Martha Tilston: Singer, songwriter and film-maker making her York debut tomorrow
A CURSORY click on Martha Tilston’s name online will reveal she is 50 and was born in Brighton in 1975.
Not so, says Martha in conversation. She is in fact 49 and her birthplace was Bristol in 1976, although ironically this phone interview was conducted as Martha walked on Brighton beach, having played Komedia there the previous night.
Singer, songwriter and film-maker Martha now lives in Cornwall. “We spent a lot of our childhood down near St Ives, spending long summers in the same house on a farm,” she says.
“I think for part of me, the first place where you connect with nature, you connect with forever, it resonates forever.” Hence the move to Cornwall in adult years.
“That connection has always got to mean something [when writing songs]. When I teach songwriting, I talk about how the ‘comet’ comes in, and how you then transmute or alchemise it, so you’re like a forge,” she says.
“When a feeling pokes an emotion, I feel alive in that moment or sad. It’s not like a feeling that ‘I’m going to turn this into a song’, but a feeling of ‘I need to do something with it’. That’s what’s great about creativity. It’s beautiful to share it, but more than anything it calibrates experience.”
Martha will be playing York for the first time. “I’ve never played there, though my family are around Hebden Bridge, and my mother’s mother’s from Yorkshire,” she says. “I think the booking came through my new booking agent, James Nicholls. He’s good at marrying me up with venues, and York has been on my radar for a while. Now things are aligned.
“I’ve played Leeds, Hebden Bridge and a lovely festival in Settle, and now York. Playing a place for the first time, generally it’s nice, like meeting an edge, a coastline, dipping your toes in again, because you don’t know how it’s going to go.
“You step on [stage], you read the room, and there’s less expectation – though I like playing familiar places too, where it feels like home – but this feels new and this is what ‘humanness’ is.
“We like things that are new; we crave things that are new. We can get scared of adrenaline but we need to be pushed into it.”
Reflecting on that Komedia gig, Martha says. “It’s always a bit of a conversation. It can be like a family gathering, where there could be a curveball, or things that aren’t being said, but last night was really beautiful because everyone enjoyed it so loudly from the first song. It felt like we were creating the night together.
“But also people come with stuff, especially with what’s happening right now, such a lot of heavy stuff, so there’s a lot of love and people are really energetically open to hope.
“I think humans are not feeling great about themselves, so like a child, we play up more, but a gig is a space where it can remind us that humans are lovely.”
The cover artwork for Martha Tilston’s album Luminous
Martha, who has worked Zero 7,Damien Rice, Nick Harper, Kae Tempest and Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame, as well as making her own records, writes songs from the heart as a balm for the modern age, inviting her audiences to “connect with longed-for parts of ourselves”.
She does so not only through song but also through storytelling, taking part in songwriting retreats at a “Secret Clifftop House near Penzance” and storytelling and creativity camps on Dartmoor.
“It’s so magical,” she says. “The thing is, we are storytellers, and stories are so important, hearing stories and not just ones we know, but hearing new stories, and not about how we mess things up, but we have to get to stories about being harmonious with each other; stories that take you off somewhere else and touch your humanity.”
If “songs are mini-films”, as Martha describes them, then how apt that she has branched out into film-making too for 2021’s The Tape, a “gripping and surprising” feature film for which Martha has credits as director, writer, singer, star. “It’s a story that’s not Armageddon; it’s quite hopeful! A folk musical of hope and connection set in Cornwall,” she says. “You can find it on Amazon Prime.”
It may have escaped your attention that Martha released her latest album in 2023, as she said in this interview, or February 2024 for its “full release”, as her website states. “It slipped out. No press,” she says of Luminous. “It wasn’t even on Spotify at first. I just wanted to put it out on Bandcamp, as a small release, but it’s one that people have really connected with – and it is now on Spotify!”
Luminous is described on her website as “a collection of songs that soothe, heal, and open our hearts – it feels like now is a time when we might need a little musical balm! So sit back and let the songs hold you”.
“I wanted to write an album that was a balm for our times, for me and my friends, founded on love being the answer as we’ve tried everything else,” says Martha.
“I didn’t want to talk to journalists, to talk it up, before I knew how it landed. I wanted to see how it speaks to people without shouting about it.
“I also though the folk press wouldn’t ‘get’ it because it’s not particularly folky, but I didn’t want to fit in with a crowd that maybe it didn’t fit in with anyway.”
Luminous was a memorable recording experience for Martha. “I sang with the Murmuration Choir from Bristol and the One Voice Community Choir from Cornwall (Penryn], and we recorded the album in my friend’s barn, where we had to stop each time the tractor went by!” she says.
Tomorrow’s audience can look forward to a new Martha composition, River. “It’s about how sometimes, when life can throw us challenges, or as my friend said, ‘life can get lifey’, there’s always a place for us to be at peace, but it’s hard to access. A river under a bedrock that can help you when you’re anxious,” she says.
“So I wrote this song to remind me that there is that place. Sometimes it’s comforting to know that, at times when we go through challenges or are in a moment of suffering.”
Hurricane Promotions presentsMartha Tilston at The Basement, City Screen, York, October 18, 7.30pm. Also St Mary’s, Todmorden, October 19, with special guest Molly Tilston, 7.30pm. Box office: marthatilston.co.uk.” We hope you can join us as we travel round, for a little song, heart and connection,” says Martha.
York ghost storyteller James Swanton: Returning to York Medical Society for a second season of The Signal-Man performances. Picture: Jtu Photography
AFTER a sell-out run last Halloween, gothic York actor James Swanton is reviving his solo production of Charles Dickens’s The Signal-Man from October 16 to 28.
A familiar face from Inside No. 9 and The First Omen, he will give ten performances of his solo show at York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, before transferring to the Charles Dickens Museum in London.
Each performance will incorporate a second Dickens’s ghost story, The Trial For Murder, and the show will run as a partner event with the York Ghost Merchants, in Shambles, whose annual Ghost Week celebrations will take over the city from October 25 to November 2.
“Last year, I was shocked when every performance of The Signal-Man sold out more than a month in advance,” says James. “I think that had a lot to do with the wild popularity of the York Ghost Merchants! I’ve therefore scheduled twice as many performances this Halloween.”
All but one performance – October 21 – has sold out already, matching the popularity of his annual performances of Dickens’s Christmas ghost stories, A Christmas Carol, The Haunted Man and The Chimes since 2018.
“The Signal-Man ranks among the most famous ghost stories of all time – subtle and mysterious, but gradually building to a devastating conclusion,” says James Swanton
Here James discusses Dickens’s storytelling prowess with CharlesHutchPress
If at first you succeed, do The Signal-Man again, but what might differ from last Halloween?
“This year, I’m relieved to have had first-hand experience of the show actually working in performance! That should make everything more collected and confident, though I hope without losing the quiet mesmeric charge. It’s a strikingly different energy to most Dickens, which is where the M. R. James comparisons come in.”
What makes York Medical Society such an ideal setting?
“I enjoy a black-box theatre space, but it’s difficult to beat the immersive feel of antique wood panelling, latticed windows and an open fireplace. The room in which I’m performing puts me in mind of the tavern in Barnaby Rudge. Perfect for relating ghostly tales!”
What form does the partnership with York Ghost Merchants take?
“It’s mainly about connection and community; the Ghost Merchants are always giving back to York. Those who are in the city for Ghost Week may stumble on my storytelling thanks to the Merchants – and in turn, my shows may tip them off to things going on elsewhere.
“I feel this is one story that works far better when spoken out loud than read in private,” says James Swanton of The Signal-Man
“We’ve been collaborating since early 2020 – pre-pandemic! – when I gave a rendition of M. R. James’s Canon Alberic’s Scrap-Book at their Shambles premises. Each ticket included a tie-in yellow-eyed ghost, patterned after the demon in the story. Highly collectable now, I’d imagine.”
How does The Signal-Man differ from Dickens‘s Christmas ghost stories?
“It’s a rather darker show, ranking among the most famous ghost stories of all time – subtle and mysterious, but gradually building to a devastating conclusion.
“I’ve now performed it everywhere from Gad’s Hill – the country house at which Dickens died in 1870 – to a Category C prison. Everywhere it holds audiences riveted. I first gave The Signal-Man with the York Ghost Merchants as one of their online streams during the pandemic, so it’s fitting to be collaborating with them again.”
Without giving away the ending, what happens in The Signal-Man and why does it suit live performance?
“In short form, a wandering gentleman befriends a lonely signal-man on an isolated stretch of railway. He there hears about the signal-man’s uncanny supernatural experiences.
