Adult acting classes in Pickering

A new adult acting class is starting at The Friends Meeting House in Pickering and students will have the opportunity to learn from professional actor and director Mark Stratton. Mark is a graduate of the Mountview Theatre School in London and has vast experience across many areas of theatre and television, playing many diverse roles. He has toured China in ‘The Tempest’ for Northern Broadsides, and toured the UK with them in ‘Vacuum’ and ‘Wars of the Roses’ the latter of which started life at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Appearing in many regional theatres, he is equally at home in serious drama, comedy and musical theatre. He has worked on many television dramas and appeared opposite Anthony Hopkins in the film ‘Across The Lake’. “Living in the North York Moors has made me realise that there is little opportunity for adults to engage with certain arts, especially the craft of acting”, said Mark. “That’s why I co-founded Esk Valley Theatre with my wife, choreographer Sheila Carter. These classes are an extension of my dream to demystify theatre and make it relevant and accessible to rural communities. I believe many people have little idea how the craft of acting can help them in many areas of life”.

Invitation to a World Premiere

Easingwold Players' sister company "Gobbledigook Theatre" will be presenting the world premiere of "Our Night Out" at the Galtres Entertainment Centre in Easingwold on Wednesday 18 January 2012. The play has been written by Phil Grainger and Dave Jarman and stars Bromwyn Jennison and David Pike (of 1812 Theatre Company fame) and - fresh from playing Phileas Fogg for 1812 - John Lister also features as a dodgy policeman.

"Our Night Out" has been selected to be part of this year's ‘Theatre Live Initiative' which means that the performance will be broadcast live to dozens of theatres and picture houses throughout the county. Surely this will prove to be the pinnacle of Bromwyn's and David's illustrious careers. So, wouldn't it be unfortunate if some inmates from a local prison chose this night to tunnel out of their cells? And it would be even more unfortunate if they've got their calculations wrong and the tunnel comes up through the stage at the Galtres ....!

Performances take place at 7.30pm on 18, 19, 20 and 21 January and there is a matinee performance at 2pm on 21 January. Tickets are £7 (£5 for U16's) and are available from the Galtres Centre.

'Doubt' at the Helmsley Arts Centre last night, an audience reaction

The Helmsley Arts Centre is very much Clap Trap Productions home theatre as several members of the company have acted and directed with the 1812 Theatre Company and members of the choir in 'Doubt' are in the youth theatre. As a result the audience was full of family and friends who thoroughly enjoyed their night out as these short vox pops illustrate:




Further information of the 'Doubt' tour, which ends at the Theatre Royal in York, can be found here.

Website helps companies recycle unwanted sets

Theatre companies can now advertise and recycle old sets and costumes on a new Freecycle-style website specifically designed for the sector.

With the tag line “giving your unwanted set a new home”, Set-exchange.co.uk has been launched with the aim of encouraging production companies to share unwanted sets, costumes and props with other theatre organisations across the UK for free. Companies including the Royal Court, Glyndebourne and the Lyric Hammersmith have already pledged their support to the website.

Read more ... (source)

Free theatre comes to Yorkshire Quaker Meeting Houses

All shows start at 7.30pm.

'Behind the Scenes' - Appleton le Moors

An exhibition of costume and stage sets by Jessica Worrall, who has worked for 18 years with Barry Rutter and Northern Broadsides will take place later this month to raise money for Appleton Village Hall.

Preview Evening 25th March 7.30 - 9.30pm
including Wine and Nibbles
£3.00

Saturday 26th March 10.00am - 12.00 noon
with Morning Coffee and Presentation by Jessica Worrall at 11.00am
£2.00

Sunday 27th March 2.00 - 5.00pm
with Tea and Cakes
£2.00

Further information may be had from nicolaoldroyd@btinternet.com.

JESSICA WORRALL - ASSOCIATE DESIGNER

Jessica has designed the majority of ABSOLUTE THEATRE¹s productions, including Queen Christina, The Misanthrope, The Wizard of Oz, Dona Rosita the Spinster, The Shoemaker's Wondrous Wife and Don Perlimplin. She has worked on several productions in Bath with Andrew and Simon, including Spring Awakening, The Rivals, Electra and The Butterfly's Evil Spell and Twelfth Night.

