This workshop is part of a postgraduate research project focused on immersive and interactive theatre which invites its audience to play a role. The aim of this workshop is to have fun playing different characters and creating stories collaboratively with other players. In the workshop, you will be playing the same game three times, each with slight variations, culminating in a chaotic display of roleplaying. At the end of the workshop, we will have an informal discussion about the games we played and your experiences of playing them.

Please be aware that this workshop is part of a research project, meaning that, subject to your consent, anonymous data will be collected from your involvement in the form of video recordings. You will not be named in any research outputs. Full information will be provided on the day, and the researcher will be available to answer any questions or queries.

Toni, Thomas and Isobel all want to keep their jobs, but only two of them can. What begins as a professional discussion quickly becomes a calculated act of exclusion. Alliances shift, and civility gives way to cruelty. In this office, survival depends on who you are willing to destroy.

 In a drug trial, participants Connie and Tristan fall in love. But are their feelings a consequence of the new antidepressant they are taking? As the relationship between Connie and Tristan grows more intense, doctors Lorna and Toby begin to fear for their safety. They clash over how best to handle the situation, which is spiralling out of control. The Effect is a play about connection, mental health and whether we should listen to reason or follow our desires.

Shakers Restirred is a fast-paced, unique comedy - a cocktail of witty dialogue, topped off with hilarious caricatures familiar to your everyday life. This play follows the night of four cocktail waitresses. While they’ll have you falling off your chair from their cracking impressions of the people they’re serving, you’ll also be grappling with the challenges they have to face with underlying topics of being a working woman, as well as the social immobility of the 80’s (and now). 

Originally set in the 1980s,s this is a unique, restirrred version by Hull's very own John Godber and Jane Thornton revisiting their world inspired by the late 80s/early 90s, published in 2002. Come and see inside the minds of these four women to see the ludicrous world that is set against them from the start.

 A desperate voicemail, a box of razor blades, and a packet of henna: Judith isn’t sure if she’s going to change her luck or end it all. Oh, and she might be pregnant.

When Judith leaves a spiralling message on her ex-boyfriend’s machine, she expects a rescue, or at least a reaction, from him. Instead, it’s Ros, his new partner, who intercepts the cry for help and arrives at Judith’s bedsit.

What follows is an evening of emotion, sharp wit, and unexpected vulnerability. Can these two women move past their rivalry to find a common ground in the most unlikely of circumstances?

Firefly X Scratch is a collection of performances from new artists presenting new works. This will be an opportunity to see works shown for the first time, give feedback, and come together to celebrate new work.

Imprisoned in an abandoned warehouse, a desperate group of failing actors is trapped in a dark experiment. 

After months of endlessly rehearsing George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion with no director to guide them, some of the ensemble have disappeared, leaving the others paranoid and subservient. Sleep-deprived and half-starved, their fragile social bonds shatter and implode as a stranger breaks in and incites them to rebel.

“The clowns come on, get the biggest, juiciest laughs, and then leave.” — Roger Bart

In this workshop, you will be guided through a whistle-stop tour of all things clown by theatre-maker Katie Leckey and actor/comedian Jimmy Johnson from local theatre company Griffonage Theatre. You will have the chance to explore physical comedy and slapstick, the art of the double act and learn how to develop your own clown character.

Next Door But One are an award-winning LGBTQ+ and Disabled-led theatre company in York, centring co-production and community at its heart. This workshop will be run by the company's CEO and Artistic Director, Matt Harper-Hardcastle, unpacking his approach to making and touring theatre for children and adults that has community voice within its creation and how those lived experiences can be represented on stage.

The workshop will include practical exercises on how NDB1's productions are shaped, as well as looking at the logistical and ethical considerations around this work. Matt will be exploring this through the company's past productions of Hospital Doors and When Robins Appear to bring this to life. So if you are interested in co-created work, with and for different communities, this is the workshop for you! 

There will also be a Q&A section of the workshop, so do bring your ideas and questions for this part too. 

New Writing Showcase is an event that celebrates a collection of scenes and short extracts from our Third Year Theatre students. Join us for a night of wine, acted out performances, readings from the writers and conversation as we exhibit brand new writing that has never been seen before. 

Are you a theatre maker considering postgraduate study? Want to know more about the MA/MFA Production (Design/ Management) at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?

Ros Maddison (Head of Production) and Christoph Wagner (Programme Manager & Lighting Lecturer) will be sharing information about the programme and talking about studying in Glasgow. 

If you are a designer, whether that’s set and costume, lighting or sound, or if you are a stage or production manager, come and find out about how you could develop your skills towards making work that matters. Matters to the environment, matters to others and matters to you.

As the programme is delivered alongside the MA/MFA Classical and Contemporary Text (Acting/ Directing), Ros and Christoph will also be happy to answer questions about this and any other aspect of Conservatoire life.

Are you a young theatre maker looking for support in furthering your practice in York? Come see two of York’s leading theatres and hear how they support young practitioners as they step into the arts.

Theatre@41 is York’s leading independent theatre. Alongside our curated program of some of the most exciting professional touring work, we house productions by York’s vibrant community theatre sector. Supporting professional artists is central to our vision and we do this through bespoke support, affordable rehearsal and performance spaces, tailored events and co-producing.

 Futureproof is a YTR paid opportunity for ten people aged 18-26, to learn about arts leadership and arts advocacy,  whilst challenging us as an organisation and contributing ideas as to how we futureproof ourselves