Construction and Engineering students and staff at York College have enjoyed working behind the scenes in the lead up to York Theatre Royal, National Railway Museum and Pilot Theatre’s large scale community production of In Fog and Falling Snow about Railway King George Hudson, which opens this Friday.
Second year Painting and Decorating students have made 90 specially designed boxes which, when pieced together, will form a loco for the performance. The loco is made of 10 wooden boxes built by the College’s joinery department and 80 flat-packed cardboard boxes which students have assembled, primed, wall papered and textured, as seen in a new Behind the Scenes film released ahead of the productions opening night.
In the College’s fabrication workshops Engineering apprentices from Nestle and Unipart have worked together to weld the base for the production’s stage. Working to drawings, the apprentices have used their welding and cutting skills to assemble a metal platform for the production.
Kevin Clancy, Head of Division for Construction at York College says:
This live project is typical of the type of opportunities we like to give our Construction students. Our students will eventually work in industry, working to specific briefs and tight deadlines. We are always keen to help with local community and charity projects, providing students with first-hand working experiences.
Juliet Forster, one of three directors of the production and Associate Director at York Theatre Royalsaid
York College have played a really important role in making this project come alive by making all the stocks and shares and it has been a real pleasure working with them
In addition, Performing Arts students are treading the boards alongside George Costigan as part of a cast of more than 200 local people. Acting student Kane Hutchinson takes one of the leading roles. Kane hopes to progress to drama school or university and knows this production will look impressive on his CV. He says:
Considering some of the scenes can feature up to 100 different characters, the show is quite a spectacle.
In Fog and Falling Snow opens on Friday 26 June and runs until Saturday 11 July at the National Railway Museum. Tickets for the production are on sale now from the York Theatre Royal Box Office, located on St Leonards Place in the De Grey Rooms, by calling 01904 623568 or online at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk