Rejoicing in Ripon: Two different starters as curtain lifts on Ripon’s feast of live entertainment

🎭✨ The countdown is on for Ripon’s fabulous Theatre Festival, which begins its milestone fifth season this coming weekend and will continue until July 12.

As well as extending the number of free‑to‑watch and ticketed performances that can be enjoyed at indoor and outdoor locations across the city, the festival is providing a platform for original new plays that will each act as curtain raisers to this year’s theatrical feast 🍽️

Folklore tales from the riverbank 🌊📜

Tributaries, a play written and directed by Phillip Harrison and Mark Cronfield of Fell‑Foss Theatre, features the River Ure and takes its inspiration from the work of Thomas Maude, an 18th‑century poet and former steward of the Bolton estate, who wrote an epic poem about Wensleydale.

On Saturday (July 4) at 4.30pm and 7.30pm, the highly talented actors and singers who make up Ripon Museums’ Workhouse Theatre Group will take centre stage in the Workhouse Gardens where the entry fee is £5 for each performance 🎶

Mark told Tim Flanagan of the Rejoicing in Ripon blog: “We were approached by Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust and asked to create a community theatre piece based on the River Ure to be performed at both ends of the dale.

“Thanks to the help of a volunteer at the Dales Countryside Museum, we learnt about Thomas Maude’s remarkable poem.”

He added: “We decided to follow Maude’s journey as he composed his work, searching for the Ure’s source and the spirit of the river.

“In following the poet’s journey, we take in some well‑known stories and folklore of Wensleydale and explore the river as a metaphor for life and time.”

Stigmatisation from medieval to modern times 🕯️⏳

From 1.30pm on Sunday (July 5), starting at the Leper Chapel on Magdalen’s Road and concluding at the Arts Hub on Allhallowgate, the audience will have two venues for the preview discussion and premiere of Outcast, a powerful and thought‑provoking play written by Andy Croft and Paul Mills. The entry fee covering both locations is £10.

Set in a little‑known period of the Middle Ages among a group of lepers living on the margins of society, played by members of the Out of Character theatre group, the play is rooted in history going back to the 12th century when the Chapel of St Mary Magdalen served as a leper hospital caring for soldiers returning from The Crusades with highly infectious diseases ⚔️

The themes the play explores are strikingly relevant today.

Andy pointed out: “Seeing a group of characters who existed only in my head then brought to life on stage is quite an experience and in the performances you can see how the actors turn the clock back to relate to the situations similar to those found centuries ago.”

Out of Character artistic director Kate Veysey added: “Issues in the play including social stigma resonate greatly with our work as a theatre company where members access mental health support.

“They have already had many interesting conversations in rehearsals about links to their life experiences and wider events where there is fear in a community, such as that caused by the Covid pandemic.”

The writers are well known for their poetry, publishing and work in the theatre.

Paul has published six poetry collections, including Nomad (2021). He is the author of two books on creative writing and has also written two verse dramas, performed at the National Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Founder of Smokestack Books, Andy has delivered community writing projects in schools, prisons and other community settings. He’s run poetry festivals (including Ripon Poetry Festival) and from 2004–22 wrote a monthly poetry column in the Morning Star. He has had Writing Residencies at Hartlepool Headland, the Great North Run, the Southwell Poetry Festival and the Combe Down Stone Mines Project.

Kate Veysey has been artistic director of Out of Character since March 2022. Previously she was Youth Theatre Director at York Theatre Royal for 13 years before becoming a freelance.

The Arts Hub performance of Outcast will be preceded by the introductory event hosted by Paul and Andy at the Leper Chapel on Magdalen’s Road, and audience members will have the opportunity to share their thoughts 💬

Ripon Theatre Festival director Katie Scott said: “Tributaries and Outcast are two completely different types of play, marking our commitment to nurturing new writing for the festival, exploring local stories and creating professional opportunities for artists across Yorkshire and the North East.”

Lilla Bathurst, manager of Ripon BID, pointed out: “In its fifth fantastic year, with a packed programme of mouthwatering delights for people of all ages, the festival has become firmly established on the cultural calendar for the city, county and region, attracting visitors and performers from far and near.” 🌟

For further details about festival events and ticket availability go to ripontheatrefestival.org 🎟️

The Leper Chapel on Magdalen’s Road provided inspiration for Outcast written by Paul Mills and Andy Croft.

By coincidence, the River Ure, which features in Tributaries written by Mark Cronfield and Phillip Harrison, is in close proximity to the chapel.