Category: Music

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REVIEW: Pick Me Up Theatre in Bugsy Malone, Grand Opera House, York, splurging all & sundry until Saturday ****

Joseph Egan’s club boss Fat Sam, from Team Malone, in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone

THIS is Pick Me Up Youth Theatre by all but name, revelling in the chance to fire off splurge guns at those joyless dullard authoritarians determined to make artistic expression more and more difficult for young people.

Why, why, why? I defy anyone not too see the benefits, the joys, the camaraderie, the sheer fun of being on stage, working as a team but flourishing individually, in Bugsy Malone, British writer-director Alan Parker’s 1976  gangster spoof with words and Jazz Age  music by Paul Williams.

The Grand Opera House stage is buzzing with energy, with comic glee, with the sharpest of suits and glitziest of gowns (outstanding work by Julie Fisher & Costume Team).

A gauze screen with a full canvas of a young chap in suit and pork pie hat, and the title Bugsy Malone in boldest red, establishes immediately that Pick Me Up producer Robert Readman and fellow designer Rich Musk are going to hit the right notes on the design front.

Theo Rae’s Fizzy: Outstanding performance, topped off by his rendition of Tomorrow

In familiar Readman style, there is a stairway to either side of a mezzanine level, on which musical director Adam Tomlinson’s band members are kitted out in Prohibition-era attire.  To the front of them, singers will be picked out by squares of light bulbs.

To the sides of the stage are yet more banks of light bulbs, the kind to be seen in dressing rooms. A revolving stage turns from well-stocked bar to a plain backdrop. Images of New York’s skyline and more besides are projected on drapes. The evocation of the Big Apple and Fat Sam’s Club is complete, and it looks fantastic, good enough, frankly, for a touring professional show.

Readman has focused on the staging this time. Lesley Hill, from the Attitude Dance Club in Copmanthorpe, takes on the dual role of director and choreographer, and her cast responds with both aptitude and just the right attitude to portray 1920s’ gangland New York.

“This has been a truly wonderful experience,” says Lesley, in the programme, and that enjoyment is writ large in her cast. Make that casts, not cast, because performances are being shared between Team Bugsy and Team Malone, some actors appearing in both, and more than 40 involved overall.

Pick Me Up Theatre’s Dandy Dan at the double: Kurtis Moss from Team Bugsy, left, and Max Porter from Team Malone

The love for this musical among the performers – one of the Blousey Browns said she had watched Parker’s film more than 100 times – is evident from the start, whether in principal or ensemble roles, in the opening Bugsy Malone and Fat Sam’s Grand Slam numbers.

The joy for these young swells is being centre stage, children playing adult roles, showing up the absurdities, mannerisms and machinations of adult behaviour by playing it straight, eliciting laughter from doing so, as speakeasy boss Fat Sam (Team Malone’s Joseph Egan on press night) goes to turf war with Dandy Dan (Max Porter) who is holding all the aces.

Penniless boxing promoter Bugsy (Zachary Stoney) is Fat Sam’s fixer, drawn to wannabe club singer Blousey Brown (Elizabeth Reece), but can he resist the charms of seductive songstress and former flame Tallulah (Cara Suddaby, now Dandy Dan’s moll)?

You watch throughout with a beaming smile, loving the audacity, the confidence, the dazzling look and the delightfully daft comedy of this sassy, snazzy jazzy show, suffused with knockout performances, not only from Stoney, Egan, Porter, Reece and Suddaby, but also Tommy Lonsdale (good surname for a boxer) as putative pugilist  Leroy in the outstanding ensemble routine So You Wanna Be A Boxer?

Their name is Tallulah: Cara Suddaby, left, and Freya Horsman in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone

Taylor Carlyle’s Knuckles gives a cracking performance too, as does Nancy Walker is her cameo as Lena Marrelli, the loose-cannon star singer.

On talent watch, keep an eye on Theo Rae’s Fizzy, a stage natural with a wondrous voice already. Good news, he will be fizzing his way through every performance, serving in both teams.

As if Bugsy Malone were not fun enough already, SAHA Media provides even more thrills in Fat Sam and Dandy Dan’s car on the big screen.

Bugsy Malone remains the perfect avenue for theatre colts and fillies to learn the ropes, here kitted out with New York accents, custard pies and whipped cream-firing splurge guns in this tongue-in-cheek look at gang warfare in 1920s’ America that hits the target with every song, every gag.

Pick Me Up Theatre in Bugsy Malone, Grand Opera House, York, resumes tomorrow until November 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: atgtickets.com/york

Bugsy Malone times two: Team Malone’s Zachary Stoney, left, and Team Bugsy’s Dan Tomlin

Introducing: Team Bugsy and Team Malone’s Bugsy and Blousey Brown

HAVE you heard the one about the three All Saints Catholic School pupils and the Manor Church of England Academy boy?

They are all starring Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone at the Grand Opera House: All Saints’ Zachary Stoney, 12, as boxing promoter and speakeasy boss Fat Sam’s fixer Bugsy, and Elizabeth Reece, 13, as aspiring singer from the sticks Blousey Brown, in Team Malone and Manor student Dan Tomlin, 12,  as Bugsy to 11-year-old All Saint Darcey Powell’s Blousey in Team Bugsy.

All four have seen Alan Parker’s 1976. “I must have seen it at least 100 times,” says Darcey. “It’s my favourite musical movie.” Elizabeth? “I’ve grown up watching it.” Zachary? “I kind of grew up watching it. It’s one of my favourite musical films.”

Elizabeth Reece’s Blousey Brown and Zachary Stoney’s Bugsy in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone

For Dan, however, “I was completely new to Bugsy Malone, but then I watched it for the first time and absolutely fell in love with it,” he says.

Director-choreographer Lesley Hill’s cast may be divided into teams, but this quarter has enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other. “Me and Dan have given each other notes,” says Zachary. “It’s constructive to do that.”

“We all have our differences in how we interpret our roles, but sometimes you can draw inspiration from each other,” says Darcey. “I’m making the role for myself, but watching Darcey too,” says Elizabeth.

Darcey Powell’s Blousey Brown and Dan Tomlin’s Bugsy

They are all thrilled to be in such an iconic show. “It’s such an opportunity to be on this stage, at this theatre, playing this role,” says Darcey. “It’s just that feeling, that emotion of getting up on stage and doing this show.”

“I cried when I got the part of Blousey!” says Elizabeth. “I’d say I’m best at my dancing, but I’ve loved doing all the other things in this show. I’ve taken inspiration from seeing what Blousey [Florrie Dugger] did well in the film, but thinking about what style I can bring to it myself.”

