At the York Theatre Royal On Stage

It's a time of dramatic change at the York Theatre Royal.

For over 270 years, they've been treading the boards here.

Soon, the curtain will be going up on a multi-million pound redevelopment.

It will be a race against time with everyone trying to complete

the auditorium, ready for the opening of their famous pantomime.

Purse-proud, greedy, drunken blaggard!

And, while the theatre's dark, they'll also be mounting

an ambitious community play at the National Railway Museum.

We are building a 1,000-seat theatre as well as opening

a show at exactly the same time.

And it's not just any show, involving a company of over 600 volunteers.

It makes it a really crazy idea that we even thought

we should or could do it!

What could possibly go wrong?

It's mid-March

and York Theatre Royal is offering its audience a rare chance to

climb on stage themselves ahead of a multi-million pound redevelopment.

Well, it's the open day before we shut down for the renovation

of the whole building.

So we've opened the doors so the community can come in

and have a look at the building before it changes.

So it's a nice moment in time,

just to capture what it was like before the next time

they get to see it, which will be in its new guise and garb.

It's just a fantastic place to have in the city.

I'm looking forward to seeing the new theatre

but the old theatre has lots of memories for me.

It's like going home, really.

I don't know. It's just got something about it

that I like. I love it.

People have been coming here since they were children and now,

in their 60s and 70s, recognise what this space means to them.

I've spent my whole life coming here.

I came with my mother when I was a little girl,

my mother came with her mother when she was a child,

I brought my mother here until the last day before she died.

We came here, to the panto.

So to me, it's a really, really special place.

And her seat is A13.

-You used to like coming with Grandma here, didn't you?

-It was so funny.

I mean, here we are, bringing the next generation along.

She came the day after she was born. We came into the theatre.

We'd booked tickets already to come to the panto

and we brought her straight in, so there was all of the

generations here - me, Isabella, Elizabeth, Caitlin and my mum.

We were all here. It's lovely.

They'll be spending just over £5 million on the refurbishment,

installing a new stage and state-of-the-art facilities

and giving the weary front of house a long overdue face-lift.

It needs investment.

It needs investment in its bricks and mortar to make sure that

York Theatre Royal,

which has been in existence since 1744,

basically on the same site, continues to thrive into the future.

It needs investment.

So we've either got alphabetical sign-in or under-16s...

While the theatre's dark,

they're mounting a community play involving over 200 actors.

It'll be performed just down the road at the National Railway Museum.

These community shows have become a tradition in York where,

for generations,

amateur actors from the city have taken part in the Mystery Plays.

It'll be a huge ambitious event and,

with just ten weeks to go before the opening night, the cast are

gathering at the Guildhall to hear the words for the very first time.

In Fog And Falling Snow - the first read-through.

Written by local playwrights Mike Kenny and Bridget Foreman,

it's a story with its roots deep in the city.

It is about the boom and bust of the steam industry during the 1840s

and a chap called George Hudson...

Stephenson enters, straddling the Rocket, triumphant.

..and it's about him and all of the people affected by this boom

and bust of the steam industry during that time.

Invest in the railways. Give us your money.

Mr George Hudson will ensure it's well spent.

He was known as the Railway King and, for ten years...

I mean, he owned the majority of railways in the country.

From a working-class farmer Yorkshire lad,

he had one of the wealthiest lifestyles in London,

he dined with Albert and Victoria, he was a Member of Parliament.

And about ten years into his, you know, reign as the Railway King,

everybody found out that all of his accounts were in his head.

Nobody had audited a thing.

Things said about me were utter falsehoods!

The challenging leading role of the Railway King will be the only

part played by a professional actor.

He'll be cast later but tonight, the producer, Liam,

is reading the part of George Hudson.

Through the actions of others!

Even if he was what we might describe today as a crook,

he was a great entrepreneur.

He was described as the world's first capitalist,

for better or worse, but, you know,

his legacy is something we would not be without in this country.

We would not choose not to have it.

For a while, I had my hands on most of the railways in Britain,

-and that was most of the railways in the world.

