Emily Taylor, left, and Danielle Mullan demonstrate the bricks at the John Cooper Studio Theatre at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York. They will be performing there from December 11 to January 3 in York Stage’s pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk
THEATRE @41 Monkgate is selling personalised bricks to create a new display at York’s black-box studio theatre.
Sales of the inscribed slates will help to make up some of the revenue shortfall created by the Coronavirus pandemic. Theatre @41’s new chairman, Alan Park, hopes theatre participants and supporters alike will show their fundraising backing by digging deep.
“Anyone who has been to Theatre @41 knows what a special place it is,” he says. “We have obviously lost revenue while having to close and we need to make sure we can keep going. Every donation we receive helps us continue to provide an accessible and affordable theatre space to the York community.
“These bricks are a great way for anyone who uses our space, or has been to a show they love, to help us achieve this. They will be able to see their words and messages every time they visit and know they have played a part in the heritage of Theatre @41.”
To buy a brick for £40 or two for £70, visit: 41monkgate.co.uk/bricks. Alternatively, email: info@41monkgate.co.uk.
On message: Guy Wilson shows off a fundraising brick for Theatre @41 Monkgate. Guy has attended shows there regularly, takes LAMDA exams and performs for resident companies York Stage and Pick Me Up Theatre
“Pantomime is the perfect way to end the working year,” says choreographer Gary Lloyd. Picture: Michael Wharley
GARY Lloyd, choreographer to the stars and hit musicals galore, is to work his magic on the York Stage pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York.
Further buoyed by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden’s affirmation that theatre rehearsals can continue during Lockdown 2, artistic director, writer and producer Nik Briggs says: “I’m ecstatic that the incomparable Gary Lloyd is joining us.
“To have a world-renowned choreographer like Gary coming to work with us really is something special. I’m such a fan of his work; the way he tells a story on stage really is something to behold.
“For those people who have seen Thriller Live, either in the West End or as part of its world tour, you will know how high energy and dynamic his dances are. He really does know how to stage a show-stopping number,” says Nik.
Lloyd has made his mark as director/choreographer of such shows as the aforementioned Thriller Live, the Michael Jackson tribute, and 20th Century Boy, the Marc Bolan jukebox musical, bringing both to the Grand Opera House, York, along with his production of Fame, The Musical and more besides.
Aside from musicals and theatre, his credits cover everything from choreographing American Idol, The X Factor, the Eurovision Song Contest and a Victoria Beckham commercial, to working with Sir Paul McCartney, Giorgio Moroder, Robbie Williams, Dame Shirley Bassey, P!nk and Sir Tom Jones.
Based down south, Grimsby-born Gary is no stranger to York. “My father Geoff [York Stage’s set builder Geoff Theaker] and my sister Jo [York Stage regular principal Joanne Theaker] live there,” he says. “Jo’s worked with Nik, on stage and at York Stage School too, and coming to the shows, I’ve seen the company grow and do wonderful things.”
The York Stage poster for Jack And The Beanstalk
Gary’s own shows are “all on this conveyor belt waiting to come out of hiding,” he says. “My biggest fear is that producers will want them all to re-open at the same time.” Under the never-ending Covid cloud, it would nevertheless be a nice problem to have.
Given the stasis inflicted on so many theatres and touring shows by the pandemic, Nik saw the opportunity to bring Lloyd north for Jack And The Beanstalk. “He approached me about a month ago, saying ‘would you like to come up and do our pantomime if you have nothing else on?’,” says Gary.
“I would normally have been doing panto as choreographer and director for Jonathan Kiley’s pantomimes, but then came the shutdown, which was a big blow. So, for any of us who can grab hold of one, like me doing Nik’s show, it’s a thing of joy at what will otherwise be a really dark time.”
Gary is a pantomime devotee. “I love it for many reasons,” he says. “I love it primarily because, for me, it is the perfect way to end the working year, walking into the rehearsal room to work very quickly on making a show where everyone is at the top of their game, resulting in pure joy for four generations of audiences.
“It’s pure entertainment, put on by people who really know what they’re doing, especially the comedians, putting together lavish shows with such wonderful content. When panto is done well, like QDOS spending all year on their scripts, getting the topical gags in there, it’s such a joy with big rewards.”
Gary attended a couple of socially distanced London shows once theatres reopened: Fanny And Stella at the Garden Theatre and his friend Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouse, where Perspex screens protected audience members, just as they will at Theatre @41.
“Once the lights go down, you forget all of what’s going on outside, or being crammed in between Perspex screens, you forget all that, because the magic of theatre takes over,” says Gary.
Ian Stroughair, creator of drag diva cabaret sensation Velma Celli, will turn to the dark side to play Flesh Creep in Jack And The Beanstalk. He has worked previously with choreographer Gary Lloyd. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
“Right now, we need that escape, that entertainment, and that won’t be any different with Nik’s show.
“I’m looking forward to working on a more immersive show, where we’ll really be able to pick on someone in the crowd, which will give panto a new life this year, when there’ll only be a comparative handful of people there [80 maximum], and they’ll have to play their part in creating a good atmosphere at each show.”
Broadening his thoughts, Gary says: “It’s a chance to show the Government that theatres can be a safe environment, and we need to be able to open theatres as soon as possible when we can show it’s safe.
“I don’t want to get political, but you go past pubs bursting with people, whereas theatres are places where people do behave and go there for more sophisticated reasons. Theatre managers and owners are the ones who know how theatre could work in this present environment.”
Working in the arts in Covid-19 2020 with ever-changing Government strictures has been a “daily one step forward, two steps back,” says Gary. “But we’re all in the same boat together. I’ve made it my mission to work with young people coming out of college, training for an industry that they may never be able to work in.
“I’ve been doing that on Zoom, as well as teaching a bit of choreography once a week at a studio, always having a chat, because taking care of your mental health is so important.”
Gary was last on a stage in March in London. “Before Lockdown, I was working on Heathers, The Musical; we’d had had three weeks of face-to-face rehearsals on the Thriller Live stage in the West End, but then it all came to a halt,” he says of a production that had been scheduled to run at Leeds Grand Theatre from November 3 to 7.
“Working for producer Bill Kenwright has been a saving grace at this time; he’s been very optimistic about getting back to work, not paying attention to the media circus, but building a very positive attitude.
Bean team: York Stage’s cast for Jack And The Beanstalk; back row, from left, Jordan Fox, May Tether, Ian Stroughair, Livvy Evans; front row, Alex Weatherhill, Emily Taylor, Matthew Ives and Danielle Mullan
“The Leeds Grand performances were a definite until they got wind that the second lockdown could happen, so we’re now waiting for the next bit of news. It’s a daily one step forward, two steps back.”
In his Zoom training sessions and choreography teaching, Gary has stressed the importance of keeping up the highest standards. “The industry will come back, and it will come back with a bang, and these kids don’t have any excuses not to keep up with their fitness, their CV, their singing,” he says. “They need to be disciplined as individuals, not just in a class, so that’s the tough love I’ve been giving out.”
Lockdown may have imposed a hiatus on the theatre world, but reflecting on a career crammed with so many shows, Gary says: “I don’t stop…and I’ve been very lucky. I started out training to go into the theatre; that was my passion; my first job was Cats at 18, for two years, and then I show-hopped for ten years.
“I was always the dance captain, I always did extra choreography and then stepped through the door to do the assistant directing for Kim Gavin’s original production for Oh! What A Night. That’s where my choreography and directing started.”
Plenty of television work ensued. “But after a while it all became very samey.The money’s fantastic but you end up doing the same thing over and over, and I found I really missed theatre,” says Gary.
“I was approached to direct The Genius Of Ray Charles, took it to Las Vegas and then the West End, and I’ve since been able to move between two mediums, theatre and musicals, by refusing to let the industry put a label on me…because there was a time when you couldn’t work with a pop artist. But Thriller Live was a perfect vehicle for me: part theatre show, part concert.”
Now, Gary is preparing to work with the York Stage company of Jordan Fox, May Tether, Ian Stroughair, Livvy Evans, Alex Weatherhill, Emily Taylor, Matthew Ives and Danielle Mullan, who begin rehearsals for Jack And The Beanstalk at Theatre @41 on November 23.