“I was thinking I was going to get Fat Sam’s role, but I was so pleased that I ended up with Bugsy,” says Zachary. “Having the opportunity to do my own version of Bugsy is such fun.”

Darcey Powell’s Blousey Brown, left, standing back to back with Elizabeth Reece’s Blousey Brown

“I auditioned for Dandy Dan, the bad guy, but then I was picked to play Bugsy, and I’m so glad because I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much as I am because I wasn’t expecting it,” says Dan.

“I’ve been waiting for this role for so long because it’s a great part in a great show,” says Darcey. “Growing up, I’ve always wanted to play Blousey, so it’s lovely to be doing it,” says Elizabeth.

Sitting chatting in the front row of the Grand Circle, their enjoyment of performing together is abundantly clear. “We’re all good friends, and working with each other you build such good friendships,” says Darcey.

“We’re loving the chance to play the leads in an all-child cast,” says Zachary. “Usually you’re playing a kid, but in Bugsy Malone, we’re children playing adults – and that’s cool!”

Pick Me Up Theatre cast members in Lesley Hill’s knockout production of Bugsy Malone

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Navigators Art to present poet Ian Parks and Friends at The Basement, City Screen. Who else is in November 21 line-up?

Poet Ian Parks with his new collection The Sons Of Darkness And The Sons Of Light

YORK arts collective Navigators Art plays host to An Evening With Ian Parks and Friends on November 21 at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York.

“This is one for lovers of poetry and folk music,” says organiser Richard Kitchen. “Ian is a widely published and much admired poet from Mexborough, described as ‘the finest love poet of his generation’, although his work vigorously addresses the political as well as the personal.”

Parks will be reading from his new collection, The Sons Of Darkness And The Sons Of Light. Joining him will be York novelist and poet Janet Dean, critic and poet Matthew Paul and singer-songwriter Jane Stockdale, from York alt-folk trio White Sail.

In addition, Parks will be in conversation with publisher Tim Fellows, of Crooked Spire Press.
Tickets for this 7.30pm event cost £5 in advance at bit.ly/nav-events or £8 on the door from 7pm. “We hope to adjourn for a chat after the show with anyone who’d like to join us,” says Richard.

The poster for Navigators Art’s November 21 bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York

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More Things To Do in York and beyond the Halloween spooks and ghost train rides. Hutch’s List No. 48, from The York Press

Film critic Mark Kermode: Book talk and gig with his band Dodge Brothers at York Theatre Royal in the Beyond the Frame strand of Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2025. Picture: Julie Edwards Visuals

THE 15th Aesthetica Short Film Festival tops the bill in a week when Sir Gareth Southgate and David Walliams are keen to talk too,  as Charles Hutchinson highlights.

Festival of the week: Aesthetica Short Film Festival, all over York, November 5 to 9

NOT so much a film festival as a “screen and media event”, in its 15th year, York’s Aesthetica Short Film Festival is bigger and broader than ever. Not only more than 300 shorts, features, documentaries, animations and experimental films, but also the VR & Games Lab; masterclasses and panels; workshops and roundtables; networking and pitching; Listening Pitch premieres; the inaugural New Music Stage and Aesthetica Fringe shows; Beyond the Frame events at York Theatre Royal; the UNESCO City of Media Arts EXPO and the Podcasting strand. For the full programme and tickets, go to: asff.co.uk.

Joseph Egan’s club boss Fat Sam from the Team Bugsy cast for Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone

Young swells of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Bugsy Malone, Grand Opera House, York, until November 8, 7.30pm, except Sunday and Monday; 2.30pm, both Saturdays and Sunday

LESLEY Hill directs and choreographs York company Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast of more than 40 young performers in Alan Parker and Paul Williams’s Jazz Age musical, replete with the film songs You Give A Little Love,  My Name Is Tallulah, So You Wanna Be A Boxer?, Fat Sam’s Grand Slam and Bugsy Malone.

In Prohibition-era New York, rival gangsters Fat Sam and Dandy Dan are at loggerheads. As custard pies fly and Dan’s splurge guns wreak havoc, penniless ex-boxer and all-round nice guy Bugsy Malone falls for aspiring singer Blousey Brown. Can Bugsy resist seductive songstress Tallulah, Fat Sam’s moll and Bugsy’s old flame, and stay out of trouble while helping Fat Sam to defend his business? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Mark Steel: Addressing the leopard in his house at York Theatre Royal tonight

“Leftie, working-class, BBC Radio 4 favourite” comedy gig of the week: Mark Steel: The Leopard In My House, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm

COMEDIAN, nation-travelling radio presenter and writer Mark Steel has not so much an elephant in the room as The Leopard In My House. Under discussion is his battle with throat cancer, one that he is winning (thankfully) and that has spawned his new comedy tour show. Cancer, by the way, has done nothing to dull the edge of Steel’s trademark acute political and cultural observations.

“This show is the story of my year, of wonderful characters and often tricky but bafflingly positive experiences,” says Steel. “Doing the show doesn’t quite make me glad that it happened, but it definitely makes up for it quite a bit”. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The Magpies: Launching new EP at the NCEM

Folk gig of the week: The Magpies, National Centre for Early Music, York, tonight, 7.30pm

THE Magpies, the folk trio that hosts The Magpies Festival at Sutton House, near York, every summer, combine rich harmonies with fiddle-led fire and lyrical storytelling, wherein Bella Gaffney (banjo, vocals), Holly Brandon (fiddle, vocals) and Ellie Gowers (guitar, vocals) meld Anglo and American traditions.

Tonight’s intimate gig marks the launch of this autumn’s EP, The One Thing That I Know. Lead single Painted Pony is a stirring tribute to the St John and St Lawrence rivers of Canada: a song that flows with memory, movement and the quiet majesty of nature’s imprint. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

George Stagnell in the short film Bomb Happy, part of an Everwitch Theatre double bill

Theatre and film memorial of the week: Everwitch Theatre in Bomb Happy VE Day double bill, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 3pm

PRESENTED in the lead-up to Remembrance Sunday, whose focus this year falls on 80th anniversary of VE Day, Bomb Happy has been created by writer-performer Helena Fox and actor-vocalist Natasha Jones, of Everwitch Theatre.

