Adam Price’s George and Natalie Walker’s Dot in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Sunday In The Park With George. Picture: Kevin Greenhill
FRENCH post-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat obsessed over every little last detail, making a point of everything.
The same applies to Robert Readman’s production of one of his favourite musical works, Stephen Sondheim and playwright-director James Lapine’s Sunday In The Park With George, a 1984 collaboration inspired by Seurat’s pointillist painting, Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte.
Two years in the making, that 1884-1886 work forms the wraparound artwork for Pick Me Up Theatre’s programme. Unfold it, and you find Sondheim’s lyrics to Finishing The Hat, the most significant song in capturing the artistic temperament and drive of Seurat and Sondheim alike.
Director-designer Readman has given Sunday In The Park With George a traverse setting within the black-box John Cooper Studio. At either end is a blank canvas for projections of such Seurat works as 1884’s Bathers At Asnières, an oil painting of a suburban, placid Parisian riverside on a monumental scale soon to be matched by Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of Grand Jatte.
Libby Greenhill’s Louise, left, Sanna Jeppsson’s Yvonne and Natalie Walker’s Dot in Sunday In The Park With George. Picture: Kevin Greenhill
Work-in-progress drawings by Kevin Greenhill (also the production’s photographer) depict Seurat’s sketches and character studies as Adam Price’s George (Seurat) is consumed by his craft of painting: a craft that brought him no monetary reward in a life curtailed by a fatal illness at 31, not one painting having sold before his death.
This is an exquisite directorial touch by Readman, happily and visibly restored to full throttle after “unforeseen circumstances” forced him to call off last autumn’s Halloween double bill of Young Frankenstein and The Worst Witch at the Grand Opera House.
In between the two canvas bookends runs another strip of blank canvas, a walkway or catwalk to be peopled by all the figures in Seurat’s painting coming to life in the imagination of Lapine and Sondheim (much like Johannes Vermeer’s Girl With A Pearl Earring doing likewise in Tracy Chevalier’s historical fiction novel), as if the writers had eavesdropped on conversations in the park.
Host Readman has his audience seated to either side of the stage at circular tables topped with paper “tablecloths” decorated with dots. We feel like we are in the park too.
Adam Price’s George and Natalie Walker’s Marie in the American Act Two of Pick Me Up Theatre’s Sunday In The Park With George. Picture: Kevin Greenhill
Dots are everywhere. Even Seurat’s long-suffering mistress/lover/muse is called Dot, a made-up name, it would seem, but typical of the wit at work in this fictionalised account of the months leading up to the completion of Seurat’s painting.
In a canny piece of casting, Readman has brought together real-life husband and wife Adam Price and Natalie Walker as his leads. They have performed as a duo and sang together in Pick Me Up’s Dad’s Army but this is the first time they have taken roles together in a musical, and their natural chemistry shines through their performance as the damaged central couple.
Dot wants Seurat to express his love, especially once she is pregnant, but he is drawn only to the canvas, to shining his light on Parisian life, putting her only in the spotlight in the painting.
They sing beautifully, Walker especially in the ballads, Price in expressing his artistic modus operandi, his dot-dot-dot technique being matched at one point by the staccato notes emanating from musical director Matthew Peter Clare’s keyboard.
Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast representing figures in Seurat’s pointillist painting Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte. Picture: Kevin Greenhill
As Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, snubs his fellow artists and neglects his lover, we meet all manner of Parisian folk in the park: an Old lady (Beryl Nairn), who turns out to be his oft-exasperated mother; his cigar-smoking agent Jules (James Willstrop), who behind his back shows no enthusiasm for his work; Yvonne (Sanna Jeppsson), who is even more snobbishly dismissive; and Craig Kirby and Rhian Wells’s befuddled American couple, Mr and Mrs.
Look out too for Mark Simmonds’s haughty, Germanic Franz; Ryan Richardson’s surly Boatman; Neil Foster’s self-righteous Soldier and Alexandra Mather (a late replacement for the indisposed Emma Louise Dickinson) and Nicola Holliday as a pair of anything but angelic Celestes. Tracey Rea’s Frieda, Michael Tattersall’s Louis, Libby Greenhill’s Louise and Logan Willstrop’s Boy cut a dash too.
After the interval, the musical takes a turn for the more personal for Sondheim in a parallel modern story where Price’s Seurat becomes George, a ‘chromolume’ American artist as underappreciated and fractious as Seurat was in his lifetime as Sondheim “explores the reverberations of Seurat’s actions over the next 100 years”.
At the time, Sondheim was increasingly dischuffed by the reaction to his musicals, just as Woody Allen had a fan say “I especially like your early, funny ones” to Allen’s character, film director Sandy Bates, in 1980’s Stardust Memories when weary of critics giving that verdict on his later works.
Nicola Holliday’s Celeste and Neil Foster’s Soldier. Picture: Kevin Greenhill
This is a somewhat overwrought piece of point-scoring by Sondheim amid all the pointillism of Seurat, but archly amusing all the same, adding to the enjoyment of a superb performance by leads and supporting players alike, responding to Readman’s relish for the musical.
Will Nicholson and Adam Coggin’s lighting and sound is top notch, and Matthew Peter Clare’s palpably energetic musical direction brings out the best in his seven-piece band.
Readman’s design skills are always a strong suit, but particularly so here, full of playfulness and artistry, such as in the cut-outs of dogs from Seurat’s painting, later matched by black-and-white full-size cut-outs of George part two in his suit, tie and pumps in the American gallery.
Do please spend Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday in the park with George. You’d be dotty to miss out.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Sunday In The Park With George, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York; 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Georges Seurat’s Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte in the Pick Me Up Theatre show poster
Pick Me Up Theatre’s leading couple for Sunday In The Park With George: Husband and wife Adam Price and Natalie Walker at Moorlands Nature Reserve. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
PICK Me Up Theatre follow up last week’s Sondheim We Remember revue with a swift return to Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, in Sunday In The Park With George.
New York composer Stephen Sondheim’s 1984 collaboration with playwright and director James Lapine follows French post-Impressionist painter Georges Seurat (played by Adam Price) in the months leading up to the completion of his most famous painting, A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte.
Consumed by his need to “finish the hat”, the controversial Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists and neglects his long-suffering mistress Dot (Natalie Walker), not realising that his actions will reverberate through the next 100 years.
Running from April 5 to 13, director and designer Robert Readman’s production also features Alexandra Mather and Nicola Holliday as Celeste, Mark Simmonds as Franz, James Willstrop as Jules, Neil Foster as Soldier, and Sanna Jeppsson as Yvonne, among others.
Pick Me Up Theatre present Sunday In The Park With George, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 5 to 13, 7.30pm except April 8; 2.30pm, April 6, 7 and 13.
Adam Price and Natalie Walker: the back story
ADAM grew up in Goole, where he has always had a keen interest in history and music.
His father was a gigging musician in a band and, as a result, Adam started playing guitar and singing as a teenager – joining several bands of his own.
He studied history at Lancaster University and Queen Mary’s College, University of London, and has a particular interest in the First World War, regularly visiting the battlefields to research.
He has run several tours of the battlefields as a guide and writes a blog about the servicemen of Goole.
As well as history, he has a keen interest in travel, working as a travel consultant for an independent travel company just outside York.
His interest in musical theatre came much later and he made his debut with Pick Me Up Theatre in My Fair Lady in 2017. He then played Young Buddy in Follies in 2018, followed by Dad’s Army in 2019, and the role of Marlowe in Shakespeare In Love in 2022.
Natalie Walker and musical director Matthew Clare in rehearsals for Sunday In The Park With George
NATALIE has been interested in music from an early age and started to play piano at the age of eight.
She studied music and theatre at Hull University and began working professionally as a musician in 2009. She runs two choirs in Goole, as well as managing Castaway
Goole with Pick Me Up Theatre’s Robert Readman: a charity that provides life- changing opportunities through the arts to adults and young people with disabilities and autism conditions.
Musical theatre has always been a passion, leading to her being the musical director for Pick Me Up’s production of Shakespeare In Love in 2022, using period instruments to support the score.
Since then, she has worked on Pick Me Up’s productions of The Sound Of Music, Oh What A Lovely War and Matilda. She has worked professionally with She Productions in Beverley, Snappy Operas and Middle Child in Hull.
ADAM and Natalie first met in 2009 when he joined a choir that she was accompanying.
They share a great love of music and first came together by singing as an acoustic duo. They still enjoy singing and playing together regularly and were married – after a long Covid delay! – in 2022.
They live in Bainton, near Driffield, after buying a derelict house and renovating it over several years.
“Sunday in the Park has been a lovely opportunity to spend time in the theatre together, being a pretend couple as well as a real one!” they say.
“Rehearsing together has been a genuinely lovely process,” say Adam and Natalie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Here CharlesHutchPress interviews husband and wife Adam Price and Natalie Walker about playing painter Georges Seurat and his lover Dot
What attracted you to auditioning for the role of artist Georges Seurat, Adam?
“Seurat is such a fascinating character to explore. In some respects, he can be seen as a very simple character who is solely driven by his work to the exclusion of all others.
“Yet there are so many moments in the show when we see the conflict that is constantly playing out within him, how he struggles to manage his relationships with people around him, and even how he processes the criticism of his work and questions his vision.
“He is a character who struggles to connect with those closest to him and it is the challenge of communicating that struggle to an audience that attracted me to the role.”
What sparked your desire to perform in musical theatre, on top of your interest in history, the First World War, battlefield tours and travel?
“I grew up in a musical family and always enjoyed singing and playing music. I was first introduced to musicals through my grandad. He used to perform in dance bands and was always listening to jazz standards, including Gershwin and Cole Porter. “Later in life, I started watching the shows instead of just listening to the songs in isolation and it opened up a whole new world for me.
“My musical theatre knowledge was very limited and it was Natalie who really introduced me to the whole variety of the genre, including Sondheim, as well as singing show tunes in The Warblers.
“I always enjoyed singing but was not sure about the acting side of things until I did a theatre workshop a few years ago with Andy Reiss, who had directed the touring production of Les Miserables.
“I really enjoyed the whole experience and thought I would give performing a go. Performing in musicals is so much fun and rewarding and is a great way of giving you self-confidence.
“What I especially enjoy about performing is that it gives you the opportunity to step out of yourself and inhabit a completely different character for a time, getting under the skin of a character, finding out what motivates them, how they see the world; it can be revealing and rewarding.
What do you most enjoy about performing for Pick Me Up Theatre?
“York has a really rich amateur theatre scene, so it was natural to look to York when I was thinking about joining a company and Pick Me Up has such a good reputation for the quality of their shows.
“They were auditioning for My Fair Lady at the time, which was special for me as it was the first musical that I watched and enjoyed, so I gave it a go. I was very lucky because it was such a great cast, and I learned a lot; everyone was so welcoming and worked so hard to get the best out of their performance that I knew I had found a home there.
“Coming to amateur theatre later in life, I’d always been inhibited by the reputation it is has for being cliquey, but I’ve never experienced that in any shows I’ve done or when working with Pick Me Up.
“Robert is always willing to give people a chance, and if he thinks you’re right for a role then that is that. He always assembles a dedicated and talented cast and crew and always has a clear vision for what he wants to achieve.”
“We’ve had the benefit of being able to run lines and work on songs at home, so it’s been really nice to be fully immersed in the show as much as possible,” say Adam and Natalie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
What are the characteristics of Sondheim’s composing skills that you most admire?
“Sondheim is a craftsman, pure and simple. Nothing is by chance and even the most seemingly frivolous throwaway musical phrases or lyrics have been carefully considered and backed up with an unrivalled ability and knowledge of his art, coupled with a deep psychological understanding of the human condition.
“What I love in particular is the relationship between the music and lyrics; they work together rather than one simply being laid on top of the other, as you often get with other composers. Ultimately, he was respectful of his audience and always wanted to give them the best of himself.”
Has growing up in Goole had an impact on you?
“I think we are all affected by where we grew up. Goole has had its share of problems, but its people are friendly, caring, decent and down to earth. No matter where else I’ve ended up in my life, growing up in a community like that, you realise that qualities like that are the most important.”
What would be your perfect Sunday in the park? Spent where? With whom? Food? Drink?
“I aspire to be a real epicurean so there is nothing I would like more than spending Sunday in a park with friends, talking about everything: life, art, music, philosophy. Laughter and conversation are the best music in life. I honestly wouldn’t need anything else.”
With all that travelling nous, do you have a favourite park you have visited, one you would recommend visiting, and one you most want to visit that you are yet to do so?
“That is a tough question. I will always have a soft spot for Regent’s Park, as that was my local park when I was living in London, and living in a big city, it was the place I could go for a bit of greenery.
“For people watching, the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris is wonderful and Central Park is an incredible place to just wander around and get lost in. Ultimately though, I don’t think you have to journey a long way; everyone should take time out to visit their local park every now and then. It’s always a good opportunity to get out and take a break, as well as a place to connect with your local community.”
Do you have a favourite hat? If so, why that one?
“I’ve always been a big fan of bobble hats. I have a bobble hat that I’ve had for about 14 years that is nice and warm, but it is also incredibly comfortable, so I tend to wear it all year round, not just in winter.”
Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for Sondheim We Remember and Sunday In The P:ark With George
What attracted you to auditioning for the role of Dot, Natalie?
“Dot is a character that truly goes on a journey in this show. She can be feisty and fiery but at the heart of it just wants to be seen and loved. The role is a real challenge as, ironically, she’s not two-dimensional at all. I think that is what attracted me most to her character as there’s so much depth to be found.
Her relationship with George is also incredibly interesting to try and get right. Both need to be likeable enough that an audience will root for them, but also damaged enough that their relationship could never be conventional.
