Author: Charles Hutchinson

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Clare Maria Wood’s ethereal abstract paintings go on show at Bluebird Bakery

Artist Clare Maria Wood at work in her Knaresborough studio. Picture copyright: Clare Maria Wood

KNARESBOROUGH painter and printmaker Clare Maria Wood’s exhibition of ethereal and enigmatic abstract paintings opens at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, today.

Clare was born and raised near the Yorkshire coast, on the edge of the North York Moors, an environment that sparked a deep and lasting connection to the landscape and the sea.

Her latest paintings reflect this lifelong relationship, capturing the quiet moment just after sunset, when the sea glows, the moors deepen in silhouette and the light begins to fade. These works hold a sense of stillness, memory and emotional presence.

Wood Be Mine, by Clare Maria Wood

“My abstract landscapes and seascapes are my expression of ‘place’, which range from journeys around the craggy Cornish coast to the rugged North York Moors and the wide-open Sussex coastline,” says Clare. “The finished pieces evoke the energy of a living, breathing landscape.

“I see my paintings as a way of conveying an emotional connection to the land, sea and sky. I use sensitive mark-making to transcend the viewer to space beyond physical sight or human knowledge. Perhaps a place of nostalgia, of joy, of what it is to be human.”

Clare walks through the countryside or by the coast each day, in all weathers, with her dog, Poppy. “To be at the edge of the elements, where light shifts and dances; reliant and yet independent of the darkness, is what inspires me to paint,” she says.

​Clare Maria Wood on the coast. Picture: Clare Maria Wood

In her home studio in Crag Lane, Clare works intuitively, often developing several pieces at once, allowing her to see what is working and expand on ideas. “I don’t have an end-point in mind but see the development as a journey of rhythm and space,” she says.

“I build up layered surfaces, using acrylic glazes, gold and silver leaf, drawn marks and hand-painted collage, and then sand back through those surfaces to reveal glimpses of hidden marks and suggested shapes.

“This process allows each painting’s history to emerge, echoing the erosion rhythm and slow transformation of the coast and land. As each piece develops, I take a more critical approach, refining areas while keeping the energy of the initial marks. When the balance and harmony feel ‘right’, then it’s finished.”

Between Light And Sea, by Clare Maria Wood

For Clare, “most days end with a walk at sunset, giving me food for thought for tomorrow’s developments and offering fresh perspective and quiet inspiration for what comes next.”

She studied fine art painting in the late-1980s at Harrogate College of Arts and Technology (foundation course) and Wimbledon School of Art, followed by post-graduate studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Latterly, she completed a printmaking diploma at the Curwen Print Centre, where she worked under the guidance of Stanley Jones and Chloe Cheese.

Following an academic career as head of art at The Perse School , Cambridge, Clare returned to her own creative practice full-time. Her work has since been selected for prestigious exhibitions, including the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Society of Women Artists.

Clare Maria Wood drawing on the moorland. Picture: Clare Maria Wood

She exhibits in galleries around the UK, as well as at art fairs, has paintings in collections in the United States, Australia and around Europe and was awarded a residency at Brisons Veor, Cornwall.

Last month, Clare took part in the two North Yorkshire Open Studios weekends. From today, she will be exhibiting at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, until August 28, attending this evening’s preview from 6pm to 9pm.

”I am thrilled to be showing statement paintings at the vibrant Bluebird Bakery,” she says. “Come and view my solo show while relaxing over a home-made artisan treat.” Opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday; 10am to 3pm on Sundays.

Oceanus, by Clare Maria Wood

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Ripon singer Billie Marten plays at Elbow’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert tomorrow ahead of Dog Eared release

Billie Marten: Releasing fifth album Dog Eared on July 18

RIPON folk singer-songwriter Billie Marten will showcase her fifth album in her support slot at Elbow’s sold-out Live At York Museum Gardens concert tomorrow evening.

Released on Fiction Records on July 18, Dog Eared has been trailed by five singles, Swing, Crown, Feeling, Leap Year and now Clover, a song built out of contradictions and oxymorons.

“Clover is a song about feeling small but needing to appear big,” says Billie, 26, who now lives in London. “It’s a note on power and inequality. Most of this record talks about age and experience and relevance, something that’s clogged my mind since I began music.

“I carry a lot of premature worry with me, and that’s something that comes from starting an adult life as a teenager I suppose. I gained the human affliction of inventing things before they happen. I’m a multitude of anxieties.”  

The cover artwork for Billie Marten’s new album, Dog Eared

Billie released her debut album, Writing Of Blues And Yellows, at the age of 17 in 2016, since followed Feeding Seahorses By Hand in 2019, Flora Fauna in 2021 and Drop Cherries in 2023.

She headed to New York last summer to record with producer Phil Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Laura Veirs) at his Sugar Mountain studio, alongside an all-star cast of musicians.

