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REVIEW: Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 5

On a highway to hell: Freida Nipples’ nun in The Exhibitionists

THE Old Paint Shop season of burlesque, comedy, improv, jazz, folk and more in York’s newest cabaret nightspot is under way in the York Theatre Royal Studio.

So named in a nod to the Studio’s former status as the theatre workshop, the new venture is the brainchild of chief executive Paul Crewes, who took pleasure in a bustling Saturday night, where the American coming-of-age tale Little Women was playing in the main house as not-so-little women and men formed the first Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists bill next door.

A buoyant full house, gathered around tables beneath a sky of lampshades, two mirror balls and The Old Paint Shop neon sign, greeted York queen of burlesque Freida’s parade of fabulous artistes from around the UK.

First, here’s your saucy host in high heels and rhinestones, Leicester’s Deeva D, international Neo Burlesque/Bearlesque performer, go-go dancer, compere and co-founder of Boudoir. Queer, South Asian and Hindu to boot. Hair aglow, like an angel in an Italian Renaissance painting. Impromptu singer too, as he filled a temporary black hole with a karaoke-style singalong Spirit In The Sky.

The black-box Studio makes for a compact cabaret locale. Performers are within touching distance, but this is a “Look, but don’t touch” joint, rightly so. And no flash. Flesh, yes, of course, but flash, no, if you must insist on taking out your distracting phone camera.

The Exhibitionists gather on stage at the close of the first night of The Old Paint Shop: left to right, compere Deeva D, promoter, producer and performer Freida Nipples, stage manager Trixie Blue, Ebony Silk, Kiki Lovechild and Lady Wildflower

Acts enter either by swishing through the cabaret crowd, like a boxer’s ring walk, or through a black door, halfway up the back wall, and down a metallic stairwell, take your pick.

Here come The Exhibitionists, one by one, one act each per half: Ebony Silk, full of circular motions at every turn; northern burlesque icon and Hebden Bridge festival founder Lady Wildflower; then clown-faced and skilled “professional idiot” Kiki Lovechild (aka Jack Smart), with audience participation to the max in Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse Of The Heart.

Totally eclipsing everything else? Not so. Freida Nipples emerges in a sparkling nun’s habit to the rallying call of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell. Line by line, garment removal by garment removal, she will reveal the devil inside. 6, 6, 6 placed you know where, and a tail, likewise, at the back. Nun better to conclude the first half.

Post-interval, Deeva D re-emerges as the first sighting of Santa Claus in 2024; his fancy-dress frippery will never last until Christmas, and sure enough the red threads don’t survive even five minutes here.

Ebony Silk throws more shapes; Freida pops balloons at bathtime; Kiki turns into a puppeteer with strangely hot chanteuse Jessica Blue, all topped off by Lady Wildflower doing her wild thing, spinning her titillating tassles to eye-popping effect in a catherine wheel blur.

The Exhibitionists’ roster of performance artistes – named in honour of York Theatre Royal’s proximity to Exhibition Square – will return for a Hallowe’en Special on October 26 when Freida Nipples presents more burlesque, drag and cabaret acts with the promise of the three Gs: glamour, gags and giggles. Both the 6pm and 9pm performances have sold out already, the bare cheek of it.

What’s coming up at The Old Paint Shop?

Not Gonna Lie: Fool(ish) Improv’s night of “Unbelievable Comedy” in The Old Paint Shop

October 10, Fool(ish) Improv present Not Gonna Lie

THE message from Paul Birch and co’s York comedy troupe Fool(ish) Improv is: “Come confess and unburden yourselves of some silly secrets, tales of the office and childhood memories and we will shape them into surreal sketches and sensational scenes.”

Not so much Who’s Line Is It Anyway as Who’s Lie Is It anyway, these North Yorkshire improvisers, trained by Chicago’s best, promise a playful night of joy, nonsense and completely making things up.

Saxophonist Brendan Duffy

October 11, The Brendan Duffy Quartet

SAXOPHONIST and vocalist Brendan Duffy is joined by Tom Townsend on drums, Christian Topman on double bass and Karl Mullen, “the hardest-working pianist in York”, on upright piano for an eclectic and exciting cabaret night of jazz through the ages. Everything from Louis Armstrong and singalong fun to John Coltrane and Charles Mingus.

October 12, Jess Gardham, cancelled.

AWARD-WINNING York blues singer-songwriter and musical theatre actress Jess Gardham’s show has been scuppered by ill health.