“The interesting thing for me is that Dot is the character who truly changes throughout the show, against the rigidity of George and his unwillingness to look away from his painting and truly look at her.”
When were you last on stage in a show, rather than taking the musical director’s role?
“I’ve been on stage singing/playing a fair amount, including performing as one of the on-stage singers in Dad’s Army in 2018, but actually doing a show with any sort of narrative or characters, I would take a guess that it’s been about ten years!
“I think the closest I’ve come is being on-stage musical director for two productions of Beverley Does Broadway with She Productions at East Riding Theatre in 2022 and 2023.
“There was a bit of acting and a couple of lines to learn, but I was very much playing a version of myself for those shows, so it’s quite a big switch for me to be on the stage in character rather than under/behind it!
“Performing in Sunday In The Park With George is a great opportunity to tread the boards again, after spending many hours in the pit!”
What first attracted you to work with Pick Me Up Theatre?
“I’ve always admired Pick Me Up for the high quality of the shows that they produce. The talent in the York area is astounding, and the vision for each show is always executed so beautifully. It was actually Adam that first worked with Pick Me Up after auditioning for My Fair Lady in 2017, and after seeing a few performances I couldn’t resist throwing my hat into the ring.
“Having been an audience member for several of their shows, I think the real joy is seeing that there is absolutely nothing amateur about the productions and everyone involved works so hard to make the best show possible.
Sanna Jeppsson’s Yvonne poses against the backdrop of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte
“I first started working with Pick Me Up as a singer in Dad’s Army but then went on to musically direct Shakespeare In Love (with full period costume and instruments!)
“I also think their choice of shows is really inspired, with genuinely out-of-the-box choices, rather than just the standard crowd pleasers in the amateur scene!”
What are the characteristics of Sondheim’s composing skills that you most admire?
“The thing that I love about Sondheim is that nothing is ever an accident. Every note has been placed very specifically for a reason, whether it’s a note for every magic bean in the Into The Woods theme, or the placement of a blob of paint in Sunday [In The Park With George].
“The same is true of Sondheim as a lyricist: every word has value and nothing is ever thrown away for the sake of a rhyme or rhythm. Everything about Sondheim’s work is truly crafted, and it makes it such a delight to delve into, as there are constantly new things to discover on each reading.”
What was the most important lesson you learnt for performing in your studies at Hull University?
“I think people often think that being successful in music or theatre means that you have to be some sort of diva or have a massive ego. During my degree, I actually found, quite reassuringly, that the opposite was the case. The ability to be supportive of other people and work well together, either as a cast or as a band makes not only a more pleasant experience, but also creates the best work.
“As boring as it sounds, I think just learning to work hard is a big part of it – there is no glory in being lazy and expecting everyone else around you to make allowances!”
Which choirs do you run in Goole? Where do they perform and how often?
“I run two choirs known as the Warblers – one sings pop music; the other sings show tunes. The choirs have been running since 2009 and have around 90 members. They’ve developed a really great reputation in Goole thanks to their twice-yearly concerts at Junction, often performing with other musicians – recently including West End performers, brass bands and stars of English National Opera.
They were also part of the Song For Us project over lockdown where they premiered a new piece by Goole-born composer Gavin Bryars virtually. The choirs are now going through some changes as, until 2023, it was a joint venture between myself and a colleague, who has now retired.
“This presented an exciting opportunity for me to continue the hard work of the last 15 years! We’re hoping to go from strength to strength and are working towards our next concert in July.”
Neil Foster’s Soldier and Mark Simmonds’s Franz blend into Georges Seurat’s painting
What does running Castaway Goole with Robert Readman involve?
“Castaway is a wonderful charity that provides life-changing opportunities through the arts to adults and young people with learning and physical disabilities, mental health difficulties and autism conditions.
“They provide weekly classes in music, singing, drama, art, craft, dance and musical theatre to approximately 50 members who may not be able to access these opportunities elsewhere.
“Castaway is actually where Robert and I met, when I was asked to play piano for their production of Just So in 2017. Since then, we’ve worked together on four full-scale musicals and a film version of David Copperfield, after the stage production was cancelled due to Covid.
“After the retirement of the charity’s founder in 2022, Robert and I were given the role of general manager and now oversee the running of the whole charity. Every day is completely different but incredibly rewarding in its own way!
“We stage a full-scale musical once a year, as well as co-ordinating staff in running the other classes throughout the week.
“I also run the Castaway Sing community choir, who perform regularly in the area at various events. We always say that we get far more back from the members than we could ever put in – it really is such a rewarding place to work, and the achievements of the members are absolutely huge.
“Robert often jokes that we’re ‘work husband and wife’ because we always seem to know what the other one is thinking, so it’s made for a very interesting process being directed as part of the on-stage cast, rather than working alongside one another!”
What have been the highlights of your career as a professional musician?
“It’s so difficult to pinpoint anything in particular as I genuinely love every job that I do. I wanted to be a professional musician from a young age but it’s such an uncertain field that I never 100 per cent believed that it would happen, particularly combined with my love of theatre.
“As soon as I started to work as an accompanist and musical director, I knew it was the job I wanted to do forever! The highlights for me are always those that involve making work with people who you really gel with and with whom you share a mutual respect.
“I’ve worked with a few theatre companies in the past couple of years where this has been the case, but none more-so than She Productions in Beverley, so I think working with them would be my highlight so far!”
What would be your perfect Sunday in the park? Spent where? With whom? Food? Drink?
“My perfect Sunday in the park would involve English springtime, music, friends, family and lots of food! I can’t think of anything better than a sunny day spent with the people I love most, and tons of homemade cake!
“I don’t actually drink but unlimited tea and coffee is the absolute dream. Peace and tranquillity is great, but I would also never say no to some sporting activity – you can’t beat a good game of rounders (as long as it’s followed by more cake!)
Do you have a favourite hat? If so, why that one?
“I’m not really much of a hat wearer! But there is something about the comfort of a woolly hat in winter that can’t be beaten – and if it’s got a bobble on top, all the better!”
Adam Price and Natalie Walker: “Sunday In The Park has been a lovely opportunity to spend time in the theatre together, being a pretend couple as well as a real one!” Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Joint questions for Adam and Natalie
Where did you marry?
“At St Michael’s Church in Eastrington, Natalie’s childhood village church, where she still plays organ for Sunday services. Natalie comes from a farming family, so we held the reception in her parents’ barn. Her parents are both incredibly creative and they made it look absolutely stunning – it was a dream come true!”
Have you performed in a musical together previously?
“We both performed as singers in Pick Me Up Theatre’s production of Dad’s Army in 2018. Aside from that, Adam performed in Oh What A Lovely War, for which Natalie was musical director, but that’s as close as we’ve got until now!”
How have you found the experience of rehearsing together?
“It’s been a genuinely lovely process, as usually one or the other of us is heading off to a rehearsal somewhere without the other one, so it’s been great to share the experience.
“We’ve also had the added benefit of being able to run lines and work on songs at home, so it’s been really nice to be fully immersed in the show as much as possible.
“Sometimes you do wonder if it’s going to affect your relationship if you constantly have to play tension between each other, but we’ve been pretty good at leaving the tension in the rehearsal room and going back to talking about what we’re having for dinner!”
How is the house renovation going?
“After buying a derelict house the week before the first national lockdown, it’s been a rather lengthy process but we now have a finished home that we absolutely love, and we’re just waiting on some nice weather to make the garden slightly less reminiscent of a swamp!”
Putting themselves in the picture: Sunday In The Park With George cast members James Willstrop (as Jules), left, Neil Foster (Soldier), Natalie Walker (Dot) and Sanna Jeppsson (Yvonne), front, pose with Georges Seurat’s painting
Sam Hird: Singing Sondheim with Pick Me Up Theatre
ROYAL College of Music student Sam Hird returns home to York to join his father Mark Hird in the Pick Me Up Theatre company for Sondheim We Remember at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from March 27 to 30.
Taking part too in this celebration of New York composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim will be director Helen ‘Bells’ Spencer, Susannah Baines, Emma Louise Dickinson, Alexandra Mather, Florence Poskitt, Andrew Roberts, Catherine Foster, Nick Sephton and Matthew Warry.
Planned originally for 2020 before Covid intervened – and Sondheim’s death on November 26 2021 at the age of 91 – Pick Me Up’s show features music from his Broadway shows, film scores and TV specials. Tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2.30pm Saturday matinee are on sale at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Pick Me Up Theatre’s company of singers for Sondheim We Remember
Pick Me Up will make a swift return to Theatre@41 with a second Sondheim show, his 1984 musical collaboration with playwright and director James Lapine, Sunday In The Park With George, from April 5 to 13.
Inspired by Georges Seurat’s pointillist painting Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte, the musical follows Seurat (played by Adam Price) in the months leading up to the completion of that famous work.
Seurat alienates the French bourgeoisie, spurns his fellow artists and neglects his lover Dot (Natalie Walker), not realising that his actions will reverberate over the next 100 years.
Performances will start at 7.30pm on April 5, 6 and 9 to 13, plus 2.30pm on April 6, 7 and 13. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Picture pose: Pick Me Up Theatre’s Emma-Louise Dickinson, as Celeste, adds to the scene in Georges Seurat’s painting Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte, the inspiration for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Sunday In The Park With George
John Atkin conductiing the York Beethoven Project musicians at Millthorpe School
THE second event in the York Beethoven Project to perform all nine of his symphonies was a “huge success”, says director and conductor John Atkin.
On February 10, 56 musicians spent the day hosted by York Music Education CIC at Millthorpe School rehearsing Symphony No2, climaxing with an informal performance to an audience.
“York Music Education CIC were fabulous hosts; a number of senior students joined the orchestra for the day, and most groups popped in to listen at some point, including the I Can Play! session, bringing music to deaf children,” says John.
“As with Symphony No. 1, the day was very well organised and ran like clockwork, with five sessions of rehearsals, the second being a sectional one where the wind instruments were directed by Jonathan Sage.
“There were ample breaks between each session with a couple of hundred cups of tea and coffee as well as cake provided by parents and Friends of York Music Education CIC.”
The aim of the project is inclusivity and opportunity. “That’s why it was really great to include some new faces, especially the students who joined us or came into the open rehearsal and maybe experienced a large orchestra for the first time,” says John. “Huge thanks to Dan Hield and all his team.”
The day was particularly poignant for John, who attended York Music Centre as a pupil in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was held at what was Queen Anne’s Grammar School.
York Beethoven Project’s second day drew 56 musicians
“I first played there in a recorder ensemble as an eight-year-old, then returned as a trombonist in the late-1970s to play in YASSO and the Concert Band, which was a great experience and a good grounding in orchestral playing,” he says.
“I even gave up Saturday morning rugby to play, so it must have been pretty special! Either way, it was my first step along a career path that’s now gone on 40-plus years.”
What’s next? The project is making plans to perform Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”, with a 40-piece orchestra at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on September 14 and the Wesley Centre, Malton, on September 28 in the company of the White Rose Singers.
Billed as An Evening Of Revolutionary Music, these 7.30pm concerts will feature revolutionary music from musicals including Les Misérables, West Side Story, Carousel and Stephen Sondheim works too.
“We’re asking musicians who play instruments that Beethoven wrote for to sign up to the next event, but we really only have vacancies for strings and French horns,” forewarns John.
Following the science? James Willstrop as Dr Frederick Frankenstein, creator of the Creature in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Young Frankenstein. Picture: Jennifer Jones
YORK company Pick Me Up Theatre’s delayed northern premiere of Mel Brooks’s comedy horror musical Young Frankenstein opens at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre next Wednesday.
Unforeseen circumstances had forced the late postponement of last autumn’s run at the Grand Opera House, but rehearsals re-started in York in early December under the direction of Andrew Isherwood.
All the original principal cast chosen by Pick Me Up artistic director and designer Robert Readman was still available, not least former squash world number one James Willstrop in the lead role of mad scientist Dr Frederick Frankenstein, first played by Gene Wilder in Brooks’s 1974 horror-movie spoof of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein.
“You hear of other shows where it’s happened, but it was a really sad feeling when we couldn’t do it as were just about to start our run,” recalls James.
“I was feeling pretty depressed afterwards, thinking ‘this show isn’t going to happen’ – and when people ask, ‘how are you feeling?’, it’s unusual to have to explain to anyone as it’s not ‘real life’, but you do feel really deflated.
Pick Me Up Theatre principals in Young Frankenstein: back row, from left, James Willstrop’s Dr Frederick Frankenstein, Helen Spencer’s Frau Blucher and Jennie Wogan-Wells’s Elizabeth Benning; front row, Jack Hooper’s Igor and Sanna Jeppsson’s Inga. Picture: Jennifer Jones
“But then we got this text from Bells [production management assistant and actress Helen Spencer] asking, ‘Can you do these dates?’, as Robert said we could go ahead with a new run.”
Out went Pick Me Up’s planned production of Chicago at the JoRo, replaced by Young Frankenstein. Rehearsals have been a matter of “going again”. “We had the best part of a month off when the last thing I was thinking of doing was listening to the soundtrack!” says James.
“It’s been a case of getting into the scenes again, with the choreography kept largely the same. Andrew has been really great on the detail, which actors love, and that’s been good. He’s trusted our instincts and he’s been very alive to the comedy.”
James, who made his Pick Me Up debut as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound Of Music in December 2022, has enjoyed becoming acquainted with Brooks’s parody songs.
“Going into the audition, I didn’t know a lot about the show, but I love Pick Me Up and working with Robert, and I loved the opening number, The Brain, which I decided to learn for the audition.
