Choice of caution or courage for Yorkshire's theatres after coronavirus closures - Nick Ahad

I remember thinking that I’d never really ‘got’ Pinter until I saw Betrayal. The play shows his genius for structure. It is a stunning piece and if you ever get the chance, I urge you to see it.

In 2012, Sheffield Crucible staged a season of work by Michael Frayn and I had the huge honour of interviewing the playwright, screenwriter and author at his London home for The Yorkshire Post. I then had the pleasure of watching three of his plays, including the masterful Copenhagen, in Sheffield.

At the start of my career in journalism, I found myself surprisingly in the position of helping to launch a new newspaper in Bath. I’d barely been a journalist a year when the owners of the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald saw fit to throw this cub reporter into the position of lead journalist on a brand new title.

The Bath Star featured plenty of reviews and reports from Theatre Royal Bath – I remember a particularly fun interview I conducted in the theatre’s dressing rooms with Simon Callow. The theatre gave me desperately needed copy in those early weeks.

These cultural touchstones of my life came together this week in news that Theatre Royal Bath will stage an autumn 2020 season featuring Copenhagen and Betrayal.

The shows have a number of things in common: small casts, one word titles – and all are written by old or dead white male authors. Look. I’d love to see this season. But really? There has been a rolling of eyes online in response to the theatre’s announcement.

The lockdown has ripped through the theatre industry, leaving people worried and wondering how things will look in the hereafter. The Bath theatre’s programmers have gone for safe options and many are disappointed.

An enforced period of closure has forced theatres to think differently and provided an opportunity to change. Stephen Joseph Theatre is thinking differently, as you will see from my feature on the theatre.

Playing it safe is a way to bring the same old audiences back. Stephen Joseph meanwhile is led by what artistic director Paul Robinson calls ‘non-fatal artistic courage’. As we see tentative theatre reopenings announced, it will be interesting to see which path our Yorkshire theatres choose: Bath’s caution or Scarborough’s courage.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson