Category: Breaking News

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More Things To Do in York & beyond as greatest showman shows up & abbey lights up. Hutch’s List No. 7, from The York Press

Child’s play: Andrew Renn, Jon Cook and Jess Murray, back row, with Mark Simmonds and Victoria Delaney in York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders

FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman  P.T. Barnum to Selby Abbey’s light installation, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice.

Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, until February 28, 7.45pm nightly, except Sunday and Monday, plus 2pm Saturday matinees

FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.

Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them, but their innocence is short lived as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Cole Stacey’s social media posting for his Rise@Bluebird Bakery gig

Folk gig of the week: Cole Stacey, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York tonight, doors 7.30pm

VISCERAL singer-songwriter Cole Stacey weaves together British folk, 1980s’ pop, spoken word and ambient electronics, as heard on last February’s debut album with its symbiosis of “lost” places and forgotten words, stretching back to the 13th century, paired with his lyrical songwriting and field recordings.

“I’d like to invite you to come along with me on the next chapter as I head out to share Postcards From Lost Places in some unique and inspiring settings, beginning in York tonight,” says Stacey. “I loved my time and bread last year playing at Bluebird Bakery, so I’m very delighted to be invited back for an intimate gig in their fully working bakery. It’s a special setting and one I’m thoroughly looking forward to!” Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk.

Dnipro Opera in Carmen, on tour at York Barbican

Opera of the week: Dnipro Opera (Ukrainian National Opera) in Carmen, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Dnipro Opera, from Ukraine, performs Georges Bizet’s Carmen in French with English surtitles, accompanied by an orchestra numbering more than 30 musicians. 

Feel the thrill of fiery passion, jealousy, and violence of 19th century Seville in Carmen’s story of the downfall of naive soldier Don José,  who falls head over heels in love with seductive, free-spirited femme fatale Carmen. Whereupon he abandons his childhood sweetheart and neglects his military duties, only to lose the fickle Carmen to the glamorous toreador Escamillo. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Showman extraordinaire: Lee Mead’s P. T. Barnum in Barnum: The Circus Musical at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.

Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Alexandra Mather’s Anne Egerman and Jason Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman in rehearsal for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music

Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

SET in turn-of-the-20th century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.

Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the North Yorkshire company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, celebrating music from Walt Disney’s animated films at York Barbican

Movie music of the week: Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic, York Barbican, February 25, 7.30pm

THE Novello Orchestra’s Disney In Concert: The Sound Of Magic performance is a symphonic celebration of Disney music, animation and memories, a century in the making, under the direction of creative director Amy Tinkham, music director Giles Martin and arranger and orchestrator Ben Foster. 

Favourite characters and music from across the Walt Disney Animation Studios catalogue come to life on the concert hall stage and screen in new medleys and suites on a magic carpet ride through Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Moana, Alice In Wonderland, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, Frozen, The Lion King, Fantasia, Encanto, Beauty And The Beast and more. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Homeward bound for Selby Abbey: Imitating The Dog’s large-scale installation

Installation of the week: Selby Light 2026, Selby Abbey, February 26 to 28, 6pm to 9pm

SELBY Abbey will be the setting for Homeward, Leeds company Imitating The Dog’s  large-scale installation celebrating our different stories and the unified feeling of finding home, framed by the question How Did You Get Here?

Inside, the installation continues as a walk-through experience, complemented by Jazmin Morris’s Through The Liquid Crystal Display, a series of visual code illustrations inspired by Selby Abbey. The trail then extends into the town centre with works by Selby College students. Admission is free.

Phoenix Dance Theatre in Interplay: World premiere opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday. Picture: Drew Forsyth

Dance show of the week: Phoenix Dance Theatre, Interplay, York Theatre Royal, February 27, 7.30pm; February 28, 2pm, 7.30pm

LEEDS company Phoenix Dance Theatre’s world premiere tour of Interplay opens at York Theatre Royal next Friday and Saturday, featuring dynamic works by Travis Knight and James Pett (Small Talk), Ed Myhill (Why Are People Clapping?!), Yusha-Marie Sorzano & Phoenix artistic director Marcus Jarrell Willis (Suite Release) and Willis’s Next Of Kin. 

Across duet and ensemble works, Interplay explores themes of duality and shared authorship, revealing how distinct artistic voices can intersect to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Each piece offers a unique perspective, united by a bold physicality and a deep curiosity about human relationships, rhythm and collective experience. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Levellers: Levelling The Land anew at York Barbican this autumn

Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, York Barbican, October 29

BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success in part built on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.

To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Box office: https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.

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Alanis Morissette to play Scarborough Open Air Theatre on July 5 as 28th signing for biggest line-up yet on Yorkshire coast

And isn’t she iconic: Seven-time Grammy winner Alanis Morissette heads to Yorkshire coast this summer. Picture: Shelby Duncan

ALANIS Morissette is the 28th and final headliner to be announced for Scarborough Open Air Theatre’s 2026 summer season.

The seven-time Grammy Award winner will play on the Yorkshire coast on Sunday, July 5 on the last night of the Canadian-American alt-rock singer-songwriter’s seven-date UK tour.

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Friday, February 27 at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com and ticketmaster.co.uk.  

After signing up Morissette to complete Scarborough OAT’s biggest ever concert season, Julian Murray, of promoters Cuffe and Taylor, said: “We are absolutely delighted to reveal Alanis Morissette as our 28th and final headliner for 2026. What a massive name to add to the bill for our already record-breaking summer here in Scarborough.

“Alanis is a cultural phenomenon. Her shows are huge and we now get to welcome her to the Yorkshire coast. This will be an incredible night in what will be a sensational summer here at Scarborough OAT.”

Her Grammy-garlanded 1995 debut album Jagged Little Pill has been followed by nine albums, and her hits Ironic, You Oughta Know, Hand in My Pocket and Thank U remain as current as ever today.

 In 2019, Jagged Little Pill The Musical made its Broadway debut and was nominated for 15 Tony Awards, winning two at the 2021 ceremony.

In 2021, Morissette’s sold-out world tour was the number one female-fronted tour of the year. Her 2024 North American Triple Moon Tour sold more than half a million tickets and packed every venue to capacity, followed by her sold-out 2025 UK tour and first ever Pyramid Stage set at Glastonbury.

