Tag: Threedumb Theatre

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 28, from Gazette & Herald

Becca Magson’s Rita and Joe Gregory’s Frank in 1812 Theatre Company’s Educating Rita. Picture: Lauren Wyeth

RYEDALE Festival and 1812 Theatre’s Educating Rita, compact Shakespeare and Live At York Museum Gardens are uppermost in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations amid the July heatwave.

Ryedale play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in Educating Rita, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm

SAMANTHA Hughes directs Helmsley Arts Centre resident troupe 1812 Theatre Company in Willy Russell’s comedy Educating Rita, wherein Frank (Joe Gregory) is a tutor of English Literature in his 50s whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and bury himself in his books.  

Enter Rita (Becca Magson), a forthright 26-year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. After weeks of cajoling, she slowly wins over the hesitant Frank with her highly original insights and refusal to accept “No” for an answer. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk. Picture: Lauren Wyeth.

Michael Flatley’s Irish dancers in the 30th anniversary tour of Lord Of The Dance, in action at York Barbican tonight. Picture: Brian Doherty

Dance show of the week: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, tonight, 7.45pm

THE 30th anniversary tour of Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance promises a grand celebration of the revolutionary Irish dance production’s legacy, after captivating more than 60 million fans in 60 countries since its 1996 debut.

The 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour features “brand-new choreography, stunning costumes, state-of-the-art special effects and cutting-edge lighting, ensuring that the production continues to push boundaries and deliver an unforgettable experience”.  Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/lord-of-the-dance-30th-anniversary/.

Clive Francis’s Sir Humphrey Appleby in I’m Sorry, Prime Minister. Picture: Johan Persson

Political drama of the week: I’m Sorry, Prime Minister, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

JIM Hacker is back, older, but perhaps not wiser, and still utterly baffled by the real world. Hoping for a quiet retirement from government as the master of Hacker College, Oxford, Jim (Robert Kitson, replacing the indisposed Simon Rouse) instead finds himself facing the ultimate modern crisis: cancelled by the college committee. Enter Sir Humphrey Appleby (Clive Francis), who has lost none of his love for bureaucracy, Latin phrases and well-timed obstruction.

Can Humphrey and Jim outmanoeuvre the hostile students, the Fellows and reality itself? Or is it finally time to say “I’m Sorry, Prime Minister”? Brimming with wit, nostalgia and more double-speak than a press briefing, the final chapter in the evergreen comedy series is written and directed by Jonathan Lynn,co-directed byMichael Gyngell and presented by The Barn Theatre, Cirencester. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour cast for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), squeezing into York Theatre Royal this week

Shakespeare shake-up of the week: Reduced Shakespeare Company in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees

MARKING 30 years of performances in the UK, the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s 2026 tour company of Efé Agwele, Woogie Jung, Tom Pavey and Kiran Raywilliams presents Hamlet told backwards, a micro-condensed Othello scored to a ukulele, a carnage-filled Titus Andronicus presented as a YouTube cookery tutorial and the History Plays as a manic football game, passing the crown from king to king.

Californian co-founders Adam Long,  Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield have re-booted, re-imagined, reinvented and updated the restless comedy for a new generation to undertake a rollercoaster ride through all 37 of the Bard’s First Folio of plays. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet at York Medical Society. Picture: Amie Barton-Young

Storytelling actor of the week: Threedumb Theatre presents Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, tonight, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm; One  Man Poe world premiere, July 11, 7.30pm

THREEDUMB Theatre artistic director and actor Stephen Smith performs Joan Greening’s new play exploring French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s life and loves: his two marriages, his first wife’s devastating death, his lover’s erratic behaviour, his suicide attempt, his thoughts on fellow Impressionists and the torment of his failing eyesight. The 55-minute Monet montage combines projection design and Joe Furey’s music with Smith’s storytelling in  two York performances.