-Let's face it, George.

-Those hands were not entirely clean.

-It wasn't just me.

'He was vilified.

'I mean, he ended up in York Jail with nothing,

'but he was instrumental in making sure

'the railways came through York.'

A bloated, vulgar, insolent,

purse-proud, greedy, drunken blaggard!

When the railway bubble burst,

the country lost something like 50% of its GDP. It was huge.

People were committing suicide, people were absolutely ruined.

It was massive.

Well done!

APPLAUSE

I don't know about other writers

but I always find the first read-through the scariest,

even more scary than the first night, really, when you hear it.

And actually, I think I'm ready for a pint now! A great sense of relief!

I thought it read pretty well, actually.

It was really exciting to hear it for the first time.

It was a bit scary in front of so many people to actually read

it through.

But the clincher, for me, is its professional infrastructure,

so all the direction and all the design and everything,

all the support, is professional and, indeed, George Hudson,

the leading role, will be played by a professional actor,

and he will set the bar for the rest of us.

Back at the theatre, the builders are bringing the house down.

They're up against a very tight deadline with the project due

to finish in time for the opening of the Christmas pantomime.

They've allowed time in the schedule for archaeological exploration.

And it's just as well.

You only have to put a spade in the ground in York

and you'll discover layers and layers of history.

York Archaeological Trust are already making finds among the dirt

and dust that lay under the stage.

We had a number of cigarette packets dating from sort of the 1920s

through to round about the 1940s, 1950s

and, yeah, lots of sequins as well.

But there are older, if less glamorous,

discoveries to be made, too, in what's becoming a rare opportunity.

A site like this is exciting, very exciting for us,

because finding a block of archaeology like this

that's never been disturbed is quite rare because

the buildings on St Leonard's Place and around the theatre,

most of them were built in the 18th and 19th century

and, so, a lot of them have very, very big cellars.

So they tend to cause a lot of disturbance.

They've removed a lot of... Especially the medieval archaeology.

And really, it is very much

the presence of the stage that has left this intact.

So what we're looking at here, really, are, I think,

the late 13th-century remains of a wall,

and then the very top part that you see that's brick

we think is probably one of the 19th-century theatre stage floors.

A more significant find, though,

and subsequent delays could put the lucrative pantomime in jeopardy.

There are certain things which just

remain outside our control,

things like whether there's asbestos there or whether

there's Richard III's brother under the floor or whoever it may be.

There may well be some things that just, you know,

will get in the way of our progress through the project.

In Fog And Falling Snow is calling on the time of hundreds

of backstage helpers.

In a disused shop in the centre of York,

some of those volunteers are using skill

and patience to turn cast-offs into authentic Victorian costumes.

They've got their work cut out.

And if it doesn't come from the costume store or

they can't afford to hire it in, then they'll make it.

We've got roughly 223 cast members.

Some of them need one or two costumes as well

so they've got quite a task on their hands, really.

It's a lot of donated things from my volunteers,

anything that could be modified or altered to make it look period

and make it look appropriate for the show.

Nice to be part of something.

I think, like a lot of people in York,

we got involved because of the Mystery Plays, which have been

done in staged versions since the Festival of Britain,

and also the Wagon Plays done by the guilds round the city.

And it's almost a subculture in York.

You become involved with the community that's putting

these things on.

We're very lucky to have a theatre like this

and I would be really sad if it went.

And obviously, with cuts and things,

the arts are the things that are going to go, so by us

all pulling together, hopefully,

we'll help to keep the theatre going.

In a lot of ways, the arts see themselves as, often,

a kind of add-on to people's lives.

We see our future as being as important as anything else.

I wouldn't go so far as as important as the NHS

but as important as anything else that gives your life

meaning and makes it well worth living.

20 years ago, about 50% of the theatre's income

came from the Arts Council and Government grants.

Today, that figure's nearer 20%.

It means they need a head for business as well as the arts

and the requirement to generate income is

one of the drivers of this new refurbishment.

The theatre is already very good at doing theatre.

The performances here are first-class, they always have been.