The poster for Alanis Morissette’s July 5 gig at Scarborough Open Air Theatre

TK MAXX PRESENTS SCARBOROUGH OPEN AIR THEATRE 2026: the full line up    

JUNE 5, Rick Astley and Lottery Winners                  

JUNE 6, Madness plus Hollie Cook and The Beat featuring Ranking Jnr

JUNE 12, Paul Weller

JUNE 18, The Kooks

JUNE 20, Skunk Anansie and Garbage

JUNE 21, Anastacia and Heather Small

JUNE 26, Pete Tong Ibiza Classics and Danny Rampling

JUNE 27, Richard Ashcroft, Tom Meighan and Apollo Junction

JUNE 28, Billy Ocean and Marti Pellow

JULY 2, Bowling For Soup and Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls

JULY 3, James Arthur

JULY 4, David Gray and The Divine Comedy

JULY 5, Alanis Morissette

JULY 6, Michael Bublé

JULY 10, Deacon Blue and Lightning Seeds

JULY 11, Bastille and Nectar Wood

JULY 17, Alex James’s Britpop Classical

JULY 18, CMAT

JULY 22, Teddy Swims and Jordan Rakei

JULY 23, Teddy Swims and Jordan Rakei

JULY 25, James Taylor & His All-Star Band

JULY 26, Tom Jones and Stone Foundation

AUGUST 1, The Streets

AUGUST 2, Sex Pistols, The Stranglers and The Undertones

AUGUST 8, Scissor Sisters                 

AUGUST 14, Holly Johnson, ABC and Heaven 17

AUGUST 15, Hollywood Vampires (featuring Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry) and The Damned

AUGUST 22, Nile Rodgers & CHIC and Brand New Heavies

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REVIEW: Jodie Comer in Prima Facie, Grand Opera House, York, and on tour *****

Jodie Comer’s defence lawyer Tessa Ensler in Prima Facie. Picture: Rankin

YOU won’t see a better performance in York this year, but chances are, you won’t see it, as all eight shows sold out within 20 minutes of general sales opening 11 months ago.

Killing Eve star Jodie Comer is completing her Prima Facie journey with a nine-city tour, revisiting the remarkable role that brought her both Olivier Award and Tony Award success in Australian lawyer-turned-playwright Suzie Miller’s solo play.

The Grand Opera House last had such a pre-show buzz when Six The Musical played York for the first time in October 2022, building all the more for Wednesday night’s 7.30pm start as the clock ticked towards 7.45pm.

Then, suddenly, the pre-show music desisted, and there was Comer’s defence lawyer Tessa Ensler, atop a table, frozen for the only moment in silhouette on Miriam Buether’s set of row upon row of case-note files. For the next 100 minutes, she will not stop, draw breath, save for the only costume not conducted on stage, when a drenching in the rain necessitates an exit, also allowing the plotline to move forward 1,016 days.

Comer does everything, and I do mean everything, not only voicing every character in the reportage style of Miller’s writing, but even turning the tables physically as the tables turn on her metaphorically in an adrenalised shock of a performance as Miller’s Prima Facie  “takes us to the heart of where emotion and experience collide with the rules of the game”.  

That game is the game of law, where the playing pitch is the courtroom and Comer’s Tessa is the working-class Liverpool lass-turned-Cambridge-educated defence lawyer hotshot, showing off her case-winning skills to a percussive beat in a razzle-dazzle opening to Justin Martin’s searing production that could swap the wig and gown for top hat and tails.

We learn that a defence lawyer’s modus operandi has one over-riding rule: “It’s not what you know; it’s what you don’t know,” Tessa says. As in, not knowing whether the defendant did in fact commit the crime.

We learn too that in a world where we now have the Donald Trump-trademarked “alternative truth”, as well as half truths, lies, damned lies and statistics, we have “legal truth”. Not “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” of the oath to be taken on the Bible when entering the dock or witness box, but what constitutes the truth in law. A kind of law unto itself.

In a nutshell, Comer’s Tessa goes from defending the defendant at all costs to being put through the prosecution grilling herself after she is sexually assaulted. You forget you are a watching a play; you are living every moment, as Tessa is.

 A barrister is often compared with an actor, with the need to perform, to express skill at delivery of lines, supplemented by a keen sense of the moment, and above all the ability to move an audience/jury. Here, in Comer’s hands, the two fuse into one, her performance so complete that I hesitate to call it a performance.

And yet, of course, it is: acting of the highest quality, a tour-de-force feat of movement and memory and emotion, of initial humour, then horror, steely resolve and despair, a woman operating in what is still a man’s world, where the jury numbers eight men to four women, and the defendant has all his braying buddies in the gallery. 

No wonder, this tour carries the tagline  “Something Has To Change”, a sentiment topped off by 1 In 3 (I’m Fine), the climactic song of the startling soundtrack by Self Esteem’s Rebecca Lucy Taylor .

Your reviewer – and yes, I did pay for a prime stalls seat, in the absence of press tickets – has not seen such furious, relentless female intensity since Diana Rigg in Medea in more than 40 years of reviewing.

Prima Facie is a Greek tragedy for today, and on her return to a North Yorkshire stage for the first time since her professional debut as spoilt, mouthy but bright Ruby in the Stephen Joseph Theatre world premiere of Fiona Evans’s The Price Of Everything in November 2010, Jodie Comer affirms she is a talent for the ages.  

Prima Facie, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm; tomorrow, 3pm and 7.30pm. SOLD OUT.

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Wharfemede Productions to waltz its way into Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Theatre@41 from February 24 to 28

Sanna Jeppsson’s Countess Charlotte Malcolm, left, Jason Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman and Alexandra Mather’s Anne Egerman in Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music

NORTH Yorkshire theatre company Wharfemede Productions follows up 2025’s Little Women and Musical Across The Multiverse revue with Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, next week.

Director and company co-founder Helen “Bells” Spencer says: “Sondheim has always been one of my favourite musical theatre writers. His work captures the full spectrum of the human experience; messy, beautiful and deeply relatable.

“What I find most inspiring is how his music doesn’t simply accompany the story; it drives it. Every note, rhythm and lyric reflects the emotional journey of the characters in a way that is both intricate and profoundly moving.”

Continuing to build its reputation for delivering high-quality, character-driven musical theatre, Wharfemede Productions brings together talent from across Yorkshire to present Sondheim’s witty, romantic and elegantly crafted 1973 musical.

Fan fare: Jason Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman and Alexandra Mather’s Anne Egerman in a scene from A Little Night Music

“Directing A Little Night Music has long been a dream of mine, and I’m thrilled to bring it to life with such an exceptional company,” says Bells, who will play Desiree Armfeldt, alongside Alexandra Mather as Anne Egerman, fresh from her outstanding Christmas performance as nightclub singer/evangelist Reno Sweeney in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Anything Goes.

In the company too will be Jason Weightman as Fredrick Egerman, James Pegg as Henrik Egerman,  Maggie Smales as Madame Armfeldt, Libby Greenhill as Fredrika Armfeldt, Nick Sephton as Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm and Sanna Jeppsson as Countess Charlotte Malcolm.

