AUTHOR, columnist and rural life enthusiast Sally Coulthard is the newest patron of Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole.
Sally has been a long-time supporter of the open-air museum, dedicated to sharing the rural life of the region, bringing a deeply held passion for the countryside and the stories it holds.
Museum director Jennifer Smith says: “We couldn’t be more thrilled! Sally’s writing is always so full of warmth and respect for rural life, qualities that we’re always striving to bring to the museum.
“We know Sally’s emboldened involvement with our work will be invaluable over the coming years – and we’re delighted to welcome her into this role.”
Working from her smallholding in Ryedale, Sally is respected for her wide range of meticulously researched and evocatively written non-fiction works.
She often explores vernacular life or the natural world – social history, anthropology, archaeology, design and nature writing – in such books as A Short History Of The World According To Sheep, The Barn and A Brief History Of The Countryside In 100 Objects.
Ryedale Folk Museum, Hutton-le-Hole. Picture: Angela Waites
As a regular columnist, Sally’s range of countryside themes frequently have points of overlap with those explored at the museum, particularly the relationship between people and the land, seasons and rhythms of life.
Sally says: “Ryedale Folk Museum is a place very close to my heart. I’m absolutely delighted to become their newest patron. The museum celebrates the stories, skills and heritage that inspire so much of my writing.
“My books often delve into the traditions of rural life – from artisans to agriculture – the people, plants and creatures who make the countryside tick. There’s a really lovely alignment of my own interests with the values and ethos of Ryedale Folk Museum and I can’t wait to work with the team more closely.”
Jennifer adds: “Sally’s passion for historical insight and countryside stories makes her the perfect ambassador for Ryedale Folk Museum. We know that Sally’s support will help raise awareness of the ways we’re constantly working to preserve and share the rural heritage of the region.”
Ryedale Folk Museum is an independent charity that showcases its collection across 20 heritage buildings. Set in six acres of the North York Moors National Park, visitors can explore everything from an Iron Age roundhouse to a 1950s’ village store. The museum is dog friendly and welcomes picnickers.
Alex Phelps, centre, in rehearsal for Noises Off with Valerie Antwi and Charlie Ryan. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
THE first ever in-the-round production of Michael Frayn’s farce Noises Off opens at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre on Saturday, fully 43 years since its Lyric Theatre, London premiere.
“I’ve wanted to direct this play for years,” says SJT artistic director Paul Robinson. “The assumption was that doing it this way was impossible. When I told Michael about our plans, his response was an amused ‘good luck’.” The director has since printed off Frayn’s message to hang on a rehearsal room wall.
“Our designer, Kevin Jenkins, and I have spent months meticulously planning and he has come up with an ingenious set, which has really been worth the wait.”
A precursor to Mischief Theatre’s canon of theatrical catastrophes kick-started by The Play That Goes Wrong, Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company stumbling its way through the fictional farce Nothing On.
“One of the greatest British comedies ever written, Noises Off is a hilarious and heartfelt tribute to the world of theatre but also about how futile it is to try to impose our ideas on the world around us, as things will always go wrong,” says Paul. “It’s how you respond to them when they do!”
Alex Phelps in the role of the Ringmaster in Tilted Wig and York Theatre Royal’s production of Around The World In 80 Days in 2023
Among Robinson’s cast that includes Alan Ayckbourn stalwart Christopher Godwin, northern theatre luminary Andy Cryer and Brookside, Coronation Street and Doctor Who alumna Susan Twist will be Alex Phelps, a dapper chap whose adroit, graceful comedic theatre skills will be familiar to York audiences.
After the dandy buffoonery of his Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Joyce Branagh’s Jazz Age take on Twelfth Night for Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre at the Eye of York in Summer 2019, he appeared in the dual roles of Ringmaster and unscrupulous globe-trotting Phileas Fog in Tilted Wig’s touring collaboration with York Theatre Royal in the circus-themed Around The World In 80 Days in February 2023.
Next came the “selfish, hypocritical, vain, manipulative, deceptively charming” Joseph Surface in Tilted Wig’s account of Sheridan’s Georgian comedy of manners The School For Scandal at the Theatre Royal in April 2024.
From Saturday, in Noises Off, he will be playing Gary Lejeune, whose character profile on Wikipedia describes him as: “The play’s leading man, a solid actor who is completely incapable of finishing a sentence unless it is dialogue. Constantly stutters and ends sentences with ‘you know’. Dating Dotty and prone to jealousy.”
“He’s the young one, as his name suggests, which is very telling,” says Alex. “Michael Frayn’s biography for him says Gary has ‘not done much theatre’. He’s one of those actors we might all recognise from theatre companies, who feels the need to speak up for the company without thinking about what he’s going to say .
Alex Phelps’s Joseph Surface in Tilted Wig’s The School For Scandal, on tour at York Theatre Royal in 2024
“He feels things very deeply but through his great inarticulacy he lacks the capacity to express that feeling. He doesn’t know how to make his point…but you will still be able to work it out!”
