It’s been a tough year for the arts industry, that’s for sure. With closures and hopeful partial re-openings dominating the news feeds, the industry has been working nose to the grindstone for months. Victoria Smith, like others, has decided to take some action and do what she can to support. In September, the fundraising initiative... Continue Reading →
Interview: Lisa Howard Talks Park Bench Theatre, Every Time a Bell Rings & Life in Lockdown
Guest interview: Steve Pratt chats with Lisa Howard ahead of her work with Engine House Theatre’s Park Bench Theatre season in York. Lisa Howard went back to the land during lockdown. “I went allotmenting, growing stuff and trying to feed the world from my allotment. I was imagining the worst, that there would be no... Continue Reading →
Interview: 20 Questions with Wrongsemble’s Elvi Piper
Wrongsemble Theatre Company has been going from strength to strength over the past five years and as far as family theatre goes, the work this company creates is pretty special. Offering the best of both worlds, they embrace classic tales and revamp them for modern audiences of all ages, transforming stories we know and love... Continue Reading →
Interview: Forget About The Dog’s Natalie Rawel & Jordan Larkin
Forget About The Dog topped my round-up list for Best Regional Fringe Production back in 2018 with their thoroughly fantastic production of 100 Ways to Tie a Shoelace so I was very chuffed to finally have a chance to chat about the show and the company last week. A collective of five, Forget About The... Continue Reading →
5 Things to Love About: Harrogate Theatre
Built in 1900 and now featuring both main stage and studio performance spaces alongside an impressive array of beautiful finer details, Harrogate Theatre is definitely a favourite of mine. Here’s five things to love about it... 1. The team. Rachel Auty departs next month but she’s been an amazing contact as Press Officer and has... Continue Reading →
5 Things to Love About: Grand Opera House York
A set of buildings re-purposed for theatre and previously named the S.S Empire, this theatre (now run by ATG) has been through a range of revamps and reincarnations over the years. Now, from hosting touring productions to offering its own panto each year, the Grand Opera House York is a pretty fabulous theatre. Here’s five... Continue Reading →
Less Than Human: A Take-Down of ‘Survival of the Fittest’
Friday 13th March 2020 at York Theatre Royal (Studio). ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Out of Character Theatre’s Less Than Human certainly feels loudly reflective of the world outside theatre doors right now. Exploring ideas about social inequality and ‘survival of the fittest’ we meet a semi-civilisation in which ‘lesser’ beings are left to die in stairwells and those... Continue Reading →
Riot Act: Vital Recognition of LGBTQ+ History & Experience
Friday 7th February 2020 at Harrogate Theatre (Studio). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Alexis Gregory’s arresting solo show takes the testimonies of three important figures in the LGBTQ+ community and places their words and experiences at the centre of an impressive hour long verbatim piece. Though the stage is an empty space ripe for conjuring the past through the... Continue Reading →
Once: Funny, Moving & Musically Brilliant
Monday 3rd February at The Grand Opera House, York. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It takes all of a few mere minutes for this production to show us exactly why it has snapped up so many awards; from the rousing, foot stomping pre-curtain act delivered as the audience arrive to the first full pelt number from our lead, we... Continue Reading →
Heaven’s Gate: When the End of Life is Lift Off
Friday 31st January 2020 at Harrogate Theatre (Studio). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four young people arrive into a void dressed as something resembling 80s teens playing at Star Trek. Four camp beds and a side table are all they have to help them make the big leap from one realm to another and we’re here to witness the... Continue Reading →