Alex Weatherhill as Dame Trott in York Stage’s upcoming pantomime Jack And The Beanstalk. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
“Nik’s put together a fantastic cast and I’m really looking forward to working with these guys,” he says. “I know this pantomime is going to be an explosion of joy.”
Nik eagerly awaits Gary’s impact on his company and on audiences too. “The chance to see his work up close at Theatre @41 really is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for York,” he says. “We’re taking our West End-worthy panto to the next level with the addition of Gary to our company.”
York Stage present Jack And The Beanstalk at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, from December 11 2020 to January 3 2021. Box office: online at yorkstagepanto.com.
Show times will be Monday to Saturday, 2pm and 7pm; Sundays, 1pm and 6pm; Christmas Eve, 12 noon and 5pm; New Year’s Eve, 12 noon. Tickets for the 40 performances range from £20 to £27 and are on sale online only at yorkstagepanto.com. Please note, audiences will be seated in household/support bubble groupings only.
WHO IS GARY LLOYD? Award-winning director/choreographer Gary Lloyd is known for his crossover from music to theatre.
He has worked as creative director with some of the world’s biggest artists on their live performances and arena tours, bringing his wealth of experience in the latest technology and sound, as well as his innate creative vision, to the theatrical stage.
Gary Lloyd: director, choreographer, author
Theatre REFLECTIONS, The Holland-Dozier-Holland Story, Stage West, Calgary.
HEATHERS, The Musical, associate director and choreographer, The Other Palace and Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Winner, Best New Musical, WOS Awards 2018; Best Off West End Production, West End Wilma Awards 2018.
JNH 3 Decades of Music for Hollywood, James Newton Howard In Concert, European tour.
ONE NIGHT OF TINA, European tour.
WAR DANCE, workshop, Ventura, Carnival Cruise Lines.
THE KNIGHTS OF MUSIC, UK Tour.
CARRIE, The Musical, Southwark Playhouse. Winner, Best Off West End Production, WOS Awards 2016; Off West End Award nominee, Best Director, Best Choreographer.
THRILLER LIVE!, Lyric Theatre, West End. 2012/2013 Olivier Audience Award nominee and 2010 What’s On Stage Nominee, Best New Musical and Best Choreographer). Also UK Tours and World Tour.
Warren Sollars as Marc Bolan in Gary Lloyd’s production of 20th Century Boy at the Grand Opera House, York, in May 2014. Picture: Robert Day
20TH CENTURY BOY, The Story of Marc Bolan, UK Tour. Broadway World winner for Best New Touring Musical and nominee for Best Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical.
HAIR The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre, in support of Help For Heroes; Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, and European Tour.
20th CENTURY BOY, New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, 2011 What’s On Stage nominee for Best Regional Production.
THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES, Theatre Royal Haymarket, UK and North American tours.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Scandinavian Tour.
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS, Kodak Theatre Los Angeles.
WHAT A FEELING! , 2006 UK Tour.
As Choreographer/Movement Director CRUEL INTENTIONS, Palais du Varieté, Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Winner, Best Fringe Production, Broadway World Awards 2019.
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, 50th Anniversary Touring Production.
THE LIFE, English Theatre, Frankfurt, Germany.
FAME THE MUSICAL, Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin, and Ireland Tour.
“ZIP”, Giant Olive Theatre, London.
ASPECTS OF LOVE, UK Tour starring David Essex.
AMADEUS, Sheffield Crucible Theatre.
ANIMAL FARM, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.
MY FAIR LADY, Larnaca Festival and South East Asia Tour.
CITY OF ANGELS, English Theatre, Frankfurt, Germany.
ZORRO The Musical, workshop.
OH! WHAT A NIGHT, associate director/choreographer;
TV, Film & Music Gary has worked with: Giorgio Moroder; Kelly Clarkson; Leona Lewis; Robbie Williams; Pink; Anastasia; John Barrowman; Peter Andre; Stooshe; Macy Gray; NeYo; Joe McElderry; Victoria Beckham; Jennifer Hudson…
Sir Paul McCartney; Sir Cliff Richard; Dame Shirley Bassey; Sir Tom Jones; Robin Gibb; Ray Quinn; G4; Will Young; Gareth Gates; Emma Bunton; Lemar; Rachel Stevens; Natasha and Daniel Bedingfield; Girls Aloud…
Liberty X; Dani Harmer; All Angels, RyanDan; Blake; Faryl Smith; Ordinary Boys; Blue; Atomic Kitten; Basement Jaxx; ABC; Soul II Soul and S Club 8.
