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THE YORK REALIST 'John'
OTHER CAST Lloyd Owen - George Ian Mercer - Arthur Wendy Nottingham - Doreen Felix Bell - Jack Caroline O'Neill - Barbara Anne Reid - Mother (George's)	PRODUCTION CREDITS Director : Peter Gill Artistic Director: Stephen Unwin Lighting Designer : Hartley T A Kemp Designer : William Dudley Composer : Terry Davies Company: The English Touring Theatre	Click here to visit the English Touring Theatre's website
ADDITIONAL INFO: 'The York Realist' is set in York in the early 1960s. At the heart is a love story between the middle class Londoner John, who's come to York to work as Assistant Director on a staging of the York Mystery plays, and the working class George, who's acting in it. John wants George to leave York and his family behind and move to London with him, where he is working in the theatre, quite possibly the Royal Court. In George's decision not to go, Peter Gill [writer] makes us think deeply about the depth of English class allegiances, the complex relationship between London and the 'regions', and the origins and ownership of art itself. Extracted from www.englishtouringtheatre.co.uk written by Stephen Unwin TOUR DATES: The Lowry, Salford Quays : 15th-17th November 2001 Bristol Old Vic : 20th-24th November 2001 Royal Court Theatre, London : 6th January - 9th February 2002 and then transferred to... The Strand Theatre, London: 9th March - 20th April 2002 SCRIPT: A book of Peter Gill's script is available for purchase for those unable to attend the performances. It can be ordered directly from The Royal Court Theatre bookstore for the incredibly minimal sum of £2.50 (including P&P in the UK only). Go to the Royal Courts website for more details. THEATRE FLYER: Flyer produced by the English Touring Theatre STRAND PROMO IMAGE: REVIEW: Taken from BBC Manchester website : Review by Chris Long : The York Realist at The Lowry, Salford Quays Excellent theatre is a delicate balancing act, where no actor must outdo another on stage and the script should test but not lose it's audience. The English Touring Theatre production of Peter Gill's new play, The York Realist, manages it with seemingly effortless ease. It's a tender story of a complex love that crosses backgrounds and social boundaries, set in an early 60's rural village outside York, juxtaposing Richard Coyle's John, a middle class assistant theatre director from London, with Lloyd Owen's George, a working class farm labourer, as they struggle with their relationship. Backed by a strong cast, with Anne Reid as George's mother being particularly good, the lead pair delivered an emotional and exciting performance that delved straight to the heart of the conflicts that exist between lovers from different classes. Together, they live in an almost idyllic world where George's disarming ease with his sexuality takes away John's fear of being caught (this is, after all, the early 60's, when gay men could still be jailed), but when John has to leave the rural idyll to return to his life in London, his request that George comes with him rears up the differences between them. Gill has captured the divides between the classes very well. Where John thinks George should give up his farm life and pursue his obvious acting talent in London, George sees a different way, happily shackled to his mother's home by his self admitted lack of ambition. What is left is a desolate gap which neither can bridge, despite their love. Had Owen and Coyle been on an unequal footing, this could have been a good idea unrealised, but they are the perfect foil for each other, creating the aching longing and unbudging stubbornness of John and George brilliantly. A play of gentle everyday humour and honest anguish, The York Realist is a real must-see, especially to witness the electricity between the leading pair.
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