Catalan singer-songwriter/guitarist Núria Graham, bassist Josh Crumbly, virtuosic guitarist Mike Haldeman, multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, indie-rock musician Sam Evian, former Dirty Projectors vocalist/folk musician Maia Friedman, Brazilian percussionist Mauro Refosco, drummer/multi-instrumentalist Vishal Nayak, keys/synth player Michael Coleman and Vermont folk musician Sam Amidon all sprinkle their gold dust over Dog Eared.

Together they add up to a band with credits across records by Cassandra Jenkins, Kamasi Washington, Moses Sumney, Robert Glasper, Tune-Yards, Empress Of, Nick Hakim, David Byrne, Atoms For Peace, Feist, Bonnie “Prince” Billy and now Billie Marten.

Billie Marten’s Record Store Tour: Visiting Sheffield and Huddersfield
 
Since 2023’s Drop Cherries, Billie has spent her time largely on the road, honing her craft as a deeply instinctual artist and songwriter. Living and learning. Playing and writing. Collaborating with gifted strangers. Exploring questions of identity and self. All the while, sending demos and voice-notes across the Atlantic to Weinrobe and watching those embryonic songs come to life and flourish fully realised in the studio.

The resulting Dog Eared track listing comprises Feeling; Crown; Clover; No Sudden Changes; The Glass; Leap Year; Goodnight Noon; Planets; You And I Both and Swing.

Producer Weinrobe enthuses: “Dog Eared is a miracle. This record feels like what music is supposed to be: a creative dialogue between wide-open musicians, all pushing in the exact same direction. And that direction is clear – the controls are set for the heart of Billie’s incredible songs. 

“Yes, the record was recorded live. Yes, Billie sang the lead vocals as it was going down. Yes, we were huddled up in a circle – no headphones, no walls, no playback, nothing separating each person from the next, and nothing separating the performers from their performances.

“I’ve discovered that I have a really particular long-term memory,” says Billie Marten

“But that’s not why this record is a monument. It’s a monument because Billie walked into the studio every morning and opened her mouth and sang these incredible melodies and gorgeous lyrics without any worries or fears or desires to control the art. She was the art. And everyone surrounded her, and lifted her up, and in turn she lifted the music to heights that we are all lucky to get to listen to, on repeat, forever.”

Billie highlights the opening track, Feeling. “I’ve discovered that I have a really particular long-term memory: I have specific sensory recollections from when I was two onwards, that I can recall easily now,” she says.

“One of these is marking out roads in my grandmother’s patterned carpet, for my Dad’s old 1950/60s’ toy cars to drive on. I used to trace patterns in everything: fabric seats at the dentist, carpets, wallpaper and walls, raindrops on car windows. Everything had a pattern to be noticed.”

Billie Marten’s Dog Eared Tour 2025 itinerary

Billie adds: “Another strong memory is the feeling of big, warm hands when you’re a child and how comforting and safe that feels. The notion of age being so far away from you, but you know it’s a future inevitability, and that you’re on your way there. The inarticulateness of that ‘feeling’ you can’t describe yet, but you’re aware of a push in the world that you don’t yet understand.”

“Feeling is really set alight by Núria Graham’s guitar part, the one you hear from the outset. It sparks the album info life and really sets a benchmark in terms of rhythm. This is an album of rhythmic focus.”

Billie will be supporting Elbow tomorrow fresh from performing on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury last Friday. She will play Yorkshire acoustic sets at Beartree, Sheffield (afternoon show), and Vinyl Tap, Huddersfield (evening show), on her solo Record Store Tour itinerary, followed by Leeds Irish Centre on November 14 on her eight-date Dog Eared headline tour, when Le Ren supports. Tickets are on sale at billiemarten.com.

Futuresound Group presents Elbow, Billie Marten and Eliza Carthy & The Restitution at Live At York Museum Gardens, York, tomorrow. Gates open at 5pm. SOLD OUT.

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A Night To Remember will return to York Barbican on November 12. Who will play at Big Ian Donaghy’s big charity show?

Jessica Steel: Soul and blues at A Night To Remember at York Barbican

TEN decades will sing together in an unforgettable night at York Barbican on November 12.

This year, Big Ian Donaghy’s big charity concert, A Night To Remember, will celebrate its 12th anniversary after selling out Leeds City Varieties Music Hall in 2013, York Theatre Royal in 2014 and Grand Opera House in 2015, en route to finding its home at York Barbican nine years ago.

“Over the years, these nights have taken community charity concerts to another level as every detail is focused on giving the York audience a night they truly deserve where no corner is cut for this unique event,” says Big Ian.

“The level of production surpasses most touring shows, from outstanding sound from Craig Rothery to thought-provoking films on vast video walls and a 30-piece band’s level of musicianship.”

Big Ian Donaghy working the crowd at A Night To Remember. Picture: Karen Boyes

Host Big Ian will seek to make the audience laugh, cry, sing, dance and part with money as he shows why he is so in demand as an event speaker and host, filling venues such as London Excel and Birmingham NEC regularly.

“No other show has musicians from ten decades on stage,” he says. “The format is unlike other shows too as everyone guests on everyone else’s songs with a wall of rich, lush harmonies.”

