Wharfemede Productions Archives

October 15, 2024October 15, 2024

Wharfemede Productions team up with Black Sheep Theatre Productions for debut show The Last Five Years at NCEM

*Helen “Bells” Spencer’s Cathy Hiatt and Chris Mooney’s Jamie Wellerstein in The Last Five Years, opening at the NCEM on Thursday. Picture: Simon Trow*

CO-FOUNDERS Helen “Bells” Spencer and Nick Sephton are launching Wharfemede Productions by staging Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years in association with fellow York company Black Sheep Theatre Productions.

The American musical two-hander will be staged at the National Centre for Early Music, York, from Thursday to Saturday this week.

Formed by chief artistic director, musical actress and doctor Helen and chief operating officer, musical actor and former Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company chair Nick, the innovative new company takes its name from their home in Thorp Arch.

After their fruitful involvement in the Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company, not least in fund-raising for the JoRo, their new venture Wharfemede Productions will focus mainly on character-driven musical theatre pieces and use Helen’s expertise to establish a culture of learning and development as part of the rehearsal process.

*Wharfemede Productions chief operating officer Nick Sephton and chief artistic director Helen Spencer at the September company launch in the Wharfemede garden*

“Having gained a Drama degree from Manchester University and then co-founded and company managed Envision Theatre Company, this is a return to my roots,” says Helen, who has bags of experience as a professional and amateur performer, vocal coach and company manager.

Supporting and organising the company will be Nick’s role. “With decades of logistics, managerial and computing experience, I’m excited to be founding a company that uses these skills, combined with my love for music and theatre,” he says.

For The Last Five Years, Wharfemede and Black Sheep have brought together a formidable core creative team of Helen, as director, and Black Sheep founder and good friend Matthew Clare, as musical director, complemented throughout the rehearsal process by Susannah Tresilian, a professional director and journalist from London, as guest director, and Tom Guest, from Manchester, as vocal coach.

Premiered at Chicago’s Northlight Theatre in 2001 and then produced Off-Broadway in March 2002, The Last Five Years tells the emotive story of two New Yorkers, rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years.

*Helen Spencer and Chris Mooney working with guest director Susannah Tresilian, right, in the rehearsal room*. *Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter*

Using an unconventional structure, American pop-rock musical theatre composer, lyricist and playwright Jason Robert Brown presents the story in reverse from Cathy’s point of view, first revealing the end of their tumultuous relationship.

Meanwhile, Jamie tells the story chronologically from when the couple first met. The pair only cross paths once, in the middle of the show, where they are seen together before they continue on their respective timelines.

Clare’s seven-piece band combines with Helen Spencer’s Cathy and Chris Mooney’s Jamie in a to-and-fro evening of frank storytelling and gorgeous music.

“I have loved this play for many years and in fact was cast as Cathy some years ago but unfortunately the show never went ahead,” says Helen. “I’m absolutely delighted to be finally getting the chance to sing all of these fantastic songs. Even better, I get to watch and listen to Chris, who is so unbelievably talented, playing Jamie.

*The poster for Black Sheep Theatre Productions and Wharfemede Productions’ collaborative production of The Last Five Years*

“Chris and I worked together on Falsettos[Black Sheep Theatre Productions, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, August 2023] and found we had great chemistry and connection on stage.

“Having talked with Matthew about producing The Last Five Years for a while, all the pieces finally aligned. I’m genuinely giddy with excitement! It’s such a cleverly written show, with wonderful music that will be brought to life by Matthew and his band.”

Helen continues: “With it just being a two hander, it’s intense, intimate and a wonderful challenge. There’s nowhere to hide for us as performers but also for the audience as well. I think I’m better known on the York circuit for portraying brash comedy characters, so it will be nice to tackle something very different. I can’t wait to share this phenomenal show with an audience.”

Calling himself “truly a sucker for a sung-through musical”, Chris says: “The Last Five Years has been on the bucket list for a while now, so accepting the opportunity was a no-brainer. The piece itself challenges audiences with songs centred around difficult concepts that we don’t often see in musicals, with no real protagonist to root for.