“I feel this is one story that works far better when spoken out loud than read in private. Simon Callow agreed with me after he recorded it as an audio drama.
“Dickens is essentially the character actor’s Shakespeare,” says James
“Even so, I’d recommend that people familiarise themselves with the text in advance. The final revelation takes some digesting, not unlike the ending of Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. But once the core idea sinks in, it’s forever burned into the memory.”
Likewise, what happens in The Trial For Murder and why does it suit live performance?
“A city gentleman does jury service at the Old Bailey and begins to catch sight of an unsettling figure whose face is ‘the colour of impure wax’. People don’t generally know this story – it also goes by the unhelpful title ‘To Be Taken With A Grain Of Salt’ – so there’s a vital element of surprise.
“After all, a courtroom is itself a type of theatre, and this narrative’s structure is deliberate, verging on procedural, which contrasts well with the shocks.
“The Trial For Murder is less well known [than The Signal-Man] – and in my opinion, something of a neglected classic. Like The Signal-Man, it feels imbued with the spirit of M. R. James. So many of Dickens’s ghosts are family-friendly – just think of A Christmas Carol and how well it lends itself to the Muppets! None of that with these tales. Keep your children away.”
The poster for James Swanton’s double bill of ghost stories for Halloween at York Medical Society
How come you performed The Signal-Man at a Category C prison?
“This came about after an approach from A. G. Smith, who’s highly regarded as a ghostly storyteller through his touring work with Weeping Bank. The prison offered that rare thing: an audience who not only wanted but needed to be told a story.
“They were among the best I’ve ever had; certainly the most attentive. I’m sure they understood the signal-man’s feelings of entrapment in ways I can’t begin to imagine.”
What keeps drawing you back to Dickens?
“His invented people are irresistible; Dickens is essentially the character actor’s Shakespeare. That said, his narration interests me more and more with the passage of time. And there’s rather a lot of that in these two pieces! The eye-catching grotesques melt away and the storyteller takes centre stage.”
James Swanton (in the mirror) and Julia Garner in the film poster for Apartment 7A
What else is coming up for you? Any filming commitments?
“There’s the odd project in the offing, though nothing nailed down. I’ve been continuing my association with Hammer Films this month. They put me back into Christopher Lee’s Creature make-up for last week’s premiere of their restored Curse Of Frankenstein, where I was honoured to shake hands with 90-year-old cast member Melvyn Hayes. Young Frankenstein himself!
“I’ll also be guesting at Manchester’s Festival of Fantastic Films closer to Halloween. But most of the year is now blocked out with stage work, including my return to York Medical Society in the last week of November with A Christmas Carol and The Haunted Man. Tickets are now on sale.”
And finally, James, why should audiences see The Signal-Man?
“Come to The Signal-Man if you want to experience old-fashioned theatrical storytelling in the pricelessly atmospheric setting of York Medical Society. Roger Clarke, esteemed author of A Natural History Of Ghosts, has been good enough to call me ‘the best interpreter of Charles Dickens’s ghost stories alive’. I’ll be doing my chilling best to live up to that praise.”
James Swanton presents The Signal-Man, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, October 16 to 28, 7pm, except October 27 and 28 at 5.30pm and 7.30pm.Tickets are on sale too forCharles Dickens’s Ghost Stories, The Haunted Man, November 24 and 27, 7pm; A Christmas Carol, November 25 and 28, 7pm; November 30, 2pm and 6pm.Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
James Swanton in ghost story-telling mode at York Medical Society
James Swanton on York’s history of trains and ghosts and Dickens’s railway links
“YORK is as much a city of trains as ghosts. The National Railway Museum is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the opening of its refurbished Station Hall.
“It’s also been an interesting year for Dickens’s links with the railways. 2025 marks 160 years since the Staplehurst accident – a horrifying train crash from which Dickens was lucky to escape with his life.
“It’s this trauma that inspired him to write The Signal-Man, which might also be considered the last story that Dickens completed. All that followed were collaborative works and an unfinished novel.
“Incredibly, Dickens died on the fifth anniversary of the Staplehurst crash. Given that The Signal-Man is so much about our inability to escape our fates, that feels eerily significant.
“I was pleased when the Charles Dickens Museum commissioned me to create a show based on the incident in June. We gave it a sensational title: Killing Dickens!”
James Swanton working with Mark Gatiss. Picture: Sonchia Lopez
Did you know?
JAMES Swanton often appears on film as all manner of demons and monsters. Last year, he was seen in Apartment 7A, Tarot, The First Omen and the final series of Inside No. 9.
He also has a keen interest in the history of screen horror. “Many people first encounter The Signal-Man through the 1976 Ghost Story For Christmas starring Denholm Elliott,” he says.
“In 2023, I became a part of the BBC’s modern Ghost Stories For Christmas tradition – playing the Mummy in Mark Gatiss’s Lot No. 249, chasing poor Kit Harington down those country roads at night – so I’d like to think I’m well placed to present such terrors on stage.
“Recently, I was reunited with Lot No. 249’s make-up man, the Oscar- winning Dave Elsey, to re-create Christopher Lee’s Creature from The Curse Of Frankenstein, in aid of a documentary on the new Blu-ray release. At last, I can say I’ve been employed by Hammer Films!
“I’d stop short of saying I’m now Christopher Lee’s representative on Earth, but it was certainly a singular honour.”
Saxophonist Jean Toussaint: First blast of brass in the NCEM’s autumn season on October 1
THE National Centre for Early Music autumn season will open next Wednesday with Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer and bandleader Jean Toussaint’s 7.20pm concert at St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Born on the Dutch Antilles island of Aruba, Toussaint grew up in St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
He moved to London in 1987, since when he has used the capital as his base. For his return to York with his latest project, JT5, he will share the stage with emerging British jazz talent, performing material from his latest album, JT5 Live At The Vortex 10/08/2024, recorded at the London jazz club last summer.
Supported by Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Trust, York Music Forum students will be working with Toussaint earlier in the day to share their work on the NCEM stage from 7.20pm to 7.40pm.
Trumpet player Byron Wallen: Raising the Black Flag at the NCEM on October 24
“Our autumn season welcomes a host of artists from across the world, bringing the highest-quality music-making to the city and continuing to share opportunities for the young, and the not so young, to get involved,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.
Pianist Jonny Best will be joined by violinist Susannah Simmons, cellist Liz Hanks and percussionist Trevor Bartlett for Frame Ensemble’s live accompaniment of Northern Silents’ presentation of Julien Duvivier’s 1929 French silent film The Divine Voyage on October 6.
As with Northern Silents’ sold-out performance of South in 2023, Frame Ensemble’s improvised score will capture the atmosphere of Duvivier’s lushly photographed tale of faith and hope about rapacious businessman Claude Ferjac sending his ship, La Cordillere, on a long trading journey, knowing it has been repaired poorly and is likely to sink. An entire village of sailors, desperate to support their families, has no choice but to set sail.
Virtuoso guitarists Gordon Giltrap & John Etheridge team up for 2 Parts Guitar on October 14; Damien O’Kane’s Irish tenor banjo and Ron Block’s five-string bluegrass banjo link up the following night to showcase their third joyously innovative album in seven years, Banjovial, the sequel to the ground-breaking Banjophony and Banjophonics.
Heidi Talbot: Previewing November 21 album Grace Untold at NCEM on October 23
On October 23, Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM ahead of the November 21 release of her new album, Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women, performed in York with Toby Shaer on fiddle and flute and Innes White on guitar.
Byron Wallen, London-born composer, traveller, educator and trumpet and flugelhorn player, heads back to the NCEM on November 24 with a very personal project: an exploration of childhood memories and the emotional strains between a mother and her son, separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
Performed with pianist and keyboard player Nick Ramm, Black Flag is in part a response to the photographic work of Annabel Elgar, whose images will be shared on screen. Emotional, searing, poignant and tough, this will be an evening to reflect and explore the shifting balance of power between the urban and the rural, together with the toxicity of colonialism, but with a glimpse of light before the sun.
“As our 25th year draws to a close, we are particularly pleased to welcome trumpeter and composer Byron Wallen as he shares his very personal exploration of childhood in Black Flag,” says Delma. “Likewise to invite you to enjoy an extraordinarily upbeat show of rhythms in the company of N’Faly Kouyaté and to share the haunting tapestry of sounds from Armenia and Iran with duduk player Arsen Petrosyan.”
N’Faly Kouyaté : Showcasing new album Finishing on November 12
Booked in for November 12, Songlines Music Awards winner N’Faly Kouyaté is a living bridge between ancestral heritage and future sounds, inviting you to a musical odyssey of songs that stir the soul, inspire reflection, elicit smiles and set bodies moving.
