Chloe Jones’s Lily St Regis and Martin Lay’s Rooster in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
MARTYN Knight directs York Light Opera Company for the last time in its first staging of Annie in 25 years at York Theatre Royal from tomorrow to February 21.
“It’s my swan song for York Light after 21 years,” says Martyn. “I’m nearly 70, I’m still haring up and down the country – and I’ve just finished the panto season in Eastbourne, where I’ve been the dame for 21 years [at the Devonshire Park Theatre], playing Sally Smee, Smee’s mum, in The Adventures Of Peter Pan this winter.
“You have people coming through as performers all the time, and you need to have directors coming through too. There are only so many dance numbers you can do over the years.”
To prove the point, Martyn is directing Annie for the fifth time. “That spans several years,” he says. “Until now, they’ve all been in the south, High Wycombe, Taunton, Weymouth and… the other one eludes me. York Light is the first one in the north.”
Reflecting on more than two decades at the helm of York Light shows, he says: “As a company, they have brought me friendship and family, as I’ve made so many friends over the years, working with incredible people, with all the joy of giving back to amateur theatre.
“What I get out of it is amazing. I started in the amateurs, never training in dancing and singing, but got the chance in 1976 o start working as a dancer in Portugal at Casino Estoril, the biggest casino in Europe at the time.
Annabel van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
“I was in the floor show, I was 19/20, in my ‘gap year’, and being paid to do it, then went to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore – onwards and upwards.”
Martyn continues: “I was never excellent in the three disciplines, but I could act, sing and dance, did lots of rep things, and ultimately went into the West End in one of those shows. In around 1990, I was in panto with Hinge & Bracket, alongside these 18 and 19-year-olds, when I was in my 30s, and I remember thinking, ‘I should get a proper job’, just as my mum always suggested.”
Cue Martyn directing and choreographing shows at the Watford Palace Theatre, where he had first performed at the age of 11 “when my mum got me into theatre”. “My dad was very high up in management at Heinz, but I have always been a rebel, going against what’s expected,” he says.
Directing has brought him much joy, not least when revisiting a musical such as Annie, a heart-warming tale of hope, family, and second chances with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan, packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.
“I think it’s the children’s element of the show that makes Annie so popular, the chance to see your local talent on stage. We have 18 girls, aged seven to 13, and we auditioned far more than that,” says Martyn.
Annie at the double-trouble: Hope Day, left, and Harriet Wells sharing the title role in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
“They really have that wow factor, and to me it’s all about the next generation of young performers. That’s what I like, when you see the talent coming through.”
Harriet Wells and Hope Day will be sharing the title role in the heart-warming tale of hope, family and second chances with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and book by Thomas Meehan, packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile.
“Harriet and Hope have very different qualities and different approaches to playing the part, which I love,” says Martyn. “Harriet is very expressive; Hope was among the first ones I saw in the auditions, where you’re looking to spot someone who has star quality, and she really made me watch. She has a beautiful face.
“They’re both lovely singers and very good actresses, with demanding songs that they do so well, and though the hardest part is the dancing, they’re coming to terms with that too.”
Expect dazzling choreography, stunning costumes and a full live band in Martyn’s production, alongside a stellar cast of York talent, led by Annabel van Griethuysen as Miss Hannigan after her forgetful but unforgettable Sister Mary Amnesia in Nunsense: The Musical at Theatre@41, Monkgate, in Summer 2024 and hostess Marlene Cabana in Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe at the same theatre last summer.
Sarah Craggs and Neil Wood in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
“Annabel is someone who didn’t cross my mind…until I saw her in the audition; slightly younger than she should be for Miss Hannigan, but her performance said ‘Cast me’,” says Martyn.
“Her last lead for me, [as Sarah Brown in 2018] in Guys And Dolls, was very different, which shows she is a very diverse, powerful performer. Put her together with Martin Lay’s Rooster and Chloe Jones’s Lily St Regis, and they’re really good together.”
Martyn is as busy as ever – also working on a production of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert The Musical in Watford at present– and he is exacting in his standards. “You play to your strengths, but I also change,” he says. “As a director, I always think I could do it better, so I do alter things.”
York Light Opera Company in Annie, York Theatre Royal, February 12 to 21, 7.30pm, except February 15 and 16; February 14, 15 and 21, 2.30pm; February 19, 2pm. The February 17 show will be British Sign Language Interpreted. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Tallis Scholars: Performing Mysteries and Miracles at Beverley Minster on May 23. Picture: Hugo Glendinning
TICKETS are on sale for Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival 2026, running from May 22 to 24 with the theme of Miracles & Mysteries.
Celebrating music and new partnerships in its 38th year, this annual festival is a ‘jewel in the crown’ of Beverley’s musical calendar, attracting visitors and residents to enjoy concerts and talks by experts and participate in workshops.
Each year, the festival attracts international musicians of the highest quality and is well known for seeking out and nurturing emerging talent, as well as drawing on this historic East Riding market town’s medieval musical tradition.
This year’s theme of Miracles & Mysteries intertwines the story of St John of Beverley, one of the most powerful miracle-workers in England in medieval times, with music by the world-renowned Tallis Scholars and a host of musicians from across the UK and Europe.
There are more ways than ever to participate in the music this year with young people invited to join in the fun both before and during the festival. In a new partnership with East Riding Libraries, the festival will be on the road with Baroque Around The Books, staging free concerts at Pocklington Library, on May 11, 11am, Market Weighton Library, May 11, 2pm, Goole Library, May 12, 11am, and Beverley Library, May 12, 4pm.
The scheme began in 2023 in York, where it has been a big success and has featured a variety of outstanding ensembles. This year, the Beverley festival is delighted to welcome Dowland’s Foundry lutenist Sam Brown and tenor Daniel Thomson, who will perform a free concert mixing music by Dowland and Morley with words by William Shakespeare. More details can be found at www.ncem.co.uk/baroque-around-the-books.
After a series of bespoke workshops in East Riding Schools, recorder wizards Palisander Recorder Ensemble will stage a pre-festival concert for all the family, Recorder Revolution!, at Beverley Memorial Hall on March 17 at 6.30pm. Cue magical music-making with an array of recorders ranging from six inches to six feet tall; more details at palisanderrecorders.com.
Rune: Lost In Contemplation concert on May 24
The three-day festival will open on May 22 with Près de Votre Oreille, directed by gamba specialist Robin Pharo, presenting Lighten Mine Eies as part of a European tour in this northern premiere by the French instrumental ensemble at St Mary’s Church at 7.30pm.
The evening will feature music by William Lawes, who enjoyed a brief but dazzling career as a singer and lutenist to Charles I.
Près de Votre Oreille’s European tour is backed by the Centre National de la Musique (CNM) with the support of Institut Français du Royaume-Uni. The ensemble’s main sponsor is the Société Générale Foundation, with further support from the Orange Foundation.
