YORK Theatre Royal will re-open on May 17 - with what it describes as a ‘love letter to live performance’.

Former Look North presenter Harry Gration will briefly take centre stage on May 17 to introduce the mini ‘Love Bites’ season - 22 short live performances by local artists which will be performed each night on May 17 and May 18.

The ‘Love Bites’ performances will be the first production in the theatre’s new Love Season, which will also include Ralph Fiennes in Four Quartets, Julie Hesmondhalgh in The Greatest Play in the History of the World, and Romeo & Juliet.

Theatre Royal chief executive Tom Bird told The Press in March that, for its re-opening, the theatre had made a deliberate decision to commission a series of short pieces by local artists who had been struggling to make a living during lockdown. More than 200 freelance performers and groups - including actors, dancers, musicians and comedians - applied to put on the five-minute performances. Of those, 22 have been chosen for Love Bites and will each receive a £1,000 commission.

The performances include a musical ‘reverie’ that attempts to capture the experience of falling in (and out) of love; a clown rediscovering the joy of connecting with a live audience - and a ‘Love Song to Spring’.

The theatre’s creative director Juliet Forster said: “Love Bites is really a love letter to live performance, put together by York artists. It’s a celebration of what we have been missing for over a year now: the chance to come together under one roof and share our stories.

“There was no one single theatre production that felt enough to mark the reopening of theatres, so we decided that we needed multiple ones. Shortlisting was difficult but inspiring: there are so many talented people in York.”

Tickets for Love Bites are available, priced from £10-£30, from yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/