Big Ian Donaghy leading HUGE in Halloween action. Picture: David Harrison
HUGE news! Here comes York party band HUGE’s fancy-dress spooktacular at Huntington WMC, North Moor Road, Huntington, York on October 31.
Looking forward to next Friday’s event, frontman Big Ian Donaghy says: “Halloween has come a long way since the days of carving out turnips and sticking a candle in it. Now pumpkin sales are through the roof as everyone buys into the fancy-dress festival each October.
“So, to get all generations out having fun together in a safe environment without needing babysitters will be a welcome change as HUGE put on our family-friendly Halloween Bash. Fancy dress is optional but will be the popular choice of many”
What a blast: HUGE trombonist Stu Wilkinson. Picture: David Harrison
Among those in the HUGE line-up as ever will be Rob Wilson on guitar, Stu Wilkinson on trombone, Ian Chalk on trumpet and Dave Kemp on saxophone.
“This will be nine-piece Huge’s last live outing before hitting the stage our big charity show, A Night To Remember at York Barbican on Wednesday, November 12 for a night of York helping York,” says Big Ian.
“We’ll be joined by 12-year-old Lacey Hart, who won the chance to perform at the sold-out Barbican. Lacey has performed at three events at Stamford Bridge, Sandburn Hall and Harrogate Candlelighters Ball in the lead-up to the Barbican show and has been exceptional. What a talent she is. Completely fearless.”
Pumpkin up the volume: HUGE Halloween Bash poster for October 31
There also will be prizes for adults and children for best costume as well as a dance off and on the spot Halloween themed tricks and treats.
Adult tickets for the Halloween Bash cost £16 from Huntington WMC or from https://events.liveit.io/white-house-creative/huge-halloween-bash/. Children can attend for free with an accompanying adult but no unaccompanied under-16s will be admitted. Doors open at 7pm; the event finishes at 11pm.
Adult and children’s prizes will be given for best costume; further attractions will be a dance-off and on-the-spot Halloween-themed tricks and treats.
Big Ian’s A Night To Remember will be celebrating its 12th anniversary with a huge production on November 12. “The event started back in 2013 and sold out Leeds City Varieties, York Theatre Royal and the Grand Opera House before finding its home nine years ago at York Barbican,” says master of ceremonies Big Ian.
Halloween beckons for HUGE saxophonist Dave Kemp. Picture: David Harrison
Taking part will be a 30-piece house band, led by George Hall, featuring event regulars Huge, Jess Steel, Heather Findlay, Beth McCarthy, Simon Snaize, Graham Hodge, The Y Street Band, Las Vegas Ken, Annie Donaghy, fiddle dynamo Kieran O’Malley and soprano Samantha Holden.
“Our 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. To check late ticket availability, keep an eye on yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Did you know?
IAN Donaghy, affectionately known as Big Ian, took the top honour at The York Press Community Pride Awards in September, scooping the Outstanding Contribution Award in recognition of his work over many years to make York and the wider community a kinder place.
Susie Blake’s Shirley and Jason Durr’s Johnny ‘The Cyclops’ in Torben Betts’s Murder At Midnight at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Pamela Raith
A NEW crime caper and a ghost story, a clash of the blues and a Tommy Cooper tribute make their mark in Charles Hutchinson’s diary.
Deliciously twisted crime caper of the week: Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON New Year’s Eve, in a quiet corner of Kent, a killer is in the house in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight, part two of a crime trilogy for Original Theatre that began last year with Murder In The Dark, this time starring Jason Durr, Susie Blake, Max Howden and Katie McGlynn.
Meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, his glamorous wife, his trigger-happy sidekick, his mum – who sees things – and her very jittery carer, plus a vicar, apparently hiding something, and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown. Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons and one infamous unsolved murder…what could possibly go wrong? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera at The Citadel in York. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Beggar’s Opera, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.30pm
YORK Opera stage John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch’s 1728 satirical ballad opera The Beggar’s Opera in an immersive production under the musical direction of John Atkin and stage direction of Chris Charlton-Matthews, with choreography by Jane Woolgar.
Watch out! You may find yourself next to a cast member, whether Mark Simmonds’ Macheath, Adrian Cook’s Peachum, Anthony Gardner’s Lockit, Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum, Sophie Horrocks’ Lucy Lockit, Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum, Ian Thomson-Smith’s Beggar or Jake Mansfield’s Player. Box office: tickets.yorkopera.co.uk/events/yorkopera/1793200.
