FOR the first time, York Theatre Royal is offering masterclasses for the over-65s, linked to two on-going productions in the city, The Secret Garden and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

This follows York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre’s first intergenerational show, Legacy, a specially commissioned play by Paul Birch, for which a group of over-65s was recruited to perform alongside youth theatre members in April.

"After Legacy, we want to continue working with the over-65s. This is one way of doing that," says youth theatre director Kate Veysey.

The Secret Garden workshop will be on August 9 and The Dream workshop will follow on August 15. Both will be held at the Theatre Royal, where Jessica Swale's stage adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s children's story, The Secret Garden, is running until August 25.

Kate will lead this workshop, while the masterclass for A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be conducted by Theatre Royal associate director Juliet Forster, who has directed Dream for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre at the Castle car park this summer.

"That workshop is special because it’s being led by Juliet, who will be able to use some of the techniques that she used with the professional cast in the Rose Theatre production," says Kate.

"Please note, you don't have to have seen either of the productions as the two-hour masterclasses are very much stand-alone projects."

Both workshops will take place from 11am to 1pm, followed by a lunch of soup and a sandwich/quiche and salad, along with a drink. The Secret Garden masterclass fee includes a ticket to see the production.

For more details and to book a place, visit yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Charles Hutchinson