Playing balafon, kora, n’gonin, djeli doundoun, djeli tamamba and the toumba (congas), Guinean musician Kouyaté will be showcasing music from his September 12 album Finishing, with Afro Celt Sound System, where Celtic voices and instrumentation meet the vibrant heartbeat of African rhythms.
On November 17, Arsen Petroysan will be joined by Mehdi Rostami, on setar, and Adib Rostami, on kamancheh, to perform haunting melodies and intricate improvisations in a meditative and emotional journey through the ancient Armenian and Iranian cultures.
On November 16, at 6.30pm, wry Kent folk musician Chris Wood – a six-time BBC Folk Award winner and key member of The Imagined Village alongside North Yorkshire’s Martin and Eliza Carthy – offers reflections on minor league football, empty nest syndrome, learning to swim, Cook-in-Sauce and the Gecko as a metaphor for contemporary society in celebration of “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life”.
The folk focus next falls on The Jeremiahs, the Irish band of Joe Gibney, vocals, Matt Mancuso, fiddle and vocals, Conor Crimmins, flute, and James Ryan, guitar, in their NCEM debut on December 3.
Chris Wood: Celebrating “the sheer one-thing-after-anotherness of life” on November 16
The NCEM teams up with Explore York library service and Mayfield Valley Arts Trust for Baroque Around The Books on December 8 and 9, when Dowland’s Foundry, with tenor Daniel Thompson and lutenist Sam Brown, presents Facets Of Time in various York libraries to explore the meaning of time through music and poetry. Full details can be found at ncem.co.uk/baroque-around–the-books.
York Early Music Christmas Festival 2025 will run from December 5 to 14, featuring Fieri Consort& Camerta Oresund, Consone & Chiaroscuo Quartets, Marian Consort & ECSE, Apollo’s Cabinet, Helen Charlston, Joglaresa and Apollo5. A full preview will follow in The York Press soon.
Festive folk fixtures Green Matthews – modern-day balladeers Chris Green and Sophie Green – will see out the old year at the NCEM with their Midwinter Revels concert of Christmas carols and winter folk songs on ancient and modern instruments on December 16.
“Our autumn season is creative, engaging and will be hugely rewarding,” says Delma. “We look forward to welcoming you.”
Concerts start at 7.30pm unless stated otherwise. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
York oboe player Desmond Clarke: Performing on Navigators Art’s YO Underground #5 bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
FOOD for thought for heading out and about as York Food & Drink Festival opens and Inspector Morse is on the case in Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations.
Navigators Art presents YO Underground #5, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK arts collective Navigators Art’s regular fulcrum of left-field new music, words and performance returns this weekend with a focus on ethnic instruments, acoustic-electronic improvisation, words and guitar-based fusion, plus passionate new songwriting.
Expect bold, beautiful and adventurous sounds from flautist Carmen Troncoso, York oboe player Desmond Clarke and Osc~, No Spinoza and a new York ‘supergroup’, the NSC Sound Union, combining members of Soma Crew and Namke Communications. Admission is £6 at www.ticketsource.co.uk/navigators-art-performance) or £10 on the door.
Sam Blythe: Taking on a multitude of roles in George Orwell’s Animal Farm at Theatre@41, Monkgate
Solo show of the week: Sam Blythe in Animal Farm, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm
CELEBRATING 70 years of its publication on August 17 1945 and 30 since the first performance of Guy Masterson’s solo adaptation of George’s Orwell’s satirical allegorical dystopian novella, Sam Blythe takes up Masterson’s mantle on stage.
Bringing all of Orwell’s multiple characters to vivid life, Blythe transforms into Snowball, Napoleon, Squealer, Boxer, Clover, Mollie, Benjamin, Muriel, the Sheep, Dogs, Cows, Hens and the Cat in a performance designed to shock, enchant, bewitch and bewilder, ringing out Orwell’s prescient warning that politicians through the ages, and of all creeds and colours, will often let power corrupt them. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Rebecca Vaughan’s Lady Susan in Dyad Productions’ Austen’s Women: Lady Susan. Picture: Seamus Flanagan
Magnificently crafted tale of manipulation and manners of the week:Dyad Productions in Austen’s Women: Lady Susan, York Theatre Royal Studio, today, 2pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
DYAD Productions return with a new solo comedy show, Jane Austen’s 1794 tale of manipulation and manners. Directed by Andrew Margerison, company regular Rebecca Vaughan plays devil-may-care widow Lady Susan, oppressed, rebellious daughter Frederica, long-suffering sister-in-law Catherine, family matriarch Mrs De Courcy and insouciant best friend Alicia.
At the vanguard of Vaughan’s wickedly humorous adaptation is the charming, scheming and witty Lady Susan, taking on society and making it her own, but has this coquette met her match? Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Skosh chef-proprietor Neil Bentinck: Cookery demonstration at St Crux Hall on September 27 at 1pm at York Food & Drink Festival
Festival of the week: York Food & Drink Festival, cooking until September 28
HIGHLIGHTS of this autumn’s York Food & Drink Festival include 70 street food and produce stands in Parliament Street; the Entertainment Marquee on Parliament Street, serving a bill of Live for St Leonard’s Hospice music acts; more live music in St Sampson’s Square, and demonstrations, events, tastings, and sampling at St Crux Hall.
Further events will be two taste trails; the Food Factory in St Crux Hall and Museum Gardens; the Pork Pie competition in Bedern Hall; Curry & Comedy at the NCEM; Yahala Mataam’s refugee pop-up restaurant night and cookery school; Tang’s festival debut; Jorvik Viking Centre’s activities with an historic twist and the Meet The Makers drinks fair. For the full festival programme, head to: yorkfoodfestival.com.
One of Simon Baxter’s photographs from All The Wood’s A Stage, his joint exhibition with Joe Cornish at Nunnington Hall. Picture: Simon Baxter
Ryedale exhibition launch of the week: All The Wood’s A Stage, Nunnington Hall, near York, from today to March 29 2026
ALL The Wood’s A Stage will continue the 2022 showcase Woodland Sanctuary, exhibited originally at the Moors Centre in Danby. This latest chapter features predominantly new photographs that celebrate the beauty and vital significance of trees, woodlands and forests across the UK.
Photographers Joe Cornish and Simon Baxter depict trees as silent performers on nature’s stage, encouraging us to observe, listen and reflect. Trees provide joy, peace and inspiration, being lungs of the Earth, guardians of biodiversity and a crucial part of our mental and physical well-being. Through changing seasons, they symbolise life, death and renewal. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.
The poster for The Return Of The Legends, featuring Strictly Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite, at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: The Return Of The Legends, starring Brendan, James, Pasha, Vincent and Ian, York Barbican, today, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite follow up 2024’s Legends Of The Dancefloor with new Latin, tango, rumba and ballroom routines and more Strictly stories in The Return Of The Legends. Joined by a supporting cast, they deliver a night of dancing, camaraderie, music and laughter. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Robert Took, Georgina Liley, Catherine Warnock and James McLean in Mikron Theatre’s Hush Hush!, on tour at Clements Hall, York
Touring play of the week: Mikron Theatre in Hush Hush!, Clements Hall, York, Sunday, 4pm
IN a daring theatrical mission, Marsden’s Mikron Theatre Company infiltrates the clandestine world of wartime code-breaking in Lucie Raine’s Hush Hush!, exposing the vital contributions of the unsung heroes of Bletchley Park’s Hut 3, whose ingenuity and unwavering resolve helped secure victory.
Peggy Valentine arrives at Bletchley in 1940, 18 years old, headstrong and gifted. Finding herself in a world of boffins, soldiers and debutantes, Peggy must shoulder the burden of high-pressure war work while navigating a new world of feuds, friendships and growing up in a frame of absolute secrecy. Mikron’s crack team of actor-musicians, Georgina Liley, Robert Took, Catherine Warnock and familiar face James McLean, blends original songs, live music and compelling storytelling. Box office for returns only: 01484843701 or email admin@mikron.org.uk.
Tom Chambers as Detective Chief Inspector Morse in the first Inspector Morse original stage play, House Of Ghosts, at Grand Opera House, York
Murder mystery of the week: Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, Grand Opera House, York, September 23 to 27, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
BIRMINGHAM Repertory Theatre and Simon Friend Entertainment are touring the Inspector Morse franchise’s debut original stage play, House Of Ghosts, penned by Alma Cullen, directed by Anthony Banks and starring Tom Chambers.