Gary has acted as creative director and choreographer for these acts on international tours, single and album launches and music videos.
Television credits
Elizabeth, Michael And Marlon, movement coaching for Joseph Fiennes; American Idol, Seasons 1 to 3; Disney’s My Camp Rock; The X Factor, BBC’s Skate Nation and Jump Nation and The One And Only, all as choreographic expert and mentor.
Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away; Brits 25; The Classical Brit Awards; The Royal Variety Performance; I DREAM; Eurovision Song Contest; Bump N Grind (Trouble TV); Comic Relief; ITV’s Avenue Of The Stars.
Commercials
Victoria Beckham VB Denim Range; Wispa, For The Love Of Wispa; Daz , I’m Too Sexy; Debenhams, Styling The Nation.
Anything else?
Two Royal Gala Performances at the London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Artistic director for the BAFTA Awards.
The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.
Stage director and choreographer on the 2005 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Gary’s first book, My Life With Michael, Ten Years Of Thriller Live, was published by The Book Guild in paperback in October 2019.
“Pantomime is the perfect way to end the working year,” says choreographer Gary Lloyd. Picture: Michael Wharley
GARY Lloyd, choreographer to the stars and hit musicals galore, is to work his magic on the York Stage pantomime, Jack And The Beanstalk, at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York.
Further buoyed by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden’s affirmation that theatre rehearsals can continue during Lockdown 2, artistic director, writer and producer Nik Briggs says: “I’m ecstatic that the incomparable Gary Lloyd is joining us.
“To have a world-renowned choreographer like Gary coming to work with us really is something special. I’m such a fan of his work; the way he tells a story on stage really is something to behold.”
Lloyd has made his mark as director/choreographer of such shows as Thriller Live, the Michael Jackson tribute, and 20th Century Boy, the Marc Bolan jukebox musical, bringing both to the Grand Opera House, York, along with his production of Fame, The Musical and more besides.
“For those people who have seen Thriller Live, either in the West End or as part of its world tour, you will know how high energy and dynamic his dances are. He really does know how to stage a show-stopping number,” says Nik.
Gary is no stranger to York. “My father Geoff [York Stage’s set builder Geoff Theaker] and my sister Jo [York Stage regular principal Joanne Theaker] live there,” he says. “Jo’s worked with Nik, on stage and at York Stage School too, and coming to the shows, I’ve seen the company grow and do wonderful things.”
Gary’s own shows are “all on this conveyor belt waiting to come out of hiding,” he says. “My biggest fear is that producers will want them all to re-open at the same time.” Under the never-ending Covid cloud, it would nevertheless be a nice problem to have.
The York Stage poster for Jack And The Beanstalk
Given the stasis inflicted on so many theatres and touring shows by the pandemic, Nik saw the opportunity to bring Lloyd north for Jack And The Beanstalk. “He approached me about a month ago, saying ‘would you like to come up and do our pantomime if you have nothing else on?’,” says Gary.
“I would normally have been doing panto as choreographer and director for Jonathan Kiley’s pantomimes, but then came the shutdown, which was a big blow. So, for any of us who can grab hold of one, like me doing Nik’s show, it’s a thing of joy at what will otherwise be a really dark time.”
Gary is a pantomime devotee. “I love it for many reasons,” he says. “I love it primarily because, for me, it is the perfect way to end the working year, walking into the rehearsal room to work very quickly on making a show where everyone is at the top of their game, resulting in pure joy for four generations of audiences.
“It’s pure entertainment, put on by people who really know what they’re doing, especially the comedians, putting together lavish shows with such wonderful content. When panto is done well, like QDOS spending all year on their scripts, getting the topical gags in there, it’s such a joy with big rewards.”
Gary attended a couple of socially distanced London shows once theatres reopened: Fanny And Stella at the Garden Theatre and his friend Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years at Southwark Playhouse, where Perspex screens protected audience members, just as they will at Theatre @41.