The Tallis Scholars, directed by Peter Phillips, will perform Mysteries and Miracles, a programme that highlights the festival theme through music inspired by the stories of the life of Christ, at Beverley Minster on May 23.
Suited to the Minster’s glorious acoustics, the 7.30pm concert will begin with a depiction of Christ’s birth as envisaged by two of the Renaissance’s most renowned composers, Gabrieli and Victoria.
The Telling will present Purcell: The Musical, featuring Niall Ashdown as Purcell, soprano Héloise Bernard and violinist Joanna Lawrence, in a return to the East Riding Theatre, Beverley, on May 24 at 7.30pm after performing Into the Melting Pot there previously.
This drama, based on the life of 17th-century London composer Henry Purcell, features assorted instrumental and vocal compositions by Purcell, from bawdy theatre ballads and joyful celebrations of love to slow airs and numbers from his semi-operas.
Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival director Delma Tomlin
The festival’s focus on emerging young talent will complement three NCEM Platform Artists, Pseudonym, Intesa and Rune, with the newly appointed New Generation Baroque Ensemble, Bellot Ensemble, who are supported by BBC Radio 3, the Royal College of Music and the National Centre for Early Music, York.
On May 23, at St Mary’s Church, Pseudonym’s Liane Sadler, flutes, Maya Webne-Behrman, violin, Stephen Moran, gamba, and Gabriel Smallwood, harpsichord, will perform Discret et Distrait at 1pm.
After performing in York in 2024 and at an Antwerp showcase last summer, this endearing young ensemble will return to the UK to play 18th-century French music in a sophisticated intermingling of Italian virtuosity and Polish folk rhythms, featuring works by Couperin, Rameau and Telemann.
This concert is made possible thanks to EFFEA’s artist-in-residence Discovery programme, in partnership with AMUZ, Antwerp and Early Music Sweden.
On May 23, at St Mary’s Church, Intesa’s Nathan Giorgetti and Lucine Musaelian (viols and voice) will celebrate their union between Armenian and Italian traditions in Voices Of San Lazzaro at 4pm.
Intesa will explore the connections between sacred and secular love, both in their pain and redemption, highlighting the Armenian story of faith and the women’s story of misunderstanding.
On May 24, in The Quire at Beverley Minster, Rune will perform Lost In Contemplation with a line-up of Angela Hicks soprano, Daniel Thomson tenor, May Robertson voice and vielle, Jean Kelly harp, and Daniel Scott, recorder and positive organ.
Bellot Ensemble: From The Sound Of Battle To The Silence Of Peace
At 3pm, four remarkable medieval miracle stories will be paired with music from across Europe. From the contemplative vision of Ero the monk and Saint Elizabeth’s Miracle of the Roses, to English songs honouring the Virgin Mary and the extraordinary life of Joseph of Schönau, these tales reveal the medieval imagination at its most profound, accompanying stories that explore faith, transformation and the intersection of the miraculous with human experience.
On May 24, at Toll Gavel United Church, Bellot Ensemble will undertake a vivid journey from the clamour of conflict to the quiet miracle of peace in From The Sound Of Battle To The Silence Of Peace.
Edmund Taylor and Maxim Del Mary, violins, Nathan Giorgetti and Lucine Musaelian, viola da gambas, Daniel Murphy, theorbo, baroque guitar and lute, and Matthew Brown, keyboards, will perform music by Lawes, Schmelzer, Biber and Falconieri in a 5pm concert to be recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 3.
Festival director Delma Tomlin says: “We’re very excited to be returning to Beverley for what promises to be a spectacular weekend of music in one of the UK’s most beautiful settings, celebrating the extraordinary wealth of the medieval musical traditions of the town.
“This year’s theme is Miracles & Mysteries, presenting a line-up of international concerts of the highest quality, including our opening concert by Près de Votre Oreille, made possible by our partnership with France.
“The festival also provides a showcase for young talent with Bellot Ensemble, the current New Generation Baroque Ensemble, and NCEM Platform Artists, Pseudonym, Intesa and Rune. Finally, thanks to a new partnership with East Riding Libraries, we’ll be ‘on the road’ for the very first time in Beverley, with Baroque Around The Books, when music lovers can enjoy free concerts by Dowland’s Foundry in several of the region’s libraries.”
Find the full programme at https://www.ncem.co.uk/whats-on/bemf/. Tickets are on sale on 01904 658338, at ncem.co.uk, via email to boxoffice@ncem.co.uk or in person from Beverley Tourist Information Centre, Customer Service Centre, Champney Road, Beverley, HU17 8HE.
The artwork for Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival 2026
Sally Ann Matthews in the role of supermarket boss Patricia in Here & Now, The Steps Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Danny Kaan
MUSICALS aplenty and a posthumous debut exhibition for two York artists are among Charles Hutchinson’s choices for February fulfilment.
Comedy and Tragedy show of the week: Here & Now, The Steps Musical, Grand Opera House, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm; Wednesday & Saturday, 2.30pm; Sunday, 3pm
PRODUCED by Steps, ROYO and Pete Waterman, Here & Now weaves multiple dance-pop hits by the London group into Shaun Kitchener’s story of supermarket worker Caz and her fabulous friends dreaming of the perfect summer of love.
However, when Caz discovers her “happy ever after” is a lie, and the gang’s attempts at romance are a total tragedy, they wonder whether love will ever get a hold on their hearts? Or should they all just take a chance on a happy ending? Look out for Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews as supermarket boss Patricia. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Josh Woodgate’s Pilate in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter
Boundary-pushing theatre show of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Inspired By Theatre’s gritty, cinematic and unapologetically powerful staging of Jesus Christ Superstar presents director Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s radical new vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 musical.
On Gi Vasey’s shifting building-block set design, part temple, part battleground, the story unfolds through visceral movement, haunting imagery and a pulsating live score, capturing Jesus’s final days as loyalties fracture, followers demand revolution and rulers fear rebellion. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Annabel van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan in York Light Opera Company’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
The sun’ll come out tomorrow: York Light Opera Company in Annie, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow until February 21, 7.30pm, except February 15 and 16; matinees on February 14, 15 and 21, 2.30pm; February 19, 2pm
MARTYN Knight directs York Light Opera Company for the last time in the company’s first staging of Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan’s Annie in 25 years.
This heart-warming tale of hope, family and second chances, packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile, stars Annabel van Griethuysen as Miss Hannigan, Neil Wood as Daddy Warbucks and Hope Day and Harriet Wells, sharing the role of Annie. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies: Northern English folk at Helmsley Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
JEZ Lowe & The Bad Pennies have been playing their northern English and Celtic folk and acoustic songs and tunes for more than two decades around folk festivals, clubs and concert stages, while making a dozen albums.
Touring the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland and Belgium, as well as Great Britain and Ireland, singer, guitarist and composer Lowe performs with fiddle player, vocalist and Badapple Theatre writer-director Kate Bramley, Northumbrian small-pipes, accordion and whistle player Andy May and fretless bassist David De La Haye. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Fladam Theatre duo Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter in Astro-Norma And The Cosmic Piano at Helmsley Arts Centre
Children’s show of half-term week: Fladam Theatre in Astro-Norma And The Cosmic Piano, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 2.30pm
FLADAM Theatre, the actor-musician York duo of Adam Sowter and Florence Poskitt, returns with an intergalactic musical adventure ideal for ages four to ten. Meet out-of-this-world pianist Norma, who dreams of going into space, like her heroes Mae Jemison and Neil Armstrong, but children can’t go into space, can they? Especially children with a very important piano recital coming up.
When a bizarre-looking contraption crash-lands in the garden, is it a bird? Or a plane? No and twice no, it’s a piano, but no ordinary piano. This is a cosmic piano! Maybe Norma’s dreams can come true in a 45-minute show packed with awesome aliens, rib-tickling robots, and interplanetary puns that will have children shooting for the stars. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Crime fiction author Elly Griffiths: Discussing new novel The Killing Time at Milton Rooms, Malton
Kemps Books’ literary event of the week: An Evening With Elly Griffiths, Milton Rooms, Malton, February 16, 7.30pm
ELLY Griffiths, award-winning crime fiction author of The Ruth Galloway Mysteries, The Brighton Mysteries and The Postscript Murders, discusses new novel The Killing Time and the inspirations behind her time-twisting mysteries, compelling characters and gripping storytelling. Expect lively conversation, fascinating insights and a book-signing finale. Tickets: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Jodie Comer’s lawyer Tessa in Prime Facie, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Rankin
Recommended but sold out already: Jodie Comer in Prima Facie, Grand Opera House, York, February 17 to 21, 7.30pm plus 3pm Thursday and Saturday matinees
JODIE Comer returns to her Olivier and Tony Award-winning role as lawyer Tessa in the “Something Has To Change” tour of Suzie Miller’s Prime Facie in her first appearance on a North Yorkshire stage since her professional debut in Scarborough as Ruby in the Stephen Joseph Theatre’s world premiere of Fiona Evans’s The Price Of Everything in April 2010.
Comer’s Tessa is a thoroughbred young barrister who loves to win, working her way up from working-class origins to be at the top of her game: prosecuting, cross examining and lighting up the shadows of doubt in any case. An unexpected event, however, forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge. Box office for returns only: atgtickets.com/york.
Craig David: PerformingTS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend in July
Gig announcement of the week: Craig David presents TS5, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, July 24
SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David will complete this summer’s music line-up at York Racecourse after earlier announcements of Becky Hill’s June 27 show and Tom Grennan’s July 25 concert.
David, 44, will present his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment, plus current House hits, when he combines his singing and MC skills. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.
THE Kleio Quartet – Juliette Roos, Katherine Yoon (violins), Yume Fujise (viola) and Eliza Millett (cello) – opened opened the programme with an impressive account of Elgar’s String Quartet in E minor, Op. 83.
How this young group of players managed to embrace the emotional depth of this remarkable work was beyond me, but they did.
Although the Quartet was written in 1918, the final year of the First World War, it does not emerge as a wartime statement. It instead signals the collapse of the Edwardian world and Elgar’s withdrawal from public life.
Gone is the public voice of the Enigma Variations and the symphonies; Elgar retreats instead to the private, intimate world of chamber music. The Quartet is therefore shaped by introspection, cultural rupture and disillusionment.
This was most evident in the Kleio’s performance of the central Piacevole (poco andante): the emotional core of the work. The opening cantabile melody – played by the first violin – unfolded in a tender, sustained line, aided by minimal vibrato and superbly natural phrasing.
The lines were passed between the instruments with great sensitivity. The viola’s tone added a warm glow to the texture, suggesting nostalgia. There was noticeable role reversal with the second violin, which generally played a supporting role to the first, while the cello provided vital support through its countermelodies. The balance was impeccable.
If the opening Allegro moderato can be labelled dramatic, it is surely through the restrained tension beneath the surface. Again, the Quartet’s interpretation and judgement were admirably on display.
The thematic material is shared across all four instruments, and the balance and clarity of the inner voices – particularly the second violin and viola – were vital in maintaining the movement’s flow. The phrasing and dynamics were beautifully judged.
The closing Allegro molto was driven by a restless energy. The rhythmic playing was invariably precise, and the contrasting lyrical passages that emerged from the ensemble texture – with excellent contributions from viola and cello – carried that glance-over-the-shoulder, reflective quality. The end of the movement avoided any sense of triumph or resolution, but was satisfying nonetheless.
Beethoven’s String Quartet in D major, Op. 18 No. 3 came as a breath of fresh air. The opening Allegro was deceptively relaxed: the witty conversational interplay and the speed at which themes were passed around were a hoot. The rhythmic energy was light rather than driven, and the elegance of the playing made for an impressive opening.
Their playing in the Andante con moto had emotional warmth and lovely poise, while conveying a subtle tension beneath the calm surface. The third movement Allegro came across as a robust minuet, but one with both bite and humour. Sharp accents and crisp articulation added to the character, giving the dance a distinct rhythmic edge.
The closing Presto shone with sparkle and wit. The light articulation and clarity in the fast passagework were thrilling. Great fun too.
The interval usually gives me time to clear my head before the second half. This time, however, my companion pointed out that the Beethoven quartet opens with the same minor seventh as There’s A Place For Us from West Side Story. From that moment on, Bernstein refused to leave my head – a damned good tune, admittedly.
I have always found Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 44 No. 3 to be texture-driven rather than theme-driven, with much of its character emerging from the interaction of inner voices rather than overt melodic statements.
It was a relief to hear a performance in which the texture was kept both clear and buoyant. This was evident from the opening Allegro vivace, where the movement’s brilliance lay in the quick exchanges between the instruments. Not for the first time, the viola and second violin ensured a strongly conversational quality.
The light, almost weightless playing in the second movement, Scherzo: Assai leggiero vivace, had a delightful, wispy, magical character, while the turbo-charged energy of the closing Molto allegro con fuoco – cleanly articulated and crackling with kinetic energy – nearly sent an instinctively animated first violin, Juliette Roos, into orbit.
For me, the movement that lingered most was the Adagio non troppo, the still point of the quartet. The long cantabile lines shared across the ensemble, shaped with warmth but without indulgence, and the intimacy of the phrasing made the performance genuinely affecting.
WHEN you walk out of a concert feeling that it may have been the musical event of the year and it is still only early February, you have certainly experienced something special.