A chilling mystery unfolds when a young actress dies suddenly on stage during a performance, prompting Detective Chief Inspector Morse to embark on a gripping investigation. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when the legendary inspector, in tandem with Detective Sergeant Lewis, uncovers a connection to sinister events in his own past, 25 years earlier. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Kieran Hodgson: Voicing his thoughts on the USA
Comedy gig of the week: Kieran Hodgson: Voice Of America, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 26, 8pm
AMERICA. What happened, man? Ever since he was a little loser kid in a little loser country (yes, England), Holmfirth-born Kieran Hodgson has been putting on an American accent and dreaming a big American dream.
Nowadays, however, it’s not so simple. Didn’t America go completely bananas? Didn’t he get too old for dreaming? And when Hollywood comes calling, does Kieran actually sound American after all? Here he assesses how a scared world feels about the USA and impersonates a bunch of old prospectors and former Presidents. Box office for returns only: https://tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The horror, the horror: Dead Northern returns to City Screen Picturehouse
Film event of the week: Dead Northern presents The Festival of Horror, City Screen Picturehouse, York, September 26 to 28
IN “the world’s most haunted city”, Dead Northern hosts three days of film and live events, taking in music, social activities, food, drink and merchandise. Friday Frights opens with a 10.30am showcase of student short films and videos, followed by UK premiere of Sun at noon with a Q&A.
The 2pm short film showcase focuses on Teeth, Claws, Tentacles and Clowns. At 4pm the Dead Talks talk reveals Dracula’s mysterious connection to York under the splendid title of Who Are You Calling A Count?! A mystery Dracula classic film re-surfaces at 5pm and the UK premiere of Hellhouse LLC: Lineage is booked in for 7.30pm. The night concludes with the Welcome Social & Quiz with the Independent Horror Society.
Saturday Screams kicks off with the Flesh & Bone short film showcase at 10.30am, followed by the world premiere of A Mother’s Recall at noon and the Twisted Tales short film showcase at 1.45pm.
The 3.30pm UK film premiere will be Home Education, concluding with a Q&A, and the 5.30pm classic feature will be the 40th anniversary release of A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.
7.30pm’s Signature Live Event will be Spirits By Spirits; the 8.45pm feature film will be The Beast Of Riverside Hollow, with a Q&A, and the night ends with the VIP Awards Party at 11pm.
Day three, Sunday Shock The 28th, launches with the 10.30am classic feature, 1981’s Evil Dead, followed by the UK premiere of Nightfall – A Paranormal Investigation at noon and the Spectres & Shadows short film showcase at 1.30pm.
The UK premiere of Tabula Rasa will be shown at 2.45pm; the 4.15pm screening of He Kills At Night will include a Q&A, and Inside The Mind will be the theme of the 6pm short film showcase. In Dead Talks Part II at 7.30pm, the Independent Horror Society welcomes special guests for When Horror Struck Again, a discussion on underrated sequels.
The festival concludes with a classic feature, 1987’s Evil Dead II. For more details on Dead Northern Part VI 2025 Horror Film Festival, visit deadnorthern.co.uk/dead-northern-2025-horror-film-festival.
In Focus: York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair, York Cemetery, today and tomorrow
Russell Hughes discussing monoprinting. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography
THIS weekend York Printmakers celebrates a decade of creativity, collaboration and craftsmanship with its 10th Annual Print Fair, designed for lovers of original art and handmade processes.
This year’s fair reflects the group’s continuing mission: to keep traditional printmaking alive, accessible and valued.
Over the past decade, York Printmakers has grown into a vibrant collective of more than 40 artists, all committed to the authenticity of printmaking. The fair showcases a wide range of techniques — from linocut to collagraph, screen print to woodcut — all created by hand.
“People are often surprised to learn the difference between a reproduction and a handmade print,” says founding member Sally Clarke. “At our fair, you get to see the blocks, the plates, the tools — and meet the people who made them.
“In a world where everything is easily copied, our fair champions the original: prints made by hand, with care and intention.”
Bridget Hunt describing how to make a collograph plate. Picture: Chris Kendall Photography
This year’s milestone event reflects on ten years of artistic evolution, celebrating the unique voices of long-standing members while championing the newer members to the collective: artists whose fresh perspectives and experimental approaches are helping to shape the future of the craft.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome new members, especially those just discovering printmaking or beginning their creative journey,” says long-standing member Russell Hughes. “They bring energy and new ideas that inspire even the most experienced among us. And in return, we’re able to share knowledge and techniques that have stood the test of time. That exchange is what keeps the group dynamic and evolving.”
Visitors can explore a rich variety of work, meet the makers and buy original prints directly from the artists.
York Printmakers’ 10th Anniversary Handmade Print Fair, Chapel and Harriet Room, York Cemetery, Cemetery Road, York, September 20 and 21, 10am to 5pm. Free entry.
York Printmakers’ poster for this weekend’s print fair at York Cemetery
In Focus too: Pete McKee, Viva La Nan!, RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate, and McKee Gallery, Sheffield
Pete McKee’s poster for September 27’s Viva La Nan! launch at RedHouse Gallery, Harrogate
PETE McKee’s double exhibition celebrating the beloved nans of his childhood will open across two Yorkshire galleries this autumn.
Viva La Nan! will go on view at RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, from September 27 to October 4 and the McKee Gallery, Leah’s Yard, Cambridge Street, Sheffield, for two days only, October 11 and 12, presenting more than 120 drawings on paper created “in tribute to Nans, Grandmothers, Grandmas,Grannies, Grans, Nanas”.
Each gallery will be home to a completely different exhibition with “fans of art and fans of Nans” invited to enjoy both shows. The heart-warming collection includes original drawings on paper, showcasing the development of McKee’s process from sketchbook to final painting, and the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to own a unique McKee artwork, with prices ranging from just £75 to £2,450.
A Lovely Cup O’ Tea, by Pete McKee
“I wanted to create an exhibition celebrating the power of Nans and the love we have for them,” says Pete, who grew up on a Sheffield housing estate. “It shows the beauty and dignity of women who have lived through hardship and pain; women who have worked and toiled and managed to raise us on next to nothing. I consider my nans as iconic figures to be put on a pedestal and worshipped for the mighty women that they are”
The double exhibition coincides with McKee’s first major museum show, The Boy Name With A Leg Named Brian, on show until November 2 at Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, where it has drawn 80,000 viewers already.
McKee’s work captures life’s simple pleasures with an innocence often lost in today’s fragmented and high-octane society. His images make you stop and think, laugh out loud or break your heart.
Viva La Nan! artworks by Pete McKee
To celebrate the Harrogate opening, Pete will launch the show in person on September 27 at 10am, when the first 50 visitors will receive a signed limited edition copy of the exhibition exclusive Daily Nan newspaper.
On October 12, the curious and adventurous are invited to join Pete and RedHouse on an unforgettable “Yorkshire road trip” with McKee Travel: the Harrogate to Sheffield Bus Tour to see both Sheffield shows on one day.
“We’ll be making a grand day of it,” says RedHouse Gallery’s David McTague. “Not only will you see the second phase of the exhibition at the McKee Gallery, but we’ll also provide onboard entertainment and stop for a spot of afternoon tea. Before heading home, we’ll also drop by the Weston Park Museum and meet the artist at his concurrent show, The Boy With The Leg Named Brian.”
McKee Travel’s Yorkshire road trip from Harrogate to Sheffield on October 12
Here is the itinerary: 9.10am, coach departs Harrogate from RedHouse Gallery; 11am, arrive in Sheffield and visit Viva La Nan! at Leah’s Yard; 12.30pm, afternoon tea at the Chocolate Bar; 2pm, visit to McKee’s exhibition at Weston Park Museum; 4pm, coach to depart from Sheffield and arrive in Harrogate circa 5.40pm.
Ticket includes seat reservation on McKee Travel coach; on-board entertainment, including bingo; exclusive exhibition paraphernalia; priority entry to Viva La Nan! at Leah’s Yard; reservation at Chocolate Afternoon Tea Experience; entry to Pete McKee: The Boy With The Leg Named Brian; Meet & Greet with the artist at Weston Park Museum. For tickets, go to https://www.redhouseoriginals.com/shop/artwork/gift-voucher/mckee-travel-hgate-bus-ticket.
At RedHouse, in addition to Viva La Nan!, a selection of original archive paintings by Pete McKee will be on view in the first floor gallery rooms. Highlights include Room 414, McKee’s homage to legendary guitarist Robert Johnson: The King Of Delta Blues, and Music For Pleasure, an artwork created for Rhoda Dakar’s album Version Girl. On show too will be Gone To The Dogs, an exceptionally rare “early years” painting from 2003.
