On the screen at the back of the stage, familiar images flicker: the river, streets in the city centre, the allotments. York Theatre Royal’s reopening event is a resolutely local affair, grounded in the city to which its audience – myself included – has largely been confined since March last year. A mixture of theatre, music, comedy, dance and poetry, peppered with references to local places, it’s a catalogue of York’s creativity.
Consisting of 22 short performances, Love Bites was originally conceived for a scrapped Valentine’s Day reopening. But it works just as well as a tribute to the loves that have sustained us through lockdown. The acts represent many kinds: romantic love, parental love, friendship, self-love, love of place, love of language. Maurice Crichton delivers a heartfelt love letter to the theatre itself, while Bridget Foreman’s 5 Minute Call is an ode to us, the audience, and the experiences we have together in this space. These are two of the evening’s most moving performances, offering a bittersweet reminder of what we’ve missed while theatres have been dark.
The pandemic has left an indelible mark on these performances. Hannah Davies’ tender Love Song to Spring takes us through the changing seasons of a lockdown year, while Hannah Wintie-Hawkins dances in devotion to a daughter born during this time of isolation. There’s also a thrill in the return to the stage. Some pieces, such as Alice Boddy and Leanne Hope’s celebration of female friendship and Richard Kay’s crowd-sourced tribute to the power of singing, brim with undisguised glee. And, after months of social distancing there’s an almost shocking intimacy to contemporary dance performance The Art of Losing, in which the three performers move together like a single, many-limbed creature.
Programmed through an open call, the show as a whole is eclectic and a bit uneven. While some of these miniature art works are delicious bite-sized morsels, others are a little flimsy. But, as a celebration of the city, its artists and its audiences, Love Bites feels like a fitting way to fling open the doors.