Natasha Jones, left, and Florrie Stockbridge in Clap Trap Theatre’s Blindfold at Helmsley Arts Centre
Ghost story of the week: Clap Trap Theatre in Blindfold, Helmsley Arts Centre, tomorrow, 7.30pm
RYEDALE company Clap Trap Theatre’s cast of Natasha Jones, Florrie Stockbridge and Cal Stockbridge presents Blindfold, a ghost story by BAFTA-nominated North Yorkshire playwright and scriptwriter Tom Needham.
In 1914, two boyhood friends went to fight for their country but only one came back. After the war, the surviving soldier and his sister encounter an old friend who was being haunted by the ghost of a young man in a blindfold. Now, 100 years later, the discovery of letters re-awakens the ghost. Who is he and what does he want? Piece by piece, the lives of the long dead are brought to life and heartbreaking truths begin to emerge. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Heidi Talbot: Introducing new album Grace Untold at NCEM
Folk gig of the week: Heidi Talbot, Grace Untold UK Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
IRISH folk singer Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM stage to preview her November 21 album Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women.
This is an album rooted in personal experience and collective lore as Heidi pays tribute to female strength, focusing on legendary figures and the unsung heroines within her own family. Box office: 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Just like him: Daniel Taylor in the guise of Tommy Cooper at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute show of the week: Daniel Taylor Productions presents The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper (Just Like That), Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 7.30pm
PRODUCED and performed by award-winning West End and Unbreakable star Daniel Taylor, this 90-minute tribute show has the blessing of the Tommy Cooper Estate.
Recapturing the mayhem and misfiring magic of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers, Taylor gives you a glimpse into the life of the comedy giant, celebrating his best one-liners, dazzling wordplay and celebrated tricks, including Glass/Bottle, Dappy Duck, Spot the Dog and Jar/Spoon. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Riverdance: The New Generation celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Irish dance phenomenon at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Riverdance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, Friday to Sunday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
VISITING 30 UK venues – one for each year of its history – from August to December 2025, the Irish dance extravaganza Riverdance rejuvenates the much-loved original show with new innovative choreography and costumes, plus state-of-the-art lighting, projection and motion graphics, in this 30th anniversary celebration.
For the first time, John McColgan directs “the New Generation” of Riverdance performers, none of them born when the show began. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
The poster for Them Heavy Souls’ blues revue at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Blues gig of the week: Them Heavy Souls, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Saturday, 7.30pm
MARK Christian Hawkins, top session guitarist for 30 years, is a gun for hire stepping out of the shadows with his British blues rock revue show, featuring stage and screen actress Lucy Crawford on vocals (last spotted playing Miss Prism in York company’s Pop Your Clogs Theatre’s The Importance Of Being Earnest).
Playing music from the golden era of 1966 to 1975, Them Heavy Souls capture the power and magic of Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page, Cream/Eric Clapton, Yardbirds/Jeff Beck, Humble Pie/Peter Frampton and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, delivered with vintage guitars, amplification and a nod to improvisation. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Alex Hamilton: Leading his blues trio at Helmsley Arts Centre
The other blues gig of the week, on the very same night: The Alex Hamilton Band, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm
GUITARIST Alex Hamilton is joined in his blues/rock/Americana trio by father Nick Hamilton on bass and Martin Bell on drums. He combines melodic rock vocals, hard-hitting lyrics and a heart-felt guitar technique, as heard on his albums Ghost Train, Shipwrecked and On The Radio, as well as in concert venues around the world. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Gunn in for you: Steve Gunn promotes his two 2025 albums at The Band Room this weekend. Picture: Paul Rhodes
Moorland gig of the week: Steve Gunn, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, Saturday, 7.30pm
STEVE Gunn, the ambient psychedelic American singer-songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York, made his name as a guitarist in Kurt Vile’s backing band, The Violators. His myriad magical influences include Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley and John Fahey.
This weekend he will be showcasing his second album of 2025, Daylight Daylight, out on November 7 on No Quarter, as well as his first fully instrumental album, August’s Music For Writers. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.
