Tag: The Secret Garden The Musical

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More Things To Do in York and beyond a mysterious garden and abstract surrealism. Hutch’s List No. 10, from The York Press

Elizabeth Marsh in rehearsal for The Secret Garden The Musical at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Marc Brenner

A MAGICAL Yorkshire garden, an hotel comedy thriller, a surrealist wine bar exhibition and Pulp confessions exhibition stir Charles Hutchinson’s interest.  

Musical of the week: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning director John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to pastures past in more ways than one to present his actor-musician staging of Lucy Simon and Marsha Norman’s Broadway musical account of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s story of love, loss, healing and hope, set on Yorkshire moorland in 1906.

Newly orphaned, Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widowed uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a house in habited by memories and spirits from the past. On discovering her Aunt Lily’s neglected garden, she vows to breathe new life into its mysterious stasis as she learns the restorative magic of nature. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Leeds abstract surrealist Nicolas Dixon, front, spotted at Thursday’s launch of his RARE v WET exhibition with WET proprietors James Wall and Ella Williams and RARE Collective organiser Sharon McDonagh, right

Exhibition of the week: Nicolas Dixon, RARE v WET, at WET, Micklegate, York, until April 22

YORK  artist and event organiser Sharon McDonagh and DJ/artist Sola launch their RARE v WET series of solo exhibitions in aid of York charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) at WET, James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant, with Nicolas Dixon first up.

Leeds abstract surrealist Dixon’s murals and artworks have become landmarks in Leeds, including at Kirkgate Market, Trinity Shopping Centre and the University of Leeds, as well as Leeds United tributes to the 1972 FA Cup Winners mural at Elland Road and the iconic Bielsa the Redeemer in Wortley. On show is a mixture of new and older work, both prints and originals.

Stephen Joseph Theatre favourite Bill Champion as American billionaire Theodore Racksole in Claybody Theatre’s The Grand Babylon Hotel, on tour at the SJT next week. Picture: Andrew Billington

Thriller of the week: Claybody Theatre in The Grand Babylon Hotel, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 18 to 21, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

CONRAD Nelson directs an ensemble cast of multiple flamboyant characters in a rollicking comedy thriller of rapid-fire character changes, sharp humour and theatrical fun, presented in association with the New Vic Theatre.

In Deborah McAndrew’s  adaptation of Arnold Bennett’s novel, Nella Racksole discovers steak and beer are not on the menu for her birthday treat at the exclusive Grand Babylon Hotel, prompting  her American millionaire father to buy the chef, the kitchen, the entire hotel. Cue  kidnapping and murder. Have Theodore and Nella bitten off more than they can chew? Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Baroque Alchemy’s Lyndy Mayle and Piers Adams: Playing NCEM tonight

Classical-electronic concert of the week: Baroque Alchemy, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm

ANCIENT and modern meet in a spectacular musical fusion in Baroque Alchemy, the realisation of recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and keyboard player Lyndy Mayle’s long-held dream. Ever since the rise of synth-led bands and New Age music in the 1980s, Red Priest frontman Adams has nurtured a vision to combine the drama of baroque music with the expansive sound-world of the electronic era. Now Baroque Alchemy turn the traditional early music recital on its head for the 21st century. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes: Evoking the Grand Ole Opry in A Country Night In Nashville at the Grand Opera House

Tribute gig of the week: A Country Night In Nashville, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

A COUNTRY Night In Nashville re-creates the scene of a buzzing Honky Tonk in downtown Nashville, capturing the energy and atmosphere of a night in the home of country music in a journey through the history of its biggest stars past and present. Hits from Johnny Cash to Alan Jackson, Dolly Parton to The Chicks, Willie Nelson to Kacey Musgraves are showcased by Dominic Halpin & The Hurricanes. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The book cover for Mark Webber’s I’m With Pulp, Are You?, under discussion by the author and guitarist at York Literature Festival

Book event of the week: York Literature Festival, I’m With Pulp, Are You?, An Evening With Mark Webber, The Crescent, York, March 17, 7pm

PULP guitarist and avant-garde film curator Mark Webber discusses I’m With Pulp, Are You?, his visually rich chronicle of the Sheffield band’s history from the perspective of a fan-turned-manager-turned-guitarist.

