SPRING INTO SUMMER WITH SOME WONDERFUL THEATRE AT THE DUKES

from The Lancashire & North West Magazine | July 2022

by The Lancashire & North West Magazine

STONYHURST ST MARY’S HALL BORROWED THE MOON!

From stories about the most successful woman you’ve probably never heard of, to a one man Bon Jovi musical, mixed in with an innovative award winning theatre show with music by UK music sensations The Staves, The Dukes, Lancaster has entertainment in its plentiful this June & July. We’ve Got Each Other - Sat 16th June Tickets: £12

The almost entirely imagined Bon Jovi Musical comes to the Vaults. Written and performed by Paul O’Donnell “excellent writing and seamless blend of comedy and storytelling... a master class in theatre”˝ HHHHH The List HHHH Benji Potter, The Sun HHHH The Stage HHHH What’s On Stage HHHH BritishTheatre.com HHHH Broadway Baby HHHH Broadway World Following a sell-out Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, a BE Festival Audience Award, and various international awards, We’ve Got Each Other comes to the The Dukes, Lancaster as part of a UK wide tour. Hold on to your mullet for the spectacular Bon Jovi jukebox musical... except, it’s up to the audience to imagine it all, with the help of just one man: theatre maker Paul O’Donnell. Modern jukebox musicals usually involve a multi-talented cast, an orchestra, opulent sets, decadent costumes, extravagant routines, dramatic key changes and the odd hydraulic lift or two. We’ve Got Each Other has none of these things (they cost lots of money), but Paul will still try to create an all-singing, all-dancing spectacle simply using the power of imagination. Through entertaining descriptions of the show as it unfolds, and 180+ lighting cues, Paul will invite the audience to ‘fill in the gaps’, imagining the breath-taking and tragic love story of Tommy and Gina. Expect glitter balls, high camp and one incredibly catchy 80’s tune. This feel good show celebrates the community that is formed when artist and audience meet, and the extraordinary things that we can achieve when we come together, if we just... believe. We’ve Got Each Other won the BE Festival Audience Award 2018 as well as the Young FITT Festival’s Audience Award and Best Performer Award in Spain. In 2017, the show was awarded BE Festival Early Ideas Award and China Plate’s First Bite Commission. The show sold-out at the Pleasance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Paul says, “I have always admired the musical theatre genre; swept away by the spectacle of it all, the extravagance of it all, and the audience’s ability to completely lose themselves in the fiction of it, if only for an hour or two. There is something rather magical about spending two hours in a room lost in the most fantastical large scale musical, and I was curious to see if I could capture this experience in my own small scale work.” Paul O’Donnell is a theatre maker and producer, based in Coventry. We’ve Got Each Other combines his childhood love of musical theatre with his training in contemporary theatre practice. His work aims to expose the ‘ordinary’ in a ‘spectacular’ fashion. Paul’s work to date includes an all singing all dancing harem of ‘Pauls’ exploring our human need to feel like a ‘something’ (Nothing!), one very ‘real’ cowboy in a very ‘real’ saloon (So Far West), and a mime artist who is trying to break free of his glass box (One Thing On His Mime). This is sure to be an event that you don’t want to miss!

Do you ever want to run away from it all? Award winning writer-performer Daniel Bye and Chumbawamba singer-songwriter Boff Whalley are set to visit The Dukes on Tuesday 14th June on the summer 2022 tour of their exciting new joint production These Hills Are Ours, which explores their mutual love of running, celebrates the freedom to roam wild places - and asks what they’re really running from. For the last three years Bye and Whalley have been running a series of routes, from the centre of the city in which they found themselves, to the top of the peak overlooking that city - culminating in one epic journey for Dan, more than twice as far as he’s ever run before. But what were they running from? In story and in song, this is the story of what they found out – about the relationship between city and country, between wild and controlled, about land ownership, about why we’re drawn to wild places – and about how far we’re prepared to go for what we believe in. These Hills Are Ours is the most personal piece of work either Dan or Boff has made, the most heartfelt, and the most direct. It’s really funny and genuinely moving. Daniel Bye said: “Boff and I have worked together on lots of projects, from very small to large enough to warrant an AA road sign. And work conversations always had a habit of drifting into conversation about running. So, we thought it was high time to make hay out of that and work together on a show with running as its starting point. As these things do, it’s evolved into something about much more than that: non-runners will get just as much from this show as runners. Anyone who’s ever enjoyed the countryside, celebrated freedom, done something hard, or just wanted to run away from it all, will be at home in this show.” Maxine Peake’s Beryl tells true story of the greatest woman on two wheels Written by actress Maxine Peake, Beryl tells the remarkable true story of unsung champion cyclist Beryl Burton. This inspirational tour-de-force is fuelled by rhubarb, northern charm and fierce determination. Beryl Burton is quite possibly the most successful woman you’ve never heard of. She dominated cycling in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, becoming world pursuit champion, national pursuit champion, road racing world champion, national road racing champion, British record holder, world record holder, an MBE and an OBE. What’s even more remarkable is that Beryl had a heart condition and early in her life doctors had advised that she could never take part in strenuous activities. When Maxine Peake was given Beryl’s autobiography as a gift she questioned why no one had ever written a play about her, and so she wrote it herself. Her debut stage play, Beryl began as a radio play, Beryl: A Love Story on Two Wheels, in which Maxine also starred. It was adapted for the stage in 2014, premiering at Leeds Playhouse coinciding with the start of the Tour de France in Yorkshire. Hopping on their bikes and each playing multiple roles are Tori Burgess (Olivier Award nominated 2022), James Lewis, Charlie Ryan and Elizabeth Twells. Director Chris Lawson said: “Beryl Burton showed the world what you can do if you really dedicate yourself to achieving your goals. In her lifetime she didn’t get the recognition she deserved, but now thanks to Maxine Peake’s wonderful writing, she serves as an inspiration to a whole new generation of women and cyclists. I’m really proud to be sharing the story of this strong Yorkshire-woman across the North West”.

The Dukes Park Show Returns For a WILD & WONDERFUL ADVENTURE in Williamson Park

The Jungle Book - July 22nd - August 28th Tickets: £15 - £22.50

The Dukes award-winning outdoor walkabout theatre season returns to Lancaster’s Williamson Park this summer for a great Jungle adventure in Williamson Park. Following on from last-years sold out performances of Grimm Tales, The Dukes will delight audiences once again when it presents The Jungle Book from July 22-August 28. Step into the jungle of Lancaster’s Williamson Park as this adventurous story is told by our heroic wolves, cheeky monkeys and jungle creatures as our audience are led through all the twists and turns of this famous story adapted by Andrew Pollard. With the enchanting park as their backdrop, this epic setting for the story of Mowgli, Baloo and the infamous villains Shere Kahn & Kaa is told as the audience follow the drama by moving from one wonderful location to another. Full of catchy songs, wondrous characters and clever costumes, this laugh out loud adventure will sprinkle magic on your summer. The Dukes has welcomed thousands of audience members over the years, take a look at some of the images of our previous park show spectacles…tickets are already selling fast so don’t miss out on the The Jungle Book this summer!