The Intermediate Group to create a murder mystery promenade performance based on a Memorial Stone found in Ecclesall Woods! George Yardley died on the night of October 11th 1786 after an accidental fire in his woodland cabin. He was a charcoal burner. Little else is known about him. The stone was paid for by local men and it is considered highly unusual by historians that such a memorial would be erected to someone of such low social status, which has led to much speculation over the years as to why this was done. The Intermediate group felt inspired by this story and decided to continue the speculation by devising a number of different ways that George met his demise! Ultimately, the audience was asked to decide what they thought had happened to George and who else might have been involved!
The promenade performance took their audience on a journey through time and also all over the woods – the Intermediates had chosen some great destinations to create the different scenes. We had some fantastic ensemble moments and also brilliant individual performances. The show was designed and stage managed by two Intermediate members who ensured that everything went like clock work.
The performance was postponed when just as the company was about to start a thunderstorm struck and everyone had to get out of the woods to safety. This was the first time ever that a Youth Theatre show had to be cancelled due to poor weather, which is not bad going in 9 years of outdoor shows! A week later we reconvened to perform for family and friends but, sadly, missing several members of the company who we know were brilliant performers… however, it did allow us to see what a resilient team we had as the remaining company pulled together to take on new roles and support each other to ensure that the story was told clearly. Â They were absolutely amazing and did us proud!