Acid House, from the Viva La Nan! series, by Pete McKee
In a further celebration of the Harrogate opening of Viva La Nan!, a selection of original McKee drawings will be available at exclusive Collector Prices, starting at £195, with all artworks signed by McKee and sold framed to the artist’s specifications, with selected works presented in vintage frames.
“I wanted to make my artwork accessible,” says Pete. “I want people to be able to have that pleasure of owning a piece of original artwork and looking at it every day, knowing that you own a bit of the artist’s soul.”
Pete McKee, Viva La Nan!, RedHouse Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, September 27 to October 4, open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm; The McKee Gallery, Cambridge Street, Leah’s Yard, Sheffield, October 11. 10am to 5.30pm, and October 12, 11am to 4pm.
Sheffield artist Pete McKee
Pete McKee: back story
BORN in Sheffield in 1967, Pete McKee creates iconic and enduring images that reflect his experiences of growing up on a council estate, surrounded by working-class culture and humour.
This down-to-earth and nostalgic thread runs through all of his work and has gained him a worldwide following.
Comics were a large part of Pete’s childhood and he would read “any that he could get his hands on”, when Whizzer and Chips, The Dandy, The Beano and Hergé’s beloved Tintin were particular favourites.
Pete McKee at work on Viva La Nan!
Pete has collaborated with Noel Gallagher, Liam Gallagher, Oasis, Sir Paul Smith, Arctic Monkeys, Richard Hawley, Disney, Warp Films, Clarks Shoes, The Human League, Rega and BBC 6 Music. Noel Gallagher once phoned him to say that McKee’s painting of a child practising guitar on a bed summed up his youth. McKee fans include actress Maxine Peake and filmmaker Ken Loach.
Longstanding supporter of Teenage Cancer Trust Charity, designing concert posters for charity’s Royal Albert Hall shows.
Opened McKee Gallery in Sheffield in 2010, putting on first major exhibition in 2013, The Joy Of Sheff, and since then showcasing numerous shows such as Six Weeks To Eternity, 2016, This Class Works, 2018, and Frank and Joy: A Love Story, 2023.
Pete McKee in his studio
Now holding his longest-running exhibition yet, A Boy With A Leg Named Brian, at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, from November 29 2024 until November 2 2025.
Patron of Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, Art+; one of his most notable annual projects being the charity’s Christmas card design.
Received honorary doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in 2018, when presented as a Doctor of Arts at that year’s graduation.
A work in progress for the Viva La Nan! series
In 2024, after more than a decade at Sharrow Vale Road, the McKee Gallery relocated to Leah’s Yard, Cambridge Street, in Sheffield city centre.
Pete’s modus operandi: “I’ve got my own path to plough and I do that regardless of what fashions are, or what the art world deems to be appropriate. I’ve got my own niche. It’s my world and I have people that follow me, like my work, and understand it. I just want people to enjoy what they see.”
Rebecca Vaughan’s Lady Susan in Dyad Productions’ Austen’s Women: Lady Susan. Picture: Ben Guest
JANE Austen’s Lady Susan, supreme chamber musicians, nature photography and Inspector Morse’s stage debut keep September busy for Charles Hutchinson.
Magnificently crafted tale of manipulation and manners of the week:Dyad Productions in Austen’s Women: Lady Susan, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow and Friday, 7.45pm, Saturday, 2pm; Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
DYAD Productions return with a new solo comedy show, Jane Austen’s 1794 tale of manipulation and manners. Directed by Andrew Margerison, company regular Rebecca Vaughan plays devil-may-care widow Lady Susan, oppressed, rebellious daughter Frederica, long-suffering sister-in-law Catherine, family matriarch Mrs De Courcy and insouciant best friend Alicia.
At the vanguard of Vaughan’s wickedly humorous adaptation is the charming, scheming and witty Lady Susan, taking on society and making it her own, but has she met her match? Box office: York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk; Helmsley, 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Classical festival of the week: York Chamber Music Festival 2025, Friday to Sunday
YORK Chamber Music Festival artistic director Tim Lowe brings the cream of European string playing to York for three days. Taking part in five concerts at the National Centre for Early Music, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, and St Olave’s Church will be Charlotte Scott and Jonathan Stone, violins; Helene Clement and Gary Pomeroy, violas; Lowe and Jonathan Aasgaard, cello, and Katya Apekisheva, piano. For the full festival programme and tickets, go to: ycmf.co.uk.
Comedy gig of the week: Russell Kane, Hyperactive, York Barbican, Friday, 8pm
WHIRLWIND physical comedian, presenter, actor and author Russell Kane is out on the road again with his latest tour carrying a safety warning: “Wear strong underwear. Pants will be spoiled”. This show will be high-energy, high-octane and hyper-active. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Film event of the week: Mother Vera with Q&A, City Screen Picturehouse, York, Friday, 6pm
IN a hidden Orthodox monastery in Belarus, Mother Vera weaves the inner world of an unorthodox young nun with the community that saved her life. After 20 years as a monastic, Vera faces deep inner conflict. Now, she must confront her past and trust her instincts to find the liberation she desires.
Friday’s screening of Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson’s winner of Best Documentary at the 2024 BFI London Film Festival – shot in black and white – will be accompanied by a question-and-answer session with Tomlinson, conducted by Aesthetica writer and curator Rachel Pronger. Box office: picturehouses.com/cinema/city-screen-picturehouse.
Americana gig of the week: The Coal Porters, All Saints Church, Pocklington, Friday, 7.30pm
THE Coal Porters, who claim to be the world’s first “alt-bluegrass” act, will be led as ever by Sid Griffin in Pocklington, a day after celebrating his 70th birthday.
Prominent figures in the UK Americana and bluegrass scene for 17 years, Griffin’s band are back in the saddle this autumn for eight dates. Their songs showcase the power of fiddle, mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and doghouse bass, all harmonised with four-part vocals and melodies. Box office: sidgriffin.com/tour; ticketsource.co.uk.
Ryedale exhibition launch of the week: All The Wood’s A Stage, Nunnington Hall, near York, from Saturday to March 29 2026
ALL The Wood’s A Stage will continue the 2022 showcase Woodland Sanctuary, exhibited originally at the Moors Centre in Danby. This latest chapter features predominantly new photographs that celebrate the beauty and vital significance of trees, woodlands and forests across the UK.
Photographers Joe Cornish and Simon Baxter depict trees as silent performers on nature’s stage, encouraging us to observe, listen and reflect. Trees provide joy, peace and inspiration, being lungs of the Earth, guardians of biodiversity and a crucial part of our mental and physical well-being. Through changing seasons, they symbolise life, death and renewal. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall.
Dance show of the week: The Return Of The Legends, starring Brendan, James, Pasha, Vincent and Ian, York Barbican, Saturday, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing alumni Brendan Cole, James Jordan, Pasha Kovalev, Vincent Simone and Ian Waite follow up 2024’s Legends Of The Dancefloor with new Latin, tango, rumba and ballroom routines and more Strictly stories in The Return Of The Legends. Joined by a supporting cast, they deliver a night of dancing, camaraderie, music and laughter. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Murder mystery of the week: Inspector Morse: House Of Ghosts, Grand Opera House, York, September 23 to 27, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
BIRMINGHAM Repertory Theatre and Simon Friend Entertainment are touring the Inspector Morse franchise’s debut original stage play, House Of Ghosts, penned by Alma Cullen, directed by Anthony Banks and starring Tom Chambers.
A chilling mystery unfolds when a young actress dies suddenly on stage during a performance, prompting Detective Chief Inspector Morse to embark on a gripping investigation. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when the legendary inspector, in tandem with Detective Sergeant Lewis, uncovers a connection to sinister events in his own past, 25 years earlier. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club, The Della Grants, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 25, 8pm
LEICESTER band The Della Grants’ songs seamlessly bridge the gaps between blues, rock and Americana. Since their inception in 2014, they have made a name for themselves among industry professionals and fellow musicians for their song-writing ability and performances. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The poster for Friday’s screening of Mother Vera at City Screen Picturehouse
IN a hidden Orthodox monastery in Belarus, Mother Vera weaves the inner world of an unorthodox young nun with the community that saved her life. After 20 years as a monastic, Vera faces deep inner conflict. Now, she must confront her past and trust her instincts to find the liberation she desires.
Friday’s screening of Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson’s 91-minute film, winner of the Grierson Documentary Award for Best Documentary at its UK debut at the 68th BFI London Film Festival in 2024, will be accompanied by a question-and-answer session with Tomlinson, conducted by Aesthetica writer and curator Rachel Pronger.
“Shot in breathtaking black and white, Mother Vera is a visually arresting and deeply meditative portrait of a woman confronting the shadows of her past,” says Alys. “The film originally came out of a photograph, so it’s an interesting story that tackles themes around community, spirituality and addiction.”