Completing the cast will be Katie Brier’s Petra, Chris Gibson’s Frid, soprano Emma Burke’s Mrs Nordstrom, soprano Hannah Thomson’s Mrs Anderssen, mezzo-soprano Rachel Merry’s Mrs Segstrom, tenor Matthew Oglesby’s Mr Erlansson and baritone Richard Pascoe’s Mr Lindquist.

“We’re drawing together an incredible mix of Yorkshire talent, particularly from York and Leeds, including actors I worked with in Les Miserables at Leeds Grand Theatre last year, and the chemistry within this cast is something truly special,” says Bells.

The Quintet in Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music: Emma Burke, left, Richard Pascoe, Rachel Merry, Matthew Oglesby and Hannah Thomson. Picture: Matthew Warry

Joining her in the production team are musical director James Robert Ball, choreographer Rachel Merry and wardrobe mistress Suzanne Perkins. “It was so important to me to have a musical director who not only shares a passion for Sondheim’s music but also understands how to shape the dramatic journey alongside me,” says Bells.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be working with James, whose knowledge, enthusiasm and expertise in Sondheim’s work are second to none. A true Sondheim super-fan, academic and all-round expert, James is breathing such magic into this incredible score and as an assistant director.

“He is a joy to work with and has an extraordinary gift for bringing out the very best in the people around him, both musically and creatively.”

Set in turn-of-the-20th century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire and regret through Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, topped off by the timeless Send In The Clowns.

A directorial flash of inspiration for Helen “Bells” Spencer as she rehearses her role as Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music

“A Little Night Music is a lot of people’s favourite Sondheim work – and a lot of cast members have said that too,” says Bells.

“You introduced me to it when Opera North did it in Leeds,” recalls company co-founder Nick. “Yes, I made Nick go and see it!” rejoins Bells.

“I really wanted to do this show, because I think it’s one of Sondheim’s most accessible musicals. It’s more classical in style, taking its inspiration from Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik. The very clever thing about it, and the very unusual thing too, is that apart from a few bars, it’s written in triple time (3/4 time), which is very rare, particularly in musicals.

“The show is made up predominantly of triangles of love interests, and therefore it reflects those tangled trios in the musical structure, while also reflecting wealthy family life and their servants at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century in Sweden.”

Maggie Smales’s Madame Armfeldt makes her point to Libby Greenhill’s Fredrika Armfeldt

Crucial to the structure too is Sondheim’s use of The Quintet, alias the Liebeslieder Singers, here comprising Burke, Merry, Thomson, Oglesby and Pascoe. “They act like a Greek chorus, and they’ve been represented in very different ways in various versions of the show, but I was really clear when I started that I wanted them to do more than just come on and do their pieces,” says Bells.

“I was really keen for them to be more integral to the plot and the structure, so I wanted them to feel they were part of the decision-making about who The Quintet were. Right at the beginning, I gave them materials about Greek choruses and how they worked in theatre.

“I also researched Swedish folklore, in particular Freya, the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and sex. We then had a few rehearsals where the quintet decided who they should be, and while not wanting to spoil it for anyone, I can say that essentially they’re the driving force of our show. They’re  in control; they can change things as an agent of fate, an agent of Freya.”

Bells continues: “They are in no way an ensemble. They are exceptional, doing the most difficult singing in the show, and they’re so on top of it. It’s so good to have such a strong quintet, and I’m really excited for audiences to see what we’ve done with the concept.

James Weightman’s Fredrick Egerman, left, and James Pegg’s Henrik Egerman raising eyebrows as well as glasses in A Little Night Music

“When the quintet is on stage, the lighting will be set for night-time, very ethereal, so it’ll be mysterious and nocturnal, and we will go in and out of that state, depending on the scene.”

Looking forward to a waltzing week ahead, Bells concludes: “Promising emotional depth, musical excellence and ensemble storytelling, Wharfemede Productions invites audiences to experience an evening of charm, laughter and lyrical brilliance, further cementing its place as one of Yorkshire’s most exciting rising theatre companies.”

Wharfemede Productions presents A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Wharfemede Productions: back story

CO-FOUNDED in 2024 by Helen “Bells” Spencer, chief artistic director, and Nick Sephton, chief operating officer, the company is dedicated to bringing high-quality musical productions and events to Yorkshire, with respect and openness at the heart of their artistic philosophy.

After gaining a Drama degree from Manchester University, Bells co-founded and company-managed Envision Theatre Company, and now Wharfemede marks a return to those roots. Drawing on decades of logistics, managerial and computing experience, Nick uses these skills in Wharfemede’s work, combined with his love for music and theatre.

Wharfemede Productions’ poster for A Little Night Music at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York

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Colour & Light 2026 turns spotlight on York’s rogues & rebels at York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower until Sunday

Who was Mary Bateman? Find out at Colour & Light 2026 at York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower

THOUSANDS of visitors have already enjoyed Colour & Light 2026 as the dual-façade projection show continues to light up York Castle Museum and Clifford’s Tower.

Now into its final week, the family-friendly free event has turned the Eye of York into a gathering point each evening, when audiences can watch a fully choreographed ten-minute projection on rotation.

Delivered by York BID in partnership with Edinburgh installation designers Double Take Projections, as well as York Museums Trust and English Heritage, this winter’s show brings York’s rogues and rebels, scoundrels and legends to life in a projected experience that draws on the city’s rich and sometimes surprising history.

Despite the incessant rain, an estimated 24,000 people watched Colour & Light 2026 in its first week when, at its peak, more than 1,200 people gathered to watch a single showing on the first Saturday evening, as York & Light seeks to surpass the 100,000 viewing figures for last year’s 18 shows per night across 20 nights.

Backed by £46,914 funding from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Colour & Light has drawn large and varied crowds into the city centre during February’s coldest and darkest weeks, supporting York’s evening economy at a quieter time of year.

Carl Alsop, operations manager at York BID, says: “Seeing over 1,200 people gathered together for one show on that first Saturday really highlighted what Colour & Light has become:  a moment people experience together in the city centre.

“Despite the very wet weather we’re experiencing at the moment, the atmosphere has been strong each night, with people meeting up, bringing family and enjoying York after dark. There’s still time to see it, and we hope many more people will take the opportunity.”

Siona Mackelworth, Head of Audience and Programme at York Museums Trust, says: “York Castle Museum is pleased to be supporting York BID on Colour & Light for 2026. York Museums Trust last participated in 2024, when the projections of our incredible collections lit up the front of York Art Gallery.