Debs Newbold in Dauntless – Grace O’Malley, Pirate Queen

October 17, Dauntless – Grace O’Malley, Pirate Queen

IN a night of performance storytelling by Debs Newbold, presented by the Crick Crack Club, she gleefully delivers the boisterous, remarkable and inspirational story of her heroine: Grainne ni Mhaille (Grace O’Malley), legendary Irish clan chief and queen of the sea.

Stowing away aboard her father’s ship aged eight, Grace became a 16th century force of nature:  a multilingual, seafaring weapons expert, leader of 2,000 men, rebel, politician, kingmaker and slayer, prodigious lover, avenging hero and notorious pirate.

From the west of Ireland to the court of Elizabeth I, from wild youth to even wilder old age, Dauntless is an epic celebration of uproarious storytelling, high drama and one fascinating 16th century feminist.

Bay Bryan in The Meadow. Picture: Brendan Ashmore

October 19, Bay Bryan: The Meadow

AS heard on BBC 2’s The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe, Bay Bryan’s music is accessible yet complex with a philosophical edge akin to 1970s’ Labi Siffre. Existential in nature, The Meadow is heavily influenced by Bryan’s upbringing in the Rockies of Colorado. In performance, Bryan draws on skills as an actor and storyteller.

The Not So Ugly Sisters, a theatre show for which Bryan co-composed songs, was named in the Guardian as one of the Top 25 shows to book for Christmas 2021. The short film Egg Party, with music scored by Bryan, won the Audience Choice awards at both the Coven and Cinequest Film Festivals that year. Acting credits include The Gifting (Leeds, 2023) and Napoleon (Apple TV).

Hyde Family Jam, fronted by Will Dreyfus, at The Old Paint Shop

October 24, Hyde Family Jam

SINCE 2014, this York band has appeared in many forms, to delight and entertain on the streets, in clubs, castles, tipis, tapas bars, stately homes and even on film sets. This October they finally set foot in York Theatre Royal, where Will Dreyfus will be on front man duty. Prepare for a fusion of irreverent covers, folk instruments and punk energy in a set of pop bangers that adds up to a “one-of-a-kind musical journey”.

Pete Selwood. Stand-up’s debut show. Picture: Andy Hollingworth

October 25, Pete Selwood: Uninspiring

UNINSPIRING is the debut show from stand-up comedian Pete Selwood (as seen on Comedy Central Live and The Emily Atack Show), spotlighting the pitfalls of being a disabled man coming to terms with his limitations after becoming a parent. Last seen at York Theatre Royal supporting Guz Khan, he is a regular tour support for Jack Carroll.

October 26, Freida Nipples presents…The Exhibitionists, Hallowe’en Special, 6pm and 9pm, both sold out.

All shows start at 8pm except Freida Nipples’ Hallowe’en Special. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

York Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes on setting up The Old Paint Shop

York Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

“THE idea is to turn the Studio into a cabaret space, The Old Paint Shop, twice a year for three or four-week sessions of one-night shows with a range of acts from York and from further afield, hosted by the Theatre Royal, presenting music, theatre, burlesque and stand-up comedy.

“I did something similar in Los Angeles and it became so popular that people were contacting me to perform in it.”

Did you know?

THE inaugural Old Paint Shop season is dedicated to Terry Bounds, who worked as stage carpenter at York Theatre Royal for more than 30 years before retiring in 2013.

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Resurgent London City Ballet returns to York Theatre Royal after 30 years with Cira Robinson in role of Eve on Sept 6 & 7

Cira Robinson in rehearsal for her role as Eve in London City Ballet’s Resurgence

LONDON City Ballet is touring again after a 30-year break, returning York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday on the aptly named Resurgence tour.

Heading to York as part of Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes’s drive to bring more dance to the city, the revived touring company will present works by acclaimed British choreographers, under the direction of artistic director Christopher Marney, former principal dancer at New Adventures and director of the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company of Chicago.

After Kenneth MacMillan’s 1972 one-act ballet Ballade, unseen in Europe for more than 50 years, Ashley Page’s Larina Waltz on its 30th anniversary, and the premiere of Arielle Smith’s Five Dances, the programme will close with Marney’s full company work Eve, premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2022.