Mother Vera was released by SheMakes Productions to British and Irish cinemas on August 29. “We are a totally independently made and distributed film, so are reliant on word of mouth to attract audiences,” says Alys.
Introducing her film, she says: “Vera has spent 20 years in a convent on the outskirts of Minsk, living among men undergoing addiction rehabilitation. When a conversation with her mother stirs long-buried memories, Vera is compelled to revisit her own past and the tragic events that led her to this secluded life. What unfolds is a quiet, powerful story of resilience, healing and spiritual transformation.”
The film poster for Mother Vera
Combining haunting cinematography with contemplative pace, Mother Vera invites audiences into a world rarely seen on screen — one of silence, struggle, and redemption. View the trailer at https://vimeo.com/797081818?fl=pl&fe=sh.
Tickets can be booked at picturehouses.com/cinema/city-screen-picturehouse.
Mother Vera synopsis
AFTER two decades in a Belarusian Orthodox monastery, Vera reflects on her unexpected path to nunhood, rooted in a history of addiction. Facing her lingering guilt, she finds herself at a crossroads between her monastic sanctuary and an uncertain future.
With a poignant gaze, Vera’s quiet journey of self-examination offers an intimate glimpse into the complexities of faith, recovery and personal transformation within cloistered walls.
A scene from Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson’s documentary feature Mother Vera
The directors
Cécile Embleton
British-French documentary director. Her directorial debut The Watchmaker’ screened at Hot Docs, Dok Leipzig and SXSW (South By South West).
Mother Vera is her first feature documentary. The project is supported by the Sundance Institute and won second prize at the Hotdocs Forum 2021 and first prize at Locarno First Look 2023.
Alys Tomlinson
British photographer, working with black-and-white analogue film. Work featured in more than 20 international exhibitions. Named Sony World Photographer of the Year in 2018. Long-term project Ex-Voto was published by GOST Books in 2019. Mother Vera is her directorial debut.
SheMakes Productions: back story
SheMakes was founded by producer Laura Shacham in 2018. Focusing on artist moving image and documentary film (and the intersection of the two), the company works primarily on projects led and imagined by women: short and long form documentary film for theatrical release, broadcast, online and artist film for international art institutions.
Work includes Mother Vera (supported by Sundance, HotDocs, Locarno, winner of BFI LFF Grierson Award for Best Documentary 2024) and I Will Keep My Soul (commissioned by The Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art + Thought, New Orleans) by Turner Prize-winning artist Helen Cammock.
Willow artist Laura Ellen Bacon in the saloon at her Whispers Of The Wilderness exhibition at Beningbrough Hall. Picture: Anthony Chappel-Ross
WILLOW sculptures, outdoor cinema, musical premieres and the Yellow Brick Road are beckoning Charles Hutchinson.
Exhibition opening of the week: Laura Ellen Bacon, Whispers Of The Wilderness, Exploring Wilderness Gardens, Beningbrough Hall, near York, until April 12 2026, Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm
WHISPERS Of The Wilderness brings together contemporary large-scale willow sculptures by Laura Ellen Bacon, historic pieces from across the National Trust collection to showcase Wilderness Gardens through time and a new drawing studio designed by artist Tanya Raabe-Webber.
Complemented by a new soundscape, audio chair, sketches of the developing sculptures and more, the exhibition is a sensory experience across the first-floor Reddihough Galleries and Great Hall. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/beningbrough.
Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You, Sunday’s screening at Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema at York Museum Gardens
Film event of the week: City Screen Picturehouse presents Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema, York Museum Gardens, York, Stop Making Sense (PG), tonight, 6.30pm; 10 Things I Hate About You (12A), Sunday, 6.30pm
JONATHAN Demme’s Stop Making Sense, capturing David Byrne’s Talking Heads in perpetual motion at Hollywood’s Panatges Theatre in December 1983, re-emerges in a 40th anniversary restoration of “the greatest concert film of all time”.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allison Janney, Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger star in 10 Things I Hate About You, wherein Cameron falls for Bianca on the first day of school, but not only his uncool status stops him from asking her out. Blankets, cushions and small camping chairs are allowed. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor-cinema/venue/york-museum-gardens.
Hal Cruttenden: Reflecting on the insanity of modern politics at Burning Duck Comedy Club. Picture: Matt Crockett
“Take no prisoners” gig of the week: Hal Cruttenden Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight, 8pm
HAL Cruttenden promises to stick it to ‘The Man’, as long as ‘The Man’ does not stick it back to him. Expect hard-hitting pontificating on middle-aged dating, social media, the insanity of modern politics and his daughters loving him but not respecting him. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Artist Kerry Ann Moffat with her oil painting Sunlight Catching Wooden Sculpture at the Created In York pop-up gallery in High Petergate, York
Pop-up art space of the week: Created In York, hosted by Blank Canvas by Skippko charity, 22 High Petergate, York, 10.30am to 5pm, Thursdays to Saturdays; 11am to 4pm, Sundays
CHAMPIONING change through creativity, York art charity Skippko’s rolling programme of three-week Created In York shows is running in High Petergate until December 2025 in tandem with York Conservation Trust. On show until September 14 are oil paintings by Kerry Ann Moffat and linocuts and woodblock prints by Rachel Holborow.
York RI Golden Rail Band:Performing Sounding Brass and Voices with York RI Golden Railway Band. Picture: Keith Meadley
Musical partnership of the week: Sounding Brass and Voices, York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tonight, 7.30pm
YORK Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band reunite for a fourth joint concert in a tender and thrilling pairing of brass and voices, celebrating 100 years of music.
“From romantic film music to toe-tapping hits, there will be something for everyone,” says Golden Rail Band conductor Nick Eastwood. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Musicals Across The Multiverse choreographer Connie Howcroft, right, working on moves with Zander Fick, Ben Holeyman, Abbie Law and Lauren Charlton-Matthews
Interdimensional journey of the week: Wharfemede Productions in Musicals Across The Multiverse, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 10 to 13, 7.30pm and 2.30pm Saturday matinee
DIRECTOR Helen “Bells” Spencer and musical director Matthew Clare follow up 2023’s Musicals In The Multiverse 2023 with another blend of iconic musical theatre hits reconfigured with surprising twists.
“Think unexpected style swaps, minor to major key switches, gender reversals, era-bending reinterpretations, genre mash-ups and more,” says Bells.” Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Debbie Isitt’s cast in rehearsal for the world premiere of Military Wives – The Musical at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Danny With A Camera
World premiere of the week: Military Wives – The Musical, York Theatre Royal, September 10 to 27, times vary
YORK Theatre Royal stages the world premiere of writer-director Debbie Isitt’s musical based on the 2019 film, rooted in Gareth Malone’s The Choir: Military Wives project.
Faced with husbands and partners being away at war, the women are isolated, bored and desperate to take their minds off feelings of impending doom. Enter Olive to help them form a choir. Cue a joyous celebration of female empowerment and friendship, courage and ‘unsung’ heroes. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Libby Greenhill’s Medium Alison, left, Hattie Wells’s Young Alison and Claire Morley’s Alison in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home
York premiere of the week: Pick Me Up Theatre in Fun Home, York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, September 10 to 19, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
ROBERT Readman directs the York premiere of Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Krow’s five-time Tony Award winner, based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel.
When her volatile father dies unexpectedly, Alison (Claire Morley) recalls how his temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, she relives her unique childhood at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her sexuality and the looming, unanswerable questions of her father’s hidden desires. Box office: ticketsourse.co.uk/pickmeuptheatrecom.
Rob Newman: Wondering where we are going in Where The Wild Things Were at The Crescent
The future, now: Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Rob Newman, Where The Wild Things Were, The Crescent, York, September 11, 7.30pm
ROB Newman wants to discuss where we are and where we are going, from future cities and philistine film directors to Dorothy Parker’s Multiverse Diaries. Throw in Pythagorean gangsters, intellectual bingo callers and a crazy character called Arlo for a comedic “tour-de-force utterly unlike anything else you will ever see anywhere else”. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Mick Tickner: Headlining the Funny Fridays bill at Patch
Comedy gathering of the week: Funny Fridays, at Patch, Bonding Warehouse, Terry Avenue, York, September 12, 7.30pm
AFTER May and June sell-outs and a summer break, Funny Fridays returns for a third night of stand-up hosted by promoter and comedian Katie Lingo. On the £10 bill are 2023 Hull Comedian of the Year Hannah Margaret, Jamie Clinton, Kerris Gibson, James Earl Marsters and headliner Mick Tickner. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk/e/funny-fridays-at-patch-tickets-1473792325519?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Erin Childs’ Dorothy with Toto (Freddie) in York Stage’s The Wizard Of Oz
Ruby slippers of the week: York Stage in The Wizard Of Oz, Grand Opera House, York, September 12 to 20, times vary
UNDER Nik Briggs’s direction, York Stage skips down the Yellow Brick Road as Erin Childs’ Dorothy, Toto and her friends, the Scarecrow (Flo Poskitt), Tin Man (Stu Hutchinson), and Cowardly Lion (Finn East), journey to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard (Ian Giles).
