Tag: Shakespeare

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(More or less) everything you need to know about Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less) as Stephen Joseph Theatre goes to Ibiza

The hen party heading for Menorca: Jo Patmore, left, Alyce Liburd, Annie Kirkman and Alice Imelda in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

A STAG do in Ibiza. A hen do in Menorca. What could go wrong? Everything…in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less) at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

The stags have made a solemn promise to each other: this is a boys’ weekend. Don’t talk to any girls, don’t even think about any girls, and most importantly, do not contact the hens.

The hens are ready for fun in the sun when the resort calls to say they’ve had to relocate them…to a hotel in Ibiza. Both groups of revellers are stuck on the same Mediterranean island. Cue shoddy disguises, mislaid love letters and theatrical chaos.

Repeating the Hutch Award-winning formula of 2023’s co-production of The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) with Precot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse, set in the heat of a 1980s’ clash of Yorkshire and Lancashire,  Shakespeare’s riotous comedy is brought to life anew in the 1990s with belting musical numbers from the era of boy bands and Girl Power.

The same creative team reunites for Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less): co-writers Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber (daughter of playwright John Godber), director Paul Robinson and composer and sound designer Simon Slater. In the production team too are designer Jess Curtis, lighting designer Jane Lalljee, musical director Alex Weatherhill and choreographer Stephanie Dattani.

Co-writer Elizabeth Godber says: “I’m so excited to be back working with Nick, the SJT and Shakespeare North on another hilarious Shakespeare adaptation.

Unmasked: Alyce Liburd and Annie Kirkman in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

“Love’s Labour’s Lost is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and to get the chance to play around with the language, develop the (already great) female characters, and add in plenty of 1990s’ pop classics, has been an absolute joy!

“I can’t wait for audiences to come and see the show. It’s funny, irreverent, and I’m sure Shakespeare would approve – he would have definitely been a Britpop fan!”

SJT artistic director Paul Robinson says: “We had the most enormous fun making The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) in the spring of 2023, and our audiences did too! We couldn’t resist following it up with another of the Bard’s early comedies, this time set a decade later in the midst of the party era that was the 1990s.

“We’ll again be including some great music from the period, and just wait until you see those 90s fashions again!”

Shakespeare North Playhouse creative director Laura Collier says: “After the success of our 2023 co-production – a show so entertaining that people kept coming back for more – we knew we had to join forces again. 

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be working with the Stephen Joseph Theatre again, alongside talented writers Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber. We all share a deep love for Shakespeare and his timeless tales, and a passion for exploring and presenting fresh, exciting perspectives and reworkings – a perfect foundation for an outrageously fun Love’s Labour’s Lost. We can’t wait to see what lies in store when we’re all transported back to the ’90s.” 

Co-writer Elizabeth Godber: “I don’t think of it as a rewriting of Shakespeare; I think we’re twisting it, we’re putting a northern spin on it,” she says

Here co-writers Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber discuss everything (more or less) about Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less).

How were you  first brought together for The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less)?

Nick: “I was asked by Paul [SJT artistic director Paul Robinson, the show’s commissioning director] if I’d be interested in teaming up with a writer to do a modern version of Shakespeare.

“He had this idea about making Shakespeare accessible, demystifying it, making it relevant and funny, and playing around with titles that people know but aren’t necessarily plays that people know.

“Independently of each other, we came up with Liz. I wanted to work with Liz because I’ve known her all her life, and I got my wish!”

Elizabeth: “I’d done some writing development work at Scarborough before, so Paul was aware of my work, so when they were looking for someone to team up with Nick, he called me.”

Co-writer Nick Lane: “If Shakespeare was writing now, he’d want to reflect the time and the politics,” he says. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

Do you have any qualms about rewriting Shakespeare?

Nick: “For me, initially, yes, but knowing that Liz knows lots more than I do about Shakespeare, I did feel like I was in safe hands, and it was a good partnership – we share a similar sense of humour. But we were both making it up as we went along.”

Elizabeth: “Yes, I had reservations, of course – it’s a big thing to do! But at the same time we both had this thought in our heads that we wanted to do something different, that was accessible and fresh. I don’t think of it as a rewriting of Shakespeare; I think we’re twisting it, we’re putting a northern spin on it.”

What is your process for writing – together or separately?

Elizabeth: “This time, for Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less),  it’s been much more together than on Comedy Of Errors – we’ve learned and grown from that. We write some things separately, and we send emails and share, and we’ve got about a thousand voice memos on WhatsApp. Then we meet up multiple times, and we’ll spend a day going through everything we’ve written, tweaking and changing each other’s stuff.

Nick:  “And enjoying some very nice meals…

Elizabeth: “And eating lots of biscuits!”

Annie Kirkman and Jo Patmore in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

What different qualities do you both bring to the writing?

Nick: “The fun thing for me is – well, the read-through is a perfect example. I sat through the read-through and laughed heartily at all the stuff Liz put in, and sort of smiled at my own bits and thought, ‘yes, that kind of works’. But I think we both find each other’s stuff funny.”

Elizabeth: “I would say that Nick brings a font of knowledge of random facts! He can pinpoint something exactly: ‘In August 1989, people weren’t doing that’.”

Nick “I do have a silly memory for things, it’s true. And Liz is cracking on all things Shakespeare – and when you have a silent third partner, that’s really, really useful.”

Why have you set Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less) in 1990s’ Ibiza?

Elizabeth: “We knew we wanted to do Love’s Labour’s Lost, and we also had this idea for a stag-and- hen thing, which, if anyone’s read the original, it does kind of fit: there’s this kind of boys versus girls thing. That, and the club scene, and the ’90s, just felt like a good fit for the story.”

David Kirkbride punching the air in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

Nick: “It helps that you’re in an era before mobile phones. It’s fascinating how quickly we’ve adopted these things – they’re so intrinsically linked with our everyday lives now, and only 25 years ago, they existed, of course, but they weren’t the all-encompassing tools that they are now.

“I guess if we’d set it a bit later, it would have been erroneous text messages instead of the misdirected letters, but there’s no romance in texts, is there?”

How difficult was it making the song choices? Any particular favourites?

Elizabeth: “I loved making the song choices! The ’90s are my childhood; it’s very, very nostalgic and takes me back to school discos and primary school and brings me great joy. My favourite is probably the Spice Girls.”

Nick: “The opening number is Girls & Boys by Blur.  If the Spice Girls were the ’90s for Liz, then Blur was kind of my thing – I was in my 20s.”

Where were you in the 1990s?

Elizabeth: “I was in Hull – being born and growing up!”

Nick: “Predominantly Doncaster, but I toured a lot – with Hull Truck, for Liz’s dad [playwright John Godber]!”

Jo Patmore in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less)

Have you ever acted in Shakespeare?

Nick: “No, I never have. I’ve done verse – I was in Tony Harrison’s Passion and Doomsday, but never a Shakespeare.”

Elizabeth: “I was in a school production, a 20-minute version of Romeo and Juliet – and in that production, I met my now husband!”

Nick: “I can even quote you your one line in that. It was ‘No’.”

Elizabeth: “It was! I think I’m better on Shakespeare when I’m not acting in it.”

Will Shakespeare be spinning in his grave at the prospect of Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less) or giving it a five-star review (more or less)?

