1960s
tbc
1970s
tbc
1980s
tbc
1990s
tbc
2000s
As the millennium ticked by so did another pantomime, as time was central to that story too, Sleeping beauty sound asleep every performance for 1000 years. Now in the 21st centaury and the 00s the hit show from 1999 Showtime was taken on tour to Osterode in Germany and followed up that summer with the sequel Showtime 2000 and the September show Cabaret Time 2000. The summer of 2000, saw the YMCA purchase its first intelligent lighting with the clay paky mini scans HPE, the lighting desk was also updated to enable control of these fixtures. Also in 2000 the YMCA decided to remove the large cinema projectors from the control room and install the first digital projector above the auditorium. When it came to Panto time, a potential disaster was averted, when the dame walked out of the show with only a few weeks to go the chairman of the board and a local solicitor took the script home and learnt the role, making his debut as the panto dame that Christmas, oh yes he did.
Into 2001, the decision was made to move the September Cabaret time further away from the Summer Season to the Spring time, with Cabaret Time 2001 performed Mid May. Again Drama came off the stage in the Summer, when a member of cast was removed mid way through the run and another had to drop out with a damaged foot. The stage manager was also unsure if he would complete the run for a very different reason, his wife was pregnant with their first child, thankfully he got to complete the run and then shortly after was presented with a little boy, who now helps as a member of crew in the theatre himself, with his sister performing in the shows.
As we moved into 2002, the in house director decided he wanted a change of scene, no pun intended, and was to go and work for M&S doing their window displays. He stayed with the theatre until the end of the summer season So the YM were looking for a replacement.2002 was also the Golden Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II, so the planned spring show of ‘Wizard of Oz’ was replaced with a celebration of the years, entitled ’50 Golden Years’. ready for the summer season of ‘Summer Showcase’ a trapdoor was added to the stage which was used for a magic style trick with the entire cast just before the finale.
With the loss of the in house director the 2003 Summer season was directed by the executive director. Rather than in the past where there were many section of a couple of songs, this was the start of having two musicals featured in each act with an extended number of songs from each. in this year it was Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar, Les Misérables and Barnum. The YMCA produced a CD of the show for the Cast to keep. This format was then to remain for the next few years even after the new internal productions director was appointed. For the summer season the theatre invested in its first moving head lights with two Robe 575XT spots.
in 2003 after a donation from Bill and Marion Hooper the foyer area was expanded and remodelled. the work was complete and opened officially at the start of the summer season
2004, saw the first time a whole production was mounted for one member of cast as he hoped to pursue his career, ‘Danny Rhodes and Guests in Concert’ was performed in the Early Spring. Also in spring 2004 the Spring production got a make over becoming Starburst, this was a sort of stars in your eyes crossed with a cabaret show. Unfortunately this did not seem to be popular so a traditional cabaret show returned for 2005 although still under the name of Starburst.
At the end of 2004 the YMCA had the script for their Pantomime ‘ Mother Goose’ specially written by a member of the YMCA, thus not relying on a well used script. He was to also write the script for 2005s pantomime
2005 In the spring we had the second show dedicated to a second member of the Cast, this time Ben Ellis, or for equity Ben James Ellis. During the summer season the in house production director got married to another member of the staff on the leisure centre side.
In 2005 the YMCA started producing a second Christmas production based more around a carol concert than a theatre production. This was directed by a long term friends of the YMCA Hillary Watts, Richard Bean and his wife, Susan Richards, this was to continue until 2019.
In 2006 the in house productions director, decided she was to move onto pastures new, so one of the lead dancers from the show team took over after the Spring Starburst show. This seemed to be the year of people moving on as the gentleman who wrote the pantomime script for the past two years was also leaving the area. The chairman of the board, having played the dame for several years now stepped off the stage and wrote the pantomime. He would return to playing the Dame but not until 2009. He also wrote the pantomime for 2007, before having a break in 2008 by playing the villain of the pantomime, long john silver in Treasure island.
