Paradise found at The Milton Rooms as pair pull in big names to the Dales

A new arts venue opens this weekend, bringing high culture to North Yorkshire. Arts Correspondent Nick Ahad met the two men behind scheme.

North Yorkshire: Dales, rolling hills, outstanding natural beauty – and a severe lack of cultural provision. This was what actor Garry Cooper witnessed in his home town of Malton.

“You can get to Leeds and York to go to theatres and cinemas and art centres, but from York up to Scarborough there just isn’t anything,” says Cooper. “I looked around and realised I had to do something about it.”

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Which is why, on Sunday, The Milton Rooms launches as North Yorkshire’s newest house of culture.

There are terrific small arts centres in Pocklington and Helmsley, but Cooper is talking about a cultural venue on a bigger scale. He’s talking about producing work, bringing in top artists and creating something significant in what looks like a pretty barren arts landscape.

He spotted the perfect venue in the Grade II listed Milton Rooms in the heart of Malton, a former town assembly room.

A gala evening hosted by Barry Cryer is being held at the venue on Sunday to officially launch The Milton Rooms. His is an impressive name to attract to the venue at its opening and, it transpires, he is not the only high profile supporter of the new arts house.

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Kathy Burke, Imelda Staunton, Jools Holland and Bill Nighy have all agreed, enthusiastically, to become patrons of the venue. Staunton has backed her support with hard cash, Burke will be coming up to the venue to direct in the near future, and Holland and Nighy have given their full backing to the venture.

“They aren’t the sort of people who just put their name to anything – and it’s not a case of them just rubber stamping the idea – they are genuinely passionate about what we are doing up here,” says Cooper.

The impressive cast list of patrons and the scale of ambition is easier to understand when you fully appreciate the men behind The Milton Rooms.

Cooper is an actor with a wealth of experience. In a three-decade career the Hull-born performer has appeared alongside Hollywood names such as Jean-Claude Van Damme and had roles in Quadrophenia and My Beautiful Laundrette.

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When he first came across The Milton Rooms and decided to attempt to turn them into something special, he knew he wanted to bring friend and colleague Nick Bagnall on board. Although the pair had known each other for 20 years, the first time they worked together was last year when Bagnall directed Cooper in the West Yorkshire Playhouse production of Billy Liar. An accomplished actor himself, Bagnall, who appeared on stage in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Playhouse, has in recent years been carving out a new career as a director with impressive results.

He won high praise for his West End production of Entertaining Mr Sloane, on which he worked with Imelda Staunton.

“There was a day in rehearsals where I was still wondering about whether I should try to make a proper go of directing and she gave me a real talking to, told me that I had to go for it,” he says.

“So when I went to her to tell her about The Milton Rooms she was so supportive and has helped us out with funding to get the whole thing going.”

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Bagnall’s reputation as a director is growing rapidly – next year he will direct all three of the War of the Roses plays for The Globe, yet he has taken a surprising step in order to make The Milton Rooms a success.

“I’ve moved up here from London,” he says.

“We want to make a proper go of this. I always found theatre makers like Joan Littlewood really inspiring and the spirit of places like The Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. That’s what we want to capture up here, a spirit of just getting on and doing it, making exciting and interesting work.”

The Milton Rooms dream began when Cooper decided to get involved in the committee which ran the Grade II listed building at the end of last year. Built by the Fitzwilliam family in 1814, the building was gifted to the town for the benefit of the residents.

For the past 30 years the hall has been rented out for auctions, the occasional ballroom dance and local amateur dramatics. Cooper was elected chairman of the committee which ran the building and immediately spotted an opportunity.

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“I have always wanted to have a building where I could do my own work. I looked around and realised there was nothing like a West Yorkshire Playhouse or a York Theatre Royal in this area and thought it was the perfect place to try to do something,” says Cooper.

He approached various organisations and has received £10,000 from North Yorkshire County Council, £12,000 from the Fitzwilliam Estate, and £10,000 from Ryedale Council for the venture. This funding has been spent on making the structure of the building sound, and buying technical equipment to turn it into a theatre space including lighting and sound equipment.

Donations of £14,000 from private individuals has gone towards the programme of events, and it is hoped that eventually revenue from the bar and ticket sales will finance the building, with funding and sponsorship being sought out once the operation is up and running.

There is a main performing space in The Milton Room, a 40-seat studio theatre in the Fitzwilliam Room, artist’s studios in The Parish Room and the Assembly Room will be the main rehearsal space.

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Cooper says: “It might seem like a strange time to be trying to start something new like this, but I believe in times of adversity great creative things can happen.

“I have taken this on as my full-time job. I’m not taking on any acting work for the moment, because I am totally dedicated to making this happen.”

With his enthusiasm for making The Milton Rooms work, Cooper approached his friend Bagnall to see if he would be interested in coming on board.

Bagnall jumped at the chance and the four patrons fell in love with the idea. On a guided tour, Kathy Burke immediately made a promise that she would be back to direct. Jim Cartwright, the internationally renowned author of the The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, has had a look around and is in talks with the two artistic directors. The Cornwall-based Kneehigh Theatre Company has visited, as has Simon Armitage.

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It’s an impressively starry roll call, and if everyone who has made a promise makes good on it, then The Milton Rooms could become a must-visit venue in North Yorkshire.

It is not, however, all about celebrity names being attached to the project, say its founders.

Cooper and Bagnall, who are co-artistic directors of The Milton Rooms, have been keen from the start to get the community involved – and the locals are responding.

On June 26 a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be directed by Bagnall and will include 180 people – 70 of them young people – from the area.

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It will also feature seven professional actors who are moving to Malton temporarily to take part in the production. All seven of the professionals are London-based and are waiving their fee for the production.

Cooper says it is a measure of how the local community is backing the project that the Old Lodge Hotel in the town has arranged free accommodation for the visiting actors.

“North Yorkshire has been crying out for something like this. These are exciting times.”

Gala launch for venue

Gala Evening with Barry Cryer: Comedy, music, magic and dance events will launch The Milton Rooms. June 12, 7.30pm.

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Edwina Hayes: Singer songwriter in the Studio. June 15, 7.30pm.

Peatbog Faeries: One of Scotland’s biggest names in contemporary folk music. June 17, 8pm.

Cold Blood, Cold Heart: An in house production of a play telling the tale of a 1950s radio play that is a gothic horror. June 24, 25. 7.30pm.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Starting in Malton Market Place, this promenade production will take its audience around the town. June 26, 6pm.

Barry Cryer, Live at the Milton Rooms: The comedian plays a special gig. July 27, 7.30pm.

Tickets on 01653 600048.