Agnes as Tiger Lily, left, Esther as Wendy and Lottie as Tink in York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture James Drury
THIS large-scale production marks York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s return to the Main House for the first time since 2019.
In scratching that seven-year-itch, it must be hoped that such appearances become a more regular occurrence to complement the smaller shows performed by the various age groups each year.
No fewer than 46 performers aged eight to 19 are participating in head of communities Lydia Crosland and departing head of youth theatre Sophie-Jade Howell’s co-production, supported by seven young people working backstage.
As the title suggests, Wendy & Peter Pan switches the focus to Esther’s plucky Wendy Darling in Ella Hickson’s girl power revamp of J M Barrie’s tale, where Lottie’s Tink blossoms as a sassy, punk-rock Geordie fairy, Sylvie’s Mrs Darling joins the Suffragettes and takes up work as a seamstress two days a week and Agnes’s Tiger Lily is fearlessly free-spirited. The villainous Hook is now female too (as played by Molly; no surnames are included in the digital programme), along with sidekick Smee (Lily).
Harry’s Peter and cast members in York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
The men, more particularly Mr Darling (Connor) and the eldest Darling boy, lanky John (Aidan), have lessons to learn and attitudes to be changed in how they look upon women. Hickson stirs the pot and heats the plot with mockery of Edwardian stereotypes and male ego-deflating humour that strikes home with all present. John, you will learn how to use an iron.
Peter (Harry) is a more serious, mysterious and mystical figure than the hands-on-hips, flighty boy In Barrie’s story, here burdened by the need to defeat Hook at all costs, reckless in his treatment of Wendy, but still lithe, athletic and nimble.
A fourth Darling child, the ailing Tom (Elliott), is central to Hickson’s version, his departure from his bed in Peter’s arms inducing divisive grief in the Darling parents and spurring Wendy to try to find him, joined by John and his rather perkier younger brother Michael (Percy).
Kate Marshall’s open-plan town house, Neverland and Jolly Roger set designs are kept busy, busy, busy with an ever-changing roster of Lost Boys, fairies, pirates and more besides, topped off by the Crocodile, divided into linking body parts, each carried at head height. Among the supporting stand-outs are Astrid’s feisty Tootles and Angus’s Martin, who revels in the riff on Dirty Dancing: “No-one puts the camp boy in the corner”.
Lily’s Smee, left, and Molly’s Hook in Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
Not every line is delivered with clarity, while battle scenes are deliberately prone to chaos under York Dance Space’s movement direction, where the Darling children’s flight through the night sky takes the form of being lifted into the air rather than wire-rigging and harnesses. Harry’s Peter evokes flying through gymnastic movement too.
Joe Allen’s compositions and sound design are light on the feet, often playful but moving too when the mood demands.
At the heart of Hickson’s punchy reinvention – “Bog off” exclamation et al – is Wendy no longer being satisfied with merely “playing mother”, but leading the campaign against Hook’s ragbag pirates, overcoming Tink’s initial jealousy and bonding with Tiger Lily. How fitting that Esther’s Wendy should take a solo round of applause after everyone else has left the stage.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre in Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, 7pm tonight; 2pm & 7pm tomorrow. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre cast members revelling in performing Wendy & Peter Pan on the Main House stage. Picture: James Drury
Jared More, left, and Matthew Rutherford in Riding Lights Theatre Company’s The Selfish Giant
A GIANT in a garden, Wendy turning piratical in a re-imagined Peter Pan, a slapstick take on The Three Musketeers and an enlightening Helmsley exhibition are among Charles Hutchinson’s highlights in the week ahead.
Inspirational tale of love and generosity of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company in The Selfish Giant, Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, until Saturday, 1.30pm and 4.30pm
STEP into the magical world of the Giant’s garden, a place full of music, beauty, bird song and stories in Jon Boustead’s stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant. The Giant, however, is cross when he returns to find children – children! – playing happily in his beautiful orchard, whereupon he erects a big wall to put a stop to all the fun.
Once winter seizes the garden in its icy fingers, will summer ever return? Through storytelling, interactive games, live music and puppetry, York company Riding Lights presents a 50-minute play for family audiences. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk. Age recommendation: Three upwards.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s cast in Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
Neverland revamped: York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre in Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee
YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre returns to the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 for 46 performers, aged eight to 19, to present Ella Hickson’s feminist take on J M Barrie’s Peter Pan in Lydia Crosland and Sophie-Jade Howell’s large-scale production.
A quiet sadness permeates the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink, whereupon Wendy leads the rebellious lost boys, takes on the terrifying Captain Hook, finds the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovers the power of being brave and strong. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The poster for Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries
Spoken-word gig of the week: Say Owt presents Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries by Pete the Temp, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
POET, author and comic Pete the Temp’s Romantics, Mystics and Revolutionaries is a spoken-word show about rebellion, resistance and wild imagination. The 1800s’ Romantic movement began as a rebellion: against empire, industry and the mechanisation of the soul. Yorkshire became the epicentre of its rebellion.
