An almost empty stage is the setting for the iconic revenge tragedy of the Duchess of Malfi. A couple of black boxes, a soundscape and some eerie coloured lights are all the aid the actors have in bringing this piece to life, and they do so well. Continue reading
Just shy of four hundred years since its first performance, York Shakespeare Project turn their hands to Cymbeline, one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works, for their thirty-fifth production since their formation twenty years ago. Director Ben Prusiner takes us back to Shakespearean roots with full Renaissance costume, live music and duelling rapiers while challenging Original Production values with gender-blind casting. Continue reading
Wildgoose continue their run of plays new to York with Laura Wade’s first published script, Colder Than Here. The text is gentle, poetic, acutely observant. It dwells on familial responsibility, what we expect and need from those closest to us, how we remember each other in ways we have forgotten our younger selves. Continue reading
Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation of Sebastian Falks’ classic tale of tumultuous First World War romance bleeds fragility, from Victoria Spearing’s beautifully crafted landfall set to the unfaltering generosity of Tim Treloar’s Jack Firebrace. Continue reading
York Theatre Royal’s proscenium arch becomes a cross-section of TV chef Caroline’s (the West End’s Janie Dee) show-home kitchen: a faux-Swedish minimalist Pinterest fantasy of muted teal glossy tiles and pine with a modest botanic garnish and a family dinner table modest enough to tell an on-screen story that will resonate with the wider audience. But it doesn’t take long to make a mess on these counters. Continue reading
Jonathan Lewis’s new modern domestic drama poses the question, “Where would you draw the line?”, putting patriarch Mark (Lewis himself) in temptation’s path when it comes to a critical moment in his son Tom’s (Matt Whitchurch) education. This middle-class show-home family of established and prospective politicians debates and philosophises like lawyers sparring before court; the smug elite flexing their wits for pleasure as well as for business – indeed, there is little distinction between the two and it is clear which is their priority. Continue reading
Director Andy Love of Wildgoose Theatre continues his vein of delivering hitherto unseen plays to York with this sumptuous psychological drama by Jez Butterworth, set in a log cabin near a river, somewhere in modern England. The specifics of their surroundings are white noise, while the minutia of the dialogue is honed to a piercing point. Poetry and illustrious speeches furnish what appears to be a confident, if burgeoning, dynamic between The Man (George Stagnell) and The Woman (Claire Morley). These are people at home with each other, themselves and the outdoors. Continue reading
York Theatre Royal and Theatre by the Lake present Hymn to Love, a loving ode to Edith Piaf’s life and later years framed as the rehearsal for her final concert. Songs are interspersed with fond and poignant memories retold by Piaf (Elizabeth Mansfield) to her pianist (Patrick Bridgman); “silent only in word”. Continue reading
It is a bittersweet time for the arts and the news in York, what with the only paid local arts critic role being threatened with redundancy. The city’s independent art scene thrives as ever, and we strive to document the full, rich programme of events taking place in our city. Inevitably, where the money dries up, other resources follow, and we are looking at a future with decidedly less coverage. So what happens to the art that’s doing its own reporting? Continue reading
Presented by Original Theatre at York Theatre Royal, Tuesday 21st November 2017 Continue reading