James Willstrop: Men’s doubles squash gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, his fifth Games
“A week out from the audition, I hadn’t been sure about the show, but by the time I did the audition, I was thinking, ‘this part is great, I’ve got to do it’!
“The first few times, listening to the soundtrack, it took me a while to get a feel for the songs, but then you realise they’re just great, simple songs. I love the tunes, they have a vaudeville quality, and the humour is always there.”
James, now 40, had first performed in “serious dramas” before branching out into musicals, and last year found him heading to the Cornish coast to play deluded mystery novel writer Charles Considine in Ilkley Playhouse’s production of Noel Coward’s supernatural comedy Blithe Spirit at the Minack Theatre.
“Doing that humorous role, and being tall [James is 6ft 4ins], with all the physicality that goes with that, just seemed to link perfectly to then playing Frederick Frankenstein,” he says.
. “It’s not subtle but it’s a great comedy genre,” says James Willstrop of Mel Brooks’s humour. Picture: Jennifer Jones
In Brooks’s spoof, the grandson of infamous scientist Victor Frankenstein, Dr Frederick Frankenstein, has inherited his family’s castle estate in Transylvania. Aided and hindered by hunchbacked sidekick Igor, Scandinavian lab assistant Inga, stern German Frau Blucher and needy fiancée Elizabeth, he strives to fulfil his grandfather’s legacy by bringing a corpse back to life.
Cue comedy in the bold Brooks style. “It’s lovely to be doing something silly, full of innuendos and jokes that some people might hate but are just daft,” says James. “It’s not subtle but it’s a great comedy genre,”
James, whose father grew up in York, lives in Harrogate and now divides his time between coaching squash – and “still playing a bit” – at the Pontefract Squash and Leisure Club and performing on stage.
Coming next will be his role as recovering alcoholic Harry in Bingley Little Theatre’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company at Bingley Arts Centre, West Yorkshire, from July 1 to 6.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Young Frankenstein, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, January 31 to February 32024, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk
Take a seat: James Robert Ball, left, in the role of Marvin and Trina’s psychiatrist, Mendel Weisenbachfeld, with Chris Mooney’s Marvin James
YORK company Black Sheep Theatre Productions is running a list of Eight Reasons Not To Miss Falsettos in emphatic block capitals on Facebook ahead of next week’s York premiere at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
One reason: the limited availability. “Falsettos is a show that is not available for licence in the United Kingdom for normal theatre companies to perform,” it reads. “Falsettos is only available by special agreement with the composer, William Finn, and Concord Theatricals for production by Black Sheep Theatre Productions and is very unlikely to be done in the UK any time soon.
“If you miss this production, you won’t be able to find another one any time soon,” it re-emphasises.
For a barrier-breaking LGBTQ+ American musical where “love can tell a million stories”, that statement only tells half the story. Let director Matthew Clare fill in the rest as Black Sheep stick to their mission of making “Art with a point”.
“It’s been done only once before in the UK by a semi-pro company, off-West End, in London. It lasted for a week – there was a big backlash against it as a very gay and very Jewish musical,” he says.
“No-one in the cast was Jewish and lot of the Hebrew in it was pronounced wrongly, leading to a letter being signed by prominent members of the Jewish community and published in the Guardian. Miriam Margolyes and David Baddiel spoke on the matter, and in the light of that letter, pressure was put on to close the production. That’s what happened.
“Subsequently, the performing right were not available in the UK and that’s still the case, but now I have attained exclusive rights for Falsettos in the UK.”
Father and son in conversation in Falsetttos: Chris Mooney as Marvin with Matthew Warry as 12-year-old Jason
How come? “Concord Theatricals have the rights in America, so I contacted them. That was nearly three years, during Covid, saying when everything gets back to normal, how could I make a production happen?” recalls Matthew.
“They initially said, ‘No, there are no rights in the UK’, but I kept pushing and through thatI got in touch with William Finn, the composer.”
First by email, then in conversation. “I talked openly with him, saying I wanted to be faithful to the piece. He’s Jewish, and we have Jewish representation on the production team,” says Matthew.
“My vision for our production was discussed by Concord with William, and they then said, ‘that’s fine, we agree for you to do it’.”
Permission was granted in spring 2022, a rights fee was agreed and paid, and Matthew then dealt directly with Concord in the UK. “It’s still heavily managed by them,” he says. “I’ve talked to them about twice a month, as I also did Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens through them, and because of that they’ve now kind of backed off over the last two months.
“They did stipulate that the child in the show – Jason – has to be male and there could be flexibility with other casting, though it all has to be as stated for gender. The cast also has to have an understanding of Jewish customs, such as bar mitzvahs, and we made sure the cast was au fait with everything by day one of rehearsals.”
Written by Finn and James Lapine, Falsettos is a Tony Award-winning sung-through musical that combines 1981’s March Of The Falsettos and 1990’s Falsettoland in its late-Seventies, early-Eighties story of Marvin (played by Chris Mooney), who has left his wife, Trina (Nicola Holliday) and 12-year-old son, Jason (Matthew Warry), to be with his male lover, Whizzer (Dan Crawfurd-Porter), and struggles to keep his Jewish family together in the way he has idealised.
Nicola Holliday rehearsing the role of Trina, Marvin’s ex-wife and mother of Jason
“It’s a beautiful and heart-breaking story that explores the definitions of maturity and masculinity through this non-traditional family, and via a character who is immature at the start, as the AIDS pandemic comes to light,” says Matthew.
The cast of seven is completed by James Robert Ball as psychiatrist Mendel Weisenbachfeld, Helen Spencer as Dr Charlotte and Rachel Higgs as her girlfriend Cordelia. Together they must “bring their characters to life and present them in the most realistic and emotionally impactful ways”, as championed in another of the aforementioned eight reasons to see Falsettos.
“In this show, we have a fairly large representation of LGBTQ+ people in the cast and production team, and that brings with it an understanding of the roles and how to play them,” says Matthew of a musical whose characters and roles have played “a significant role in promoting diversity and inclusivity in the theatre community”.
“It’s important that these characters are presented in a realistic and sensitive manner, hooking audiences and ensuring the best possible show for you to watch!
“The themes are timeless, delving into the importance of acceptance, the strength of chosen families, defining masculinity and maturity, and the resilience needed to face life’s challenges. Its messages of love, compassion and unity resonate across the generations and continue to be relevant in our ever-changing world.
“That’s why we did Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens too. Theatre with a point is the best kind of theatre, and I want people to think and reflect on what they’ve just seen after the show.”
Black Sheep Theatre Productions in Falsettos, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 9 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Copyright of The Press, York
Black Sheep Theatre’s poster for Falsettos
In profile: James Robert Ball, who is playing Mendel Weisenbachfeld
SUMMING up his role in Falsettos, James Robert Ball says: “Mendel is a middle-aged Jewish psychiatrist, an intellectual, but he’s a nervous wreck, trying to solve his own problems by solving everyone else’s.