Smith also presents the world premiere of his latest Poe double bill (The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar) ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe residency. Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys: Summer of Hits concert at Live At York Museum Gardens

Rock and pop festival of the week: Futuresound presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, tomorrow, gates 5pm; Self Esteem, Friday, gates 5pm, and Super Furry Animals, Saturday, gates 4pm

WIRRAL synth-pop pioneers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark open Futuresound’s third season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts tomorrow with a Summer of Hits bill featuring Heaven 17, China Crisis and rising Newcastle singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin.

Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, aka Rotherham singer, songwriter and actress Rebecca Lucy Taylor, tops Friday’s line-up, featuring London indie group The Big Moon, South African ghetto funk musician Moonchild Sanelly and Nigerian-born musician and spoken-word artist Joshia Idehen.

Welsh psychedelic rock band Super Furry Animals are Saturday’s headliners, joined by singer-songwriter Baxter Dury, indie-pop septet Los Campesinos!, Nottingham alt-country band Divorce and North Wales psychedelic act Pys Melyn.  Box office for July 10 and 11: futuresoundgroup.com/york-museum-gardens-events.

Ross Noble: Playing York Comedy Festival at Live At York Museum Gardens on Sunday

Comedy event of the week: Futuresound presents York Comedy Festival, Live at York Museum Gardens, York, Sunday, gates 3pm

TOPICAL comedian Russell Howard (9.30pm), from Russell Howard’s Good News, and Geordie surrealist Ross Noble (8.35pm) take top billing at the second open-air York Comedy Festival, promoted by Futuresound.

In Sunday’s line-up too will be Irish stand-up and podcast sensation Joanne McNally (7.40pm); stand-up and presenter Russell Kane (7.10pm); Big Kick Energy podcaster and comedian Suzi Ruffell (6.15pm); Barry From Watford (5.45pm), the 82-year-old comic creation of Alex Lowe; cult stand-up hero and viral sensation Jeff Innocent (4.50pm)  and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Nabil Abdulrashid (4.20pm), all hosted by Jared Christmas. Box office: yorkcomedyfestival.com.

The Gesualdo Six: Performing Wishing Tree: A Choral Journey at St Lawrence’s Church, York, on July 14 at 3pm as part of Ryedale Festival. Picture: Ash Mills

Festival of the week: Ryedale Festival, July 10 to 26

RYEDALE Festival presents 60 events this month in 40 different venues, including Tenebrae, pianist Junyan Chen, The Gesualdo Six, Dunedin Consort, John Wilson & Sinfonia of London’s An English Summer, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia and Opera North.

Taking part too are tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Christopher Glynn, Sheku & Isata Kanneh-Mason, pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, Eliza Carthy and The Restitution, soprano Erika Baikoff, cellist Laura van der Heijden, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists and Kirkbymoorside Town Brass Band. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ryedalefestival.com.

Hannah Davies and Jack Woods: Re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future in The Ballad Of Blea Wyke. Picture: Matt Jopling

Dystopian vision of the week: Hannah Davies & Jack Woods in The Ballad of Blea Wyke, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, York, July 10, 8.30pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, July 17, 7.30pm

IN North Yorkshire writer and storyteller Hannah Davies and musician Jack Woods’ dystopian re-imagining of the selkie myth in a not-too-distant future, a young woman wants to see the sea. A stranger stands on a cliff. The last grey seal swims towards the shore. 

On her 18th birthday, tough care-leaver Cerys breaks the city’s lockdown and travels to the coastal cliffs that birthed her, the crumbling landscape drawing her back to her mythic past. Cue a haunting interweaving of story, music, poetry and song. Box office: York, https://bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

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Fringe show of the week: Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8 and 11

Stephen Smith’s Claude Monet in A Montage Of Monet. Picture: Amie Barton-Young

AFTER last summer’s sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run, Stephen Smith’s solo show A Montage Of Monet plays York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, on July 8 at 7.30pm and July 11 at 3pm.