In the case of pianist Angela Hewitt, it was extraordinary. Not that we should be surprised by now. This was at least her fourth visit to York in the past ten years: she must like it here.
Her focus was entirely on Bach. She played all but one of six works from memory. The exception was the huge Prelude & Fugue in A minor, BWV 894 (not one of the ‘48’), where her tablet could not be more than an aide-memoire, given the rapid tempos both halves demand. She kept it until last, yet after a whole evening her intensity was as strong as ever.
In the fugue, her relaxation was so engrossing that it was as if she were unveiling a brand-new narrative, despite its complexities.
It was about 20 seconds into the opening Toccata in D major, BWV 912, that she had the packed audience in the palm of her hand. While its moods were distinctive, there was also a sense of excitement building throughout: the final gigue, which happens also to be a fugue, was intoxicating for its sheer enthusiasm. As with so much of the evening, she used her sustaining pedal sparingly: clarity was the watchword.
By now her palpable enjoyment had become infectious. In the Fifth French Suite, in G major, there was an elegiac transparency to the Sarabande and a gentle lilt to the majestic Loure, both standing in contrast to the commanding virtuosity elsewhere and testimony to Hewitt’s feeling for the romantic side of Bach, an aspect too widely ignored. The taxing gigue, needless to say, was at once colourful and percussive.
The Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, in D minor, was an ear-opener, the first part dazzling in its harmonic daring, right at the limits for the composer’s time, the second incredibly crisp, with subtle weighting of the various voices.
That clarity was maintained in the Fifth Partita (a suite in all but name), despite the cracking pace at the start. There were supple dabs of rubato along the way, before a finale of mesmerising brilliance.
In the Italian Concerto, published in 1735 and the latest work in this programme, we could feel Bach letting his hair down: the sun sparkling on the Mediterranean in the exhilarating opening, the flowing song of the Andante with teasing ornamentation, and the balletic momentum of the final Presto, this was Italy in a nutshell. Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring made a deeply touching encore.
Angela Hewitt has once again confirmed her already legendary status as a player of Bach. We must hope that she will continue to make frequent returns to York.
Suede: Returning to York Barbican for the first time since March 2023. Picture: Dean Chalkley
DRESSED in black, Brett Anderson strides onto the York Barbican stage to cheers from Saturday’s sold-out audience.
Suede, the Britpop band with a stripe of depth that marked them out from their peers, are in York as part of a tour to promote their tenth album, last September’s Antidepressants.
At 58, Anderson has retained his good looks and panache. He’s a clever, talented, self-made man. He has penned two volumes of autobiography, including Coal Dark Mornings, about his tough upbringing in a West Sussex council house that was virtually penniless.
He was heartbroken at the death of his mother and did not attend her funeral, an act of existential defiance he now regrets.
His lyrics often focus on the tougher elements of life and the band tend to view themselves as outsiders. They are much deeper, but less popular, than their 90s’ cousins Oasis, whose Gallagher brothers Anderson once dubbed “the singing plumbers”’.
The artwork for Suede’s September 2025 album, Antidepressants, which peaked at number two in the UK charts
Opening with Disintegrate, from the new album, the band pummel through a set that is mostly loud, fast and excitable Several songs in and they deliver two killer tunes: Trash and Animal Nitrate. These show Suede at their bombastic best: rousing songs with shadowy lyrics and a hint of edginess.
Animal Nitrate is a dark tale of abuse and escapism set to a soaring chorus, but it is closely followed by Film Star, which is leaden and repetitive, with little of the same brio.
Anderson is backed by Simon Gilbert (drums), Richard Oakes (guitar and keys), Mat Osman (bass) and Neil Codling (keyboards and guitar), who resembles Thin Lizzy’s Scott Gorham with his long hair and Gibson Les Paul.
The band play most songs at a similar brisk pace and with attendant volume, sometimes lacking in variation. Clearly influenced by David Bowie, Suede would benefit from borrowing some of the dynamics that another of their influences, The Smiths, used so effectively.
Just because you can play loud and fast doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy other approaches. Anderson, revelling in the drama of performance, exhorts the audience to feverous applause. He lies down, he grapples with fanatic audience members, he sings his heart out. By the end, he’s drenched in sweat. The fans, of course, lap it up.
Robin Simpson in The Last Picture at York Theatre Royal Studio, Picture: S R Taylor Photography
MUSICALS aplenty and a posthumous debut exhibition for two York artists are among Charles Hutchinson’s favourites for February fulfilment.
Solo show of the week: The Last Picture, York Theatre Royal Studio, until February 14, 7.45pm except Sunday, plus Wednesday and Saturday 2pm matinees
ROBIN Simpson follows up his sixth season as York Theatre Royal’s pantomime dame by playing a dog in York Theatre Royal, ETT and An Tobar and Mull Theatre’s premiere of Catherine Dyson’s anti-Fascist monodrama The Last Picture, directed by associate artist John R Wilkinson.
Imagine yourself in a theatre in 2026. Now picture yourself as a Year 9 student on a school museum trip, and then as a citizen of Europe in 1939 as history takes its darkest turn. While you imagine, emotional support dog Sam (Simpson’s character) will be by your side in a play about empathy – its power and limits and what it asks of us – built around a story of our shared past, present and the choices we face today. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Colour & Light turns the spotlight on Viking invader Eric Bloodaxe among York’s rogues, scoundrels and historical figures in Double Take Productions’ light installation at York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower. Picture: David Harrison
Illumination of the week: Colour & Light, York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower, York, until February 22, 6pm to 9pm
YORK BID is bringing Colour & Light back for 2026 on its biggest ever canvas. For the first time, two of York’s landmark buildings are illuminated together when York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower become the combined canvas for Double Take Projections’ fully choreographed projection show, transforming the Eye of York.
Presented in partnership with York Museums Trust and English Heritage, the continuous, looped, ten-minute show bring York’s historic rogues, scoundrels, miscreants, mischief makers and mythical characters to life in a family-friendly projection open to all for free; no ticket required.
Suede: Showcasing Antidepressants album on York Barbican return
Recommended but sold out already: Suede, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm
AFTER playing York Barbican for the first time in more than 25 years in March 2023, Suede make a rather hastier return on their 17-date Antidepressants UK Tour when Brett Anderson’s London band promote their tenth studio album.
“If [2022’s] Autofiction was our punk record, Antidepressants is our post-punk record,” says Anderson. “It’s about the tensions of modern life, the paranoia, the anxiety, the neurosis. We are all striving for connection in a disconnected world. This was the feel I wanted the songs to have. This is broken music for broken people.” Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Sara Pascoe: Contemplating smart and astute nocturnal thoughts in I Am A Strange Gloop
Comedy gig of the week: Sara Pascoe, I Am A Strange Gloop, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm
HAVE you ever been awake in the middle of the night and thought something so smart and astute that you could not wait for the world to wake up for you to tell them? “This show is that thought, in that it doesn’t make much sense and is a bit weird on reflection,” says Dagenham comedian, actress, presenter and writer Sara Pascoe.