What we're currently doing here is more, shall we say,

surgeon's knife than butcher's cleaver but, actually,

what we're doing to the architecture is about making modifications

and interventions that begin to make the building work.

We're going to be glazing in the colonnade.

This has always been a covered space since Victorian times

and in Georgian times,

it was a walk-through to a garden that sat in this location.

The obligation of the foyer is to prepare you for the magic

that happens within the auditorium.

This space can then become more dedicated as a proper

restaurant and food offer.

So this will improve its commercial viability.

What we're trying to do is make them more resilient, make them more

sustainable, financially, long-term.

Some of the company are seasoned veterans

of previous community productions.

Others are taking the plunge for the first time.

The theatre welcomes anyone

who's willing to commit to a long schedule of rehearsals

and ready to rise to the challenge.

The majority of the people in the group are non-dancers

and a lot of whom this is their first experience of movement,

so yes, you know, it's a challenge but we've done...

Yeah, they've done really, really well.

So you go turn, beat, Mrs Hudson! And a big smile.

Did you see what that looks like? So turn, beat...

-CAST:

-Mrs Hudson!

And a big smile.

It's as important that we can bring out those that are finding it

harder to the same level of those who are already kind of,

you know, streets ahead.

And that's part of the joy of it, really, isn't it?

Cos you're getting people, you know, from so many different

sort of levels of experience coming together and working together.

Now panic and mayhem! And move! And move it! Keep it moving!

I've got no money! I can't pay you!

OK! OK! Thank you.

The youngest person we've got in the cast at the moment is six years old.

THEY SCREAM

'The oldest person, who's in the choir, is 92 years old.

'We will have people who are unemployed working alongside

'chief executives, nurses working alongside builders, you know.

'It is people from all walks of life.'

CLAPPING

Back at the theatre,

the archaeologists have made an exciting discovery.

Slap bang in the middle of the stalls, they've unearthed

the foundations of one of Europe's largest medieval hospitals.

We always knew we were on the site of St Leonard's Hospital

but we'd been led to believe

that the Victorians would have demolished all the foundations

when building this current configuration of the theatre.

And for the city of York, it's an untapped site.

We've never before had the opportunity to piece together

the hospital foundations in this way so it's a big surprise.

And it doesn't end there.

Historians have long believed that a Royal Mint had once been situated

in this area of York but there'd never been any real evidence.

Until now.

One of the things we have found are these little things,

which we think are for metalworking.

To find any tangible evidence that relates to the

processes inside the building is really special.

The archaeologists want to dig deeper, of course.

That'll mean major delays to the building work

and goodbye to any hope of opening for the theatre's ever popular panto.

What we've decided is to delay our opening.

So we've taken the decision now to move the pantomime to the

Signal Box Theatre at the National Railway Museum.

The theatre are hoping that the loyal panto audience will follow them

to the museum. The cast of In Fog And Falling Snow are already there.

Tonight, they are coming to grips with the logistics of simultaneously

performing scenes spread across the museum's enormous halls.

Come on. There's a lot of straggling going on here.

We're looking at some of the journeys that take place

between the six scenes of the first half of the play,

which are all set in the museum.

So we'll have six groups of audience which will

move between each of the scenes.

So we have end of a scene, you all go wild.

APPLAUSE

Deborah, who is our stage manager, will be timing lots of things!

That takes, you know, a minute to get everybody from there to there.

And those at the rear, just encourage everybody to move.

We have to take into account people who all move at slightly

different paces, so yeah, sort of logistics night tonight.

OK, that's great. So you now watch a fantastic scene.

It's got fights in it, drug dealing, all sorts.

APPLAUSE

And as the applause dies, off we go. Thank you very much.

And we're all here, Debs. That's fine. Anna?

Anna, you're proving to be one of the slowest! Now, come on!

Don't fall asleep. I said don't fall...

HE LAUGHS

The end of that scene happens and applause!

THEY CLAP

A lot of what we are keen to happen for people is how people see

the museum.

It's a very different way to experience what exists in here.

