BELT Up Theatre Company has been struck by an unexpected but suitably surreal twist at the outset of rehearsals in York for Lorca Is Dead: Or A Brief History Of Surrealism.

All this week the company in residence at York Theatre Royal has had to cope with the absence of three of its actors, all caught up in the volcanic-ash crisis that has left them stranded around the globe.

Patrick Fysh is “lost” in China; James Wilkes, who plays Salvador Dali, is on a desert island in the Seychelles; and Lucy Farrett is stuck in Belgium.

Remarkably, however, the week has not been a total disaster: rehearsals of a sort have taken place over the internet with the company using YouTube, webcams and emails to connect writer-director Dominic J Allen’s eight-strong cast.

James Wilkes, company director, said: “It’s the first time I’ve ever rehearsed sitting under a palm tree in view of a giant tortoise. I’m hoping to get a flight to Paris, before travelling by train to York, where the Surrealists will be resurrected at the Theatre Royal from May 5 to 8.”

For tickets for the 7.45pm performances, phone 01904 623568 or book online at www.yorktheatreroya.co.uk.