A Chorus Of Disapproval, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, July 14 to August 7

A Chorus Of Disapproval in Scarborough.

IF you have not had your fill of comic plays within plays this summer, then the chance to top up on York Theatre Royal's The Pocket Dream comes with Alan Ayckbourn's 20th anniversary production of A Chorus Of Disapproval at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough. From Wednesday, Philip York will play Dafydd ap Llewellyn, artistic director and driving force of Pendon Amateur Light Operatic Society, whose production of The Beggar's Opera becomes the suburban stuff of an extremely tangled web.

Were you familiar with this play or the Michael Winner film version?

"I've never done this play before but I did see it a long time ago with Edward Hardwicke in rep. What struck me about it was the way Alan Ayckbourn integrated the plot with The Beggar's Opera - which, incidentally, was my first professional job in rep in Crewe in 1973.

"Those were the good old days of two-weekly rep, when you would do a new show every two weeks. In those days you would go to the pub at about half past five after rehearsals for a pint and a steak pie. You didn't think about it then, but now you wouldn't dream of having a pint before a show."

Erratic behaviour is just one problem that confronts the frustrated Dafydd in A Chorus Of Disapproval. Before turning professional, did you ever dip your toe in the dangerous currents of amateur dramatics?

"I was a member of a company when I was 15. We used to do festivals and I did a lot of plays at school, and I then worked at the Birmingham Rep as a 'day man', which in reality meant you worked during the day... and you worked at night too. I did it for six months, but then I got a place at Central School."

Do you ever watch amateur productions?

"One of my favourite productions is an amateur show in Port Isaac, Cornwall. I have some friends there who are potters, and they put on a Christmas show each year that packs out for four nights, and it's marvellous. Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has a place down there and he played dame one time. Then there was the night where they had a blackout and someone asked if anyone had 50p for the meter."

What drew you to acting?

"It was because I couldn't do anything else. I was hopeless at anything academic. My brother is an actor too: James Warwick, who's been in America for 12 years, where he's working as a director."

Is James older than you?

"Oh, he's much older than me... three and a half years older. I don't know whether he influenced me or not, but maybe he broke the mould a little for me and then I came into the profession - though I had always done dramatics in my school days."

A Chorus Of Disapproval will be your second production of the summer in Scarborough. Already you have appeared as the dapper, but vexed, theatre producer Mr Charles Pentwick in the Fifties' farce Love's A Luxury. You are not alone in performing in both shows.

"Six of the cast of eight from Sam Walters' production for the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond have stayed on in Scarborough to join cast members from the other Stephen Joseph shows this summer, Drowning On Dry Land and I Ought To Be In Pictures. It's great because we've all seen each other's plays and now it's good to be working together: that's always the most exciting part, that rush of energy that comes from working with new people."

Finally, Philip, how does harassed director Dafydd rate when judged against Alan Ayckbourn's directing skills?

"Dafydd is a bit of everything: he's an enthusiast when it's going well and irascible when it isn't. In truth, he's not a very good director. He throws his arms around a lot. Alan is very quiet and contained and clear when he's directing, and there's nothing you want more than that. With Alan, there's a huge amount of trust between actor and director, and it's been a joy to work with him."

A Chorus Of Disapproval, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, July 14 to August 7. Box office: 01723 370541.

Updated: 08:32 Friday, July 09, 2004