York St John University students are taking over York Theatre Royal – in a week-long arts festival.
The TakeOver Festival is back for 2024, where eight student production companies will tread the boards alongside established acts from Monday 13 to Saturday 18 May.
The festival aims to give young people the opportunity to gain valuable real-life work experience with support and mentoring from industry professionals.
This is the festival’s twelfth year, and the fourth year where its run exclusively by students from York St John.
Performances from York St John students include:
- Final Girls, a multimedia performance set in a forest, where a group of unlikely friends try to survive against an unknown entity. Tue 14 May, 12pm.
- The Women of Whitechapel by Misery Loves, a musical exploring the lives of the five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper. Wed 15 May, 11am.
- Our Fault, Never Their Fault by Blushed, a short musical that takes you on a journey following the two main characters, Zoe and Kara, as they experience the journey of becoming a woman. Wed 15 May, 12pm.
More festival highlights are:
- Locomotive for Murder, an improvised whodunnit using audience suggestions, performed by the Pinch Punch theatre company. Wed 15 May, 7:30pm.
- Hollie McNish, the Sunday Times bestselling writer, reading from her new book, ‘Lobster: and other things I’m learning to love’. Thu 16 May, 7:30pm.
- The Real Manhunter Live!, with retired Metropolitan Police Murder Squad detective Colin Sutton, presenter of the true crime documentary series on Sky Crime. Fri 17 May, 7:30pm.
Dr Sarah O’Brien, associate head for performance in the School of Arts at York St John University, said, “This will be the fourth year where our students have taken complete control over the York Theatre Royal building for one week to curate an exciting programme of touring artists alongside platforming their own new work.
“In order to achieve this, they have worked closely for over nine months with staff at the York Theatre Royal to understand every aspect of how a theatre runs in today’s challenging climate.
“Expect an engaging, original and stimulating line up!”
All performances by York St John groups are free for university students (with valid ID) and £5 for the general public – but with a buy one, get one free option.
For all other professional shows, there is a multi-buy offer for students. Individual shows are already discounted to £10; however, this is reduced to £30 in total if tickets are purchased for five or more shows.
To see the full festival programme and to book your tickets, visit the York Theatre Royal Takeover 2024 website.