Thomas Cotran in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

Nick: “I would hope that if he is spinning, it’s to a 120 bpm dance track. He was a modernist in his day; he was satirical; he referenced things that were very of the time, and I think if he was writing now, he’d want to reflect the time and the politics. I think he’d be all right with it.”

Elizabeth: “We want to make a show that people come to see and have a great time, and I think that Shakespeare wouldn’t be against that – I think that’s what he wanted to do, too.”

Which Shakespeare play would you like to rewrite (more or less) next?

Nick: “One for Liz. I don’t know enough of them!”

Elizabeth: “I think I’d quite like to do A Winter’s Tale, because I really like the Shakespeare plays that are a little less done, that people don’t know as much about. I think that’s interesting. Love’s Labour’s Lost is one that people don’t know as well, and you can bring it to more people – that’s exciting. But my favourite is As You Like It, so…”

Stephen Joseph Theatre and Shakespeare North Playhouse present Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less) at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until April 19, Monday to Saturday, 7.30pm, plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

An ensemble scene from the Stephen Joseph Theatre and Shakespeare North Playhouse co-production of Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

Who’s in the cast for Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less)?

Thomas Cotran; Alice Imelda; Linford Johnson; David Kirkbride; Annie Kirkman; Alyce Liburd; Timothy Adam Lucas and Jo Patmore. 

Four of the company have appeared at the SJT already: Linford Johnson was in Alan Ayckbourn’s The Girl Next Door in 2021, and Annie Kirkman appeared in 2023’s UK Theatre Award-winning Beauty And The Beast, returning in summer 2024 to play the title role in Dracula: The Bloody Truth. She also starred in John Godber’s Perfect Pitch, on tour.

David Kirkbride and Alyce Liburd were in the SJT’s first co-production with Shakespeare North Playhouse, the UK Theatre Award-nominated The Comedy Of Errors (More Or Less) in Spring 2023. Alice appeared in in Dracula: The Bloody Truth too.

Movin’ and groovin’ in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less). Picture: Patch Dolan

What’s on the playlist in Love’s Labour’s Lost (More Or Less)

 1. Blur: Girls & Boys

2. Britney Spears: …Baby One More Time

3. Shania Twain: Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

4. Meat Loaf: I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)

5. iNi Kamoze: Here Comes The Hotstepper

6. No Doubt: Don’t Speak

7. Aerosmith: I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing

8. Boyz II Men: I’ll Make Love To You

9. Backstreet Boys: Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)

10. Spice Girls: Stop

11. Cher: The Shoop Shoop Song (It’s In His Kiss)

12. Prince: 1999

13. Vengaboyz: We’re Going To Ibiza!

14. Take That (feat.Lulu): Relight My Fire

15. Vanilla Ice: Ice Bay Ice

16. Macarena: Los Del Rio

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English Touring Opera bring What Dreams May Come and The Capulets And The Montagues to York Theatre Royal

English Touring Opera rehearsing a scene from Bellini’s Italian opera The Capulets And The Montagues. Picture: Craig Fuller

ENGLISH Touring Opera return to York Theatre Royal today and tomorrow with two exciting new Shakespeare-themed productions.

What Dreams May Come makes its debut in the Studio tonight at 7.45pm and tomorrow at 2.30pm before Bellini’s The Capulets And The Montagues is performed for only night only in the main house tomorrow at 7.30pm, preceded by a pre-show talk at 6.30pm. Both operas will be performed in their original language with English surtitles. 

What Dreams May Come is a new studio piece that draws on hundreds of years of music inspired by and adapted from Shakespeare’s plays and poetry to depict the joys and sorrows of a long life, well lived.

Mixing puppetry with music by composers including Purcell, Finzi, Amy Beach and Britten, performed by a chamber ensemble, this 80-minute production explores the timeless appeal of Shakespeare’s words and characters for composers and audiences throughout history.

Singers include soprano Alys Mererid Roberts, mezzo-soprano Emily Hodkinson, tenor Tamsanqa Tylor Lemani and baritone Samuel Pantcheff.

Samuel Pantcheff, Tamsanqa Tylor Lemani, Alys Mererid Roberts  and Emily Hodkinson  in the rehearsal room for What Dreams May Come. Picture: Craig Fuller

The piece is devised and directed by Valentina Ceschi, whose past work for English Touring Opera (ETO) includes the 2023 production of Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, children’s opera The Great Stink and the film for families The Firebird. Erika Gundesen conducts from the piano.  

The Capulets And The Montagues, Bellini’s gritty re-working of Romeo And Juliet, remains a fresh, vital take on a well-loved story, bringing the warring families’ emotional and political struggle to life with devastating power. Remarkably, the work was composed by Bellini in only six weeks.

Soprano Jessica Cale, a First Prize winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards and audience prize winner at the London Handel Festival International Singing Competition, sings the role of Giulietta.

She plays opposite mezzo-soprano Samantha Price, a regular performer with the Royal Opera and English National Opera, as Romeo.

Brenton Spiteri, who last performed with ETO in Manon Lescaut and The Rake’s Progress last spring, stars as Tebaldo, with Timothy Nelson as Capello and Masimba Ushe as Lorenzo.

The poster for English Touring Opera’s The Capulets And The Montagues

Eloise Lally, who directed ETO’s 2023 production of Lucrezia Borgia, is the director, while conductor, pianist and Le Balcon founder member Alphonse Cemin conducts in his debut season with ETO.

ETO director Robin Norton-Hale says: “This spring ETO celebrates the enduring power and relevance of the works of William Shakespeare with a season featuring one of the landmark operas of the 19th century alongside new works that draw inspiration from his themes and characters to create something entirely fresh and original.

“Bellini’s The Capulets And The Montagues puts a new spin on one of Shakespeare’s best-loved stories and is a classic of bel canto repertoire, with a dramatic contrast of sumptuous music and destructive violence.

“What Dreams May Come combines puppetry and song in an intimate exploration of life, love and death, set to new orchestrations of music inspired by the works of Shakespeare. It is a season that will showcase the best of ETO: wonderful storytelling and exceptional musicality.” 

Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Casts and production teams:

English Touring Opera rehearsing What Dreams May Come, a new production featuring depictions of grief, death and palliative care. Picture Craig Fuller

What Dreams May Come   

Soprano – Alys Mererid Roberts   
Mezzo-soprano – Emily Hodkinson  
Tenor – Tamsanqa Tylor Lemani   
Baritone – Samuel Pantcheff   

Director – Valentina Ceschi  
Conductor/piano – Erika Gundesen  
Puppetry designer – Matt Hutchinson  

English Touring Opera cast members in rehearsal for The Capulets And The Montagues. Picture: Craig Fuller

The Capulets And The Montagues   

Giulietta – Jessica Cale   
Romeo – Samantha Price   
Tebaldo – Brenton Spiteri  
Capello – Timothy Nelson   
Lorenzo – Masimba Ushe   
Ensemble – Daniel Gray Bell   
Ensemble – Harry Grigg   
Ensemble – Tamsanqa Tylor Lemani   
Ensemble – Samuel Pantcheff   
Ensemble – John Ieuan Jones   
Ensemble – Wonsick Oh   

Director – Eloise Lally   
Conductor – Alphonse Cemin   
Designer – Lily Arnold   
Lighting Designer – Peter Harrison   
Répétiteur – Nicholas Bosworth   
Fight Director – Kaitlin Howard   
Movement Director – Carmine De Amicis  

English Touring Opera’s poster for What Dreams May Come

English Touring Opera: the back story

TOURED live productions and education and community projects to more towns and cities than any other UK opera company since 1979

At the heart of the company ethos is “making exceptional artistic experiences available and accessible to everyone”.

ETO reaches 40,000 people per year with full theatre-based productions, specially commissioned operas for infants, children, families and young people with special educational needs, a series of creative workshops for people living with dementia and their carers, opera-making workshops in secondary schools, and song writing workshops in Alternative Provision settings designed to benefit young people’s mental health. 

English Touring Opera complete climate change trilogy with The Vanishing Forest on March 2 return to Acomb Explore Library

English Touring Opera in rehearsal for The Vanishing Forest, part three of a climate change trilogy of new operas. Picture: Julian Guidera

SOMETHING magical this way comes for families at Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, on Sunday (2/3/2025).

English Touring Opera present their family-friendly production of The Vanishing Forest, an enchanting adventure that blends Shakespeare, music and an environmental message.

“If you remember the mischievous Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you’re in for a treat,” promise ETO. “This brand-new opera picks up after the events of Shakespeare’s comedy, and things aren’t looking too good in the forest. The trees are being chopped down, and with them, the magic of the land is fading away. Puck knows it’s time to act – but he can’t do it alone!”

Enter Cassie and Mylas, the children of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, who team up with Puck to save the forest before it is too late. Along the way, expect songs, puppetry, spells, mystical flowers and a story that will entertain and inspire young audiences while tackling the pressing issue of deforestation.

This musical adventure is the third and final instalment in English Touring Opera’s climate change trilogy, following The Wish Gatherer, winner of the Best Opera prize at the 2024 YAMAwards,  and The Great Stink.

English Touring Opera’s poster for The Vanishing Forest

Written by Jonathan Ainscough, composed by Michael Betteridge and directed by Victoria Briggs, The Vanishing Forest is ideal for children aged seven to 11, the performance being designed to make opera accessible, fun and absorbing for younger audiences.

“Whether you’re a Shakespeare buff or completely new to the world of opera, this show is a wonderful way to introduce children to the magic of storytelling through music,” say ETO.

“So, if you’re looking for a magical way to spend a Sunday morning with the family, why not step into The Vanishing Forest? Expect laughter, adventure and some Shakespearean sparkle – just what everyone needs!”

“Previous performances by English Touring Opera at Acomb Explore have really wowed audiences and given children their first experience of professional opera in a very approachable and accessible way,” says Explore York executive assistant Gillian Holmes. “The latest performance is coming up very soon and there are still a few tickets left!”

English Touring Opera in The Vanishing Forest, Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, March 2, 11am. Tickets: tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1516069.

EXPLORE York Libraries and Archives is committed to making the arts accessible to all, so if the ticket price is a barrier, don’t worry. Free places are available: pop into your local library or email acomb@exploreyork.org.uk to find out more.

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English Touring Opera complete climate change trilogy with The Vanishing Forest on March 2 return to Acomb Explore Library

English Touring Opera in rehearsal for The Vanishing Forest, part three of a climate change trilogy of new operas. Picture: Julian Guidera

SOMETHING magical this way comes for families at Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, on March 2.

English Touring Opera return to York to present their family-friendly production of The Vanishing Forest, an enchanting adventure that blends Shakespeare, music and an environmental message.

“If you remember the mischievous Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, you’re in for a treat,” promise ETO. “This brand-new opera picks up after the events of Shakespeare’s comedy, and things aren’t looking too good in the forest. The trees are being chopped down, and with them, the magic of the land is fading away. Puck knows it’s time to act – but he can’t do it alone!”

Enter Cassie and Mylas, the children of Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, who team up with Puck to save the forest before it is too late. Along the way, expect songs, puppetry, spells, mystical flowers and a story that will entertain and inspire young audiences while tackling the pressing issue of deforestation.

This musical adventure is the third and final instalment in English Touring Opera’s climate change trilogy, following The Wish Gatherer, winner of the Best Opera prize at the 2024 YAMAwards,  and The Great Stink.

Written by Jonathan Ainscough, composed by Michael Betteridge and directed by Victoria Briggs, The Vanishing Forest is ideal for children aged seven to 11, the performance being designed to make opera accessible, fun and absorbing for younger audiences.

English Touring Opera’s poster for The Vanishing Forest

“Whether you’re a Shakespeare buff or completely new to the world of opera, this show is a wonderful way to introduce children to the magic of storytelling through music,” say ETO.

“So, if you’re looking for a magical way to spend a Sunday morning with the family, why not step into The Vanishing Forest? Expect laughter, adventure and some Shakespearean sparkle – just what everyone needs!”

“Previous performances by English Touring Opera at Acomb Explore have really wowed audiences and given children their first experience of professional opera in a very approachable and accessible way,” says Explore York executive assistant Gillian Holmes. “The latest performance is coming up very soon and there are still a few tickets left!”

English Touring Opera in The Vanishing Forest, Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acomb, York, March 2, 11am. Tickets: tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1516069.

Explore York Libraries and Archives is committed to making the arts accessible to all, so if the ticket price is a barrier, don’t worry. Free places are available: pop into your local library or email acomb@exploreyork.org.uk to find out more.

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REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until Saturday ***

Effie Warboys’ Ann Walker, left, and Sally Mitcham’s Anne Lister in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders

YORK Shakespeare Project audiences are greeted by not one, but two testaments to the groundbreaking impact of Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate.

First, by the entrance, York Civic Trust’s rainbow plaque commemorates the Easter 1834 wedding sacraments of “Anne with an ‘E’ and Anne without”, Ann Walker, recorded as the first lesbian marriage in Great Britain. Another historic landmark in this most storied of cities.

Once inside, by the churchyard path, Anne Lister has temporarily taken on tansy beetle form in a metallic sculpture for the York Trailblazers trail of unsung heroes until September 30.

Theatre spat: Rival actresses Lily (Alexandra Logan), left, and Felicity (Grace Scott) in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders

In Jen Dring’s design, the beetle’s back is covered in the diary scribblings of Anne Lister: words that have helped to shape the opening to Josie Campbell’s script to accompany 12 of Shakespeare sonnets in this tenth anniversary YSP production.

YSP’s theatrical conceit is to offer an invitation to a secret wedding – spoiler alert, the nuptials of Anne Lister (Sally Mitcham) and Ann Walker (Effie Warboys) – toasted on arrival with a free celebratory drink.  

The audience is welcomed by the Reverend Goode, the “poptastic vicar and host” played by director Tony Froud, who promptly introduces himself as Ebenezer Goode in the first of a plethora of “couldn’t resist” pop culture references by Campbell. Status Quo, Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones all follow, Rev Goode at one point quoting the lyrics of You Can’t Always Get What You Want.

Cleaning up: Marie-Louise Feeley’s Doreen and Helen Wilson’s Maureen, the church-cleaning double act in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders

Attired in York Theatre Royal costumes, Mitcham and Warboys play out the Lister-Walker betrothal, each bursting into a sonnet in the manner of characters breaking into song in a musical when there is no other form of expression that will suffice in that moment.  

Mitcham’s assertive When I Have Seen By Time’s Fell Hand Defaced will be the first of four Shakespeare sonnets making their YSP debut in this summer’s set.

Warboys follows, one of six new sonneteers in Froud’s 2024 ranks, having made her mark in cheery fashion in YSP productions such as The Tempest. As she discovers in her opening conversation with Mitcham’s Miss Lister, the challenge for all is to acclimatise to performing outdoors, against the absorbant backdrop of the church walls, under the open sky.

Emily Hansen’s Lavinia, the unflappable costume designer, in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders

What’s more, the nearby restaurant kitchen fan is whirring loudly and the staff are busy with bustling crockery and food prep on the 6pm shift. Not the easiest of circumstances in which to perform, and Froud’s last words of advice before the first performance were of the need for volume.

In such a space, as soon as heads turn sideways, the loss in clarity can be considerable, but only through experience does a performer learn the skill of projection. Best advice here: follow the example of Maurice Crichton and Helen Wilson, old hands at this sonneteering malarkey.

No doubt, Froud will have given post-show notes to re-emphasise that volume speaks volumes. There is a case too for having the actors move closer to the seated audience, or indeed for the seating to be moved forward, and also to project straight on as much as possible in this declamatory framework.  

Maurice Crichton’s intemperate director, Callum, offering advice to Alexandra Logan’s wilful leading lady, Lily, in Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders

Crichton, in beret, cravat and exasperated Scottish accent, is playing Callum, “the far from calm director” of what turns out to be a rehearsal for an amateur company at Rev Goode’s church. And so, rather than a play within a play in keeping with Frayn’s Noises Off, Ayckbourn’s A Chorus Of Disapproval or Mischief’s The Play That Goes Wrong, instead we have sonnets within backstage shenanigans.

One by one, or two by two, we shall encounter staff, actresses and helping hands. Here come the church cleaners, debutant sonneteer Marie-Louise Feeley’s Doreen, an aspiring performer, and Wilson’s world-weary, seen-it-all-before Maureen, marigold gloves stuffed in her overalls. Her sonnet, Th’expense Of Spirit In A Waste Of Shame, is one of the high points.

Two rival actresses, steady-away Felicity (Grace Scott) and flighty young leading lady Lily (Alexandra Logan) will spar amusingly, the latter’s nascent prima-donna tendencies in the role of Anne Lister’s earlier paramour Maria Belcombe, testing Crichton’s acerbic Callum to breaking point.

Liam Godfrey’s Graham, the tardy actor, in a tender moment with Grace Scott’s Felicity in Summer Sonnets. Halina Jarosewska’s Maggie, the indispensable stage manager, looks on. Picture: John Saunders

Liam Godfrey, another of the debutants, captures the diffidence of tardy actor Graham (playing Captain Sutherland, from Anne Lister’s story) as he makes his reacquaintance with Felicity, his partner in pantomime cow, as Campbell brings another artform into play.

Emily Hansen’s Lavinia, the unflappable costume designer, and Halina Jarosewska’s Maggie, the indispensable stage manager, pop up regularly, in that quietly essential way that such theatre stalwarts do. Hansen’s delivery of Being Your Slave, What Should I Do But Tend suits Maggie perfectly.

The finale brings everyone together, Lister, Walker, et al, led by Froud’s good shepherd Rev Goode in Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds, rounding out Campbell’s amusing caricature of the theatre world, celebration of love and abiding joy in Shakespeare’s sonnets.

York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, York, until August 17, 6pm and 7.30pm nightly, plus 4.30pm on Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/. 

Tony Froud’s Reverend Goode, the “poptastic vicar and host”in Summer Sonnets, addressing the flock in the Holy Trinity churchyard. Picture: John Saunders

Coming next:

William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

AFTER “much deliberation, and too many wonderful people auditioning”, director Tempest Wisdom has picked York Shakespeare Project’s cast for The Two Gentlemen Of Verona.

In the company will be: Jodie Fletcher; Stuart Lindsay; Jamie Williams; Nick Patrick Jones; Thomas Jennings; Lily Geering; Anna Gallon; Liz Quinlan; Lara Stafford; Wilf Tomlinson; Effie Warboys; Mark Payton; Stuart Green; Jon Cook; Charlie Spencer; Pearl Mollison; Kay Maneerot; Celeste North Finocchi and Charlie Barras.

The first night, October 22, will be a preview performance (£10).  Tickets for the rest of the week cost £15. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

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The Three Inch Fools take to North Yorkshire outdoors with The Secret Diary Of Henry VIII and The Comedy Of Errors

Four go into three: Cast members James Aldred, Peter Long, Lucy Chamberlain and Charlotte Horner of The Three Inch Fools

OPEN-AIR theatre specialists The Three Inch Fools will head to Scampston Hall, Scampston, near Malton, on July 20 with their rowdy reimagining of the story of a troublesome Tudor king, The Secret Diary Of Henry VIII.

Further North Yorkshire performances will follow at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, on July 23, and Helmsley Walled Garden on August 6.

Founded in Cumbria in 2015 by the Hyde brothers, producer James and writer, composer and director Stephen, the company combines fast-paced storytelling with uproarious music-making as their modus operandi for their contemporary spin on the traditional touring troupe.

The Secret Diary finds a young Henry VIII attempting to navigate his way through courtly life on a tour that will visit heritage sites with Tudor links to transport audiences back in time, albeit with a different take on history than the one told by the great houses.

Stephen Hyde’s new work provides an “essential guide” to how to keep your head in the Tudor Court when unexpectedly thrust into the limelight, as Henry navigates the ups and downs of courtly life, all while fighting the French (again) and re-writing religious law. Cue a madcap take on Britain’s most epic monarch and those infamous wives.

Operating from their rehearsal residency at the National Trust property of Eastbury Manor House in Banbury, the Fools are touring 80 venues this summer with two shows, the second being their innovative twist on Shakespeare’s shortest, wildest farce, The Comedy Of Errors, with its tale of long-lost twins, misunderstandings and messy mishaps.

Directed by The Play That Goes Wrong’s Sean Turner, The Comedy Of Errors will play Helmsley Walled Garden on July 19.

In the Three Inch Fools cast will be James Aldred, Lucy Chamberlain, Charlotte Horner and Pete Long, while the production team includes fight director and choreographer Marcello Marascalchi, movement director Claire Parry and costume & props designer Aoife Hills.

The Three Inch Fools in The Secret Diary Of Henry VIII, Scampston Hall & Walled Gardens, Scampston, near Malton, July 20; Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York, July 23, and Helmsley Arts Centre, August 6, all at 7pm. The Comedy Of Errors, Helmsley Walled Garden, July 19, 7pm. Gates open at 6pm. Age guidance: 6+. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.

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Imagine a bunch of strangers putting on a Shakespeare play in a day in York? Welcome to “Shakespeasy” at Theatre@41

Stranger things: Actors will meet up for the first time to stage a Shakespeare’s Speakeasy play in a day in York

SHAKESPEARE’S Speakeasy is heading to York for the first time on May 16, making its debut at Theatre@41, Monkgate.

“It’s Shakespeare, but it’s secret,” says the theatre’s website. “Can a group of strangers successfully stage a Shakespearean play in a day? Shakespeare’s Speakeasy is the place for you to find out.

“Taking an irreverent and entertaining view of the Bard’s work, this one-night-only production promises you an hilarious take on one of Bill’s best known plays. But which play will it be? Well, like all good Speakeasys, that’s a secret.”

Why so secret? Let artistic director Steven Arran explain: “We don’t actually unveil the play until the curtain goes up. ‘Speakeasys’ are supposed to be secret after all!  And if I unveiled our reason for choosing it, that will probably give the game away. You’ll just have to come along and find out.”

Introducing the cast: Claire Morley. No stranger to Shakespeare, having performed his words for many years in York with companies such as York Shakespeare Project and Well-fangled Theatre. Latterly had fun with the characters of Malvolio (ALRA North), Macbeth (Northumberland Theatre Company), Aufidius (1623 Theatre) and Titania (Hoglets Theatre). “Ready for the adrenaline rush of the Speakeasy, I’m also excited to get a shot at another character long on the bucket list,” says Claire. “For the May 16 event I’m helping them to create some connections in York.”

Shakespeare’s Speakeasy started in Newcastle upon Tyne on September 11 2018. “We performed our first show at a great Fringe venue, the Alphabetti Theatre, but post-pandemic we migrated to The People’s Theatre, where we’ve developed a very enthusiastic and loyal audience who have responded well to our anarchic and irreverent style,” says Steven.

“As to why we started, that’s a horse of many colours. I’d been working in Canada as an actor, where I performed in a lot of outdoor Shakespearean productions. In North America, Shakespeare was treated like a holy text with a major focus on treating every line as sacrosanct – the major focus being on the poetry.

“For me, this really detracted from the characters being real humans with human emotions, and I knew that it was the latter I was more invested in as an audience member.”

This prompted Steven to think of his experiences watching Shakespeare in the UK. “No-one was really staging Shakespeare in Newcastle, and I realised the majority of opportunities I had to watch in Newcastle was if the RSC [Royal Shakespeare Company] or the National Theatre rolled through town at the Theatre Royal, and you’d pay top dollar for the privilege to watch a lot of posh boys and girls recite lines that you remembered from school,” he says.

“This did not make me feel included. The price made it feel like ‘a treat’ and the accents made me feel like Shakespeare was something for ‘them’, not for everyone. My drama school training had really opened my eyes that this should not be the case, and so I was resolved to cast local actors to produce shows for local audiences, in which they would see people like them reflected on the stage.

Introducing the cast: Tempest Wisdom, writer, director, performer and educator based in York. Specialises in clown, mask and Shakespeare, “making the Speakeasy a perfect fit,” Tempest says.

“Also, these plays are SO funny and entertaining, something lost in many productions, and I wanted to inject that excitement into my shows. Shakespeare’s audience was a rowdy lot for the most part, and we like ours to be too!”

Why begin in Newcastle? “No more exciting an answer than this is my home and I wanted to give my home opportunities that it didn’t already have,” says Steven. “When I was coming up as a young actor, the scene felt like a closed shop, and what little was being produced that we had access to felt very much of the ‘it’s grim up north’ variety.

“No-one was producing Shakespeare bar amateur dramatics groups, and even then it was often in a very affected style. After my experiences at drama school, where I was encouraged to use my own voice, I wanted to see more Geordies doing classical works without being forced to do an RP [Received Pronunciation] accent. It’s still something we run up against all the time though. People think Shakespeare and they think ‘posh’ and it’s simply not the case.”

Steven is the only core member of the Shakespeare’s Speakeasy production company. “One of primary aims is to ensure we employ as many directors and performers as possible, and so there is no wider team so to speak,” he says. “We employ and cast locally to give regional actors opportunities to direct classical pieces that they may not usually get a chance to professionally stage.”

Introducing the cast: Esther Irving, actor and theatre-maker from North Yorkshire with big passion for Shakespeare


This philosophy has led to the decision to spread Shakespeare’s Speakeasy’s wings to York in its sixth year. “The Yorkshire accent is so rich and versatile, and we want people to hear that on stage,” reasons Steven.

“A primary aim of Shakespeare’s Speakeasy is to champion local performers with local accents and disabuse people of the notion that Shakespeare is ‘posh’ or ‘done in a certain way’. We plan, eventually, to expand to several cities in the North. Venues in Manchester, Glasgow and Liverpool have already been confirmed.”

So far Shakespeare’s Speakeasy has tackled Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, The Comedy Of Errors, Macbeth, As You Like It, The Taming Of The Shrew, Love’s Labours Lost, Measure For Measure and Hamlet, some staged more than once.

“We mostly stick to the comedies, but have done a few tragedies, which our irreverent style has made a laugh riot,” says Steven. “It’s hard to make people feel the ‘feels’ of Hamlet in 70 minutes, so you may as well make them laugh at some of the more ridiculous elements.”

May 16’s inaugural York performance will be Shakespeare’s Speakeasy’s 13th show. “Unlucky for some, let’s hope it’s not us!” says Steven.

Introducing the cast: York actor Ian Giles, part of an international company that created Working Title for the York International Shakespeare Festival in April

Among those taking part will be Claire Morley, Esther Irving, Tempest Wisdom, Alice May, Ian Giles, Rowan Naylor Miles and Jake Wilson Craw. “We’ve assembled a really talented troupe for this production but, honestly, we could have cast the play three times over,” says Steven.

“It was humbling to see the enthusiasm we were greeted with by York’s acting community. Applicants came via word of mouth – actors who have worked with us voluntarily spread the word – and also through various social media groups. Theatre@41 and York Theatre Royal were also very gracious in spreading word of the opportunity. The cast has since had four weeks to learn their lines.”

The day will be a long and challenging one, but full of laughter and play too, for actors and director alike. “The actors will meet at 9am – the first time they meet in person – and do a line run of the whole play,” says Steven. “After that, we’ll spend the day, approximately eight hours, going through the show scene by scene, getting it on its feet and doing the basic business of blocking and tech on the fly.

“It’s a very collaborative experience. Actors are encouraged to share ideas they have for scenes, and we’ll give them all a try as long as we have the time. Whilst the directors always have a vision – we’ve done a Lion King version of Hamlet, Twelfth Night in a Butlins-style holiday camp – it’s really important for us to let the actors offer their suggestions. A good idea can come from anyone.”

The climactic performance will be fully teched and costumed. “Not to RSC standards, mind you. Expect cardboard sets, plastic swords and all manner of ridiculousness,” promises Steven. “This is Shakespeare as pure entertainment”.

Introducing the cast: Jake Wilson Craw, actor and writer from Newcastle returning to Shakespeare’s Speakeasy ranks in York debut

Asked to define the characteristics of a typical Shakespeare’s Speakeasy experience, Steven says: “I’ve reached out to some loyal audience members for this answer, as well as my own thoughts. The characteristics would be funny and local. Chaotic. Very silly. We’re entertaining first and foremost.

