York Theatre Royal unveils initial line-up for new season

With its production of Little Women, adapted for the stage by Anne-Marie Casey, currently in rehearsals, York Theatre Royal has announced a brand new collaboration with Wise Children for North by Northwest, adapted and directed by Wise Children’s Artistic Director Emma Rice. Co-produced with HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, the production opens at York Theatre Royal on 26 March, with previews from 18 March, and will run locally until 5 April before embarking on a UK tour.

Highlights of the tour programme include Apphia Campbell’s Black is the Colour of my Voice, inspired by the life of Nina Simone and featuring many of her best-loved songs, as well as two English Touring Opera productions, The Capulets and The Montagues, and Shakespeare’s Songs.

Paul Crewes, CEO of Wise Children, said today: “We are delighted to be working with Wise Children on our upcoming production of North by Northwest, which will have its world premiere right here in York. Emma Rice’s adaptation of this classic Hitchcock thriller will be a real treat for audiences.”

“We are also very proud to present our own production of Little Women, adapted by Anne Marie Casey, which is in final rehearsals, as well as our family pantomime Aladdin with a cast including many York favourites.

“We welcome brilliant guest companies in 2024/25 with a wonderfully eclectic programme including opera, dance, music and theatre. Book your tickets!”

Priority booking for members – opens at 1pm on 11th September and members receive a 10% discount on Main House shows; sale opens to the public from 1pm on 16th September.

Additional programming for the new season will be announced shortly.

A York Theatre Royal production

in association with Pitlochry Festival Theatre

LITTLE WOMEN

Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey

Presented by arrangement with Lee Dean

September 21 – October 12

Press evening: September 25

Starring: Freya Parks (Jo March), Helen Chong (Amy March), Ainy Medina (Meg March), Laura Soper (Beth March), Nikhil Singh Rai (Theodore ‘Laurie’ Lawrence), Kate Hampson (Marmee March), Jack Ashton (John Brooke/Professor Bhaer), Caroline Gruber (Aunt March).

A stunning reinterpretation of a timeless classic from York Theatre Royal – join us this autumn for a new production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

One of the most beloved novels of all time, Little Women tells the story of Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth, and Amy growing up in New England during the American Civil War. Follow the March sisters as they pursue their different paths in life, filled with adventure, heartbreak, and laughter.

An uplifting coming-of-age story, Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation brings a fresh new take on the beloved novel set in a time of war and great uncertainty.

York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions

ALADIN

By Paul Hendy

December 3, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Press evening: December 5

Directed by Juliet Forster

Cbeebies and CBBC’s Evie Pickerill brings her sparkle and talent to the role of Spirit of the Ring in this year’s York Theatre Royal pantomime.

York favourite Robin Simpson (Jack and the Beanstalk’s Dame Trott, The New Adventures of Peter Pan’s Mrs Smee and Cinderella’s Manky) will return to play Dame Dolly; and Paul Hawkyard (The New Adventures of Peter Pan’s Captain Hook and Cinderella’s Mardy) returns for his third YTR pantomime as the villainous Abanazar. Sario Soloman (Let It Shine, Grease) stars as the titular hero in his York debut, alongside Emily Tang and Tommy Carmichael.

Aladdin is written by Paul Hendy and directed by Juliet Forster, the creative team behind Jack and the Beanstalk.

Family tickets from £81.

James Seabright presents

BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY VOICE

by Apphia Campbell

February 26

Following critically acclaimed international performances, including an award-winning season at the 2024 Adelaide Fringe, Seabright Live brings Black is the Colour of my Voice to the York Theatre Royal for a one-off performance.

Written by Apphia Campbell, it is inspired by the life of Nina Simone and features several of her most iconic songs performed live. The show follows a successful jazz singer and civil rights activist as she seeks redemption after the untimely death of her father. It looks back on her journey from a young piano prodigy destined for a life of church service to a renowned jazz singer at the forefront of the civil rights movement.

The 2025 tour follows numerous sold-out UK dates and an Australian tour in 2024 to Sydney, Melbourne and the Adelaide Fringe, where the show won the overall award for Best Theatre.

Originally from the US, Apphia Campbell wrote Black is the Colour of my Voice in 2013, a play that has since toured the UK and won acclaim in Shanghai and New York. In 2019, she made her London West End debut with the show at Trafalgar Studios. Her other show, Woke, now re-conceived as Through The Mud, created with Meredith Yarbrough, won a Scotsman Fringe First and a Highly Commended at the Amnesty International Awards, and was shortlisted for the Filipa Bragança Award and the Scottish Art Club Theatre Award.

The English Touring Opera presents

THE CAPULETS AND THE MONTAGUES

March 1st

ETO returns to York Theatre Royal with the story of two families, both of equal dignity, and two lovers, doomed by the conflict between their families. Bellini’s The Capulets and the Montagues is a raw reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, where loyalty and love are tested amidst political violence, set to exquisite, sparkling Bel Canto music that underscores the tragedy of the story.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

The English Touring Opera presents

SHAKESPEARE’S SONGS

February 28 – March 1

Over the centuries, Shakespeare’s plays and poetry have influenced and inspired many composers. Combining puppetry and performance in a new theatrical staging with a collection of Shakespeare-inspired songs performed by singers and a chamber ensemble, the ETO’s new production tells the story of a life and all its trials and triumphs and explores the timeless appeal of Shakespeare’s words and characters for composers and audiences throughout history.

Sung in the original language with English surtitles.

A Wise Children, York Theater Royal, HOME Manchester and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse co-production

Adapted and directed by Emma Rice

It would be strange, wouldn’t it, if in a city of seven million people, no man would ever be mistaken for another…

But that’s exactly what happens to Roger Thornhill, the reluctant hero of North by Northwest, when an ill-fated phone call to his mother puts him in the middle of a Cold War conspiracy. Now he’s on the run, dodging spies, planes, and a femme fatale who may not be what she seems.

Emma Rice takes on screen legend Alfred Hitchcock in this hilarious and wild take on the original thriller. With just six shape-shifting performers, a fabulous 1950s soundtrack and LOTS of hats, this dazzling production plays with the heart, mind and soul. Join us for a night of glamour, romance, danger and a generous sprinkling of tender truths.

Based on the film North by Northwest from Turner Entertainment Co.

Produced by special arrangement with Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures and Kay & McLean Productions

North by Northwest is a 1959 film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason.

Emma Rice is the Artistic Director of Wise Children and is an internationally renowned theatre maker and director. For Wise Children she has adapted and directed The Buddha of Suburbia, Blue Beard, The Little Matchgirl and Happier Tales, Wuthering Heights, Bagdad Café, Angela Carter’s Wise Children, Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers and Romantics Anonymous. As Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe: Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Little Matchgirl (and Other Happier Tales). Rice has worked for Kneehigh as an actor, director and artistic director, creating critically acclaimed productions including: The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, The Wild Bride, The Red Shoes, Cymbeline (in association with the RSC), A Matter of Life and Death (in association with the National Theatre), Brief Encounter (in association with David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers Productions), Don John (in association with the RSC and Bristol Old Vic), Wah! Wah! Girls (in association with Sadler’s Wells and Theatre Royal Stratford East for World Stages) and Steptoe and Son. She was awarded the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre Award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards.

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