigators Art & Performance’s City Screen exhibition for International Women’s Week, the York arts collective hosts an inspiring evening of music, spoken word and comedy that explores, celebrates and promotes the creativity of women and non-binary artists.
The line-up of mostly York-based performers features poets Danae, Olivia Mulligan and Rose Drew; performance artist Carrieanne Vivianette; global songs and percussion from Soundsphere; original music from Suzy Bradley; comedy from Aimee Moon and a rousing appearance by multi-faceted York musician and artist Heather Findlay. Box office: bit.ly/nav-guna.
Lush stories: Miki Berenyi’s book, Fingers Crossed, under discussion at York Literature Festival
Book of the week: Miki Berenyi In Conversation: Fingers Crossed, York Literature Festival, The Crescent, York, March 24, 3pm
MIKI Berenyi, former lead singer, rhythm guitarist and founder member of London shoegaze/dream pop band Lush discusses her memoir, Fingers Crossed, and her career, recounting her experiences as a trailblazing woman fronting a seminal late-1980s group. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Livy Potter: Performing in Paul Birch’s Running Up That Hill in Yorkshire Trios at York Theatre Royal
York theatre event of the week: Yorkshire Trios, York Theatre Royal Studio, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.45pm, both sold out
YORK company Next Door But One brings together York actors, writers and directors to produce original, short pieces of theatre, five to 15 minutes in length, on the theme of Top Of The Hill. Cue tales of motherhood, grief, love, war and even Kate Bush.
Badapple Theatre’s Kate Bramley and Connie Peel direct Nicola Holliday in Sarah Rumfitt’s Toast; Livy Potter performs Paul Birch’s Running Up That Hill under Harri Marshall’s direction; Jacob Ward directs Claire Morley in Yixia Jiang’s Outliving and Bailey Dowler appears in Jules Risingham’s Anorak, directed by Tempest Wisdom. Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Curators Andrew Woods, left, Adam Parker and Emily North with Mesolithic remains of a wooden platform and materials used for fire-making in the Yorkshire Museum’s Star Carr exhibition. Picture: Anthony Chappel-Ross
Exhibition opening of the week: Star Carr: Life After The Ice, Yorkshire Museum, York; open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm
EXCAVATED in the Vale of Pickering, the Star Carr archaeological site provides the first evidence in Great Britain of the beginnings of home, a place where people settled and built places to live.
The Yorkshire Museum’s interactive exhibition brings together artefacts from “the Mesolithic equivalent of Stonehenge” to give an insight into human life 11,000 years ago, a few hundred years after the last Ice Age, such as how they made fires. On display are objects from the Yorkshire Museum Collection, from antler headdresses and a decorated stone pendant to the world’s oldest complete hunting bow and the earliest evidence of carpentry from Europe. To book tickets, go to: yorkshiremuseum.org.uk.
Sam Hird: Singing Sondheim with Pick Me Up Theatre
Musical revue of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Sondheim We Remember, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, March 27 to 30, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
ROYAL College of Music student Sam Hird returns home to York to join his father Mark Hird in the Pick Me Up Theatre company for Sondheim We Remember’s selection of music from Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway shows, film scores and television specials.
Taking part too in this celebration of the New York composer and lyricist will be show director Helen ‘Bells’ Spencer, Susannah Baines, Emma Louise Dickinson, Alexandra Mather, Florence Poskitt, Andrew Roberts, Nick Sephton, Catherine Foster and Matthew Warry. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The National Trust’s guide to Easter activties, egg hunts et al, at Nunnington Hall
Easter Egg Hunt of the fortnight: Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, near Helmsley, today until April 7, 10.30am to 5pm; last entry, 4.15pm.
FAMILIES can enjoy a fun-packed visit to the National Trust property of Nunnington Hall throughout the Easter school holiday, when children can take part in an Easter egg hunt trail around the freshly mown garden, with activities to be completed such as an egg and spoon race, archery and boules, before receiving their egg.
Children can enjoy drawing and painting in the creative hub; take part in seed planting in the cutting garden; explore the Lion’s Den play area, with its obstacle course, rope bridge and climbing frame; learn about composting and spend time in the bird-watching area. On March 31 and April 1, additional garden activities include races on the main lawn and bird-feeder making. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/nunnington-hall.
Wet Wet Wet and special guest Heather Small: Teaming up at York Barbican in 2025
York gig announcement of the week: Wet Wet Wet & Heather Small, York Barbican, October 13 2025
WHEN Wet Wet Wet headlined a festival in Dubai, who should they bump into but Heather Small, the big voice of M People. She duly accepted their invitation to be the special guest at all dates on their 2025 tour.
Wet Wet Wet will be returning to York Barbican after their January 31 2024 double bill with Go West on the Best Of Both Worlds Tour. In the line-up will be founding member and bassist Graeme Clark, long-standing guitarist Graeme Duffin and singer Kevin Simm, The Voice UK winner and former Liberty X member, who joined the Scottish group in 2018. Tickets: axs.com.york.
In Focus: Children’s show, Millennium Entertainment International in There’s A Monster In Your Show, York Theatre Royal, March 26 to 28, 1.30pm and 4pm
There’s A Monster In Your Show composerTom Fletcher with his children, Buzz, Buddy and Max, and a monster puppet
THE Easter holiday festivities at York Theatre Royal kick off with Tom Fletcher’s new family musical There’s A Monster In Your Show.
Based on Fletcher and Greg Abbot’s Who’s In Your Book? picture-book series for Puffin, the 50-minute performance for three-year-olds and upwards is billed as an “interactive, high-energy adventure for big imaginations” that leaps from page to stage with the aid of lively original music
Adapted for the stage by Zoe Bourn and directed by Miranda Larson, the show features new music by McFly band member Fletcher and Barry Bignold. Expect playful fun aplenty for your littlest ones as their favourite characters come to life in a performance packed with interactive moments to enjoy together.
In the story, performers are preparing to start their show but quickly discover they are not alone on stage. Little Monster wants to be part of the fun too, promptly extending an invitation to his friends Dragon, Alien and Unicorn to join him. Cue comedy and chaos as they help to create a magical show, learning about the joy of books and friendship along the way.
Fletcher says: “I’m so excited to see There’s A Monster In Your Book come to life on stage. The whole journey is incredibly exciting. Theatre is such an important way to introduce children to the arts and There’s A Monster In Your Show is the perfect first theatre trip for pre-schoolers and their families. I’m so looking forward to seeing their reactions first hand.”