In 2007 She also decided that she was to move on with Her and the lady who would replace her co-directing the Summer season of 2007 which this year reverted to the style of the early 2000s . In February 2007 the YMCA closed for two months for a major refit, this involved removing the brick proscenium arch, massively expanding the Stage Left wing space (RHS when viewed from the seats), A new Scenery dock and workshop. When re-open during the spring the two young men who had already had their own shows were on TV talent hunts. Ben James Ellis was on BBC and Andrew Lloyd Webbers search for someone to play Joseph in the west end, Any Dream Will Do and Danny Rhodes was on the competing ITV show Grease is the word to find a Danny & Sandy for the west end. Both reached the semi-finals of their respective programs, with Danny going onto Cruise ships and Ben going onto to star as link Larkin in the west end production of Hairspray. Following his elimination Danny returned to the YMCA for a thank you concert to those who had voted for him. He would also do another fund raising show for the YMCA the following year. Later in 2007 another member of the YMCA Show team appeared on the first series of Britain’s got Talent, reaching the semi-final
Also in 2007, the YMCA raised its stage temporarily for the summer production, despite removing it after the summer season this was then repeated for the pantomime with a revolve sunk into it for the carriage in Cinderella. During the Christmas production of 2007 the lady who had directed the festive treat for many years decided she was to retire so for 2008 this was to pass into the portfolio of the in house productions director
For the 2008 summer season the stage was again raised with the revolve and used more widely through the summer production,
From 2008 to 2012 The new production Director added more shows showcasing the talent of the cast,
in 2009, the YMCA Partnered with NAP Music to establish the Magic of the Musicals Show, this was then run annually by NAP music until it changed its name to Simply Musicals then then to West End Nights. These continue into the 2020s
2010s
As the new Decade Dawned it was going to be the end of an era for the YMCA. The Executive Director had decided he wished to retire so in the spring of 2011 Chris Wilby handed the keys over to Steve Marsh, The show team also presented a special production in Chris’ Honour
In 2010 the YMCA decided to return to doing a full musical over doing a show pulling songs from a number of shows. The first of these was to be Beauty and the Beast.
From 2011 to 2014 the young YMCA team called Spotlight would go and take part in the Filey Edward Festival at the start of July each year. From 2011 to 2013 this was at the evron centre, however in 2014 this venue was unavailable so the show moved to the Methodist church
In 2012 the Productions Director decided she wished to leave to expand the drama school she had started with her husband and her sister. She continued until the end of the Summer Season, which was a return to the format of mixing songs from four shows together to form the production. Following on from her departure a new productions director was appointed however due to the other commitments she could not start until in October, this would make it difficult to get both festive season shows ready ( Christmas show and pantomime) so the Theatre Manager took on the Christmas show so the new director could focus on the pantomime when she arrived. The Christmas show has remained under the wing of the Theatre Manager until the Present.
In 2013 the new productions director left following the Spring production. For the Summer season a drama teacher at a local school was to direct the musical Grease. The popularity of the show meant that the cast was split with each cast given three weeks of performances. This director was unfortunately moving outside the area following the Summer to take a new teaching post in South Yorkshire. So again it was to be a change of director.
During 2013, the YMCA also invested in a new lighting desk to aid the design with the continued move towards more led and intelligent lighting. Elsewhere in 2013 the young YMCA team – Spotlight was to be re-named as the name was easy to get confused with that of Twilight the name of the group formed by the ex-director who left in 2012. It would be renamed to Y Musical Theatre or YMT for short.
The vocal coach from Grease was an ex performer at the YMCA and he agreed to direct the pantomime for 2013. In early 2014, he became the in house productions director, he was to say until 2021. However the director for the next show again a full musical of Jesus Christ Superstar had already been agreed. As a memento of the production the YMCA commissioned a commemorative mug for the cast and crew. 2014 was supposed to be the first year of two full musicals however the summer musical (Summer Holiday) fell through after the musical director walked out only a couple of weeks into rehearsals. with no time to replace him a hastily devised alternative show was produced centring on the many works of Disney.
After that years Pantomime it was announced there would be two musicals in 2015 the spring production of Our House by the in-house director and the summer of Little shop of Horrors by the same director as Jesus Christ Superstar. Due to the small number of cast required for little shop of horrors an additional show for the full cast centring on 80s music was held during September that year.
In 2016 YMCA England decided to change its logo, YMCA Scarborough was one of the early adopters of the new logo. As Part of the rebranding the ‘Scarborough YMCA’ became the ‘YMCA Scarborough’
From 2016 the shows kept coming round with two musicals each year in the spring and summer and then the Festive season.
Also in 2016 there was another showcase of one of the many talents with the show team as she looked to go on a further her career, this time Gillian Marshall.
2020s
This could be said to be the most challenging time not just for the YMCA but for everyone as the COVID-19 Pandemic hit with all shows suspended from March 16th 2020 until late Autumn as the UK entered Lockdown. Like many businesses this time was very tough financially.