*Guest director Susannah Tresilian, vocal coach Tom Guest, centre, and musical director Matthew Clare in the rehearsal room for The Last Five Years. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter*

“They simply get to experience the beauty and the challenges that can happen as two people in love grow together. The songs are a real joy to perform, and it’s been an enjoyable challenge to try to best convey Jamie’s perspective in the show. What’s been a real highlight is getting to bear witness to the professional that is Bells Spencer tackling Cathy and truly making the part her own. I can’t wait to open it all up to the audience now!”

Musical director Matthew Clare describes The Last Five Years as a “beautiful show that
highlights just how much can be achieved by a cast of two phenomenal individuals”. “In this
way, it is the ultimate challenge for a performer – to be perfect, with no room to hide or any
escape from the audience’s sight, for the entirety of a show,” he says.

“I’ve loved working with Bells before as both a member of my previous casts (Jekyll & Hyde (2022), Elegies For Angels, Punks, And Raging Queens (2023), Falsettos (2023) and For The Love Of Animation (2023)) and on production teams or as the director, such as for Musicals In The Multiverse (2023).

“Chris is a phenomenal performer that I have worked with on multiple rounds of Jesus Christ Superstar (2019, 2022) and Falsettos (2023).”

*Helen “Bells” Spencer and Chris Mooney rehearsing for The Last Five Years. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter*

Assessing their performing skills, Matthew says: “Bells brings a robust and exciting vision to her projects with the most delightful working attitude. She’s amazing at leading any project; in particular, one like this, which requires an ability that is second to none and a dedication to match.

“Bells and Chris both have that. Their grasp of the characters and the nuances that they’re
able to bring to this show will set it apart from almost anything else this year in York. It’s
set to be incredible, with some of the best performers York has to offer, as well as seven of the best musicians! A labour of love, bursting with talent and emotion that one no-one should miss out on!”

Guest director Susannah Tresilian adds: “Interesting love stories never follow an obvious path, but the way the stories of Cathy and Jamie intertwine is so unusual that it really does stand out. It’s been huge fun to work with Bells and Chris on their timelines as they navigate who said what when and who is saying what when now!

“Plus, Bells, Tom and I first met when studying Drama at university, and spent many happy years making theatre all across Europe together, and it is pure joy to be able to collaborate again here on this!”

*The logo for Helen “Bells” Spencer and Nick Sephton’s new company, Wharfemede Productions*

Vocal coach Tom Guest enthuses: “I’ve always loved the beautiful score by Jason Robert Brown. It’s great to sing, with brilliant, emotionally intelligent lyrics. The ingenious structure makes this story of Cathy and Jamie’s marriage even more engaging, and even more heart-breaking.

“The solo songs are nuanced and energetic and are a fantastic showcase for the actors. Then when their two timelines join for the central duet, it’s just delicious! Ah, those harmonies…

“I’m so excited to be able to work with these two talented musical theatre performers, and especially to be doing it alongside my faves from uni days, Bells and Susannah, is
going to be perfect!”

*The poster for Wharfemede Productions’ production of Little Women, The Broadway Musical next February*

Coming next from Wharfemede Productions will be Little Women, The Broadway Musical, based on Louisa May Alcott’s American coming-of-age novel, with book by Allan Knee, music by Jason Howland and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Tickets for the February 18 to 22 2025 run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, are on sale at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

In the cast will be Catherine Foster as Meg March; Connie Howcroft as Jo; Rachel Higgs, Beth; Tess Ellis, Amy; Helen “Bells” Spencer, Marmee; Rosy Rowley, Aunt March; Steven Jobson, Lawrie; Nick Sephton, Professor Bhaer; Andrew Roberts, Mr Brooke, and Chris Gibson, Mr Lawrence.

The creative team comprises: Helen “Bells” Spencer, director; Rosy Rowley and Henrietta Linnemann, assistant directors; Matthew Clare, musical director, and Rachel Higgs, choreographer.