Alex is delighted to be part of a cast taking on the challenge of staging Noises Off in the round, where actors have to perform to an audience seated all around them. “We’re going for it! We really are. We’ve got a lot of pride in the SJT deciding to do it.
“Given the history of the SJT, and Alan Ayckbourn’s plays here, it’s all about connecting with the audience. For this production, Paul and Kevin have been thinking about it and working on it for ages, going back and forth with Michael Frayn. If we come a cropper in rehearsals, we’ll contact Michael for advice.”
Across three acts, Noises Off charts the shambolic final rehearsals, a disastrous matinee, seen entirely from backstage, and the calamitous final performance.
“It’s a masterpiece,” says Alex. “The beauty of the writing: it’s so well observed; what actors are like; what it’s like in the rehearsal room and backstage at a performance and on a long tour.”
What’s in the box? Alex Phelps and Valerie Antwi in the Stephen Joseph Theatre rehearsal room, working on Noises Off. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
And now, not only must Robinson’s actors present the play within the play, but the set design has to accommodate showing the stage from backstage before staging the disastrous final show.
“The stage has to be back to front but inside out too,” says Alex. “So if you have to think about it, it’s madness to get your head around!”
There will, of course, be a profusion of doors. “Doors and farce are synonymous with each other because the rhythm of the banging of doors is so important to farce,” says Alex. “The more we do it, the more I think it’s like a musical, with the rhythm building to what I hope is laughter, and then it all takes flight.
“Michael Blakemore [director of the 1982 premiere], in his introduction, has said how some of the best performances of Noises Off are the first ones, where the pressures are so high to get it right, but the actors don’t know what will happen, so there’ll be that sense of danger.”
Can’t wait!
Noises Off runs amok at Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, from August 9 to September 6, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Sonnets In Bloom script writer Natalie Roe, left, and director Josie Connor in the Holy Trinity churchyard, in Goodramgate, York, where the York Shakespeare Project performance will take place
YORK Shakespeare Project’s summer celebration of Shakespeare’s sonnets returns to the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, from August 15 to 23.
Sonnets In Bloom brings together the Bard, director Josie Connor, scriptwriter Natalie Roe and a cast of 12 sonneteers.
“The last two shows have attracted record audiences so we are delighted again to be offering a summer taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible,” says producer Maurice Crichton.
“This year we return to Holy Trinity Goodramgate, where site co-ordinator Gemma Murray and her team of volunteers made us so welcome last year.”
The year’s show has been scripted by Natalie Roe in her first involvement with YSP’s Sonnets project. “Natalie has incorporated a record 13 sonnets into her script, including seven that have not featured in previous YSP productions,” says Maurice.
Harry Summers: One of nine new sonneteers taking part in Sonnets In Bloom 2025
“Shakespeare wrote at least 154 sonnets. We have plenty more to go at but the new ones in this show mean we will have featured more than a third of the total across the nine sonnets productions we have so far put on.”
In Natalie’s script, “Reverend Planter is very excited that his church is hosting the regional leg of Summer in Bloom. You are all warmly invited to enjoy a complimentary drink and to see the goings on. Participants are arriving with their prized entries, some more competitive than others. But where is the special guest? And who will win the People’s Vote?”
Josie Connor is directing YSP for the first time, having worked with Natalie previously when she directed her script, Leaves, for York Settlement Community Players’ pub theatre initiative, The Direct Approach, in 2023.
As ever, Sonnets In Bloom features a wide variety of colourful characters, who each find an opportunity to give voice to one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
“It’s a lovely experience,” says YSP chair Tony Froud. “You can sip your complimentary drink on a summer’s evening in a delightful setting. Very often, the characters slip into a sonnet and the audience hardly notice that the language has become Shakespearean. And you can look forward to the odd surprise or two.”
Sonnets In Bloom 2025 producer Maurice Crichton
This will be the ninth time that YSP has put on a show based on Shakespeare’s sonnets, having first staged Sonnet Walks in 2014 , when audiences divided into groups met colourful characters as they walked around the streets of York, in the run-up to Le Grand Depart of that summer’s Tour de France.
In 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, the format was adapted to become Sit-Down Sonnets, when guiding a socially distanced group around the streets was impracticable. Sit-down shows have prevailed ever since.
This year, the cast of 12 is mostly new to the Sonnet shows and younger too. “Only three performers have been involved previously, and with a new writer and a first-time Sonnets director, this production will take a fresh look at a trusted format,” says Maurice.
The cast in full is: Harry Summers*; James Tyler*; Stuart Lindsay*; Grace Scott; Benjamin Rowley*; Emilie Knight; Oliver Taylor*; Tom Langley*; Xandra Logan; Annie Dunbar*; Lily Geering* and Stuart Green*. (*New to the sonnets.)