In his music memoir, 40 years of archived material comes to life as Chesterfield-born Webber recalls his fascination with David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol and counterculture, writing fanzines and organising concerts from the age of 15, joining Pulp in 1995 and playing on Different Class, This Is Hardcore, We Love Life and More, 2025’s recording renaissance after a 24-year hiatus. Box office: 01904 623568, yorktheatreroyal.co.uk or yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk.

Bluey’s Big Play: Australian fun and games for children at the Grand Opera House

Children’s show of the week: Windmill Theatre Co in Bluey’s Big Play, Grand Opera House, York, March 19 to 22, 10am, Thursday and Friday; 10am, 1pm and 4pm, Saturday and Sunday

COMBINING puppets and original voices from Ludo Studios’  Emmy Award-winning Australian children’s television series, including Dave McCormack and Melanie Zanetti as Dad and Mum, this theatrical adaptation is based on an original story by Bluey creator Joe Brumm, featuring music by series composer Joff Bush. When Dad wants a bean bag time-out, Bluey and Bingo have other plans as they pull out all the games and cleverness at their disposal.  Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Scouting For Girls: Re-visiting Everybody Wants To Be On TV at York Barbican

York Barbican gigs of the week: Scouting For Girls, Everybody (Still) Wants To Be On TV Tour 2026, March 17, doors 7pm; The Brand New Heavies, March 19

AS Scouting For Girls’ vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Roy Stride puts it: “I can’t believe we’re already celebrating the 15th anniversary of our second album [Everybody Wants To Be On TV], and I’m beyond excited to get back on the road in 2026! The shows are going to be immense: a massive nostalgic Scouting singalong every night.” Expect further hits to feature too.

Ealing Acid Jazz pioneers The Brand New Heavies – Simon Bartholomew, vocals and guitar, Andrew Levy, bass and keyboards, and Angela Ricci, vocals  – mark their 35th anniversary with a 12-date tour that takes in York Barbican as their only Yorkshire destination. Expect  joy, funk, love and fancy clothes. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

The Brand New Heavies: Acid Jazz joy, funk, love and fancy clothes at York Barbican

Comedy classic of the week: Rowntree Players in The Importance Of Being Earnest, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, March 19 to 21, 7.30pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

ROWNTREE Players bring Oscar Wilde’s cherished 1895 farcical comedy of manners to the York stage in the original four-act version reconstructed by Vyvyan Holland, under the direction of Hannah Shaw.

Lizzie Lawton’s John Worthing and Jorja Cartwright’s Algernon Moncrieff lead double lives under the false name of “Ernest” to escape social obligations, leading to romantic entanglements and comedic misunderstandings, played out by a cast featuring Jeanette Hambridge’s Lady Bracknell, Bethan Olliver’s Gwendolen Fairfax, Katie Shaw’s Cecily Cardew, Wayne Osguthorpe’s Reverend Canon Chasuble, Rebecca Thomson’s Miss Prism and Max Palmer’s Lane/Merriman. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

A collage from the rehearsal photo-shoot for Rowntree Players’ production of The Importance Of Being Earnest

Comedy gig of the week: Rob Rouse, Funny Bones, Helmsley Arts Centre, March 20, 8pm; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, March 21, 7.45pm

FRESH from being picked as the Comics’ Comic Best Act of the Year 2025, Rob Rouse is touring Funny Bones: a daft whirlwind of craftily spun tall tales, a bucketful of manic energy, canny stagecraft, eerily convincing characters and a barrage of one-liners.