For NORTHERN BROADSIDES designs include A Midsummer Night's Dream and Anthony and Cleopatra (NATIONAL TOURS). Jessica is a member of performance group THE PEOPLE SHOW, designing and devising on shows 99 to 102. She directed and designed the Elvis-inspired Song Without Sound? People Show 107 (YOUNG VIC, LONDON and NATIONAL TOUR) and in 2002 wrote and directed Second.

Film work includes The Loss of Sexual Innocence. As an artist she has exhibited in London, Glasgow and Los Angeles. She was a short-listed finalist for the Glasgow-based Bulkhead Art Prize, for her video and sound installation Memorial Imoral.

Stephen Joseph Theatre cuts

Image via WikipediaThe Stephen Joseph Theatre will cancel its summer tour to rural venues after North Yorkshire County Council cut the Scarborough theatre’s grant by 84 per cent.

The decision to slash funding from £63,000 in 2010/11 to £10,000 in 2011/12 also will have an impact on the work carried out within the community by the SJT’s OutReach department.

Artistic director Chris Monks said: “As a result of our cut from North Yorkshire County Council, we will no longer be able to tour our summer shows to venues across Yorkshire, such as the Evron Centre in Filey, Whitby Coliseum and Pickering Meeting House, as we have in previous years. As a direct result, residents of North Yorkshire will have less access to the arts and culture.”

The theatre management believed strongly in the value of its OutReach work, despite the severity of the cut, said Mr Monks.

“Last year 4,000 children participated in educational projects run by the SJT. We will continue to deliver workshops and classes within the community. However, we will not be able to sustain this level of activity without finding support from elsewhere,” he warned.

Source

Sherlock Holmes: The Death & The Life - this Friday 11th Feb.

In this wryly humorous tale, of murder, mystery & the occult..... The World's Greatest Detective refuses to leave the stage!

Arthur Conan Doyle tires of his intolerably arrogant Sherlock Holmes, and creates arch villain Professor Moriarty to dispose of him. But the author's dangerous strategy, combined with his passion for raising the spirits of the dead, has rather more bizarre and dramatic consequences than he bargains for!

This fantasy, based on a fiction, is a light-hearted illustration of the battle between an author's intentions, and the rebellious ambitions of his literary creations.

After his international success in ‘Sherlock Holmes.... the last act!’ Roger Llewellyn returns in this spine tingling new play

Roger Llewellyn won a scholarship and the Shakespeare Prize at RADA; has had a long career in classical theatre, television, the West End and repeat seasons with the RSC, before 8 years touring worldwide with the hugely acclaimed solo drama:  "SHERLOCK HOLMES ... the last act!".

"..the last act " (1999); & "... the death & life " (2008), were written for him by the renowned author and specialist in adaptations of the Conan Doyle canon, David Stuart Davies.

Created and directed by Gareth Armstrong, with thrilling original music by RSC composer Simon Slater, both productions offer a memorable, mesmerising, and intensely theatrical experience.

"...the last act!" won 5 stars at the Edinburgh Fringe 1999 and was selected as one of "The Top Ten Fringe Plays". It has played over 450 performances in 270 theatres around the world, and enjoys many repeat visits.

To view scenes from " ... the last act!", (note not the current show " ...the death and the life") watch the video below:




Roger Llewellyn is an amazing actor, holding us, gripping us, with a bravura performance that is, I think, truly one of the glories of the age!

The piece is marvellous - wonderfully constructed, full of fun and heart and revelation, with unexpected depths.... all immaculately directed.

Llewellyn's performance is extraordinary - bold, brilliant, bedazzling, heartening, exciting . . . often very, very funny, but also touching and true.

It was a treat - a real treat: a privilege - to watch him in action. There was high comedy and melodrama as well as drama - but never (not once) was there a false note: it worked in every instance. He is a great artist.

We watched in awe, gasped, marvelled and cheered. I can't wait to see it all over again.

Gyles Brandreth. BBC Radio 4

Friday 11th February 7.30pm

Buy tickets

West Yorkshire Playhouse seeks 21 new writers

New writing and West Yorkshire Playhouse have always been synonymous with one another. This year, successful course So You Want to be a Writer?, returns and to celebrate the Playhouse’s 21st Birthday, 21 people from across Yorkshire, who share a passion for writing will be able to take part in this free course, meet like minded people and be inspired and challenged. The deadline for applications is Friday 11 February.

This free course has been developed and co-ordinated by West Yorkshire Playhouse to encourage everyone with a passion for writing, regardless of experience, to explore and develop their talent. A series of workshops will be held at the theatre, where writers will have the opportunity to gain some invaluable advice from one of Leeds’ most successful writers Mark Catley among others. The course will run from 7 March – 9 May with a showcase of work on Thursday 21 April.

All aspiring writers should apply. Applicants must submit a one page letter describing themselves, why they want to write and why they want to join. Applications must be no more than a single sheet of A4 paper - the deadline is 11 February. Applications are to be sent, via post, to Alex Chisholm, Associate Director (Literary), West Yorkshire Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2 7UP.

Source

At last, we're back!

It's a long time for a blog site to go quiet. Since April, for heaven's sake. But life has been a bit too full to manage blogging on top of the extra work involved in responding to the present financial ouch factor.

The last entry was about the 1812 Theatre Company's production of "The Memory of Water". I'm delighted to say - particularly so, as I was the director - it was a great success. It even made a profit. Most pleasing, though, was the high quality of ensemble acting by the cast, especially of the three sisters and their dead mother.

Even more successful was the Russian Orthodox Choir. So popular were they we had to put on an extra performance on the same day. Lucky for us they were willing to do it. And that sold out too.What a wonderful sound they made. The acoustic of our auditorium was perfect for them.

Heatseeker(theAC/DC Tribute Band) pulled in a keen crowd of fans, as, by way of complete contrast, did the Audience with Michael Mansfield, QC . He was a relaxed and fluent speaker and held his audience with ease. As ever, the Mardi Gras Jazz lunches were popular, and though "The Land Girls of Yorkshire" played to a full house, many in the audience felt it was a disappointingly flat. Maybe the Company had been touring it too long.

The 1812 Youth Theatre production of the world premiere of "Won't Be Long", by Tom Needham (of TV fame) and David Griffiths, was funny and moving and full of excellent performances from individuals in a very big cast. The story of evacuees in World War II

touched many in the audience. And for the first time in their history the company took the show to another venue - in Thornton le Dale, where their performance moved the audience to tears. We were particularly lucky in having sponsorship for this production from the Helmsley Freemasons Lodge No 7075, for which many thanks.

Disappointingly, a number of shows since then haven't done so well, for all that they were excellent entertainment and thoroughly enjoyed by those who did come. Ali Cook and the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, for example. Ali Cook's magic tricks are superbly executed and the puppets outrageously funny. Perhaps the publicity didn't make it clear that "puppets" doesn't necessarily mean "for children". It was definitely a show for adults.

Likewise the usually very popular "Ryedale Live", with its 2nd birthday celebration, brought a smaller than hoped-for audience. But they filled the studio/bar and in a relaxed and appreciative atmosphere, with french doors open to the balmy evening air, they enjoyed some first-class performers .

Actually, the scheduling did load the dice against us more than a bit, what with 10,000 attending the Simply Red concert in Dalby Forest, the Wombleton prom down the road, the World cup on the telly, not to mention the beautiful summer weather.

And I guess the latter plus Wimbledon and the local Steam Fair kept the audiences down for "The Wind in the Willows", though 40 on the first night and 60 on the second was pretty good under the circumstances. Ratatat Theatre Company were on sparkling form in a witty and inventive, high-energy version by Martin Riley, with Dominic Goodwin in his element as Toad.

And what a shame only 32 made it to "Dancing the Ramayana", a beautiful tour-de-force of Kathak(north Indian) dance and music, with the graceful and powerful dancer on the move,

non-stop for an hour and a quarter.

Now then, we hope more of you come to see that exceptionally talented young guitarist, who can play just about any sort of music, Clive Carroll, in the intimacy of the Studio/bar on Saturday 10 July at 7.30pm. Buy your tickets now.

We're very keen that as many of you as possible come to support the incredibly accomplished young players in Ryedale School's award-winning Wind and Jazz Bands on Sunday 11th July at 2.30pm. Buy your tickets now.

And then you mustn't miss the 1812 Theatre Company's latest production of "84 Charing Cross Road" 21st to 24th July at 7.30pm.Buy your tickets now.

Right now we're just putting the finishing touches to our autumn brochure and very soon the whole programme will be in our website and your online booking can start.

"The Wreckers" - back at Helmsley on March 6th

Tom Needham's new play, The Wreckers, played to a full house at Helmsley Arts Centre on February 20th and has held audiences in its grip at other venues before then and since.