York Shakespeare Project in Sonnets In Bloom, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 15 to 23, 6pm and 7.30pm, plus 4.30pm, August 16 and 23. Box office: 01904 623568; https://www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/sonnets-in-bloom-2025/; in person from York Theatre Royal box office. Price, including a drink: £10 or £5 for age 14 to 17. Running time: 50 minutes.
York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Sonnets In Bloom 2025
Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary
AUGUST’S arrival heralds the return of riverside art, Georgian festival frolics and moorland classical music in Charles Hutchinson’s guide to a cornucopia of culture.
Art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, by Lendal Bridge, York, August 9 and 10, August 16 and 17, 10am to 5.30pm
YORK River Art Market returns for its tenth anniversary season by the Ouse riverside railings, where 30 artists and designers will be setting up stalls each day.
Organised by York artist and tutor Charlotte Dawson, the market offers the chance to buy directly from the makers of ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, soaps, cards and more besides. Admission is free.
Scott Bennett: Presenting Blood Sugar Baby at Pocklington Arts Centre
Storyteller of the week: Scott Bennett, Blood Sugar Baby, Pocklington Arts Centre, tonight, 8pm
ONE family, one condition, one hell of a hairy baby: Scott Bennett, from The News Quiz and the Parenting Hell podcast, relates how his daughter fell ill with a rare genetic condition, congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI).
Never heard of it? Neither have new parents Scott and Jemma as they fight to achieve the right diagnosis for their daughter and are plunged into months of bewildering treatment, sleepless nights, celebrity encounters and bizarre side effects, but a happy ending ensues. Box office: Pocklington, 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drumming prowess on The Arts Barge
Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, tonight, 7.30pm
PIONEERING snare-drum soloist Ryosuke Kiyasu has redefined percussion since 2003, releasing more than 200 albums, both solo and with his band, drawing 23 million views for his 2018 Berlin live set and featuring on BBC News.
He drums for noise-grind duo Sete Star Sept, the Kiyasu Orchestra and Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and co-founded Canada’s cult hardcore unit The Endless Blockade. Box office: artsbarge.com/events.
Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar playing at The Basement
Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm
VIRTUOSO finger-style Spanish guitarist Iago Banet, who moved to London from Galicia in 2014, combines gypsy jazz, blues, country, Dixieland, swing, pop, folk and Americana in his acoustic repertoire, as heard on his third album, 2023’s Tres.
He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.
Four actors, two plays, forty minutes each: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth at Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Shaking up Shakespeare: 440 Theatre in Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
FOUR actors perform 40-minute versions of Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth, transforming the Scottish play from tragedy into comedy in this raucous, breakneck double bill. “Experience the hilarity of not only one of the Bard’s best comedies but also a side-splitting (literally!) Macbeth,” say director Dom Gee-Burch and producer-composer Laura Sillett. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Terry Deary presents Revolting at York Mansion House tomorrow at 5.30pm at York Georgian Festival
York festival of the week: York Georgian Festival 2025, August 7 to 11
ORGANISED by York Mansion House, in tandem with York businesses, the York Georgian Festival will be a whirl of dashing dandy fashions, extravagant feasting and romantic country dancing in a celebration of a golden social scene hidden within the brickwork of York’s abundant 18th century architecture.
Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen and a revival of York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.
Alex Phelps, left, Christopher Godwin, Olivia Woolhouse, Valerie Antwi, Susan Twist, Charlie Ryan and Andy Cryer in rehearsal for Michael Frayn’s Noises Off at the SJT, Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Play of the week: Noises Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, August 9 to September 6, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
SJT artistic director Paul Robinson directs the first ever in-the-round production of Michael Frayn’s legendary 1982 farce with its play-within-a- play structure. “Good luck!” said the playwright on hearing the Scarborough theatre was taking on what has always been considered an impossible task.
Noises Off follows the on and off-stage antics of a touring theatre company stumbling its way through the fictional farce Nothing On. Across three acts, Frayn charts the shambolic final rehearsals, a disastrous matinee seen entirely from backstage and the brilliantly catastrophic final performance. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Jamie Walton: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival director and cellist. Picture: Matthew Johnson
Ryedale festival of the week: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, August 10 to 23
IN its 17th year, cellist Jamie Walton’s festival presents 14 concerts designed to mirror the 14-line structure of a sonnet, guiding audiences through a pagan year with its unfolding seasons, solstices and equinoxes.
The four elements – Fire, Air, Water and Earth – will be explored through the lens of TS Eliot’s Four Quartets and staged in four historic moorland churches: St Hilda’s, Danby; St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge; St Michael’s, Coxwold, and St Mary’s, Lastingham. Ten concerts will be held in an acoustically treated venue in the grounds of Welburn Manor, near Kirkbymoorside. For the full programme, go to northyorkmoorsfestival.com. Box office: 07722 038990 or email bookings@northyorkmoorsfestival.com.