As ever, George Hall will lead the 30-piece house band, containing members of York party band Huge, to accompany contributions by Jessica Steel, Heather Findlay, Simon Snaize, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Las Vegas Ken, Annie Donaghy, fiddle dynamo Kieran O’Malley and soprano Samantha Holden.

“After eight years of shows together, this unlikely bunch has now become more like family,” says Big Ian.

Heather Findlay performing at A Night To Remember. Picture: David Kessel

York Music Forum Big Band will be performing under conductor Ian Chalk, celebrating a year of success when these young York musicians were crowned Big Band of the Year at the Northern Jazz Awards, as well as winning numerous individual plaudits for solo musicianship.

Look out too for a bespoke choir created for the Barbican show by Easingwold singer and choir workshop leader Jessa Liversidge. “Featuring singers from ten decades, it will show the magic that happens when generations come together,” says Big Ian.

As always, A Night To Remember is priced affordably with all ticket money going to good causes in York as the community sings with one voice.

“The concert raises much-needed funds for St Leonard’s Hospice, Bereaved Children Support York and Accessible Arts and Media to get people with learning difficulties into performing,” says Big Ian.

Beth McCarthy on stage at A Night To Remember. Picture: Duncan Lomax, Ravage Productions

Beth McCarthy, the York singer now based in London with 481,000 Instagram followers, will be joining the show  before her European tour takes her to theatres in Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and Barcelona.

“We are so lucky to still have Beth as part of the team,” says Big Ian, her former school teacher at The Mount. “She’s come a long way since she played our first school concert when she was 12 and I was brought in as Jack Black for their summer School Of Rock-style festival Mountstock.

Beth, who competed on BBC One’s The Voice  at the age of 16, has played the main stage at BBC Big Weekend and recorded live sets for BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studio. 

“Beth owned the stage the last time we did A Night To Remember,” says Big Ian. “Her level of performance has reached a whole new level. She’s a fully formed performer with so much talent and energy.” 

Kieran O’Malley: On the fiddle at A Night To Remember at York Barbican. Picture: David Kessel

Looking forward to November 12’s set list of favourite anthems, Jo Cole, of Bereaved Children Support York, says: “A Night To Remember was our biggest contributor when we started out and has been invaluable in allowing us to provide one-to-one counselling for families. They have helped us for nine years.

“But it’s not just the money that’s raised at these nights, it’s how it raises the profile of the charities and brings everyone together.”

A Night To Remember has become the UK’s biggest concert to raise dementia awareness, drawing people  from all over the country.

“The night also funds some bespoke dementia projects in the city, including art classes with Sue Clayton, singing, gardening groups and Xmas Presence to combat loneliness in our older community,” says Big Ian.

Graham Hodge: Regular participant in A Night To Remember. Picture: David Kessel

“This is a unique evening of York helping York. Already I’ve filmed some surprise films from very well-known names from TV to surprise the crowd.”

Fewer than 100 tickets are still available for the stalls.  “Be quick,” advises Big Ian. “We also ask everyone to bring a raffle prize and some money for raffle tickets for York’s biggest raffle on the night.

“Who knows how much we can add to the £200,000 raised since we started A Night To Remember?”

Tickets cost £20 from yorkbarbican.co.uk. “Don’t just save the date. Get a group of friends out and book your tickets for Wednesday, November 12 2025 to avoid disappointment,” says Big Ian.

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Chance to sign up for Paul Birch’s Funny Business scripted comedy workshop for Settlement Players on Sunday afternoon

Paul Birch: Leading scripted comedy workshop for York Settlement Community Players on Sunday

FRIARGATE Theatre artistic director, comedy writer and improv supremo Paul Birch is to hold a workshop for York Settlement Community Players on scripted comedy on Sunday (6/7/2025) at Room 1, Southlands Methodist Church, York.

“This Funny Business workshop is a great way to find your funny and explore ways in which to play comedic texts without worrying about getting laughs,” says Paul. “Using a range of scripts and some helpful games and exercises, this session will equip actors and directors to love, rather than fear, the comedic text.”

The charge for Sunday’s 2pm to 4.30pm session is £10 or “a bit more if you can manage it”. “Paul is doing the workshop at no charge to YSCP to help us out of our current financial difficulties because he is a thoroughly decent bloke,” says organiser Maurice Crichton.

To reserve your place (16 maximum), email Maurice at maurice.crichton@ntlworld.com.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York & beyond. Hutch’s List No. 28, from Gazette & Herald

Richard Hawley: Playing Coles Corner with strings attached at Futuresound Group’s Live At York Museum Gardens concert on Saturday. Picture: Dean Chalkley

AS the outdoor concert season awakens, a festival goes to heaven and hell and Jane Austen has unfinished business in Charles Hutchinson’s list for the upcoming week.

Open-air concerts of the week: Futuresound Group  presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, tomorrow; Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Friday; Richard Hawley, Saturday; gates open at 5pm

LEEDS promoters Futuresound Group’s second summer of outdoor concerts in York begins with Bury band Elbow’s sold-out show tomorrow, when Ripon singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution support.

