A compelling theatrical rendition of York's past

Published in The Press, York, June 24th 2011

Bringing History to Memorable Life

A DRAMATISATION of the past deserves a historic and atmospheric setting. For Hidden Voices, put on by the ReStage Company, the ancient and beautiful Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, effortlessly provided that intensity for the production's inaugural performance on Thursday night. Written and directed by Chris Green, Hidden Voices, showing tonight and Saturday night, recounts a thousand years of York history, episodically charting everything from ninth-century Danish heroism to the fanatical moralising of Puritan England. Like the similar 1539, staged recently at Durham Cathedral, Hidden Voices fully engages the audience, as spectators follow the cast around the Church, and, with them, the strands of narrative re-created.

The melancholic strings of Arvo Pärt's Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten (1977) are an evocative background to Christina of Markyate's (Christina Cairn) opening monologue on the Trinity, the medieval abbess's words appropriate to both venue and theme. Twenty-three scenes then convey ten centuries of religious fervour, impassioned devotion, and, finally, a return to the modern day.

Characters range from the well-known - St Augustine (Tom Straszewski) and Julian of Norwich (Cairn) to those locally significant - heretic Christopher Kelke (Chris Green) and the wife (Janice Lowther-Newton) of Reverend John Walker, supervising the design and execution of the fifteenth-century East Window. That the play is as much a biography of the building in which it is performed as it is the story of a city, gives the events an added pertinence, stressing spectator involvement rather than mere passivity.

We see certain of the actors taking on multiple roles, and especially impressive is the versatility with which they traverse the serious and the dead-pan. Chris Green, in particular, stands out for his seamless shift from the craftsman who turns window symbolism into Art History 101 for a bamboozled vicar's spouse to the blood and thunder Stuart priest pontificating from the pulpit. An early scene, 'Purgatory', sees Dante meet Monty Python in a wonderfully surreal evocation of how excess in life means punishment in death - Tom Straszewski and Chris Green are clearly having great fun as they clash over Robert de Holmes' miserly benefaction of three shillings and four pence to a profligate son. Perhaps the standout performance comes from Christina Cairn as Markyate, her relationship with God a powerful reminder of medieval faith and deftly communicated by Cairns' hard-hitting commitment to her character.

A superb production informed by rare insights into York's past, combined with impeccable performances and a setting central to the stories memorably told.

Performances begin at 7.30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.restage.org.uk/ , or on the door for £8.