The Smashing Pumpkins: Heading to Scarborough on Aghori Tour next Wednesday
Coastal gig of the week: Smashing Pumpkins and White Lies, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 13, gates 6pm
AMERICAN alternative rockers The Smashing Pumpkins play Scarborough on their Aghori Tour. Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin’s multi-platinum-selling band will be supported on the Yorkshire coast by London post-punk revival band White Lies.
Since emerging from Chicago, Illinois, in 1988 with their iconoclastic sound, Smashing Pumpkins have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and collected two Grammy Awards, seven MTV VMAs and an American Music Award. Box office: ticketmaster.co.uk.
Libby Greenhill’s Medium Alison, Hattie Wells’s Young Alison and Claire Morley’s Aliso in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
YORK company Pick Me Up Theatre will stage Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron’s award-garlanded musical Fun Home at the York Medical Society, Stonegate, York, from September 10 to 19.
Please note, the seating capacity is only 40, so prompt booking is advised at ticketsource.co.uk/pickmeuptheatrecom for this electrifying version of Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel.
The winner of five Tony Awards on Broadway, Fun Home opened at the Young Vic, London, in 2018 to sell-out audiences. Now comes its York premiere, directed and designed by Robert Readman.
Dale Vaughan’s Bruce, Alison’s father in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home. Picture: Matthew Kitchen
Meet Alison at three stages of her life as memories of her 1970s’ childhood in a funeral home merge with her college love life and her coming out.
When her father dies unexpectedly, graphic novelist Alison dives deep into her past to tell the story of the volatile, brilliant, one-of-a-kind man whose temperament and secrets defined her family and her life. Moving between past and present, Alison relives her unique childhood at the family’s Bechdel Funeral Home, her growing understanding of her own sexuality and the looming, unanswerable questions about her father’s hidden desires.
Director Robert Readman was thrilled when the rights to Fun Home became available. “I jumped at the chance to produce this amazing musical – it is such a moving and unusual story and I love the score and the book,” he says.
“Fun Home is a refreshingly honest, wholly original musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes as Alison looks back on her complex relationship with her father and finds they had more in common than she ever knew.
Pick Me Up Theatre’s poster for next month’s production of Fun Home at York Medical Society
“It’s a remarkable show that won Tony awards for best musical, score, book, leading actor and direction, and we’re very lucky to have such a magnificent, tight cast to bring to life Alison Bechdel’s best-selling book, based on her own life. And I feel the atmospheric, very intimate venue of the York Medical Society will work so well for our production.”
Readman’s cast will be led by Claire Morley as Alison, Libby Greenhill as Medium Alison and Hattie Wells as Young Alison, joined by Catherine Foster as Helen, Dale Vaughan as Bruce, Alison’s father, Teddy Alexander as John, Oliver Smith as Christian, Britney Brett as Joan and the multi-role-playing Cain Branton as JRoy/Pete/Mark/Bobby. Natalie Walker is the musical director.
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 Content guidance: Themes of LGBTQ+, suicide and strong language. Parental guidance: 12 plus. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/pickmeuptheatre.com.
The Magpies: Hosting their annual folk festival at Sutton Park on Friday and Saturday
THE Magpies Festival at Sutton Park, Sutton-on-the-Forest, York, on August 8 and 9 has sold out.
Run by Bella Gaffney, fellow founding member Holly Brandon and Ellie Gowers of transatlantic folk band The Magpies, the festival combines live music on two stages with workshops and activities.
Taking part on Friday on the main stage will be Simeon Hammond Dallas, 6pm, Gnoss, 8pm, and Baskery, 10pm, while the Brass Castle Stage will play host to Roswell Road, 5pm, The 309s, 7pm, Theo Mizu & Banda, 9pm, and Ford Dimensional, 11pm.
Saturday’s main stage acts will be Dan Webster Band, 12 noon, Mishra, 2pm, Julian Taylor, 4pm, The Magpies, 6pm, Rob Heron and The Tea Pad Orchestra, 8pm, and Elephant Sessions, 10pm. In action on the Brass Castle Stage will be The Shackleton Trio, 1pm, Edwina Hayes, 3pm, Janice Burns & Jon Doran, 5pm, Jaywalkers, 7pm, and The Deep Blue, 9pm.
Baskery: Headlining the Magpies Festival main stage on Friday
The workshops and activities include Yoga with Elaine Welsh, Brass Castle Tent, Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 9.50am, Children’s Songs, Rhythms and Ceilidh with Mishra, Brass Castle Tent, Saturday, 10am to 10.50am, and Sea Shanties with guitar and banjo player Bella Gaffney, Brass Castle Tent, Saturday, 11am to 11.50am.
They continue with Bushcraft and Survival Skills with Forest School For All, outside The Nest, Saturday, 1pm to 2pm, Be Your Own Best Friend with GFS England & Wales, The Nest, Saturday, 3pm to 4pm, and Ceilidh with Archie Churchill-Moss, Brass Castle Tent, Saturday, 1pm to 11.55pm.
Food and drink and market stalls will be on site too. For full festival details, go to themagpiesfestival.co.uk.