New York guitarist, songwriter and producer Nile Rodgers and CHIC revel in Good Times, Le Freak, Everybody Dance and I Want Your Love on Friday, supported by Maryland soul singer Jalen Ngonda and Durand Bernarr. Sheffield guitarist and crooner Richard Hawley revisits his 1995 album Coles Corner with a string section on its 20th anniversary on Saturday, preceded by Leeds band English Teacher and Manchester-based American songwriter BC Camplight, introducing his new album, A Sober Conversation. Box office: seetickets.com.

Bridget Christie: Late replacement for Maisie Adam at York Comedy Festival on Sunday. Picture: Natasha Pszenicki

Comedy bill of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, York Comedy Festival, Sunday, 2.30pm to 7.30pm

HARROGATE comedian Maisie Adam will not be playing the inaugural York Comedy Festival this weekend after all. The reason: “Unforeseen circumstances”. Into her slot steps trailblazing Bridget Christie, Gloucester-born subversive stand-up, Taskmaster participant and writer and star of Channel 4 comedy-drama The Change.

More than 90 per cent of tickets have sold for the Sunday fun-day bill topped by Dara Ó Briain and Katherine Ryan. Angelos Epithemiou, Joel Dommett, Vittorio Angelone, Clinton Baptiste and Scott Bennett feature too, hosted by “the fabulous” Stephen Bailey. Tickets are on sale at york-comedy-festival.com.

The Sixteen: Performing Angel Of Peace programme at York Minster on July 7 at York Early Music Festival

Festival of the week:  York Early Music Festival, Heaven & Hell, Friday to July 11

EIGHT days of classical music add up to 19 concerts featuring international artists such as The Sixteen, The Tallis Scholars, Academy of Ancient Music, viol consort Fretwork & Helen Charlston and the York debut of Le Consort, performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons “but not quite as you know it”.

Directed by Delma Tomlin, the festival weaves together three main strands: the 400th anniversary of Renaissance composer Orlando Gibbons, the Baroque music of Vivaldi and Bach and reflections on Man’s fall from grace, from Heaven to Hell. Full programme and tickets at ncem.co.uk/whats-on/yemf/. Box office: 01904 658338.

Belle Voix Trio: Nostalgic night of Motown and Northern Soul at Kirk Theatre, Pickering, on Friday

Tribute show of the week: Belle Voix Trio, A Night Of Motown & Northern Soul, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

BELLE Voix Trio bring 30 Motown and Northern Soul hits to the Pickering dancefloor, from Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) to Tainted Love, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough to The Night. Sandy Smith, Sophie Mairi and Briony Gunn’s singing credits include London’s West End, cruise liners and luxury hotels. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

The Script: Making third appearance at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Saturday

Coastal gig of the week: The Script and Tom Walker, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday; gates open at 6pm

THE Script head to the Yorkshire coast this weekend as part of the Irish rock-pop act’s Satellites UK tour, completing their hat-trick of Scarborough Open Air Theatre visits after appearances in 2018 and 2022.

Danny O’Donoghue (vocals), Glen Power (drums), Ben Sargeant (bass) and Ben Weaver (guitar) have six number one albums to their name. Special guest Tom Walker, the Scottish singer-songwriter, performs songs from 2019 chart topper What A Time To Be Alive and 2024’s I Am. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Dianne Buswell and Vito Coppola: Red Hot and Ready to dance at York Barbican with the Burn The Floor dancers

Dance show of the week: Burn The Floor presents Dianne & Vito, Red Hot & Ready!, York Barbican, Sunday, 7.30pm

STRICTLY Come Dancing’s stellar professional dancers, 2024 winner Dianne Buswell and 2024 runner-up Vito Coppola are Red Hot and Ready to perform a dance show with a difference, choreographed by BAFTA award winner Jason Gilkison.

The dream team will be joined by a cast of multi-disciplined Burn The Floor dancers from around the world. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Ione Harrison: Mounting Season Songs exhibition at Helmsley Arts Centre

Exhibition launch of the week: Ione Harrison, Season Songs, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 8 to September 5; private view, July 6, 2pm to 4pm

WELBURN landscape painter and watercolour workshop leader Ione Harrison’s Season Songs exhibition depicts the rhythm of the year in serene, dynamic and joyful paintings that explore seasonal changes in mood, colour and light in the natural world.

Ione, whose teaching career has taken her to France, the Middle East, Turkey and Nepal, creates vibrant, atmospheric paintings, working primarily in watercolour and ink.  She is influenced in particular by the heat-soaked colours of Asia and the Middle East.

Vicki Mason’s Margaret Watson, Beaj Johnson’s Tom Musgrave and Becca Magson’s Emma Watson in 1812 Theatre Company’s production of The Watsons

Play of the week: 1812 Theatre Company in The Watsons, Helmsley Arts Centre, July 9 to 12, 7.30pm

WHAT happens when the writer loses the plot? Emma Watson is 19 and new in town. She has been cut off by her rich aunt and dumped back in the family home. Emma and her sisters must marry, fast.