“Once the lights go down, you forget all of what’s going on outside, or being crammed in between Perspex screens, you forget all that, because the magic of theatre takes over,” says Gary.
“Right now, we need that escape, that entertainment, and that won’t be any different with Nik’s show.
Bean team: York Stage’s cast for Jack And The Beanstalk; back row, from left, Jordan Fox, May Tether, Ian Stroughair, Livvy Evans; front row, Alex Weatherhill, Emily Taylor, Matthew Ives and Danielle Mullan
“I’m looking forward to working on a more immersive show, where we’ll really be able to pick on someone in the crowd, which will give panto a new life this year, when there’ll only be a comparative handful of people there [80 maximum], and they’ll have to play their part in creating a good atmosphere at each show.”
Broadening his thoughts, Gary says: “It’s a chance to show the Government that theatres can be a safe environment, and we need to be able to open theatres as soon as possible when we can show it’s safe.
“I don’t want to get political, but you go past pubs bursting with people, whereas theatres are places where people do behave and go there for more sophisticated reasons. Theatre managers and owners are the ones who know how theatre could work in this present environment.”
Working in the arts in Covid-19 2020 with ever-changing Government strictures has been a “daily one step forward, two steps back,” says Gary. “But we’re all in the same boat together. I’ve made it my mission to work with young people coming out of college, training for an industry that they may never be able to work in.
“I’ve been doing that on Zoom, as well as teaching a bit of choreography once a week at a studio, always having a chat, because taking care of your mental health is so important.”
York Stage rehearsals are set to start on November 23 at Theatre @41 for a cast comprising Jordan Fox, May Tether, Livvy Evans, Alex Weatherhill, Ian Stroughair, Danielle Mullan, Emily Taylor and Matthew Ives.
Nik eagerly awaits Gary Lloyd’s impact on his company and on audiences too. “The chance to see his work up close at Theatre @41 really is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for York,” he says. “We’re taking our West End-worthy panto to the next level with the addition of Gary to our company.”
York Stage present Jack And The Beanstalk at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, from December 11 2020 to January 3 2021. Box office: online at yorkstagepanto.com.
WHO IS GARY LLOYD? Award-winning director/choreographer Gary Lloyd is known for his crossover from music to theatre.
He has worked as creative director with some of the world’s biggest artists on their live performances and arena tours, bringing his wealth of experience in the latest technology and sound, as well as his innate creative vision, to the theatrical stage.
Theatre REFLECTIONS, The Holland-Dozier-Holland Story, Stage West, Calgary.
HEATHERS, The Musical, associate director and choreographer, The Other Palace and Theatre Royal, Haymarket. Winner, Best New Musical, WOS Awards 2018; Best Off West End Production, West End Wilma Awards 2018.
JNH 3 Decades of Music for Hollywood, James Newton Howard In Concert, European tour.
ONE NIGHT OF TINA, European tour.
WAR DANCE, workshop, Ventura, Carnival Cruise Lines.
THE KNIGHTS OF MUSIC, UK Tour.
CARRIE, The Musical, Southwark Playhouse. Winner, Best Off West End Production, WOS Awards 2016; Off West End Award nominee, Best Director, Best Choreographer.
THRILLER LIVE!, Lyric Theatre, West End. 2012/2013 Olivier Audience Award nominee and 2010 What’s On Stage Nominee, Best New Musical and Best Choreographer). Also UK Tours and World Tour.
20TH CENTURY BOY, The Story of Marc Bolan, UK Tour. Broadway World winner for Best New Touring Musical and nominee for Best Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical.
HAIR The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre, in support of Help For Heroes; Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, and European Tour.
20th CENTURY BOY, New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, 2011 What’s On Stage nominee for Best Regional Production.
THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES, Theatre Royal Haymarket, UK and North American tours.
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, Scandinavian Tour.
SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS, Kodak Theatre Los Angeles.
WHAT A FEELING! , 2006 UK Tour.
As Choreographer/Movement Director CRUEL INTENTIONS, Palais du Varieté, Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Winner, Best Fringe Production, Broadway World Awards 2019.
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, 50th Anniversary Touring Production.
THE LIFE, English Theatre, Frankfurt, Germany.
FAME THE MUSICAL, Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin, and Ireland Tour.