The 1.30pm show on March 28 will be a Relaxed Performance that aims to reduce anxiety around theatre visits to help everyone have an enjoyable time. All are welcome, but especially people with sensory or communication difficulties or a learning disability. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ben Murrell and Gil Sidaway in There’s A Monster In Your Show. Picture: Pamela Raith
In the line-up for Next Door But One’s Yorkshire Trios in the York Theatre Royal Studio next March: top row, Sarah Rumfitt, left, Kate Bramley, Connie Peel and Nicola Holliday; second row, Jules Risingham, Tempest Wisdom and Bailey Dowler; third row, Yixia Jiang, Jacob Ward and Claire Morley; bottom row, Paul Birch, Harri Marshall and Livy Potter
AFTER receiving more than four times as many applications as commissions available, York theatre company Next Door But One has assembled the next band of Yorkshire Trios – and a quartet – for March 2024.
“That many applicants is a sign of a few things,” says chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle. “Just the sheer amount of talent that is within the local area; that there’s still a need after Covid for local creatives to be supported to get their own work out there, and hopefully that we as a company are seen as approachable and that people want to connect with us.”
Through a series of micro-commissions, York actors, writers and directors are being supported by NDB1 to produce original, short pieces of theatre that celebrate their individual skill and creativity.
“The brief is to create a five to 15-minute solo performance that in some way responds to the overall theme of ‘Top of the Hill’, so this is already resulting in stories of motherhood, grief, love, war and even Kate Bush!” says Matt.
“The writers are working on their second draft after receiving dramaturgical support from our team, and then rehearsals will begin in the early new year.”
The artists taking part will be Sarah Rumfitt, Kate Bramley, Connie Peel, Nicola Holliday, Jules Risingham, Tempest Wisdom, Bailey Dowler, Yixia Jiang, Jacob Ward, Claire Morley, Paul Birch, Harri Marshall and Livy Potter.
“This version is really building on everything that we learned and achieved from the first time around,” says Next Door But One artistic director Matthew Harper-Hardcastle
They will be working towards a showcase of original performances at York Theatre Royal next March, with more details on performance dates and how to book tickets to be released in the new year.
NDB1’s inaugural 2021 showcase of Yorkshire Trios in the garden performance space of The Gillygate pub marked the first live show in York after the lifting of Covid restrictions.
“At the time, many local performing arts professionals were feeling disconnected from their artistry and were extremely anxious about the future of their careers,” recalls Matt.
“So we listened to their concerns and created a series of micro-commissions to form new collaborative trios of an actor, writer and director, from which original work could be produced.”
One 2021 creative described Yorkshire Trios as “a total lifeline; a lighthouse in a stormy sea”. “Since then, Next Door But One has supported a further 44 creatives with mentoring in such areas as job applications and funding bid writing,” says Matt.
Yixia Jiang: Writing Love Letters Before Dawn for Yorkshire Trios
“We’ve always wanted to be an approachable company where creatives can hang their hat. We really believe in investing in the York cultural ecology, so this new iteration of Yorkshire Trios sits alongside our professional development programme, Opening Doors, and our Company Coaching provision.
“That provision is giving quarterly business and peer mentoring to five arts-based companies, Thunk-It Theatre, Story Craft Theatre, Terpsichoring dance company, Moon Dust and CoCreate, each with a different focus and at different stages of their development.”
Looking forward to next March’s showcase, NDB1 associate director Kate Veysey says: “It was really encouraging and humbling to read people’s honest reflections on what Yorkshire Trios could do for them within the application process.
“Some who had never been able to showcase their work in their hometown, others who had faced challenges in creating a professional network or establishing their careers on their own terms, and others who really respected our work and wanted to align their practice with our values. We feel really confident in being able to offer solutions to these points through this project.”
Emerging writer Yixia Jiang’s play Love Letters Before Dawn will be performed by Claire Morley, directed by Jacob Ward. “Working with this group of amazing people in York gives me a chance to take a glance into the local theatre industry and help establish myself as a playwright here,” he says.
York actor Bailey Dowler will perform Jules Risingham’s Anorak under the direction of Tempest Wisdom. “I wanted to get involved with Yorkshire Trios because there’s a lot of local talent in York and this is a perfect opportunity to widen my creative circle,” says Bailey.
“I cannot wait to work so closely with a writer and director. It’s such a rarity to have a one-to-one experience in the rehearsal room and so I’m excited to collaborate together, creating beautiful theatre, fuelled with passion.
“Next Door But One has a fantastic support system and I’m looking forward to being mentored and learning more about the process of creating a play, from outside the eyes of an actor.”
Fellow actor Nicola Holliday will present Sarah Rumfitt’s Toast, directed by Kate Bramley, artistic director of Badapple Theatre Company, and Connie Peel. “Having heard from friends what an incredible and inclusive company NDB1 was to work with, I was eager for the opportunity and chuffed to bits to be cast in Yorkshire Trios,” says Nicola.
“As an autistic, full-time working parent, finding flexible inclusive work can be a challenge and being welcomed with open arms, kindness and understanding by the whole NDB1 team has been lovely.
Nicola Holliday: Performer for Sarah Rumfitt’s Toast
“Meeting my Yorkshire quartet, such a talented creative and passionate bunch of local folks, I cannot wait to see our piece grow and develop, to be really challenged as an actor and to make some more meaningful connections here in York.”
Writer Sarah Rumfitt says: “Yorkshire Trios has given me an opportunity to explore my own voice within writing, something I have had little time for since becoming a mum.
“Being a creative is incredibly rewarding but also at times lonely. After an initial meeting with NDB1 and the other trios, I already feel more connected and part of an exciting community of Yorkshire-based creatives.”
Co-director Kate Bramley adds: “I’m really delighted to be working with Next Door But One on a brand new short play and mentoring another young director to boot, which makes us a unique four-person ‘trio’! I’ll be very excited to get started in the New Year.”
The fourth Yorkshire Trio comprises writer Paul Birch, actor Livy Potter and director Harri Marshall, combining on Running Up That Hill, the Kate Bush one.
Now that all the Yorkshire Trios have been introduced to one another, they can start creating performances that “really reflect who they are”. “We’ve provided the stimuli of ‘Top of The Hill’,” says NDB1 creative engagement manager El Stannage. “Not only because it then provides an overall theme to the final performances, but also because it brings a bit of the NDB1 ethos into the process.
Writer Sarah Rumfitt: Toast pops up at Next Door But One’s Yorkshire Trios showcase
“As a team, we often talk about what it’s like for us at the ‘top of the hill’; what it looks like when we are at our best, and that’s really what we want to instil in our trios. We want to celebrate each of them and applaud the incredible talent in our area.”
Highlighting how the 2024 Yorkshire Trios will differ from 2021, Matt says: “This version is really building on everything that we learned and achieved from the first time around.
“We’ve scheduled our Opening Doors programme to run alongside Yorkshire Trios this year, so we can offer development workshops for all the actors, writers and directors. We’ve included additional mentoring or adapted roles to suit the desired outcomes of certain creatives.
“The showcase of work will be performed in the York Theatre Royal Studio so we’ll be able to include more aesthetic decisions. And finally, we’ve reduced the number of commissions this time around so that we can increase the commission sum so that it’s more reflective of the work and energy each creative puts into it.”