“The 2026 show brings something different as it explores some of York’s potentially lesser-known history and, for the first time, will be projected across multiple buildings. Working in conjunction with York BID and English Heritage at Clifford’s Tower has been an exciting venture in bringing two iconic York locations together.”

David Skaith, Mayor of York & North Yorkshire, says: “High streets are constantly changing, but they have, and always will be, hubs for our communities. That’s why I’m backing community-led projects across York and North Yorkshire.

“Like Colour & Light in York, which brings people into the city centre with a light show projected onto some of York’s best-known buildings. It’s a simple but creative way to attract visitors and give everyone something special to enjoy.

“Residents and businesses understand most what is needed in their communities, and I am proud to be backing their plans with my £10m Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund.”

Among those rebellious and legendary figures featured in Colour & Light 2026 are Dick Turpin and Guy (or “Guido”) Fawkes, Mary Bateman, Swift Nick, Eric Bloodaxe, Moonlight Maggie, the Filey Brigg Dragon, the Roman Soldiers at Treasurer’s House and the Barghest, a legendary monstrous black dog that haunts the snickelways and streets of York.

“We’re so lucky to be from a city that is so rich in heritage,” says Carl. “Everyone loves a villain: someone with an edge and whose backstory is as intriguing as it is alarming.

“They’ve got questionable morals and they’ve got complexities, complexities that keep appearing in fictional characters. This is what draws us in and is what we have in abundance in this city.”

The continuous, looped Colour & Light show runs every evening until Sunday (22/2/2026), with projections starting at 6pm and running every ten minutes until 9pm. Admission is free; no tickets are required; the best viewing point is the Eye of York.

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Kathryn Williams to perform her most personal songs yet on Mystery Park tour, opening at Pocklington Arts Centre

Kathryn Williams: “Making songs in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, shaped by time’s shifting tides”. Picture: Emma Holbrook

KATHRYN Williams launches the second leg of her Mystery Park Tour at Pocklington Arts Centre tomorrow, fresh from celebrating her 52nd birthday on Monday.

“I was always disappointed I wasn’t born on Valentine’s Day, but I’ve discovered my birthday falls [a day later] on Lupercalia, the she-wolf festival, ancient Rome, Romulus & Remus and all that,” says Liverpool-born, Newcastle-based folk singer, songwriter, Arvon tutor, novelist, Before The Light Goes Out podcaster and watercolour and portrait artist.

Released on One Little Independent Records last September, Mystery Park is Kathryn’s 18th album: a deeply personal collection marked by emotional depth and lyrical precision in 11 reflective songs, “made in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, shaped by time’s shifting tides”.

 “This record is for anyone who’s felt something and kept it quiet,” says Kathryn. “For those private echoes. I hope these songs give people space to hear their own.

“The cover artwork is my own painting, based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets. Each part of it ties into the songs: a map of memories.”

Kathryn expands: “I think this album, more than anything, is a reflection of where I am in my life. A lot of songs on my other albums are works of imagination, flights of fancy, with fragments of what I’ve been doing. But this one places me on the bridge between parents getting older and kids getting older, and feeling that pull both ways. So I would say it’s my most personally revealing album.

“Writing these songs, you have the responsibility towards the people who the songs are about. It’s a pressure you feel, like if you were writing a memoir, where you want them to recognise themselves, as well as not hating you [for what Kathryn has written].”

Twenty-seven years since she self-released her debut album, Dog Leap Stairs, made for £80, working through the night in various studios, she sees a weightier significance in Mystery Park’s songs. “This far into my career, when I’m only two years off 30 years of putting music out, I kind of feel it’s a legacy record, with songs about my dad, my sons, other people in my life, and I hope these songs cast their nets out long after I’ve gone.”

“That song then walked towards me like in a mist,” says Kathryn Williams of her experience of writing This Mystery

Centrepiece song This Mystery utilises the metaphor of Kathryn seeing a record being shattered by a lorry driver as a symbol of her father’s dementia, or “memory being unplayable in the form that it was in,” as she puts it. “But this is a song for him, not the disease. Anyone who has had a loved one diagnosed with this cruelty will know how you just want to paint their skies blue and make everything all right,” she says.

“I wrote the opening words of that song a few years ago at an Arvon Foundation songwriting retreat at Lumb Back where I was tutoring. I was waiting  at these traffic lights just before Hebden Bridge, when the lorry drove over the record,” she recalls. “That’s when I got a phone call from my mum.”

Pulling over to one side, she received the message that her father had been diagnosed with dementia, compounding the image in her head of the shattered vinyl. “That song then walked towards me like in a mist,” says Kathryn. “It’s been hard to sing it when they’ve come to a gig.”

Yet her father’s love of music, rooted in his own days as a singer in a folk group, is a solace. “Even now I’ll start singing a Paul Simon song to him and he’ll know the pitch and the tune, though he won’t necessarily know what day or what time of day it is,” says Kathryn.

As her father’s dementia progresses – he no longer attends Kathryn’s concerts – “it’s like holding someone, trying to stop them from falling off the cliff, so it’s really difficult.

“Even though we don’t have the answers, the only thing we can do is live each day in love – and some beautiful things come from his inability to find the words like he once did. Like when he couldn’t express the wonder of the pink skyline, he said, ‘Look what’s come downstairs’.”

Sea Of Shadows, co-written with Neill MacColl and producer Leo Abrahams, is a tribute to eldest son Louis, in response to watching him grow from infant to adult. “Parenthood isn’t fixed,” says Kathryn. “We think we will have small kids forever, but time quickens and before we know it, we have huge humans living with us where once there was a little baby. I love singing this song and thinking of him through the different images and travelling through time”.

Kathryn Williams’s artwork for her Mystery Park album cover. “It’s based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets,” she says. “Each part of it ties into the songs – a map of memories”

Kathryn adds: “It’s not only about Louis; it’s also about me as a mother – and the amount of mothers who come up to me after a gig with tears in their eyes to say they really relate to that song. When listening to music, the one thing that really matters is if they connect with the song.

“That connectivity: that’s why I still continue to perform, despite finding it very difficult. I love the connection with the audience, so it’s about keeping up the energy and momentum on a tour, in spite of all the soul-sucking motorway travel.”

Closing track Servant Of The Flame was written for younger son Ted, capturing the act of sitting beside him while he plays video games: choosing presence, even in small moments, as an act of love, where Kathryn is “watching them evolve into their own identities. Seeing them struggle and hoping that they can navigate the ups and downs that we all face in life”.

Polly Paulusma is among Kathryn’s co-writers, penning Goodbye To Summer together on an Arvon retreat. “[We were] outside on two wooden chairs watching the dying sunlight tip off the wings of the swallows and the swifts,” Williams recalls. “The last hurrah of summer before they fly away. The seasons begin to mark more and more. How many summers do we have in one life? Will the birds fly back home? Polly writes in open tunings so the new paths to melodies felt giddying and fresh.”

One name leaps out from the credits above all others, Mr Paul Weller, Kathryn’s collaborator on Gossamer Wings, a song built from voice notes and texts, capturing a moment of creative chemistry born at a distance.

“This was the first thing we did together, working remotely,” she says. “Paul came up with the idea for the song and the title,” she says. “Then I researched ‘gossamer wings’, and I sent him quite a lot of texts, where he would reply, ‘well, that sounds like a lyric’.”

Such was Kathryn’s enthusiasm to show “I’m not lazy, I’m a good girl”, she recalls Paul once commenting, ‘that’s great, but you haven’t really involved me!’.”I was just trying to do my part!” she says.

Paul Weller: Co-writer of Gossamer Wings on Kathryn Williams’s Mystery Park album

“My eagerness to show him I was diligent made me barge on ahead without him on this one, but we pulled it together and I calmed the heck down for the second sitting. This was based on the title that Paul had and an idea of spirits breaking free from the constraints.”

Paul contributed vocals and Hammond organ to the recording, and they went on to write So Quietly together for Weller’s October 2024 EP Supplement: 66, featuring Kathryn on lead vocals and the late double bassist Danny Thompson on his last recording.

“Even yesterday [this interview was conducted on February 15], he sent a text to say lyrics I’d sent should be the first line of our next song together.”

Songs from Mystery Park will be predominant on her tour set list. “The majority of the gig will be the new material because I always think it’s a special thing to play them for the first time, when they also take on a different life from the record,” says Kathryn.

Songs from the back catalogue will feature too in the set, “though while some people forget songs they’ve written, I forget whole albums!” says Kathryn.

As on the tour’s first leg from October 5 to November 15 last autumn, She will be accompanied on guitar by Matt Deighton after he opens each show with a solo set. “For this tour, we’ve made a double A-side of our versions of Sea Of Shadows and Servant Of The Flame, from The Glasshouse [formerly Sage, Gateshead],” says Kathryn.

Look out for limited-edition seven-inch vinyl copies, housed in sleeves in five colours designed and made by Kathryn’s family, on the merchandise stall, run by her “wonderful best friend”, Sarah Williams, who will be driving the tour van too.

Kathryn Williams, Mystery Park Tour, with support and special guest Matt Deighton, Pocklington Arts Centre, tomorrow (20/2/2026), 8pm. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Kathryn Williams: Folk singer-songwriter, Arvon songwriting tutor, novelist (The Ormering Tide, 2021), Before the Light Goes Out podcaster, watercolour & portrait artist

Mystery Park track listing:

Thoughts Of My Own; Goodbye To Summer, co-written with Polly Paulusma; Gossamer Wings, co-written with Paul Weller; Tender, co-written with Polly Paulusma; This Mystery; Sea Of Shadows, co-written with Neill MacColl & Leo Abrahams; Move Me, co-written with Beth Nielsen Chapman; Knew You Forever; Sunsets and Servant Of The Flame.

Musicians on Mystery Park:

Kathryn Williams, vocals; Leo Abrahams,guitar, bass, keyboards, ukulele & piano, also album producer, arranger and mixer at The Shelter; Neill MacColl, guitar, vocals; Polly Paulusma, vocals, guitar (track 2 & 4); Paul Weller, vocals, Hammond organ (track 3); Ed Harcourt, piano (tracks 5, 6, 7 & 10), mariachi bass (track 7), vocals (track 10); Chris Vatalaro, drums, piano (track 9); David Ford,  harmonica (track 7); Emma Smith, violin (tracks 5, 6 & 7).

Did you know?

KATHRYN Williams is hosting her Striking Features art exhibition at Start-Yard in Birkenhead, from January 16 to February 20 to coincide with the Mystery Park Tour (opening hours, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm). Among the tour dates from February 20 to March 29 will be Future Yard, Birkenhead, on February 24.

Showcasing her work as a painter, the show features an intimate collection of portraits painted on matchboxes, alongside delicate watercolours and limited-edition prints. The collection captures character, emotion and quiet beauty, reflecting Kathryn’s style at the intersection of music and visual expression.

“I’ve been offered another exhibition in Newcastle, where it will open at the Biscuit Factory on May 8,” reveals Kathryn, who trained at art school in Newcastle and has designed the artwork for several of her album covers, such as Dog Leap Stairs and Mystery Park.

Kathryn Williams’s podcast

Did you know too?
KATHRYN is working on the third series of her bed-themed Before The Light Goes Out podcast, lining up her latest interviewees to explore the gap between wake and sleep.

In each episode, Kathryn talks to a special guest from the world of music or literature about “what they do as they enter the realm of sleep, what has changed for them over the years and other things”.

 What is Lupercalia?

THIS ancient Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 15 with its rituals to drive out evil spirits, promotes health, fertility and purification. It is tied closely to the founding legend of Rome and the Lupercal cave, where Romulus and Remus were nurtured allegedly by a she-wolf. 

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 7, from Gazette & Herald

Victoria Delaney in rehearsal for York Settlement Community Players’ Blue Remembered Hills. Picture: John Saunders

FROM Dennis Potter to Stephen Sondheim, showman  P.T. Barnum to a Phil Collins tribute, Charles Hutchinson is spoilt for cultural choice amid the incessant rainfall.

Play of the week: York Settlement Community Players in Blue Remembered Hills, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight to February 28, 7.45pm, except Sunday and Monday; February 21 and 28, 2pm matinees

FLEUR Hebditch, former Stephen Joseph Theatre dramaturg for a decade, makes her Settlement Players directorial debut with Dennis Potter’s stage adaptation of his 1979 BBC Play For Today drama.

Seven children are playing in the Forest of Dean countryside on a hot summer’s day in 1943. Each aged seven, they mimic and reflect the adult world at war around them. Their innocence is short lived, however, as reality hits. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Blue Remembered Hills director Fleur Hebditch

Spooky adventure of the week: Flying Ducks Youth Theatre in The Addams Family Musical, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow  to Saturday, 7pm plus 2pm Saturday matinee

YORK company Flying Ducks Youth Theatre undertake a whimsical, spooky musical adventure into the delightfully dark world of the hauntingly eccentric Addams Family on a night of unexpected revelations.