“We want you to have a good time, and because of that we’re often irreverent, sometimes bawdy, and sometimes downright daft. We want you to see the people you know in your everyday life on stage, not vaunted legendary characters. You will always leave with a smile on your face.”

Looking ahead, will Steven be seeking to make Shakespeare’s Speakeasy a regular event in York? “Hopefully yes,” he says. “Since our inception, we’ve staged 12 productions in Newcastle and see no reason why our format cannot be replicated in York and other cities in the north.

“One of our primary aims is to give regional actors more work. You shouldn’t have to move to London to work in the field you love – and the only way to do that is to stage productions.”

Shakespeare’s Speakeasy York, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 16, 7.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Steven Arran: back story on North East actor, theatre maker and artistic director behind Shakespeare’s Speakeasy

Steven Arran: Artistic director of Shakespeare’s Speakeasy


“I WAS a professional actor for ten years. I trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and was lucky enough to work in the UK and North America. My interest in Shakespeare only really emerged during this time when we spent a term at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

“Being in that space, realising how the environment informed the play scripts and, most importantly, being encouraged to perform the text in my own accent and not an affected RP, really opened my eyes to how accessible Shakespeare could be.

“Seeing shows there whilst in the pit for £5 a pop didn’t hurt either. You can feel both financially and culturally excluded from Shakespeare and we aim to break down that assumption.

“I also wanted to give young local actors the opportunity to act in their own town, and to become familiar with classical plays, which they may have had no access to other than reading along in English class. (Not how we should be experiencing them).

“To date we’ve employed more than 80 actors from the North East and hope to do similar in different regions.”

Steve Arran’s profile on LinkedIn:

PROFESSIONAL actor, committed writer, passable stand-up, enthusiastic gamer, fanatical art historian and total cinephile. Very skilled in classical theatre and improvisation. Screenplays’ relation to historical events a speciality.

Did you know?

STEVEN Arran works with International House language school, helping non-English speakers to learn the language through acting in mini-Shakespeare productions.


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REVIEW: York Shakespeare Project in The Taming Of The Shrew, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, ends tomorrow ****

Nick Patrick Jones’s Hortensio, left, Stuart Green’s Grumio, Mark Simmonds’s Vincentio, Sam Jackson’s Lucentio, hidden, Mark Payton’s Gremio, back, Rosy Rowley’s Baptista Minola, front, Kirsty Farrow’s Bianca, Joy Warner’s Merchant/Widow and Flo Poskitt’s Katherine in York Shakespeare Project’s The Taming Of The Shrew. Picture: David Kessel

TWENTY one years have passed since York Shakespeare Project first staged The Taming Of The Shrew as its second ever production.

Staging Shakespeare’s “most controversial” comedy has become even more awkward in that time. The term “Gaslighting” is in common parlance; the #MeToo movement has found its voice; misogyny and sexism are a minefield of social media debate, Andrew Tate et al.

In 2003, Paul Toy, YSP’s director for Shrew, talked of the “welcome gains of feminism leaving it as less of a comedy, more of a problem play”. In 2009, Mooted Theatre’s Mark France saw the 1592 play’s sexual politics as “a gradual meeting of minds” in a war of words between Kate and Petruchio where both subvert the roles that society has determined for them. He coined the term “casual cruelty” to encapsulate the ploys of deception conducted by Tranio, Lucentio and Hortensio.

In 2003, Toy reversed the usual gender casting of the lovers and their servants, with Alice Borthwick, a tall Scot with a pageboy haircut, playing Petruchio in strapping manner opposite John Sharpe’s Katherina with his/her pale commedia dell’arte face and rouge lips. “There is now no pretence that what you see is `real’,” he said. “Hopefully, the play can be seen as less of a treatise and more of a game”.

Now, Maggie Smales, whose all-female version of Henry V in 2015 lingers in the memory, returns to the YSP director’s chair for ‘Shrew’, assisted by Claire Morley [her Henry , from that production].

Smales had played a serving wench in a South Yorkshire For Youth production of ‘Shrew’ in the mid-Sixties in Rotherham and Bianca in 1972 on her Bretton Hall drama course, now recalling them as “exemplifying the hypocrisy of a time that seemed to be offering the opportunity of gender equality without any real shift in attitudes”.

“We thought we were shaping a new world order with altered values,” she laments. “But there’s still quite a lot to be done about gender equality”.

Florence Poskitt’s Katherine in York Shakespeare Project’s The Taming Of The Shrew

No better time to start than now with this bracing production of ‘Shrew’, astutely edited by Smales and Morley. In their hands, ‘Shrew’ remains a combustible, hot and bothered drama that does not shy away from the “inherent misogyny” and gaslighting abuse in Petruchio’s regime of sleep deprivation and starvation rations for Katherine.

Crucially, however, Florence Poskitt’s feminist Katherine has the last say, not so much a shrewish shrew as shrewd in determining her path, rather than “melting” to Petruchio’s taming techniques after their calamitous nuptials.

Smales has set Shakespeare’s battle of the sexes/war of words in 1970, when the sun was setting on the Summer of Love and Germaine Greer published The Female Eunuch, a landmark statement in the feminist movement.

More precisely, Smales’s ‘Shrew’ opens in 1960 with a reimagined induction/prologue (replacing the Christopher Sly one), the cast exchanging presents beside the Christmas tree. The players then find themselves transported into a 1970 world wherein they experience and perform the play.

Judith Ireland’s costumes, from her own collection apparently, evoke that psychedelic age of flares, scarves, long hair, dark glasses and headbands, matched with the hits of Hendrix, The Who and Credence Clearwater Revival.

Ah, the whiff of nostalgia, the look, the sounds, setting up the boisterous fun and games that play out in the hands of Lara Stafford’s Tranio and Sam Jackson’s Lucentio, swapping clothes, genders and roles, and the deluded sparring of Nick Patrick Jones’s Hortensio and Mark Payton’s Gremio (in professional actor turned Shakespeare teacher Payton’s ‘first proper acting experience for almost 20 years’ – and what a joyful return he makes).

Stuart Green’s Grumio, with his guitar and shades, adds to the rock concert vibe, along with Joy Warner in her roadie cameo, while Rosy Rowley and Poskitt both perform a song, Rowley in the rowdy spirit of a Janis Joplin; Poskitt, in white, in a quiet solo spotlight in Fred Neil’s Everybody’s Talkin’.

Jim Paterson’s Petruchio. Picture: David Kessel

Rowley is playing Baptista Minola, traditionally Katherine and Bianca’s father, but here turned into their mother: a significant change that alters the male-dominated dynamic. A decision typical of Smales’s good judgement that always marks out her direction.

The “Taming” remains a battle waged between the needs of individual freedom and the demands of social conformity that decree that Katherine should be wed and that Petruchio seeks to apply in his unconventional way.

Poskitt, who took on her role with only a week to learn her lines and another to join the last week of rehearsals, is known for her wide-eyed comedy chops and singing, but there is much more lurking inside that comes out here (as it did in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None). Wild, scolding-tongued, as those around her decry, her subversive Katherine is ultimately more than a match to Petruchio’s prodding. Not so much a woman ‘tamed’ at the end as one establishing her own rights.

Paterson’s Petruchio pulls off the balancing act of being a rock music-loving, preening popinjay but humorous too for all his outrageous behaviour. Rik Mayall, Rupert Everett, that brand of English humour.