Tomorrow’s storytelling stage show fuses scholarship with music, comedy and poetry in a spellbinding history of riot, repression and psychedelic experimentation. As we face this age of despair, find out what we can learn from past dreams of freedom and renewal. Bangladeshi-Geordie spoken-word poet and creative practitioner Tahmina Ali supports with her explorations of identity, belonging, motherhood, mental health and cultural inheritance, viewed through a distinctly northern lens. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Our Star Theatre Company: Whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps in The Three Musketeers
Slapstick silliness of the week: Our Star Theatre Company in The Three Musketeers, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm
OUR Star Theatre Company’s re-telling of The Three Musketeers is packed with humour, audience participation and energetically silly turns as a small troupe of performers gears up for its debut performance of Alexandre Dumas’s story.
However, what starts as a simple theatrical endeavour soon unravels into a whirlwind of confusion, mayhem and comical mishaps. From forgotten lines to chaotic set changes, the actors become entangled in a series of blunders. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s The Trial Of Romeo Oscar, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Friday to October 4
ALAN Ayckbourn’s 92nd play is his first courtroom drama, one set in the future, as he explores the question that artists have been asking for centuries: what makes us human?
In 2194, humanity is scattered around the solar system and day-to-day life on Earth looks very different. Preparations are underway for a landmark legal case. Romeo Oscar, a military issue android, is on trial for murder: the first non-human to be tried in a court of law. The evidence is polarising and selecting an impartial jury is proving a challenge. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
See the world more curiously in: Be Like Blippi, York Barbican, Saturday, 1pm and 4pm
JOIN Blippi and Meekah for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires children to move, play and explore like Blippi in a new show packed with high-energy music and surprises, featuring fan favourites The Excavator Song, Monster Truck, Dino Dance and Curious Like Me.
Equipped with Blippi’s signature mix of play, learning, and exploration, Be Like Blippi invites you to break out your orange Blippi glasses and ignite your spark of curiosity. Please note, Blippi and Meekah will be played by professional stage performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The Illegal Eagles: Checking into the Hotel California at York Barbican
Tribute gig of the week: The Illegal Eagles, Hotel California Tour, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Illegal Eagles mark 30 years on the road in 2026 with their new Hotel California Tour. Renowned for their vocal and guitar prowess and ability to re-create the legendary sound of the Eagles, the tribute act’s milestone itinerary features a full performance of the iconic Hotel California album, featuring Life In The Fast Lane, New Kid in Town and the unforgettable title track. Expect all the timeless Eagles greatest hits too. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie: Launching Into The Light exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre
Exhibition of the week: Robert Dutton & Andrew Moodie, Into The Light, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 8 to 30
THIS exhibition presents landscapes that evoke a strong affinity for different reasons. Dramatic mountainous terrain, breathtaking moorland landscapes and coastal sea sand and communities all have their place.
“We hope that Into the Light may extend beyond the artwork to suggest a sense of optimism, moving from darkness to light, in a sometimes troubled world,” say artists Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie. “The paintings are presented both to inspire you and also to bring you that same sense of awe and wonder with nature that we felt as we painted them, enjoying the unique quality of the light that led us to each location.”
Jeanette Hunter’s Pearl, left, Jackie Cox’s Jan, Nicki Clay’s Shelley and Gemma McDonald’s Linda in MARMiTE Theatre’s Ladies Day. Picture: Lucy Baines
Racing romp of the week: MARMiTE Theatre in Ladies Day, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 8 to 12, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
LIFE is one long slog for four fish factory packers from Hull, Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda, but their fortunes could change when they head to Knavesmire on the day Royal Ascot came to York in 2005.
Factory hairnets make way for fascinators as the friends hit the racecourse for an unforgettable day out. Secrets are spilled, along with copious amounts of champagne, as their friendships are tested to the limits in Martyn Hunter’s s production of Amanda Whittington’s comedy gem. Box office:https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk/
Louisa Ashdown in the rehearsal room for Hephaestus Theatre’s Richard iii Redux
Introducing: Hephaestus Theatre in Richard iii Redux, The Basement, City Screen Playhouse, York, September 10, 7.30pm
UNIVERSITY of York theatre graduates Eleanor Doig (producer) and Louisa Ashdown (director and performer) introduce new York company Hephaestus Theatre in Kaite O’Reilly and Phillip Zarrilli’s dark comedy Richard iii Redux.
The company’s mission is to tell disabled stories and put disabled and neuro-diverse actors on stage and behind the scenes, this time with Ashdown playing The Actor opposite Georgina Way’s Presenter (on film) in a journey to find who the real Richard iii was while exploring the challenges of being a disabled actor. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s cast for Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
YORK Theatre Royal Youth Theatre will perform on the Main House stage for the first time since 2019 in a large-scale production of Ella Hickson’s Wendy & Peter Pan from September 3 to 5.