Wharfemede Productions in collaboration with Black Sheep Theatre Productions present The Last Five Years, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, October 17 to 19, 7.45pm. Box office: www.ticketsource.co.uk/wharfemede-productions-ltd.

Wharfemede Productions: the top team

Helen “Bells” Spencer, chief artistic director

HELEN studied Drama at Manchester University and was then company manager of Envision Theatre Company from 2002-2010. She has performed and vocal coached all around the UK and in Europe over the past 20 years.

Highlights include: 2002 & 2004 UK/Italy tours of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change! (Woman 2), Little Voice (Little Voice), Manchester Dance House, Audrey in Little Shop Of Horrors, Barley Corn Jack (Beatrice) Manchester and Edinburgh Fringe (Best Actress Award 2002 MIFTAs).

Helen then had a period away from the stage, having qualified as a doctor and also started a family.

Since returning to musical theatre in 2019, her York credits include: We Remember Sondheim (director/performer), Young Frankenstein (Frau Blucher), Falsettos (Dr Charlotte), Musicals In the Multiverse (director/co-creator), Elegies For Angels, Punks And Raging Queens (various), Hello, Dolly! (Dolly Levi), The Sound Of Music (Mother Abbess), Wicked Origins (Ursula & Gelinda), Kipps: Half A Sixpence (Mrs Walsingham), For The Love Of Animation (various), Jekyll & Hyde (Lady Beaconsfield), Hooray For Hollywood (various) and Made In Dagenham (Beryl).

Nick Sephton, chief operating officer

NICK holds an Engineering Doctorate in Large Scale Complex Systems from the University of York, having won multiple Best Paper awards for his published works. Subsequently
worked as software architect at University of York Digital Creativity Lab.

Nick has extensive experience in leadership and event logistics roles, having worked as both a senior technical architect and lead developer. He also has experience in roles such as UK Community Leader for WPN Judge Program, Magic Tournament Floor Rules
Manager for WPN Judge Program and chair of Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company.

Having been a keen singer for some time, Nick’s first named role was as the Sergeant of
Police in Pirates Of Penzance. Since become a regular in the York theatre scene.

Credits include: Fester Addams (The Addams Family), Lord Chancellor (Iolanthe), Rudolph Reisenweber (Hello Dolly!), Sir Danvers Carew (Jekyll & Hyde), Mr Shalford (Kipps: Half A Sixpence), Captain Corcoran (HMS Pinafore), Eddie O’Grady (Made in Dagenham), Sir Marmaduke (The Sorcerer), Colonel Calverly (Patience), Strephon (Iolanthe) and Escamilio (Cover – Carmen).

When not on stage, Nick is a keen double bass player and enjoys playing board games.

*Guests and hosts at the September 14 launch party for Wharfemede Productions*

October 12, 2024October 14, 2024

More Things To Do in York and beyond when seeking that lovely jubbly feeling. Hutch’s List No. 42, from The Press, York

*Lethal tea maker: The Black Widow at York Dungeon*

DEL Boy in a musical, a Dungeon murderess, a Greek teen tragedy and a top-Rankin Scottish detective are well worth investigating, advises Charles Hutchinson.

New attraction of the week: The Black Widow, York Dungeon, Clifford Street, York, from today, from 10am

THIS Hallowe’en season’s new show at York Dungeon opens today. Be prepared to encounter the grim tale of Britain’s first female serial killer: Mary Ann Cotton.

A north easterner with a propensity for lacing tea with a drop of arsenic, the Black Widow was convicted of only one murder but is believed to have killed many others, including 11 of her 13 children, and three of her four husbands. Box office: thedungeons.com/york/tickets-passes/. Pre-booking is essential.

*Jude Kelly: Striving for a gender-equal world in The WOW Show*

The WOW factor: The WOW Show with Jude Kelly, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow, 7.30pm

WOMEN of the World founder, chief executive officer and theatre director Jude Kelly CBE was director of West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from 1990 to 2002 and London’s Southbank Centre from 2006 to 2018 and set up the WOW Foundation charity in 2010 to achieve a gender-equal world.

In an evening of optimism, determination and laughter, she explores “our often exasperating and confusing journey towards gender equity, covering everything from money, sex, race, food, and ageing”. Expect personal anecdotes, guests and big ideas. “The message is: If you are a woman or you know a woman, please show up!” says Jude. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Sam Lupton: Playing Del Boy in Only Fools And Horses The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York*

“Plonker” musical of the week: Only Fools And Horses The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, October 14 to 19, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees

BASED on John Sullivan’s long-running BBC One series, his son Jim Sullivan and comedy treasure Paul Whitehouse’s West End hit, Only Fools And Horses The Musical, combines 20 songs with an ingenious script.

“Join us as we take a trip back in time to 1989, where it’s all kicking off in Peckham,” reads the 2024-25 tour invitation. “While the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do’, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date (with a person!). Meanwhile, Boycie and Marlene give parenthood one final shot and Grandad takes stock of his life and decides the time has finally arrived to get his piles sorted.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

*Gray O’Brien in the role of Inspector John Rebus in Rebus: A Game Called Malice at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Nobby Clark*

Thriller of the week: Rebus: A Game Called Malice, York Theatre Royal, October 15 to 19, 7.30pm; 2pm, Wednesday, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday

SCOTTISH crime writer Ian Rankin’s much-loved detective, John Rebus, takes to the stage in a new storyco-written with Simon Reade. Gray O’Brien, from Coronation Street, Casualty and Peak Practice, plays Rebus in a cast also featuring Abigail Thaw and Billy Hartman.

When a splendid Edinburgh mansion dinner party concludes with a murder mystery game, suddenly a murder needs to be solved. However, guests have secrets of their own. Among them is Inspector John Rebus, but is he Is playing an alternative game, one to which only he knows the rules? Rankin will attend the October 18 post-show discussion with the cast. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

*Chris Mooney and Helen Spencer: Playing lovers with opposite takes on their relationship in The Last Five Years at the NCEM, York*. *Picture: Simon Trow*

Debut of the week: Wharfemede Productions & Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Last Five Years, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, October 17 to 19, 7.45pm

HELEN Spencer and Nick Sephton launch their new York company, Wharfemede Productions, in tandem with Black Sheep Theatre Productions, by staging The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s musical story of two New Yorkers, rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years.

Combining only two cast members, York Theatre scene luminaries Chris Mooney and Spencer, with a small band, expect an intimate and emotive evening of frank storytelling and gorgeous music. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/wharfemede-productions-ltd.

*Alexander Flanagan-Wright in Helios, a modern take on an Ancient Greek myth, performed under the Great Hall dome at Castle Howard*

Theatrical event of the week: Wright & Grainger in Helios, The Great Hall, Castle Howard, near York, October 17, 5pm and 7.30pm

A LAD lives halfway up an historic hill. A teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car. A boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. In a play about the son of the god of the sun, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound round the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.

“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” says writer-performer Alexander Flanagan-Wright, who presents his delicate tale with a tape-player beneath the Great Hall dome’s mural, painted by 18th century Venetian painter Antonio Pelligrini, whose depiction of the Fall of Phaeton was the thematic inspiration behind Helios. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.

*Squeeze: 50th anniversary celebrations at York Barbican*

Recommended but sold out already: Squeeze, York Barbican, October 18, doors 7pm

DEPTFORD’S answer to The Beatles mark their 50th anniversary as Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook manage to Squeeze in hit after hit, like pulling musses from a shell. Don’t miss the support act, one Badly Drawn Boy.

*Strictly between us: Husband-and-wife dancers Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara look forward to A Night To Remember at York Barbican next June*

Show announcement of the week: Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara: A Night To Remember, York Barbican, June 1 2025

STRICTLY Come Dancing favourites Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara – married since 2017 – will be touring next year with A Night To Remember, featuring an ensemble of “some of the UK’s very best dancers and singers”.