In I Am A Strange Gloop, Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club podcaster and former The Great British Sewing Bee host Pascoe reveals how her children don’t sleep, her kitchen won’t clean itself and her husband “doesn’t want to be in it”. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Sally Ann Matthews’ supermarket boss Patricia in Here & Now The Steps Musical. Picture: Danny Kaan
Comedy and Tragedy show of the week: Here & Now, The Steps Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 10 to 15, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Wednesday and Saturday, 2.30pm; Sunday, 3pm
PRODUCED by Steps, ROYO and Pete Waterman, Here & Now weaves multiple dance-pop hits by the London group into Shaun Kitchener’s story of supermarket worker Caz and her fabulous friends dreaming of the perfect summer of love.
However, when Caz discovers her “happy ever after” is a lie, and the gang’s attempts at romance are a total tragedy, they wonder whether love will ever get a hold on their hearts? Or should they all just take a chance on a happy ending? Look out for Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews as supermarket boss Patricia. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Gi Vasey’s Annas and Joseph Hayes’ Caiaphas in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter
Boundary-pushing theatre show of the week: Inspired By Theatre in Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 11 to 14, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
YORK company Inspired By Theatre’s gritty, cinematic and unapologetically powerful staging of Jesus Christ Superstar presents director Dan Crawfurd-Porter’s radical new vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 musical.
On Gi Vasey’s shifting building-block set design, part temple, part battleground, the story unfolds through visceral movement, haunting imagery and a pulsating live score, capturing Jesus’s final days as loyalties fracture, followers demand revolution and rulers fear rebellion. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Annie at the double: Hope Day, left, and Harriet Wells will be sharing the title role in York Light Opera Company’s musical. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography
The sun’ll come out, not tomorrow, but from Thursday at: Annie, York Light Opera Company, York Theatre Royal, until February 21, 7.30pm, except February 15 and 16; matinees on February 14, 15 and 21, 2.30pm; February 19, 2pm
MARTYN Knight directs York Light Opera Company for the last time in the company’s first staging of Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan’s Annie in 25 years.
This heart-warming tale of hope, family, and second chances, packed with such knockout songs as Tomorrow, Hard Knock Life and You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile, stars Annabel van Griethuysen as Miss Hannigan, Neil Wood as Daddy Warbucks and Hope Day and Harriet Wells, sharing the role of Annie. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Liz Foster: Exploring memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places in Deep Among The Grasses
Exhibition launch of the week: Liz Foster, Deep Among The Grasses, Rise:@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, February 12 to April 10
YORK artist Liz Foster’s new series of abstract paintings, Deep Among The Grasses, invites you into rich, expansive imagined spaces where she explores memory, landscape and the childhood feeling of being immersed in wild places.
Full of colour, feeling and atmosphere, this body of work is being shown together for the first time. Everyone is welcome at the 6pm to 9pm preview on February 12 when Leeds-born painter, teacher and mentor Liz will be in attendance.
Craig David: Performing his TS5 DJ set at York Racecourse Music Showcase weekend
Gig announcement of the week: Craig David presents TS5, York Racecourse Music Showcase Weekend, Knavesmire, York, July 24
SOUTHAMPTON singer-songwriter and DJ Craig David will complete this summer’s music line-up at York Racecourse after earlier announcements of Becky Hill’s June 27 show and Tom Grennan’s July 25 concert.
David, 44, will present his TS5 DJ set on Music Showcase Friday’s double bill of racing and old-skool anthems, from R&B to Swing Beat, Garage to Bashment , plus current House hits, when he combines his singing and MC skills. Tickets: yorkracecourse.co.uk; no booking fees; free parking on race day.
Ice amid the January rain: York Ice Trail 2026
Festival of the week: Make It York presents York Ice Trail, An Enchanted City, York city centre, today and tomorrow, 10.30am to 4pm
THE streets of York will be transformed into An Enchanted City, where a spell has been cast, as ice sculptures, alive with enchantment, appear across the city’s cobbled and narrow streets.
Created by Icebox, 36 sculptures inspired by magic, mystery, the weird and wonderful will make an extraordinary trail, but who cast the spell and why? Follow the trail to uncover the truth. Pick up a trail map from the Visit York Visitor Information Centre to tick off all the sculptures; collect a special sticker on completion.
The sculptures will be: Ice Ice Baby (neon photo opportunity), provided by Make It York; Igloo 360 Photobooth, Party Octopus; The Ice Village (curated market); All Aboard for Railway Stories, National Railway Museum; Bertie the Shambles Dragon, Shambles Market Traders; The Wizard of Ouse!, City Cruises York and Mr Chippy; The Enchanted Chocolate Bar, York’s Chocolate Story.
Drake’s Spellbound Catch, provided by Drake’s Fish and Chips; Sword in the Stone, York BID; The Yorkshire Rose by Kay Bradley, Bradley’s Jewellers; Saint William’s Poisoned Chalice, York Minster; Toadstool House, York BID; York Park & Brrr-ide, First Bus; Wizard Teddy Bear, Stonegate Teddy Bears; Bettys Bern Bears, Bettys; The Magic of Connection, Grand Central Rail.
Lord of the Lodging, provided by The Judge’s Lodging; The Ice Wall (photo opportunity), Make It York; Spellbound Train Ticket, The Milner York; From Grand Roots, Magic Blooms, The Grand, York; Hobgoblin, York BID; Enchanted, Icebox; Wade The Giant, North York Moors National Park; Let It Sew, Gillies Fabrics; The Hungry Dragon, Ate O’clock; Barghest, York BID.
The Prophet Hen, provided by SPARK: York; Jack Frost, York BID; Wings of Ice, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall; Magic Mixie Monster, York Mix; Mjolnir – The Bringer of Lightning, Murton Park; Beaky Blinder the Puffin, RSPB; Food and Drink Area; Ice Masterclass (paid experience); The Snow Block (photo opportunity), Make It York, and Live Ice Carving (from 12 noon each day).
In Focus: Navigators Art performance & exhibition, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Sunday, 5pm
Penesthilia, by Penny Marrows
TO mark the opening of Penny Marrows and J P Warriner’s posthumous exhibition at City Screen Pictiurehouse, Penny and artist Timothy Morrison’s son, London jazz guitarist Billy Marrows, performs tomorrow with Portuguese Young Musician of the Year 2025 Teresa Macedo Ferreira, supported by lutenist Simon Nesbitt. Admission is free.
The exhibition launch follows at 6pm, celebrating two late York artists whose paintings were never exhibited in their lifetimes.
