York Goes From Steam to Fog 2015
In
Fog and Falling Snow
York National Railway Museum
26
June to 11 July
In October 2014, partners York Theatre Royal and
the National Railway Museum announced plans for another large scale, specially
commissioned piece of theatre involving a community cast of over 200. Since
revealing plans for the project, which had been given the working title Steam,
award winning playwrights Mike Kenny and Bridget Foreman have been hard at work
writing the new play and can now reveal that it will officially be called In
Fog and Falling Snow.
Following on from the huge success of The York
Mystery Plays 2012 and last year’s Blood + Chocolate, the show will look at the
importance of the railways to York and its citizens over the last 200 years. It
will take place amongst the collections at the National Railway Museum before leading
its audience into a 1000 seat auditorium at the back of the Museum.
In Fog and Falling Snow takes its name from an
instruction manual given to train drivers. The chapter explained to drivers
what to do in the event of extreme weather. The production is set in the Mid
1840s when the British nation sets a course to dominate the world, driven by
the sweat of the people and the power of steam. As George Hudson sets
forth on his journey to build the great East Coast rail network at any cost,
the people who build it, along with investors and passengers are caught up in
the reckless extravagance of his great adventure. The cost is high for all
involved. As they place their bets on the future and the wheel of fortune roles
from the station towards dark night, only the driver’s daughter sees the danger
ahead.
Liam Evans-Ford, Community Producer for the project
said: “It is hugely exciting to be
launching another community play in the city and to be using the National Railway Museum and its collections as a backdrop. York has a growing reputation for producing great
quality work with its community and we are looking forward to engaging with
another group of people to create this new production. Like our previous
productions, for In Fog and Falling Snow we will welcome people who have no
previous experience in theatre alongside those who have worked with us before.”
The production will be directed by Damian Cruden
and Juliet Forster from York Theatre Royal,
and Katie Posner from Pilot Theatre. Community Producer from the York Mystery
Plays 2012, Liam Evans- Ford will also be returning for the project.
Jim Lowe, Head of Operations at the National Railway Museum said “This is a fitting title given the rich
history of York and the railways. We’re looking forward to having
this superb production at the museum from June and showing off our collection
in a completely new way.”
Auditions
People can register their interest in the project
at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Auditions take place on the 19, 20, 22, 26 and 27
January but people must book an audition slot by registering their interest and
then calling the audition hotline.
Tickets
Tickets for the production, which runs from the 26
June to 11 July, can already be purchased online, or by calling the Box Office
on 01904 623568.
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