On being Normal: Henry Normal discusses himself at Helmsley Arts Centre
Normal service resumed: Henry Normal, The Slideshow, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 8pm
THE Slideshow, as poet, film and TV producer/writer Henry Normal explains, is a multi-MEdia spectacular with the emphasis on the “me” in his celebration of his “meteoric rise to z celebrity status”, together with his joyous and inevitable slide into physical and mental decline.
Expect poetry, photos, jokes, music, dance, song, circus skills, costume changes, props and stories, exploring where Normal went wrong in life, plus lessons you can learn from his mistakes, in his live performed memoir with cautionary verse. For tickets for this adventure into understanding the human condition from the inside, go to: helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Heidi Talbot: Returning to National Centre for Early Music tomorrow to showcase November album Grace Untold
IRISH folk singer Heidi Talbot previews her November 21 album Grace Untold, a timeless celebration of women’s voices, at the National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tomorrow (23/10/2025).
Her ninth studio recording unfolds like a tapestry of feminine power, myth and memory in a luminous song cycle that “honours Ireland’s grand heritage of goddesses and the indelible women who have shaped our histories and hearts”.
Born 45 years ago in the rural Irish village of Kill, County Kildare, Heidi began singing in the church choir run by her mother, Rosaline, and enrolled at 16 at Dublin’s Bel Canto singing school. A career in music was set in motion, making her mark in the Irish American folk band Cherish The Ladies as well as solo.
Now comes Grace Untold, a record of stories – whispered and sung, remembered and re-imagined – that forms a woman’s tribute to all women who have inspired, protected and passed the song forward.
This is an album rooted in personal experience and collective lore as Heidi pays tribute to female strength and draws inspiration both from legendary figures and the unsung heroines within her own family.
The warrior queen Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Mhaol), the Celtic goddess Brigid of Co. Kildare and Anna Parnell, leader of the Ladies’ Land League, appear alongside Heidi’s grandmother Kathleen, whose recorded voice opens the closing track. Throughout, themes of resilience, love, ancestry and grace echo across time.
Grace Untold’s songs also reflect on intimacy, family and memory. Like You Were Never Here is a prayer written in grief on a rainy day in Fife; In Shame, Love, In Shame, sung with daughter Molly Mae, reclaims dignity from a story of injustice, and I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen entwines three generations of voices, carrying forward the thread of song.
On her first self-produced album, Heidi also pays homage to early influences such as fellow Irish singer Mary Black, while embracing the quiet companionship of Nanci Griffith’s songwriting, and collaborates once again with long-time creative partner Boo Hewerdine, who will be joining her on stage on the second stage of her autumn travels.
“Walking by the sea has inspired me to write songs,” says Heidi
Here Heidi discusses goddesses, heroines, family and a broken ankle with CharlesHutchPress.
“I WAS supposed to be bringing the album out in October, but I broke my left ankle on a night out in Newcastle, in a bar, where a very drunk man fell on me very heavily. A really random moment. Just band luck,” says Heidi.
“I’ve had surgery; I had pins and metal plates put in there and they have to stay in. When my sister got married, I had to go through the airport scanner and all that metal set it off!”
Heidi has been spending time in both Edinburgh and Fife, where she moved last year after marrying Scottish lawyer Ronnie Simpson in May 2024. “We’re in both places at the moment. We moved to Fife a year ago, but then I broke my ankle, and as I still have my place in Edinburgh, on one floor there, we came back for my rehab,” she says.
“The ankle has nearly recovered. I’ve been signed off by the orthopaedic surgeon. I’m just in physio now. I have days where I look like a pirate, limping along, and then other days when I feel a lot better.”
On stage this autumn, “I’m going to see how it goes, but I’m hoping to be able to sing standing up,” she says. “It’s not so much the standing, but the walking about, at the moment.”
She recorded Grace Untold in May, June and July at GloWorm Recording Studio in Glasgow. “When I damaged my leg, I still had some backing vocals to do, which we did at my house in Edinburgh in the end, with daughter Molly Mae singing and younger daughter Jessica doing a little bit too.
“Molly Mae, who’s nearly 16, wants to do musical theatre. Her dream is to go on the West End stage.”
The artwork for Heidi Talbot’s single, Brigid, the polymath of Celtic goddesses. “She was a bit of an all rounder,” says Heidi, as depicted in the multitude of floating symbols
In doing so, she would be keeping music-making in the family, just as Heidi’s mother passed on her love of music to her daughter.
