Tag: SELENE

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Theatre@41 to stage It’s A Wonderful Life as first community play from December 10 to 23. When will auditions be held?

Eija Gibson: Directing Theatre@41’s first community play, It’s A Wonderful Life

THEATRE@41, Monkgate, York, is to play host to its first community play from December 10 to 23.

The John Cooper Studio’s black-box theatre will be transformed for the classic Christmas story of It’s A Wonderful Life with a community cast and crew.

Directed by Eija Gibson, Mary Elliott Nelson’s stage adaptation of Frank Capra’s 1946 film follows down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey as he is paid a visit by his guardian angel on Christmas Eve 1946.

Soon he discovers how life in Bedford Falls – the beloved small American town where he has grown up – would be without him, whereupon his outlook is transformed in a joyful story of love, hope and community.

The show poster for Theatre@41’s community play, It’s A Wonderful Life

This will be the first time the intimate independent theatre has staged its own community production. Auditions for community actors to take part in this winter’s production will take place on Sunday, June 28 at Theatre@41. An audition pack with further details and a link to sign up is available at https://63872f16-4d92-4e53-b625-a6dcb0d0b81d.filesusr.com/ugd/8d660e_d0eebbde62c14d67893e7e2eade6f382.pdf.

Director  Eija Gibson is an exciting young director with a growing reputation, whose credits include being associate artist at Leeds theatre company Wrongsemble.

Eija will be mentored by Theatre@41 theatre manager Tom Bellerby, who has worked at the National Theatre, Donmar Warehouse and several leading regional theatres, Hull Truck Theatre among them.

“I am so excited to be directing this gorgeous show in such a wonderful space!” she says. “It is such an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait to bring my vision to Theatre@41, learn from Tom’s mentorship and meet the wonderful creatives of York to create a really strong ensemble and a beautiful show.

Step this way: The entrance to Theatre@41, Monkgate, where auditions for It’s A Wonderful Life will take place on June 28. Picture: James Drury

“Hope, community and connection are at the heart of It’s A Wonderful Life. Through intimate staging, fluid storytelling and visual contrast, and most importantly a strong ensemble, we will bring Bedford Falls to York.”

In a message to auditionees and subsequently successful recruits, she says: “Join me for a collaborative, supportive and creative rehearsal process, resulting in a production that feels uplifting, heartfelt and celebratory.”

Theatre@41 chair Alan Park says: “For more than 25 years, Theatre@41 has hosted productions from York’s incredible community theatre companies. It’s A Wonderful Life will allow us to showcase the very best of York’s community theatre performers and creatives. We can’t wait to welcome people to our own Bedford Falls as we throw a lasso round the moon to re-create the most life affirming of Christmas stories.”

Theatre@41 theatre manager Tom Bellerby says: “We are really excited about this new project and providing the theatre audiences of York with an alternative offer this festive season. Our brilliant community creatives will be mentored by experienced professional artists, providing a unique opportunity for those involved.”

Megan Drury in Wright & Grainger’s Selene, playing Theatre@41, Monkgate, on July 15 and 16

Already this year, under Bellerby’s management, Theatre@41 has partnered with internationally acclaimed North Yorkshire theatre company Wright & Grainger  to co-produce their new show, Selene, soon to kick off a UK tour after 70 performances in Australia and New Zealand.

Starring Australian theatre, film and television actor Megan Drury, Selene will play Theatre@41 on July 15 (7.30pm) and July 16 (8.30pm) ahead of its Edinburgh Fringe run in Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger’s story of the goddess and the dark side of the moon.

In this radical explosion of an ancient lunar myth by the company behind Helios, Orpheus and The Gods The Gods The Gods, a young girl watches the moon landings on repeat, a teenager makes a list of all the things they are not and a young adult starts to discover who they are.

“It’s a story about the light sides of us, the dark sides of us, and the things we grow up in the orbit of – and about the stuff inside us, all the wild stuff inside us,” say Wright & Grainger.

Tickets for Selene and It’s A Wonderful Life are on sale at https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/.

Phil Grainger and Alexander Flanagan Wright of Wright & Grainger, creators of Selene

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Wright & Grainger perform Helios at outset of partnership with Theatre@41, Monkgate, ahead of Australia & NZ tour of SELENE

Alexander Flanagan Wright in Wright & Grainger’s Helios

EASINGWOLD theatre-makers Alexander Flanagan Wright and Phil Grainger re-visit the Greek tragedy of Helios on February 5 at 7.30pm as part of their new partnership with Theatre@41, Monkgate, York.

In Wright’s tale of the sun god’s son, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound around the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.

In a nutshell, a lad lives half way up a historic hill, a teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car and a boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky.

“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” says Alexander.

Theatre@41 has teamed up with Wright & Grainger to co-produce their new show SELENE, an intimate theatre experience with cinematic score and striking storytelling, rehearsed at the Monkgate theatre in December before touring internationally in 2026, ahead of exclusive summer performances in York.

Theatre@41 is an intimate independent theatre, run almost entirely by volunteers, and this partnership with Wright & Grainger is the first of its kind for the organisation.

Wright & Grainger’s Alexander Flanagan Wright, left, and Phil Grainger with Australian theatre maker Megan Drury. Picture: Charlotte Graham

Theatre manager Tom Bellerby says: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Wright & Grainger on SELENE. A key part of our mission at Theatre@41 is supporting the creation of exceptional new work by artists from York and Yorkshire, and we can’t wait for audiences both here at the theatre and around the world to see this new show.

“Throughout the year Wright & Grainger will also be contributing to Create@41, our new artist development programme, supporting emerging artists in the city by sharing their skills and experience.”

The award-winning, globe-travelling Wright & Grainger’s work re-tells stories from Greek mythology as if they were happening today, bonding Wright’s spoken word with Grainger’s music.

Billed as a sibling show to Helios, SELENE is a radical explosion of an ancient myth, wherein a young girl is watching the moon landings on repeat, entranced by those astronauts’ weightlessness. A bunch of teenagers is swimming under a lunar eclipse, lost in what might happen next. A mismatched couple is watching a horror film at a drive-in cinema, soon to step into all the next stuff.

“It’s a story about the Goddess and the dark side of the moon,” says Alexander. “It’s about how we grow up defined by our bodies. It’s about the light sides of us and the dark sides of us. And it’s about the stuff inside us. All the wild stuff inside of us.”

Welcoming the new partnership, Alexander says: “What a treat to be producing a brand-new show with Theatre@41. We make shows that tour around the world and we spend a lot of time on the road. To be making a new show hand in hand with one of our favourite places in our home city is an absolute dream.

Wright & Grainger’s artwork for SELENE

“Theatre@41 is rapidly becoming a flagship venue in the north of the UK as a home for new artists, acclaimed touring work, the offbeat shows, the wilder ideas. We’re so chuffed to be part of that.”

Alexander continues: “We’re making SELENE with Megan Drury, a really amazing and well-respected performer and theatre maker from Australia, and the show will start its life on the other side of the world.

“We’ll be touring SELENE for five months across Australia and New Zealand [produced by A Mulled Whine Productions]  before heading back home and, importantly, back here to Theatre@41. The team at Theatre@41 have just opened up a whole new chapter – we’re damn proud to be working with them, making with them, carving out new ideas and new projects with them.

“We’re excited to take the show out on the road, and then really excited to bring it home. There’s a lot of love and trust and respect in all of it. And there’s a lot of joy in being stood here, at the start of it!”

SELENE will be performed at Theatre@41 as part of the Summer 2026 season on dates yet to be announced. Tickets for Helios are on sale at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Megan Drury in the poster image for Wright & Grainger’s SELENE