Matt is delighted that the chosen artists are so diverse in representing York’s arts community in 2024. “As a company we really lead with who we are, and as an LGBTQ+ and disability-led company, we call to others who want to do the same, or want to be in those same spaces,” he says.
“Then the more that happens, the more others see themselves represented in both the industry and on stage, which then calls to more people, and so the process continues. So, it was really important to us that we had a real diversity across our trios, both in terms of identity and also experiences/stages in their career.”
The 2024 Yorkshire Trios – and a quartet
Kate Bramley: Co-directing Sarah Rumfitt’s Toast
Toast by Sarah Rumfitt
Performed by Nicola Holliday and directed by Kate Bramley and Connie Peel
AFTER giving birth, the midwife brings you toast; simple, medium cut, white Hovis that’s done a quick dip in the toaster, barely browned, overly buttered but the best thing Becky’s ever tasted. If only she knew what was coming…she’d have asked for the full loaf. Following a year-long struggle with post-natal depression, Becky and her son set off on their first walk together; they are going to the top of the hill; a place Becky would often walk alone before becoming “Mum”.
Livy Potter: Performing Paul Birch’s Running Up That Hill
Running Up That Hill by Paul Birch
Performed by Livy Potter and directed by Harri Marshall
ALEX is lost. Alex hates running but loves Kate Bush. They know all the facts about Kate Bush. Kate Bush drinks milk before recording and knows Lenny Henry. Alex is
running and Kate’s voice seems to help. Hill running is the worst and one (bastard) hill has them (almost) beat. This is the story of what Alex is running from and what they are running towards.
Prison is behind them as is their escape from a controlling relationship. Running up that hill is presently painful but it’s a different kind of pain from the past; besides, running up that hill might finally give Alex a clear view…
Harri Marshall: Directing Running Up That Hill
Love Letters Before Dawn by Yixia Jiang
Performed by Claire Morley and directed by Jacob Ward
A SOLDIER has been defending a battlefield from a hill for the past 100 days. Today he has given up on all chances to defend this place. All hopes seem lost.
However, the soldier keeps hold of his bravery and pride by remembering his fallen commander’s words: “We don’t persist because there is hope. It’s because of persisting, there shall be hope.”
Jacob Ward: Directing Yixia Jiang’s Love Letters Before Dawn
Anorak by Jules Risingham
Performed by Bailey Dowler and directed by Tempest Wisdom
THOMAS (no relation to The Tank Engine) loves trains. His whole life has been spent chasing trains, and always chasing after him was his partner, Charlie. Charlie did not like trains but loved Thomas. Thomas sits alone in his camping chair, on the top of his and Charlie’s favourite hill, looking down on the valley below, waiting for a train to pass that never seems to arrive.
With little to write about in his journal, he spends this time reflecting on his life with Charlie – and working out how to overcome his newfound grief. Thomas achieves a new understanding of grief, and how to keep living in the absence of our loved ones.
Grumpy farmer? In Yorkshire? Meet James Lewis-Knight’s Farmer Scrooge in Badapple Theatre Company’s Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol. Picture: Karl Andre
GREEN Hammerton company Badapple Theatre set off on their winter travels tomorrow with Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol, starring York actors James Lewis-Knight and Emily Chattle.
Billed as “classic Badapple: Dickens with a Yorkshire twist, puppets, songs and music by Jez Lowe and all the jokes we can handle at this time of year,” writer-director Kate Bramley’s new family show will play across Yorkshire as well as Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, County Durham and Oxfordshire.
Starting out at Tockwith Village Hall, near York, tomorrow at 7pm, Badapple’s tour van will take in 22 performances between December 1 and 30 as Bramley’s itinerant band of actors heads to venues on their Yorkshire doorstep and beyond with her comedy slant on Charles Dickens’s 180-year-old story, now set in and around Scrooge’s farm and bedroom in 1959.
“Have a good chuckle while the blustering, skin-flint farmer Ebeneezer Scrooge gets his comeuppance and is forced to see the error of his penny-pinching ways,” says Kate of a production that marks Badapple’s 25th anniversary of touring.
James will play Fred, Scrooge, Shep and Elvis, yes, Elvis; Emily’s multi-role playing will stretch to Ginger, Bert the feed man, Mrs Cratchitt, Niece (Josie), Marley, Belle, Mrs Feziweg, Mr Feziweg, assorted Cratchitts, Undertaker, Mrs Dilbert and Girl. (Please note, name spelling may diversify from other versions, whether Cratchit or Fezziwig).
Emily Chattle with the puppet of Mr Fezziwig in Badapple Theatre Company’s Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol. Picture: Karl Andre
“Full of local stories and carols, puppets and mayhem, and original songs by Sony Award-winner Jez Lowe, plus a whacking great dose of seasonal bonhomie, this is a winter warmer to put a smile on everyone’s face this Christmas.”
Don’t take only Kate’s word for it. Clare Granger, High Sheriff of North Yorkshire, is a Badapple devotee. “It’s wonderful to spend a joyous evening with Badapple Theatre Company in a small rural village hall,” she says. “Kate Bramley is absolutely fulfilling her ambition to bring the arts into the community and the uplifting effect on the audience of what the theatre company does is palpable.”
Badapple’s mission is to venture out to the smallest and hardest-to-reach village halls and community venues to bring professional theatre to all. “We all know that isolation and loneliness are major issues in our rural communities and that maintaining good mental health is proving more and more of a challenge for the general population,” says the High Sheriff.
“It is hard to overestimate the positive benefits of getting out of the house and attending a joyful, inexpensive, communal event in your own locality. Badapple Theatre Company is providing just this experience.”
This year, James has appeared in York company Next Door But One’s tour of Operation Hummingbird, Matthew Harper-Hardcastle’s “humorous and uplifting exploration of grief, loss and noticing just how far you’ve come”, while Emily did the milk rounds in Badapple’s tour of Eddie And The Gold Tops, Bramley’s comedy of a milkman turning into the cream of Sixties pop stars.
James Lewis-Knight and Emily Chattle in a scene from BadappleTheatre Company’s Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol. Picture: Karl Andre
Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol: Yorkshire dates
December 1: Tockwith Village Hall, 7pm. Box office: 01423 331304
December 2: Harpham & Lowthorpe Village Hall YO25 4QZ, 7.30pm. Box office: 07867 692616.
December 3: The Old Girls’ School, Sherburn in Elmet, LS25 6BL, 7pm. Box office: 01977 685178.
December 13: Bishop Monkton Village Hall, near Harrogate, HG3 3QG, 7.30pm. Box office: 01423 331304.
December 19: Green Hammerton Village Hall, near York, YO26 8AB, 7pm. Box office: 01423 331304.