From D-Day to VE Day, this powerful one-hour double bill of live performance (30 minutes) and short film (30 minutes) brings to life the verbatim accounts of two working-class Yorkshire Normandy veterans, highlighting the lifelong impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep trauma, not only on war veterans but on their families too. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Leading light Mad Alice: Welcoming passengers to her Ghost Train on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Train ride of the week: Mad Alice’s Ghost Train, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Pickering Station, Sunday, 6.15pm and 8pm

JOIN York ghost walk hostess Mad Alice as she takes a spine-tingling ghost-train ride through the haunted heart of the North York Moors from Pickering to Levisham and back again in an hour-long eerie adventure. “I’ll be joined by Jonny Holbek, from York Light Opera Company, and professional actor Joe Standerline to help me tell stories in the carriage,” says Mad Alice. “Plus a few extra ‘ghosts’, who are actually either NYMR volunteers or York Light members – and even my own niece!”

All on board to learn of the mysterious ghosts that still haunt the carriages and stations; hear of supernatural tales and folklore of the land, and enjoy a special retelling of Charles Dickens’s ghost story, The Signal Man, all while sipping Mini Mad Alice’s Bloody Orange Gin & Tonic from York Gin (age 18 upwards). Box office for waiting list only: nymr.co.uk/Event/ghosttrain.

Sir Gareth Southgate: Discussing his new book Dear England at York Barbican…and the subject of James Graham’s play of that title at Leeds Grand Theatre

Ex-England manager at the double: In Conversation with Gareth Southgate, Lessons In Leadership, York Barbican, November 3, 7.30pm;  National Theatre in Dear England, Leeds Grand Theatre, November 4 to 8, kick-off at 7.30pm plus 2pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

SIR Gareth Southgate, of Swinsty Hall, Fewston, Harrogate, makes the comparatively short trip to York Barbican to discuss his eight years of leading England’s footballers on the world stage with a revolutionary management style that combined calm empathy with mental resilience, courageous integrity with strong accountability.

David Sturzaker’s Gareth Southgate, in trademark waistcoat, in James Graham’s play Dear England, on tour at Leeds Grand Theatre. Picture: Mark Brenner

He will discuss his new book Dear England: Lessons In Leadership, a title shared with James Graham’s Olivier Award-winning play (and forthcoming television drama) that takes its name from Southgate’s open letter during the Covid-19 pandemic.

David Sturzaker plays Southgate, Samantha Womack, team psychologist Pippa Grange, in this “inspiring, at times heart-breaking and ultimately uplifting story” of England, penalties, lost finals and a new-found national identity. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.

David Walliams: An evening of frank chat and outrageous anecdotes at York Barbican. Picture: Charlie Clift

Candid comedic conversation of the week: An Evening With David Walliams, York Barbican, November 4, 7.30pm

SKETCH comedian, prolific author, talent show judge and English Channel swimmer David Walliams presents an evening of laughter, storytelling and surprises, discussing his Little Britain breakthrough,  Come Fly With Me and his days on Britain’s Got Talent.

Expect the stories behind legendary TV sketches and reflections on his myriad books and the highs and lows of a career. Prepare for candid conversation and outrageous anecdotes, topped off with the chance to put questions to Walliams in the Q&A. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Ben Rosenfield and Laura McKeller in The Wetwang Hauntings – Live. Picture: Emma Warley

Halloween horrors and jump scares of the week: Neon Crypt & The Deathly Dark Tours present The Wetwang Hauntings – Live!, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 4 to 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

BETWEEN 1986 and 1993, a series of often violent hauntings rocked the small Yorkshire town of Wetwang. The cases went cold and all the records were lost…until now! Join York ghost walk guide Dr Dorian Deathly as the Neon Crypt and The Deathly Dark Tours team digs into the history and horrors of these cases. “This show is not for the faint of heart,” he forewarns. Suitable for age 13 upwards. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Nik Briggs: York Stage director back on stage to play a contestant in The Great British Bake Off Musical

York musical premiere of the week: York Stage in The Great British Bake Off Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, November 5 to 8, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

BAKING battles, singing sponges and a sprinkling of hilarity is the recipe for York Stage’s York premiere of The Great British Bake Off Musical, rising to the occasion under the direction of Nik Briggs, who also makes a rare stage appearance as one of the Bake Off contestants.

Expect a sweet and savoury symphony of British wit and oven mitts, propelled by a menu of  jazz hands and jubilant original songs that capture the essence of the Bake Off tent, from nerve-wracking technical challenges to triumphant showstoppers. Be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster ride, where cakes crumble, friendships form and dreams become fruitful reality. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Katie Leckey: Directing Griffonage Theatre’s three nights of Kafka’ strangest short stories in the House of Trembling Madness cellar in Lendal

Deliciously disturbing stories of the week: Griffonage Theatre, Kafka By Candlelight, The House Of Trembling Madness, Lendal, York, November 5 to 7. 6.30pm and 8.30pm  

“NO rest for the week,” say Griffonage Theatre, York’s purveyors of the madcap and the macabre, who are performing Kafka By Candlelight in the cavernous belly of the House Of Trembling Madness cellar as part of Aesthetica Short Film Festival’s debut  Aesthetica Fringe, featuring 25 shows across the city.

This one showcases five of Franz Kafka’s strangest short stories, told disturbingly in the darkness with the audience in masks (optional). “Dare to join us?” they tease. Box office: eventbrite.com/e/kafka-by-candlelight-tickets-1815618316259.

York actor, writer and director Constance Peel: Presenting Service Please at Aesthetica Fringe 2025

In Focus: Introducing Constance Peel, Service Please, Aesthetica Fringe, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, November 4 and 7, 8.30pm; Micklegate Social, Micklegate, York, November 9, 2pm and 8pm

CONSTANCE (Connie) Peel, York-born director, producer, writer and performer, will present her debut one-woman show Service Please as part of the inaugural Aesthetica Fringe.

“I’ve been working as an assistant director and performer in theatre professionally for the past two years, since graduating from the University of York,” says Connie, 24. “This show explores the reality of working in hospitality, including the harassment and sexism you can face as a young woman.”

Service Please is billed as “a relatable and comedic monologue that follows Lara, a creative writing graduate, who hopes to write the next best-selling fantasy romance novel. There’s only one thing standing in her way, her casual waitressing job that keeps the money coming in.”

“We’ve all been there, but Lara wasn’t ready for the stressful and chaotic reality of working in the service industry,” says Connie, introducing her monodrama. “Can Lara keep her sanity and get her big writing break or will she crumble under the pressure of understaffed shifts, creepy comments and customers who say their only food allergies are ‘women’?”