In navigating the enchanting landscape of Oz, Dorothy is watched closely by Glinda, the Good Witch (Carly Morton) as the Wicked Witch of the West (Emily Alderson) plots to thwart Dorothy’s quest and reclaim the magical ruby slippers. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Willow artist Laura Ellen Bacon at her Whispers Of The Wilderness exhibition at Beningbrough Hall. Picture Anthony Chappel-Ross
WILLOW sculptures, a riotous Shakespeare comedy, outdoor cinema and a festival of practical arts are early September attractions for Charles Hutchinson.
Exhibition opening of the week; Whispers Of The Wilderness, Exploring Wilderness Gardens, Beningbrough Hall, near York, until April 12 2026, Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 4pm
WHISPERS Of The Wilderness brings together contemporary large-scale willow sculptures by Laura Ellen Bacon, historic pieces from across the National Trust collection to showcase Wilderness Gardens through time, and a new drawing studio designed by artist Tanya Raabe-Webber.
Complemented by a new soundscape, audio chair, sketches of the developing sculptures and more, the exhibition is a sensory experience across the first-floor Reddihough Galleries and Great Hall. Its opening coincides with Beningbrough’s own Wilderness Garden being the next to be developed as part of Andy Sturgeon’s long-term garden vision, from autumn this year. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/beningbrough.
The HandleBards’ poster for Much Ado About Nothing, tonight’s Shakespeare riotous comedy performance at Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York
Shakespeare performance of the week: The HandleBards in Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant Adventurers’ Hall Great Hall, York, tonight, 7pm
PEDEALLING from venue to venue with set, props and costumes on bikes, the HandleBards’ four-strong troupe of actors is spending the summer touring environmentally sustainable Shakespeare hither and thither in a bicycle-powered indoor production of Much Ado full of riotous energy and comedic chaos.
Soldiers return from the war to a household in Messina, kindling new love interests and re-kindling old rivalries as the parallel love stories of Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio and Hero become entangled with scheming, frivolity and melodrama. Box office for returns only: handlebards.com/show/much-ado-about-nothing-merchant-adventurers-hall.
Scarlett Johansson in Jurassic World Rebirth, Friday’s film at Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema in York Museum Gardens
Film event of the week: City Screen Picturehouse presents Picturehouse Outdoor Cinema, York Museum Gardens, York, Jurassic World Rebirth (12A), Friday, 6.30pm; Stop Making Sense (PG), Saturday, 6.30pm; 10 Things I Hate About You (12A), Sunday, 6.30pm
SCARLETT Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali star in Gareth Edwards’ new Jurassic World chapter as an intrepid team races to secure DNA samples from the three most colossal creatures across land, sea and air.
Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense, capturing David Byrne’s Talking Heads in perpetual motion at Hollywood’s Panatges Theatre in December 1983, re-emerges in a 40th anniversary restoration of “the greatest concert film of all time”. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Allison Janney, Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger star in 10 Things I Hate About You, wherein Cameron falls for Bianca on the first day of school, but not only his uncool status stops him from asking her out.
Blankets, cushions and small camping chairs are allowed at screenings that will begin at dusk or as soon as darkness descends. Box office: picturehouses.com/outdoor-cinema/venue/york-museum-gardens.
Jason Manford is A Manford All Seasons at York Barbican, Scarborough Spa and Hull City Hall
Comedy gigs of the week; Jason Manford in A Manford All Seasons, York Barbican, Friday, 7.30pm and November 15, 7.30pm; Scarborough Spa Grand Hall, Saturday, 7.30pm; Hull City Hall, January 22 2026, 7.30pm
SALFORD comedian, writer, actor, singer and radio and television presenter is on tour in his new stand-up show. He cites Billy Connolly as the first comedian he saw aged nine and as his first inspiration and he cherishes such family friendly entertainers as Eric Morecambe, Tommy Cooper and Les Dawson. Box office: York, yorkbarbican.co.uk; Scarborough, scarboroughspa.co.uk; Hull, hulltheatres.co.uk.
Lino print art demonstration at Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts in Fangfoss
Silver anniversary of the week: Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts, Fangfoss, East Riding, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm each day
FANGFOSS is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Fangfest with the All Things Silver flower festival; veteran cars; archery; the Stamford Bridge Heritage Society; music on the village green; children’s games; the Teddy Bear Trail and artists aplenty exhibiting and demonstrating their work.
Opportunities will be provided to try out the potter’s wheel, spoon carving and chocolate making. Some drop-in activities are free; more intensive workshops require booking in advance. Look out too for the circus skills of children’s entertainer John Cossham, alias Professor Fiddlesticks, and the Pocklington and District Heritage Trust mobile museum. Admission is free.
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir: Performing Sounding Brass and Voices concert with York RI Golden Railway Band at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York
Musical partnership of the week: Sounding Brass and Voices, York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Saturday,7.30pm
TWO well-loved York ensembles reunite for Sounding Brass and Voices to celebrate 100 years of music. York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band are performing a joint concert for the fourth time in a tender and thrilling pairing of brass and voices.
“From romantic film music to toe-tapping hits, there will be something for everyone,” says Golden Rail Band conductor Nick Eastwood. “And prepare yourselves for the finale, when the choir and the band will take the stage together for a couple of glorious and rousing numbers that will gladden your heart and send you home singing.” Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Gruff Rhys: Solo gig at The Crescent, York. Picture: Ryan Eddleston
York gig of the week: Gruff Rhys, The Crescent, York, September 10, 7.30pm
SUPER Furry Animals and Neon Neon musician Gruff Rhys plays The Crescent two days ahead of the release of his ninth solo album, Dim Probs, his fourth sung entirely in Welsh, marking his debut on Rock Action Records.
Over the years, Rhys has collaborated with Gorillaz, Africa Express, Mogwai, Sparklehorse, Danger Mouse, Sabrina Salerno and Imarhan and written two books, multiple cinema and video game soundtracks and an opera, created music for three stage shows and devised two feature documentaries. Box office for returns only: thecrescentyork.com/events/gruff-rhys.
Suede: Returning to York Barbican on 2026 Antidepressants tour. Picture: Dean Chalkley
Show announcement of the week: Suede, Antidepressants UK Tour 2026, York Barbican, February 7 2026
AFTER playing York Barbican for the first time in more than 25 years in March 2023, Suede will make a rather hastier return on their 17-date January and February tour. Brett Anderson’s London band will be promoting tenth studio album Antidepressants, out on September 5 on BMG.
“If [2022’s] Autofiction was our punk record, Antidepressants is our post-punk record,” says Anderson. “It’s about the tensions of modern life, the paranoia, the anxiety, the neurosis. We are all striving for connection in a disconnected world. This was the feel I wanted the songs to have. This is broken music for broken people.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk/whats-on/suede26.
Farah Ashraf’s Roberta in the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture revival of York Theatre Royal’s The Railway Children at Oxenhope Station. Picture: James Glossop
YORK Theatre Royal first staged The Railway Children in the purpose-built Signal Box Theatre at the National Railway Museum, York, in 2008 and 2009, later transferring to London’s Waterloo Station, Toronto in Canada and King’s Cross Theatre, London.
From this evening, York playwright Mike Kenny’s refreshed stage adaptation of E Nesbit’s novel is back on track in Yorkshire, as the Theatre Royal teams up with Keighley & Worth Valley Railway for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, in a revival of Damian Cruden’s Best Entertainment Olivier Award-winner.
All on board once more are the same director, writer, set and costume designer, Joanna Scotcher, lighting designer, Richard G Jones, composer, Christopher Madin, and sound designer, Craig Vear. “We’re all still here – somehow!” says Damian.
The setting is the railway line famously used as a location for Lionel Jeffries’ 1970 film, the one starring Jenny Agutter and Bernard Cribbins that transferred Nesbit’s rural setting from Kent to Yorkshire.
Audiences will begin by taking a steam train from Keighley to Oxenhope Station, a journey accompanied by an immersive scene-setting soundscape provided by Stand & Be Counted Theatre on the themes of exile, sanctuary, compassion and kindness.