The Easter production (High School Musical) and then the Summer production (Shrek) were all postponed until 2021 as the UK remained in Lockdown to try and kerb the spread of the virus.
It was announced during this time that the Young YMCA – Y Musical Theatre, would be dissolved and a new group set up called Y Perform, to be taught by two members of the show team.
After a few Socially distanced productions in the Autumn of 2020, the YMCA were fortunate to find themselves within the Tier 2 of regulations over the festive season which allowed performances of the annual Christmas show and the start of the run of the pantomime. The Christmas show was hit hard with the number of performers allowed to take part so this was a much smaller scale show than usual to allow all involved to stay socially distant from each other. Measures included, cast entering from one side of the stage and exiting the other, a one way system for getting to and from the dressing rooms , designated areas for cast / crew etc… Unfortunately due to a nation wide increase in cases the UK went into another lockdown and the production had to close on December 30th, 5 performances premature. The Carol concert Rockin’ did not return for 2020 due to the pandemic.
In 2021 the theatre then remained closed until after the middle of the Spring, During this time the YMCA announced that the spring production of Hugh School Musical which should have been in 2020 then delayed to 2021 was now cancelled, a spring cabaret show would be performed at an unknown date. The first show to be back in the theatre was the Young YMCA’s (Y Perform) production of Annie rehearsed almost exclusively via Video Conferences. After the production it was announced that Grace one of the teachers was to be leaving to go to University, and another member of the Show team (Jasmine) would join Evie in the running of the group The Easter production was moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. In the Early Summer social distancing regulations were lifted allowing the first full auditoriums in well over a year. That Summer the Summer season (Shrek) was postponed again until 2022, with a limited run of Grease the Musical been presented over two weeks not six. It was also at this production the YMCA waved goodbye to its Productions Director of 7 and half years, James Aconley. The position been left empty for the time been with directors for the productions been brought in freelance. There was also a special show to mark YMCA Scarborough’s 175th Anniversary in the late summer called Celebrate.
As 2021 started to wain, the YMCA was hit by the news of the passing of long term friend Richard Bean (Beannie). followed by a blow for the country on the whole as the emergency of the Omicron Variant of COVID-19 again threatened the festive season. Just days before the annual Christmas production further regulations were introduced requiring all attendees and staff to wear face coverings again. The production still went ahead. Thankfully no more restrictions were imposed and the YMCAs 60th consecutive pantomime was performed in its entirety. This was the directional debut of Claire Edwards who had written the annual Pantomime for several years but was now to take the helm of the production too.
As we moved into 2022 thoughts moved onto the Spring production. It had already been announced in 2021 that the theatre was to perform Little Mermaid the Musical. The first thing was to decide who would direct the show, in January it was announced that Katie & Hayley, two members of the YMCA staff would direct the show. Subsequently auditions took place and into Rehearsals. In February it was the turn of the Young YMCA to perform their third full musical and second under the name of Y Perform. At the start of the February half term school holiday they presented Matilda Jr.
Shows List
Shows of the 1960s
1962 Cinderella
1963 Dick Whittington
1964 Aladdin
