Story Craft Theatre’s Cassie Vallance, left, and Jane Bruce in Bat, Cackle And Pop!
WINIFRED the Witch thinks everyone has forgotten her birthday. Not so. There is, in fact, going to be one big surprise party, but first, a special birthday cake must be made.
“We just need the last three rather spooky ingredients,” say York company Story Craft Theatre’s Cassie Vallance and Jane Bruce. “Our 50-minute show is bubbling with all sorts of ghosts and ghouls – more silly than scary – and there’s plenty of opportunities to dabble in some spell making, as well as flying with luxury BAT Airways.
“This show always puts a smile on our face. We’ve had such amazing responses from both younger audiences, as well as their accompanying adults. It’s fun and engaging and reminds us that Halloween can be silly for everyone.” Suitable for ages three to eight. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Spooky!Cassie Vallance in Bat, Cackle And Pop!
Look at that birthday cake! Jane Bruce in Bat, Cackle And Pop!
Like mother, like son? Susie Blake’s Shirley and Jason Durr’s gangland boss Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ Drinkwater in Torben Betts’s murky comedy thriller Murder At Midnight
TORBEN Betts, once an Alan Ayckbourn protégé at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, is now carving out a niche in savagely dark comic thrillers with “Murder” at play in the title and on stage for touring company Original Theatre.
After the leaden ghost story of Murder In The Dark, set on the Yorkshire Moors, in September 2023, Betts returns to York Theatre Royal – he attended a Q&A on Wednesday – with what director director Philip Franks says is “a difficult play to describe”. “Feydeau, rewritten by Tarantino perhaps,” he settles on in his programme note. Or maybe Joe Orton refracted though Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen?
Describing Murder At Midnight as a companion piece to the first part of what is rumoured to be a trilogy, Franks reckons the new play is many things. Murder mystery. Farce. Gangster thriller in the vein of Jez Butterworth or Philip Ridley. Revenge drama. Darkly funny dissection of family life. All true, but frustratingly it ends up is less than the sum of these promising but clunky parts.
What separates Murder At Midnight more from the Miss Marples and Poirot world of crime dramas is the undertow of family drama tugging away beneath the increasingly absurdist violence. As Franks puts it, Murder At Midnight brings together a group of “lost and desperate people looking for love and willing to risk everything for it, even if the search ends in death” (spoiler alert).
Welcome to the swish, all-mod-cons home of southern drug baron and pig farmer Jonny ‘The Cyclops’ Drinkwater (Jason Durr), where Betts gives designer Colin Falconer the challenge of creating five locations in an open-plan design that facilitates quick scene changes in the tradition of farce (but without the usual profusion of doors).
Murder At Midnight director Philip Franks
At Paradise Farm, we see a sitting room, kitchen area, exterior passageway, master bedroom with a giant flamingo print, and Jonny’s man cave, where the back wall is dominated by an homage to his favourite pop star, Robbie Williams.
Cristina (Ukrainian actress Iryna Poplavska in her UK theatrical debut as a Rumanian home help) is in a flap on her phone with petty crook Mister Fish (Callum Balmforth, later to enter dressed as Coco the Clown, later still to reveal his name is Russell). She is trying to put Jonny’s mum, Shirley (Susie Blake) to bed, but Shirley is seeing things (devils mainly) and she may or may not be suffering from dementia.
Cristina’s phone, unlike everyone else’s mobile, only works in the passageway, one of the ways that Betts employs for engineering entrances and exits. He also applies another farce trope, whereby two sets of people are in the spacious house at the same time but unaware of the other.
Unbeknown to The Only Way Is Essex-style girlfriend Lisa (Katie McGlynn), Jonny has arrived home early from a trip and is in the man cave with his henchman, Trainwreck Spencer (Peter Moreton), a “man of unimpeachable character”, he insists, but beholden to a coke habit.
Lisa, meanwhile, has snuck back from a party. A fancy-dress party, which explains why she is dressed as a nun, and heading to the bedroom with her is the “vicar”, Paul (Max Bowden), her bit on the side, who also unbeknown to her, is an undercover cop investigating the murder of Jonny’s first wife, Alex (fed to the pigs apparently). Truly, she was for the chop, you could say.
At your service: Max Bowden’s “vicar” Paul and Katie McGlynne’s “nun” Lisa in Murder At Midnight
Scenes are conducted in parallel, out of sight and hearing of each other, but not for us of course. All the while, Blake’s Shirley has a habit of turning up unannounced and seeing everything. Keep an eye on her; she turns out to be a suffocating mother in the vein of Greek tragedies as Blake gives the most rounded performance.
Betts weaves so many styles and strands into his comedy thriller, even cultural social comment (such as putdowns of Coldplay and class distinction), but without uniting them satisfyingly to find his own voice, and for all seasoned director Philip Franks’ own panache as a comedic actor, the timing is too often off in Act One. Everything has to work just that little bit too hard.
Act Two is slicker, wilder, more violent too, but frankly sillier as it descends into a modern-day Jacobean tragedy with the obligatory pile-up of bodies. There is a nagging feeling throughout that it could and should be so much better. Only Falconer’s set is top notch.
Is Torben Betts getting away with murder, on the evidence of two disappointing plays? Thursday’s matinee was packed, so the answer would appear to be yes. Hopefully, Murder instalment number three will be a killer, however.
Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, York Theatre Royal, today at 7.30pm, tomorrow, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Susie Blake’s Shirley and Jason Durr’s Johnny ‘The Cyclops’ in Torben Betts’s Murder At Midnight at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith
A NEW crime caper and a ghost story, a clash of the blues and a Tommy Cooper tribute make their mark in Charles Hutchinson’s diary.