“Warning: this show has been meticulously assembled to make you laugh as much as possible,” says Rouse. “However, you will not learn anything from it. You may even come out stupider than when you came in.” Box office: Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Super scooper: Funny Bones comedian Rob Rouse and his skeleton dog on tour at Helmsley and Scarborough

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All is rosy in The Secret Garden as actor-musician innovator John Doyle returns to York Theatre Royal after 29 years

Director-designer John Doyle in rehearsal for The Secret Garden The Musical at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Marc Brenner

DIRECTOR and designer John Doyle returns to York Theatre Royal for the first time in 29 years with his actor-musician revival of Broadway hit The Secret Garden The Musical from March 17 to April 4.

Artistic director at the St Leonard’s Place theatre from 1993 to 1997, the Scotsman became synonymous with this performance style, going on to win Tony Awards in New York, where he directed Cynthia Erivo and Jennifer Hudson in The Color Purple.

“It is wonderful to have John Doyle return to York Theatre Royal and direct this beautiful Yorkshire story,” says chief executive officer Paul Crewes. “We are excited that this will be a fresh take on this critically acclaimed musical, and that our audiences will be the first to experience it.”

In his days of working in the United States, Paul had hoped to link up with John for a project. “I couldn’t do it at that time, but I was delighted to be asked back to York, as I’d been very happy here, so to do The Secret Garden in York felt right,” says John, now 73, of his thrill at the invitation to direct this “beautiful, hopeful musical”.

Poppy Jason rehearsing her role as Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden The Musical. Picture: Marc Brenner

“Though initially I wasn’t thinking of doing it with actor musicians, I then thought it would be good for the family elements of the story because, if you were to do it with an orchestra in the pit, so much time would be spent with only two people on stage, whereas having  the cast on the stage all the time gives it a sense of community.”

The 1991 Broadway musical combines music by Lucy Simon (Carly‘s sister) with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman in its account of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved story of love, loss, healing and hope, set in the North Riding of Yorkshire in 1906.

When newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to the moors to live with her widower uncle, she finds the secluded Misselthwaite Manor to be inhabited by memories and spirits from the past.

Whereupon she discovers her Aunt Lily’s mysterious, neglected garden and determines to breathe new life into it, with the help of her new friends, as she learns the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.

Double bass-playing Steve Simmonds in rehearsal for his role as Ben. Picture: Marc Brenner

“To me there is something holy in this story,” says regular church attendee John. “To see the world through a child’s eyes – a spunky, difficult child that she is – Mary makes a miracle happen; she makes the boy walk, which is incredible.”

In a nutshell, the appeal of actor-musician productions that stretches back to such Doyle productions as Into The Woods, Pal Joey, Cabaret and the TMA award-winning Moll Flanders lies in “putting the emotions of the music in the hands of the performers on stage, so it doesn’t come from under them but from within them instead,” says John.

“Because there’s no conductor, with no-one leading them, it has a risky potential to go wrong, but there is something joyous about that because it’s alive. It’s not a concept; it’s a means to an end to tell a story.”

John continues: “I come from the Highlands, where everybody in my family played an instrument. I played the cello, the piano and the bagpipes – not very well in the case of the bagpipes! – and this was in the days before TV when we would entertain ourselves by playing music together.”

Estella Evans, centre, will be sharing the role of Mary Lennox with Poppy Jason

That love of music, and its communal powers, has driven John’s actor-musician work all the way to winning a Tony Award for his production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.

“That legitimised it further because it was the first time that a major composer – Sondheim – had given his approval to work in this way,” says John.

“Now there are degree courses in actor-musician theatre, at places such as Rose Bruford, where I’m a Fellow, Mountview and the Royal Conservatoire [in Glasgow].”

He taught theatre as a professor at Princeton University Lewis Centre for the Arts for ten years too, but moved back to Britain after 20 years in America, disaffected by President Trump’s intolerant attitudes in his first term in office.

Cristian Buttaci: Rehearsing for the role of Colin. Picture: Marc Brenner

Whereupon John settled in Wells – all’s wells that ends in Wells, you could say – with time spent in his native Scottish Highlands too.

“I walk to work every day and I think, ‘how much longer can I do this? How long have I got left?’. You get to the point where you think, ‘I’m not going to live forever, what is the best way I can use that time?’, and theatre is still part of that.”