Taking the lead role in Eve will be Cira (pronounced Cheera) Robinson, the former Ballet Black luminary, who has renewed creative acquaintance with Marney after he choreographed her Lady Macbeth in Fabula Collective’s Human Dancing in 2020 at the New National Theatre in Tokyo and first appearing as Eve in the 2022 premiere.

“Chris let me know, maybe at the end of 2022, that he had the idea of creating a small company to play small-scale theatres, touring with just a couple of chairs and some lights, which is pretty much all you need, and it’s important to go to these theatres because not everyone can afford to go to London or Birmingham,” she says.

Marney spent two years rebuilding London City Ballet with insights from its early pioneers, selecting works for the 2024 international tour that pays homage to the company’s roots in the form of rarely seen archival footage.

“The work is child-friendly too, and everyone likes a bit of nostalgia, don’t they. York Theatre Royal is the perfect place for that.”

Cira speaks from experience, having performed there regularly with Ballet Black since 2012. “It’s like a third home to me,” she says. “I love the Theatre Royal and the city has such a historic feel, a quaint villagey feel. I don’t know if the stage is raked any more…”

…Be assured, Cira, that notoriously steep rake has gone! She smiles at that revelation but is always happy to adapt to whatever a stage demands. “For this tour, there are only 12 of us in the company touring to smaller theatres, and you just get on with it. As long as there are dressing rooms, toilets and wings, we’re ready to go!”

Describing the role of Eve, Cira draws breath, then says: “Wow! OK, OK, she’s the first woman in the world and basically this dance tells that story. She’s in this world that’s completely new, seeing birds and nature for the first time, and she’s obviously innocent.

“When she sees the Serpent, she experiences this feeling, I would say lust. The way Chris has choreographed it, one dancer (Arthur Wille) switches between the Serpent and the Man, which adds another layer.

“Like the touch of a hand. ‘What is this,’ she thinks. ‘Is it right? Is it wrong?  What is it doing to me?’. There’s a battle going on between innocence and intrigue.”

Cira thrives on working with Marney. “Chris is great because he knows what he wants but is open to the dancer’s artistry after building the first floor, especially with new pieces. In my dancing I try to be as honest as possible. I judge that honesty on how aware I am of things around me, taking Cira away and diving into the character of Eve, feeling like I’m in this world as the only woman on stage, the only woman in the world.”

Auditioned by Ballet Black in 2007, Cira left the United States for the United Kingdom in 2008, beginning a long association with the London company until retiring in December 2022, taking up the post of director of Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, who bring hundreds of young ballet students to Yorkshire each summer.

Now she returns to the stage for London City Ballet’s renaissance. “I’ve danced since I was eight. My first love of dancing was definitely its sense of expression without words. I already expressed myself enough in words, but now I could do it with joy without having to say anything,” she says.

“I always had a sense of rhythm and movement, and you learn that at the beginning it’s about repetition. I still teach at junior school, where they’ll say, ‘I want to do gymnastics’ or ‘I want to play football, but once they get past that, they find that repetition is vital – and it still is.

“I just fell in love with dancing, with my teacher saying, ‘you moved your arm beautifully’. I thought, ‘if I can do that, maybe I can get praise for more movement’.

 “Dancing is a love affair for me and it’s been the most constant thing in my life.”

London City Ballet, Resurgence, York Theatre Royal, September 6, 7.30pm, and September 7, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Copyright of The Press, York

Making her pointe: Additional questions for Cira Robinson

What are your recollections of arriving in London to join Ballet Black?

“I auditioned in 2007, and that was the first time I got my passport. Prior to that I danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem, surrounded by dancers of colour.

“When I came here to dance with Ballet Black, I knew they catered for black and brown dancers, when there was a lack of opportunity for those dancers elsewhere. Cassa Pancho [company founder and artistic director] made a point of that.

“I had this safety of Ballet Black having people who looked like me, and I realised how important the representation of colour was, and that has grown since then.”

How did you come to work with Freed of London on creating the first brown and bronze pointe shoe for the celebrated shoemakers?

“There is the skill of ‘pancaking’, to make a pointe shoe match your skin colour, and even white dancers have to do this. I had to do it for many years, and it was something passed down as a ritual, where you’re putting make-up foundation on the pointe-shoe satin.

“You apply it in a thin layer, making the shoe softer, and while the colour would look great, after a rehearsal or two, the shoes would start to dye, and those shoes are not cheap to replace.

