This August Harrogate Youth Theatre will bring some familiar characters to the stage at Harrogate Theatre as part of a new adaptation of the Robin Hood story, ‘Who Shot The Sheriff? – A Tale of Robin Hood & Maid Marian’.
The 12-18 year olds will be working from a script commissioned from York-based performance poet, theatre-maker and playwright Henry Raby, a Youth Theatre graduate himself.
This is the first time Harrogate Youth Theatre has commissioned a writer for a summer show.
Writer Raby tells us a bit about his interpretation of the Robin Hood tale:
My version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men are more merry kids. They are still teenagers, played by members of Harrogate Theatre Youth Theatre. To that end, they have the energy and bravery of young people.
They are told they are dirty, rude and intolerable. They get told off, caught and are fought.
Who Shot The Sheriff is a bit farcical, a bit slapstick, a bit manic…… a summer show of swords and swordplay.
This year’s production will also feature a familiar face from the annual pantomime – Harrogate’s very own panto celebrity, Tim Stedman. Tim has played the star role in the Harrogate Theatre Christmas production for 15-years, including characters such as Wishee Washee in Aladdin, Buttons in Cinderella and Silly Sidney in Sleeping Beauty.However this is a different kind of role for Tim, as we get to see his darker side as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.
The play will be directed by Phil Lowe, who co-writes and directs the highly acclaimed Christmas pantomime at Harrogate Theatre and who also directed The BFG and The Witches with Youth Theatre in previous years.
Who Shot The Sheriff will run at Harrogate Theatre from Thursday 6th to Saturday 8th August.
Tickets can be booked securely online at www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk or through the Harrogate Theatre Box Office on 01423 502116.
