Twenty years ago, The School of Night made its first appearance, at Shakespeare's Globe in London.

Since then, its unique blend of literary improvisation has been seen all over the UK (National Theatre, British Library, Hay, Latitude and Edinburgh festivals) and beyond (in the US, Malaysia and all over Europe) as well as appearing on many radio shows, including BBC Radio's The Verb.

They are delighted to be making their debut at The Georgian Theatre Royal, to perform new works by Shakespeare and others summoned from thin air! Imagine if making stuff up was just more fun than writing it down...

* * * * “Uproarious, intelligent, laugh-a-minute fare” The Telegraph

* * * * “Fearsomely able improvisers” The Financial Times

“Chin Music” has two meanings. One is idle talk. The other is a brushback throw in baseball or cricket to intimidate the batter. Both describe Rich Hall’s comedy. Idle but intimidating. Sharp, quick, splenetic, and sublimely improvisational. If you’ve never seen him, you need to hustle down to your local venue and grab a seat because he never disappoints. Ever.

STRICTLY 14+ Likely to be swearing and adult content.

Presented by AKA Theatre Company

On Boxing Day 2015, the small Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge experienced the worst floods in a century. But, as the town submerged a community emerged, working together to rebuild their sodden town.

Honest and touching with a dash of Northern humour, The Flood is a love letter to a town that refused to give in to the volatility of nature.

Performed by a team of multi-rolling actor musicians, representing the diverse, yet passionate, members of Hebden Bridge’s community, interweaving dozens of personal stories taken from every corner of the town.

As the shipping forecast embarks on its second century, bestselling author and award-winning broadcaster Charlie Connelly’s hilarious and informative show brings the quirky broadcast vividly to life, celebrating what he regards as the greatest invention of the modern age.

How did a weather forecast for ships capture the hearts of a nation, from salty old sea dog to insomniac landlubber? How is it possible for ‘rain later’ to be ‘good’? And where the hell is North Utsire?

Inspired by Charlie’s bestselling book, this pacy, moving and hilarious show takes you all the way from Viking to South-East Iceland to ensure the shipping forecast will never sound the same again.

Charting the meteoric rise of Rock and Roll, let the UK’s most authentic vintage band take you on a thrilling tour through music’s most revolutionary decades. Prepare to be enthralled with an evening of back-to-back hits, vibrant vintage costumes, colourful staging and plenty of singing along!

The Bluejays’ captivating production features hits from the likes of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, The Beatles, Little Richard, Roy Orbison, The Beach Boys and many more.

This exciting young band will transport you back to the fabulous 50s and swinging 60s in stunningly authentic style.

Presented by STEPPS Theatre Group

From the creators of last year’s production Remember, STEPPS Theatre Group presents a new comedy set in a busy NHS A&E on Saturday night.

Meet Patience Wright, an experienced receptionist with a no-nonsense attitude, as she and her colleagues tackle eccentric old ladies, emotional young mothers, and a host of emergencies. Packed with humour and relatable moments, this show will have you laughing out loud while capturing the mayhem of an A&E department.

Don’t miss this entertaining production that’s sure to resonate with anyone who’s spent time in a hospital waiting room!

This is a double bill of two shows.

Aaaachoo! by Aimee Shields

Performed by the Junior Acting Group

Mr and Mrs Hogg's house is too full, with three children under their roof and a constant stream of friends visiting. They think it's time for their children to move out and find places of their own but when Winn Wolf and Sam Skunk offer their help, will they be able to look beyond appearances?

Groove Around The Globe by Aimee Shields

Performed by the Junior Musical Theatre Group

Books have a wonderful power to transport us to wherever we'd like, even when we have to stay inside to stay safe. The right book could take us to the scorching desert, the North Pole or all the way to the bottom of the sea. Join us on a musical journey around the world and back again.

Presented by Our Star Theatre Company

A thrilling sequel to The 39 Steps, Hannay Stands Fast sees our dashing hero, Richard Hannay, back in the fray on a mission to thwart a new and deadly threat to his beloved England.

Engaged on this top-secret case by MI5, Hannay makes his way down to Cornwall to infiltrate a secretive organisation and learn their dastardly plans. Can he save the day to keep the nation safe for another day?

Hannay Stands Fast, like its predecessor, is taken on by four actors playing dozens of characters – 53 to be precise! - set in various locations created through quick and innovative uses of trunks, crates, suitcases, ladders, you name it! A rip-roaring comedy for the whole family to enjoy, this is another of John Buchan’s classic Hannay stories, re-told for the stage through laughs, derring-do and utter chaos!