Born in 1951, Penny grew up in Tockwith, west of York, and attended Mill Mount Grammar School for Girls before studying 2D and 3D art at York College, training as a sculptor, then taught art in prisons and adult education in London.
On returning to Yorkshire, she painted and drew trees, landscapes and portraits for 30 years, including her self-portrait as an heroic winged figure.
Her exhibition is curated by husband Timothy Morrison, York artist and teacher, who says: “I met her in a printmaking evening class in Brixton, where Penny made linocuts and engravings of alarmingly aggressive-looking mythical beasts.
“Billy came along…and as a teenager fell in love with the guitar and jazz, and went on to study at Royal Academy of Music.
“Fast forward to early 2023 when Penny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Billy started sending little video recordings of his music to cheer her up (and me). New compositions, and duets with Teresa [Macedo Ferreira].
Penny Marrows in her garden
“The Beech Tree had its premiere at Penny’s funeral, and some of these pieces became Billy’s first album, Penelope, released soon after in her memory. So far it’s raised almost £7,000 for World Child Cancer.”
In 2025, Penelope was shortlisted in the category of Best New Album in the Parliamentary Jazz Awards. “Penny doesn’t know about all this, nor that thanks to Billy’s music her paintings have had an extraordinary resurrection.
“The trauma of the illness, combined with major retro-refit work in the house, meant that the paintings were buried in the chaos. We found them at the back of a huge pile. First exhibited at the funeral, they’ve since gone round the world beautifully emblazoned on Billy’s album covers.”
Penny loved trees, especially walking through woods. “The paintings seemed to burst from nowhere at the time, almost with a secretive devil-may-care diffidence, but are actually distillations of detailed observational sketchbook drawings done in the Howardian Hills while we collected wood for our stove,” says Timothy.
“Her early notebooks tenderly catch details of family life in Tockwith with an almost Bonnard-like natural draughtsmanship. My garden is a beautiful sculpture garden.
“If Penny is anywhere, she’s in the trees, both in the paintings and out there. Her work inspires my own drawings; I think of her as Daphne and I often depict her as a bird perched humorously and enquiringly on her very own branch.
“I would like to thank Richard Kitchen, who greatly encouraged me to curate this show of Penny’s work, and for making it possible.”
J P Warriner’s work Untitled, featuring in Navigators Art’s exhibition
BORN in Ireland in 1935, J P (John)Warriner lived most of his life in York, where he died in 2019 aged 84. “He has no surviving family or partner,” says Navigators Art’s Richard Kitchen. “Research indicates he was a brilliant and kind man, and a grandfather figure to troubled local youth.”
John was a contemporary figurative painter whose style spanned surrealism, post pop, erotic and neo-mythic genres. Married to Effie, the couple had two children, Ronald and Nigel, who both died tragically young.
“John seemed to have taken to painting to heal from the losses he and Effie endured,” says his exhibition curator, Cath Dickinson, of Notions Vintage. “He remains somewhat of an enigma, with little recorded about his life or artistic endeavours.
“We know that he was a retired Nestle employee, living in Acomb, suspected to have hailed from Omagh, County Tyrone. With no social media or websites to dissect, no records of known influences or potential drivers, the journey of discovery about JP is just beginning.”
Local accounts reveal that he was a much loved go-to grandfather figure to all the children in his street in Foxwood, Acomb, never missing a birthday or Christmas, delivering shortbread and fixing many broken bikes.
In a strange encounter, curator Cath Dickinson, who has been collecting paintings by John for five years, met someone who knew a friend and neighbour of John by chance.
“I discovered that John had been more than a friendly neighbour but amentor to troubled local adolescents and young people who were struggling with the temptations of life in the hedonistic 1990s and 2000s,” says Cath.
Artist J P Warriner with “our Amy”
“John had a particularly close friend, mentee and muse in ‘Our Amy’, a wonderful young mum who was full of life, and had a fantastic sense of humour. John became Amy’s mentor and confidante and tried to not only guide but also record many of the pivotal moments in her tragically shortened life.”
Exhibition visitors hopefully will be able to discover and share more of the history of John’s painting and subjects. “The main part is in tribute and memory to Amy and John and their bond which transcended generations and societal norms,” says Cath. “John’s works have been likened to Alasdair Gray and Grayson Perry. They span decades and observe war, tragedy, comedy, temptation, love and loss.
After the exhibition in memory of John, Effie and Amy ends on March 6, some of John’s works will be available to buy from notionsvintageyork.com at 6 Aldwark Mews, York, YO1 7PJ.
“This joint exhibition has been both a labour of love and a voyage of discovery for its two curators,” says Richard. “Come and discover the work of two wonderful creative artists and their vibrant contrasting styles and subject matter.”
Penny Marrows & J P Warriner, City Screen Picturehouse, York, on show until March 6, open daily from 10.30am until closing time.
Did you know?
BILLY Marrows also played at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, on February 5 with Di-Cysgodion, a contemporary jazz quartet making waves in the capital and touring the north following their appearance at London’s Vortex Jazz Club.
Billy will return to The Basement with the Billy Marrows Band on March 26 in a 7.30pm concert promoted by Jazztones at 7.30pm. Tickets: TicketSource booking at bit.ly/nav-events.
The quartet brings together exciting London jazz scene improvisers to present York-born Billy’s boundary-pushing compositions, where they explore the relationship between improvisation and composition, incorporating grooves from across the globe and taking inspiration from many genres, including contemporary jazz, funk, progressive jazz and classical.
Penny Marrows’ artwork for Billy Marrows’ album Penelope, which received a four-star review in Jazzwise
Joining Billy, electric guitar and compositions, will be Chris Williams, alto sax (Led Bib, Sarathy Korwar, Grande Familia, Let Spin), Huw V Williams, double bass (Gruff Rhys, Ivo Neame, Chris Batchelor, Di-Cysgodion) and Jay Davis, drums (Mark Lockheart, Eddie Parker, Elliot Galvin, Di-Cysgodion).
Their debut album, Dancing On Bentwood Chairs, will be released on February 13, and this concert forms part of the accompanying tour,
Billy, who grew up in Sheriff Hutton, near York, studied jazz guitar at the Royal Academy of Music. He also leads the chamber-jazz project Grande Família, whose appearances have taken in top British venues, Scarborough Jazz Festival and a sold-out residency at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho.
In addition, Billy performs with Docklands Sinfonia, Tom Ridout Quintet, Chelsea Carmichael, Patchwork Jazz Orchestra and Di-Cysgodion. For more details, go to: billymarrows.com.
Helen Gallagher’s ‘Calamity’ Jane and Matt Tapp’s ‘Wild’ Bill Hickok in Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s Calamity Jane
ONE of the joys of York’s remarkable spread of theatre companies is the chance to catch the ever-widening span of acting talent in leading roles.
