On Stage: In Fog and Falling Snow (George Stephenson)

What do you do when your theatre is closed for nearly a year for a major refurb? Build another (temporary) one of course: the show must go on…! At least, that was the York Theatre Royal’s approach, constructing the Signal Box Theatre in a huge insulated marquee with a railway track down the middle at the back of the National Railway Museum.

On Stage: Books Inspired by York Theatre

The York Theatre Royal is one of the oldest theatres in the country and has played a big part in my life in York, not least because of their willingness to put on professional quality community plays with a cast and choir of hundreds, which has built up a great community vibe. After a major refurbishment, the hoardings have just come down as it’s now less than two weeks before it will finally reopen its doors to the public for a world premiere adaptation of Brideshead Revisited (22nd to 30th April in York then touring, tickets available here). 

Inspiring People: Desmond Tutu

The Rainbow People of God by Desmond Tutu

 This is one of those immensely valuable books which allow you to understand a period of recent history through the words of one who was there. From the Cold War to the end of apartheid, the key events of the 1960s to the 1980s are often not well covered by popular history books or lessons at school, as there are many people still alive who lived through the events in question.