Deliciously twisted crime caper of the week: Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON New Year’s Eve, in a quiet corner of Kent, a killer is in the house in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight, part two of a crime trilogy for Original Theatre that began last year with Murder In The Dark, this time starring Jason Durr, Susie Blake, Max Howden and Katie McGlynn.
Meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, his glamorous wife, his trigger-happy sidekick, his mum – who sees things – and her very jittery carer, plus a vicar, apparently hiding something, and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown. Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons and one infamous unsolved murder…what could possibly go wrong? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera at The Citadel in York. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Beggar’s Opera, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm
YORK Opera stage John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch’s 1728 satirical ballad opera The Beggar’s Opera in an immersive production under the musical direction of John Atkin and stage direction of Chris Charlton-Matthews, with choreography by Jane Woolgar.
Watch out! You may find yourself next to a cast member, whether Mark Simmonds’ Macheath, Adrian Cook’s Peachum, Anthony Gardner’s Lockit, Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum, Sophie Horrocks’ Lucy Lockit, Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum, Ian Thomson-Smith’s Beggar or Jake Mansfield’s Player. Box office: tickets.yorkopera.co.uk/events/yorkopera/1793200.
Natasha Jones, left, and Florrie Stockbridge in Clap Trap Theatre’s Blindfold at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ghost story of the week: Clap Trap Theatre in Blindfold, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm
RYEDALE company Clap Trap Theatre’s cast of Natasha Jones, Florrie Stockbridge and Cal Stockbridge presents Blindfold, a ghost story by BAFTA-nominated North Yorkshire playwright and scriptwriter Tom Needham.
In 1914, two boyhood friends went to fight for their country but only one came back. After the war, the surviving soldier and his sister encounter an old friend who was being haunted by the ghost of a young man in a blindfold. Now, 100 years later, the discovery of letters re-awakens the ghost. Who is he and what does he want? Piece by piece, the lives of the long dead are brought to life and heartbreaking truths begin to emerge. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Heidi Talbot: Introducing new album Grace Untold at NCEM
Folk gig of the week: Heidi Talbot, Grace Untold UK Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
IRISH folk singer Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM stage to preview her November 21 album Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women.
This is an album rooted in personal experience and collective lore as Heidi pays tribute to female strength, focusing on legendary figures and the unsung heroines within her own family. Box office: 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Just like him: Daniel Taylor in the guise of Tommy Cooper at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute show of the week: Daniel Taylor Productions presents The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper (Just Like That), Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 7.30pm
PRODUCED and performed by award-winning West End and Unbreakable star Daniel Taylor, this 90-minute tribute show has the blessing of the Tommy Cooper Estate.
Recapturing the mayhem and misfiring magic of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers, Taylor gives you a glimpse into the life of the comedy giant, celebrating his best one-liners, dazzling wordplay and celebrated tricks, including Glass/Bottle, Dappy Duck, Spot the Dog and Jar/Spoon. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Riverdance: The New Generation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Irish dance phenomenon at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Riverdance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, Friday to Sunday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
VISITING 30 UK venues – one for each year of its history – from August to December 2025, the Irish dance extravaganza Riverdance rejuvenates the much-loved original show with new innovative choreography and costumes, plus state-of-the-art lighting, projection and motion graphics, in this 30th anniversary celebration.
For the first time, John McColgan directs “the New Generation” of Riverdance performers, none of them born when the show began. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The poster for Them Heavy Souls’ blues revue at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Blues gig of the week: Them Heavy Souls, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
MARK Christian Hawkins, top session guitarist for 30 years, is a gun for hire stepping out of the shadows with his British blues rock revue show, featuring stage and screen actress Lucy Crawford on vocals (last spotted playing Miss Prism in York company’s Pop Your Clogs Theatre’s The Importance Of Being Earnest).
Playing music from the golden era of 1966 to 1975, Them Heavy Souls capture the power and magic of Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page, Cream/Eric Clapton, Yardbirds/Jeff Beck, Humble Pie/Peter Frampton and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, delivered with vintage guitars, amplification and a nod to improvisation. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Alex Hamilton: Leading his blues trio at Helmsley Arts Centre
The other blues gig of the week, on the very same night: The Alex Hamilton Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
GUITARIST Alex Hamilton is joined in his blues/rock/Americana trio by father Nick Hamilton on bass and Martin Bell on drums. He combines melodic rock vocals, hard-hitting lyrics and a heart-felt guitar technique, as heard on his albums Ghost Train, Shipwrecked and On The Radio, as well as in concert venues around the world. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Gunn in for you: Steve Gunn promotes his two 2025 albums at The Band Room this weekend. Picture: Paul Rhodes
Moorland gig of the week: Steve Gunn, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, Saturday, 7.30pm
STEVE Gunn, the ambient psychedelic American singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York, made his name as a guitarist in Kurt Vile’s backing band, The Violators. His myriad magical influences include Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley and John Fahey.
This weekend he will be showcasing his second album of 2025, Daylight Daylight, out on November 7 on No Quarter, as well as his first fully instrumental album, August’s Music For Writers. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.
On being Normal: Henry Normal discusses himself at Helmsley Arts Centre
Normal service resumed: Henry Normal, The Slideshow, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 8pm
THE Slideshow, as poet, film and TV producer/writer Henry Normal explains, is a multi-MEdia spectacular with the emphasis on the “me” in his celebration of his “meteoric rise to z celebrity status”, together with his joyous and inevitable slide into physical and mental decline.
Expect poetry, photos, jokes, music, dance, song, circus skills, costume changes, props and stories, exploring where Normal went wrong in life, plus lessons you can learn from his mistakes, in his live performed memoir with cautionary verse. For tickets for this adventure into understanding the human condition from the inside, go to: helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Martha Tilston: Playing The Basement tonight at City Screen Picturehouse
CRIMINAL investigations and a brace of plays with murder at the core, Charles Hutchinson detects a theme to his latest recommendations.
Singer-songwriter of the week: Martha Tilston, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm
BORN in Bristol and now living in Cornwall, singer, songwriter and filmmaker Martha Tilston writes songs from the heart as a balm for the modern age.
Tilston, who has worked Zero 7, Damien Rice, Nick Harper, Kae Tempest and Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame, combines raw vocals and sparkling melodies with thought-provoking lyrics and filmic movements, inviting her audience to “connect with longed-for parts of ourselves”. Box office: marthatilston.co.uk.
Jennifer Rees: Exploring stories of serial killers in forensic detail at the Grand Opera House, York
Criminal investigations of the week: Strange But True Crimes with Jennifer Rees, Grand Opera House, York, October 21, 7.30pm
FORMER forensics lecturer and Psychology Of Serial Killers presenter Jennifer Rees explores stories such as the serial killer who gained work in law enforcement while on the run – and ended up hunting himself.
Watch out too for the female, balloon-carrying killer clown, serial killers on game shows – how their appearances led to their identification – and many more stories. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Jason Durr’s Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, right, accosting the nervous burglar in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight. Picture: Pamela Raith
Deliciously twisted crime caper of the week: Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, York Theatre Royal, October 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON New Year’s Eve, in a quiet corner of Kent, a killer is in the house in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight, part two of a crime trilogy for Original Theatre that began last year with Murder In The Dark, this time starring Jason Durr, Susie Blake, Max Howden and Katie McGlynn.
Meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, his glamorous wife, his trigger-happy sidekick, his mum – who sees things – and her very jittery carer, plus a vicar, apparently hiding something, and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown. Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons and one infamous unsolved murder…what could possibly go wrong? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: Showcasing new album Rainy Sunday Afternoon at York Barbican. Picture: Kevin Westerberg
Recommended but sold out already: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, October 21, doors 7pm
IN the wake of composing all the original songs for the 2023 global blockbuster Wonka, North Irishman Neil Hannon has returned to his Divine Comedy guise for September 19’s Rainy Sunday Afternoon: album number 13 and his first studio set since 2019’s Office Politics.
Recorded at Abbey Road, London, the album was written, arranged and produced by Hannon, who covers his usual range of emotions: sad, funny, angry and everything in between. Hear Hannon songs new and old next Tuesday, when Studio Electrophonique will be the special guest. Box office, for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Katie Melia’s Show White in Steve Coates Music Productions’ Disenchanted, turning fairy tales on their head at the JoRo
Cheeky twist on fairy tales of the week: Steve Coates Music Productions in Disenchanted, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
KATIE Melia directs and leads the cast as Snow White in Steve Coates Music Productions’ production of Disenchanted, the musical with the feminist twist that turns fairy tales upside down, from the Little Mermaid hitting the bottle to Belle ending up in a straitjacket for chatting with the cutlery.
Forget the damsels in distress, Snow White, Cinderella and their royal crew want to set the record straight. Equipped with sass, wit, and powerhouse vocals, these not-so-princessy princesses flip the script, spill the tea and reclaim their stories as they challenge outdated happily-ever-afters. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Making an impression: Dead Ringers on 25th anniversary tour
Comedy nights of the week: Dead Ringers, October 22, 3pm and 7.30pm, and Nick Mohammed Is Mr Swallow: Show Pony, October 26, 8pm, both at Grand Opera, House, York
TO mark its 25th anniversary, BBC Radio 4’s topical satire show Dead Ringers takes to the road with a full UK tour for the first time as long-standing cast members Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod and Duncan Wisbey take a trip through classic sketches and unrivalled impressions, peppered with topical humour.
Celebrity Traitors competitor, Taskmaster contestant and Ted Lasso actor Nick Mohammed returns to York as his alter-ego Mr Swallow. Expect magic, music and new mistakes. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Harry Summers, left, and Emma Scott in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy. Picture: John Saunders
Revenge drama of the week: York Shakespeare Project in The Spanish Tragedy, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 25, 7.30pm
PAUL Toy directs York Shakespeare Project for the fourth time – and the first since Troilus And Cressida in 2011– in “the most popular play of the Elizabethan era, outselling Shakespeare”: Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, the circa 1592 blueprint for the Revenge Tragedy genre.
No Kyd, maybe no Hamlet or The Duchess Of Malfi, as treachery, deceit and disguise are wrapped inside a torrid tale of vengeance-seeking ghosts, madness, a play-within-a-play and a Machiavellian villain, delivered by Toy with masks, music and dance. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Beggar’s Opera, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, October 23 to 25, 7.30pm
YORK Opera stage John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch’s 1728 satirical ballad opera The Beggar’s Opera in an immersive production under the musical direction of John Atkin and stage direction of Chris Charlton-Matthews, with choreography by Jane Woolgar.
Watch out! You may find yourself next to a cast member, whether Mark Simmonds’ Macheath, Adrian Cook’s Peachum, Anthony Gardner’s Lockit, Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum, Sophie Horrocks’ Lucy Lockit, Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum, Ian Thomson-Smith’s Beggar or Jake Mansfield’s Player. Box office: tickets.yorkopera.co.uk/events/yorkopera/1793200.
Heidi Talbot: Introducing November 21 album Grace Untold at NCEM on October 23
Folk gig of the week: Heidi Talbot, Grace Untold UK Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 23, 7.30pm
IRISH folk singer Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM stage to preview her November 21 album Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women.
This is an album rooted in personal experience and collective lore as Heidi pays tribute to female strength, focusing on legendary figures and the unsung heroines within her own family. Box office: 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Riverdance: The New Generation performs the Irish dancers’ 30th anniversary show at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Riverdance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October 24 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
VISITING 30 UK venues – one for each year of its history – from August to December 2025, the Irish dance extravaganza Riverdance rejuvenates the much-loved original show with new innovative choreography and costumes, plus state-of-the-art lighting, projection and motion graphics, in this 30th anniversary celebration.
For the first time, John McColgan directs “the New Generation” of Riverdance performers, none of them born when the show began. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Susie Blake’s Shirley in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight: “She has a carer, because she has dementia – or has she? Is she, in fact, just having a lovely time?”. Picture: Pamela Raith
ORIGINAL Theatre follow up the 2023-24 tour of Murder In The Dark with another new Torben Betts comedy thriller, Murder At Midnight.
In the cast once more, on her return to York Theatre Royal from October 21 to 25, will be Susie Blake, as Shirley, joined in Philip Franks’ cast of TV familiar names by Jason Durr’s Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, Max Bowden’s Paul and Katie McGlynn’s Lisa – and a character intriguingly called Trainwreck.
On New Year’s Eve, in a quiet corner of Kent, a killer is in the house. Keep an eye on notorious gangster Jonny ‘The Cyclops’; his glamorous wife; his trigger-happy sidekick; his mum, who sees things; her very jittery carer, plus a vicar who is hiding something, and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown.
Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons, one infamous unsolved murder, and what could possibly go wrong in Betts’s “dark-humoured murder mystery with a difference, adding up to one house, seven suspects and a murder at midnight?
“Again it’s nuts!” says Susie. “It’s brand spanking new, not a direct sequel. A comedy-thriller, a really black comedy, and funnily gruesome. It all takes place in a modern, swish house in Kent, the sort of place that might be called ‘nouveau riche’ when I was a child. It’s owned by a drugs baron called Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, who’s surrounded by lots of different and eccentric characters, including mine. There are surprises galore.”
“I love York, so I’m glad to be back,” says Susie Blake. “There are three places I particularly love coming back to on tour: Cheltenham, Norwich and York. They’re all very theatrical”. Picture: Michael Wharley
Not least Susie’s new character, Shirley. “She’s very different from Murder In The Dark [when Susie was cast as farmer’s wife/religious zealot Mrs Bateman]. I’m playing the drug baron’s mother in this one. I can’t think of anything more different. How delicious!” she says. “It’s like being back at drama school, when you’re able to do all sorts of different roles.
“Shirley has come from extremely humble beginnings, and now her son is supporting her, so she has everything she wants. She has a carer, because she has dementia – or has she? Is she, in fact, just having a lovely time? She’s certainly forgetful, but then so am I, and I’m not demented!”
Shirley is “a lot of fun to play”. “She’s created a monster, her son. She hates all his girlfriends; she has this fixation on him; she’s possessive and yet not affectionate. She’s never touchy-feely,” says Susie. “Her son says she never hugs anyone – maybe because she had a troubled past.”
Susie is enjoying teaming up with Philip Franks and Original Theatre again. “I love working with Pip [Philip] and it’s wonderful that Original Theatre loves to promote Torben’s plays,” she says.
“So it was an easy decision to come back for the next one. Working with Original Theatre feels a bit like rep in the old days, there’s an immediate feeling of trust. They really look after you.
“I’m playing the drug baron’s mother in this one. I can’t think of anything more different,” says Susie Blake. Picture: Pamela Raith
“That’s what’s so nice in the rehearsal room, where I’m never anxious and Philip’s notes are so beautifully clear – but you ignore his notes at your peril!”
Susie’s character has the full name of Shirley Winifred Beryl Drinkwater. “Torben is very good at names, and sometimes, if he’s asked to re-write something, he’s had to change the name, because they’re very important to him,” she says. “Maybe he gets that from Alan [Sir Alan Ayckbourn], when he started out doing plays at the Stephen Joseph Theatre.”
In rehearsal, Philip has encouraged tragedy to be cheek by jowl with comedy in the cast’s performances. “You also have that in Shakespeare and in panto, for goodness sake! In Shirley’s case, there is this madness where she sees the devil and also sees the devil in her son.”
Susie, 75, has collaborated with such comedic talents as Victoria Wood, Russ Abbott and Lee Mack in her long-running career. “I wish I could call them collaborators!” she says. “The thing about great comedians is that they’re often very clever and academically brilliant, whereas I consider myself a more old-fashioned jobbing actor.
“But acting teaches you to be a good listener, so I’ve always been a good foil. Every great comedian needs a reliable straight man. When I first worked with Philip Franks, it was on a production of Kafka’s Dick by Alan Bennett. I remember telling him that I wasn’t very educated, and he said, ‘well you bring the talent and I’ll bring the education’. I loved that.”
Susie Blake, Jason Durr and Max Bowden in the tour poster for Torben Betts’s Murder At Midnight, booked into York Theatre Royal from October 21 to 25
Suzie is happy to back on the road again, suitcase in hand. “The joy of it is that I love exploring different parts of the country armed with my National Trust card and Art Pass. I’ll be carefully planning my itinerary around every venue,” she says.
“I’m 75 now, so in a sense it’s getting physically harder, and my patience is always tested by the railways. When I was younger that was never an issue. But fortunately I’m a Buddhist, which helps me stay calm.
“I love York, so I’m glad to be back. There are three places I particularly love coming back to on tour: Cheltenham, Norwich and York. They’re all very theatrical.”
There could a further return to York in the pipeline. “It’s going to be a ‘Murder’ trilogy by Torben, so there’s another one to come – and of course I’m on board for all three!” says Susie.
Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, “keeping you guessing until midnight” at York Theatre Royal, October 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Courtney Brown: Directing Pickering Musical Society for the first time in My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein. Picture: Robert David Photography
FROM Rodgers & Hammerstein favourites to Caliban’s dancing revenge, Francis Rossi’s songs and stories to German beer festivities, Charles Hutchinson delights in October’s diversity.
Musical revue of the week: Pickering Musical Society presents My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, tonight to Sunday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
LONG-TIME member Courtney Brown directs Pickering Musical Society for the first time in My Favourite Things – The Music of Rodgers & Hammerstein, a showcase of the very best of Broadway’s most iconic songwriting partnership.
As well as the cheeky charm of Honey Bun, the playful fun of The Lonely Goatherd and the rousing barn-dance energy of The Farmer And The Cowman, the show feature songs from The Sound Of Music, Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific and The King And I. Dancers from the Sarah Louise Ashworth School of Dance take part too. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Eddi Reader: Playing York for the first time in seven years at The Citadel
Seven-year itch of the week: Hurricane Promotions presents Eddi Reader, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, tonight, 7.30pm
EDDI Reader, the Glasgow-born singer who fronted Fairground Attraction, topping the charts with Perfect, also has ten solo albums, three BRIT awards and an MBE for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts to her name.
Straddling differing musical styles and making them her own, from the traditional to the contemporary, and interpreting the songs of Robert Burns to boot, she brings romanticism to her joyful performances, this time with her full band in her first show in York for seven years. Eilidh Patterson supports. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.
Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block team up at the NCEM, York
Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block Band, The Banjovial Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm
GROUNDBREAKING banjo players Damien O’Kane and Ron Block follow up their Banjophony and Banjophonics albums with this month’s Banjovial and an accompanying tour.
O’Kane, renowned for his work with Barnsley songstress Kate Rusby, is a maestro of Irish traditional music, here expressed on his Irish tenor banjo; Block, a key component of Alison Krauss & Union Station, infuses his signature five-string bluegrass banjo with soulful depth and rhythmic innovation. Together, their styles intertwine in an exhilarating dance of technical mastery. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Francis Rossi: Shaking up the Status Quo with songs and stories at York Barbican. Picture: Jodiphotography
Hits and titbits aplenty: An Evening of Francis Rossi’s Songs from the Status Quo Songbook and More, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
IN his one-man show, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi performs signature Quo hits, plus personal favourites and deeper cuts, while telling first-hand backstage tales of appearing more than 100 times on Top Of The Pops, why Quo went on first at Live Aid, life with Rick Parfitt, notching 57 hits, fellow stars and misadventures across the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Natnael Dawit in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Dance show of the week: Shobana Jeyasingh Dance in We Caliban, York Theatre Royal, Friday, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion) and Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm
SHOBANA Jeyasingh turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells. A tale of power lost and regained, the play is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.
Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story. We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay. Performed by eight dancers, complemented by Will Duke’s projections and Thierry Pécou’s music, this impressionistic work draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as Jeyasingh’s personal experiences. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
John Bramwell: Playing solo in Pocklington
As recommended by Cate Blanchett: John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm
HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell, leading light of Mercury Prize nominees I Am Kloot from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from his cherished Mancunian band.
His sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, will be at the heart of his Pocklington one-man show. “After both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up,” Bramwell admits with trademark candour. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.” He promises new material and Kloot songs too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Sam Moss: Heading out on to the moors at The Band Room. Picture: Jake Xerxes Fussell
Moorland gig of the week: Sam Moss, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, Saturday, 7.30pm
FINGERPICKING folk virtuoso guitarist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sam Moss heads to the North York Moors this weekend from Staunton, Virginia, USA, to showcase his February 2025 album Swimming, championed by the scribes of Uncut, No Depression and Paste and Los Angeles online magazine Aquarium Drunkward, no less. “For the record, he is a renowned woodworker too, particularly celebrated for his incredible spoons,” says Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham. Sofa Sofa support (as sofas always do!). Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.
Drag diva Velma Celli lights up Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse. Picture: Sophie Eleanor
Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, Saturday, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm; October 24, 7pm to 11pm; October 25, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm
MAKING its debut in 2021, Yorktoberfest returns for its fifth anniversary with beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian. Step inside the giant marquee, fill your stein at the Bavarian bar with beer from Brew York and grab a bite from the German-inspired Dog Haus food stall.
The Bavarian Strollers oompah band will perform thigh-slapping music and drinking songs; York drag diva Velma Celli will add to the party atmosphere with powerhouse songs and saucy patter. Doors open at 6.30pm and 12.30pm. Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.
Natnael Dawit in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou
SHOBANA Jeyasingh, one of the most dynamic and distinctive forces in UK dance, turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest, in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells.
The Bard’s tale of power lost and regained is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.
Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story, wherein Caliban, the island’s original native inhabitant, is the enslaved, deformed “son” of the witch Sycorax.
We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay, presented by Jeyasingh as “an abstracted and impressionistic take that draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as the personal experiences of Jeyasingh and her co-dramaturg Uzma Hameed”.
Performed by eight dancers, Jeyasingh’s bold and imaginative 80-minute new work is partnered by projections by Will Duke and music by Thierry Pécou. Lighting design is by Floriaan Ganzevoort; set and costume design by Mayou Trikerioti.