December 20: Burton Fleming Village Hall, East Yorkshire, YO25 3LL, 6.30pm. Box
December 27: Sutton under Whitestonecliffe Village Hall, Hambleton, YO7 2PS, 4.30pm. Box office: 01423 331304.
December 29: East Cottingwith Village Hall, near York, YO42 2TL, 4pm. Box office: 07866 024009 or 07973 699145.
Emily Chattle with one of the puppets designed by Sam Edwards for Badapple’s Farmer Scrooge’s Christmas Carol. Picture: Karl Andre
Fiona Baistow’s Millie in Next Door But One’s She Was Walking Home
YORK community arts collective Next Door But One’s autumn tour has visited schools, colleges and the Theatre Royal already.
Next comes the university leg: a sold-out 7.45pm performance tomorrow at the University of York, followed by a 7.30pm finale at York St John University on October 25. Fewer than 20 tickets remain on sale at nextdoorbutone.co.uk. Hurry, hurry, book now.
Rachel Price’s testimonial theatre work was first presented as a walking audio tour around York city centre in 2021, then on tour last year, when suggestions that it should visit schools and colleges prompted this autumn’s itinerary.
This season’s performances follow the publication of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s report, revealing that more than half a million offences against women and girls were recorded in England and Wales between October 1 2021 and March 31 2022 and that violence against women and girls accounts for at least 15.8 per cent of all recorded crime.
Anna Johnston’s Cate
Next Door But One’s website carries the strapline Where Every Story Matters. In this instance, 33 stories from women of different ages living, working and studying in York. “Stories of fear, harassment, suspicion, disappointment, anger, but above all hope…to make sure the right voices are still being heard,” as NDB1’s tour flyer puts it.
From those countless journeys and real-life testimonies, Price has created a series of four monologues, told with the minimum of theatrical tools. Stark lighting; a couple chairs and a white box that can be folded in different way to serve as a seat, a table, a lectern. Sound effects too. That’s all that’s needed. Less is more.
The focus is on the words, always theatre’s greatest asset, and in turn on how they are delivered by Kate Veysey’s cast of Fiona Baistow, Anna Johnston, Mandy Newby and Ceridwen Smith, deputising for one night at York Theatre Royal Studio for Emma Liversidge-Smith, who will return for the university performances.
Mandy Newby’s Jackie
In the wake of statistics highlighting that one in two women feels unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home or in a busy public place, She Was Walking Home asks How Do We Keep Women Safe? Note the emphasis on “We”. All of us.
The post-show question-and-answer session revealed that one school had been averse to hosting the play for fear of boys feeling picked on. That school changed its mind and the show’s impact was such that the next lesson was immediately scrapped and replaced with discussions on the issues raised.
At one performance, some boys had laughed initially, even stamped their feet to mimic the footsteps of an approaching man, but that response was born out of a feeling of awkwardness, one that changed as the performance progressed and they realised the need to wise up to women’s experiences and how boys, as much as men, need to be “part of the change” that NDB1 is urging.
Baistow’s Millie is a girl, finishing a work shift, who misses her bus home and decides to risk walking down “Rape Lane”, the quickest route. Why does she do it, you ask? Put yourself in her shoes and ask again. By her harrowing journey’s end, it takes an act of kindness to help her out. What stops such acts being commonplace?
Ceridwen Smith: Stepping in to play lawyer Joanne for one performance only at York Theatre Royal Studio
Jonhnston’s Cate is a student on a night out, quick to leave after an unwanted chat-up, only to be followed by a creep who’s been doing that for a while. The police stop her, to tell her she is being followed. You might well be asking why didn’t they stop him instead? Everyone was asking that afterwards. As ever, the implication is that she is the one to blame. How she dresses. Her manner. Not the men, the pest and the predator. When will that change?
Mandy Newby’s Jackie is older, a mother, who finds herself being picked on and molested by a group of young lads on bicycles. She can’t face telling her daughter, such is her feeling of humiliation.
Urged by a friend, who subsequently sits beside her in the interview room, she goes to the police station; they give her the standard leaflets. Here’s where the work of the Kyra Women’s Project, the York charity that helps women to make positive change in their lives, is so important.
Smith’s Joanne is a lawyer, giving a talk on her experience of being sexually assaulted by two men working in tandem. Her recovery has been gradual, but now she has “joined the conversation”, encouraging women to seek the services of the likes of IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services).
Emma Liversidge-Smith: Resuming her role as lawyer Joanne at the University of York tomorrow and York St John University on October 25
Four shocking cautionary tales, told verbatim from York’s streets as theatre verité; not so much acting as matter of facting. What followed was the best reason for a Q&A: the instant need to be “part of the conversation”, men and women alike.
To quote the flyer once more: “The conversation continues. And the loudest voices call for self-defence classes, rape alarms, trackers and a dress code. The conversation needs to change. The voices of women need to be at the centre, but the responsibility and accountability lies elsewhere.”
That makes She Was Walking Home as important for men to experience as women sharing stories and seeking advice and support. Crossing the road at night, to avoid following a woman, would be a step in the right direction for a start.
Next Door But One’s poster for She Was Walking Home: Countless journeys, 33 real testimonies, 4 women, 1 call to action
Anna Johnston as Cate in Next Door But One’s She Was Walking Home. Picture: James Drury
WHEN York community arts collective Next Door But One first took She Was Walking Home on tour in 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) had just released data on safety in different public settings.
One in two women felt unsafe walking alone after dark in a quiet street near their home or in a busy public place, and two out of three women aged 16 to 34 had experienced one form of harassment in the previous 12 months.
Now, as NDB1 take their revived testimonial-based performance to schools, colleges and universities throughout York and North Yorkshire, as well as to York Theatre Royal Studio tonight (5/10/2023), the need for more conversations around women’s safety and the role we all play in it has been strengthened by a report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
It reveals that more than half a million offences against women and girls were recorded in England and Wales between October 1 2021 and March 31 2022 and that violence against women and girls accounts for at least 15.8 per cent of all recorded crime.
Director Kate Veysey in rehearsal for Next Door But One’s She Was Walking Home. Picture: James Drury
First produced as an audio walk around York city centre in 2021, She Was Walking Home is a series of monologues created by writer Rachel Price from the testimonies of women living, working and studying in York.
“This project was initially called into action by the female creatives and participants we work with, who were all having more and more conversations around their own safety after a number of attacks and murders reported in the media,” says director Kate Veysey.
“With each stage of development, it has been the community that has guided us: the audio walk was created from 33 testimonies of local women; the 2022 tour was produced through feedback from listeners who wished to bring their friends, colleagues and social groups to engage in the conversation.
“The resounding message from that audience was the want from parents for their children to see this, for teachers wanting their schools to witness, and young women wanting their male peers to come with them. So that’s what we are doing.”
Emma Liversidge-Smith’s Joanne in She Was Walking Home. Picture: James Drury
People think of York as a safe place to be, says NDB1 creative engagement manager El Stannage, “but as a woman I can tell you it isn’t”. “We collected documentary information both written and conversational, keeping that door open for information for about a month, and it came streaming in,” she says.