York Theatre Royal is very grateful for that philosophy and long may it continue.

York Theatre Royal presents The Secret Garden The Musical, March 17 to April 4, 7.30pm (except Sundays, Mondays and March 19); plus 2pm, March 19, March 26 and April 2; 2.30pm, March 21, 28 and April 4; 6.30pm, March 23 and 30; 7pm, March 19. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Interview copyright of The York Press.

Elizabeth Marsh: Returning to York Theatre Royal to play Mrs Medlock in The Secret Garden The Musical after earlier appearances in Into the Woods and Twelfth Night. Picture: Marc Brenner

Who’s in The Secret Garden cast and production team?

JOHN Doyle’s principal actor-musician cast for The Secret Garden The Musical will comprise Catrin Mai Edwardsas Martha;Joanna Hickman, Lily; Henry Jenkinson, Archibald; Elliot Mackenzie, Dickon; Ann Marcuson, Mrs Winthrop; Elizabeth Marsh, Mrs Medlock; André Refig, Neville, and Steve Simmonds, Ben.

In the company too will be Estella Evans and Poppy Jason, sharing the role of Mary Lennox, and Cristian Buttaci and Dexter Pulling splitting performances as Colin. The ensemble will be completed by Stephanie Cremona, Matthew James Hinchliffe, Lara Lewis and Melinda Orengo.

Completing the creative team alongside director-designer John Doyle are musical supervisor and orchestrator Catherine Jayes, co-designer David L Arsenault, costume designer Gabrielle Dalton, lighting designer Johanna Town, sound designer Tom Marshall and casting director Ginny Schiller.

John Doyle: director and designer of The Secret Garden The Musical at York Theatre Royal

John Doyle: back story

AWARD-WINNING Scottish director of theatre, film and opera. Served as artistic director of five major British and American theatre companies, including York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997.

Extensive stage credits include the world premiere of Alfred Hitchcock Presents at Theatre Royal Bath; Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical); Company (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical); The Visit (Tony Award nomination for Best Musical, Drama Desk nomination for Best Director) and The Color Purple (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director, Grammy Award).

Pacific Overtures (Drama Desk nomination for Best Musical Revival); Carmen Jones (Audelco Award for Best Musical Revival, Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Director); Mahagonny (Los Angeles Opera, two Grammy Awards); Passion (Drama Desk nomination for Best Director); Road Show, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Kiss Me Kate and Assassins (Lucille Lortel nomination for Best Musical Revival, Best Director).

In addition to numerous credits in London’s West End, John has directed at Grange Park Opera, Sydney Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, La Fenice in Venice, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Second Stage Theatre, Princeton McCarter Theatre and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Taught at Princeton University’s Lewis Centre for the Arts for ten years, specialising in acting and musical theatre courses. Known for his pioneering actor-musician style, he taught courses such as Development of the Multi-skilled Performer and The Nature of Theatrical Reinvention.

                                                                             

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 3, from Gazette & Herald

York Printmakers: Tenth anniversary exhibition…with cake on Saturday

IN his third highlights package of the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out a riparian exhibition, a brace of pantos, murderous deeds in 1950s’ Italy and a transatlantic folk talent.

Exhibition of the week: York Printmakers, Rivers of York, City Screen Picturehouse, York, until February 7

CELEBRATING York Printmakers’ tenth anniversary, Rivers of York presents original hand-made prints inspired by the River Foss and River Ouse. Head to City Screen’s upstairs lounge today from 2pm and 4pm for Prints and Cake, a chance to share cake, find out more about the prints and meet the artists who created them.

On show are a variety of printmaking techniques, including etching, linocut, collagraph, monotype, screen print, solar plate, Japanese woodblock, lithography and stencilling, in works that explore the rivers’ place in the history, ecology and culture of York from Roman times to the present. 

Paula Cook’s villainous Queen Lucrecia and John Brooks’s scheming Chamberlain in Pickering Musical Society’s Snow White

Panto time: Pickering Musical Society in Snow White, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, until January 25, 7.15pm, except January 19; 2.15pm, January 17, 18, 24 and 25  

DIRECTED for the tenth year by resident director Luke Arnold and scripted by Ron Hall, Pickering Musical Society’s 2026 pantomime blends familiar faces with new turns, led by Alice Rose as Snow White in her first appearance since Goldilocks in 2018.

Local legend Marcus Burnside plays Dame Dumpling alongside mischievous sidekick Jack Dobson as court jester Fritz, his first comedic role. Company regular Courtney Brown switches to comedy too as Helga; Paula Cook turns to the dark side in her villainous debut as Queen Lucrecia; Danielle Long is the heroic Prince Valentine, John Brooks, the scheming Chamberlain and Sue Smithson, Fairy Dewdrop. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.littleboxoffice.com.

Jack Robinson’s PC World and Evie-Mae Dale’s Sergeant Pong in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin – The Pantomime 

Panto time too: Malton and Norton Musical Theatre in Aladdin – The Pantomime, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 1.30pm, 5.15pm; Sunday, 2pm; January 20 to 23, 7.15pm; January 24, 1pm, 5.15pm

BETWIXT York roles in York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy and Black Treacle Theatre’s Anne Boleyn, Harry Summers continues to corner the market in dark roles as wicked magician Abanazar in Malton and Norton Musical Theatre’s Aladdin.

Fresh from his villainous scene-stealing in The Spanish Tragedy, Thomas Jennings plays the Emperor. Further principal players in the mystical land of Shangri-La include Harriet White’s Aladdin, Isabel Davis’s Princess Jasmine; Rory Queen’s dame, Widow Twankey, Tom Gleave’s Wishee Washee, Mark Summers’ Genie of the Lamp and Annabelle Free’s Spirit of the Ring. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

The Steelers: Paying tribute to Steely Dan at Helmsley Arts Centre

Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday 7.30pm

THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972. 

Once described as “the American Beatles”, Becker and Fagan’s songs are noted for their clever lyrics and sophisticated arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf, left, and Ed McVey as Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley. Picture: Mark Senior

Game of lies of the week: The Talented Mr Ripley, Grand Opera House, York, January 19 to 24, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BEFORE its West End run, The Talented Mr Ripley plays the Grand Opera House with a cast led by Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf and 2020 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith as Marge. Tom is a nobody, scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies, until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie, Tom leaps at the opportunity. 

In the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s’ Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by Dickie’s freedom, wealth and effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession in Patricia Highsmith’s story, whereupon an innocent chance turns into a chilling game of lies, identity theft and murder. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Elanor Moss: Songs of the nuances of life lived in relation to others at Pocklington Arts Centre

Folk gig of the month: Elanor Moss, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 29, 8pm

ELANOR Moss, an “emotionally transatlantic” talent with family roots in Lincolnshire and Baltimore, Maryland, draws on influence from homes familiar and felt in songs that turn over the nuances of life lived in relation to others, taking inspiration from the British and American folk canons alike.

In keeping with such heroes as Judee Sill, Joni Mitchell, Sibylle Baier and Vashti Bunyan, her subject is “always people in all their lovely flawed-ness”. Ned Swarbrick supports. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

John Doyle: Returning to York Theatre Royal to direct The Secret Garden The Musical this spring

Welcome back to nature: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, returns to his old patch to stage his trademark actor-musician interpretation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden in a new revival of the Broadway musical with a score by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

In 1906 North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was), newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her widowed uncle in a moorland house of memories and spirits. Determined to breathe new life into her aunt’s mysterious neglected garden, she makes new friends while learning of the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.  Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Amber Davies in the poster for Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, in April

Casting announced for: Made At Curve presenting Legally Blonde The Musical at Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies will play Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, fresh from playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.

Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee. North Yorkshireman  Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

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Cast & creative team announced for The Secret Garden The Musical, directed by John Doyle at York Theatre Royal

Catrin Mai Edwards: Cast as Martha in The Secret Garden – The Musical

THE cast and creative team is in place for John Doyle’s revival of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The Secret Garden – The Musical at York Theatre Royal.