1965 Babes in the Wood
1966 Mother Goose
1967 Dick Whittington
1968 Cinderella
1969 Aladdin
- North Street
- St Marys Parish House
Shows of the 1970s
1970 Dick Wittington
1971 Revue 71
1971 Mother Goose
1972 Revue 72
1972 Cinderella
1973 Jack and the Beanstalk
1974 Babes in the Wood
1975 Humpty Dumpty
1976 Pinocchio
1977 Mother Goose
1978 Merlin’s Magical Journey
1979 Old King Cole
- Floral Hall
- Royal Opera House
- St Marys Parish House
Shows of the 1980s
1980 The Final Conflict
1980 Cinderella
1981 Variety Showtime
1981 Little Jack Horner
1982 David and the Vision
1982 The Magical Musical Time Machine
1982 Jack and the Magical Beanstalk
1983 David and Dream Child
1983 Black Comedy
1983 Variety Showtime
1983 Pinocchio
1984 Evil Eye of Gondor
1984 Smike
1984 Babes in the Wood
1985 Dream Child – Durham University Theatre
1985 Oliver
1985 Aladdin
1986 Annie
1986 Cinderella
1987 Sinbad the Sailor
1988 Sleeping Beauty
1989 Smike
1989 Humpty Dumpty
- Royal Opera House
- North Street
- Open Air Theatre
- St Thomas Street
- Other
Shows of the 1990s
1990 Wizard of Oz
1990 Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs
1991 Oliver
1991 A Golden Silence
1991 Hansel and Gretal
1992 Boeing Boeing
1992 Annie
1992 Severn Under the Clock
1992 Peter Pan
1993 the Good the Bad and the Other One
1993 Hans Anderson
1993 The Rambling Club
1993 Pinocchio
1994 Viking Quest and Loaves and Fishes
1994 Barnum
1994 Yesterday Came Suddenly
1994 Beauty and the Beast
1995 Magic Man
1995 Last Refuge
1995 Aladdin
1996 The Musical Express
1996 Christmas Celebration
1996 Cinderella
1997 That’s Showbiz
1997 Christmas Celebration
1997 Dick Whittington and his Cat
1998 The Musical Laughter Show
1998 Christmas Celebration
1998 Jack and the Beanstalk
1999 Showtime
1999 Cabaret Time
1999 Christmas Celebration
1999 Sleeping Beauty
Shows of the 2000s
2000 Showtime – Osterode Germany
2000 Showtime 2000
2000 Cabaret Time 2000
2000 Christmas Celebration
2000 Sinbad the Sailor
2001 The Little Mermaid (Young YMCA – YMCA Theatre Children’s Workshop)
2001 Cabaret Time 2001
2001 Showtime 2001
2001 Christmas Celebration
2001 Aladdin
2002 50 Golden Years
2002 Summer Showcase
2002 Christmas Celebration
2002 Peter Pan
2003 Musical Magic
2003 Christmas Celebration
2003 Puss in Boots
2004 Danny Rhodes and Guests in Concert
2004 Starburst 2004
2004 Musical Magic (Repeated For Charity)
2004 Musical Mystique
2004 Christmas Celebration
2004 Mother Goose
2005 An Audience with Ben Ellis
2005 Starburst 2005
2005 Musical Rollercoaster
2005 Christmas Celebration
2005 Rockin’ Carols
2005 Pinocchio
2006 The Miracle
2006 Starburst 2006
2006 Musical Eclipse
2006 Christmas Celebration
2006 Rockin’ Carols 2006
2006 Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs
2007 Starburst 2007
2007 Charity Showtime
2007 Danny Rhodes and Guests
2007 Comedy Showtime
2007 Jakey P and Friends
2007 Christmas Celebration
2007 Rockin’ Carols 2007
2007 Cinderella
2008 Danny Rhodes and Guests
2008 Singing Showcase
2008 Variety Showtime
2008 Charity Showtime
2008 Family Showtime
2008 Singing Showcase
2008 Magic of Christmas
2008 Rockin’ Carols 2008
2008 Treasure Island
2009 Tonight’s the Night
2009 Variety Showtime
2009 Magic of the Musicals – In association with NAP
2009 Family Showtime
2009 Scarborough Star Search
2009 Disney Christmas
2009 Rockin’ Carols 2009
2009 Aladdin
Shows of the 2010s
2010 Song and Dance
2010 Variety Showtime
2010 Beauty and the Beast
2010 Scarborough Star Search
2010 Song and Dance
2010 Christmas Cabaret
2010 Rockin’ Carols 2010
2010 Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs
2011 Chris’ Retirement Spectacular
2011 Sound of the Musicals (Young YMCA – Spotlight)
2011 Evening of Song and Dance
2011 YMT In Filey (Young YMCA – YMT) – Filey Evron Centre
2011 Wizard of Oz
2011 Spotlight on Christmas Musicals (Young YMCA – Spotlight)
2011 Alice in a Winter Wonderland
2011 Rockin’ Carols 2011
2011 Peter pan
2012 Magic of Disney
