This summer, York’s residents take to the York Theatre Royal stage to share His Last Report, an unforgettable local story with national impact. The cast features two professional actors alongside a community ensemble of over 100 local people – with Antony Jardine (Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution, Secret Garden, We’re Going On A Bear Hunt) playing social reformer Seebohm Rowntree and Amelia Donkor (Dear Martin, The City and The Town, Little Women) playing Gulie Harlock.
We caught up with Antony Jardine to talk about his latest role and his personal connections to York and the Rowntrees.
What can you tell us about this year’s community production His Last Report and your character Seebohm Rowntree?
The show His Last Report is based on Seebohm Rowntree’s life and his works. He published three reports looking at poverty in York and those reports went on to become the basis of the welfare state. They did remarkable things for the quality of life for people and particularly for people that worked at the Rowntree’s chocolate factory at the time and lived in the village of New Earswick, the play tells that story.
In the second half of the play, the timeline moves around a little bit, and you begin to see what Seebohm Rowntree would make of the modern world and how after the years that have passed his research has come into fruition. The play uses a lens to look at what’s going on in society today.
You have some interesting personal connections to this year’s community production; can you tell us about you and your families links to the Rowntrees?
It was quite an interesting phone call with my agent when she said she had an audition for me in York. I thought, brilliant I’d love to be back in York and work in my home city. She sent over the script, and I saw it was about the Rowntrees, I thought that’s great I know the Rowntrees well and then when I read the play, I couldn’t believe all the other connections as that never really happens.
I was born and raised a Quaker. I went to New Earswick primary school, which is the school that the Rowntrees built for the village of New Earswick. I learnt to swim in the swimming pool which gets name checked in the play. I went to the library which is also mentioned in the play. I went to Bootham School, which is the same school that Seebohm went to, and my dad worked for the Joseph Rowntree Housing trust for 44 years. When I met Juliet and Paul for my audition and told them about the connections, they couldn’t believe it either.
Is your approach to character different when playing a real person?
It raises questions about what source material you have and how you use it. It’s very hard to do an accurate imitation and it’s fair to say that a lot of our audience might not have met Seebohm, so that gives us a bit more freedom to take what we do know and develop that further. We don’t want to turn him into James Bond or anything like that, but we want our audience to invest in every character on the stage and more importantly, the work they are doing. He’s a very beloved son of York and I really want to get it right!
We are condensing his life down into two hours, so the journey is much more compact, so much more like a rollercoaster ride. Ultimately the source material is so solid and so factual and that underpins as a foundation for the whole piece. So yeah, great writing, the work is all done for you really.
You last performed at York Theatre Royal in a production of The Secret Garden in 2018, what keeps you coming back to York?
Well, it’s a pretty nice city to live and work in! The theatre itself has a beautiful auditorium, as a performer it’s a joy to be on that stage. The vibrancy in the building is incredible, there are so many people working and being creative, which I think Seebohm would have approved of enormously. There’s just such a lot going on, but everyone is so friendly and welcoming. It’s an absolute treat and a joy to be able to come back here.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about booking tickets to see His Last Report?
I would say, don’t think about it, just book them. Trust us, you’ll be in for a great night of theatre. When I first read the script, I was absolutely bowled over by how much is incorporated into it. It’s Shakespearian in its scope; it ticks every box. There’s so much joy, there’s going to be a trapeze, Morris dancing, music, it’s such a great story and so specific to York, but on a national and international scale as well.
The story is about bringing people together and realising that an issue needs to be addressed, but also the production itself is bringing together a large community of people that can express themselves artistically in the theatre. I think all of that coming together is a rare and special thing.
I would say if you are going to go and see a play, make it this one because you will learn so much, you will think about yourself in a good, positive way and you’ll laugh and have fun and maybe even an ice cream at the interval.
Don’t miss His Last Report at York Theatre Royal from 19 July – 03 August.
On opening night of His Last Report (19 July) we have a special ‘pay what you can’ performance to help ensure that as many people as possible have a chance to see the show.
You can book your ‘pay what you can tickets’ via Box Office on 01904 623568 or via the York Theatre Royal website here.