The production is supported by Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s touring engagement project, Window Into The Tempest. The company is partnering with venues, higher education institutions and dance organisations to deliver tailored participation opportunities for students, early career artists, intergenerational groups and communities to connect with and to gain insight into the creation of We Caliban.
The York programme, Tempest Rising, is a four-day co-creation project with York St John University students, resulting in a seven-minute curtain-raiser performance before next Saturday’s 7.30pm show, featuring an original score by We Caliban composer Thierry Pécou.
Next Friday’s performance will conclude with a post-show discussion. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guidance: 12 plus.
Anna Soden: No bum deal, bum steer or bum’s rush, for that would be a bummer at tonight’s hour of comedy, It Comes Out You Bum, at The Old Paint Shop
FROM royal history re-told to Dickens’ ghost stories, magical monsters to banjo brilliance, Charles Hutchinson delights in October’s diversity.
Homecoming of the week: Anna Soden, It Comes Out Your Bum, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm
NOW based in Brighton but very much shaped in York, comedian, actor, writer, TikTok sensation and award-nominated Theatre Royal pantomime cow in Jack And The Beanstalk, Anna Soden delivers her debut hour of madcap comedy, full of brainwaves, songs, revenge and talking out your ass. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Robin Simpson: Monster storyteller and York Theatre Royal pantomime dame, performing at Rise@Bluebird Bakery
Spooky entertainment of the week: Robin Simpson’s Magic, Monsters And Mayhem!, Rise at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, Sunday, doors 4pm
YORK Theatre Royal pantomime dame Robin Simpson – soon to give his Nurse Nellie in Sleeping Beauty this winter – celebrates witches, wizards, ghosts and goblins in his storytelling show.
“The audience is in charge in this interactive performance, ideal for fans of spooky stories and silly songs,” says Robin. “The show is perfect for Years 5 and upwards, but smaller siblings and their grown-ups are very welcome too.” Tickets: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise.
Out for revenge: Henry VIII’s wives turn the tables in SIX The Musical, returning to the Grand Opera House, York, from Tuesday. Picture: Pamela Raith
Recommended but sold-out already: SIX The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, October 14 to 18; Tuesday & Thursday, 8pm; Wednesday & Friday, 6pm and 8.30pm; Saturday, 4pm and 8pm
FROM Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing 500 years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. Think you know the rhyme? Think again. Divorced. Beheaded. LIVE!
Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow’s hit show is making its third visit to York, but it’s third time unlucky if you haven’t booked yet. Like Anne Boleyn’s head, every seat has gone.
Eddi Reader: Performing with her full band at The Citadel
Seven-year itch of the week: Hurricane Promotions presents Eddi Reader, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, October 15, 7.30pm
EDDI Reader, the Glasgow-born singer who fronted Fairground Attraction, topping the charts with Perfect, also has ten solo albums, three BRIT awards and an MBE for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts to her name.
Straddling differing musical styles and making them her own, from the traditional to the contemporary, and interpreting the songs of Robert Burns to boot, she brings romanticism to her joyful performances, this time with her full band in her first show in York for seven years. Eilidh Patterson supports. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.
Damien O’Kane and Ron Block: Banjovial partnership at the NCEM
Banjo at the double: Damien O’Kane and Ron Block Band, The Banjovial Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 15, 7.30pm
GROUNDBREAKING banjo players Damien O’Kane and Ron Block follow up their Banjophony and Banjophonics albums with this month’s Banjovial and an accompanying tour.
O’Kane, renowned for his work with Barnsley songstress Kate Rusby, is a maestro of Irish traditional music, here expressed on his Irish tenor banjo; Block, a key component of Alison Krauss & Union Station, infuses his signature five-string bluegrass banjo with soulful depth and rhythmic innovation. Together, their styles intertwine in an exhilarating dance of technical mastery. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Francis Rossi: Solo show of song and chat at York Barbican. Picture: Jodiphotography
Hits and titbits aplenty: An Evening of Francis Rossi’s Songs from the Status Quo Songbook and More, York Barbican, October 16, 7.30pm
IN his one-man show, Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi performs signature Quo hits, plus personal favourites and deeper cuts, while telling first-hand backstage tales of appearing more than 100 times on Top Of The Pops, why they went on first at Live Aid, life with Rick Parfitt, notching 57 hits, fellow stars and misadventures across the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
James Swanton: Halloween beckons, so here comes his double bill of Dickens’ ghost stories at York Medical Society. Picture: Jtu Photography
Ghost stories of the week: James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 16, 17, 20 to 23, 7pm; October 27 and 28, 5.30pm and 7.30pm
A RED light. A black tunnel. A waving figure. A warning beyond understanding. Here comes the fear that someone, that something, is drawing closer. Gothic York storyteller James Swanton returns to York Medical Society with The Signal-Man, “one of the most powerful ghost stories of all time and certainly the most frightening ever written by Charles Dickens”.
Swanton pairs it with The Trial For Murder, wherein Dickens treats the supernatural with just as much terrifying gravity. Tickets update: all ten performances bar October 21 have sold out. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Natnael Dawitin in Shobana Jeyasingh Dance’s We Caliban, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Foteini Christofilopoulou
Dance show of the week: Shobana Jeyasingh Dance in We Caliban, York Theatre Royal, October 17, 7.30pm (with post-show discussion) and October 18, 2pm and 7.30pm
SHOBANA Jeyasingh turns her sharp creative eye to Shakespeare’s final play The Tempest in a new co-production with Sadler’s Wells. A tale of power lost and regained, the play is the starting point for Jeyasingh’s dramatic and contemporary reckoning, We Caliban.