When Wednesday Addams falls in love with a “normal” boy, chaos ensues. As the two families converge over dinner, secrets are revealed and the true meaning of family is put to the test. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Kathryn Williams: Opening Mystery Park Tour at Pocklington Arts Centre

Time’s shifting tides of the week: Kathryn Williams, Mystery Park Tour 2026, Pocklington Arts Centre, Friday, 8pm

KATHRYN Williams, the Liverpool-born, Newcastle-based folk singer-songwriter, novelist, podcaster, tutor and artist long celebrated for her quiet emotional depth and lyrical precision, promotes her 15th studio album, last September’s Mystery Park, with support and special guest guitarist Matt Deighton in tow.

Opening her 12-date tour in Pocklington, 2000 Mercury Music Prize nominee Williams marks 27 years of diverse, multi-faceted music projects with a reflective, textured work, made in the quiet margins of motherhood and memory, shaped by time’s shifting tides. “This is the most personal record I’ve made,” she says. “The artwork is my own painting, based on the willow pattern from my grandmother’s tea sets. Each part of it ties into the songs: a map of memories.” Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Megson’s Debs Hanna and Stu Hanna: Performing at Helmsley Arts Centre on Friday

Folk gig of the week: Megson, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm

FOUR-TIME BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards nominees and double Spiral Earth Awards winners Megson combine heavenly vocals, lush harmonies and driving rhythmic guitars, topped off with northern humour. 

Hailing from Teesside and now based in Cambridgeshire, husband-and-wife folk roots duo Debs Hanna (vocals, whistle, piano accordion) and Stu Hanna (guitar, mandola, banjo) followed up 2023 studio album What Are We Trying To Say with Megson – Live In Teesside, recorded at Stockton-on-Tees Arc in 2025. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Ryedale film event of the week: Summit Stories, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

THIS evening of adventure films to raise funds for the Scarborough & Ryedale branch of Mountain Rescue England & Wales features a variety of exciting off-piste adventures, such as ski mountaineering, mountain climbing and mountain biking.

Created by elite athletes from around the world, the Faction Collective’s 150 Hours From Home, Blair Aitken of British Backcountry’s 10 In A Weekend, Commencal’s Dolomites and Jessie Leong’s The Last Forgotten Art contain scenes to take the breath away. The mountain rescue team, by the way, supports adventurers when things go wrong and conducts  day-to-day searches and rescues off the beaten track. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

Seriously Collins: Taking Phil Collins at Face Value in tribute to solo and Genesis years at Milton Rooms, Malton

Tribute gig of the week: Seriously Collins – A Tribute To Phil Collins & Genesis, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm

RETURNING by popular demand, Seriously Collins relive the hits of Phil Collins and Genesis, taking a musical journey through the songs that defined an era, echoing Collins’s soulful solo sound and re-creating the energy, intricacy and intensity of his more expansive original band. Expect “no gimmicks, just a genuine tribute to one of the greatest artists of our time”. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Lee Mead, centre, as showman P. T. Barnum, surrounded by actor musicians and circus acts in Barnum: The Circus Musical, on tour at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Pamela Raith

Touring musical of the week: Bill Kenwright Ltd in Barnum: The Circus Musical, Grand Opera House, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees

MUSICALS leading man Lee Mead plays the most challenging role of his career, stepping into P. T. Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope as the legendary circus showman, businessman and politician in Jonathan O’Boyle’s touring production of the Broadway musical.

Mead leads the cast of more than 20 actor-musicians (playing 150 instruments), acrobats and international circus acts as, hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum finds his life and career twisting and turning the more he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Maggie Smales’s Madame Armfeldt and Libby Greenhill’s Fredrika rehearsing for Wharfemede Productions’ A Little Night Music

Sondheim show of the week: Wharfemede Productions in A Little Night Music, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, February 24 to 28, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

SET in turn-of-the-century Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of love, desire, and regret through Stephen Sondheim’s signature blend of sophistication, humour and hauntingly beautiful music, not least the timeless Send In The Clowns.

Directed by Helen “Bells” Spencer, Wharfemede Productions’ show combines the York company’s hallmark attention to emotional depth, musical high quality and character-driven ensemble storytelling. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Levellers: Revisiting Levelling The Land at York Barbican this autumn. Picture: Steve Gullick

Gig announcement of the week: Levellers, Levelling The Land 35th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October  29

BRIGHTON folk-rockers Levellers have been among Britain’s most enduring and best-loved bands for nearly 40 years, their success built in part on the anthems that comprised their platinum-selling second album Levelling The Land, whose 35th anniversary falls on October 7.

To mark the occasion, Levellers will head out on a UK and European tour from October 16 to November 21, playing many songs from that album, alongside fan favourites from their extensive catalogue. Hotly tipped Essex punk duo The Meffs will support. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am from https://www.yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/levellers-2026/.

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The Salus Trio to play Dementia Tea Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church

The Salus Trio’s Carmen Troncoso, left, Andrii Polishchuk and Sarah McNulty

THE Salus Trio performs tomorrow’s Dementia Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, near York Racecourse.

Flautist Sarah McNulty, guitarist Andrii Polishchuk and recorder player Carmen Troncoso have put together the 2.30pm programme of music by Purcell, Telemann, Duarte and Carlos Zamora.

York ensemble The Salus Trio takes its name from the Roman goddess of safety and well-being of both the individual and state. This is particularly pertinent as guitarist Andrii Polishchuk had to leave behind his professional performing career and instrument in Ukraine following the Russian invasion, leading to the trio’s recent concerts raising funds to buy a new guitar for him.

“As usual, tomorrow there will be about 45 minutes of music, followed by tea, coffee and homemade cakes in the church hall,” says co-organiser Alison Gammon.

“There’s a small car park at the church, and on-street parking along Campleshon Road, but it can get busy so do allow plenty of time. If you are more mobile, it would really help if you could park on the street to allow for disabled parking in the car park.” Wheelchair access is via the church hall.

Tomorrow’s event has a relaxed format, ideal for people who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert. “So we do not mind if the audience wants to talk or move about,” says Alison.

“Seating is unreserved and there’s no charge for the concert, although donations are welcome. We give a donation to the church to cover heating and the rest goes to Alzheimer’s charities.”

Still to come this year will be concerts by Alan Easterbrook and Friends, playing Schubert’s work The Trout Quintet, March 19; Brass Quartet, April 16; Katie Jankinson, violin, Maria Marshall, cello, and Robert Gammon, piano, May 21, and Thea Jacob, soprano, and David Hammond, piano, June 18.

