Gary Oldman’s return to York Theatre Royal is ‘special’, staff say

Gary Oldman’s return to the theatre where he made his professional debut is a “very generous decision” by the star, venue staff say.

The Oscar-winning actor is starring in Samuel Beckett’s play, Krapp’s Last Tape, at York Theatre Royal until 17 May, his first stage role since the late 1980s.

He previously said staging the one-actor play, which he also directs, would be all the more poignant as it was “about a man returning to his past of 30 years earlier”.

Vicky Biles, from the theatre, said it had been “very exciting” to welcome new audiences from around the world alongside regulars during the sell-out run.

“We do hope that people coming to see it will look at other things that we have happening here and come back again,” said Ms Biles, the theatre’s communications and development director.

Oldman started out at the venue in 1979 in plays like Privates on Parade and She Stoops to Conquer – as well as playing the cat in the pantomime Dick Whittington that Christmas.

Plans for his long-awaited return started about 18 months ago, Ms Biles said, when Oldman visited the theatre and met chief executive Paul Crewes.

“Gary spent about an hour on the main stage with his family, talking about his memories of working here in 1979,” she said.

“That started the conversation with Paul about Gary’s desire to return to theatre.”

Producing the play, which is not set to tour elsewhere in the UK, had been “thrilling” for the theatre, said Ms Biles.

“He hasn’t done theatre for over 30 years and to choose to come back to where he started his career is very special,” she said.

“It’s a very generous decision on his part to continue to support this theatre and give us this wonderful production.”

The production has received several positive reviews, including the Guardian describing it as a “startling piece of theatre”.

The Times, however, said Oldman “could dig deeper”, with the performance creating “mixed results”.

“It’s very rare for York to be at the centre of focus of the theatre world,” said York-based critic Charles Hutchinson.

“It’s rare that the New York Times, for example, should send a reviewer to York to see anything at all, and they’re there for Gary Oldman.”

Sting and Trudie Styler had visited to watch the production, he added, as well as Slow Horses writer Mick Heron.

Mr Hutchinson said the opening to the production featured 67-year-old Oldman silently eating fruit.

“It is interesting when you watch something and it’s silent other than someone eating a banana and how it makes an audience feel,” the critic said.

“Are they going to find it funny, do they have permission to give the first laugh?”

He added: “He has absolute charisma on screen, but what’s interesting here is he’s playing a character who is downbeat and looking back on 30 years earlier.”

After his York debut, Oldman’s glittering career has included playing Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and winning a best actor Oscar in 2018 for his Winston Churchhill portrayal.

Mr Hutchinson, 64, added: “People say to me, why didn’t you go to work in London? The answer is because still so much goes on in the north.

“I feel more special seeing something like this in York than going to London.”