“We had plenty to work with, then collected our own thoughts and commissioned Rachel to put those stories together as one tapestry, telling stories of women at different stages of life, their different experiences, whether harassment or abuse, focusing on the impact it’s had on their their lives, the ripples it’s had.
“For the latest tour, we’ve stayed with the original piece of theatre but kept abreast with what’s been happening, and we’ve kept in touch too with IDAS [Independent Domestic Abuse Services] and the Kyra Women’s Project, the York charity that helps women to make positive change in their lives.”
This autumn’s performances in schools, colleges and universities will not only inform students of the lived experience of women in their own communities, but also empower them to make the change now and see the benefits in their own futures; understanding the impact of their actions, ways in which they could intervene, question their own thinking or those of their peers.
Mandy Newby’s Jackie. Picture: James Drury
El says: “We’re really excited to be working with schools [age 14 upwards], colleges and universities this time, after the feedback we got from last year’s public performances that we needed to do that.
“The young people we get to work with in our participation programmes are bright, forward thinking and actively seeking ways to play a part in the growing world around them, so for us it just makes sense to bring this conversation to them, as they are the next generation to make change.
“But also, real change can only happen when the full community listen up and play their part too. That’s why we’re hosting public performances in the evenings at the same schools, colleges and universities, so that parents, carers, siblings, friends, teachers and other local residents can join in the same vital conversation.”
Through the autumn tour of this all-female production, performed by a cast of Fiona Baistow, Anna Johnson, Emma Liversidge-Smith and Mandy Newby, the mission will be to amplify the voices of York women, while also prompting conversations around where responsibility and accountability lies for their safety.
Fiona Baistow’s Millie in a scene from She Was Walking Home. Picture: James Drury
“Since the original walk, listened to by almost 800 people, there have been further attacks and murders of women, and still the rhetoric seems to be skewed towards rape alarms, trackers, self-defence classes and dress codes being the solution,” says NDB1 artistic director Matthew Harper-Hardcastle. “We needed to continue and challenge this conversation. The invitation is to come and watch but also to think.”
One audience feedback quote on NDB1’s website is particularly illuminating. “I like to think I’m aware of these issues and as a man have been ultra-conscious that just being on the same street can heighten anxiety,” it reads.
“This performance made me cry, but it’s such an important way to foster change, I left feeling that if more men could see and engage with it, we might just be able to smash that ‘block of granite’.”
Next Door But One’s She Was Walking Home is on tour until October 27 with student performances complemented by public performances at York High School, Malton School, York College, Scarborough TEC, York Theatre Royal Studio tonight at 7.45pm, University of York, October 20 at 7.45pm and York St John University, October 25 at 7.30pm. Box office details: www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk
Bull: Headlining The Boatyard Festival at Bishopthorpe Marina today
SHAKESPEARE in gardens, music and magic by the riverside, an LGBTQ musical premiere and a riotous hen party on stage are among Charles Hutchinson’s eye-catchers for upcoming entertainment.
Festival of the week: The Boatyard Festival, The Boatyard, Bishopthorpe Marina, Ferry Lane, Bishopthorpe, York, today, 10am until late
THIS family-friendly music festival will be headlined by ebullient York band Bull. Look out too for Bonneville, Tymisha, London DJ Zee Hammer, Yorky Pud Street Band, The Plumber Drummer, City Snakes, Rum Doodle and Hutch.
Further attractions will be stilt walkers, a hula-hoop workshop, a giant bubble show, magic, face painting, fayre games, stalls, food and drink, with free admission for accompanied children. Box office: head to the-boatyard.co.uk/events/ for the QR code to book.
Four Wheel Drive director Alfie Howle and cast member Alison Gammon park up at the National Centre of Early Music for a garden of delights in A Midsummer Day’s Dream
Crazy chaos of the week: Four Wheel Drive presents A Midsummer Day’s Dream, National Centre for Early Music, York, today at 11am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm
FOUR Wheel Drive, producers of “off-road theatrical experiences” in York, invite children aged seven to 11 and their families to a musical, magical and mystical diurnal reimagining of William Shakespeare’s romcom in the NCEM gardens (or indoors if wet).
Four Athenians run away to the forest, only for the sylvan sprite Puck to make both the boys fall in love with the same girl while also helping his master play a trick on the fairy queen. Will all this crazy chaos have a happy ending? Anna Gallon and Alfie Howle’s interactive 45-minute adaptation will allow children to engage in the mischief-making Midsummer action, performed by Gallon, Katja Schiebeck and Esther Irving. Grab a boom-wacker and book tickets on 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Three in one: Esk Valley Theatre writer, director and actor Mark Stratton
Debut of the week: Esk Valley Theatre in Deals And Deceptions, Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, Whitby, until August 26
IN artistic director Mark Stratton’s first play for Esk Valley Theatre, Danny and Jen leave London and head to an isolated cottage in the North York Moors. City clashes with country, dark forces are at work and humorous situations arise.
“We may think we know the person we are married to, but do we?” asks Stratton, who is joined in the cast by Clare Darcy and Dominic Rye. “What someone chooses to show the world is not always who they are. If they trade in deals and deceptions, then a day of reckoning will surely come.” Box office: 01947 897587 or eskvalleytheatre.co.uk.
Is this the hen party from hell? Will best friends fall out in Bridesmaids Of Britain? Find out tomorrow night
Hen party comedy heads to hen party haven: Bridesmaids Of Britain, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow, 7pm
BILLED as “the girls’ night out to remember”, welcome to Diana Doherty’s Bridesmaids Of Britain. Becky is the overly loyal maid-of-honour whose life unravels as she leads best friend Sarah on a wild ride down the road to matrimony.
Things go awry, however, as competition between Becky and Tiffany – Sarah new BFF (best friend forever, obvs) – over who is the bride’s bestie threatens to upend the wedding planning that has been in the making since primary school. Be prepared for dance-offs, sing-offs and eventually shout-offs at the “hen do of the year”, held in a caravan. Will this wedding story have a happy ending, or will these best friends rip each other apart? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s Whizzer and Chris Mooney’s Marvin in rehearsal for Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ Falsettos, opening at the JoRoon Wednesday
York premiere of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Falsettos, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Wednesday to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee.
YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions has been granted an exclusive British licence by Concord Theatricals and composer/lyricist William Finn to stage Finn and James Lapine’s “very gay, very Jewish” musical Falsettos, thanks to the persistence of director Matthew Clare.
In its late-Seventies, early-Eighties American story, set against the backdrop of the rise of Aids, Marvin has left his wife Trina and son Jason to be with his male lover Whizzer, whereupon he struggles to keep his Jewish family together in the way he has idealised. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Pennine Suite: Topping Friday’s bill of York bands at The Crescent
York music bill of the week: Northern Radar presents Pennine Suite, Sun King, Everything After Midnight and The Rosemaries, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm to 11pm
PENNINE Suite play their biggest headline gig to date in an all-York line-up on a rare 2023 appearance in their home city. The five-piece draws inspiration from the alternative rock movements of the 1980s and 1990s, interlaced with shoegaze and pop melodies, typified by the singles Far and Scottish Snow. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Garden secrets: Which character will York Shakespeare Project veteran Frank Brogan play in Sonnets At The Bar? It’s all hush-hush until August 11
Bard convention: York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets At The Bar, Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre, Friday to August 19 (except August 14), 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm Saturday performances
YORK Shakespeare Project returns to the secret garden at Bar Convent for another season of Shakespeare sonnets, this time directed by Tony Froud. Reprising the familiar format, the show features a series of larger-than-life modern characters, each with a secret to reveal through a sonnet.
Inside writer Helen Wilson’s framework of the comings and goings of hotel staff and guests, the characters will be played by Diana Wyatt, Judith Ireland, Sarah Dixon, Frank Brogan, Maurice Crichton, Nigel Evans, Harold Mozley, Froud and Wilson. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ceridwen Smith in Next Door But One’s The Firework-Maker’s Daughter . Picture: James Drury
Talking elephants of the week: Next Door But One in The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, York Theatre Royal patio, August 12, 11am and 2pm
YORK theatre-makers Next Door But One’s adventurous storyteller travels to Lila’s Firework Festival in this intimate, inclusive, accessible and fun stage adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel, replete with talking elephants, silly kings and magical creatures.
As Lila voyages across lakes and over mountains, she faces her biggest fears and learns everything she needs to know to become the person she has always wanted to be. Makaton signs and symbols, puppetry and audience participation play their part in Ceridwen Smith’s performance. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Grace Petrie: Switching from folk musician to stand-up comedy act on tour in York, Leedsand Sheffield
Change of tack: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Grace Petrie: Butch Ado About Nothing, The Crescent, York, September 17, 7.30pm
FOLK singer, lesbian and checked-shirt-collector Grace Petrie has been incorrectly called “Sir” every day of her adult life. Now, after finally running out of subject matter for her “whiny songs”, she is putting down the guitar to work out why in her debut stand-up show, Butch Ado About Nothing, on her return to The Crescent.
Finding herself mired in an age of incessantly and increasingly fraught gender politics, the Norwich-based Leicester native explores what butch identity means in a world moving beyond labels, pondering where both that identity and she belong in the new frontline of queer liberation. Petrie also plays Old Woollen, Leeds, on August 31 (8pm) and The Leadmill, Sheffield, on September 10 (7.30pm). Box office: gracepetrie.com; York, thecrescentyork.com; Leeds, oldwoollen.co.uk; Sheffield, leadmill.co.uk.
The York St John University students who are running TakeOver Festival 2023 at York Theatre Royal this week
THE TakeOver Festival 2023 rules the roost at York Theatre Royal in a week-long theatre festival run by final-year York St John University students as they take their first leap into the entertainment industry.
The Theatre Royal is partnering with York St John to give students the opportunity to perform their own work on the main stage, as well as learn about key roles in the theatre.
Taking over the Theatre Royal all this week until Saturday, the students have booked York theatre companies Next Door But One, Out Of Character, Fladam and Hallmark Theatre to perform too, plus Pink Milk from London.
As part of their third-year assessment, 32 students have formed eight of their own theatre companies to showcase their talents: Compos Mentis, MOOT, Reconnect, Cordless, Chaos, Bridge Theatre, For Us By Us and Twisted Tales.
TakeOver enables third-year performance students to work as producers, production managers and front of house, in addition to marketing the festival on their social media platforms. The festival also works with the wider community, making theatre with children from York High School and sharing the joy of theatre with families.
This year’s event takes the theme of In Living Colour: Listen, Inspire, Act. “We aim to get people talking about what’s important, shedding colourful light on to meaningful issues,” says TakeOver 2023 producer Megan Price. “The festival will bring to light new possibilities and provide a platform that celebrates each other. TakeOver allows people to have a voice and share their creativity on a bigger platform.”
Cordless in rehearsal for 4th Round on May 26
David Richmond, senior performance lecturer at York St John University, says: “TakeOver is a fantastic opportunity for students to make that important first step to being professional theatre makers.
“It gives the Theatre Royal an opportunity to see what the next key developments in theatre will be – as this generation really is going to be doing things differently. For the audiences, it will give them an insight into the future of theatre, and on their own doorstep.”
Zoe Colven-Davies, from York Theatre Royal, adds: “It’s been wonderful to work with third-year performance students, to see them bring to York Theatre Royal stage their own work as well as the work of creators in York.”
Megan, 21, from Blackhall, County Durham, is studying on the acting course at York St John, where courses also run in Drama & Theatre, Drama & Dance and Drama, Education and Community.
“None of my family is creative,” she says. “But I got into amateur dramatics with Blackhall Drama Group, doing a pantomime every January and a summer showcase from the shows every June/July.
“I mainly perform, but after going away to university and having two years out from the shows, they’ve asked me for a wider input, now that I’m back,” she says.
Megan Price: Producer of TakeOver Festival 2023
Megan was selected by a combination of York Theatre Royal staff and York St John lecturers after pitching for the post of producer. Roles in production management, communications, outreach and front of house have been designated too.
“It’s a major part of the degree, with the course advertising that in your third year you will work with and perform at York Theatre Royal and will be assessed on running a festival and being involved in it too,” she says.
“For TakeOver 2023, we created the first draft of the festival programme, working with communications and production management to agree on certain things. Front of house need to know what will be going into the theatre; communications need to know what shows they will be promoting. The closer to the opening, the more collaborative it becomes.”
Why did Megan put herself forward for the top post? “I wanted to be the producer because it’s not something I’ve had much experience of doing, whereas with other roles, I have done that,” she says.
“I wanted to do something that would challenge me and provide me with new skills, in terms of financial budgeting and scheduling.
“The artistic vision comes into it too, but the theme of In Living Colour had already been chosen before I took up my post. Each group of performers from York St John had to pitch a theme for the festival, and the Theatre Royal then chose the theme on the basis of what fitted in best with previous years.”
Megan Price and her fellow Chaos cast members meeting again to rehearse the Macbeth response piece Female Rage
Megan and her fellow programmers wanted to create a festival that would be accessible to theatre companies in the north, giving them the chance to perform at the Theatre Royal, while “bringing to light themes that are hidden in the world”.
Plays range from Pink Milk, the one London company heading north, presenting Naughty’s frank account of growing up queer outside of a big city to Hallmark Theatre’s An Open Mind, a comedy drama about two autistic children trying to navigate the ups and downs of school and the education system.