Written as Europe was taking its first step towards colonialism, The Tempest is Prospero’s story. We Caliban is Caliban’s untold story that started and continued long after Prospero’s brief stay. Performed by eight dancers, complemented by Will Duke’s projections and Thierry Pécou’s music, this impressionistic work draws on present-day parallels and the international and intercultural discourse around colonialism, as well as Jeyasingh’s personal experiences. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
John Bramwell: Playing solo in Pocklington
As recommended by Cate Blanchett: John Bramwell, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 17, 8pm
HYDE singer, song-spinner and sage John Bramwell, leading light of Mercury Prize nominees I Am Kloot from 1999 to 2014 and screen goddess Cate Blachett’s “favourite songwriter of all time”, has been on a never-ending rolling adventure since his workings away from his cherished Mancunian band.
His sophomore solo album, February 2024’s The Light Fantastic, will be at the heart of his Pocklington one-man show. . “After both my mum and dad died, I started writing these songs to cheer myself up,” Bramwell admits with trademark candour. “The themes are taken from my dreams at the time. Wake up and take whatever impression I had from what I could remember of my dream and write that.” He promises new material and Kloot songs too. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Velma Celli: York drag diva lighting up Yorktoberfest at York Racecourse. Picture: Sophie Eleanor
Festival of the week: Yorktoberfest, Clocktower Enclosure, York Racecourse, Knavesmire, York, October 18, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm; October 24, 7pm to 11pm; October 25, 1pm to 5pm and 7pm to 11pm
MAKING its debut in 2021, Yorktoberfest returns for its fifth anniversary with beer, bratwurst and all things Bavarian. Step inside the giant marquee, fill your stein at the Bavarian Bar with beer from Brew York and grab a bite from the German-inspired Dog Haus food stall.
The Bavarian Strollers oompah band will perform thigh-slapping music and drinking songs; York drag diva Velma Celli will add to the party atmosphere with powerhouse songs and saucy patter. Doors open at 6.30pm and 12.30pm. Tickets: ticketsource.co.uk/yorktoberfest.
In Focus:Charlie Higson and Jim Moir: A Very Short But Epic History Of The Monarchy, York Theatre Royal, Oct 13, 7.30pm
In the frame: Author Charlie Higson and artist Jim Moir discuss royalty and comedy at York Theatre Royal on Monday
36 kings. Five queens. Two comedy legends. Join Charlie Higson and Jim Moir (alias Vic Reeves) for the rip-roaring story of every English ruler since Harold was shot in the eye at the Battle of Hastings.
Higson has always been interested in the story of the fabled English monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent,the brilliant to the brutal. “Far from being a nice, colourful pageant of men and women in funny hats waving to adoring crowds, it’s a story of regicide, fratricide, patricide, uxoricide and mariticide (you might have to look those last two up),” he says.
Launched for the coronation of his namesake King Charles III, Charlie’s podcast Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee takes a deep dive into the murky lives of our monarchs. Now, his new book of the show features illustrations by artist Jim Moir, his compadre in comedy.
On Monday, Charlie and Jim will first share stories from their comic collaborations over 30 years, including Shooting Stars, Randell And Hopkirk Deceased and The Smell Of Reeves and Mortimer. Then they will take the plunge into the storied history of this most treasured of institutions. Bloody treachery? Check. Unruly incest? Check. Short parliaments? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check.
Their rip-roaring journey takes in the Normans, Tudors and Stuarts, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), tin an “utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining primer on who ruled when and why – with never-before-seen illustrations”!
A signed copy of Higson & Moir’s book Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee: An Epically Short History Of Our Kings and Queens (RRP £22) is included when purchasing Band 1 (£55) tickets, available for collection on the night. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Intertwined: Joe Layton’s Robbie and Hannah Sinclair Robinson’s Jess in Frantic Assembly’s Lost Atoms. Picture: Scott Graham
RELATIONSHIP two-handers keep popping up on the York Stage in recent years, just as Normal People and One Day’s young lovers top the TV viewing charts.
First, in March 2022, came the multiple universes in Black Treacle Theatre’s York premiere of Nick Payne’s Constellations at Theatre@41, Monkgate, where each scene, such as the first meeting, the first date and breaking up, unfolds in several different ways, showing how nothing is necessarily ‘meant to be’, not least a crisis that could mean the end of their time together.
Next, in November that year, White Rose Theatre staged The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s sung-through American musical with the novel structure of struggling actress Cathy telling her side of the story from the end of the relationship backwards, while, at the other end of the stage, successful young novelist Jamie does so from the start forwards, as he lands a publishing deal at 23.
Now comes physical theatre specialists Frantic Assembly’s boy-meets-girl tale, or enervated man meets sparky younger woman, if you prefer, in the London company’s 30th anniversary show in a co-production with Curve, Leicester, Mayflower, Southampton and the Lyric, Hammersmith.
Payne and Brown’s works were both festooned with multiple awards. Anna Jordan’s Lost Atoms is at least their equal and could well be the best of the three in terms of capturing the essence of a life-changing relationship through physicality. When words fail, physical expression takes over, much like how discord in discourse leads to outbursts of singing in opera and musical theatre.
In this truly memorable memory play, the present keeps being interrupted, even elbowed aside, by recollections of a past that began with a chance meeting, sharing a mobile hotspot, in a cafe where Jessie (Hannah Sinclair Robinson) had temped for four years. So stop-starts a run of awkward dates with Robbie (Joe Layton), but gradually blossoming love too.
Is this the stuff of fairy tales, asks Jordan, or maybe of grimmer tales that avid researcher Jess bemoans have had their guts pulled out? Recollection by recollection, it becomes apparent that both protagonists/antagonists are remembering their version of the past in accounts that differ. Whose version should we trust, where does the truth lie and why do we need to re-write and embellish what has gone before – and to keep re-writing it every time we recall it? Maybe because the truth is too painful?
Do Jess and Robbie doubt each other or, increasingly, doubt themselves? Can there be a reliable witness in matters of the heart and do we ever really understand love?
For all the clash of present and past, symbolised by flashes of light and soundwaves, everything is played out in chronological order: love’s vicissitudes; connection and disconnection; Robbie’s preference for staying in, Jess’s need for night outs; parental relationships and pregnancy; infidelity and Robbie’s request of this reunion meeting.
Jordan’s text, as full of frank humour as much as heartbreak, is seductive and insightful in its own right as she explores how two people’s “perceptions of romantic love affected their experiences”, but works all the better for its symbiosis with Frantic’s theatrical house style. Or, as she puts it, “I am drawn to Frantic’s extraordinary ability not just to tell a story but to create feeling on stage.
“I’m always trying to find words for the things that seem impossible to describe, and I love to watch Frantic find language to describe these things through movement.”
Movement that, in the process, really lifts the impact of the language – and I do mean ‘lifts’. Scott Graham’s movement direction plays out on Andrzej Goulding set, dominated by a towering wall of filing cabinets that serves as a climbing frame for Layton’s Robbie and Sinclair Robinson’s Jessie to go clambering hither and thither, to almost dizzying effect at times, as they express a multitude of emotions from giddy joy to guttural pain, playful fun to vulnerable fall-outs, cautious start to implosive finale.
A floor drops out of the structure like a modern-day drawbridge, for sensual bedroom scenes and scrambling precipice friction alike. Drawers open, sometimes to be used as seats, more often for access to props, clothing, photos, mementoes of childhood and past pursuits that serve as welcome or unwelcome memory triggers and glowing light bulbs that set off new patterns of thoughts. Two armchairs complete the set, theatrically large to emphasise how their every reconfiguration carries significance.
Layton and Sinclair Robinson had worked together previously in Frantic’s Othello and Metamorphosis and that familiarity oozes through their kinetic, magnetic performances in Lost Atoms as, in Jordan’s words, they “recreate the extraordinary energy of falling in love, in a way that is recognisable and palpable for the audience.”
How right she is. Lost Atoms is a love story familiar in its course and feelings, but told in a thrillingly bold way, with feeling, energy and infinite hope from lessons learned for the next wall to climb, the next life file for the cabinet.
Frantic Assembly in Lost Atoms, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sleeping Beauty cast members, left to right, Tommy Carmichael, Jennie Dale, Robin Simpson, Aoife Kenny, Sophie Flora and Chris Morgan outside York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick Photography
THE York Theatre Royal pantomime cast for Sleeping Beauty has met up for the first time.
In attendance too at the costumed press launch were the regular production team of director Juliet Forster, the Theatre Royal creative director; writer Paul Hendy, artistic director of panto partners Evolution Productions, and choreographer Hayley Del Harrison.
Dressing up for the occasion were Robin Simpson, returning for his sixth year as dame, easy to spot in polka dots as Nurse Nellie; fellow returnee Tommy Carmichael, on daft lad duty as Jangles; CBeebies’ star Jennie Dale, making her very first visit to York ahead of playing Fairy Moonbeam, and Irish-Jamaican actress Aoife Kenny, likewise setting foot in York for the first time, in readiness for her title role (also known as Aurora).
Present too for the photoshoot were ensemble cast members Sophie Flora and Chris Morgan – who will be joined in the show by returnees Charlotte Wood and Christopher Morgan-Shillingford. Turning up the heat in a demonstration on stage was fire act Kris Madden, the bright spark who will be the panto’s variety turn.
He is the fire starter: Kris Madden, the specialist fire act, warms up for his variety turn in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick Photography
Absent on the day, on account of performing commitments elsewhere, but also confirmed for their Theatre Royal pantomime debuts were West End actress Jocasta Almgill, from East Yorkshire, as wicked fairy Carabosse, and Scott Goncalves, a name familiar to York audiences from his days in York Orchard Musical Theatre Company, Pick Me Up Theatre and York Light Opera Company.
“We’re very excited that Scott will be playing our prince, Prince Michael of Moravia,” said Juliet. “He did a couple of York Light Opera shows here and was one of our young Lancelots when we did The Legend Of King Arthur [July 2013], when Anna Soden and Laura Soper, both now professionals too, were also the cast too. Scott went off to drama school and has been doing musical theatre shows.”
Jennie, from Brighton, has made a habit of playing the fairy in panto, “though I did play the Witch in Hansel & Gretel and the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood, which I absolutely loved, but other than that I’ve always been a goodie,” she said, before heading off to Bradford to rehearse and record this winter’s CBeebies’ pantomime, Cinderella.
“The fairy is a bit of a safety net for children because, when they see me, they know everything will be OK,” says Sleeping Beauty’s Fairy Moonbeam, played by CBeebies star Jennie Dale, PIcture: Charlie Kirkpatrick Photography
“Funnily enough, the character I’m known for on CBeebies is a baddie. I play Captain Captain in Swashbuckle, though I also have my own series called Jennie’s Fitness In Five, five minutes of attempting to get children to do some exercises, where it all goes wrong!
“But in panto I love how the fairy has an important thread that’s carried throughout the performance, explaining to the children what’s going on, but also with lovely humour. She’s a bit of a safety net for children because, when they see me, they know everything will be OK.”
Sleeping Beauty will run from December 2 to January 4 2026. Tickets are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