The cast on the first day of rehearsals for the 2025-2026 tour of James Graham’s Dear England, visiting Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford. Picture: Justine Matthew
THE National Theatre’s 2025-2026 tour of James Graham’s Dear England – “the Gareth Southgate play” – will visit Leeds Grand Theatre from November 4 to 8.
Further Yorkshire runs are booked into Sheffield Lyceum Theatre from October 21 to 25 and Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, for February 17 to 21 2026.
Heading the cast will be David Sturzakeras England manager – and knighted Harrogate resident – Gareth Southgate, alongside EastEndersand Mount Pleasant actress Samantha Womack in the role of team psychologist Pippa Grange.
Directed by Almeida Theatre artistic director Rupert Goold, the cast also features returnees Jass Beki as Bukayo Saka; Courtney George as Alex Scott; Tom Lane as Eric Dier and Miles Henderson in Ensemble roles.
David Sturzaker: Playing Gareth Southgate in Dear England, on tour in 2025-2026. Picture: Michael Shelford
Joining them will be company newcomers Jake Ashton-Nelson as Jordan Henderson; Luke Azille as Jadon Sancho; Ian Bartholomew as Greg Dyke; Ashley Byam as Raheem Sterling; Steven Dykes as Sam Allardyce; Oscar Gough as Harry Kane; Jayden Hanley as Marcus Rashford; Connor Hawker as Harry Maguire; Ian Kirkby as Gary Lineker; Jack Maddison as Jordan Pickford; Liam Prince-Donnelly as Dele Alli and George Rainsford as Mike Webster. In the squad too are Stuart Ash, Natalie Boakye, Sam Craig and Jonathan Markwood.
Premiered in June 2023, Graham’s inspiring, at times heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story of Gareth Southgate’s revolutionary tenure as England football manager won the 2024 Olivier Award for Best New Play, en route to breaking box-office records in its West End run.
Dear England charts Southgate’s impact when taking over from Sam Allardyce in 2016. As the play’s synopsis puts it: “It’s time to change the game. The country that gave the world football has since delivered a painful pattern of loss. The England men’s team has the worst track record for penalties in the world, and manager Gareth Southgate knows he needs to open his mind and face up to the years of hurt to take team and country back to the promised land”.
The tour will visit 16 venues fromSeptember 15 2025 to March 14 2026in a co-production with Josh Andrews and Stuart Galbraith for JAS Theatricals. Goold is joined in the production team by set designer Es Devlin, whose credits include Beyonce’s Renaissance world tour and The Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre, along with costume designer Evie Gurney; lighting designer Jon Clark; co-movement directors Ellen Kane and Hannes Langolf; video designer Ash J Woodward, and co-sound designers Dan Balfourand Tom Gibbons.
Samantha Womack: Playing team psychologist Pippa Grange in Dear England. Picture: Michelle George
They are joined by tour revival director Connie Treves; revival movement director Tom Herron;casting director Bryony Jarvis-Taylor;associate set designer Alice Hallifax; associate lighting designer Ben Jacobs; associate video designer Libby Ward; associate sound designer Johnny Edwards; casting associate Lilly Mackie and resident director Dan Hutton.
The National Theatre will run a year-long schools engagement programme inspired by Gareth Southgate’s “Dear England” open letter that he wrote to England fans in 2021.
This programme, designed to prompt young people to reflect on their own place in history, just as the footballers in Southgate’s squad were encouraged to do, comes in response to 2025 being the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
It will be delivered to 10,000 pupils in schools across England at assemblies and workshops, using spoken word and sound design to support students to share the hopes and aspirations they have for themselves, and other young people, 80 years from now.
The cast of Dear England at the National Theatre this spring. Picture: Marc Brenner
The resulting sound archive will form a 2025–2026 time capsule. In addition, students will be invited to attend performances of Dear Englandduring the tour.
Dear Englandwas commissioned by the National Theatre and developed with the theatre’s New Work department for its world premiere on June 20 2023 in the Olivier theatre. A sold-out run was followed by a transfer to the Prince Edward Theatre, London, from October 9 2023 to January 13 2024, where box-office records were broken.
Dear Englandwas released to cinemas through National Theatre Live on January 24 2024 and has been screened almost 2,500 times across the UK.
In February 2024, the BBC announced its commission of a four-part drama of Dear England, based on the stage production, for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Tane Siah’s Bukayo Saka and Gwilym Lee’s Gareth Southgate in Dear England at the National Theatre this spring. Picture: Marc Brennen
Graham’s play returned to the National Theatre in Spring 2025, updated to reflect the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament, Southgate’s final chapter as England manager that ended, spoiler alert, with defeat to Spain in the final. The regional premiere was staged in a four-week run at The Lowry, Salford, that opened on May 29.
The 2025/2026 national tour is supported by Incentivising Touring: Repayable Grants for Theatre and Dance, a pilot scheme developed by Arts Council England to support larger-scale productions to tour to regional venues.
Dear Englandwas among the first to receive a share of more than £2million as part of the first round of the scheme, designed to create the opportunity for more people to see high-quality shows close to where they live.
Dame Imogen Cooper: “Held her audience in rapt admiration”. Picture: Sussie Ahlburg
BEETHOVEN’S last three piano sonatas represent the most free-wheeling in the classical repertory and there is no performer better suited to them than Dame Imogen Cooper. On the penultimate evening of the festival she held her audience in rapt admiration.
There is a special intimacy to these three works. Their early movements lure us into their web before finales that explore the very depths of emotion. Cooper caught at once the rhapsodic feel of Op 109 in E major, with its tempo changes but – as so often in this programme – managing all the while to maintain its overarching melodic contour, no easy feat.
There was immediate drama, too, in the Prestissimo that follows: she took this as her scherzo, although for Beethoven it was no joke. Only Beethoven would think of ending with a slow theme and variations, but Cooper brought to it a wonderful serenity, and when the theme returned in all its simplicity at the close, it was hard to hold back the tears.
The songful opening of Op 110 in A flat is marked con amabilità (sanft), an oddly bilingual statement. She took its ‘gentle amiability’ to mean something personal and allowed it to breathe, almost to excess, in her pauses and rests. But there was compensation in the way she attacked the second movement, balancing its percussion with its melody. Her measured arioso was followed by an equally smooth fugue
Beethoven’s final word on the piano sonata, Op 111 in C minor, is a kaleidoscope of contrasts, not least between minor and major. Cooper was alive to every nuance. The angry three-note motif emerged trombone-like in her left hand at the start, contrasted by the ethereal effect of the delicate high traceries in the closing Arietta and variations.
In between, she had plenty in reserve for when the going got active, including remarkable clarity in the fugue. National treasure is an overused title but Imogen Cooper undoubtedly qualifies.
Ryedale Festival, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Chloe Rooke, Hovingham Hall, July 27
Oboe player Helena Mackie: “Breath control to spare”
HAVE we reached a watershed where we can acknowledge the female of the species as at least as potent as the other half of humankind? At the very moment when the Lionesses were bringing home the bacon in Basel, two equally gritty young ladies were carrying all before them right here in Ryedale.
Chloe Rooke conducted a chamber orchestra of members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with immense verve and boundless conviction. Her partner as soloist in Mozart’s Oboe Concerto was the RLPO’s principal, Helena Mackie, who showed similar confidence and enthusiasm. Both are still in their twenties.
Rooke positively bounced onto the platform for Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony (Italian) and it showed in her brisk conducting. What mattered, however, was that the orchestra responded to her with precision that spoke volumes for her direction.
There was a suspicion of deceleration when the dynamic level subsided but equally a renewal of tempo with every crescendo. But her acceleration towards the end was absolutely right.
The slow movement has sometimes been called the “Pilgrims’ March”; certainly there is a plodding character to its first theme. But the suaveness of the second theme suggested some happy walkers, topped off by the serenity of the closing pizzicato. The minuet was notable for the superb ensemble of horns and bassoons in its trio.
It is doubtful whether even Italians could dance the whirling saltarello at Rooke’s lightning pace. But the gutsy strings gave it their all and hung on gamely, a sure sign of their respect for her commands.
Mozart’s only surviving oboe concerto does not get the currency it deserves, perhaps because it may have been originally intended for the flute and is more often heard in that guise. But if Helena Mackie continues to promote it, that may well change. Her very opening phrase dazzled by its sheer length: she had breath control to burn. The first cadenza brought a pin-drop moment, so captivated was the arena.
There was a lovely cantabile to her line in the slow movement, which remained untrammelled when she engaged in dialogue with the orchestra. The closing rondo really danced, thanks to her twinkling fingers. With the orchestra keeping in close attendance, this was a thoroughly delightful adventure for which we had our two young ladies to thank.
The second half was French. After a calm, rather stately account of Fauré’s Pavane, without the optional chorus, it was left to Poulenc’s Sinfonietta, a full symphony in all but name, to round off the festival.
Poulenc’s endless capacity for fun, for pulling off tricks and pulling our legs, makes him a modern-day Haydn. Rooke captured the first movement’s jack-in-the-box quality right away. Poulenc’s colourful orchestration lent a Falstaffian quality to the scherzo, where the timpanist had a field day.
There was a nice lilt to the slow movement, alhough the woodwinds were allowed to upstage the strings. They, however, had their revenge in the finale, delivering pronounced rhythms among the circus thrills and spills. Its two themes were cleverly contrasted in the coda. Rooke may be an “Emerging Artist” in Holland but on this showing she has already emerged.
TWO well-loved York ensembles will reunite for Sounding Brass and Voices at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, on September 6 to celebrate 100 years of music.
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band will perform a joint concert for the fourth time in a pairing of brass and voices that is both tender and thrilling.
The first pairing in 2020 came three weeks before the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK, followed by concerts in 2023 and 2024 to enthusiastic York audiences.
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir – or “The Phil” as it is known affectionately – was founded in 1925 and is marking its centenary year with a season of high-profile concerts with partner choirs from Europe and closer to home, as well as with the Golden Rail Band.
From humble beginnings, The Phil has become one of the country’s best choirs, achieving television fame in the 1970s, performing internationally and still winning awards in 2025. The latest was won in April at the National Choir Day at Eskdale Festival of the Arts in Whitby.
Berenice Lewis, the choir’s musical director for 25 years, says: “It’s a tremendous privilege and pleasure to be collaborating again with the York RI Golden Rail Band, one of our region’s leading concert brass bands.
“Our two groups are exceptionally compatible, and we love working together – and it’s particularly special in this centenary year for the choir. We’re excited to share an evening of music in the gorgeous setting of the Joseph Rowntree Theatre. Don’t miss it!”
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir: 100th anniversary
Golden Rail Band, based next to York Station, celebrated its own milestone last year, marking 40 years of music-making, although the band’s parentage stretches back to 1883.
For its ruby anniversary, the band recorded a special radio programme and performed concerts at the National Centre for Early Music, Selby Abbey and York Barbican.
This year will see the band making its television debut in November, details of which are being kept closely under wraps.
Band conductor Nick Eastwood said: “We’re thrilled to be performing with The Phil again, even more so as they celebrate their 100th anniversary. To mark such a huge occasion, we’ve taken the opportunity to reflect on 100 years within our brass band world, which offers a rich and inspiring musical heritage to draw on.
“From romantic film music to toe-tapping hits, there will be something for everyone. 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.”
A fifth collaboration between the Golden Rail Band and The Phil will ensue at the York Barbican on September 21 when the band will be among the ‘Friends’ at the choir’s Music of The Phil and Friends concert. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail in Sounding Brass and Voices, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, September 6, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk/whats-on/concert/sounding-brass-and-voices/2810.
York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and York RI Golden Rail Band in concert together. Picture: Keith Meadley
Lucy Hook Designs’ poster for York River Art Market’s tenth anniversary on Dame Judi Dench Walk
AUGUST’S arrival heralds the return of riverside art and Georgian festival frolics in Charles Hutchinson’s guide to a cornucopia of culture.
Art event of the month: York River Art Market, Dame Judi Dench Walk, by Lendal Bridge, York, today and tomorrow, August 9 and 10, August 16 and 17, 10am to 5.30pm
YORK River Art Market returns for its tenth anniversary season by the Ouse riverside railings, where 30 artists and designers will be setting up stalls on each of the six days.
Organised by York artist and tutor Charlotte Dawson, the market offers the chance to buy directly from the makers of ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, soaps, cards and more besides. Admission is free.
York Stage summer school participants in rehearsal for Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr
Musical revue of the week: York Stage in Disney’s Dare To Dream Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, today, 2pm and 4pm
HONOURING 100 years of Disney music, this60-minute revue follows eager trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they set out to help each other discover their dreams, they work together to explore the power of those aspirations to unite, inspire and make anything possible.
The show includes songs that appear for the first time in a Disney stage musical, notably fan favourites from The Princess And The Frog, Coco, Enchanto and Frozen II in a showcase of contemporary songs, timeless classics and new medleys. York Stage director Nik Briggs has put this production together in a week with 50 Summer School performers and technical skills trainees. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
James Dowdeswell: Headlining tonight’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Comedy gig of the week: Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 8pm
JAMES Dowdeswell, from the BBC’s Russell Howard’s Good News and Ricky Gervais’s Extras, combines deft stand-up with daft stories in his erudite, off-the-cuff headline set this weekend. A comedic authority on beer, wine and pubs, he is the author of The Pub Manifesto: A Comedian Stands Up For Pubs.
On the bill too are northern humorist Anth Young, Scotland-based Singaporean comic Laura Quinn Goh and regular host Damion Larkin. Box office: lolcomedyclubs.co.uk.
Faithless: Bringing Mass Destruction to Scarborough Open Air Theatre tonight
Coastal gig of the week: Faithless and Orbital, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today. Gates open at 6pm
RETURNING to the concert platform last year after an eight-year hiatus, Faithless remain one of the most influential, boundary-pushing electronic acts of the 21st century with 17 Top 40 singles and six Top Ten albums to their name. Here come Salva Mea, One Step Too Far, Mass Destruction, Insomnia, God Is A DJ et al.
First up will be Phil and Paul Hartnoll’s electronic duo Orbital, whose music draws on ambient, electro, punk and film scores, spread across ten albums. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
Sasha Elizabeth Parker in Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, at Brancusi restaurant
Fringe preview of the week: Femme Fatale Faerytales, Once Upon A Time, Fairy Tales For Adults, Brancusi (upstairs), Micklegate, York, August 4, 8pm
FEMME Fatale Faerytales’ Once Upon A Time will be 50 minutes of adult storytelling with a feminist agenda, featuring a “real-life faery” who promises to tell truths that will “make your hair curl and your eyes sparkle”.