Step into the enchanted world of Broadway's classic, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, an international sensation that has been produced in 37 countries worldwide.

Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the stage version includes all of the wonderful songs written by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman, along with new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. The original Broadway production was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Presented by Richmond Operatic Society by arrangement with Music Theatre International.

Recommended 6+

(Under 3's No Admission).

In the Kingdom of Rumours lives Princess Suzanna the Golden. She is rich and famous but she’s not happy. Melo, the magical mysterious musician, may be the only one who is able to help...

A magical, funny and thought-provoking theatrical performance using carved wooden puppets, shadows and original music, presented by puppetry wizards Liz and Daniel Lempen.

A delight for everyone from 5 years old to 105 years young.

This show is part of the Swaledale Festival. Tickets are only available from The Georgian Theatre Royal.

“An epic, bizarre and strangely moving exploration of AI and apocalypse” - The Stage ★★★★

In this compelling piece of theatre, four damaged AI entities do battle in a cuboid trap. These are The Diviners. In their fragmented state they explore a nether world between the lines of stories and through unheard harmonics of music. Is this where the truth really lies?

An electrifying and strangely topical story which plays out in an imaginary world not so far from our own.

 “This is a piece of theatre which has already wormed its way into my brain” - Salterton Arts Review

“Thoughtful, funny, romantic and philosophical…what may happen if AI is left to run without human intervention or guidance?” - TheReviewsHub

Recommended for age 14 and over.

Presented by Clap Trap Theatre in association with York Theatre Royal and featuring Thomas Frere, Cal Stocksbridge and Dominic Goodwin.

When it comes to scattering their mother’s ashes, three siblings are hit with a bombshell revelation that turns their world upside down.

This remarkable play by BAFTA-nominated Tom Needham is based on the very simple premise that ‘it’s not what you say, it’s the way that you say it’.The first act is a full-blown, larger than life comedy. Then, after the interval, the actors swap characters and it’s repeated as a serious drama.

The difference between the two acts is astonishing.

How can the same story, performed by the same actors, saying the same words be so different? There is only one way to find out…

This is a double bill of shows presented by The Georgian Theatre Royal Youth Theatre

How To Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play

by Don Zolidis,

Performed by the Tuesday Middles Acting Group.

Shakespeare's plays are famous for many things; fools, magic and existential conversations with skulls among them. They are most famous, however, for all the grisly deaths. Join the Tuesday Middles for a comedic exploration of how you or I could survive if we ever ended up in the world of verse and prose.

The Playhouse

by Kristen Doherty,

performed by the Saturday Middle Acting Group.

Some school trips are brilliant, you spend a day avoiding Maths and laughing with your mates. Others are a boring waste of time and you'd rather be doing PE. What happens if your friend triggers a magic portal and you spend your day in an Elizabethan theatre instead?  

Presented by History Wardrobe

Doing dishes and dodging doodlebugs... what was everyday life like for women of World War Two?

In Housewife At War, the two Lucys of History Wardrobe journey back to the forties to discover what their grandmothers were up to - from home-baking and tea-making, to war work in uniform.

This fascinating new presentation features fabulous fashions, from Utility clothes to the New Look. But behind the aprons and rank badges, and after VE Day celebrations, there are secrets to uncover and mysteries to solve…

Photo credit: Jamie Sproates Photography

In 2009, Christian Garrick established the refreshingly unconventional and snappily attired Budapest Café Orchestra.

Their aim is to present a broad range of music from all over the world in the most entertaining and fun way possible! They take their music very seriously but not so much themselves. All the music is performed by memory and delivered with their trademark wit and charm.

With Christian Garrick on violin and darbuka; Eddie Hesson on accordion; Kelly Cantlon on double bass; and Adrian Zolotuhn on guitar, saz, balalaika and dorma, the Budapest Café Orchestra are frequent guests on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Martin’s Handley’s weekend Breakfast programmes.

“Absolutely acoustically electrifying!”  Time Out

This is a double bill presented by The Georgian Theatre Royal Youth Theatre

The Ladies

by Aimee Shields and the Company,

Performed by the Tuesday Senior Acting Class

There are only a few magical spaces with their own set of rules and the Ladies' toilet is one of them. It's a special world where all kinds of people interact, conversations are secret and you can truly be yourself. The Tuesday Senior class devised this piece as a response to the everyday sexism they experience and would love to invite you into this private space.

