Back To Menu

Preview: York Musical Theatre Company, The Scarlet Pimpernel, York Theatre Royal,
May 14 to 24

4:12pm Friday 18th April 2008

York Musical Theatre Company's principal cast members are battling their way through rehearsals, training with a professional fight director to master the art of stage sword-fighting.

The gruelling preparations for the swashbuckling fight scenes in the Broadway musical The Scarlet Pimpernel will come to fruition at York Theatre Royal from May 14 to 24.

The cast, including the Pimpernel's Secret League, is working with Raph Aldis, a professional fencing coach and choreographer of stage and film fighting. A graduate of the London Stunt School, Raph has instructed courses at London's Barbican Centre and Pinewood Film Studios, and has staged choreographed fighting for West Side Story, Sweeney Todd and Jekyll And Hyde.

"This is a new challenge for York Musical Theatre Company, which has never worked on such a gruelling rehearsal schedule," says publicist Anna Mitchelson. "The scale of the show demands the normal schedule for setting the piece and learning the complicated musical score, but also extra weekend rehearsals to meet the demands of the fight scenes."

Under the direction of Paul Laidlaw, John Haigh takes the principal role of Sir Percy Blakeney, the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel, who battles against the evil Chauvelin, played by Richard Bainbridge.

"Both are delighted to be taking on the challenges of stage fighting and promise to deliver exciting swashbuckling scenes for the show, enough to rival even the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Three Musketeers," says Anna.

With a cast of more than 30 and the trickery of the guillotine to master, this really will be a musical spectacle never seen before from the company. The period costumes and original set being built by the Stephen Joseph Theatre, in Scarborough, will create a musical evening not to be missed."