And also, you know, all those layers of history that

sit inside this building which is part of the celebration of it.

The National Railway Museum

and the Theatre Royal are building on a strong relationship.

It started with the production of The Railway Children,

which went on to international success.

And both organisations are looking forward to future projects together.

Complete excitement.

I mean, it's a fantastic opportunity to be working with a theatre company

on such a large scale theatrical collaboration.

The last thing I'm going to say is, there's no slowing down at the end.

It stays vibrant the whole way through, OK?

An interesting element, doing Fog And Falling Snow

is the story of George Hudson.

His history isn't told in anywhere near the same scale as other figures

such as George Stephenson, who also features in the play.

So the George Stephenson statue

is a dominant thing inside the great hall.

Currently, George Hudson's bust sits within the warehouse,

so in one way, bringing this play to the museum

enables us to rectify that situation.

Now, this is more like it, eh, Stephenson?

Not got a statue yet,

but I'm having my picture painted as the new Lord Mayor of York!

Professional actor George Costigan has joined the company.

We'll get a bit of a shift on, time being money,

and us living in the age of speed.

This theatre is more of a family

than any other theatre I've ever been in,

and it feels like coming home when I come to work here.

This picture's going up in Mansion House!

It'll smack them in the eye as they walk through the door.

They'll not miss that. I'll get copies made.

I'm more panicked than they are.

They all know it'll all come together. I don't!

Sir Francis, may I introduce you to my good lady wife, Elizabeth?

My daughter, Anne, and my brother-in-law

and business partner, Richard Nicholson.

I'm leaning all over them, going, "You sure?"

And they go, "Yeah, yeah, don't worry. It'll happen."

It is amazing to work with George,

and he's very giving as an actor.

You know, he doesn't patronise at all. He's very supportive.

But, you know, I do sometimes look at him

and, instead of just George who I'm doing a scene with,

I go, "Oh, my God! It's George off the telly!

"And he's, like, a real, proper actor!"

We will be at the top of the tallest of trees.

He's a wonderful, playful, fabulous actor.

He's always searching and unpicking,

so he's a really exciting force to have in the room.

And the day will come, you will see,

when we will welcome Her Majesty herself, Queen Victoria,

to dine with us at our table in York.

She will be borne to our table on one of our trains on our tracks,

and everyone will be invited to bear witness.

All those kind of traditional lines

between who you think of as professional,

who you think of as community or amateur,

those have been blurred, and we have really built something

very distinctive in York that we're really proud of.

The production qualities are really high,

and the outcome is incredibly impressive, but actually,

we use the resources of being able to have over 200 actors,

which you can never achieve in a solely professional theatre.

-Give me back my papers!

-Sod off!

-Pause...

In the carriage, this is the only thing that's happening in the world.

If you're having a conversation in there,

you're right in the line of sight.

I'm thinking, "Why are we bothering?"

You've got to be focused out this way.

This is the event that's taking place.

These men are terribly uncouth, but they're exciting. OK? Carry on.

The Signal Box Theatre,

in a tent straddling one of the museum's railway lines,

is slowly taking shape.

There aren't many theatres where you'll find the artistic director

carting timber, or the chief executive helping paint the foyer.

It's just ten days until the curtain goes up here...

If it's finished, of course.

We are building a 1,000-seat theatre as well as opening a show

at exactly the same time.

It makes it a really, erm, crazy idea

that we even thought we should or could do it!

But we'll get there. That's what we always do.

Dress rehearsals have already started,

even though they're still making the costumes.

It's a mammoth task.

Strangely, the men are more complicated than the women,

because they have trousers, shirt,

waistcoat, cravats, braces,

caps, hats, top hats, frock coats.

So they seem to have an awful lot more bits and pieces.

And you've got to find that

for every single person that's in the cast.

The rehearsals are finally over, and at last,

the show is opening to audiences.

It's been a great journey, and the reason it's flown past

is because we've all enjoyed it so much.

There'll be a few tears tonight, and it won't just be the teenage girls.

Over the months, the company has become very close,

and they're still buzzing with the excitement of performance.