Damian Cruden: Directing The Railway Children on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railwayline. Picture copyright: The York Press
Kenny’s re-worked adaptation will be staged in an adapted engine shed at Oxenhope, a location closest in character to the National Railway Museum premiere with a steam train from the Keighley & Worth stock and the audience on either side of the railway track in the 500-capacity auditorium.
“It’s very similar to when we first did it inside a tent [over the freight depot] at the NRM, partly because it’s another heritage railway environment, whereas Waterloo and King’s Cross had a very different railway atmosphere. Seven hundred volunteers work for Keighley & Worth, which tells you something about our relationship with the steam age,” says Damian.
“We’re using what’s a sort-of museum shed [officially the Exhibition Shed], a proper period engine shed, where they keep the locomotives, and it’s customary to hold live events there [such as the October beer festival], but usually on a much smaller scale, so we’ve had to empty the shed of all its ‘bits’.
“The steam engine we’re using is a full locomotive with a tender, from the 1880s, along with a Third Class carriage and the ‘Gentleman’s Carriage’, shunted from further down the line.”
Damian is delighted to be staging arguably his biggest ever hit again. “Bringing The Railway Children to Bradford this year offered us a unique opportunity to restage the production as part of the UK City of Culture programme, starting on the tracks where the iconic 1970 film was shot in the beautiful Worth Valley.
The poster for the Bradford 2025 UK City Of Culture production of The Railway Children
“It’s great that it’s part of the festival and that it’s coming to the point of origin, the railway line that goes through Oakworth station, the primary location in the film.”
Set in 1905, The Railway Children tells the story of three children forced to move from wealthy Edwardian London to rural Yorkshire after their father, an official in the Foreign Office, is imprisoned falsely on charges of espionage. Living in newly impoverished circumstances, they find adventure and hope on the railway that passes nearby.
“The reality is it’s a made-up story, a construct, set in the past, but very strongly as a metaphor of what a journey does, taking you from one way of being to another, while looking at the nature of being human and the benefit of integrating with others, so in some ways it’s a moral tale for today, showing us how we can be better as humans and how we can know ourselves better.
“It’s constructed as a mythical tale, but the fact is the train delivers things that are good and brings justice with it, in this case for the Russian political refugee Schepansky.”
In a significant adjustment by playwright Mike Kenny for the Bradford UK City of Culture production, the children and their mother will be a South Asian family, played by Farah Ashraf (Roberta), Raj Digva (Peter), Jessica Kaur (Phyllis) and Asha Kingsley, latterly seen as Surinder in York company Pilot Theatre’s Run Rebel. Father (Paul Hawkyard), high-ranking Foreign Office civil servant Charles Waterbury, met and married Mother while working in India, then brought up his family in London.
Farah Ashraf’s Roberta, Raj Digva’s Peter and Jessica Kaur’s Phyllis in a scene from The Railway Children at the gates of Oakworth Station. Picture: James Glossop
Damian notes the story’s resonance with Bradford’s own story: “Bradford is a wonderful example of a city that has welcomed people throughout its history, and this theme of welcome and global connection resonates through The Railway Children, which at its heart is brilliant family entertainment – a classic adventure yarn with a famously emotional ending,” he says.
“In so many ways, Bradford’s strength is the diversity of its community, so it felt important to have that as part of the story this time. Just as the notion of needing to find sanctuary as refugees is an important theme too, when so many people fit that description. It’s up to us to meet them and that need.
“That might be frightening at times…so it’s an interesting time in national and international history to bring the story back to the stage, with a huge amount of paranoia of strangers coming into people’s minds, as being something to be feared, but that fear does not match up to scrutiny.”
York Theatre Royal, Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and Bradford 2025 UK City Of Culture present The Railway Children, Keighley Station and Oxenhope Station, West Yorkshire, July 15 to September 7. Box office: https://bradford2025.co.uk/event/the-railway-children/.
Paul Engers, left, and Tom Wilson outside York Theatre Royal
COULD silence become golden in theatres once more in this auditorium age of crisp- packet crunching, omnipresent phones and boisterous behaviour?
York theatremaker, filmmaker, director and artist Tom Wilson and Londoner Paul Engers have been working on an initiative with third partner Dr Austen Jones to pilot a product that could “transform the behavioural standards of patrons”.
“We hope our system will revolutionise front-of-house protocol and address the deleterious impact of mobile phone technology on theatre etiquette,” says Tom. “We’re at an advanced stage with the technology, seeking to initiate a trial run at an auditorium in the next few months at venues interested in piloting our system.”
“We’ve known each other for 28 years,” says Paul, by way of introduction. “We met at Dartington College of Arts, in Totnes, where I’d done a degree in theatre and visual arts, and Tom came down to do a degree in theatre and performance writing,” recalls Paul.
“I’m now based in West London, out near Brentford, but I’ve worked in Leeds, among other places, setting up activity camps for pre-school and primary schoolchildren in West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire too.”
Tom has lived and worked in York for 18 years, writing and directing the anarchic farce The Local Authority at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in August 2021 and presenting his punk expressionist exhibitions at St Bede’s, in Blossom Street, in September 2022 and City Screen Picturehouse in July 2023, as well as making the film Copraphagia with Paul.
Through all these years, they have shared a passion for theatre. “We both appreciate theatre in our own ways but we share a belief that there has to be an understanding of a collective or shared protocol for attending live performances,” says Paul.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve both found it’s becoming impossible to enjoy going to the cinema, and we’ve also noticed poor protocol in theatres, with fights and people relieving themselves in the auditorium; the constant rustling of sweet wrappers; people talking into their phones during performances, and the distraction of lights from phones.”
Decrying the lack of intervention, Tom adds: “People have stopped going to the theatre because of this. And when you consider the demographic of who works as ushers, or front-of-house, they tend to be the younger demographic…and now venue managers want to protect young staff.”
When Tom and Paul saw Mark Rylance in Sean O’Casey’s Juno And The Paycock and Steve Coogan in Dr Strangelove in the West End, “we were disappointed how lacklustre front-of-house staff were to stop the use of phones, though they put up these cards saying ‘No vaping, no smoking, no mobile phones’,” says Tom.
“On my journey back , I was thinking ‘wouldn’t it be great if you could put a camera on as a monitor to capture when people vape or film the show when they’re not supposed to, and you know their seat number. My George Orwell thinking was: could they be filmed and fined?’”
Paul rejoins: “This idea has now gone through a few iterations, looking initially at the idea of having a device at the back of each level of the auditorium that can record and identify any individuals who are infringing the established protocol of each theatre or a group of theatres.”
Paul and Tom ran their idea by Dr Austen Jones at me-too.net, specialists in performance improvement, based at Tingley, near Wakefield. “He liked the idea and wanted a slice of it,” says Tom.
“He’s provided the technical expertise,” says Paul. “That’s been the main benefit of his input to go with our initial creative idea to use infrared cameras, either to record all the time or to react to movements.
“But over many conversations, we looked at the best equipment and Austen has shown there are better ways than infrared. The key is that he’s developed this software that’s contained in an app, rather than motion-activated cameras.
“This makes it easier in terms of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), so venues can sign up to the system, and there will be no recorded data unless someone’s phone lights up with a message.”
Paul continues: “The Silence Is Golden system will be bespoke. The app has been tested by Austen and his me-too.net team in different iterations, and we now need a decent-sized venue to pilot it.
“No-one would be filmed. For each venue, we would need to map out the grid of the auditorium, and then the app would be able, by area, to identify the seat from the level of illumination.”
The system would be linked to the theatre box office. “If theatre groups embrace the idea, they will be able to monitor it from either the management office or from front of house, with management being in radio contact with front of house,” says Tom. “The flexibility in the system is that theatres can choose how they use it.”
Rather than “filming and fining, what we want is a deterrent”, says Tom, but is this a case of creeping authoritarianism? “We want to initiate a debate: how do people feel about this idea,” says Tom.
“Creeping authoritarianism? No,” says Paul. “The beauty of it is that people will not be filmed, Instead it’s the perfect interface of modern digital technology with AI and a good, well balanced protocol for theatre audiences moving forward.
“We want to encourage greater attendance through eradicating poor protocol. We’ve always been about attracting greater audiences.”
Tom adds: “We don’t want it to be an elitist thing that shuts people out. We’re not asking people to sit quietly; we want them to engage with a show but there has been behaviour that has had a negative impact. That’s why we want to put out a call to theatres to test the Silence Is Golden app.”
“The key thing is that Austen has been running the testing of the app for a more than a few weeks now and the simulations work,” says Paul. “Now we need to pilot it, do a test run and take it to the next level.”