Maggie Smales has conquered Shakespeare’s problem play, no problem. This ‘Shrew’ is funny, furious, feminist, with an eye to the future too, as peace, love and equality are secured at last. 

Performances at 7.30pm tonight; 2.30pm and 7.30pm tomorrow, as part of York International Shakespeare Festival. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

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Tweedy the clown gets to the Bottom of his first Shakespearean role in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at York Theatre Royal

Look into my eyes: Tweedy’s Bottom and Natalie Windsor’s Titania in Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media

PROFESSIONAL clown Tweedy will be making an ass of himself as “rude mechanical” Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at York Theatre Royal from April 9 to 13.

Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company director Paul Milton has not only put this new twist on Shakespeare’s tale of magic, mischief and mayhem but appointed the Scottish-born performer as the “comedy advisor” too, utilising his clowning knowledge to give the touring production a modern facelift.

“Throw in Tweedy’s physical slapstick, and we think this is a really enjoyable show for everybody, especially families and students,” says Milton of his aim to “create an accessible Shakespeare show that will appeal to a present-day audience”.

Tweedy will be making his second appearance in York after being one of 35 international acts in Cirque Berserk’s February 2015 show at the Grand Opera House. “There were no animals, apart from a man in a horse’s head pulling a mini-caravan,” read the Press review. “There was a clown, Tweedy from Scotland, with his juggling and unicycling and unfeasibly large and loose trousers.”

Tweedy appears regularly in the Everyman pantomime and also performed in Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting For Godot in 2019, prompting chief executive Mark Goucher to put his name forward to director Paul Milton for Bottom: his first ever Shakespearean role (although he did direct Redshift Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing “a long time ago”).

“They suggested Bottom to me and I went ‘yeah’, because it’s a great role…but then initially I wasn’t 100 per cent sure because when I’ve seen Bottom being played, he’s quite arrogant and not that likeable, and as I play the clown, that didn’t feel quite right,” says Tweedy.

Such a comic ass-et: Tweedy the clown in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Picture: Andrew Huggins/Thousand Word Media

“But I just had to think about how I would play him. I realised that it’s not dissimilar to how I clown around in that he gets super-excited. That over-excitement leads to him saying he can do anything, and in that child-like quality, I can see the clown in him.”

Tweedy brings his clowning skills to his second role as comedy advisor for Shakespeare’s tale of love, mistaken identity and reconciliation, set in an enchanted forest wherein the romantic misadventures of four young lovers, the playful meddling of mischievous fairies and the comedic antics of amateur actors (the “rude mechanicals”) intertwine.

“The beauty of physical comedy is you don’t need to rewrite anything; you just add slapstick to what’s already there,” he says. “As a clown I find physical comedy appeals to all ages and generations, so I’m excited to add this element to the production.

“Putting a lot of physicality and slapstick in there feels really good with the mechanicals team I’m working with.”

As for his own performance as Bottom: “There’s the romantic thing going on with Titania, but there’s also that ridiculous thing of being transformed into an ass. Physically that’s fun to play,” he says.

Tweedy is joined in the cast by his old friend Jeremy Stockwell as the meddlesome Puck after playing Estragon to Stockwell’s Vladimir in the Everyman Theatre’s Waiting For Godot. “Paul [Milton] put us together for that, and afterwards I said ‘No, never again with Paul!” he says, playfully as it turns out, because Stockwell was within hearing distance after entering the rehearsal room.

Tweedy the clown with his trademark red tuft

In truth Tweedy had loved performing that play alongside Stockwell. “You’re on stage the whole time,” he says. “I see them as clowns in a dire situation, and you know what they say about clowns: ‘when you look into the eyes of a good clown, you see the humour in the human condition’,” he says.

“Jeremy and I come from similar backgrounds; we love to play and draw the audiences in so they feel involved, and of course we love to create mischief, so I’m really looking forward to having lots of fun.

“Bottom and Puck don’t spend much time together in the play, but Jeremy is also playing one of the mechanicals, Smug, so we do have scenes together. It’s always great if you have chemistry with someone as it becomes infectious. The thing with the clown is to have fun and joy, and when audience sees how much joy you’re having, it rubs off on everyone else. We’re very lucky that it’s a great cast, where we’re having great fun with the play.”

Should you be wondering how Tweedy acquired that name, he explains: “When I first joined Zippo’s Circus, I was going to call myself  ‘Weedy the clown’ as my last name is Digweed, but I was told there was already a Weedy, so Zippo himself suggested adding the ‘T’ to make it Tweedy. It just felt right and had a Scottish connection too.”

As ever, Tweedy will be parading his trademark red tuft. “When I first started, I wore big traditional make-up, big shoes etc,” he says. “I never really liked wigs so dyed all my hair red. During a show I did a routine where I’d fall into a birthday cake; I’d lie there for a really long time; I found it got good laughs just to lie there.

“One day, however, the candles didn’t go out. I was lying there thinking, ‘this is getting a bigger reaction than usual’. I then smelled singed hair and realised my hair was on fire. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt. All that was left was a red tuft, which I really liked the look of, so I kept it. I like to think of it as a modern equivalent of a red nose as I no longer wear a clown nose.”

Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Company in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, York Theatre Royal, April 9 to 13, 7pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Copyright of The Press, York

Did you know?

TWEEDY has worked as a comic stuntman at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show at Disneyland
Paris, performing alongside cowboys and Native Americans.

And finally…

How did you react to receiving a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to circus and the local community in the honours list, Tweedy?
“Initially confused. I nearly didn’t get it; for some reason they couldn’t get hold of me to accept it; they phoned my agent who thought it was a joke. By the time I got the email to accept, the deadline had passed. Lucky they didn’t stick to the deadline.

“When it was announced, I felt very proud. It’s not something as a clown I expected. It’s also good news for circus as it’s the first time it’s been specifically for circus, opposed to entertainment.”

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Maggie Smales to direct The Taming Of The Shrew for York Shakespeare Project at York International Shakespeare Festival

Maggie Smales: Directing York Shakespeare Project in The Taming Of The Shrew. All pictures: SR Taylor

YORK Shakespeare Project welcomes back Maggie Smales to direct The Taming Of The Shrew, Shakespeare’s controversial battle of the sexes, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from April 23 to 27.

“We are absolutely delighted to have Maggie as our director,” says YSP chair Tony Froud. “We know that she will find an exciting way to let the play speak to us in 2024.”

This is the first time that Maggie has directed for York Shakespeare Project since her all-female version of Henry V, chosen as “York Play of the Year” in the 2015 Hutch Awards.

Chesca Downes: Playing Kate in The Taming Of The Shrew

YSP’s multi-coloured psychedelic poster announces the production’s setting in 1970. The Sixties have shaken off the post-Second World War blues. The baby boomers are growing up, primed and ready to do their own thing. The world is opening up, promising peace, love and equality. Surely, The Times They Are a’Changin’ and the old order is dead? Or is it, asks Smales’s production.

“This will actually be my third encounter with this play,” she says. “I played in it as a youngster in Rotherham in South Yorkshire Theatre for Youth in the 1960s, then as a Bretton Hall drama student in 1970, and it was experiences of those days that gave me the inspiration for my ideas for this production.”