Then, Ripon Resound Choir’s Summer Concert will follow on July 16; Tina Sanderson and Friends, string ensemble, August 13; Billy Marshall, French horn,  and Robert Gammon, piano, September 17; Flauti Felici, flute ensemble, October 15; Robert Gammon, piano, November 19, and Ripon Resound Choir’s Christmas Concert, December 10.

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Gig announcement of the week: “force of nature” Goldie at Herbal Mafia 20th Birthday: Part 2, The Crescent, York, April 3

The poster for Herbal Mafia’s 20th Birthday: Part 2, featuring Goldie

GOLDIE, groundbreaking breakbeat jungle superstar, producer, DJ, graffiti artist, model and actor, will top Herbal Mafia’s 20th Birthday: Part 2 celebrations at The Crescent, York, on April 3.

Tickets for the 8pm to 3am party will go on sale at 6pm this evening at £20 at https://www.seetickets.com/event/herbal-mafia-20th-birthday-part-2-goldie/the-crescent/3603262.

Announcing “one HUGE new show” with a “Just wow” exclamation, The Crescent website describes Walsall-born Clifford Joseph Price MBE, alias Goldie, aged 60, as “an artist synonymous with drum’n’bass; an OG [as in OriginalGangster/Original Generation] pioneer who has pushed the boundaries of underground electronic music, receiving mainstream critical acclaim.

“He has helped create and inspire the whole scene from the streets, to the record industry, to the television; and has gone above, and far beyond, to represent the subculture we know and love.”

The Crescent enthuses: “Twenty years ago it would have been unimaginable for us to be hosting one of the most well-known and respected DJs on the planet; we are blessed and honoured to be welcoming the one and only Goldie to The Crescent!

“This will probably be one of the most intimate settings that you will ever see this force of nature in action. We have a very limited capacity so we can guarantee that this will sell out and be one for the history books too!”

Support slots will go to local legends and residents, while Room 2 will play host to hip-hop, funk, soul, reggae, dancehall and dub, powered by Herbal Mafia Hi-Fi.

Goldie: back story

THE first superstar produced by the breakbeat jungle movement, Goldie popularised drum’n’bass as a form of musical expression, just as relevant for living-room contemplation as techno had become by the early 1990s.

He emerged as one of the first personalities in British dance music, his gold teeth & b-boy attitude placing him leagues away from the faceless bedroom boffins who had become the norm.

For the first time, England had a beat maestro and tough-guy head who could match the scores of larger-than-life hip-hop stars produced by the USA, and the high profile of drum’n’bass as the first indigenously UK dance music made Goldie a figure of prime importance.

After spending several years working on his production skills at Reinforced Records (the home of 4hero), he founded Metalheadz Records to release seminal dark yet intelligent singles by some of the greatest producers in the scene.

In 1995, Goldie released Timeless, one of jungle’s first and best full-length works of art. The album put him squarely at the top of the drum’n’bass heap – at least in the minds of critics and mainstream listeners – although his follow-up, 1998’s SaturnzReturn, displayed an ambitious, personal side of Goldie hardly in keeping with the usual jungle’s producer mentality.

A native of Walsall, in the Midlands, Goldie was born to a Scottish-Jamaican couple and put up for adoption. He bounced around child-care homes and several sets of foster parents during his childhood years.

He became fascinated with the rise of hip-hop, breakdancing and graffiti art. By 1986, he was involved with breakdancing crews around his home of Wolverhampton. After  making several trips to London for all-day breakdancing events (and to see hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa), Goldie appeared in Bombin’, Dick Fontaine’s 1987 documentary for Channel 4 on British graffiti art and hip-hop culture.

He also spent time in New York and Miami, working on a market stall selling customised gold teeth, but returned to England by 1988. For a time, Goldie worked at the Try 1 shop in Walsall, also selling gold teeth, then moved to London.

He began hanging out with two fellow heads from the British hip-hop scene, Nellee Hooper and 3-D (later of Massive Attack), and by 1991 he had been introduced to the breakbeat culture that birthed jungle.

At the seminal club night Rage, DJs Grooverider and Fabio pitched ancient breakbeats up to 45 rpm, blending their creations with the popular rave music of the time. Goldie was hooked on the sound of raw breakbeat techno, and gradually he switched his allegiance to jungle from the British hip-hop scene that later generated trip-hop.

Through his girlfriend DJ Kemistry (later to make her name with the mixing duo Kemistry & Storm), Goldie hooked up with Dego and Mark Mac, two of the most influential figures in the emerging drum’n’bass scene. The duo’s Reinforced Records and recordings as 4hero were fostering an increasingly artistic attitude to the music, and Goldie learned much about breakbeat production and engineering at their studios.

He recorded his first single as Ajax Project, then debuted on Reinforced as Metalheadz with two 1992 singles, Killermuffin and Menace. 1993 single Terminator broke him into the jungle scene, besides pioneering the crucial jungle concept of “timestretching” (basically extending a sample without altering its pitch). The single marked the growing separation between the uplifting rave scene and its emerging dark side, reliant on breakbeats and restless vibes.

The name was later taken for his influential Metalheadz Records, which released material from a legion of crucial jungle artists: Photek, Doc Scott, Dillinja, Source Direct, Peshay, J Majik, Alex Reece, Lemon D and Optical, among others. Later singles such as Angel and remixes for 4hero’s Reinforced label spread Goldie’s fame, and in 1995 he signed a contract with London Records.

His first major-label single was Timeless, and his debut album of the same name followed in August 1995. He gained further fame in early 1996, when an American tour supporting Björk sparked a relationship between the two and led to a brief engagement before they called off the wedding.

Goldie resurfaced in 1998 with a high-profile follow-up, SaturnzReturn, an epic two-disc set, including one track, Mother, that broke the 70-minute barrier. The album tanked with critics and fans, however, leading to a return to the underground later that year with the Ring Of Saturn EP.

The beginning of the millennium ushered in a new era for Goldie’s musical production, when Say You Love Me, Malice In Wonderland and Breakin Glass were instrumental in the development of his own style. Metalheadz, meanwhile, amassed just shy of 60 releases throughout the decade, nurturing Alix Perez, Noisia and S.P.Y, to name but a few.

At the turn of the decade, Goldie received two honorary academic achievements, courtesy of Brunel University, in Social Sciences, and the University of Wolverhampton, where he became an honorary Doctor of Design.

He was made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) not long after, for services to music and young people, becoming one of few electronic musicians to achieve such an award.

During this period, he produced official remixes of Ed Sheeran’s Lego House (2017) and Jessie Ware’s Midnight (2018); released his third studio album, 2017’s The Journey Man; collaborated with UK rap act Skepta on Upstart (2018) and formed Subjective, a collaborative project with fellow drum’n’bass producer Submotive, eliciting their first album on Sony Music in 2020.