Hospitality is the fastest-growing economic sector, worth £93 billion to the UK economy. “But it’s under severe pressure with more than 100,000 job losses predicted by the time of this month’s Budget, due to National Insurance rises (according to UK Hospitality),” says Connie.

“It’s evident working in the sector that to continue profits and keep up with the cost of living, food prices and discounts both need to increase while labour hours decrease. Being a server has never been more stressful and unpredictable and this experience (as other working-class experiences) is so often overlooked by theatre.” 

Sexual harassment is an epidemic in the hospitality industry too, says Connie. “As many as 47 per cent of workers having experienced it – and 69 per cent witnessed it in 2021 (Culture Shift).

“These statistics, though informative, mask the personal cost to the individuals harassed and abused. My play presents interpretations of my own personal experiences, including those with harassment, and they’re an unfortunate part of the job when working as a waitress.

“They shouldn’t be, and awareness of this experience even in Fringe-scale theatre is always beneficial to the cause.” 

Lastly, says Connie, Service Please tells the story of an artist with no clear way into her industry. “This is the most personally accurate part of my script. I wrote and performed the 50-minute monologue while producing and marketing it alone for its six-day debut run at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe, where it won plaudits from critics and top reviews.

“Though this is hopeful for creatives, both in the execution of the play and my own story behind it, I wanted to show the emotional toll of struggling as an artist, especially as in the past five years there has been one third fewer art jobs (directly impacting my career).

“It was important that I brought this show back to where my career started, in York where I graduated from the University of York and where I’ve been working for the past three years between York and Leeds. I hope this production and my story makes people see the importance of a small-scale play like this in today’s society.” 

For tickets, go to: ticketsource.co.uk.

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Top Ten Things To Do at Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York from November 5 to 9

The Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2025 poster

CELEBRATING its 15th anniversary, the Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) transforms York each November into a vibrant hub of culture and creativity next week.

Over five days, from November 5 to 9, and in a digital extension, from November 5 to 30, the city becomes a global meeting point for filmmakers, musicians, technologists and audiences.

Presenting more than 300 films screening across the city, including many Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying titles, the festival champions bold storytelling and new voices from around the world.

Yet Aesthetica’s reach extends far beyond cinema. Its VR & Games Lab, Podcasting Lounge, Aesthetica Fringe and Beyond the Frame events merge film, music, art, comedy and digital culture into one seamless celebration of creativity.

This year, audiences can expect Sophie Duker’s comedy night, film critic Mark Kermode in conversation, a silent cinema live-score performance and the debut of the New Music Stage: a full music festival within the festival, spotlighting ten breakthrough UK artists in partnership with Universal Music and Caffè Nero.

For York and the wider UK, Aesthetica is a cultural catalyst, connecting York venues, supporting artists, boosting tourism and shining a global light on Yorkshire’s thriving creative economy. Driven by the Aesthetica motto that “it’s only an idea away”, ASFF is proof of what culture and creativity do, opening doors, building communities and expanding how we see the world.

Dodge Brothers, featuring film critic Mark Kermode, second from right: Playing at Aesthetica Short Film Festival

Top Ten  Things To Do

1. Film screenings

EXPERIENCE more than 300 shorts, features, documentaries, animations and experimental films from across the globe. Many of these titles are Oscar and BAFTA-qualifying, giving audiences a first look at the filmmakers of the future.

Attend the Makers’ Forum to hear from directors and producers, discover new cinematic voices and celebrate bold, thought-provoking storytelling that pushes boundaries and challenges perspectives.

2. VR & Games Lab

STEP into the future of storytelling. The VR & Games Lab invites audiences to explore cutting-edge works in virtual, augmented and mixed reality, plus innovative indie games. Engage with immersive environments, interactive narratives and demonstrations from the frontier of creative technology. Learn how artists are merging code, design and emotion to reinvent what it means to experience a story.

3. Masterclasses & Panels

AESTHETICA’S  industry sessions feature icons and innovators from Ridley Scott Associates, Aardman, BBC, Film4 and Framestore. Gain insight into the craft and business of filmmaking, from production design and cinematography to pitching, funding and post-production.

Highlights include Behind the Scenes of Gladiator, Napoleon and Alien and Film4’s From Shorts to Features. Ideal for anyone serious about their creative career.

4. Workshops & Roundtables

GET hands-on with practical sessions designed for filmmakers, producers and writers. From screenwriting labs and pitching clinics to discussions on funding, diversity and distribution, these workshops provide actionable advice from professionals. The roundtable format encourages open dialogue and peer learning: the right space to test ideas, ask questions and gain valuable mentorship.

The Games Lab at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2025

5. Networking & Pitching

MEET producers, commissioners and collaborators at Aesthetica’s networking events and UK Film Production Summit, featuring more than 150 companies. Speed-pitching sessions and informal meet-ups give you a chance to share your ideas, find partners and make connections that could propel your next project forward. This is where creative relationships and future deals are born.

6. Parties & Socials

WHEN the lights go down, the city comes alive. Aesthetica’s parties are legendary: relaxed, welcoming spaces where creatives from film, music, gaming and art collide.

Whether you are winding down after a screening or celebrating a new collaboration, the festival’s social scene is where friendships form, ideas spark and stories continue long into the night.

7. Listening Pitch premieres

NOW in its fifth year, the Listening Pitch shines a spotlight on the future of audio documentary. Aesthetica has commissioned ten original documentaries through this pioneering programme, and this year marks the premiere of three new projects.

Previous commissions have gone on to screen at SXSW and Sundance and been acquired by The Guardian. This is the place to discover bold new documentary talent, with live presentations, audience Q&As and an atmosphere that celebrates the art of sound and story.

Comedian Sophie Duker: Celebrating female voices in the festival’s Beyond the Frame strand at York Theatre Royal

8. New Music Stage

FEATURING a line-up of some of the UK and Ireland’s most exciting emerging artists, the New Music Stage blends film and sound in thrilling ways. This year’s acts include BLÁNID, Crazy James, Daisy Gill, Dilettante, Ewan Sim, Isabel Maria, Jemma Johnson, Kengo, Pleasure Centre and Tarian: artists championed by BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, RTÉ Radio 1, MOJO and Rolling Stone.

With performances spanning Glastonbury, The Late Late Show, SXSW and The Great Escape, this new stage celebrates the shared rhythm of cinema and song.

9. Beyond the Frame

STEP beyond the screen and into live performance. Highlights include Sophie Duker & Friends, a comedy night celebrating female voices; Mark Kermode in conversation with Jenny Nelson on film music, and a Silent Cinema & Live Score by The Dodge Brothers with Neil Brand and Mark Kermode. These events blur the lines between film, performance and criticism – cinematic storytelling at its most alive.

10. Aesthetica Fringe

RUNNING city-wide, the Fringe transforms York into an open-air gallery. Expect art installations, theatre, DJ sets, exhibitions and surprise pop-ups across independent venues. The Fringe brings York and international artists together, inviting audiences to see the city through a creative lens in a celebration of community, experimentation and the energy that fuels York’s cultural heartbeat.

Aesthetica Short Film Festival invites you to “be part of the story”. “Whether you’re a filmmaker, musician, gamer or culture-lover, our 2025 festival is your invitation to experience creativity without limits,” says festival director Cherie Federico. “Join us in York and be part of a global conversation about the future of storytelling.”

For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: www.asff.co.uk.

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‘Tis Halloween, the season for Elizabeth Godber’s werewolf comedy-drama Wolf Country at Beverley’s East Riding Theatre

Nell Baker’s Eddy, left, Jo Patmore’s Alice and Tom Gallagher’s Connor in the John Godber Company’s premiere of Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country at East Riding Theatre

FOR Halloween, the John Godber Company unleashes Elizabeth Godber’s country music-dusted werewolf comedy-drama Wolf Country at the East Riding Theatre, Beverley.

Country music mega-fan Alice (played by Jo Patmore) and no-nonsense nurse Eddy (Nell Baker) are best friends who would be happy for things to stay exactly as they are. Unfortunately, a potential werewolf is running rampant around Beverley, and so nothing looks like it will stay the same for long.

Eddy cares not a jot for all the rumours and conspiracies, but Alice is straight down the rabbit hole, especially after meeting self-proclaimed werewolf expert Connor (Tom Gallagher).

As the hot breath of Halloween looms ever closer, the full moon is out and matters are starting to spiral. Surely they know East Yorkshire is Wolf Country – and don’t you?

From the co-writer of the UK Theatre Award-nominated Stephen Joseph Theatre hit The Comedy of Errors (More Or Less) and writer of the ERT premiere of The Remarkable Tale Of Dorothy Mackaill comes a lupine comedy of friendship, ambition and what drives our fears amid the wildness that lurks beneath the surface of modern life in East Yorkshire – all underscored by a Country Western soundtrack.

Nell Baker, left, Jo Patmore and Tom Gallagher in an uplifting scene in Elizabeth Godber’s play about anxiety, East Yorkshire and werewolf folklore

“I first came across the legend of ‘Old Stinker’, Beverley’s very own werewolf, while looking into local folklore and history when studying at the University of Hull,” says Elizabeth.

“I’ve always loved anything a bit whimsical and magical, and the idea really stuck with me. Werewolf legends are very rare in the UK; most come out of Germany, Eastern Europe or the USA, so the concept of a werewolf on Beverley Lock was just too good an idea to put to one side.

“Especially as East Yorkshire was the last place in the UK to have wild wolves, who were said to have died out in the 18th century, so it’s all just a brilliant story that almost wrote itself.”

When Elizabeth looked further into the legend, she was excited to learn there had been a flurry of sightings of the beast in 2015 and 2016. “Even the rock musician Alice Cooper had got involved, posting on social media about it,” she says. “This is where I really started to link the wolf to music and Americana, and I’ve always been a massive country music fan, so including that all made sense to me.”

A real hunt for the beast was conducted by the werewolf hunters of East Yorkshire in 2016. “In researching for this play, I was excited to be able to talk to some of the people who went on it, although they didn’t find anything,” says Elizabeth.

Cue her tale of werewolves, anxiety and growing up in Beverley, accompanied by a country music sound track, whose flavour can be savoured on the East Riding Theatre website with a link to Spotify. Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Shania Twain et al, y’all.

Wolf Country playwright Elizabeth Godber

“From all those East Riding folklores came the idea of this play – though it’s not really about werewolves,” says Elizabeth. “It’s about three friends in their late 20s, living in Beverley, finding themselves at that time in life when they’re discussing adulthood and the move away from being a teenager to that person with a job.

“There’s also romance going on, but all this is happening when there’s a werewolf on the loose in Beverley, creating fear and paranoia, which is reflected in their own lives.

“Learning about the werewolf hunts in 2015 and 2015, I liked the idea of writing about our paranoia that there is something out there in the dark playing on our phobias.”

At 30, “for sure I felt I was ready to write something of my own experience of being a young person growing up in a more rural place,” says Elizabeth. “I live in Beverley, and I see a lot of plays set in London and Manchester, but there are a lot of people like me who grew up and live in the countryside, and I want to tell that story.

“It was really important to me too to have a local cast. Jo Patmore, from The Highwayman last year, and Nell Baker are both from Beverley and Tom Gallagher is from Hull. I wanted to have that authenticity of growing up in East Yorkshire. That’s important when you’re premiering plays to an East Yorkshire audience, who will tell you exactly what they think!”

Mental wellbeing plays its part in Elizabeth’s play. “The lead character that Jo plays, Alice, is overtaken by anxiety about the werewolf legend, to the extent that the hunt takes her over, so it’s also a play about mental health,” she says.

Wolf/Alice: Jo Patmore’s Alice experiences anxiety over the East Yorkshire werewolf stories in Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country

“There’s a balance between ‘oh my god, what’s going on?’ and all the laughter, which is reflective of life, so it’s uplifting and positive overall, but there will be highs and lows on the way.

“I hope that the story is both interesting and funny as well – being my father, John Godber’s daughter, I write plays that are comedic too.”

As for the inclusion of country music, “Alice has an obsession with country music. That’s how she deals with her anxiety,” says Elizabeth. “I’ve always been drawn to folklore element of country music, with all that ‘ruralness’ to it, which I wanted to bring from America to East Yorkshire, but also because it has an ‘otherness’ to it that I wanted to bring to the story.”

One final thought from Elizabeth: “Be careful on your travels on your way home as you never know what might be out there!” she says, in the finale to her programme note.

Elizabeth Godber’s Wolf Country, East Riding Theatre, Beverley, until November 1, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees. Age recommendation: 16 plus for strong language and sexual references. Box office: eastridingtheatre.co.uk/wolf-country/

The John Godber Company’s poster for the Halloween premiere of Wolf Country

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In Focus: Luxmuralis, Echoes Of Yorkshire: The Museum Illuminated, York Museum Gardens, until Sunday, 6pm to 8.20pm

Luxmuralis’s Echoes Of Yorkshire installation on the St Mary’s Abbey ruins in the York Museum Gardens. Picture: Duncan Savage, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

LET light, colour and music surround you at the Echoes Of Yorkshire light and sound installation conjured by Luxmuralis, who bring alive the culturally rich story of the Yorkshire Museum and York Museum Gardens from 1,000 images.