If not, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: an eternity with their boorish brother and his awful wife. Luckily there are plenty of potential suitors, from flirtatious Tom Musgrave to castle-owning, awkward Lord Osborne.

One problem: Jane Austen did not finish the story. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now? Step forward Laura Wade, who takes her incomplete novel to fashion a sparklingly witty play that looks under the bonnet of Jane Austen to ask: what can characters do when their author abandons them? Pauline Noakes directs resident company 1812 Theatre Company’s production. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.  

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Panto funny lad Tommy Carmichael is back by popular demand to play Jangles in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal

Tommy Carmichael: “Audience favourite” will play Jangles in Sleeping Beauty at York Theatre Royal

YORKSHIREMAN Tommy Carmichael will head back to York Theatre Royal for this winter’s pantomime season, following up his 2024-25 comic role as Charlie in Aladdin by playing Jangles in Sleeping Beauty.

The “audience favourite” joins the already confirmed CBeebies star Jennie Dale’s Fairy Moonbeam and dame returnee Robin Simpson’s Nurse Nellie in creative director Juliet Forster’s cast.

“Tommy was such a hit with audiences last year in Aladdin and we are delighted to have him back with us for Sleeping Beauty,” she says.  “We have lots of fun and hilarity planned, so don’t miss your chance to see the show this winter.”  

Tommy Carmichael: From Charlie to Jangles at York Theatre Royal

Doncaster-born Carmichael’s theatre credits include Timternet in Big Strong Man (national tour); Silly Willy in Robin Hood and Buttons in Cinderella (both at The Maltings, Ely); Chief Weasel in The Wind In The Willows (national tour); Himself in Big Strong Man (CAST, Doncaster); Queen of Hearts in Alice In Wonderland (national tour) and Bagheera in The Jungle Book (national tour).  

Sleeping Beauty, York Theatre Royal’s sixth pantomime collaboration with perennial award winners Evolution Productions, will be written once more by Evolution director Paul Hendy, who previously penned The Travelling Panto, Cinderella, All New Adventures Of Peter Pan, Jack And The Beanstalk and Aladdin.

Forster’s production will run from December 2 to January 4 2026. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Family tickets are available for all performances with savings of up to £64.50 on bookings of  four tickets.

Tommy Carmichael’s cheerful Charlie in Aladdin at York Theatre Royal

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Nicholas Carter to conclude 25 years of conducting Micklegate Singers. New musical director sought; apply by July 18

Nicholas Carter: Leaving his post as Micklegate Singers’ musical director after November’s concert

LONG-STANDING York conductor Nicholas Carter is to hang up his baton after 25 years as musical director of the Micklegate Singers.

Applications for the post are welcomed until Friday, July 18, with full details available at www.micklegatesingers.co.uk. Interviews and auditions will be held on September 25 and/or October 2.

The choir began in 1964, becoming a key part of the York music scene. Since 2000, its characteristic programming of exciting new choral music, alongside masterpieces from the 16th century, has been curated carefully by Mr Carter.

On reaching his silver jubilee with the choir, however, he has decided to bow out after November’s winter concert, hence the search for a new director to start in January 2026.

Applications are encouraged from enthusiastic musicians of all backgrounds with experience of directing adult choirs.

Nicholas Carter, centre, with the Micklegate Singers choir members

The Micklegate Singers are an auditioned, mixed-voice chamber choir, whose 30 to 36 members rehearse weekly on Thursday evenings during school terms and perform three or four times per year in York.

The choir sings an ambitious repertoire of mostly 16th century and 20th/21st century works, usually unaccompanied, ranging from Tallis, Byrd and Guerrero, via Stanford and Parry, to Eric Whitacre, Cecilia McDowell, Paweł Łukaszewski and Laura Mvula, complemented by works commissioned from new composers.

“We’ve been so lucky to have a musician of Nick’s calibre leading us for such a long time,” says Micklegate Singers’ chair, Sarah Sketchley. “He will be a hard act to follow, but we are excited to see who might come along and take us on the next part of our journey.

“We are a friendly bunch, and we love getting our teeth into really rewarding choral repertoire, so this is a great opportunity for the right person.”

The choir has been in the public eye with a set of commissions by young composers from the University of York, leading to a performance and panel discussion chaired by Nicola LeFanu at the 2024 York Festival of Ideas.

The poster artwork for Micklegate Singers’ July 5 concert, The Eye Of The Beholder, at All Saints’ Church, North Street, York

Mr Carter, formerly director of music at Queen Mary’s School, Topcliffe, near Thirsk, has cherished his time with the choir: “I am always impressed by the sheer variety of music that I can face the choir with and the standard that they reach in performance despite being amateurs,” he says.

“The composer William Byrd was a keen advocate of the health benefits of singing, and I always find that I leave the rehearsal feeling younger than I did at the beginning!”