A Spooky Play That Goes Wrong

By the Company

 Performed by the Saturday Senior Acting Class.

When Arthur and Alfred are summoned to exorcise the house of much-loved relatives, they don't expect to have to deal with real spooks and spirits of all sorts. This spoof comedy uses Brechtian techniques to explore love, responsibility and the challenges of the underworld. You'll never have seen anything quite like this before.

Tickets £18 (Includes £1 restoration levy)

Snake Davis and Gareth Moulton team up for an evening of gorgeous mellow music infused with pop, rock, jazz and soul.

Snake Davis is one of the most in-demand rock jazz and soul sax players in the world, widely known for his solos on tracks such as Lisa Stansfield’s Change, M-People’s Search for the Hero and Moving on Up and Take That’s A Million Love Songs.  He has played and recorded with artists including James Brown, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, The Eurythmics and Amy Winehouse.

Manchester born singer-songwriter-guitarist Gareth Moulton is Snake’s long-time friend and collaborator in the Classic Sax Solos project and Heather Small Band. Gareth also sings and plays for Cutting Crew and Wang Chung and has recorded and toured with Go West, Nik Kershaw, Jim Diamond, Paul Young, Chaka Khan and more.

The Room Where It Happened

by Aimee Shields and The Company

Performed by the Middle and Senior Musical Theatre Classes

The year is 2021 and the students of Rainton School are finally returning to in-person classes after months of isolation during the pandemic. Beloved Drama Teacher Mrs Wood retired whilst school was closed and the Drama Group are tasked with clearing out the costume cupboard before the new recruit can start next week. Despite the protests from the Head Girl, the thespians can't resist reliving their stagey memories.  

Presented by Dyad Productions

The award-winning Dyad Productions (Lady Susan, That Knave, Raleigh, Christmas Gothic, I, Elizabeth, Female Gothic, A Christmas Carol and Austen’s Women) return with a twenty-first century take on Virginia Woolf’s blisteringly brilliant pre-TED talk.

Take a wry, amusing, and incisive trip through the history of literature, feminism, and gender. Meet Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Aphra Behn, and Shakespeare’s sister – Judith! Introducing a different way to look at our creativity, it even comments on what life will be like in the 2020s! Come and be amused, challenged and changed.

Rebecca Vaughan performs Woolf’s 1928 exploration of the impact of poverty and sexual inequality on intellectual freedom and creativity.

‘If you haven’t seen Dyad Productions’ work before, you simply must’ (British Theatre Guide)

‘Some of the most electrifying character work available, up to and including Berkoff’ (Fringe Review)

‘Towering… luscious… assured… rich’ (The Scotsman)

THREE WEEKS Cumulative Body of Work Award-Winners, 2018

★★★★★ ‘Intelligently adapted, beautifully performed... entrancing’ (British Theatre Guide)

★★★★★ ’Richly re-imagined, exquisitely evocative' (Edinburgh Guide)

★★★★★ ‘Pure brilliant theatre.' (TV Bomb)

‘Perfection… Vaughan is simply sublime’ (Huffington Post)

It began as a sudden strange fancy… Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time…

 And now she’s enlisted in the army, and is searching for her lost brother. But there’s a war on and whatever anyone says, their side’s coming off worse. Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them.

All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army, a vampire with a lust for coffee and a readiness to fight dirty. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of… the Monstrous Regiment.

Adapted from the Discworld novel by Pratchett’s long-time collaborator Stephen Briggs, RADS invite you to ride along on the tide of his outlandish invention…

Presented by Richmond Amateur Dramatic Society and directed by Charles Lambert. Adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs.

Cinderella

Polish your glass slippers and get ready for a sparkling adventure as we proudly announce our next pantomime: Cinderella! Running from 2 December 2025 to 4 January 2026, this much-loved fairytale promises to enchant audiences of all ages.

Join us as we tell the timeless story of Cinderella, her wicked stepmother, a magical fairy godmother, and a dash from the ball before the clock strikes midnight. But this is Richmond, so you can expect so much more!

Our legendary pantomime will be packed with all your favourite ingredients. There will be side-splitting comedy and toe-tapping songs, along with our famous panto knitting to keep you in stitches. Expect the iconic Tunnock’s treats woven into the fun and plenty of laughs and surprises along the way.

Don’t miss the chance to experience the magic and mayhem that makes our pantomime the highlight of the festive season.

The 2024 hit Treasure Island - our most successful pantomime yet - sold out very early so book your tickets for Cinderella now to avoid being late for the ball!