Visitors are invited to “immerse yourself in the story of the historic site with contemporary light and music showcasing its age-defining artefacts and extraordinary exhibits. Join us to celebrate all that the museum and its gardens bring to our city and the wider north of England”.

In the 30-year collaboration of Staffordshire bronze sculptor, fine artist and immersive installation artist Peter Walker and composer David Harper, Luxmuralis travels the world to create stories in light and sound for audiences at locations ranging from the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral, London, to city-wide open-air projections in places such as Oxford and Limburg in the Netherlands.

Through combining fine art, light and sound, Luxmuralis reflects closely on the history and heritage of places by weaving together the contemporary and the ancient.

The Viking Helmet on the Yorkshire Museum frontage in Luxmuralis’s Echoes Of Yorkshire. Picture: Duncan Savage, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

Now, for the first time, Luxmuralis is transforming the walls of York in Echoes Of Yorkshire in York Museum Gardens for ten evenings filled with six looping art installations and landscape lighting by Steve Rainsford.

Ticketed entry time slots are given every 20 minutes, but once in the gardens visitors can journey through the experience at their own pace with a recommended walking time of one hour. Refreshments will be available to buy on the night, including from Thor’s tipi.

Echoes Of Yorkshire is suitable for all ages. Audiences will experience the gardens’ history from the Roman period to its time as an abbey (St Mary’s Abbey) in tandem with Luxmuralis’s showcase of the Yorkshire Museum’s collections that span 200 million years from the Jurassic and the Mesolithic, through to the Romans, Viking, Anglo Saxon and Medieval.

Welcoming Luxmuralis to York Museum Gardens, Siona Mackelworth, head of audience and programme for York Museums Trust, says: “We are delighted that Luxmuralis agreed to produce a very special and bespoke show for us here in York.

Luxmuralis’s arch installation in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Duncan Savage, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

“This is a celebration of all that the Yorkshire Museum brings to the city, its history and the location as the repository of great discoveries and stories. With this amount of content, the Luxmuralis light and sound show looks amazing.”

Luxmuralis artistic director Peter Walker says: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with the team at Yorkshire Museum to deliver a truly distinctive experience set within the stunning and historically rich Museum Gardens.

“By drawing inspiration from the museum’s collections, this light installation re-imagines the architecture and landscape in an entirely new and transformative way.”

Peter drew on myriad resources in the York Museum Trust’s collection: the Roman occupation; the Vikings; the Medieval; geology; paleontology; fine art et al.  “My job was then to create a ‘portrait’ of the city of York from that collection,” he says.

St Mary’s Abbey ruins bathed in the art and light of Luxmuralis’s Echoes Of Yorkshire. Picture: Duncan Savage, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

“Where we are quite different from illumination shows is that my fine art background means we use projection in a different way. It can be done in many ways, but we’re unique in that it’s not the projection that drives what we do but the other way round; the art drives it.

“To me, as a fine artist, the excitement lies in the gardens and what you bring into the public realm: the excitement of the audience seeing the installations and taking what they want from them, because it’s not prescriptive.

“In fact we tell our audiences to forget the technology because it’s the least important part. We use it as a medium to celebrate moments, so the technology is like a canvas to paint pictures.”

As part of his research, Peter visited the Museum Gardens several times. “Just by walking through them, it allows you to understand the gardens’ character and the visitor experience, and these gardens are such a fitting place to be doing Echoes Of Yorkshire. The audience can really enjoy the experiential moments we have created.”

The writing is on the wall for Luxmuralis’s Echoes Of Yorkshire in the York Museum Gardens. Picture: Created by Luxmuralis

Tickets cost £13.50 per adult; £9.50 for children aged five to 16; free admission for under-fives. Box office: yorkshiremuseum.org.uk. Echoes Of Yorkshire is on a constant loop from 6pm to 8.20pm each night. Please note, only assistance dogs will be allowed into the gardens during the event.

Luxmuralis: back story

LUXMURALIS is the name given to the artistic collaboration of sculptor and fine artist Peter Walker and composer David Harper, who specialise in immersive fine art, light and sound installations around the UK and abroad, creating works across multiple media and presentation formats.

Core to their work is the exploration and development of the fine art tradition through new media, placing contemporary fine art, light and sound production in an art historical context.

Luxmuralis takes art onto the streets and provides access to visual artworks in public as well as unexpected places.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 47, from Gazette & Herald

Luxmuralis’s Echoes Of Yorkshire: Art, light and sound in harmony in York Museum Gardens. Picture: Duncan Savage, Ravage Productions, for York Museums Trust

GARDEN art & light installations, wartime memories and Dracula and Cinderella retellings spark Charles Hutchinson’s interest.

Installation of the week: Echoes Of Yorkshire, York Museum Gardens, until Sunday, 6pm to 8.20pm

LET light, colour and music surround you at Luxmuralis’s light and sound installation as artist Peter Walker, composer David Harper and lighting designer Steve Rainsford bring the story alive of the Yorkshire Museum and York Museum Gardens from 1,000 images. 

Immerse yourself in the story of the historic site with contemporary light and music showcasing York Museum Trust’s age-defining artefacts and extraordinary exhibits. Tickets: yorkshiremuseum.org.uk.

David Barrott, Catherine Edge and Adam Marsdin in rehearsal for Settlement Players’ production of Party Piece

Calamitous comedy misadventure of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Party Piece, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee

AMERICAN director, writer, producer, historian and stuntman Martin T Brooks directs Settlement Players for the first time in Richard Harris’s calamitous 1992 comedy Party Piece.

Michael and Roma Smethurst are preparing meticulously for their fancy-dress housewarming party as Mrs Hinson, not the biggest fan of her upper-class new neighbours, keeps a criticising eye on the attendees. Then disasters strike: an embarrassing lack of guests, a burning barbeque, a marauding Zimmer frame and a corpse showing up at the front door. Cue chaos. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Cassie Vallance, left, and Jane Bruce in Story Craft Theatre’s Bat, Cackle And Pop! at York Theatre Royal

Children’s Halloween show of the week: Story Craft Theatre in Bat, Cackle And Pop!, York Theatre Royal Studio, today until Friday, 10.30am and 1pm

WINIFRED the Witch thinks everyone has forgotten her birthday. Not so. There will be a big surprise party, but first, a special birthday cake must be made.