The choir’s next concert, The Eye Of The Beholder, takes place at All Saints’ Church, North Street, York, on Saturday, when the 7.30pm programme comprises works by Britten, Roth, Shaw, Whitacre, Dove, Maw, Ravel and the world premiere of David McGregor’s Clown In The Moon. Admission is £7.50 on the door; free for those in full-time education or children.

Former Micklegate Singers members are invited to join Mr Carter’s silver anniversary celebrations after the choir’s winter concert on November 29.

For more information, applicants should visit www.micklegatesingers.org.uk. For any questions or to arrange an informal conversation, please email choir.chair@micklegatesingers.co.uk.

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Justin Panks to headline Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club on Saturday at The Basement

Headliner Justin Panks

JUSTIN Panks tops Saturday’s Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club bill at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, Coney Street, York.

Tony Vino and Liam Bolton will be performing too, introduced by promoter and regular master of ceremonies Damion Larkin from 8pm.

Comedian and podcaster Justin Panks combines a skewed observational eye with the ability to approach seemingly ordinary subjects from extraordinary angles, striking a balance between the relatable and the outrageous.

His tales of relationships, parenthood and life in general are raw, honest and above all humorous, as heard on his weekly podcasts, The Pranks & Firth Show and 3 Speech Podcast.

He prides himself on his ability to adapt to any room, be it rowdy and crowded, a large theatre or an intimate comedy club setting such as The Basement, and he tours internationally, in demand in New York, Valencia, Ibiza, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Menorca, Sweden and Denmark.

Tony Vino bills himself as “the only half-Spanish, half-Scottish hybrid working comic in the world”. Born in Malaga, he was subsequently raised in the Costa Del Preston, Lancashire. When he was only a toddler, his father looked around, saw the sea, the sand and the sunshine of the Andalucian coast and thought “we need to be nearer Wigan Pier”.

Comedian and compere Vino has been touring the UK and international comedy circuit since early 2005, mixing observational humour with audience interaction and quick-witted responses.

He hosts festivals and corporate events, called on to entertain for charities such as Christian Aid, Oxfam, Fairtrade Foundation and TearFund, as well as once being the warm-up comedian for BBC One’s Songs Of Praise – a low point in his career, he says.

Experimental comedian Liam Bolton favours a bewildering, train-of-thought approach to unpredictable stand-up comedy.

He co-wrote and featured in the comedy webseries Danger Precinct, starring alongside big names from the UK comedy circuit, such as Mick Ferry and, against his better judgement, Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club’s big cheese, Damion Larkin (“semi-famous in Stoke only”). The show was considered an “underground success”, drawing praise from  none other than Jonny Vegas.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Box office:  lolcomedyclubs.co.uk or on the door.

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Top Ten Reasons why Ripon Theatre Festival is well worth a visit this week

Illyria in Oliver Grey’s adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In The Willows at Ripon Racecourse on July 5 at 5.30pm

RIPON Theatre Festival returns from July 1 to 6 with a line-up of shows, stories and community spirit that promises to light up the North Yorkshire city.

Drama, storytelling, puppetry, street theatre, circus and dance feature in more than 100 performances of 60 different events, backed by the festival’s first Arts Council funding, with a developing outreach programme too.

Festival director Katie Scott says: “Ripon Theatre Festival continues to grow, and we’re so excited to bring our biggest and boldest programme yet to the city. With the support of Arts Council funding, we can reach even more people and create a festival full of joy, creativity and unforgettable performances.

“Whether you’re a theatre enthusiast, a family looking for free entertainment, or someone who loves great stories, there’s something for everyone. We can’t wait to welcome audiences old and new to experience the magic of live theatre in Ripon.”

The best of British touring theatre 
Performances from top-quality touring companies, such as festival favourites Illyria bringing The Wind In The Willows to life in the leafy setting of Ripon Racecourse on July 5 at 5.30pm. 

Unforgettable outdoor theatre experiences 
From Breadcrumbs, Hansel & Gretel with a difference from Leeds company  Wrongsemble, on the Family Day on July 6 (10am to 4pm), to open-air Shakespeare in Three Inch Fools’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Old Deanery gardens on July 6 at 7pm, Ripon becomes the stage for magical performances under the summer sky.

Buzzing city vibe 
Ripon will be alive with street performers from across the UK, pop-up stages and 25 local groups showcasing their talents. The festival creates a vibrant, welcoming atmosphere across the city, using the streets and historic buildings as a unique backdrop.

Opportunities to be involved 
From storytelling workshops and community art installations to the chance to try out Flamenco or join in circus skills, there are plenty of ways for all ages to participate.

Something for everyone 
From classic theatre and cutting-edge new writing to comedy, and family-friendly fun,  the packed programme is for all ages and tastes. 

World-class storytelling 
International storyteller-in-residence Peter Chand will bring tales of love, loss and separation inspired by his British Punjabi heritage to the atmospheric Leper Chapel, St Mary Magdalen’s, in Mangoes On The Beach, on July 2 at 3pm.

