Remember, Remember

Remember, Remember runs at York Mansion House from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, a new play written and staged exclusively for York Ghost Week 2026. It opens in the low light of the State Room as the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot draws near, and the story is told by two former York residents who rise to share their accounts: the sainted 'Pearl of York' Margaret Clitherow, who relives the day of her death, and Guy Fawkes, believed to have been present at her execution as a youth.

Haunting period folk music, played on traditional instruments, threads through the historically informed storytelling. The piece asks whether Clitherow's trial and death was the inciting event that set the scene for one of the most explosive episodes in English history. It's a local story told from the inside, with the two figures sharing the same stage to piece together their connection.

Behind the show is The Hallowed Guild of Phantom Players: actor and playwright Andrea Mitchell, performer, musician and historical re-enactor Hrafn Rikkardsson, and Celtic folk musician and theatre-maker Olivia Graham. Each brings a different skill to the table, with the folk music running through the storytelling rather than sitting alongside it.

Each performance is two hours long, starting at 7.30pm with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are £25 per person, and that includes an interval drink. You'll need to book in advance, so if you're planning to go, it's worth sorting it sooner rather than later.