Megan will not only be producing the festival but performing in it too in Chaos’s production of Female Rage on May 27 at 1pm in the York Theare Royal main house. “We can’t have an ordinary Shakespeare at TakeOver!” she says. “We’re basing our play around Macbeth, taking themes from Shakespeare’s play and expressing how they affect us as women in society,” she says.
“Presenting our play in a post-dramatic style, we’re looking at women that are so often overlooked. We feature not only Lady Macbeth, but also Lady Macduff and The Witches and Hecate, who we’ve made the central focus of our piece.”
In a nutshell, Female Rage shines a light on witches and womanly wisdom while intertwining Shakespearian themes with stories only women can tell. “We don’t play the characters but use them to channel our rage, with Hecate guiding the performance,” says Megan.
Summing up her involvement in TakeOver 2023, she says: “Not just performing but now doing the other side as well allows me to apply for jobs in the creative industry, like an assistant producer’s job at a film festival here in York,” she says.
“It’s been really helpful to have all that professional experience on hand, but at the same time York St John and York Theatre Royal have let us take the event into our own hands.”
For the full programme and tickets, head to yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
TakeOver Festival 2023: the programme
York musical comedy duo Fladam, alias Flo Poskitt and Adam Sowter: Presenting Green Fingers at TakeOver Festival 2023 on May 27 in the York Theatre Royal Studio
The Storyteller by Charlotte Tunks
May 22, 11am, York Theatre Royal upper foyer.
The Storyteller speaks the story of the eve of St Agnes. An adaptation of one of John Keats’s best poems.
The Wall by Josh Davies
May 22, 2pm; May 23, 11am, York Theatre Royal foyer.
Thirty to 45-minute musical performance, including renditions of songs from Pink Floyd’s album The Wall.
Operation Hummingbird by Next Door But One
May 23 and 24, 12 noon and 7pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Teenager Jimmy deals with his mum’s terminal illness diagnosis by diving into computer games. Through this virtual reality, he meets his future self and asks: will everything turn out OK?
Poignant, funny and uplifting, this two-hander by award-winning York company Next Door But One returns after a sell-out debut tour in 2021. Based on director Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s memoir, Operation Hummingbir dexplores grief, loss and the power of noticing just how far you have come.
Crafting Hope – Box Making Workshop
May 23, 1pm, York Theatre Royal foyer.
Do you ever feel like the world has spun into a wormhole of chaos, conflict and civil unrest? This workshop provides the opportunity to relax, retreat and join the quest of breathing hope back into humanity through the art of box-making. A brighter future starts with you, your words and your actions.
City Dance Trail
May 23, 2pm, starting at York St John University’s Creative Centre and journeying through the city.
Join the Dance Trail and experience the city in an entirely new way. Theatre and dance students from York St John University and guest performers from Mind The Gap share a series of site-specific dance performances across the city centre.
Follow the trail through York and watch original dance pieces that explore the promise of the unknown and the potential revelation of new-found realties in familiar and unfamiliar places. Watch out for an unexpected flash mob moment – or better still, join in!
Stepping Stones To Success – Workshop by Next Door But One
May23, 3pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Are you an emerging theatre practitioner? Thinking of ways to further your career, develop a business idea or kickstart a new project? Work alongside Next Door But One’s artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle as he goes through the lessons he has learned from founding and running a York theatre company for ten years. Participants will walk away with a plan to put their ideas into action.
Stories BetweenThe Lines by Reconnect
May 23, 4.30pm, York Theatre Royal Studio.
Stories Between The Lines is a TIE (theatre in education) performance that highlights the lives of four characters as they navigate the complexities of family life and teenage years. Through the lens of drama, the show explores the issues of concern for the characters and the possibilities for self-care, support, and intervention.
Reconnect discusses the characters’ concerns, then looks at the possibility of self-care, support and intervention. Suitable for 11+.
Dancing In Living Colour by York St John Dance Society
May 24, 1pm, York Theatre Royal upper foyer.
The university dance society offers both competitive and casual memberships to students. Its competition team has been placed first, second and third across various competitions this season. Team members have put together a showcase to celebrate the festival theme. “Come and enjoy Dancing In Living Colour,” they say.
Finding Your Voice As A Playwright – Workshop by Next Door But One
May 24, 3pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
DO you have a play in your head but are not sure how to put it on paper? This workshop will go through several techniques to help you breathe new colour into your creative idea. Tools to help overcome writer’s block, structure your story and understand what you want to say and how you want to say it.
Compos Mentis: Exploring men’s mental health in Business Unfinished
Business Unfinished by Compos Mentis
May 25, 2pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Compos Mentis explore men’s mental health through post-traumatic theatre in a cabaret that discusses their understanding of the issue along with the stereotypes of a working men’s club. Contains strong language and sexual references; suitable for age 12+.
The Modern Maidens by Twisted Tales
May 25, 3.30pm , York Theatre Royal main house.
Twisted Tales interweave women’s issues with classic fairy tales to look at themes of jealousy, revenge, innocence and betrayal, with a passion for going against social norms and showing that women can be however they want to be. Suitable for age 16+.
Shattered by Out Of Character
May 25, 7pm, York Theatre Royal Studio.
Written by Paul Birch, performed by York company Out Of Character, directed by Kate Veysey and Jane Allanach.
The world has broken. Its colours have drained away. A community is splintered and all seems lost. But in the cracks, and amid the broken pieces, something strange is happening. Something that disturbs, unsettles and surprises.
Welcome to Shattered, a mysterious show where, in the midst of a sinister and impossible fog, things are about to become clear. Suitable for all ages.
Express Your Colours Within – Movement Workshop for Adults
May 26, 11am, York Theatre Royal Studio.
This movement-based workshop invites participants to engage in ways of moving that normally they would not do. Scarves, ribbons and coloured materials will help to create visually appealing work in a workshop run by performing arts and dance students.
4th Round by Cordless Theatre
May 26, 2pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Cordless Theatre present a collection of playful vignettes inspired by the work of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. Suitable for all ages.
Inside Outside by Bridge Theatre
May 26, 2.45pm, York Theatre Royal Studio.
How do we understand loss? Bridge Theatre show their experience of loss through movement and verbatim text. Suitable for age 12+.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand by MOOT
May 26, 3.30pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
A fun and physical devised piece that explores the challenges of connecting to others. Suitable for all ages.
Open Mic Nights
May 26 and 27, 6pm, York Theatre Royal foyer.
Naughty by Pink Milk
May 26, 7.45pm, York Theatre Royal Studio.
Days after Andrew ends his seven-year relationship with college sweetheart Jake, he is messaged out of the blue by a former “friend”. This unwelcome advance triggers an emotional spiral as Andrew recounts his unstable first steps into the world of gay sex and queer identity, under the increasingly imposing guidance of Kevin, a teacher at his drama academy.