Goldie began a seven-week residency at long-running London nightclub XOYO, selling out the venue multiple times. He performed at global festival stages, including Glastonbury, Tomorrowland in Belgium and Primavera Sound in Spain, and ventured into the classical music realm, hosting and performing full orchestral shows at two of London’s premier concert halls, the Royal Albert Hall and Southbank Centre.

In June 2021, Goldie entered into the modelling world, making his catwalk debut for luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton in the SS22 menswear collection, Amen Break. The late Virgil Abloh chose him for the role, directing him in the collection’s cinematic fashion film, in a testament to how Goldie is recognised and admired across several creative industries.

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Neil Wood & Annabel van Griethuysen vow to make each night a good night as Martyn Knight says goodnight to York Light

Neil Wood’s Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks and Hope Day’s Annie in York Light Opera Company’s Annie at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

FOR Neil Wood, playing rich, paternalist 1930s’ Wall Street industrialist Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks in Annie takes him away from the dark side after such York Light Opera Company roles as the villainous Mr Bumble in Oliver!, corrupt lawyer Callaghan in Legally Blonde The Musical and, above all, the cut-throat Sweeney in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street.

For Annabel van Griethuysen, the drunken orphanage proprietor Miss Hannigan fulfils her long-held wish to play “one of my favourite characters in one of my favourite musicals”.

Both the leading adult players in the ongoing run at York Theatre Royal are working with director-choreography Martyn Knight for the last time in his swan song to York Light after 22 shows.

“We only found out at the Sunday rehearsal on January 25 when he suddenly announced it,” says Neil. “I’ve only managed six of his shows as I’m a York Light late-bloomer, but he really knows his stuff and is an amazing director. We want full houses all week to give him a fitting send-off.”

Annabel concurs: “Martyn has brought a level of expertise that I’ve not seen in any other director. He brings out the best in everyone, where he has this vision and the practical skills to bring that vision to life, such as in knowing how to move people around the set.

Annabel van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan with Martin Lay’s Rooster in York Light’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

“He’s going to be very sorely missed at York Light. He brings his own style, where you can tell you’re watching a Martyn Knight production because there is such professionalism to his work. He inspires you to want to work hard and you don’t want to let him down. You want to make him proud of you, and it’s such an honour to work with him.”

Annabel is performing under Martyn’s direction for the fourth time. “I made my York Light debut for him as Sarah Brown in Guys And Dolls in 2018, played Widow Corney in Oliver!, then something completely different as Aquata with blue hair and Heelys [roller shoes] in Little Mermaid, and now Miss Hannigan,” she says.

“It’s been a real journey for me. I’m pleased for Martyn that he’s decided it’s time to focus on himself, but I really hope he will still come up to York to see us because he will always be welcome.

“I’m so glad to have been able to work so closely with him on Miss Hannigan for his swan song, having come such a long way since playing Sarah Brown.”

Neil is enjoying playing the larger-than-life Oliver Warbucks, albeit hoping for better luck than he had in Legally Blonde last February. “I had to play Callahan with a broken arm: it happened just a week before we opened, so they’re wrapping me in cotton wool this time,” he says.

Neil Wood’s Professor Callahan in York Light’s Legally Blonde The Musical last February

“Warbucks is a lovely fellow, and what’s nice is that you don’t have to play to the stereotype of the bullish billionaire. Martyn lets you find your own character. It’s about finding the caring side of Warbucks, his vulnerability. For a man who is so important, so rich, and has all these people cow-towing to him, it’s orphan Annie’s humanity that catches him off-guard.

“If it were not for Grace Farrell [his personal secretary] being that solid foundation in his life, goodness knows how he would be. Myself and Sarah Craggs [playing Grace] have sat down with Martyn and Kathryn [assistant director Kathryn Addison] to settle on how their relationship should play out, as they need to be seen as real people, rather than being cartoon characters, so that you empathise with them.”

Central to his characterisation is the decision to include the rarely used Why Should I Change A Thing? “I’ve not seen it in a previous production. In fact, the only time I found a version was from a 30th anniversary recording where they included everything, but it’s a delightful song that follows Easy Street and finds Warbucks at his most vulnerable.

“It’s lovely to be able to sing it and it reflects how his philanthropic side develops the more the show progresses,  how he changes from being almost frightened of children to inviting all the orphanage children to his mansion at Christmas.”

Annabel is revelling in playing the villainous Miss Hannigan. “She’s one of those roles I’ve always wanted to play,” she says. “I first fell in love with Carol Burnett’s performance [in the 1982 film adaptation], when I nearly wore out the VHS watching it again and again.

Annabel van Griethuysen’s Lithuanian vamp of a show hostess, Marlene Cabana, in York Light’s Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe

“Miss Hannigan is just such fun because she’s so horrible but so lovable in being so horrible – and I love interacting with the children so much, trying to get them to giggle at me in rehearsals.

 “I definitely feel like they were scared of me at first, but as the weeks and months have gone by, that’s disappeared and they’re now giving it so much energy.

“On top of that, the songs that Miss Hannigan gets to sing are some of the best songs in musical theatre [from Little Girls to Easy Street], so it’s an absolute honour to play her.”

As for playing a drunkard, Annabel says: “I’m just method acting. What’s important is that you don’t go over the top and stumble just because she’s a chronic drinker. It’s in her physicality that her drunkenness comes out: that sense of imbalance, rather than staggering around as you don’t want her to be a caricature.

“She mustn’t become a pantomime villain, when she does have some small redeeming features, however small. When things gets tough, that’s when she reaches for the bottle, as she lurches from one emotion to another.”

On Easy Street: Chloe Jones’s Lily St Regis, left, Martin Lay’s Rooster and Annabel van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan in York Light’s Annie. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

Her big number is Little Girls. “That’s my favourite. I’ve worked with Paul [musical director Paul Laidlaw] to really put some light and shade into it, so it’s not just a belter, but there’s some comedy in there too,” she says.

Annabel previously played an equally tyrannical loose cannon as spoof Eurovision hostess Marlene Cabana, the glamorous Lichtenstein singing star with an Alpine European accent befitting a Bond Girl of Sean Connery days, in York Light’s Eurobeat: Pride Of Europe at Theatre@41, Monkgate, last July, directed by Neil incidentally.

“What’s similar is their need for control. Marlene was guiding things and Miss Hannigan is the same,” she says. “She’s trying to control the children, trying to control the orphanage and trying to control Grace Farrell too.

“But audiences love seeing someone get their comeuppance – and right at the end she gets her full comeuppance!”

York Light Opera Company in Annie, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus.  Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.