Second summer in this glorious sun of York

James Cundall with the full company on stage before for the final performance at the Rose Theatre in York.James Cundall with the full company on stage before for the final performance at the Rose Theatre in York.
James Cundall with the full company on stage before for the final performance at the Rose Theatre in York.
An encore of the Shakespearean summer that captivated audiences under the glorious sun of York looked likely last night after the city council was moved to act.

A second season in the “pop up” Rose Theatre, made from scaffolding in an Elizabethan style and placed in the car park next to Clifford’s Tower, is one of two attractions councillors will be asked to approve next month.

The other is a new Viking experience to be installed alongside.

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The Shakespearean theatre attracted 80,000 visitors this summer and an Elizabethan “village” that surrounded it, a further 20,000.

James Cundall, the locally-based producer of international stage productions, who conceived the attraction, hinted last month that the show might not be finally over.

“It’s an open secret that we’re in talks with the city council to come back and I think there’s an appetite for that to happen,” he told The Yorkshire Post.

The council has now confirmed that a 2019 season is on its agenda.

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Coun Nigel Ayre, executive member for culture, said the theatre had been “a huge success and has already helped to positively challenge the perception of what the car park could be in future.”

The companion attraction planned for next summer will include a Viking-style “Great Hall and courtyard theatre”, seating 100 people at each show, as well as a “Viking themed homestead” selling food and drinks.

The area surrounding Clifford’s Tower is the subject of a long-term regeneration plan that is likely to include a permanent performance space.

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