At the centre of the play are Kate and Petruchio, played in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1967 film version by Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. YSP’s Kate is University of York student Chesca Downes, in her first YSP role after playing a number of major roles at the university, such as the duchess in The Duchess Of Malfi.

Jim Paterson: Playing Petruchio for a second time

Opposite her will be Jim Paterson, a face more familiar to YSP audiences, who will recall his lead roles in The Two Noble Kinsmen, Cymbeline and Antony And Cleopatra. He is no stranger to the part of Petruchio, having played him in Cole Porter’s musical Kiss Me Kate in 2019.

Further roles go to Rosy Rowley as Baptista Minola; Kirsty Farrow, Bianca; Mark Payton, Gremio; Nick Patrick Jones, Hortensio; Sam Jackson, Lucentio; Mark Simmonds, Vincentio; Lara Stafford, Tranio; Cari Hughes, Biondello; Stuart Green, Grumio, and Joy Warner, Merchant and Widow.

As YSP’s second cycle of staging all of Shakespeare’s plays over 25 years rolls on, The Taming Of The Shrew will be performed as part of the 2024 York International Shakespeare Festival. Tickets for the 7.30pm evening performances and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are on sale at boxoffice@41monkgate.co.uk.

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REVIEW: Charles Hutchinson’s verdict on Macbeth’s return to Leeds Playhouse *****

Jessica Baglow’s Lady Macbeth and Ash Hunter’s Macbeth

WHEN shall we meet Amy Leach’s Macbeth again? Only two years to the month since its Leeds Playhouse premiere.

Sixty-nine schools from across Yorkshire attended the 2022 run, “introducing more than 5,000 students to the excitement and lasting resonance of Macbeth – and giving some of them their first electrifying experience of live theatre,” as artistic director and chief executive James Brining recalls in his programme notes.

Even more school-friendly matinees have been fitted in for the return of GCSE Eng Lit set text Macbeth, supported by a programme of resources and activities to “bring additional depth and breadth to students’ appreciation of this incredible play”.

Striking up a pre-show conversation with the student in the neighbouring back-row seat at Thursday’s lunchtime matinee, she had first seen a version of Macbeth when she was ten and it had since become her favourite play. Now she is studying its psychology on her GCSE course.

And what a psychological thriller to be watching to elucidate those studies, in a theatre full to the brim with excited school uniforms, all enraptured from start to finish by Leach’s vision of all-inclusive theatre-making. Theatre for all the senses, all audiences, all performers, deaf, visually impaired, included. Each performance has integrated audio description.

Think of modern theatrical retellings of historical stories with nods to concert culture, and up pops SIX The Musical, the Spouse Girls’ revenge of Henry VIII’s wives. Another controversial king, Macbeth, is now framed in a setting that would not be out of place in a stadium rock show.

A huge drawbridge hangs heavy over Hayley Grindle’s stage. Searchlights scan the auditorium from metallic towers spread out like a forest. Fog enfolds. Deafening noise bursts through the air. For those about to rock, however, stop. You notice a puddle of water; muddy ground; grit too. Something witchy this way comes.

Enter the weather-watchful Witches (Charlotte Arrowsmith, Karina Jones and Elkanah Wilder, all from 2022), spinning opening words that are re-shaped, re-ordered, with rhythms afresh, their sound as important as their meaning.

What’s this? Macbeth (Ash Hunter, last seen on Yorkshire boards as Heathcliff in Wise Children’s Wuthering Heights at York Theatre Royal) and Lady Macbeth (the returning Jessica Baglow) are cradling a new-born baby, only for the bairn to die within a heartbeat.

In the Playhouse’s wish to “explore the damaging physical, spiritual and psychological effects of treachery on those who seek power at any cost”, Leach has put child loss, lineage and legacy at the heart of the Macbeths’ behaviour, the acts of murder, the need to eliminate all threats to their ill-gotten power.

Leach then takes it even further, Baglow’s Lady Macbeth being pregnant when she beseeches “unsex me here” and later suffering a miscarriage as blood seeps through her nightgown. Come the finale, Leach adds prescient text to give a foretaste of Banquo’s son, Fleance, becoming king as the Witches had prophesied.

Those Witches typify Leach and Brining’s “commitment to accessible and inclusive theatre-making”, as does the participation of the blind Benjamin Wilson as audio description consultant.

Supernatural soliciting: Elkanah Wilder, Karina Jones and Charlotte Arrowsmith’s Witches in Amy Leach’s Macbeth. Picture: Kirsten McTernan

Among the witches, Karina Jones is visually impaired and Charlotte Arrowsmith is profoundly deaf, while Elkanah Wilder “interrogates multifaceted sociopolitical oppressions from a queer and disabled lens”.

Here, Shakespeare’s “weird sisters” are neither weird, nor alien, in the way they are often played, but are as wild as the landscape instead.

Arrowsmith also plays Lady MacDuff, partnered once more by the profoundly deaf Hull actor Adam Bassett as MacDuff. Paul Brown’s Lennox vocally interprets the sign language, complementing the intensity of Bassett’s expressive face, hands and arms with the staccato rhythms of his speech.

Learning of, spoiler alert, his wife and children’s deaths is even more shocking, heart-rending, in this form of news delivery: theatre at its unique best, living and breathing in the rawness of the moment.

Not only do lighting designer Chris Davey’s searchlights induce a sense of paranoia (later turning from white to red after yet more murdering), but relentlessly oppressive natural elements prevail too, along with the sound and fury of machismo war.

These are all big, muscular, mud-and-blood splattered men, ready to rut like stags, except for Aosaf Afzal’s King Duncan; their physicality being emphasised by Georgina Lamb’s movement direction and Claire Lewellyn’s fight direction. Likewise, Nicola T Chang’s sound design adds to the cacophony.

Macbeth’s vaulting ambition may in part be represented by the drawbridge, crowned when on top of it, but broken beneath it, but Leach’s production is deeply human amid the technology.

In the relationship of Hunter’s reactionary Macbeth and Baglow’s more intuitive Lady Macbeth, the shifting sands become less about calculating mind games, controlled initially by her, more about brute physicality and brutal will, imposed by him, as intense love and mutual hopes are snuffed out in the face of ultimate destiny being beyond their control, whether shaped by supernatural witchcraft or the resurrection of natural order.

Hunter’s Macbeth is as physical in his language as in his pugilist’s body, his soliloquies carrying the force of punches amid the fevered actions of his bloody rise and fall. He is so spent – “Enough, enough, I am done” – that he lays down to let Macduff administer the final blow.

Above all, Leach puts Lady Macbeth’s motives under the spotlight, and if purists feel she has gone too far in doing so, the reality is that Baglow’s performance is all the better, more rounded, for it.  

Risk-taking change can be liberating, rather than be judged as taking liberties, as Leach’s emboldened Playhouse productions affirm, from Romeo And Juliet to Macbeth X 2.

What’s more, there is no damned spot to ‘out’ here. Leach’s Macbeth was already beyond blemish in 2022 and is even better in 2024.

Macbeth, Leeds Playhouse, today at 2pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 0113 213 7700 or leedsplayhouse.org.uk.

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