Forty-six young performers aged eight to 19 will perform this magical re-telling of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan, where the focus now falls on Wendy’s adventures in Neverland.
Performers are drawn from all the youth theatre groups, as well as newcomers, while a further seven young people are supporting the production as backstage crew, from stage management, sound and lighting to craft and prop making.
Lydia Crosland, York Theatre Royal’s head of communities for five years, is co-directing the show with Sophie-Jade Howell in her last production after two years as head of youth theatre before leaving the Theatre Royal on September 23 to take up a new youth theatre post at Leeds Heritage Theatres.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talent of our brilliant Youth Theatre community, both on stage and off,” says Lydia. “There is something truly special about co-creating a show with young people and I can’t wait to watch their creativity shine. We’re seeking to make a production where young people really feel ownership of it.”
Sophie-Jade says: “Ella Hickson’s take on the Peter Pan story is so beautiful and heartfelt. It’s got everything I love in an adventure: raucous pirate battles, a punk-rock fairy and plenty of magic and mischief along the way. We have such a talented company of young performers and I know the whole process will be such a blast!”
Soar up into the night sky with Wendy, Peter and Tink in Hickson’s fairy dust-sprinkled girl power account of Barrie’s story as a quiet sadness besets the Darling household, until the unexpected arrival of a mischievous young boy called Peter and a rather sassy fairy, Tink.
Sophie-Jade Howell, left, and Lydia Crosland, co-directors of York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s production of Wendy & Peter Pan
Cue Wendy leading the rebellious Lost Boys, taking on the terrifying Captain Hook, finding the key to her parents’ lost happiness and discovering the power of being brave and strong.
“We picked the play with the young people from our Youth Theatre Forum,” says Sophie-Jade. “We hold 13 youth theatre sessions per week in term time, and from each class two people take part in the forum.
“We were encouraged by the theatre management to pick a classic, which I’m always excited by because there are loads of stories that be told in new ways.
“We brought the forum four or five plays to choose from, and Ella Hickson’s play won unanimously. We did a reading and got everyone interacting on their feet.”
Wendy & Peter Pan appealed to the co-directors and youth members alike with its radical re-positioning of Wendy in the storyline. “I always think, ‘why does Wendy only get to play at being as mum in J M Barrie’s story, when everyone else gets to be a pirate?’,” says Lydia.
“But in this play, she does get to do battle with the pirates , and everyone really identified with that, wanting to celebrate their empowerment. Tink is sassy too, and Mrs Darling joins the Suffragettes and takes a job as a seamstress and dress maker, so all the female roles are much more fleshed out.”
Sophie-Jade adds: “It’s now Wendy’s story. It just felt right to us as creatives to look at this story in a new way, and it’s exciting to do that in a feminist way. When you’re working with this age group, you have to look at stories that speak to them in a contemporary way.”
Molly as Captain Hook and Esther as Wendy in York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s Wendy & Peter Pan. Picture: James Drury
Hickson’s play features a fourth Darling child, Tom, a Lost Boy, whose loss necessitates Wendy to become his mother figure because the parents are so grief-stricken.
“The story has real heart to it,” says Lydia. “But there are comedic moments too; it’s funny and playful at times, raucous too, and because of that, the emotional, tender moments work even better, to contrast with the absolute carnage of the pirate scenes!”
Lydia and Sophie-Jade are joined in the production team by designer Kate Marshall and lighting designer Craig Kilmartin and composer and sound designer Joe Allen, with music being co-created by York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre and Access All Areas group, complemented by actor-musician students from Leeds Conservatoire.
York Dance Space will also be supporting with movement direction for the show. “We’re trying to move away from the traditional idea of Peter Pan flying across the stage,” says Sophie Jade. “We’re using physical theatre and puppetry instead, with lots of lifting and movement.”
York Theatre Royal’s Autumn Youth Theatre will start again for another term from September 21 with places available for children of all ages from five to 19.
The weekly drama sessions take place at York Theatre Royal, York College and York St John University, offering young people a fun way to develop performance skills, improve their confidence and make new friends. For more details on how to take part, go to: https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/be-part-of-it/children-and-young-people/youth-theatre.
On September 24, Sophie- Jade will begin her new post “updating the youth theatre programme” with Leeds Heritage Theatres, which runs Leeds Grand Theatre, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall and Hyde Park Picturehouse.
“”I’m really sad to be leaving because York Theatre Royal has been my home,” she says. “I’m not leaving for any other reason than that I live in Leeds.”
York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre presents Wendy & Peter Pan, York Theatre Royal, September 3 to 5, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: five plus. The show is being made with support from The Feoffees of St Michael’s Spurriergate, York Youth Partnership Funding and the York Common Good Trust.
Age guidance: Five plus. Content guidance: This production has theatrical smoke, sudden loud noises and audience participation (a large inflatable ball will be passed around the Stalls).