“We just need the last three rather spooky ingredients,” say York company Story Craft Theatre’s Cassie Vallance and Jane Bruce. “Our show is bubbling with all sorts of ghosts and ghouls – more silly than scary – and there’s plenty of opportunities to dabble in some spell making, as well as flying with luxury BAT Airways.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Jimmy Regal & The Royals: Playing Ryedale Blues Club at Milton Rooms, Malton

Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club presents Jimmy Regal & The Royals, Milton Rooms, Malton, tomorrow, 8pm

JIMMY Regal & The Royals are a tough and howlin’ harmonica-led three piece from South London, brandishing a sound from Mississippi to New Orleans, Mali to Canvey Island. Signed to Lunaria Records, they are touring to promote latest album Well Boss, a live set recorded at the Temperance in Leamington Spa. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Stage Hammer: Revamping Bram Stoker’s Dracula

High stakes of the week: Stage Hammer in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow and Friday, 7.30pm; Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm

WOLVES howl in the forests of Transylvania. Waves crash violently against the cliffs below Whitby Abbey. The infection is spreading. Count Dracula (Stuart Sellens) walks among us. Yorkshire solicitor Jonathan Harker (Callum Mathers) travels to a castle in the Carpathian Mountains to finalise the sale of property for a reclusive nobleman.

When he seemingly vanishes, fiancée Mina (Jennifer Jones) and her closest friend Lucy (Kathryn Lay) fall into the grip of a sinister force. Their only hope for survival is the mysterious vampire slayer Professor Van Helsing (Christopher C Corbett) in East Yorkshire troupe Stage Hammer’s new account of Bram Stoker’s vampire story, adapted by Corbett and directed by Lydia Baldwin. Box office: York, 01904 658338 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk; Pickering, 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk. 

Fizzy with the singers in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Bugsy Malone: Theo Rae, Isla Lightfoot, Olivia Swales and Beau Lettin

Musical of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Bugsy Malone, Grand Opera House, York, October 31 to November 8, 7.30pm, except Sunday and Monday; 2.30pm, both Saturdays and Sunday

LESLEY Hill directs and choreographs York company Pick Me Up Theatre’s cast of 40 young performers in  Alan Parker and Paul Williams’s musical, replete with the film songs You Give A Little Love,  My Name Is Tallulah, So You Wanna Be A Boxer?, Fat Sam’s Grand SlamandBugsy Malone.

In Prohibition-era New York, rival gangsters Fat Sam and Dandy Dan are at loggerheads. As custard pies fly and Dan’s splurge guns wreak havoc, penniless ex-boxer and all-round nice guy Bugsy Malone falls for aspiring singer Blousey Brown. Can Bugsy resist seductive songstress Tallulah, Fat Sam’s moll and Bugsy’s old flame, and stay out of trouble while helping Fat Sam to defend his business? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Little Seeds Music: Refreshing the fairytale world in Cinderella Ice Cream Seller

Fairytale retelling of the week: Little Seeds Music in Cinderella Ice Cream Seller, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 2.30pm

OVER the past four decades, Cinderella’s has become the kingdom’s most beloved ice cream company, with a parlour on every street corner, but how did this humble maker become a multimillionaire business woman with her own empire?

Prepare your dessert spoons for a tale of perseverance, princes, palace balls, glass slippers and, yes, ice cream in writer-composer David Gibb’s hour-long family musical, wherein loyal Cinderella’s employees Talvi and Caldwell share her rags-to-riches tale and confront their own desires, hopes and the magic that lies within each scoop. Suitable for age five upwards. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Bomb Happy: Film and live performance double bill for VE Day at Milton Rooms, Malton

Theatre memorial of the week: Everwitch Theatre in Bomb Happy VE Day double bill, Milton Rooms, Malton, Sunday, 3pm

PRESENTED in the lead-up to Remembrance Sunday, whose focus this year falls on 80th anniversary of VE Day, Bomb Happy has been created by writer-performer Helena Fox and actor-vocalist Natasha Jones, of Everwitch Theatre.

From D-Day to VE Day, this powerful one-hour double bill of live performance (30 minutes) and short film (30 minutes) brings to life the verbatim accounts of two working-class Yorkshire Normandy veterans, highlighting the lifelong impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep trauma, not only on war veterans but on their families too. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Chris Smither: Playing All Saints Church, Pocklington tonight

In Focus: Chris Smither, All Saints Church, Pocklington, tonight, 7.30pm

CHRIS Smither, truly an American original, returns to the UK to perform songs from his vast catalogue on his 2025 UK and Irish tour as he approaches his 81st birthday on November 11.

Honing his synthesis of folk and blues for more than 50 years, this profound songwriter and captivating performer, from Miamai, Florida, melds the styles of his two major influences, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Mississippi John Hurt, into his own signature guitar sound.

His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and humanist philosophers. His songs have featured in films and TV shows and been covered by John Mayall, Emmylou Harris,  Bonnie Raitt and Diana Krall, among others.

Smither continues to tour festivals, music clubs and concerts halls all over the world. Now he showcases his 20th studio album, 2024’s All About The Bones, produced by long-time friend and producer David Goodrich, which complements eight new compositions with Smither’s renditions of Eliza Gilkyson’s Calm Before The Storm and Tom Petty’s Time To Move On.

The recording sessions took place at Sonelab Studios in Easthampton, Massachusetts, where Smither was joined by Goodrich, Zak Trojano, BettySoo and Chris Cheek.

The New York Times said of All About The Bones: “With a weary, well-travelled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate.”

Singer-songwriter BettySoo is Smither’s guest on the tour. Tickets for tonight cost £21.50 at www.smither.com.

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REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on York Opera in The Beggar’s Opera, The Citadel, York, October 23 to 25

Adrian Cook’s Peachum and Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera. All pictures: David Kessel

YORK Opera is back with a spring in its step. John Gay’s ballad opera of 1728, now nearing its 300th anniversary, was given lively and sometimes sparkling treatment by its director, Chris Charlton-Matthews, offering the company an opportunity to show its strength in depth.

The choice of venue, The Citadel in Gillygate, York was not an easy option. With the audience seated on three sides, mostly at tables in cabaret style, the performance was virtually in the round. This meant that much of the dialogue came and went, depending on where the performers were facing and, as so often with singers of all shades, words were clearer in song than in speech.