“I’m a Freed of London shoe wearer and have been for years. There were these swatches of fabric, and I asked, ‘could I have a pointe shoe made of that?’, and though the initial reaction was they didn’t think it was possible, I went round six or eight fabric shops, and I could only find dark or light colours, but my friend said, ‘let’s try two more’, and in the next one I found the perfect colours.”

“The next day I went into Ballet Black and told Cassa Pancho about it, who said, ‘that’s great, but you shouldn’t be doing that. I’ll do it’!”

And so, Freed of London’s brown and bronze point shoes were born. “It’s been great. Lessening the time to prepare a show, and the feedback has been phenomenal.

“That’s the thing. Once someone starts something, it forces everyone to get into gear because dancers come in many shapes and colours.”

How do you retain your physical condition through all these years of dancing?

“It’s sheer will, but there are going to be injuries, there are going to be niggles, because it’s unnatural turning out our legs, and with that, our bones and muscles take a beating. As much asdancing is my force for existing, there needs to be time for balancing the things you do.

“I’ve had shin splints and stress fractures, and with dancers our pain threshold is a bit different. We can take more pain, but sometimes you have to say, ‘hold on, I need a break, so I can come back stronger’.”

How did the chance to perform with grime star Stormzy on the main stage at Glastonbury emerge?

“Specifically through Ballet Back. Maybe Cassa followed Stormzy on Instagram. The fact that Freed of London’s brown pointe shoes had come out was something to highlight, and Stormzy made a point of wanting to highlight ballet dancers of colour dancing in those shoes and loving it.

“It was over in seconds! I’ve danced in front of big audiences, but this was like nothing I’d experienced before. The crowd went on for miles and miles.”

Describe your experience of playing Lady Macbeth in Japan under the shadow of Covid.

“It came about through Yukiko Tsukamoto. We were friends and she’d started this small performing group [Fabula Collective] and wanted me to perform as Lady Macbeth, with Chris Marney directing.

“That was in 2021. I’d never been to Japan before. We had to quarantine for 14 days, then had five days out for maybe two performances. There were just three of us in the cast, with me playing Lady Macbeth going mad, seeing the dagger before her, seeing all these hands coming out of pockets.

“It was really interesting, showing her quick rise and drastic fall in 20 minutes, and then ultimately dying, giving so much information in that short time in Chris’s choreography.”

How did you feel about leaving Ballet Black?

“It wasn’t a difficult decision because it was something I was preparing for, after 14 years with that company, wanting to step out and explore other opportunities…and that’s when I joined Yorkshire Ballet Seminars.

“I’d come up in teach the summer seminars at Askham Bryan, at the farm – I remember it was smelly! – and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed teaching. It’s not a normal vocational school, it’s a summer intensive, residential seminar where the children are able to run around the fields.

“In 2021, I ended up getting Covid two days before I was due to teach there again, and that year Iain Mackay let me know he was retiring as the director and said I should apply. I didn’t think I was ready to be director and hadn’t thought about leaving Ballet Black yet, but I did go to a couple of meeting, thought I didn’t get the job.

“I thought, ‘OK, I’ll continue my freelance life’ and then one day I was in Derby, and the girl in front of me in the dance class broke her ankle and you think ‘that could have been me’. When I got back to the dressing room, there was a missed call from Iain [Mackay] saying the person they had chosen hadn’t worked out.

“I played it in my mind for 24 hours, thinking about  that broken ankle, and I decided I should take the director’s job. My last show with Ballet Black was on December 5 2022 and I started the directorship on the 12th…but I was also pregnant!

“Retirement. New job.  Baby. I’d been learning the ropes and then took maternity leave and started back in August 2023, still picking up skills. All those things I didn’t study for.

“Yorkshire Ballet Seminars have been held at Ashville College, in Harrogate, since 2021 and it’s been an amazing, insightful experience being the director since 2022. It’s not for the faint-hearted but I love what I do as a teacher, and the future of young dancers in this country means a lot to me, being impactful that way, especially with Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. The sessions are serious but the dancers can also be a kid there, finding their individuality.

Cira Robinson: the back story

BORN in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, where she began dancing at the age of eight.

After graduating from the School for Creative and Performing Arts in 2004, she moved to New City as an apprentice with the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble.

After a few months, she became a full member, dancing many works from the DTH repertoire under the guidance of Arthur Mitchell.

In 2008, she joined Ballet Black in London, where she created many roles with numerous choreographers from around the world, such as Liam Scarlett, Richard Alston, Antonia Franceschi, Christopher Hampton, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Christopher Marney and Gregory Maqoma, in her 14 years with the company.

Nominated in 2013 for Outstanding Classical Female at Critics Circle National Dance Awards, then Best Female Dancer nominee in 2021 awards.

In 2017, Cira worked with Freed of London and Ballet Black to create the first brown and bronze pointe shoe for the shoemakers.

In 2019, she danced on Glastonbury Pyramid stage with headline act Stormzy.

Teacher for Ballet Black Junior Ballet School and Yorkshire Ballet Summer Seminars and at open classes throughout UK.

Joined Fabula Collective in 2021 as guest artist in lead role of Lady Macbeth in Human Dancing, choreographed by Christopher Marney at New National Theatre, Tokyo, Japan.

Premiered lead role in Christopher Marney’s Eve at Sadler’s Wells, London, in September 2022. Won award for Best Soloist in Dance Production at Black British Theatre Awards.

Since retiring from Ballet Black in December 2022, Cira has become director of the charitable organisation Yorkshire Ballet Seminars.

In 2024, she returns to the stage as Eve in London City Ballet tour of Resurgence.

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Chief excutive Paul Crewes reveals vision for York Theatre Royal future in new season

York Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

ONCE the York Theatre Royal packed away the big top as the circus-themed Around The World In 80 Days-ish concluded its globe-trotting travels last Saturday, attention could turn to the autumn and winter season.

At its core will be two in-house productions: Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster’s staging of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age story Little Women, from September 21 to October 12, and the year-ending pantomime Aladdin, co-produced by the Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions, from December 3 to January 5.

Presented in association with “silent partner” Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Little Women is adapted by Anna Marie Casey in a new look at the story of headstrong Jo and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy growing up in New England during the American Civil War.

Aladdin reunites regular dame Robin Simpson and baddie Paul Hawkyard, who returns after a year’s absence to restore a partnership last seen as Mrs Smee and Captain Hook in All New Adventures Of Peter Pan. Joining them will be CBeebies star Evie Pickerill as Spirit Of The Ring and BBC Let It Shine winner Sario Solomon in the title role.

“What we’re trying to do here is look to increase the work we produce ourselves, which has become smaller for reasons such as Covid,” says chief executive officer Paul Crewes. “We have to re-establish ourselves as a producing theatre that presents great touring work as well.”

Add Around The World In 80 Days-ish to the home-grown list, and Paul’s vision for the future is taking shape. “I want our in-house productions to run for more than ten days. That’s risky but unless you start doing it, you don’t build an audience,” he says.

“Then you think, ‘what work do I want to put around those shows?’, ‘how do we balance and support that work?’, and one of the things I want to do is build a programme of really high-quality dance shows. That’s why we have London City Ballet coming back for the first time in nearly 30 years as part of their re-launch.”

On September 6 and 7, London City Ballet will perform a revival of Kenneth Macmillan’s 1972 one-act ballet Ballade, not seen in Europe for more than 50 years, Arielle Smith’s premiere of Five Dances and artistic director Christopher Marney’s 2022 work Eve.

“We’re also delighted to have Company Wayne McGregor performing Autobiography (V102 and V103) on October 25 and 26,” says Paul. “Wayne McGregor is one of the top choreographers in the world; he’s just been knighted and he’s running the dance programme for the Venice Biennale 2024. That’s some statement about the quality we’re trying to establish here.”

Genetic codes, AI and choreography merge in this McGregor work that re-imagines and remakes itself anew for every performance as “artificial intelligence and instinct converge in creative authorship”..

Pride And Prejudice* (*Sort Of): Not sort of, but definitely, on stage at York Theatre Royal from November 4 to 9. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovicast

Looking further ahead, the Theatre Royal will welcome Jasmin Vardimon: Now, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her dance theatre company, on February 8 next year. “This will be the company’s first time in York,” says Paul.

In addition to Little Women, the autumn’s classic literary focus will continue with Newcastle Theatre Royal’s Olivier Award-winning Pride And Prejudice* (*Sort Of), by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen, from November 4 to 9. Billed as a unique and audacious retelling of Austen’s iconic love story”, in a nutshell, “it’s the 1800s, it’s party time. Let the ruthless matchmaking begin”.

“I’ve known the producer, David Pugh, for a long time, and it’s good to take shows from the West End and bring them here,” says Paul.