Joan Greening’s 55-minute play invites audiences to step beyond Claude Monet’s Impressionist paintings and meet the complicated, passionate and often deeply flawed man behind them.

A Montage Of Monet explores the extraordinary life of Normandy-born Monet, from his turbulent love affairs and artistic rivalries to personal tragedy, financial hardship and the failing eyesight that threatened to end his career.

“While millions recognise his iconic water lilies, few know the remarkable story behind the artist himself,” says actor and Threedumb Theatre artistic director Stephen Smith, whose production holds a special connection with York.

Actor Stephen Smith stands by Claude Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond on his visit to York Art Gallery in 2024

“While preparing for the original Edinburgh production, I made a pilgrimage to York Art Gallery to see The Water-Lily Pond during the gallery’s hugely successful National Treasures: Monet in York exhibition in 2024.

“Standing in front of one of his most famous paintings while developing the role was an unforgettable experience, and it’s incredibly special to now be bringing the show back to the city.”

Smith’s production combines live performance with carefully curated projections of Monet’s paintings and those of his contemporaries, allowing audiences with little or no prior knowledge of Impressionism to immerse themselves fully in the story.

Writer Joan Greening, whose work has been performed across the UK and internationally, created A Montage of Monet specifically with Stephen Smith in mind after she saw him perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.

In the frame: Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet. Picture: Picture: Amie Barton-Young

“I immediately thought this brilliant young actor could play Monet,” she says. “It has been an enormous pleasure working with Stephen, who is a dynamic performer with original and clever ideas.”

Produced by four-time OFFIE Award-winning company Threedumb Theatre, A Montage Of Monet continues the London-based company’s reputation for creating bold, imaginative solo theatre that tours nationally and internationally.

Stephen Smith in A Montage Of Monet, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 8, 7.30pm and July 11, 3pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: 12+.

Stephen Smith’s other Fringe shows of the week: One Man Poe at Ripon Theatre Festival, July 10, 8pm, and York Medical Society, July 11, 7.30pm

Stephen Smith in The Tell-Tale Heart in One Man Poe at Ripon Theatre Festival. Picture: Shay Rowan

THREEDUMB Theatre actor and artistic director Stephen Smith brings his gothic horror phenomenon One Man Poe to North Yorkshire for a special Ripon Theatre Festival performance on July 10 and the world premiere of an entirely new Poe double-bill in York the next night.

One Man Poe had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024 and 2025, winning both the Derek Award for Best Overall Show and the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.

London-based Smith now returns north with two distinct One Man Poe productions. Ripon’s audience will have the chance to experience the original One Man Poe, featuring Edgar Allan Poe classics The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven, while July 11’s York audience exclusively will receive the first ever public performance of The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar.

Anyone heading for Edinburgh this summer can catch all six stories, presented as three different shows, when Smith returns for another Fringe run.

The Ripon Theatre Festival performance presents the four-story gothic anthology that has toured internationally to Europe, Dubai, Malaysia, New York, Baltimore and beyond, earning acclaim for Smith’s virtuosic solo storytelling and atmospheric theatrical style.

Stephen Smith as The Mesmerist in The Case Of M. Valdemar, from One Man Poe, pictured at St Cuthbert’s Kirkyard graveyard in Edinburgh. Picture: Colin Hattersley Photography

Meanwhile, York becomes the first city in the world to see Smith’s newest Poe adaptations before they transfer to the Edinburgh Fringe later this summer for a 42-show run.

The Business Man concerns a corrupt, bullying American businessman who builds his fortune through ruthless scams and opportunism before deciding the time is right to enter politics.

The Case of M. Valdemar explores one of Poe’s most disturbing concepts: a mesmerist attempting to hypnotise a dying man at the precise moment of death itself.

Smith, who has committed more than 18,000 words of Poe to memory, says: “Every year I deepen the work, and these new stories allow us to explore Poe’s wicked humour and his darkest fascination with mortality. The horror in Poe is never simply monsters – it’s human nature.”