Naughty provides a frank account of growing up queer outside of a big city. The piece was written to examine the common lack of safe mentorship for LGBTQ+ youth and the over-sexualisation of queer relationships. First performed at Camden Fringe in 2021, Naughty toured in 2022. Suitable for age 11+.
Female Rage by Chaos
May 27, 1pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Chaos wants to take a closer look at the women that are so often overlooked. Female Rage shines a light on witches and womanly wisdom as they intertwine Shakespearian themes with stories only women can tell. Suitable for age 12+.
Green Fingers by Fladam
May 27, 3pm, York Theatre Royal Studio
York musical comedy duo Fladam – Flo Poskitt and Adam Sowter – are back with a deliciously Roald Dahl-style family treat. Did you ever hear the tale of Green Fingers? A boy born with hands that turn all he touches a shocking shade of green! But is he really as wicked as people say? All will be revealed in this work-in-progress performance, where audience feedback will be welcomed and encouraged afterwards. Suitable for all ages.
36DDD by For Us By Us
May 27, 3.30pm, York Theatre Royal main house.
Inspired by playwright Tim Firth’s Neville’s Island, For Us By Us head out on a girls’ trip gone wrong. After surrendering their phones in a time-locked box, they must surrender themselves to the bitter wilderness as they navigate their fears and secrets.
Containing strong language and sexual references, this comedy-thriller will see the characters bond under extreme circumstances. Suitable for ages 16+.
An Open Mind by Hallmark Theatre
May 27, 7.30pm, York Theatre Royal Studio.
A new comedy drama from Hallmark Theatre about two autistic children trying to navigate the ups and downs of school and the education system. Suitable for 15+
Listen, Inspire, Act – Zentangle Workshop
Available all week, York Theatre Royal foyer.
The Zentangle art form allows creativity and mindfulness through a series of repetitive patterns that are drawn into a starting point of a scribble to produce a unique artwork. This workshop encourages conversation in the community. This activity focuses the mind and is useful in relieving stress and allowing unpressured conversations to happen while in the act of doing.
David Lomond, back, and James Lewis-Knight in Next Door But One’s Operation Hummingbird: four performances at York Theatre Royal
Next Door But One chief executive officer and artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle directing a rehearsal for Operation Hummingbird
YORK community arts collective Next Door But One are taking part in the 2023 TakeOver Festival at York Theatre Royal next week, performing a revival of Operation Hummingbird.
NDB1 premiered artistic director Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s one-act two-hander to sold-out audiences in the socially distanced summer of 2021. Now, buoyed by being among 984 arts organisations to be granted National Portfolio (NPO) status by Arts Council England and winning the award for Resilience and Innovation at the 2023 Visit York Tourism Awards, they have launched their new programme.
“It’s quite apt that our first touring production as an NPO is Operation Hummingbird,” says Matt. “‘We’ve spent ten years working hard, dreaming big and forging fruitful partnerships. That’s how we got here. Now we’re looking into the future and are so excited for what the next three years hold. A reflective, hopeful story about looking back and looking ahead feels perfect for now.”
Already this month NDB1 have staged Operation Hummingbird in library performances York Explore, Haxby Explore, Clifton Explore, Tang Hall Explore and Acomb Explore, from May 9 to 12, and now they are heading to the theatre and arts centre circuit.
Midday and 7pm performances on May 23 and 24 on York Theatre Royal’s main stage will be followed by Pocklington Arts Centre on May 25 and Helmsley Arts Centre on June 2, both at 7.30pm.
David Lomond, back, and James Lewis-Knight in Next Door But One’s 2023 tour of Operation Hummingbird
“I realised it could work as a main-house piece when I watched Pilot Theatre’s Run Rebel, when they had sold only the stalls, but there was something nice about playing a performance to the stalls,” says Matt. “We’ll make it intimate by using only the front half of the stage, working with a new lighting designer, Abi Turner, from London, who has designed previously for the Donmar Warehouse.”
Based on his own memoir of living with loss, Matt’s two-hander tells the story of teenager Jimmy, who is dealing with his mum’s terminal diagnosis by diving into computer games. Through this virtual reality, he meets his future self and asks: will everything turn out OK?
“Operation Hummingbird is a humorous and uplifting exploration of grief, loss and noticing just how far you’ve come,” says Matt, whose cast features NDB1 associate artist James Lewis-Knight, returning in the role of Jimmy, and Scarborough actor David Lomond, joining the company for the first time to play James, the future version of Jimmy, 35 more years on the clock.
“For me, the concept is: this play is a really specific look at terminal illness, death and bereavement, but the narrative is universal. If we could fast-forward time and then be able to go back, older and wise, to stop our younger self by passing on advice. We’ve all had those questions that our older selves would like to have been able to give the answer to our younger selves.”
The two-hander format is ideal, suggests Matt. “After Covid, people are wanting shorter shows – this one is only 50 minutes – where you don’t have to travel far to see it and you could even see it at lunchtime if you went to a library performance.
James Lewis-Knight’s Jimmy in a scene from the 2021 premiere of Matt Harper-Hardcastle’s Operation Hummingbird. He returns for the new production
“We’ve brought Operation Hummingbird back after we had brilliant feedback from the first run, when we had only just come out of Covid restrictions and so only small, socially distanced audiences were allowed.
“For the 2023 revival, we decided we’d go to the satellite Explore York libraries we didn’t play before. Now we’ve been able to pick up the project and say, ‘we know it works but what’s the full iteration?’.
“That means also performing it on the Theatre Royal main stage and taking it to Pocklington and Helmsley. It’s actually our first ever show at the Theatre Royal because we’ve never looked into doing one there before, as the heart of our work is taking it to the community, places on people’s doorsteps, such as libraries, community centres and the Camphill Village Trust (with our show The Firework-Maker’s Daughter).”
Matt continues: “It feels like a significant moment of growth for us. We’re known to the communities we engage with, like the Snappy Trust and York Carers Centre, who appreciate our values, and this revival is an introductory chance for us to say, ‘if you don’t know our work, this is what we do’.
“I hope I have turned a story that started from a very personal place into something that we can all relate to,” says writer-director Matt Harper-Hardcastle
“One of the first pieces of feedback we had was someone saying, ‘I can’t believe how much you can tell in a story with so little. We’re the opposite of doing big-scale theatre productions. It’s still a big story, about death and bereavement, and for me, as a director, the main thing has to be the story.
“You could detract from it with a big set and a light show, so we tell a story with three boxes, a few props and two actors and no blackouts of the auditorium. The focus is on the story.”
Matt concludes: “There’s something in this show for everyone. I hope I have turned a story that started from a very personal place – with the sudden death of my mum in 2016 – into something that we can all relate to. I know that audiences in 2021 left entertained and reflective about their own life. I hope we can achieve the same this time, but reach an even bigger audience across the region.”
Tickets for all venues can be booked at www.nextdoorbutone.co.uk.Also: York Theatre Royal, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