“He’s treating the main character, Marvin, who has left his wife, Trina, because he’s gay and has stopped the charade of living a married life with a woman. Mendel starts treating Trina too, meddles his way into the family, then marries her and becomes the new father figure to Marvin and Trina’s son, Jason.”
Assessing Falsettos’ characters, James says: “They’re all very fleshed out. No-one is the hero. No-one is the villain. They each have their own neuroses and manipulate someone else but they all have heart too.
“The show is kind of a close observation of family dynamics and messy modern dynamics at that.”
James is a musical theatre composer and lyricist, musical director, actor, author, piano and singing teacher, pianist, accompanist and “Sondheim obsessive”. “I’m a freelance professional musician,” says the piano, trombone and clarinet player. “When I’m in shows as a musician, I’m a professional; when I’m doing a show like this, I’m an amateur.”
Director Matthew Clare originally had James in mind to be the rehearsal pianist, but his performances for York Stage as Mr Mushnik in Little Shop Of Horrors in July 2022 and Baron Bomburst’s spy Goran in a Vulgarian double act with Jack Hooper’s Boris in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in April demanded further roles. Step forward James’s Mendel Weisenbachfeld.
James Robert Ball’s psychiatrist Mendelin conversation with Nicola Holliday’s Trina in Falsettos
“The core of what I’m good at as an actor is that there isn’t much acting required, because Mendel is quite like me, and it’s a ‘schticky’ character again, having done Mr Mushnik with a similar vibe and similar characteristics,” he says.
Broad, physical humour marked out his double act with Jack Hooper in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. “We put a lot of work into that partnership, and particularly for the kids in the audience, it was perfect old-time vaudeville humour,” says James.
“I had a great time working with Jack – it takes loads of effort to look that silly and get that beat going.”
Humour of a different dynamic is at play in Finn and Lapine’s “emotionally truthful” musical, one rooted in verbal volleyball before gradually turning into “hospital/deathbed humour” (or gallows humour, to use a more familiar term). “It’s all about the awkwardness in the moment, like in Woody Allen’s films,” says James.
“Stephen Sondheim is a useful reference here. It’s similar to Into The Woods in how the patter of chatter is translated into song, and how there’s a contrast in song styles with the ballads being more melodic.”
Did you know?
JAMES Robert Ball’s debut novel, A Botanical Daughter, will be published in March 2024. He teaches singing and performance at York Stage School.
Did you know too?
JAMES Lapine has collaborated frequently with Stephen Sondheim, as well as William Finn, in his career as a stage director, playwright, screenwriter and librettist, not least on Into The Woods.
Steve Tearle: Director, Narrator and Mystery Man. All pictures: David Richardson
THIS is as much Stephen Tearle’s Into The Woods as Stephen Sondheim’s wickedly witty Broadway show in a fusion of York and New York imaginations.
Sondheim rooted his 1987 Broadway musical in a grown-up twist on the Brothers Grimm stories that casts a new light on such familiar fairy-tale frequenters as Cinderella (University of York student Rebecca Jackson); Beanstalk-climbing Jack (Jack Hambleton); a skipping Little Red Riding Hood (CAPA College and PQA York student Missy Barnes/Rowntree Players panto regular Mollie Surgenor); Rapunzel (Juliette Brenot); Snow White (Elizabeth Farrell) and The Wolf (Ryan Richardson, looking not unlike Sam Smith in their Gloria tour get-up).
James Lapine’s book for Sondheim’s songs centres on the plight of the Baker (Chris Hagyard) and the Baker’s Wife (Perri Ann Barley), a childless couple seeking to lift the curse placed on them by a once-beautiful Witch (a towering performance from Pascha Turnbull).
Flour power: Perri Ann Barley’s barren Baker’s Wife and Chris Hagyard’s Baker in NE’s Into The Woods
Venturing into the woods, they must search for the ingredients that will reverse the spell: a milk-white cow (Erin Greenley, in white jeans and boots), hair as yellow as corn (from Rapunzel); a blood red cape (from Little Red Riding Hood) and a slipper of gold (from Cinderella).
Here they will encounter the fairy-tale folk, each on a quest to fulfil a wish, and into the story come the likes of Cinderella’s Prince (Sam Richardson), Rapunzel’s Prince (Kristian Barley), Cinderella’s Mother (Rebecca Warboys) and the Ugly Sisters, Florinda (Ali Butler-Hind) and Lucinda (Morag Kinnes).
Sondheim steers a path away from pantomime into terrain altogether darker, behaviour worsening, human foibles bursting through, enchantment turning to disenchantment, living unhappily ever after until the denouement. Steve Tearle nudges the playing style back towards panto, without changing the fruitier post-9pm-curfew content.
Missy Barnes’s Little Red Riding Hood: “Something of the Wednesday Addams about her”
He also introduces a young ensemble to swell the company ranks to 50, playing woodland birds and forest dwellers in pointy ears, who gather at Tearle’s feet in his role as string-pulling Narrator and Mystery Man too. He plays free and loose with the script, interjecting adlibs in his north-eastern accent in the manner of a Dame Berwick Kaler pantomime.
Sondheim’s style is deadpan, even noir, as well as being witheringly witty, as paraded in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street too. Tearle’s style is broader, tongue pushed into the cheek in pursuit of “highly camp fun”, typically expressed in the performances of Richardson and Barley’s Princes and Melissa Boyd as Jack’s Mother, although Missy Barnes’s Little Red Riding Hood on Thursday night had something of the Wednesday Addams about her.
In a “big” joke, Helen Greenley’s diminutive Giant’s Wife arrives in massive platforms and a startlingly deep, echoing, discordant voice – compared by one audience member to Mr Blobby – that brings to mind the Wizard Of Oz at the moment he is exposed as a fraud.
Hagyard and Perri Ann Barley play it closest to Sondheim’s tone, while Pascha Turnbull, regularly cast as “larger than life, formidable women”, takes on the bewitching role she has “yearned to play for many years”, combining the show’s most powerful singing with her suitably domineering presence. Not for the first time, Jack Hambleton stands out as one of York’s rising talents.
Bean there, done that: Jack Hambleton’s Jack of Beanstalk-climbing notoriety
Scott Phillips conducts his musical forces with glee and oomph aplenty; Adam Kirkwood’s rainbow palette of lighting complements Tearle and Faye Richarson’s woodland setting with its camouflage gauze and three rotating scaffolding towers, forever on the move, whether occupied by Jack or Rapunzel or whoever.
The fabulous costumes, designed by award-winning Ashington fashion designer Paul Shriek, go with the many shrieks that pierce the sylvan night air.
Experimental, experiential and wildly ambitious, amber-gambler Tearle’s Into The Woods heads deliriously into the weird. It certainly brings a smile, but would the late Sondheim take Tearle’s tribute as a compliment? We shall never know.
Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Can they lift the curse? Perri Ann Barley and Chris Hagyard as the barren Baker’s Wife and Baker in NE’s Into The Woods. All pictures: David Richardson
INTO The Woods go York musical theatre company NE as they present Stephen Sondheim’s wickedly witty musical at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from April 25 to 29.
The New York composer and lyricist rooted his 1987 Broadway show in the Brothers Grimm stories, in a grown-up twist that cast a new light on such familiar fairy-tale frequenters as Cinderella, Jack of Beanstalk fame, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood, but this is no time for pantomime.
Instead, with a book by James Lapine, the story is centred on the Baker and the Baker’s Wife, a childless couple seeking to lift the curse placed on them by a once-beautiful witch.
Rebecca Jackson’s Cinderella
Venturing into the woods three days before the rise of a blue moon, they must search for the ingredients that will reverse the spell: a milk-white cow, hair as yellow as corn, a blood red cape and a slipper of gold. Here they will encounter the fairy-tale folk, each on a quest to fulfil a wish.
The tale will be narrated by NE director Steve Tearle, who also takes on a second role as “the Mysterious Man”. “We chose to do Into The Woods as a tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim. It’s a very different show, which I was lucky enough to see on Broadway in the 1990s, though I missed the star turn, Bernadette Peters, as she was on her day off!” he says.
“I loved it! It was so, so funny. High camp comedy really! I put it on the backburner to do, but a couple of years ago we applied for it – before Sondheim died in November 2021 – and we were meant to be doing it last year.
Ali Butler Hind and Morag Kinnes as the Ugly Sisters, Florinda and Lucinda
“We’re so happy we now are as it’s a fantastic musical comedy for all ages with its wonderfully inventive re-telling of some of the Brothers Grimm stories, where Sondheim was thinking, ‘let’s bring out the child in the adult’. Being a family-driven company, it fits in perfectly with our actors from six years old.”
Steve’s New York trip has influenced his production. “When thinking about the set design, I took inspiration from the original Broadway version,” he says. “I wanted the audience to feel like they were also inside the woods, so we’re using rainbow colours and various styles to bring the woods to life.
“Befitting such an epic musical, we have an amazing set design and fabulous costumes, designed by award-winning Ashington fashion designer Paul Shriek, which we’ve managed to buy second-hand for our show. The finesse to Adam Kirkwood’s lighting is phenomenal too.”
Ready to climb the beanstalk: Jack Hambleton’s Jack
The cast plays its part in setting the scene. “We have more than 50 people in the show, and the ensemble really are the set, becoming the woods, so the woods are interactive. It’s a movable set that changes as the show moves through the three simultaneous stories that blend together,” says Steve.
“We’re making the set a lot more personable to the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, making it ‘fit’ the theatre and more experiential, so that everyone there will feel part of the woods.”
Steve’s show will be knocking down theatre’s ‘fourth wall’, the imaginary barrier between cast and audience, several times. “The Narrator has his own posse of children in the ensemble, and they work with him in these fabulous break-out moments, like when we stop the show when he loses the book or he freezes everybody because he’s in control of everything.
Steve Tearle: Director, Narrator and Mystery Man
“That’s like pantomime, but it’s all done with more serious overtones as – spoiler alert! – the show does feature deaths, as well as blood pouring out of a slipper, a toe being cut off and a heel shaved off. We’ll use a sausage for the toe and ham for the heel!”.
Chris Hagyard and Perri Ann Barley lead the NE cast as the Baker and Baker’s Wife, while Pascha Turnbull casts a spell on the audience as the Witch whose curse is the cause of the culinary couple’s woes. Rebecca Jackson plays Cinderella with Sam Richardson as her Prince; Molly Surgenor and Missy Barnes share the role of Little Red Riding Hood; Juliette Brenot is Rapunzel, with Kristian Barley as her Prince.
Further principal roles go to Ryan Richardson as the Wolf; Jack Hambleton, aptly, as Jack; Melissa Boyd as Jack’s Mother; Effie Warboys as Sleeping Beauty and Elizabeth Farrell as Snow White Farrell. “Helen Greenley may be the smallest member of our NE team but she’s playing what you might say is the biggest role,” says Steve. “She’s the Giant’s wife, wearing these massive platforms.”
Missy Barnes’s Little Red Riding Hood
Steve is as proud of his cast as ever. “There are no professionals in the show; we do it for the love of theatre, and we just embrace people and what their capabilities are. We have cast members in the ensemble who have hearing difficulties and are partially sighted,” he says.
“I like to think we give opportunities that other companies wouldn’t give, and we love encouraging confidence among our young performers. We very much wanted to have them in the cast; some had never heard of Sondheim, but they definitely love him now!”
NE [once short for New Earswick, the company’s origins, but now denoting New & Exciting] present Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 25 to 29, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk
Razor sharp: Neil Wood’s Sweeney Todd conducting his sharp practice as Julie Anne Smith’s Mrs Lovett hovers in York Light’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. All pictures: Matthew Kitchen
LIGHT and dark combine for the tale of Sweeney Todd, York Light’s heavyweight production to mark both the company’s 70th anniversary and last November’s passing of composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim at 91.
In 2016, Robert Readman favoured going dangerously up close at 41, Monkgate. In 2023, director-choreographer Martyn Knight returns Sondheim’s knife-edge musical thriller to a gothic grand scale, large ensemble et al, while adjusting the setting from venal Victorian to gory Georgian at York Theatre Royal.
Costume designers Suzanne Ayers and Jean Wilkinson and wardrobe co-ordinator Carly Price pull out all the stops, aided by Ellie Ryder’s wigs, hair and make-up, and sewing, wardrobe and make-up teams in big numbers. Fantastic work all round.
Full of foreboding: Clare Meadley’s harrowing Beggar Woman
Under conductor Paul Laidlaw, keyboardist Simon Kelly’s organ swells to unnerving, edge-of-the-seat effect, forewarning of the terrible deeds to come in an opening that establishes how important the 30-strong ensemble will be throughout this murder-is-meat musical, whether as feral harbingers, boozy pie eaters or mental asylum incumbents.
The grave mien and embittered baritone of Neil Wood’s ponytailed Sweeney Todd further concentrates the mind on the serious business ahead as he flees Australia to return to East London after 15 years of wrongful exile at Botany Bay, vowing vengeance on the corrupt Judge Turpin (Craig Kirby, reprising his Pick Me Up role with even more insufferable judicial arrogance).
The self-flagellating Judge is the abusive ward to Sweeney’s daughter Johanna (Madeleine Hicks), keeping her like a caged bird: a revelation that brings even more of a cutting edge to Sweeney’s resumption of his demon barbershop business above the worst pie gaff in London town.
Clinging on to love amid the wreckage: Maximus Mawle’s Anthony Hope and Madeleine Hicks’s Johanna
Mrs Lovett (Julie Anne Smith) needs an upgrade from the grit and gristle in her pies; Sweeney is up for a slice of the action, when she turns out to be as manipulative as Lady Macbeth.