Helen Gallagher has performed in musicals since she was young, across Yorkshire, in Manchester and overseas in Seoul, South Korea. Now she takes the title role in Sophie Cooke’s production of Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster’s 1961 musical story of friendship, adventure, and romance, set against the backdrop of the American Western Frontier.
Alongside her is the towering Matt Tapp, who has played everything from a sailor to an asylum owner in amateur musicals for years, not least a Viking (no surprise there, given his heavy metal mane of hair and beard).
Here he takes on a “real challenge, but an amazing one” in his Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company debut as “Wild” Bill Hickok (soldier, scout, lawman, cattle rustler, gunslinger, gambler, showman and actor of the American Old West), here spelled ‘Hickock’ in the programme.
Gallagher’s ‘Calam’ and Tapp’s ‘Wild’ Bill are both superb leads in Cooke’s impressively well-drilled company, one that fills the stage to the gills with bright energy, fun, frills and bonhomie, choreographed with admirable precision and passion by Heather Stead and Rachel Shadman.
The Joseph Rowntree Theatre Company’s eighth fundraising show for the JoRo Theatre’s maintenance since 2017 is built on strong foundations: Cooke’s direction, so alive to the show’s romance, love of theatrical performance and balance of frivolity, femininity, feminism and competitive male swagger, in tandem with Martin Lay’s zestful musical direction of an 11-strong orchestra (featuring polymath James Robert Ball in yet another guise as trombonist).
Then add Stead’s choreography, maximising ensemble movement, Julie Fisher and Costume Crew’s costume designs and Eliza Rowley’s set design of a prettily refurbished cabin for Calamity and Katie Brown (Jennifer Jones) and an open-plan structure for the Golden Garter, the saloon run by Alex Schofield’s ever-harassed by perennially willing-to-please Henry Miller.
Charting the interlinked lives of the Deadwood City community in 1876, when everyone knows everyone’s business, Calamity Jane is suffused with colourful characters united by dreams of a better life. Not only the frontier-town folk and fort of soldiers, but also Jones’s Katie Brown, the dresser mistaken by Calamity Jane for Chicago singing sensation Adelaide Adams (Mollie Raine) when she promises Miller she will bring back Adelaide from the Windy City to perform at the saloon.
Gallagher’s sharp-shooting Calam’ (real name Martha Jane Canary) is as fast with her tongue as her gun, always in a rush, ready for the rough and tumble, a no-nonsense tomboy, but with a romantic heart held in check beneath the bravado.
She sings delightfully too, from The Deadwood Stage opener, through the exasperated Men! to Windy City and the ever-gorgeous My Secret Love. Best of all is her Act Two opening duet with Jones’s Katie, A Woman’s Touch.
Tapp’s ‘Wild’ Bill has bags of stage presence too, matched by his assured singing, whether in his I Can Do Without You duet with Calamity or his ‘big number’, Higher Than A Hawk.
At the heart of Calamity Jane is the love interest, played with a lightness of touch by Gallagher’s Calamity, who’s in love with Adam Gill’s upstanding but very forward Lt Danny Gilmartin, who’s fallen in love with Jones’s Katie, the new apple of the eye of Tapp’s ‘Wild’ Bill. Such a merry-go-round of the heart is delightfully daft and yet deftly played.
Sadie Sorensen’s Susan blossoms in the story’s other romance with Tom Menarry’s Francis Fryer, the Chicago act booked mistakenly (as Miss Frances Fryer) by Miller. Menarry is a particular joy in drag for Hive Full Of Honey, while Raine revels in Adelaide’s moment in the spotlight , It’s Harry I’m Planning To Marry.
From Emily Hawkins’ poster designs to Scenery Solutions’ backcloth for the Black Hills Of Dakota, this Calamity Jane is spot on in every way.
Iain Harvey’s Jesus in Inspired By Theatre’s radical reinvention of Jesus Christ Superstar. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter
INSPIRED By Theatre’s “gritty, cinematic and unapologetically powerful” staging of Jesus Christ Superstar will “push the boundaries of what local theatre can achieve”.
Directed by founder Dan Crawfurd-Porter, the York company’s radical new vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 musical will be unfurled at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from February 11 to 14.
“What defines this production is its intensity,” says Dan. “Our staging is bold, the choreography [by assistant director Freya McIntosh] demands everything from the cast, and the individual performances are so powerful. There’s no coasting, no safe choices.
“We’re embracing a visual and physical language that gives the story a new edge. It’s a Jesus Christ Superstar that commits fully to the story’s momentum and spectacle.”
Dan continues: “We have leant heavily into the imagery, symbolism and movement because it’s a very ‘dancey’ show, where I think Freya has brought her best choreography to it as the music can only do so much.
Inspired By Theatre director Dan Crawfurd-Porter
“For one of the most popular musicals of all time, we’ve done everything with purpose with our visual decisions, where we keep coming back to the need to help to tell the story.
“Where the narrative is unspoken, we’ve brought in some of our bolder choices, when we hope the visual elements will have an impact on the audience.
“There’ll be no projections, no gimmicks; the main component of the set will be 20 individual blocks that will be moved from musical number to number and that’ll do a large part of our storytelling.”
Set in a shifting space, part temple, part battleground, by designer Gi Vasey, the story will unfold through visceral movement, haunting imagery and a pulsating live score, capturing Jesus’s final days as loyalties fracture, followers demand revolution and rulers fear rebellion.
Taking the lead role of Jesus will be company regular – and man of faith – Iain Harvey. “I directed the show ten years ago in Tadcaster, aged 27 – Dan’s age – when my dad was in the company and Kelly Ann Bolland, who’s now playing Judas, was Mary.
Kelly Ann Bolland’s Judas in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Picture: Dan Crawfurd-Porter
“Working with Dan, he goes into the real minutiae of the detail, not only for how the show looks but also on the emotional level, and he’s been open minded to every side of the argument, so you can interpret it how you choose to.”
In bringing his interpretation of Jesus to the stage, Iain says: “The physical attributes of Jesus, how he looks, is not the point. I’m just trying to embody the emotive aspects of the character, though don’t get me wrong, I’ve been doing some crunches!
“In Jesus Christ Superstar, there are so many big, vibrant characters, and Jesus can often come across as morose or depressive, but that’s because of the weight of what he has to do, sacrificing himself for his heavenly Father’s vision.”
Dan has previous form for Lloyd Webber and Rice’s musical. “It was my first show in 2021 when I played Peter for Ripon Operatics at the Ripon Arts Hub,” he says. “I remember thinking that often when it’s done, Peter gets a little lost in Act One and suddenly comes to the fore in Act Two. For our production, I’ve told Richard Bayton that I would ask more of him than most Peters.”