Stephen Smith in One Man Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and The Pendulum, The Black Cat and The Raven, Ripon Theatre Festival, Ripon Arts Hub, Allhallowgate, Ripon,  July 10, 8pm. Tickets: https://www.ripontheatrefestival.org/event/one-man-poe/. Age guidance: 12 plus.

Stephen Smith as The Politician / Businessman, pictured on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh. Picture: Colin Hattersley

Stephen Smith in One Man Poe, The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar, York premiere, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, July 11, 7.30pm, with post-show Q&A with performer-director Stephen Smith. Tickets: 01904 623568 or https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/one-man-poe-the-business-man-and-the-case-of-m-valdemar/. Age guidance: 16 plus.

Both shows contain distressing or potentially triggering themes.

For details of One Man Poe at The Fringe see https://www.edfringe.com

Stephen Smith and One Man Poe: back story

A HUGE fan of the late Roger Corman/Vincent Price’s Edgar Allan Poe-cycle when a child, Stephen Smith reignited his love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe’s work via Facebook Live.

When the theatres reopened, he combined four of Poe’s most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe. First performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre, the show has had multiple runs in London  and on tour in the UK.

Poe is sometimes referred to as “America’s Shakespeare” and Stephen is thrilled to share the stories to UK theatre audiences. However, the show has toured internationally to Dubai, Malaysia, Off-Broadway in New York and the International Poe Festival in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stephen has had the pleasure of performing the show at the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, Poe’s cottage in the Bronx, New York, and even a special VIP catacomb performance at Poe’s burial site in Baltimore.

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Threedumb Theatre’s One Man Poe to play Theatre@41 on York return on June 1

Stephen Smith in his quadruple bill of Edgar Allan Poe horror stories. Picture: Cat Humphries

THREEDUMB Theatre’s One Man Poe will return to York on June 1, switching to Theatre@41, Monkgate, after a sold-out 2024 show  at the York Medical Society.

“Last June we presented our quadruple bill of Edgar Allan Poe stories at the Stonegate venue, selling out our one-night-only performance weeks in advance,” says director and performer Stephen Smith.

“The show went on to sell out its entire 21-show run at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe, also winning the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.

Stephen Smith in One Man Poe. Picture: Alya Sayer

“We’re bringing the show back to York for another spooky summer show, but this time we’re ‘upscaling’ to the wonderful team at Theatre@41 for a 2025 Edinburgh Fringe preview at 6pm.”

To commemorate the 175th anniversary year of Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death in 1849, Smith performs four of the American author’s most spine-chilling classics, back to back and unabridged: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit And The Pendulum,The Black Cat and The Raven.

Poe’s archaic language, paired with Smith’s award-winning tour-de-force performance offers gothic horror fans and classical literature lovers an atmospheric evening rich with imaginative storytelling in a “marathon of the macabre”.

Stephen Smith: Returning to York for an Edinburgh Fringe preview of One Man Poe. Picture: Alya Sayer

“I was a huge fan of the late Roger Corman/Vincent Price’s Poe-cyclewhen a child, reigniting  my love of classical horror stories during the pandemic by creating online renditions of Poe’s work via Facebook Live,” says Stephen, who formed Threedumb Theatre in Liverpool and is now based in London. “When the theatres reopened, I combined four of Poe’s most popular pieces in a solo show and named the extravaganza One Man Poe.”

First performed in 2021 at Watford Palace Theatre, One Man Poe has had multiple runs in London, on tour in the UK and internationally in Dubai and Off-Broadway in New York. Since its American premiere in 2022 at the Poe Fest International in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, One Man Poe has been booked for those events on an annual basis. 

The140-minute show features music by Joseph Furey and sound design by Furey and Django Holder and is supported by Watford Palace Theatreand theLiverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA). Box office: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

The poster for Threedumb Theatre’s One Man Poe