Free family entertainment 
Two days packed with free performances and activities make Ripon a destination for families looking for affordable fun. The Spa Gardens are turned into a Family Theatre zone for Festival Sunday with a rolling programme of theatre, puppetry, music, dance and walkabout acts.

City-wide offers for festival-goers 
Ripon’s independent businesses will be participating too. The city’s cafés, restaurants, and shops are joining the celebration with offers for ticket holders.

Bringing theatre to every corner 
The festival’s outreach programme ensures that care homes and community spaces are part of the action, spreading the joy of theatre across the city.

Spoilt for choice on opening night
The festival kicks off on Tuesday (1/7/2025) with two very different shows. Audiences can choose from stand-up with rising comedy favourite Larry Dean and Lou Conran in the Hilarity Bites Festival Special at Ripon Arts Hub at 8pm or visit Ripon Cathedral for the gripping one-man theatre of Murray Watts’s The Beloved Son at 7.30pm.

For tickets, the full programme and festival details, visit www.ripontheatrefestival.org

Look out for: Third Class: A Titanic Story, Ripon Arts Hub, July 2, 8pm

Russell Lucas in Third Class, his one-man show about Titanic survivor Edward Dorking. Picture: Steve Ullathorne

THIRD Class – A Titanic Story is the latest project by writer, director and performer Russell Lucas, who specialises in staging new works.

Past projects include creating his one-man show The Bobby Kennedy Experience and Sarah Louise Young’s hit cabaret An Evening Without Kate Bush.

Now he presents Third Class, a well-known story, but one with an unknown hero, Titanic survivor Edward Dorking: one of the estimated 172 of the roughly 709 passengers who travelled in Steerage on the stricken luxury liner lucky enough to emerge unscathed. To do so, he swam for 30 minutes towards an already full collapsible lifeboat.

“Edward was gay. Openly gay, and on Wednesday April 10th, 1912, he set sail on a ticket bought for him by his parents in the hope his American family could put him ‘right’,” says Russell.

Using music, projection and movement, interwoven with historical fact, Third Class charts Edward’s journey of survival and how, on arriving in New York, he toured the vaudeville circuit, re-creating the stories for a fact-hungry public.

“Edward Dorking was a poverty-stricken gay man, travelling to the US to be ‘fixed’, who became a vaudeville curiosity and an angry campaigner against the injustices of the shipping disaster,” says Russell, who promises a “thrilling new perspective on what feels a familiar tale”.

“Edward didn’t want fame; he wanted revenge. When everyone was talking about the deaths of millionaires and society figures, few were discussing the people who took the lion’s share of the losses that night: the third class. Edward was coming for the upper classes.”

Wednesday’s 70-minute performance will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Russell. Third  Class also plays Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, on July 12 at 3pm (box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk).

Further Ripon Theatre Festival theatre highlights

Louise Geller in Almost Austen at Ripon Arts Hub on July 5

ANDREW Harrison, stalwart of York’s Riding Lights Theatre Company, performs fellow Riding Lights luminary Murray Watts’s The Beloved Son at Ripon Cathedral on July 1 at 7.30pm.

Dutch Catholic priest and psychologist Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) abandoned academia for a new calling, caring for people with intellectual disabilities in a challenge to church and society. Hope and longing, family dynamics, sexual and emotional crisis and the profound insights of a spiritual writer inform Harrison’s solo performance, peppered with multiple characters played with dizzying speed.

LIZ Grand, who portrayed crime writer Agatha Christie at the 2023 Ripon Theatre Festival, returns with Mrs Churchill – My Life With Winston at Ripon Arts Hub on July 3 at 7.30pm.

Churchill once said: “My most brilliant achievement was my ability to be able to persuade my wife to marry me.” Here Grand offers a sensitive, informative portrayal of Clementine, Winston’s wife for 56 years.

IN Norwich Theatre and Albert Cabbage’s Edinburgh Fringe hit Spy Movie: The Play!, at Ripon Arts Hub on July 4 at 8pm, Agent Blonde has 24 hours to save the world. The only thing standing in her way are dastardly villains, an outrageous plot and a lack of funding.

When Hollywood rejects her script, a frustrated screenwriter invites you, an audience of producers, to a one-night-only presentation of The Greatest Spy Movie (n)Ever Made, in an homage to Bond films and Fringe theatre from the stars of The Play That Goes Wrong and Peter Pan Goes Wrong.

SINGER Louise Geller brings her delightful musical theatre show Almost Austen to Ripon Arts Hub on July 5 at 8pm with its 60-minute story of Catherine, a modern girl in love with Jane Austen’s world who cannot believe her luck when she meets her very own Mr Tilney.

Through passages from Northanger Abbey, songs from musicals and operatic classics, Geller relates Catherine’s romantic ups and downs as real life and fantasy collide in a meeting of Bridget Jones and Northanger Abbey.

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Richard Hawley revisits Coles Corner at York Museum Gardens with strings attached on Saturday night

Richard Hawley: Going back to Coles Corner in his York Museum Gardens concert On Saturday. Picture: Dean Chalkley

SHEFFIELD singer-songwriter Richard Hawley’s visit to York could not be better timed.

