Joseph Rowntree Theatre Events

A variety evening of the best young talented singers, dancers and musicians coming together to raise money for disabled children in York through S.N.A.P.P.Y.

After the Emperor of Japan, The Mikado, decrees that flirting is punishable by death, the town of Titipu appoints Ko-Ko, a cheap tailor already condemned to death, as the Lord High Executioner, so that no executions can happen until after he has executed himself. Nanki-Poo, a wandering minstrel arrives, looking for Yum-Yum, Ko-Ko's ward, with whom he fell in love with a year ago. Discovering Yum-Yum is to wed Ko-Ko that day, Nanki-Poo decides to kill himself. The plot continues with a series of deceptions and misunderstandings, will everyone escape death?

Reflecting an 1880s British craze for "all things Japanese", The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's ninth collaboration features songs such as A Wand'ring Minstrel I and Three Little Maids From School are we, has become one of the most frequently performed pieces of musical theatre of all time and remains a firm favourite with performers and audiences alike.

Remember your school days? The dreaded detentions, snogging behind the bike sheds and breaktime bust-ups?! Well prepare to be catapulted back to the classroom and take a raw and riotous look at life in a typical British school, in this classic comedy from BAFTA winner John Godber.

Meet the staff; the trendy young Drama teacher making his shaky debut; the Deputy Head who rules the school with an iron rod; the gentle Humanities teacher who is desperate for a quiet life; Doug, the grumpy old Caretaker, and the Headmistress - a boisterous battleaxe and some-time Amateur Dramatics star! And prepare yourselves for the pupils; a wayward mob of disruptive delinquents - determined to wreck havoc, hormones and horror throughout the school!

Nostalgia, mischief and mayhem reign supreme in this classic classroom drama!

All proceeds go to the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society

Join us as we celebrate Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday with performances of his brilliant music and lyrics, including rarely heard material.

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (born March 22, 1930) is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards (eight, more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been described as "the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre."He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981.

The programme includes Sweeney Todd, Company, A Little Night Music, Into The Woods, Passion, West Side Story, Gypsy, Assassins, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday In The Park With George, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Dick Tracy, Saturday Night, Anyone Can Whistle and Follies – Happy 80th Birthday!

Little Orphan Annie, the strip cartoon character started out as Little Orphan Otto; but Harold Gray, the cartoonist was persuaded to change the boy into a girl and the first strip cartoon of Little Orphan Annie was published in the New York Daily News on 5 August 1924. Gray created a fiercely independent 11-year old with a mind of her own and the ingenuity to get her through the many scrapes which she experienced in the 44 years that the strip cartoon ran. Her dog Sandy accompanied her on all her adventures. During the Great Depression Harold Gray used Annie to reflect his ultra conservative beliefs.

We follow Annie from the orphanage to the mansion of millionaire Oliver Warbucks. On the way she finds herself in a Hooverville, a shanty town built by the victims of the Great Depression. These Hoovervilles were named after President Hoover the man the down-and-outs blamed for their condition; although it is difficult to see how he could have prevented the Great Depression. Throughout the musical we are impressed by Annie’s constant optimism and her unremitting efforts to find her parents. Despite the plots of Miss Hannigan, the mean orphanage director, we follow Annie to a happy ending at a Christmas party where everybody, including President Roosevelt, looks forward to a rosy future.

Music by Charles Strouse; Lyrics by Martin Charnin; Book by Thomas Meehan