2012 That’s Entertainment
2012 YMT In Filey (Young YMCA – YMT) – Filey Evron Centre
2012 Musicality
2012 A Christmas Cracker
2012 Rockin’ Carols 2012
2012 Jack and the Beanstalk
2013 Lights Camera action
2013 Charity Gala Showcase
2013 YMT In Filey (Young YMCA – YMT) – Filey Evron Centre
2013 Grease
2013 A Christmas Cracker 2013
2013 Rockin’ Carols 2013
2013 Sleeping Beauty
2014 Charity Gala Showcase
2014 Jesus Christ Superstar
2014 Fairytale – A True Story (Young YMCA – YMT)
2014 Honk (Young YMCA – YMT)
2014 YMT In Filey (Young YMCA – YMT) – Filey Methodist Church
2014 Disney Spectacular
2014 Journey Through Time (Young YMCA – YMT)
2014 Christmas Cracker 2014
2014 Rockin’ Carols 2014
2014 Robin Hood
2015 Alice’s Journey in Wonderland (Young YMCA – YMT)
2015 A Conversation with the Trees
2015 Our Show
2015 Our House
2015 Back in My Day (Young YMCA – YMT)
2015 Little Shop of Horrors
2015 All Night Long
2015 Fairytales and Scary Tales (Young YMCA – YMT)
2015 Christmas Cracker 2015
2015 Rockin’ Carols 2015
2015 Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs
2016 The Wicked World of Oz (Young YMCA – YMT)
2016 An Evening with Gillian Marshall
2016 Guys and Dolls
2016 Neverland (Young YMCA – YMT)
2016 Rock of Ages
2016 Halloween Extravaganza (Young YMCA – YMT)
2016 Christmas Cracker 2016
2016 Rockin’ Carols 2016
2016 Cinderella
2017 Poppins the Pantomime (Young YMCA – YMT)
2017 Footloose
2017 Once Upon a Time (Young YMCA – YMT)
2017 Sister Act
2017 Christmas Cracker 2017
2017 Rockin’ Carols 2017
2017 Aladdin
2018 An Ogres Tale and Disenchanted (Young YMCA – YMT)
2018 Fame
2018 Grease
2018 Christmas Cracker 2018
2018 Rockin’ Carols 2018
2018 Peter Pan
2019 Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
2019 Wizard of Oz
2019 Student Showcase (Young YMCA – YMT)
2019 Christmas Cracker 2019
2019 Rockin’ Carols 2019
2019 Jack and the Beanstalk
Shows of the 2020s
2020 Christmas Cracker 2020
2020 Beauty and the Beast
2021 Annie Jr (Young YMCA – Y Perform)
2021 Raise Your Voice
2021 Grease
2021 Celebrate
2021 Christmas Cracker 2021
2021 Cinderella
2022 Matilda Jr (Young YMCA – Y Perform)
2022 The Little Mermaid
2022 Shrek
2022 Christmas Cracker 2022
2022 Rapunzel
Pantomimes
Full Musicals
Resident Productions Directors – YMCA Productions
TBC
1997 – 2002 David Nicholson
2004 – 2006 Nicky Sweeney-Chisholm
2006 – 2007 Zoe Marsh
2007 – 2012 Kerry Nicholson
2012 – 2013 Rachel Drew
2013 – 2021 James Aconley
Incumbent – N/A (Freelance)
Executive Director of YMCA Scarborough [Scarborough YMCA until 2016]
tbc – 2010 Chris Wilby
2010 – 2020 Steve Marsh
Incumbent – N/A
Theatre Technician
2011 – 2018 Liam Downey
2018 – 2019 Owen Price
2019 – 2021 Jake Newlove
2021 – 2022 Declan Carr
Incumbent (2022) Ollie Winter
Other Roles
Asst. Theatre Manager
tbc – 2018 Liam Downey
2018 – 2020 Katie Doubtfire
Incumbent – N/A
FOH Manager
Incumbent (tbc) – Judith Edmondson
Archivist
Incumbent (2021) – Chris Bullivant
Logos
tbc – 2016
Companies who Record the Productions
Scarborough Video Services – Contact Kevin Jervis
Fotomagic – Contact John Hume
Winter Productions – Contact Oliver Winter
Authorised relatives of Cast / Crew
Leaders of Young YMCA
TBC
#tbc – tbc Lisa Spencer
tbc – 2006 Kiel Richardson & Nicky Sweeney Chisholm
2006 – 2017 Rebecca Simpson
2017 – 2020 Sophie tbc
2020 – 2021 Evie McGlinchey & Grace Kille
Incumbents (2021) Evie McGlinchey & Jasmine Towse
Theatre Manager (& Asst. Executive Director)
tbc
Incumbent (tbc) Graham Ibbotson
Facilities Manager
Incumbent (2018) – Liam Downey
Administration Director
tbc – tbc – Noel Snow
Incumbent (tbc) – Jenny Aston
Main In House Stage Manager
tbc – tbc – Mark Dresser / Steve Patterson
tbc – 2006 – tbc
2006 – 2008 – James Ferguson
2008 – 2015 – Chris Bullivant
Incumbent (2016) – Steve Brewster
Wardrobe / Costume Supervisor
Incumbent (tbc) – Wendy Chapman
2016 – Present
Old Photos
Contact
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