Iain adds: “Dan has made the conscious decision to bring certain characters to the fore, like Mary Magdalene, and we have a brilliant Mary in Rianna Pearce. She makes such an emotional connection and brings light in the time of darkness.”
Gi Vasey’s Annas and Joseph Heyes’ Caiaphas in Inspired By Theatre’s Jesus Christ Superstar
Part of Iain’s preparation has involved having conversations with musical director Matthew Peter Clare about the tone of his singing. “I wouldn’t want to replicate something from previous versions, but working with Matthew, we explore how to bring an individual quality to it, but I’m also aware of not going too far away from what’s familiar,” he says. “I want to be in that place where the audience are comfortable because it brings back memories.”
Dan rejoins: “But I also want someone who hasn’t seen the show before to be blown away by it.”
Since forming under the name Bright Light Musical Productions, and now as Inspired By Theatre, Dan’s company has performed such shows Green Day’s American Idiot in 2024 and RENT in 2025, both at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
“Inspired By Theatre was built on the belief that theatre can influence, uplift, and spark meaningful change,” says Dan. “The name itself reflects the countless productions, performers, creatives and audiences that continue to inspire and shape the company’s journey.”
Coming next will be Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s Spring Awakening, followed by the Madness musical Our House. “We’ll be shaking up our production team a little bit for Spring Awakening; Mikhail Lim will be directing; Freya [McIntosh] will be by his side, with Jess Viner as musical director,” says Dan. “That gives me a bit of a rest to tee me up for Our House.”
Inspired By Theatre in Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, February 11 to 14, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age recommendation: 12 plus. Box office: 01904 501935 or https://www.josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/musical/jesus-christ-superstar/2832.
Sally Ann Matthews in her musical debut as Patricia in Here & Now. Picture: Danny Kaan
SALLY Ann Matthews’ next step on leaving Coronation Street last October after treading the Weatherfield cobbles across 39 years is to join the cast of Steps’ musical Here & Now.
“This is my first tour show since 2010. I’ve come in for the second leg,” she says, after taking over from Finty Williams – Dame Judi Dench’s daughter – in the role of Patricia, a supermarket proprietor “with a touch of Hyacinth Bucket about her”.
Next week, she will play a York stage for the first time, performing at the Grand Opera House from February 10 to 15.
How did Sally Ann feel on her first night at The Mayflower in Southampton on January 23? “I wasn’t remotely nervous,” she says. “It’s a beautiful theatre – another one I’d never played before – with that lovely feeling of 1,700 people on their feet at each show. What’s not to love about a show that leaves everyone with a smile on their face?”
She was delighted to be offered the chance to join the hit show. “I got a phone call from my agent, saying ‘how do feel about touring again?’. I said, ‘what is it?’. ‘Here & Now, the Steps musical’.
“Of course I said ‘yeah’ as I’m a massive Steps fan and I know Claire [Steps member Claire Richards]. We have mutual friends and we’ve kept in touch. I messaged her to say ‘I’ve just had an offer to play Patricia’. ‘I suggested you!’ she said.
“When she then came to see the show, I told her I was so grateful she’d recommended me.”
At 55, Matthews is making her debut in a musical. “I’ve done plays and pantomime, but never musical theatre, though I do love musicals,” says Sally Ann, who is part of a touring company of 56-60. “They’re such a vibrant, young, talented group that I’m working with.”
Introducing Sally Ann Matthews as Patricia in Here & Now
Produced by Steps, the London dance-pop group with 14 consecutive top five hits to their name since 1997, Here & Now weaves those songs into Shaun Kitchener’s story of supermarket worker Caz and her fabulous friends dreaming of the perfect summer of love.
However, when Caz discovers her “happy ever after” is a lie, and the gang’s attempts at romance are a total tragedy, they wonder whether love will ever get a hold on their hearts? Or should they all just take a chance on a happy ending?
“The best way to describe it is it’s like Mamma Mia!, but with Steps songs, rather than Abba,” says Sally Ann. “It’s about love, life and loss, with the Steps songs feeding the storytelling parts beautifully – and it’s really funny as well.”
That means comedy and, of course, Tragedy, the Bee Gees cover so synonymous with Steps. “We use it as a war cry at the start of Act Two,” says Sally Ann.
“These characters have real heart and you really invest in their journey – and it’s like a panto because there’s a villain too, though I don’t want to give anything away about that.”
Tooled with such Steps favourites as Tragedy, Heartbeat, Stomp, One For Sorrow, Better Best Forgotten, 5,6,7,8, Last Thing On My Mind, Love’s Got A Hold On My Heart and Chain Reaction, Here & Now appeals to every demographic, reckons Sally Ann.
“We have older, retired couples there; then we have youngsters, like my great-nephew, aged six, who’s coming to the show; there are a lots of groups of girls and mums on a Prosecco trip, all dancing away, and then there are lots of men who love Steps,” she says.
“I’ve been to three Steps concerts, where it’s very inclusive and very safe, everybody coming together because there’s such a love of Steps – and this show is the same. After the curtain call, there’s a ten-minute mega-mix, where everyone’s on their feet.”
Sally Ann Matthews’ Patricia and Lara Denning’s Caz in Here & Now. Picture: Danny Kaan
Sally Ann has been struck by the high quality of the touring show and the demands on the cast to be at their best. “We have a resident director with us on tour, so every day we have notes from the director, the dance captain and the musical director to keep up in check. It’s a really tight show,” she says.
“It looks stunning too: a simple set, but so effective, beautifully lit, and the costumes are out of this world, with everyone working so hard for all the quick changes.”
Ironically, Sally Ann’s character has only one costume. “Though I do get to wear a pink pleather coat with fur collar,” she says. “It’s rather fabulous, with a scarf underneath that you only see a little of – but it’s a Dior scarf. There’s been no expense spared in this show.”
Sally Ann is best known for playing Jenny Bradley in Coronation Street, first from 1986 to 1991, then a brief return in 1993 before coming back as a regular from 2015 to 2025.
How did she feel when she recorded her final episode last autumn? “By that point, I felt excited for what was next,” she says. “I’d had a very, very fortunate time, starting my career at 15, then had a long gap when I went off and learnt my trade on stage and had my children as well – they’re 27 and 25 now.
“When I went back in 2015, it was supposed to be a short stint, but when they asked me to stay, I did. But there came a time when Jenny lost the love of her life three times in three years – Johnny in 2021, Leo in 2022 and Stephen, the serial killer, in 2023. Three years on the trot!
“It kind of got to the point where other actors were saying, ‘please don’t put me with her’ – and she’d been held up at gunpoint four times at the Rovers. It kind of felt like a natural end when it came. Jenny had been through so much, she needed a break.”
Here & Now, The Steps Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 10 to 15, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; Wednesday and Saturday, 2.30pm; Sunday, 3pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