Performed by a company of actor-musicians from March 17 to April 4, the show has music by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

Doyle, Theatre Royal artistic director from 1993 to 1997 and Tony Award winner, will direct a cast led by Catrin Mai Edwards as Martha; Joanna Hickman, Lily; Henry Jenkinson, Archibald; Elliot Mackenzie, Dickon; Ann Marcuson, Mrs Winthrop; Elizabeth Marsh, Mrs Medlock; André Refig, Neville, and Steve Simmonds, Ben.

Estella Evans: Sharing role of Mary Lennox

Estella Evans and Poppy Jason will share the role of Mary Lennox and Christian Buttaci and Dexter Pulling will do likewise as Colin. The ensemble is completed by Stephanie Cremona, Matthew James Hinchliffe, Lara Lewis, and Melinda Orengo. 

Completing the creative team alongside director-designer Doyle are musical supervisor and orchestrator Catherine Jayes, co-designer David L Arsenault, costume designer Gabrielle Dalton, lighting designer Johanna Town, sound designer Tom Marshall and casting director Ginny Schiller CDG.

Adapted from American-English author Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 children’s novel, the moving and timeless story of love, loss, healing and hope is set in North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was) when  newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to live with her widower uncle at the secluded Misselthwaite Manor, a moorland house inhabited by memories and spirits from the past. 

Poppy Jason: Sharing role of Mary Lennox

On discovering her Aunt Lily’s mysterious garden, Mary is determined to breathe new life into its neglected greenery with the help of her new friends,as she learns the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature. 

Director John Doyle says: “It’s such a privilege to bring the story of The Secret Garden back to its Yorkshire roots and to bring it to life on the York Theatre Royal stage with the support of this wonderful creative team. We have an immensely talented cast of actor-musicians on board and I can’t wait to start rehearsals next month.” 

Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes adds:“We are thrilled to be welcoming John Doyle, our former artistic director, back to York Theatre Royal for this incredible production of The Secret Garden – The Musical. 

Director-designer John Doyle

“This will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of the spring season here at YTR and we are looking forward to York audiences experiencing this new take on such a beloved musical.”

The Secret Garden – The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17  to April 4; previews, March 17 and 18, 7.30pm, March 19, 2pm; press night, March 19, 7pm; March 20, 7.30pm; March 21, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 23, 6.30pm; March 24 and 25, 7.30pm; March 26, 2pm, 7.30pm; March 27, 7.30pm; March 28, 2.30pm, 7.30pm; March 30, 6.30pm; March 31, 7.30pm; April 1 and 2, 2pm, 7.30pm; April 4, 2.30pm, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No 2 from The York Press

IN his second guide to the New Year, Charles Hutchinson picks out upcoming highlights on January’s calendar and beyond.

Mike Newall: Topping Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill

Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8.30pm

WHEN Mancunian Mike Newall appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, judge Simon Cowell said it was like an Oasis concert where the music ran out and Liam decides to tell a few jokes.

Now, this storyteller with a breezy, casual style headlines tonight’s Laugh Out Loud bill, joined by affable charmer Peter Otway, observational Pete Phillipson, with his tales of misfortune and frustrations at the minutiae of everyday life, and host and promoter Damion Larkin. Box office: https://lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.

Ilaria Passeri: Darkly comic storytelling show for grown-ups at Rise@Bluebird Bakery

Storyteller of the week: Ilaria Passeri in Under The Lamp Post, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, tonight, 8.30pm (doors 7.30pm)

MANCHESTER writer and performer Ilaria Passeri steps into the darkly comic world of Under The Lamp Post, a captivating storytelling show for grown-ups that undertakes a journey sparked by a gift bag of ashes and fuelled by the eccentricity of a unique family as poignant reflection combines with finding humour in unexpected places.