“It was when I was thinking about writing about inspirational women that I thought about my own mother and my grandmother and the struggles they had in raising a family. How being a woman in this day and age echoes with their day, being a mother, trying to work and keep it all together.
“My mum had nine children and I was number five. They got married at 18, had their first child at 19, but that’s how it was in Irish Catholic families. It was usual to have a lot of children. My grandmother had nine children too. These women were so strong and resilient, and they had to be; there was no choice.”
Heidi continues: “Then you think of all the social aspects, buying a house, having a career, when for my mum that just wasn’t possible. Now a lot of people separate from their partners, and have to try to rebuild their life, and like it or not, the children’s emotional heft falls on the mother, trying to provide everything for everyone.
“I look at my mum and my grandmother and think what would they say? Would they say, ‘it’s crazy trying to do what you have to do’?”
Folklore is at the heart of Grace Untold too. “The first song I recorded, over a year ago, is about Brigid of County Kildare. In my childhood, around February 1, we sang Brigid’s Day at school and we would make St Brigid’s crosses out of rushes or paper.
“We’d hang a piece of cloth outside the house the night before for St Brigid to bless us for the year ahead. The next morning the cloth was brought in and used for blessing the home and healing.
“In the song she has two entities: as a nun and a saint and as a goddess too, of music and poetry, healing arts and prophecy, agriculture and fire – and children and blacksmiths too. She was a bit of an all-rounder.”
The cover artwork for Heidi Talbot’s November 21 album Grace Untold
The song about warrior queen Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Mhaol) emerged from Heidi’s move to Fife, by the sea. “There’s such powerful energy around the sea,” she says. “That’s how I’ll work, taking a good walk, and then I’ll write after that, having cleared my head of worries, quietening all the noise. Walking by the sea has inspired me to write songs.
“Grace O’Malley was a real person who’s had a lot of her history erased because she was a woman. She was a pirate queen, defending her part of Ireland, and there’s a film about to be made about her too. It’s lovely for me to shine a light on women who are inspirational to me, like Grace O’Malley and Anna Parnell, the leader of the Ladies’ Land League.
“Anna has been erased from history, whereas her brother, [Irish nationalist politician] Charles Stewart Parnell has not. She was fighting for people who had been evicted, setting up temporary homes for them.
“She came from a landlord family; she was gentry, but she helped all manner of women. She was a great woman, very strong, and not afraid of men.”
Heidi delved deep into her research. “I did that with Grace O’Malley, because I truly wanted to honour this woman, and it was the same with Anna Parnell, and the more I looked into it, I thought, ‘wow, how is this not taught to children, especially in Ireland?’,” she says.
“I wanted to be authentic in these songs. The metaphysical, ‘witchy’ side of me wants to think they’re standing beside me on stage when I sing.”
The musicians doing that at the NCEM tomorrow will be Innes White, mainly on mandolin and guitar, and fellow instrumentalist Toby Shaer on fiddle, cittern, guitar and flute.
Heidi Talbot, Grace Untold, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 23, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk. Grace Untold will be released on Heidi Talbot Records on November 21.
Heidi Talbot: Playing York, Whitby and Sheffield this autumn
Heidi Talbot: back story
BORN in Kill, County Kildare, Ireland, the fifth of nine children. Sang in church choir run by her mother, Rosaline. Enrolled at 16 at Dublin’s Bel Canto singing school.
Past member of Irish American folk group Cherish The Ladies, from 2002 to 2007, after moving to New York aged 18 to work in bars and clubs for two years. Recorded On Christmas Night, 2004, and Woman Of The House, 2005.
Released nine solo recordings: Heidi Talbot, 2002; Distant Future, 2004; In Love and Light, 2008; The Last Star, 2010; My Sister The Moon EP, 2012; Angels Without Wings, 2013; Here We Go 1, 2, 3, 2016; Sing It For A Lifetime, 2022; Grace Untold, November 21 2025.
Recorded Love Is The Bridge Between Two Hearts EP with John McCusker, 2018; Face The Fall with Arcade (Adam Holmes), 2019, and A Light In The Dark with Roger Tallroth, Sophia Stinnerbom and Magnus Stinnerbom, 2019.
