OUR DAY OUT
Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Willy Russell's Our Day Out was a massive hit when the original TV play was screened in 1977 – and Russell transformed it into a hilarious, heart-warming musical, first in 1983 and then in a reworked version in 2009.
Pick Me Up brought the updated version, which features new songs co-written with director Bob Eaton, to York in a production that was anything but "boring" – the catchphrase of two of the pupils in Mrs Kay's unruly Progress Class, who are unleashed from the classroom for a school coach trip.
The class are bound for a fun day at Alton Towers ... until killjoy Mr Briggs gets on board and the destination is changed to North Wales. The show is packed full of catchy songs, lively dance numbers and instantly recognisable characters.
Robert Readman's production featured film projections by Adam Moore Tech 247 that constantly
changed as the action moved from school, to a zoo, a service station, a castle, a beach and back home again.
The York Press said "As ever, Readman has assembled a terrific cast, Jeanette Hunter's kindly Mrs Kay battling with Craig Kirby's grouchy, oppressive Mr Briggs, backed up by Martyn Hunter's seen-it-all-before bus driver and Adam Sowter and Katie Glover's young teachers. Emily Belcher excels as the quiet loner, Amy; Kiera Leaper's flirtatious Carly is a hoot, and Emma Moodie and Ruby Johnson's Bored Girls steal the show as always. Barbara Chan's musical direction is a joy too."
For Craig Kirby (who was the Narrator in Pick Me Up's Into The Woods and Hospital Ghost/Lionel Furgeson in Ghost The Musical) it was a welcome return to a role he first played at the age of 15 when he played Mr Briggs in a youth theatre production in Newport 30 years ago.
Emily Belcher (who appeared in Pick Me Up's Into The Woods and as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan The Musical) told the York Press: "I love performing in this play; it's really funny and it's fun to play because you're performing with all your friends and it's such a funny and clever script."
Willy Russell, the multi award-winning author of Educating Rita and Blood Brothers, loves it too – he says staging Our Day Out The Musical was "one of the very very best theatrical experiences of my life – I can’t wait to do it again”.
February 20-28 2015
CREATIVES
Book by
Willy Russell
Music and lyrics by
Willy Russell and Bob Eaton
Directed by
Robert Readman
Musical arrangements by
Barbara Chan
Choreography by
Stefani Lyons
Mrs Kay
Jeanette Hunter
Mr Briggs
Craig Kirby
Les/Ronnie/Zoo Keeper
Martyn Hunter
Mark
Adam Sowter
Katie
Katie Glover
Amy
Emily Belcher
Stack
Rhys Evans
Gonzo
Ben Backhouse
Moler
Lewis Douglas
Eunice
Katie Western
Kelly
Katy Metheringham
Chloe
Emma Moodie
Zoe
Ruby Johnson
Reilly
Kieran Robson
Carly
Kiera Leaper
Digga
Jack Armstrong
Jackie
Sophie Cox
Sean
Frankie Bounds
Caitlin
Caitlan Barnard
Sophie
Holly Inch
Maurice
Billy Ibbotson
Georgia
Natalia Leaper
Abi
Molly Metheringham
Milton
Sam Roberts
Kevin
Lucas Wells
Kath
Freya Leaf
Britney
Ellen McCloskey
Assistant director
Gilly Adam
Sound
Joel Slater
Projections
Adam Moore Tech 247
Stage managers
Nick Lay
Nathan Bargate
Ollie Nash
Keyboard
Barbara Chan
Keyboard 2
Gill Boler
Guitar
Damien Sweeting
Guitar
Joe Heald
Drums
Ben Croombs