At a time when travel was difficult if not downright impossible, York Theatre Royal bravely set out on a journey of discovery. The trip took them – and audiences – around the world in not so much 80 days as two hours.
Planning this world tour started back in 2021 during the covid years and the show has been on the road for much of the time ever since. Now it’s a case of “Roll up, roll up…” again as the theatre is transformed into a big top this summer for a fresh production of Around the World in 80 Days-ish. More about the ‘ish’ later.
The revival has come about after Creative Director Juliet Forster realised that local theatre audiences previously had little chance to see the show. The original production was staged outdoors on playing fields around the city in Covid times when people were unable to mix indoors. Only a handful of performances were staged in the theatre itself.
Then a few York Theatre Royal performances were staged to kick off a tour of the show (produced by Tilted Wig) which travelled the length and breadth of the country for six months in 2023. Now the show – with its third cast – returns home to give York audiences a chance to see what the rest of the country already has.
Juliet Forster once again directs the show with her adapting Jules Verne’s classic novel, partly because she didn’t really like previous adaptations as she felt they were outdated in their attitudes.
The show is set in the circus where a band of performers attempt to tell the story of Phileas Fogg and his race around the world for a bet. That’s the Jules Verne story. Juliet’s twist is to interweave this fictional journey with that of real-life newspaper reporter Nellie Bly who made the world trip but remains mostly forgotten.
Stage designer Sara Perks returns to adapt her big top set. The set is getting a facelift and being adapted to enable more interaction with the audience through the addition of ramps, terraces in front of the stage and cushions to encourage children to sit near the action of the show.
The ingenious set has quick-change areas hidden from the audience, and a multitude of accessories including a trap door, tents, a trick bike, cage, a seesaw (and a signpost that some may recognise from the Travelling Pantomime. Oh, and lots of Astroturf too.
Sara’s designs extend to the outdoor patio where a pre-show circus school will introduce children to the tricks of the circus trade. The theatre frontage will get a makeover to give it a big top look.
And in case you’re wondering about the ‘ish’ that has appeared in the title, that goes back to Nellie Bly’s world trip. She circumnavigated the globe in 72 days, unlike the fictional Phileas Fogg who took 80!
Written by Steve Pratt
Around the World in 80 Days-ish can be seen at York Theatre Royal from 18 Jul to 03 Aug. Box office 01904 623568 | yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
