NORTH York Moors company Esk Valley Theatre are to mount an autumn tour of Bill Manhoff's American comedy The Owl And The Pussycat from October 13 to November 10.

Directed by company co-founder Mark Stratton, this 1964 two-hander will open at EVT's moorland base in Glaisdale, near Whitby, before touring North Yorkshire, Richmondshire, Cleveland and Cumbria. 

The Owl And The Pussycat was a hit on Broadway in the Sixties with a cast of Alan Alda and Diana Sands before being turned into a film by Herbert Ross in 1970 that starred Barbara Streisand and George Segal.

Set in San Francisco, Manhoff's play spins around two unlikely neighbours. "Doris wants everyone to think she's a talented model and actress and Felix wants everyone to think he's a talented writer, but that’s not quite the truth," says Stratton.

York Press:

Olivia Sloyan and Cornelius Geaney Jr rehearsing at Fryup

"Both have identity issues and through the course of the play they start to discover who they really are. The Owl and the Pussycat is a heart-warming comedy about unexpected love and the attraction of opposites."

Making their Esk Valley Theatre debut will be Olivia Sloyan as Doris and Cornelius Geaney Jr as Felix, while the production team includes producer Sheila Carter, set and lighting designer Graham Kirk and costume designer Christine Wall.

Sloyan trained at the London School of Musical Theatre and has a Diploma in Acting from Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. She has appeared on screen in the online soap Rylands and in the films Age Of Kill and Habit and has played two stage roles in Willy Russell's musical Blood Brothers: Linda on tour and Brenda in the West End.

Geaney Jr was last seen on a North Yorkshire stage in July, playing hot-headed polo player Tom Buchanan in The Guild Of Misrule's immersive staging of The Great Gatsby at Castle Howard. He was born in Manhattan, New York, and appeared in regional theatre there before moving to Britain with his family, since when he has worked in commercials, television and films.

York Press:

Cornelius Geaney Jnr, as Tom Buchanan, centre, with Amie Burns Walker, as Daisy Buchanan, and an audience member at The Guild Of Misrule's The Great Catsby at Castle Howard in July. Picture: Sam Taylor

"I've just finished shooting a very exciting major motion picture for Legendary Pictures [Voyager: The Grand Tour] that will be released worldwide in 2019 and I can be seen in the Sony Pictures film The Maze next year too," he says.

The Owl And The Pussycat will play The Robinson Institute, Glaisdale, on October 13 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm and October 15 at 7.30pm, with tickets on sale on 01947 897587. Tour dates include the Galtres Centre, Easingwold, October 17 (box office, 01347 822472); Hinderwell Village Hall, October 18 (EVT and The Brown Cow, Hinderwell); Fylingdales Village Hall, Robin Hood's Bay, October 19 (EVT and Station Road Stores); Wetwang Village Hall, October 20 (EVT); Moorsholm Memorial Hall, October 22 (EVT and 01287 660683) and Whitby Coliseum, October 23, 2.30pm and 7.30pm (EVT and 01947 825000).

The tour then visits Coverdale Memorial Hall, Carlton-in-Coverdale, near Leyburn, October 24 (EVT and 01969 640663/640689); The Hut, Goathland, October 31, 7.30pm, and November 1, 2.30pm and 7.30pm (EVT and Goathland Post Office); Thirsk Town Hall, November 2 (EVT and The Artist's Palette, 01845 574457) and Danby Village Hall, near Whitby, November 3 (EVT and Danby Health Shop).

The last week takes in Burniston and Cloughton Village Hall, November 4 (EVT and Burniston Post Office, 01723 870484; Evron Centre, Filey, November 6 (EVT and Evron Centre Post Office); Danby Village Hall, November 7, 2.30pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, November 9 (01439 771700 and boxoffice@helmsleyarts.co.uk) and Hutton Rudby Village Hall, November 10 (01642 701586/huttonrudbyvillagehall.org.uk).

All performances start at 7.30pm, unless otherwise stated. Please note, The Owl And The Pussycat is suitable for age 13 upwards.