Imagine navigating grief with puppets, a particular kind of pickled onion and the sort of inappropriate fancy dress that becomes a cherished and weirdly unforgettable memory in a 65-minute exploration of life, death and the beautifully absurd, produced by sitcom veteran Michel Jacob. Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.

John Mackay as Arthur Kipps, left, and Daniel Burke as The Actor in The Woman In Black, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Mark Douet

Ghostly return of the week: PW Productions present The Woman In Black, Grand Opera House, York, January 13 to 17, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees

FIRST staged in 1987 in a pub setting by the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s ghost story returns to the Grand Opera House two years to the month since its last visit.

Elderly lawyer Arthur Kipps (played by John Mackay) is obsessed with a curse cast over his family by the spectre of a “Woman in Black”. Whereupon he engages a sceptical young actor (Daniel Burke’s The Actor) to help him tell his terrifying story and exorcise the fear that grips his soul, but as they delve into his past, the boundaries between fiction and reality begin to blur. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Cellist Eloise Ramchandani: Performing Saint-Saens programme with pianist Robert Gammon at St Chad’s Church

Dementia Friendly Tea Concert of the week: Eloise Ramchandani and Robert Gammon, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, January 15, 2.30pm

ELOISE Ramchandani gives an all Saint-Saëns cello recital, accompanied by pianist Robert Gammon. The 45-minute programme includes the well-loved The Swan, the lively Allegro Appassionato and the beautiful Cello Concerto No. 1.

Ideal for those who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert, the relaxed recital will be followed by tea, coffee and homemade cakes in the church hall. Seating is unreserved; no charge applies but donations are welcome.

Death Of Gesualdo: Tableaux Vivants and The Gesualdo Six team up for world premiere at NCEM

World premiere of the month: Death Of Gesualdo, Gesualdo Six with Tableaux Vivants, National Centre for Early Music, York, January 18 and 19, 6.30pm

THE Gesualdo Six reunite with director Bill Barclay for the world premiere of a daring new successor to international hit Secret Byrd. Featuring six singers, six actors and a puppet, Death Of Gesualdo creates living tableaux that illuminate the life and psyche of madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo, a tortured genius most famous for murdering his wife and her lover in an explosive fit of jealousy, but revered among composers for anticipating chromaticism by 200 years.

This is the boldest look yet at how the life and sometimes chilling music of this enigmatic prodigy must function together for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Grace Petrie: Not the time for panicking at The Crescent. Picture: Fraser West

Comedy-folk combination of the month: Little Wander and Say Owt present Grace Petrie, This Is No Time To Panic!, January 18, The Crescent, York, 7.30pm

DO you like protest songs? Neither does Grace Petrie – and she has been singing them for 15 “politically disastrous” years. No longer able to meet the desperate hopes of left-wing audiences, the “British folk scene’s funniest lesbian” reckons there is no better time for a feel-good show.

After making her stand-up debut in 2022 with Butch Ado About Nothing, she combines music and comedy for the first time in This Is No Time To Panic! “I know folk songs can’t save the world, and neither can stand-up, but both at the same time?” ponders Petrie. “Read it and weep, Putin!” Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com.  

John Doyle: Directing The Secret Garden The Musical on his return to York Theatre Royal this spring

Welcome back for garden re-wilding: The Secret Garden The Musical, York Theatre Royal, March 17 to April 4

TONY Award-winning John Doyle, artistic director of York Theatre Royal from 1993 to 1997, will return to his old patch to stage his trademark actor-musician interpretation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden in a new revival of the Broadway musical with a score by Lucy Simon and book and lyrics by Marsha Norman.

In 1906 North Yorkshire (North Riding, as was), newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her widowed uncle in a moorland house of memories and spirits. Determined to breathe new life into her aunt’s mysterious neglected garden, she makes new friends while learning of the power of connection and the restorative magic of nature.  Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Amber Davies in the poster for her lead role in Legally Blonde The Musical, visiting the Grand Opera House, York, in April

Casting announced for: Made At Curve presenting Legally Blonde The Musical at Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies will play Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, fresh from playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty.

Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee (2.30pm). North Yorkshireman  Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.