On a literary bent too, crime writer Ian Rankin’s detective Rebus treads the boards in a new play, Rebus: A Game Called Malice, from October 15 to 19, with Glasgow-born Gray O’Brien, last seen in York as the boorish, bigoted Juror 10 in Twelve Angry Men at the Grand Opera House in May, taking the role of John Rebus.

Rankin, who will attend a post-show discussion on October 18, has co-written the play with Simon Reade, set at a stately home dinner party where guests are required by the hostess to play a murder mystery game she has thought up. “It’s well timed after the new TV series, and having Ian Rankin at the discussion is a bit of a coup too,” says Paul.

Olivier Award winner Sally Cookson directs the Bristol Old Vic’s innovative production of Wonder Boy, Ross Willis’s “heartwarming and inspiring story about the power of communication packed with playful humour, dazzling visuals and thrilling original music”. Look out for live creative captioning on stage throughout from October 29 to November2. “Sally has a fantastic track record at Bristol and the National Theatre, and this piece just looks really, really exciting,” says Paul.

Among the one-nighter highlights are two Simons: An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, on September 10, wherein the Olivier Award-winning actor delves into his life and career to celebrate his memoir, A Piece Of Work, and An Evening With Simon Armitage & LYR, on January 24, featuring poetry and live performance by the Poet Laureate and his band.

“We just grabbed at the chance to put on Simon Russell Beale’s show when it was offered,” says Paul. “I’m not a great fan of actors standing on stage talking about themselves, but if it’s Simon Russell Beale – or Ian McKellen – then why not!”

Full details of the new season can be found at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, including the Theatre Royal Studio taking on a new guise from October as a cabaret club after a makeover and name change to The Old Paint Shop for nights of music, improv and burlesque by York  artists. Box office: 01904 623568.

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Helen Boaden to leave Stephen Joseph Theatre to be chair of York Theatre Royal

Helen Boaden: new chair at York Theatre Royal

HELEN Boaden is joining York Theatre Royal as the new chair of the board of trustees.

She takes over from Ann Green CBE, pro-chancellor and chairman of the governing body of York St John University, who had held the post since July 2014.

Helen will step down as chair of the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, where she has served as a board trustee since 2015, the last six in the chair’s post.

She has extensive leadership experience in creative organisations, including more than 30 years at the BBC, where, among a range of roles, she was controller of Radio 4 and the first woman to run BBC News. More recently she sat on the Council of the Royal Academy of Arts.

“I am delighted and honoured to have been asked to be the chair of the board of trustees at York Theatre Royal,” said Helen. “I have seen first-hand the impact that York Theatre Royal has both locally and nationally and I am looking forward to working with trustees and staff as we embark on the next chapter in the life of this important and historic theatre.”

“The wealth of experience that Helen brings is invaluable to us and will bring fresh perspective as we explore and redefine our work for the future,” says York Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

Theatre Royal chief executive Paul Crewes said: “We are excited to welcome Helen Boaden this month to York Theatre Royal as chair of the board of trustees. The wealth of experience that Helen brings is invaluable to us and will bring fresh perspective as we explore and redefine our work for the future – reimagining ourselves artistically and financially as a producing theatre at the heart of our community.”

Helen spent most of her career at the BBC, starting as a reporter and producer in BBC local and commercial radio in Leeds, before ending on the BBC executive board as the first female director of BBC News and then director of BBC Radio.

After leaving full-time employment, Helen sat as a non-executive on several boards, including Royal Academy of Arts (2017-2023); UK Statistics Authority (2019-2022); Richard Dimbleby Cancer Fund (2017-2023) and Stockroom Theatre Company (2018- 2021). Helen was chair of the funding panel for the Audio Content Fund from 2019 to 2022.

Alongside her new role as chair of the York Citizens’ Theatre Trust, Helen will continue as chair at the Windsor Leadership Trust and National Statistician’s Advisory Group on Data Ethics and as an advisory board member at Shorenstein Centre on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and the University of Coventry, Scarborough campus. She is patron of Books by the Beach in Scarborough and president of HF Holidays.

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Paul Crewes will be leader & team player as he takes over as Theatre Royal chief exec

Paul Crewes: The new chief executive at the helm of York Theatre Royal

WHAT a sight to greet new chief executive Paul Crewes at Tuesday’s opening night of Frantic Assembly’s pulsating reinvention of Kafka’s Metamorphosis: a full house at York Theatre Royal, with excited school groups to the fore.

Appointed in June, after Tom Bird flew off to Sheffield Theatres in January, Paul  took up his post last week, when Rambert’s Death Trap marked his arrival with two Ben Duke works full of the turbulence of life and death.

Metamorphosis? Death? New life? Re-birth? Paul will give himself time, letting his feet settle under his desk in St Leonard’s Place, before making his mark on the way forward post-Covid, post-Bird, post-De Grey Rooms.

His official statement put it this way: “I am thrilled to have now joined the great team at York Theatre Royal. Over the next few weeks and months, I’m looking forward to meeting our audiences, participants, creatives, members, donors and partners and hearing from them what makes this fantastic theatre so important in the life of our wider community.

“I will continue to build on all that work – supporting great artists and practitioners as well as attracting and growing new audiences. This is an exciting time at York Theatre Royal and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

Impact on the wider community. Supporting artists and practitioners, locally, nationally and internationally. Cultivating new audiences. Exciting time to arrive.  These are the bullet points, the right goals, at the right time.

No wonder his appointment made so much sense to the York Citizens’ Theatre Trust board of trustees, whose chair, Ann Green CBE, said at the time of his appointment: “Paul has a huge breadth and depth of knowledge and experience, and a passion for the positive role theatre can play in community life.

“Building on all the fantastic work the team have created in recent years, we are all excited to be embarking on a new, fresh and confident chapter in the life of York Theatre Royal together.”

At 62, Paul’s vast experience in theatre and the arts as a chief executive, producer and artistic advisor takes in organisations both in Great Britain and the United States. From 2015 to 2021, he was artistic director of the Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts in Los Angeles, where theatre, dance, music and film vied for attention.

Before that, he was executive producer and chief executive officer of Kneehigh, the Cornish company that went national and international in a model of groundbreaking, exhilarating, innovative theatre expansion.

Earlier, Bristol Old Vic, Paines Plough, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Plymouth Theatre Royal, the Lowry, Salford, Phoenix Dance Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse (2001-2004) in Leeds all benefited from his producing skills, and he had three years as director of technical training at RADA too.

“I started my career at the Bristol Old Vic and I shall probably end it here in York,” says Paul. “I love the history of these theatres.”

He was born in Brixton, South London in May 1961, where his Methodist minister father was the chaplain at Brixton Prison in the Sixties. “He got to know the Richardsons, Charlie Kray, Ronnie and Reggie too, and the youth club he ran was raided daily by the police,” recalls Paul.

He went on to study English and History at Roehampton Institute, part of London University, where he served as social secretary of the students’ union in his second year. “I loved creating events, whether a ball, a party or a theatre show, working with a very small budget,” he says.

He did “get his head down” in his 3rd year, albeit while being social secretary for the rugby club – sport is his other great love – and was then elected to the sabbatical post of  students’ union treasurer, “looking after everything” and mothballing his plan to study teacher training in English and PE at Westminster College, Oxford.

Ken Baker’s vision for education in Margaret Thatcher’s Government prompted him to write a dissertation on why he would not be going into teaching. “At that point, I didn’t feel ready to teach,” he says.

He was, however, developing the skills that would take him into producing for theatres, having already stage managed a school production of Max Frisch’s Andora that played the Edinburgh Fringe, even picking up a review in the Scotsman. “That’s quite an experience for a 17-year-old,” he says.

“At university, I directed a play, Ball Boys, a two-hander by David Edgar, and had such a great time doing it. I never saw theatre as a career, but as a hobby, so when I entered that  world in 1985, I wasn’t planning for the long term.

“But then came the sudden realisation that if I’m going to do something, it must be something I enjoy, and that I should train in it from the very bottom, beginning at the end of the pier at Great Yarmouth, working on four shows seven days a week.”

His career was up and running, with the focus on producing and gradually overseeing the creativity that comes into the building. “Whether it’s programming or production managing, for the last 24 years, I’ve been involved in the producing side, working with great creative teams. For me, it’s always been about working with the team, and that will continue at Theatre Royal, brokering and guiding and at times being guided too, but ultimately with control in my hands.”

He thrives on such responsibility. “People are brought up being afraid to make mistakes, and that’s part of the problem with the arts, where they’re scared of failing, where you have to create prototypes, but if you’re not frightened of failing, then something more exciting will come out of it.”

Kneehigh’s success would be a case in point, and now York Theatre Royal should benefit from his artistic and commercial vision.

Copyright of The Press, York