From April 2011, the Badapple Theatre Co Ltd will be touring their production of “The James Herriot Story 2011”.
This comic-drama is a revised version of the biography of Alf Wight, “An Honorary Yorkshireman”, after he came to Yorkshire from Glasgow after the war and became a vet in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Alf Wight is better known as the author James Herriot whose stories were best-sellers and were adapted into the long-running TV series “All Creatures Great & Small”, starring Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison and Lynda Bellingham, and two films, “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Vet” with John Alderton and Colin Blakely and “All Creatures Great and Small” – the latter starring Simon Ward and Anthony Hopkins.
The James Herriot Story 2011 is set in a pub in Yorkshire in the 1940s – in the heyday of traditional farming, and includes a variety of the characters drawn from his novels and short stories with Jonny McPherson as the title character. The show remembers one of Yorkshire’s and also the rest of Britain’s, popular best-selling authors in a wryly humorous way.
Coincidentally (or maybe not), BBC 1 will be screening a new 3-part drama series this year called “Young James” about James Herriot’s life in Scotland and the events which occurred which led to him deciding on a career as a vet. Each episode will last an hour and is based on Herriot’s notes of his own student days, and also Jim Wight’s autobiography of his father. UPDATE 16 September 2011: the title of this programme has now been changed from Young James to Young Herriot – see some pics of the cast and read more here.
You can find out a little more about this here:
These are the Yorkshire dates for “The James Herriot Story 2011”:
Wed 27 Apr 2011 – Marton cum Grafton Memorial Hall, Marton cum Grafton, York YO51 9QY – T: 01423 339 168/ 01423 325 179
Fri 29 Apr 2011 – Markington War Memorial Institute, Harrogate HG3 3NR – T: 01423 339 168/ 01765 676 321
Sat 30 Apr 2011 – Markington War Memorial Institute, Harrogate HG3 3NR – T: 01423 339 168/ 01765 676 321
Sun 1 May 2011 – Long Marston Village Hall TBC – Long Marston, York YO26 7LN – T: 01423 339 168/ 01904 738 527
Tue 3 May 2011 – Pickering Friends Meeting House, Pickering YO18 7AX – T: 01751 474 043 – Tickets £9.00
Wed 4 May 2011 – Fewston Parochial Hall, Fewston, Harrogate HG3 1SU – T: 01943 880 362
Thu 5 May 2011 – Kirkby Malzeard Mechanics Inst Hall HG4 3RS – T: 01423 339 168
*Fri 6 May 2011 – Skirlaugh Village Hall TBC – Skirlaugh, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire HU11 – T: 01964 500 356
Sun 8 May 2011 – Scawby Village Hall DN20 9AS – T: 01652 655 595 – Tickets £6.00
*Wed 11 May 2011 at 7.30pm – Pocklington Arts Centre, Pocklington, York YO42 2AR – T: 01759 301 547 – Tickets £8.50/£7.50/under 18s £6.00
Wed 25 May 2011 – Suddaby’s Crown Hotel, Wheelgate, Malton YO17 7HP – T: 01653 692 038 – Tickets £8.00
*Thu 26 May 2011 – Helmsley Arts Centre, Helmsley, York YO62 5DW – T: 01439 771 700
Fri 27 May 2011 – Green Hammerton Village Hall, Green Hammerton, York YO26 8BA – T: 01423 339 168
Sun 29 May 2011 – 2.30 pm & 7.30 pm – World of James Herriot, Thirsk YO7 1PL – T: 01845 524 234 – Tickets £10
Prices £8.50 adult, £5 child, except where indicated.
*To be confirmed
Tickets are available online from the Badapple website.
And if you need accommodation in Helmsley or a Pickering B&B or a Thirsk hotel, take a look at the accommodation on Hello Yorkshire.
i have had the opportunity to watch seven of the series. “All Creatures Great and Small”, on Netflix. It has truly been a pleasure being able to see scenery of the Yorkshire Dales and enjoy the Yorkshire wit. I am planning a trip to England this summer and hope to incorporate a trip to the Dales.