It was a masterly bit of storytelling, as each character was laid bare and the desire to know what happens grew. This is a ghost story but we are never sure if there is really a ghost or if it is an elaborate game or simply hallucinatory. We never see one but.....

The play was well served by the actors, who conveyed the see-sawing emotions and unravelling relationships with an intense restraint.

The play was a good example of how little technical trickery one actually needs to grip the imagination. The art of suggestion, good timing and richly suggestive language. Well, that's quite a lot really.

The really, really good news is that we have another chance to see this play at Helmsley Arts Centre on Saturday March 6th at 7.30pm

Better still from our point of view, Clap Trap Productions has offered to donate all ticket receipts for that performance to the Arts Centre. An offer we accepeted with gratitude. Thanks CTP.

So do make sure you come to see it if you missed it first time round. To support them and the Centre and to have an excellent night out.

Here's what some people said about it:

"Very atmospheric, a great story and, as always, great acting"

"Absolutely riveting"

"Terrific piece of writing"

"It was like being in the same room as the four characters: almost feeling you shouldn’t be there, but not wanting to leave..."

"Everyone hurried back after the interval, we all couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen"

"It made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck"

"The woman in front of me leapt out of her chair!"

"far exceeded our already high expectations"

Book now.

'The Wreckers' coming back for a second night

Following on from the hugely successful performance to a packed house on Saturday night, Clap Trap Productions will be returning with their show 'The Wreckers' on Sat. March 6th.

All proceeds will go the Helmsley Arts Centre so if you haven't seen the show do try and make it - you'll both have a great night out and support your local arts venue.

For tickets - call 01439 771 700 or buy online.

Interview with Tom Needham

Find out more about the forthcoming production of 'The Wreckers' by watching this interview with author Tom Needham talking about his new play specially commissioned by Clap Trap Productions and touring in 2010. The story, located in a cottage built from the wood of a ship lured onto the rocks by wreckers, is haunted by the ghost of a child who drowned on that night. She’s been waiting over a hundred and fifty years for her revenge. And now, finally, the time has come.

Tom's numerous television credits include Cold Blood, Silent Witness, Dalziel & Pascoe, and The Bill.

The production features the acting talents of Cal Stockbridge, Chris Laishley, Katie Turner and Simon Waley and is directed by Gareth Jenkins.

Tour dates:

Fri 19th Feb 7:30pm Kirkbymoorside Methodist Chapel 01653 669554
Sat 20th Feb 7:30pm Helmsley Arts Centre 01439 771700 or online.
Fri 5th Mar 7:30pm Kirk Theatre, Pickering 01653 669554
Sat 6th Mar 7:30pm Helmsley Arts Centre 01439 771 700 or online.
Sun 14th Mar 7:30pm Galtres Centre, Easingwold 01347 822472
Sat 20th Mar 7:30pm Georgian Theatre, Richmond 01748 825252

Is Judi Dench right – are young actors only obsessed with fame?

Wannabe stars don't always understand the importance of theatrical history, but it's showbusiness that's to blame.

So members of the 1812 Youth Theatre ... is Dame Judy (one of the patrons of the Helmsley Arts Centre by the way) correct in her assertion?

Read more and comment below.

Local heroes: the theatre companies who deserve our support

'Now is not the time to get sniffy about the struggles of local theatre companies – they are the artistic epicentres of their communities'.

Excellent posting yesterday on the Guardian Theatre Blog by Paul Allen, who provides an interesting northern-based slant on theatre.

Read the whole article here.

Play: 'Skylight' - new promo video

Hot off the press is the promotional video, produced by local filmmaker Jez Coram, for the 1812 Theatre Company's 'Skylight' (21-24 October). And you can watch it here.



Kyra is a young teacher working and living in one of London‘s less attractive districts. Tom‘s wife has recently died of cancer: he is a wealthy entrepreneur and Kyra‘s former lover. On a cold winter night Tom‘s teenage son, Edward, calls on the young teacher to beg her to be reconciled with his father.

Tom himself arrives, wishing to expiate his guilt and renew his lust. Kyra complies, sort of, until the debate soars and the insults fly in a way that makes you wish your own kitchen-table tiffs were half as brutal, half as civilised. David Hare‘s passionate play is sharp and satisfying, an impassioned head-on collision of values and confused desires. Read the Play

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