The production firmly reminded us of the wealth of our musical heritage, thanks to the composer Johann Pepusch – Berlin-born but London-based for more than 50 years – who gathered together its 69 songs mainly from British ballads, alongside several by living composers including Purcell.

This production gained immensely from its string quartet, oboe (Alex Nightingale) and harpsichord (Tim Tozer), conducted by John Atkin, who delivered a consistently vivid underlay.

Mark Simmonds’s Macheath: “Every inch the dashing womaniser” in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera

At the head of proceedings was Adrian Cook’s determined, ruthless Peachum, who was the undoubted mayor of this unruly parish, gamely supported by Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum and Hamish Brown’s Filch.

Alexandra Mather as their faux-naive daughter Polly and Sophie Horrocks as the more streetwise Lucy Lockit – rivals for the love of highwayman Macheath – were well contrasted, while Mark Simmonds was every inch the dashing womaniser they pursued.

There was a notable contribution, too, from Anthony Gardner’s gaoler Lockit – a David Jason look-alike – whose dialogues with Peachum were outstanding. The chorus was full-throated rather than subtle, but cameos from chorus members added considerable colour and kept up momentum.

Alexandra Mather’s faux-naive Polly Peachum

Even so, the performance lasted three hours and would have been punchier with half an hour excised.

The props by Teresa Carr and Jane Carr – a bar for the tavern, a desk for Peachum’s ‘office’ and a high trellis for the bars of Newgate prison – were more than enough to set the scenes, and Jane Woolgar’s choreography was consistently appealing.

The decision to dress the cast in costumes of every era (by the ever-imaginative Maggie Soper), to illustrate the maxim that the poor are always with us, was understandable but confusing.

The jollity of the proceedings was anyway inevitably at odds with the poverty-riddled story. The prologue and epilogue by the Beggar himself, Ian Thomson Smith, ensured a firm start and a happy ending.

Review by Martin Dreyer

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Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark to headline Futuresound’s first Live At York Museum Gardens concert next summer. Heaven 17 & China Crisis on bill too

ELECTRONIC new wave trailblazers Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark are the first headliners to be confirmed for Futuresound’s third summer of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts.

The Wirral synth-pop duo of Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys will be joined on OMD’s Summer Of Hits bill on July 9 bill by two fellow Eighties’ synth-pop luminaries, Sheffield’s Heaven 17 and Kirkby’s China Crisis.

Rising Newcastle-upon-Tyne singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin will open the show, on the back of supporting such acts as Noel Gallagher and Louis Tomlinson.

The York exclusive postcode presale (for postcode prefixes starting with YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 and YO32) will go on sale from 10am tomorrow (29/10/2025). General sales will open at 10am on Friday (31/10/2025).

Formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), Orchestra Manoeuvres in The Dark (aka OMD) combined chart success with electronic experimentation on albums such as February 1980 debut Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, October 1980’s Organisation, 1981’s Architecture & Morality, 1983’s Dazzle Ships and 1984’s Junk Culture.

China Crisis in concert at The Crescent, York, in 2024

OMD have since released 1985’s Crush; 1986’s The Pacific Age; 1991’s Sugar Tax; 1993’s Liberator; 1996’s Universal; 2010’s History Of Modern; 2013’s English Electronic; 2017’s The Punishment Of Luxury and 2023’s Bauhaus Staircase.

Pioneering 1979 singles Electricity and Red Frame/White Light paved the way for 1980 chart breakthrough Messages, triggering a flow of synth-pop hits with Enola Gay; Souvenir; Joan Of Arc; Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Of Joan Of Arc); Genetic Engineering; Locomotion; Talking Loud And Clear; Tesla Girls; So In Love; (Forever) Live And Die; Sailing On The Seven Seas; Pandora’s Box; Stand Above Me and Walking On The Milky Way, their last Top 20 entry in 1996.

In 1986, OMD conquered the United States when If You Leave led off the soundtrack to the hit rom-com film Pretty In Pink.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark last played York on October 27 2019 at York Barbican on their extended 40th anniversary world tour. That anniversary was marked by the reissue of their first four albums on 180g vinyl, housed in their original sleeve designs by Peter Saville.

Summing up five decades of OMD, McCluskey says: “Electronic music is our language. It’s how we talk.”

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Becky Hill to play Summer Music Saturday at York Racecourse on June 27 2026

The poster for Becky Hill’s Summer Music Saturday concert at York Racecourse next summer

BECKY Hill will perform at York Racecourse on Summer Music Saturday, June 27, in the second musical signing for the 2026 racing season. Tickets go on sale from today at www.yorkracecourse.co.uk.

The two-time BRIT Award winner for Best Dance Act, from Bewdley in the Severn Valley, rose to fame after reaching the semi-finals in the first series of  The Voice UK in 2012.

Singer and songwriter Hill, 31, topped the UK charts with debut single Gecko (Overdrive, with Oliver Heldens) and has since posted Top 20 hits with Back & Forth (with MK and Jonas Blue); Wish You Well (with Sigala); Lose Control (with Meduza and Goodboys); Better Off Without You (featuring Shift K3Y); Heaven On My Mind (with Sigala).

The hits continued with Remember (with David Guetta); My Heart Goes (La Di Da, featuring Topic); Run (with Galantis); Crazy What Love Can Do (with David Guetta and Ella Henderson); History (with Joe Corry) and Disconnect (featuring Chase & Status).

Hill has released two studio albums, 2021’s Only Honest On The Weekend (peaking at number seven) and 2024’s Believe Me Now? (reaching number three), preceded by her 2019 compilation Get To Know.

Racegoers can expect a high-energy performance on the “Glastonbury-style stage”, after seven races earlier in the afternoon, as part of Hill’s busy tour schedule for 2026.

James Brennan, head of marketing and sponsorship, says: “It is great news that Becky Hill is debuting on the Knavesmire: a performer who knows how to entertain. It will herald a month for music and racing fans to remember.”

Racing and music fans can take advantage of a price freeze on adult general admission on the racecourse website, meaning that entrance to the main Grandstand and Paddock enclosure starts at £40 per person for a group of six. As well as free car parking, no booking fees apply on this route to purchase.

The racing action will feature seven thoroughbred contests with combined prize money approaching £300,000. The Group Three feature race over seven furlongs will be the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Criterion Stakes.

Tom Grennan is confirmed already for the York Racecourse Music Showcase Saturday on July 25, performing after that Saturday’s race card. Tickets are on sale.

For the announcement of July 24’s Music Showcase act, keep checking the racecourse website and CharlesHutchPress.