Up-coming events to York Theatre Royal’s Studio

Events coming to York Theatre Royal over the next month.

After their previous sold-out production of The Real Thing, York Settlement Community Players return to the Studio with another play filled with delicious conversation and compelling characters. Written by one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights, Terence Rattigan, Separate Tables (08-17 Feb) is made up of two interconnected tales full of love and loss.

The first half of the play, Table by the Window, features a disgraced former Labour Cabinet Minister who is confronted by his ex-wife, who he served time for assaulting. In the second half, Table Number Seven, the same hotel staff return, but the focus is on the friendship of two different leads: a “self-made” army colonel and a repressed spinster.

This play will transport you to a shabby Bournemouth hotel in the 1950s where guests, both permanent and transient, sit on separate tables, a formality which underlies the loneliness of these characters. It has been said that Rattigan “understood our national psyche”, never more so than in this play about class, secrets, and repressed emotions with many of the themes still present today.

We are delighted that the Crick Crack Club are also returning to the Studio with Orpheus Dismembered (02 Feb), which is full of dark, magical, and provocative storytelling helping to restore Greek Mythology to its terrifying and truly awesome glory. Due to their popularity, this show has sold out, but we cannot wait to see them return in a few months with Dreaming the Great Bear – the Kalevala.

The storytelling continues when Queer Spaces (03 Feb) arrives in the Studio with Yorkshire artists being invited to share their stories of the places significant to them. Inspired by Natasha Bell’s blog on queer sanctuaries (including York’s lost nightclub, Toffs!), Queer Spaces will be a one-off celebration of queer lives that will be joyful and real.

Additionally, there are a variety of family shows coming to the Studio in the next couple of months including, Can Bears Ski? (23-24 Feb) and Claytime (01-02 Mar). Can Bears Ski? is a delightful adaptation of the book by Raymond Antrobus performed in both spoken English and British Sign Language. Featuring puppets and music, join Little Bear and Dad Bear as they learn how there are many ways to communicate love, and to find your place in the world.

Equally as dynamic, each Claytime performance is totally unique as its world, characters and stories are decided by the audience and built in from of them from clay! This is a great introduction to interactive theatre aimed at three-to-six-year-olds.

For full details of the Studio shows, please visit www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Listings Information

Separate Tables

York Theatre Royal Studio

• 08 Feb 7:45pm
• 09 Feb 7:45pm
• 10 Feb 2pm and 7:45pm
• 13 Feb 7:45pm
• 14 Feb 7:45pm
• 15 Feb 7:45pm
• 16 Feb 7:45pm
• 17 Feb 2pm and 7:45pm
• Post- show discussion after the Fri 16 7:45pm performance
• Running Time: 2 hours 25 minutes (including interval)

Queer Spaces

York Theatre Royal Studio

• 03 Feb, 7:45pm
• Age guidance: 14+
• Can Bears Ski?
• York Theatre Royal Studio
• 23 Feb, 1:30pm
• 24 Feb, 10:30am
• 24 Feb, 2:30pm
• Each show is BSL interpreted alongside spoken English
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Age guidance: 3-7 years old

Claytime

York Theatre Royal Studio

• 01 Mar, 11am
• 01 Mar, 2pm
• 02 Mar, 11am
• 02 Mar, 2pm
• Running time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Age guidance: 3-6 years old, but older children welcome