The show is tested in front of friends

and, then, In Fog And Falling Snow opens with a two-week run.

Just enjoy it.

Your enjoyment, your energy, your enthusiasm, all of that

is what gives everybody a real sense

of the event and the occasion that we're a part of,

which is huge and will be beautiful.

The choir sounds fantastic, you all look amazing,

you perform brilliantly.

The set's stunning, the lighting's great.

It can't go wrong, it really can't.

-Right?

-LAUGHTER

-Shush!

-Oh, damn it!

I might say "Macbeth" in a minute.

-LAUGHTER AND CHEERS

-On you go.

As the audience gathers,

outside the museum, Ian Giles, playing George Stephenson,

prepares to make the sort of entrance few actors could dream of.

-Here I go!

-DRAMATIC MUSIC

Welcome to the National Railway Museum!

This magnificent hall celebrates the story of the railways

and the beautiful locomotives which travelled on them.

I give you the Rocket.

The real start of it all.

12 miles in 53 minutes. Think of that!

This was the dawn of the age of the railway.

And from this humble beginning

sprang a network which spread over the entire world.

The audiences seem to enjoy the novelty and ambition

of the first act, set amongst the museum's incredible collection.

It's an intriguing taster for what will follow

in the specially constructed theatre.

Even by the interval, it's getting rave reviews.

It was fantastic.

Totally different, new, exciting, yeah. Really good.

To be sitting in amongst all those gorgeous,

huge machines from the Victorian age - fabulous.

I think it's wonderful, because it brings the people into what can

sometimes be a static display

of large, metallic objects, if you like.

And the people bring out the stories,

and that's what it's really all about.

CHEERING

People love theatre. That's the great thing about the word amateur -

someone who does something

because they love it, not because they're paid to do it,

and that's what I think is the great strength of a company like this.

How am I going to drive without you?

They'll give you another boiler.

Oh, aye, they'll give me another boiler,

but not one who calls out the signals and watches the tracks.

Think about it!

It's thick as a bog out there. And it's freezing.

It'll be snowing by dinner time. There'll be men with two good eyes

-praying they don't have to drive today.

-You'll be all right, Da!

I'll be out there, on the blood, not seeing six feet down the line.

There's a real culture in London

of thinking that the talent is all there, and it's not.

The talent is all over the country,

'and shows like this really give people a chance

'to show what you can do and what you can achieve.

'I'm not sure a show like this could have been done in London.

'That's how good it is.'

And that passion for theatre runs high with everybody here.

The National Theatre, and I'm going to try not to compare how much money

the National Theatre gets with how much the theatre in York gets,

that money should be distributed,

and the National Theatre should be in the nation,

not parked on the South Bank for the convenience

of the well-off and well-to-do in London.

It should be in Doncaster...

for instance.

Society has the politics of the farmyard, George.

Bonkers.

You could probably run a season at York Theatre Royal

on what the National spend on costumes and wigs in a year.

-They're not like us down there.

-They are when they're drunk!

Time for a few parties, I'm thinking. Cheers!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

And suddenly, the show is just a memory,

with the cast taking the final curtain call

on their very last night as a company.

THEY SING

You can hear them all having so much fun. They're so happy!

I've learned so much from this. I really, really have.

It's been...great.

Oh, it was brilliant. It was absolutely amazing.

Elated. I think there's a real sense of elation

about what can be achieved when you put your minds to it,

as a group of people, what you can actually achieve.

11 weeks later,

and the date the theatre was originally scheduled for completion.

The curtain's now due to go up at the York Theatre Royal early next year.

The latest scene change in the theatre's slow,

but dramatic evolution.

It's exciting on one hand. It's also...

It's tinged with a kind of melancholia,

because it's about a building that myself

and a lot of the team have spent many happy years in,

knowing it and understanding it on its terms.

I think what we're doing is respectful.

I think it's the right thing to do, and I think the energy

and the enthusiasm for the new building will be a great thing

for us to trade on over the next two years,

so that people really get the opportunity

to take ownership of this theatre once again as theirs.