York Theatre Royal’s Season In The Round

York Theatre Royal has unveiled plans for an innovative season in 2011; seven months of the year will see the main stage transformed into the round for a varied programme to be showcased by an ensemble cast of twelve actors.

Entitled In The Round Ensemble Season 2011, this adventurous May-November itinerary will build on the success of Summer 2010’s in the round production of The Wind in the Willows.

The ensemble cast will deliver the largest ensemble season to date in both the Studio and Main House featuring work from up-and-coming playwrights, classic dramas, and fresh revamped adaptations of old favourites. This assortment of theatrical delights will ensure there’s a lure for  theatregoers of all ages and interests to experience theatre in the round.

The opening work of this sensational season will be Arthur Miller‘s The Crucible from May 7th – May 28th. Undoubtedly one of the most poignant and powerful plays of the twentieth century, Miller’s epic tale of witchcraft, paralleled with McCarthyism in 1950s America, is relevant in any era and the unique in the round staging will make it even more compelling.

The following month will bring a new adaptation of Gerard Durrell‘s autobiographical novel My Family and Other Animals from June 3rd – 25th. This vibrant tale of an eccentric family life on sunny Corfu has been adapted to both screen and radio, but sees its stage premier here.

July’s production of Anthony Minghella‘s Two Planks and a Passion is presented from 1st -16th  of the month. A collaboration between the Theatre and Riding Lights Theatre Company, Two Planks and a Passion sees a community cast deliver a humorous take on the history and people of York through the quirky medium of a play-within-a-play.

Family favourite J.M. Barrie‘s Peter Pan will be staged in the round from July 29th –  September 3rd with a special sprinkling of fairy dust from Mike Kenny, who has previously created adaptations of The Railway Children and The Wind in the Willows with York Theatre Royal.

Yorkshire Treasure Alan Bennett‘s Forty Years On will be exhibited in the round from 23rd September – 15th October. This is regarded as one of Bennett’s most comedic plays and is followed by more laughter with an infamous slapstick duo from 21st October-5th November in Tom McGrath‘s Laurel and Hardy.

This seven month season marks a succession of exciting and ground-breaking firsts for York Theatre Royal. Whether you’ve seen theatre in the round or all of these productions before, the In The Round Ensemble Season promises a new, invigorating twist on old favourites and original delights to be premièred within spectacular staging.