His appearance in Futuresound Group’s second summer of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts on July 5 coincides with the 20th anniversary reissue of his fourth album, Coles Corner, a day earlier on Parlophone/Rhino.

Hawley, 58, will perform his Mercury Music Prize-nominated 2005 album in full for the first time with a string section, alongside a selection of favourites from his 11 albums, from  2001’s Late Night Final to 2024’s In This City They Call You Love.

“I’ve been going to York on and off since childhood,” says Richard. “I’m from Yorkshire, so you don’t have to join the dots. In fact I used to busk in York, anywhere by the Shambles, but it was tricky [to find a pitch], so you’d have to get on the 5.30/6.30 train from Sheffield.

“Going back 35-40 years ago, I remember a time I got there for 7 o’clock, got my stuff out, but found I was competing with this big Scottish guy with bagpipes – and you can’t compete with a jet pilot!”

That said, Hawley prefers the tuneful playing of bagpipes to the irritating sounds emerging from headphones on trains. “That’s becoming more and more common in public, as sounds around us become louder and louder but more and more irrelevant,” he says.

By way of contrast, “let’s hope we can communicate some good vibes in the Museum Gardens. I know it’s built on the site of Eboracum and was added to by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society,” says the cultural history enthusiast .

“Maybe Coles Corner [in Sheffield] is like one of those ruins in the gardens. Obsolete, but from a distance quite beautiful. It’s weird, because of the nature of what I do, I try to preserve things that are lost or are being lost, and at one time Coles Corner was a meeting place for friends, lovers, whatever.

“John Lewis ended up taking over the family-run haberdashers there. The original building was knocked down, and there’s a picture of these guys taking the lead off in 1969. That was two years after I was born, but the ripples of its very existence carry on – though the irony of it is that I tried to preserve something that now people think more about the record than the place.” 

The romance of the title track is captured in sweeping strings and swooning chorus on a universal paean to the loneliness of the city at night. “The council wanted to out the lyrics to Coles Corner on the street corner but I said ‘No’ because Coles Corner doesn’t belong to me, but to the people of Sheffield. I think there’s a vape shop there now.”

Coles Corner was former Longpigs and Pulp guitarist Hawley’s fourth album and first for Mute Records. Recorded in Sheffield’s Yellow Arch Studios and co-produced with his long-time bassist Colin Elliot and Mike Timm, it featured Shez Sheridan (guitars), Jon Trier (keyboards), Jonny Wood (upright bass) and Andy Cook (drums).

Richard Hawley’s sleeve artwork for his 1995 album Coles Corner, featuring the Stephen Joseph Theatre vintage frontage in Scarborough

Inspired by Hawley’s love of vintage 1940s and 1950s’ chamber pop, country, blues and rock’n’roll, they conjured a set of intimate love songs full of nostalgia, regret, sadness and a bittersweet atmosphere that bore witness to Hawley’s abiding love and passion for his home city of Sheffield.

From next Friday, the expanded  edition will be available on Half-Speed master black vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve, 2CD deluxe edition, featuring B-sides and previously unreleased acoustic tracks, and limited-edition bundles.

Describing the experience of revisiting his original recordings, Richard says: “It’s a weird place, but occasionally you’re allowed to glance over your shoulder. Going back to figure out how to play half of those songs is difficult  because we’re different human beings now, even from a year ago.

“I like to move forward all the time, to seek new experiences, but by the very nature of what I do, as an older person, a 58-year-old musician, I create music that has the vibe of something lost.”

The album sleeve does not feature Coles Corner, but the art deco frontage of the Stephen Joseph Theatre, the former Odeon cinema building in Scarborough. “It fitted more with what I had in mind with that album, and like most cities and towns, inch by inch, day by day, we are losing those values of what we were.

“Now it’s vape shops and Poundland, and that’s more to do with being in the north. There’s not a lot of sharing going on in this country.”

Hawley sums up his songwriting in the words of a former girlfriend. “She once said ‘you’re one of the few men that deals with male grief’. (My nan would have called me ‘a moany ****’!) I hadn’t thought of it that way; it was quite a shock.

“I don’t think it’s a curious thing, though, because the best kind of music opens us up to our very core. Gender is kind of irrelevant to that”

Looking ahead to July 5, Richard says: “My wife’s going to turn up at the gig, but she says it’ll ruin the day because York’s a nice place to visit without you playing!”

Futuresound Group presents Richard Hawley at Live at York Museum Gardens, York, July 5; gates open at 5pm. Tickets update: still available at futuresound.seetickets.com/event/richard-hawley/york-museum-gardens/3237716.

Hawley’s 9pm to 10.30pm set will be preceded by 2024 Mercury Music Prize-winning Leeds band English Teacher from 7.45pm to 8.30pm; Manchester-based New Jersey songwriter and multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight, promoting his new album, A Sober Conversation (Bella Union, June 27), 6.30pm to 7.15pm, and Scottish musician Hamish Hawk, 5.40pm to 6.10pm.