Mrs Lovett may be devoid of humanity, but now that there is 100 per cent humanity in her pies, they turn out to be bloody good, celebrated heartily in God, That’s Good, the ensemble high point of a consistently impactful performance as London’s exposed underbelly.
Behind dark eyes and a bustling air, add Smith’s humour, love-a-duck London accent and top-notch singing, and hers is a best-in-show performance, relishing Sondheim’s devilish wit and snappy turn of phrase.
Pie high: Jonny Holbek’s Tobias Ragg, furthest forward to the right, leads the euphoric singing in God, That’s Good!
As the bodies pile up, deposited down the shoot from Sweeney’s barber’s chair with a rumble in the tumble each time he shortens life rather than hair, gradually a macabre darkness of humour permeates the audience response, all the more so for Wood’s Sweeney not changing his countenance . And yet vulnerability courses through his inner turmoil.
Praise too for Maximus Mawle’s Anthony Hope and Hicks’s Johanna in the young love roles, as up against it as Romeo and Juliet, plus a treat of a camply comic turn from Richard Bayton as henchman Beadle Bamford and Clare Meadley’s damaged bird of a harrowing prophetess, the homeless Beggar Woman. Martin Lay has great fun with his faux Italian accent as preposterous, twinkling rival barber Adolfo Pirelli.
Any York production is always better for the presence of Jonny Holbek, and his Tobias Ragg, assistant first to Pirelli then kitchen aid to Mrs Lovett, is a scene stealer here: humour and tragedy, light and darkness, hope and desperation, naivety and madness, all at play in his performance.
Gritty encounter: Julie Anne Smith’s Mrs Lovett entreats Neil Wood’s Sweeney Todd to try the worst pie in London town
Paul Laidlaw’s wind and brass players, together with Kelly’s keyboards and Francesca Rochester and Laurie Gunson’s percussion, bring out all the drama and rich musicality in Sondheim’s score, sometimes luscious, other times juddering and jagged.
Martin Knight’s choreography matches that musical diversity, adding to the deliciously dark delights of this juicy psychological drama. Make sure to grab a bite of this very tasty pie.
Performances: 7.30pm, tonight (27/02/2023) until Saturday plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623 568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Neil Wood’s Sweeney Todd and Julie-Anne Smith’s Mrs Lovett with their hot-selling new pie in York Light Opera Company’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. Picture:Matthew Kitchen
LIGHT meets dark when York Light Opera Company return to York Theatre Royal from Wednesday in “one of the darkest musicals ever written”, Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.
Steered by the familiar hands on the tiller of director Martyn Knight and musical director Paul Laidlaw, the show is set in the Georgian era, rather than the usual Victorian London murk.
In York Light’s 70th anniversary production, Neil Wood takes the title role of the misanthropic barber who returns home to the Big Smoke after 15 years in exile, seeking vengeance on the corrupt judge (Craig Kirby) who ruined his life.
The road to revenge leads to him to open new tonsorial premises above the failing pie shop run by Mrs Lovett (Julie-Anne Smith). Cue a very tasty meaty new ingredient to boost sales in this now cutthroat business.
“Yes, it’s dark and gruesome, but it’s so funny too,” says Neil. “One moment the audience are bent double with laughter; the next they’re in tears. A lot of it comes down to the patter style that’s reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan.”
Richard Bayton, by day in charge of ticket sales for Sweeney Todd as York Theatre Royal’s box office manager, will be playing Beadle Bamford. “Two months into rehearsals, I’m thinking, ‘who is this man? There has to be more to him than how than how he ends up’, so I’ve built up the character, when he’s often seen as comic relief but I’ve looked to make him darker,” he says.
A cut above: Neil Wood’s Sweeney Todd in the doorway of his Fleet Street upstairs premises. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
“I’ve really enjoyed it because it’s always fun to play a bit of a baddie, though the real baddie is definitely Judge Turpin.”
Julie-Anne Smith’s Mrs Lovett occupies the dark side too with her surprisingly delicious but morally dodgy pie contents. “Everyone is damaged in this piece, all except Anthony Hope [played by Maximus Mawle],” she says. “Even Johanna [Madeleine Hicks] is extremely damaged – and living with the Judge, she would be! Everyone else represents the underbelly of London.”
Neil rejoins: “Whether you’re playing Shakespeare’s Richard III or Sweeney Todd, you have to find something you understand in the character. It’s not until he meets the damaged Mrs Lovett, who has her own agenda, that he changes course after being wrongly exiled for a crime he didn’t commit.
“Through fate, he has found his way back home to London to find his wife dead and discover what the judge has done, with his daughter now in the judge’s hands. In that moment, Mrs Lovett manipulates him, and it’s like a puppet being played with, on a knife edge.”
Julie-Anne says: “You have to push that notion that they’re only human; you have to make that connection with the character you’re playing. At the end of the day, she’s human, she’s damaged. She just wants a cottage by the sea and will do anything to get it.
“That’s why she’s interesting to play because people can never believe the horrific deeds that humans can do, but particularly if it’s a woman perpetrating such horrific crimes, but her humour endears her to the audience – and they’re laughing with her rather than at her. That’s why I like playing the anti-hero, because they’re more complex.”
“People can never believe the horrific deeds that humans can do, but particularly if it’s a woman perpetrating such horrific crimes,” Julie-Anne Smith, York Light’s Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
From the maniacal Sweeney Todd to Titus Andronicus, such characters “have always been more interesting, with the best lines”, notes Neil. “We’re just really lucky to have the chance to be doing such roles,” he says.
“It’s also the right time to be staging Sweeney Todd, especially with Stephen Sondheim passing away last year. There’s lots of interest in him again, with Sweeney Todd running on Broadway and the Sondheim concert, Old Friends, with Bernadette Peters in the company, that’ll be on in London at the Prince Edward Theatre for 16 weeks.”
Richard is savouring the meatiness of Sondheim’s lyrics in a show where 80 per cent of Sweeney Todd is set to music, either sung or underscoring dialogue. “They’re so rich in meaning,” he says. “I’ve been able to find new interpretations and new meanings in every rehearsal because you can read so much into them.”
Neil adds: “It’s such a complete show; the orchestrations are wonderful, and Martyn Knight and Paul Laidlaw have been a joy to work with as they really appreciate what a challenge Sondheim is. That’s why we started in early October on the music, and then Martin came up for a first block of rehearsals from November and has back since January after a Christmas break. You can’t start working on the detail until the words are embedded in you.”
Julie-Anne is thrilled to be putting flesh on Sondheim bones in Sweeney Todd. “I was in a professional group, Lucky 4 You, that performed Sondheim songs all around Yorkshire, and I’d always wanted to do the big duet from Sweeney within the context of the show. Now I can do that with Neil.”
York Light Opera Company in Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, York Theatre Royal, Wednesday (22/2/2023) to March 4, 7.30pm, except February 26; 2.30pm, February 25 and March 4. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