“ZIP”, Giant Olive Theatre, London.
ASPECTS OF LOVE, UK Tour starring David Essex.
AMADEUS, Sheffield Crucible Theatre.
ANIMAL FARM, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds.
MY FAIR LADY, Larnaca Festival and South East Asia Tour.
CITY OF ANGELS, English Theatre, Frankfurt, Germany.
ZORRO The Musical, workshop.
OH! WHAT A NIGHT, associate director/choreographer;
TV, Film & Music Gary has worked with: Giorgio Moroder; Kelly Clarkson; Leona Lewis; Robbie Williams; Pink; Anastasia; John Barrowman; Peter Andre; Stooshe; Macy Gray; NeYo; Joe McElderry; Victoria Beckham; Jennifer Hudson…
Sir Paul McCartney; Sir Cliff Richard; Dame Shirley Bassey; Sir Tom Jones; Robin Gibb; Ray Quinn; G4; Will Young; Gareth Gates; Emma Bunton; Lemar; Rachel Stevens; Natasha and Daniel Bedingfield; Girls Aloud…
Liberty X; Dani Harmer; All Angels, RyanDan; Blake; Faryl Smith; Ordinary Boys; Blue; Atomic Kitten; Basement Jaxx; ABC; Soul II Soul and S Club 8.
Gary has acted as creative director and choreographer for these acts on international tours, single and album launches and music videos.
Television credits
Elizabeth, Michael And Marlon, movement coaching for Joseph Fiennes; American Idol, Seasons 1 to 3; Disney’s My Camp Rock; The X Factor, BBC’s Skate Nation and Jump Nation and The One And Only, all as choreographic expert and mentor.
Ant And Dec’s Saturday Night Take Away; Brits 25; The Classical Brit Awards; The Royal Variety Performance; I DREAM; Eurovision Song Contest; Bump N Grind (Trouble TV); Comic Relief; ITV’s Avenue Of The Stars.
Commercials
Victoria Beckham VB Denim Range; Wispa, For The Love Of Wispa; Daz , I’m Too Sexy; Debenhams, Styling The Nation.
Anything else?
Two Royal Gala Performances at the London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
Artistic director for the BAFTA Awards.
The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace.
Stage director and choreographer on the 2005 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen at the Wales Millennium Centre.
Gary’s first book, My Life With Michael, Ten Years Of Thriller Live, was published by The Book Guild in paperback in October 2019.
Once Seen Theatre members at Theatre@41 Monkgate, York
THEATRE @41, Monkgate, York, is honouring the memory of Sandra Gilpin by re-naming its main rehearsal space after the late York philanthropist.
Room One will become The Gilpin Room in an homage to Sandra, whose life was dedicated to supporting and working with adults with learning or physical challenges.
Sandra, who died in April 2019, is remembered with great affection by Once Seen Theatre, a fully accessible theatre company, based at Theatre@41, that evolved from Sandra’s original project, York People First.
Carole and David Metcalf, who now run the company, praised Sandra as an inspirational woman who dedicated her whole career to supporting and working for others.
“We first met Sandra ten years ago and we have seen first hand what a wonderful person she was,” says Carole. “Sandra was passionate about making changes to the social system to make sure everyone was treated equally.
“As a disabled person, I feel it’s imperative to make theatre a place inclusive of people with learning and physical disabilities,” says comedian and Theatre@41 patron Rosie Jones
“All Once Seen members think about her with affection and we’re determined to keep going as a company in her memory. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we can get back into the theatre. We look forward to working in The Gilpin Room: a very special place named after a very special woman.”
This will be the third name for this rehearsal and performance space that started life as the Infants Room when the building was used as a Sunday school.
Once Seen is one of three “associate companies” housed at the Monkgate theatre, along with Nik Briggs’s York Stage School and Robert Readman’s Pick Me Up Theatre. They help Theatre@41 to further its charitable objectives in education and accessibility in the arts.
Comedian, actress and scriptwriter Rosie Jones, settling into her new role as a Theatre@41 patron, is a firm believer in the objectives that Sandra heralded. “My main passion in life is to make media, and the arts in general, a place that is both accessible and representative of our brilliantly diverse society,” says the disability in the arts campaigner, who has cerebral palsy.