Aljaž, partnering Tasha Ghouri in the 2024 series, and It takes Two presenter Janette will “perform stunning routines to an eclectic array of music”, spanning the Great American songbook through to modern-day classics, backed by their own big band, fronted by boogie- woogie star Tom Seal. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/aljaz-and-janette-a-night-to-remember.

Last Chance To See: Jack Ashton starring in Little Women at York Theatre Royal, today at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

*Jack Ashton as Professor Bhaer in Little Women at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlotte Graham*

STARRING in a much-loved television series can be a boon or a bother for an actor who becomes identified with a particular character. Directors may be reluctant to offer different sorts of role.

Happily, Jack Ashton, best known as the Reverend Tom Hereward in BBC One’s Sunday night staple Call The Midwife, has escaped being typecast. So much so that in York Theatre Royal’s production of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age classic Little Women, he is playing not one but two very contrasting characters.

The link is that both are suitors of the titular Little Women – John Brooke and Professor Bhaer, the love interests for Meg and Jo March. Not that Jack downplays the problems of leaving Call The Midwife after five years as the vicar of Poplar in the series set in an East End Anglican convent in the late 1950s and 1960s.

“It was difficult, more difficult than I thought,” he admits. “It was hard for a few years for my agent to get me seen for something. If you’re known as a particular character, it can be hard to do something that’s opposite to that and challenge yourself, which is what you want to be as an actor.”

In the past Jack has said that Call The Midwife changed his life, a reference to becoming a father – of Wren, six, and Lark, two – through his relationship with co-star Helen George. “It was a lovely time in my life,” he says. So much so that the last time he acted in York, in Strangers On the Train at the Grand Opera House in March 2018, newly-born Wren came on tour with them.

*Jack Ashton’s John Brooke and Ainy Medina’s Meg March in Little Women, adapted by Anne-Marie Casey, at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlotte Graham*

Juliet Forster’s production of Little Women at York Theatre Royal, where he has performed since his early days as an actor, certainly offers the chance to do something different: two different characters in one show.

One of them, Professor Bhaer, requires a German accent, necessitating Jack to work with a voice coach.

He has not read Little Women, although he has seen Great Gerwig’s 2019 film version, and coincidentally has just finished working with Saoirse Ronan, who played burgeoning writer Jo March in the American movie.

While he has not worked previously with any of the Little Women cast members, he has done so with director Juliet Forster, York Theatre Royal’s creative director.

She directed him in productions that have punctuate his life, going from a young man fresh out of drama school in 2006 to present-day leading man, appearing in Twelfth Night and the Studio double bill of Escaping Alice and End Of Desire, as well as The Guinea Pig Club and The Homecoming under former artistic director Damain Cruden’s direction.

*Jack Ashton rehearsing the role of Professor Bhaer in Little Women. Picture: S R Taylor Photography*

York remains one of his favourite places. “It’s such a great city. I love coming back, it’s a no-brainer when that kind of offer, like Little Women, comes along,” says Jack.

“I have really good friends in York and I’ve befriended Rita and Paul, the original people on the digs list. I got so lucky because I stayed with them the first time and have continued to stay with them every time since.”

He is realistic about the pitfalls of being an actor. “Sometimes people think an actor’s life is quite glamorous. We just audition and audition, and sometimes people say ‘yes, we want you’. Most of the time they say, ‘no thank you very much’.”

He has several projects waiting to be seen, including Jonatan Etzler’s satirical comedy Bad Apples – the one with Saoirse Ronan – and a small role in Lockerbie, a Sky drama series about one man’s battle to learn the truth about the Pan Am Flight 103 bomb explosion over the Scottish town on December 21 1988. He continues to play Harry Chilcott in BBC Radio 4’s long-running series The Archers too.

Returning to the topic of Little Women, does he have any sisters? “Two older sisters,” he replies. “I can definitely relate to not being able to get a word in edgeways.”

Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.