“It was the faeries who taught the witches, the wise women, all that they know,” says performer Sasha Elizabeth Parker, who is en route to Scotland for her Edinburgh Fringe debut. “Women spun faerytales on their tongue to spread the word among adult ears. Wise words made infantile by men. Let the faery whisper her words into your ears. Hear her tale of truth. Faeries cannot lie. This, I promise you. She’ll change you, transport you, introduce you to a whole new world and show you a view brand new.” Box office for returns: wegottickets.com/location/29645.
The poster artwork for Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined
Circus show of the week: Cirque, The Greatest Show Reimagined, York Barbican, August 4, 3pm and 7pm
CIRQUE’S new show is “bolder, braver and more breathtaking than ever before” as The Greatest Show Reimagined takes the original Circus meets Musical Theatre spectacle to new heights. Experience West End showstoppers paired with circus acts showcasing breathtaking feats of agility to “transport you on a vibrant, kaleidoscopic journey bursting with colour, energy, and excitement”. Britain’s Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner Max Fox leads the cast of vocalists and circus performers. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Ryosuke Kiyasu: Drum pyrotechnics on the Arts Barge
Beat that: No Instrument and Arts Barge present Ryosuke Kiyasu, The Arts Barge, Foss Basin Moorings, York, August 6, 7.30pm
PIONEERING snare-drum soloist Ryosuke Kiyasu has redefined percussion since 2003, releasing more than 200 albums, both solo and with his band, drawing 23 million views for his 2018 Berlin live set and featuring on BBC News.
He drums for noise-grind duo Sete Star Sept, the Kiyasu Orchestra and Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and co-founded Canada’s cult hardcore unit The Endless Blockade. Box office: artsbarge.com/events.
Iago Banet: Finger-style Spanish guitar dexterity at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse
Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, August 6, 7.30pm
VIRTUOSO finger-style Spanish guitarist Iago Banet, who moved to London from Galicia in 2014, combines gypsy jazz, blues, country, Dixieland, swing, pop, folk and Americana in his acoustic repertoire, as heard on his third album, 2023’s Tres.
He has performed on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Cerys Matthews’ The Blues Show on BBC Radio 2, appeared at Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz and played with Josh Smith, Mark Flanagan, Jack Broadbent and Clive Carroll. Box office: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/iago-banet/iago-banet-the-galician-king-of-acoustic-guitar/e-dykrpy.
Joe Standerline in The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t, Joseph Peterson’s 18th century romp, revived for the York Georgian Festival. Picture: Gareth Buddo
Festival of the week: York Georgian Festival 2025, August 7 to 11
ORGANISED by York Mansion House, in tandem with York businesses, the York Georgian Festival will be a whirl of dashing dandy fashions, extravagant feasting and romantic country dancing in a celebration of a golden social scene hidden within the brickwork of York’s abundant 18th century architecture.
Among the highlights will be Terry Deary Presents Revolting; the Life and Loves of Anne Lister; a Georgian dance lesson at the Guildhall; Men’s Hats through the Georgian period; Mad Alice’s history talk and gin tasting; the York Georgian Ball; Sounds of Regency by Candlelight; The World of Georgian Fashion; Portraits in Jane Austen; The Radical Georgian Women and a revival of 18th century York actor-playwright Joseph Peterson’s comic romp The Raree Show or The Fox Trap’t. For the full programme and tickets, go to: mansionhouseyork.com/york-georgian-festival.
York Minster: Heritage Fair today
In Focus: Heritage Fair of the week: York Minster Centre of Excellence for Heritage Craft Skills and Estate Management, Deangate, York, today, from 10am
EXPLORE two new buildings – the Heritage Quad and the Works & Technology Hub – that have established York Minster Precinct’s status as a world-class campus facility for research, education and training in traditional craft skills.
Visitors can see the extensive sustainable initiatives delivered through the construction of these two new buildings, including the latest photovoltaic technology and rainwater harvesting techniques.
There will be three areas to explore:
The Heritage Quad: 10am to 4pm
Visitors can speak to York Minster stonemasons and see live carving, whilst touring brand new facilities and meeting other heritage craftspeople such as joiners and guilders. There will be an opportunity to try out some of the applied craft skills needed to care for an ancient estate like York Minster’s. Free, pre-booked tickets required.
The Works & Technology Hub: 10am to 4pm
Visitors can engage with the cutting-edge technology now operational in the Works & Technology Hub. They will see live demonstrations of saws and digital modelling, as well as speaking to York Minster staff and partners to understand how technology links with heritage crafts. Free, pre-booked tickets required.
Heritage Pavilion: 10am to 4pm
A heritage pavilion, located in Minster Gardens in front of the York Minster Refectory, will provide an opportunity for people to talk to our heritage partners. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone considering a career in the heritage industry to speak to the many experts in their respective fields. No tickets are required to attend the careers pavilion.