“As a disabled person, I feel it’s imperative to make theatre a place which is inclusive of people with learning and physical disabilities. Theare@41 does just that.”
“Strong women”: Joanne Theaker, front left, Louise Henry, back left, Sandy Nicholson, Julie-Anne Smith and Kathryn Addison starring in Nik Briggs’s production of Steel Magnolias for York Stage
YORK Stage kick off their 2020 season with Robert Harling’s
comedy-drama Steel Magnolias at Theatre @41 Monkgate, York.
Running in the John Cooper Studio from February 19 to 22, this 1987 American play focuses on the camaraderie of six Southern women who talk, gossip, jest and harangue each other through the best of times and comfort and repair one another through the worst.
“Steel Magnolias is alternately hilarious and touching with
six female characters that are all as delicate as magnolias yet as strong as
steel,” says director Nik Briggs.
Joanne Theaker, Louise Henry, Sandy Nicholson and Julie-Anne Smith in York Stage’s Steel Magnolias
His cast comprises Joanne Theaker as M’Lynn; Louise Henry as
Shelby; Julie-Anne Smith as Ousier; Sandy Nicholson as Clairee; Kathryn Addision
as Truvy and Carly Morton as Annelle.
Yorkshire actress Joanne Theaker returns to the York Stage
company, having led the cast as Maria in The Sound Of Music at the Grand Opera
House last April.
Previously, Joanne has played Sister Mary Roberts in Sister
Act; Diva in Priscilla Queen Of The Desert – The Musical; Judy in Dolly
Parton’s 9 To 5 The Musical and Paulette in Legally Blonde. Elsewhere, she has
performed at Hull Truck Theatre in the original casts of John Godber’s Thick As
a Brick and Big Trouble In The Little Bedroom and at the Stephen Joseph
Theatre, Scarborough, in Neil Simon’s They’re Playing Our Song.
Julie-Anne Smith and Sandy Nicholson have a laugh in the photo-shoot for Steel Magnolias
Louise Henry joins rehearsals after making her professional debut
as Snow White in this winter’s Grand Opera House pantomime, Snow White And The
Seven Dwarfs. Previously, for York Stage Musicals, she had performed in The Sound
Of Music as Liesl last April and Twilight Robbery as Jayne in May. West End
actress Julie-Anne Smith last appeared for York Stage Musicals as Violet in 9 To
5 in 2017.
Briggs says: “Bringing Steel Magnolias to the stage, and
working with these six women especially, has been a joy. It’s no secret that I
love working with strong women, especially in the rehearsal room and you don’t
get much stronger than these six.
”Having previously directed many female-led shows – Sister Act,
Legally Blonde, 9 To 5, The Sound Of Music, Be My Baby and Little Voice – Steel
Magnolias has been on my ‘To Do’ list for a long time.”
Hair-larious: Louise Henry and Joanne Theaker
The women’s closeness drew Briggs to Harling’s piece. “It’s
relatable, the salon is a world in itself and the six characters are an adopted
family,” he says. “They laugh, cry, argue, support and challenge each other
within this world and it really allows for the drama and comedy to flourish and
soar.
“We’ve had tears of laughter and tears of sadness over the rehearsal period. This really is a show to see with your closest girl friends and family. Come, laugh and cry together, and if you want to wear pyjamas and bring a large carton of ice cream with you for the ultimate girly ‘night in-out’, we won’t judge!”
Harling was inspired to write Steel Magnolias, his first
play, after his sister Susan died of complications from diabetes. Premiered off-Broadway
at the WPA Theater in 1987, it quickly transferred to Broadway, where it became
an instant sensation, running for three years and spawning the hit movie
starring Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Daryl Hannah, Olympia
Dukakis and Shirley MacLaine.
Hair piece: York Stage’s poster image for Steel Magnolias
York Stage in Steel Magnolias, John Cooper Studio,
Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, February 19 to 22, 7:30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday
matinee. Tickets: £15, concessions £13, at yorkstagemusicals.com, on 01904 623568
or in person from the York Theatre Royal box office. “We shall be supporting
York and District Diabetes UK Group throughout the run,” says director Nik
Briggs.