Shared stages and studios with Mark Knopfler, Graham Coxon (Blur), Eddi Reader, Jerry Douglas, King Creosote, Tim O’Brien, Idlewild, Kris Drever, John McCusker, Roddy Woomble and Michael McGoldrick.
Nominated for Folk Singer of the Year, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards; Best Traditional Song and Best Live Act at Scottish Traditional Music Awards; Best Female Vocalist, Irish Music Awards. Named Composer of the Year at 2023 Scots Trad Music Awards.
On tour from October 10 to November 30. Further Yorkshire gigs will be at Whitby Music Port Festival, October 25, and Firth Hall, Sheffield (with Boo Hewerdine), November 20.
Chantel McGregor: Solo acoustic gig at Fulford Arms
BRADFORD virtuoso blues rock guitarist Chantel McGregor will play a solo acoustic gig at the Fulford Arms, Fulford Road, York, on December 8.
This multiple British Blues Award winner, 39, will be showcasing her third studio album, May 2025’s The Healing.
At 14, Chantel was told by major labels that she had a “great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that”. Wisely ignoring such comments, she enrolled at Leeds College of Music (now Leeds Conservatoire), becoming the first student there to achieve a 100 per cent pass mark, with 18 distinctions to boot.
She left with a First Class degree in Popular Music and a coveted prize, the college’s musician of the year award.
Early in her career, she was invited to perform with Joe Bonamassa on two of his British tours. In 2011, she released her debut album, Like No Other; in 2015 came her second, Like Control, again produced by Livingstone Brown, this time full of gothic imagery. In December 2018, she launched her podcast.
Over the past 15 years, guitarist, singer and songwriter Chantel has been a reliable presence on the British gig circuit, traversing the length and breadth of the country and appearing at major festivals.
It would be easy to presume that we know what makes her tick, but The Healing has blown such preconceptions clean out of the water, revealing a new side to her in both a musical and emotional sense.
“This is definitely a rock album, not a blues album,” emphasises Chantel. “It’s heavy and dark and it introduces elements of prog-rock, which is a form of music I absolutely love.”
First single Broken Heartless Liar, for example, is a raw, defiant rock anthem about finally seeing the truth and taking back your power. “It captures the moment you realise the person you loved never really valued you, just took what they could while giving nothing in return,” she says.
“The song moves from heartbreak to clarity, shifting from the pain of betrayal to the strength of walking away. It’s about breaking free from the lies and emotional wreckage and choosing empowerment over staying trapped in something toxic.”
Equipped with a driving riff, a blistering guitar solo and a chorus that sticks in the mind, Broken Heartless Liar “will connect with anyone who has ever had to fight their way out of a bad relationship and come out stronger on the other side”. Watch the video at https://youtu.be/eqnJQ3sXxuY.
Alongside McGregor, The Healing features regular band-mates Colin Sutton on bass and Thom Gardner on drums, a pair of players with whom she has developed a form of musical telekinesis.
Where things depart from the norm is the presence of two newcomers, guitarist Oli Brown as co-producer and his fellow member of The Dead Collective, Wayne Proctor, who handled production mixing and mastering.
“I’ve known Oli for donkey’s years, but when I heard the work he was doing with his band The Dead Collective, I really wanted to see if we could do something together,” says Chantel.
In another break with McGregor tradition, Brown and Proctor were involved heavily in the songwriting process too.
Tickets for December 8’s show are on sale at ents24.com/york-events/the-fulford-arms/chantel-mcgregor/7337879. Doors open at 7.30pm. The Healing is available on CD and black vinyl at chantelmcgregor.com.
Kaminari UK Taiko Drummers: Playing the Galtres Centre, Easingwold, on Saturday
KAMINARI UK Taiko Drummers return to the Galtres Centre, Easingwold, on October 25 to perform Roku at 7.30pm.
In Saturday’s show, York’s Taiko drumming group promises a rhythmic musical journey through Japan, bringing this rich musical heritage to life in a fusion of sound, movement and spirit.
Roku blends the powerful, immersive energy of Taiko drumming with the evocative sounds of traditional instruments, including the koto and shamisen, played by special guest Michael Graham.
Michael Graham: Playing the koto, pictured, here, and shamisen at Saturday’s performance
The show features traditional and regional styles of Taiko drumming, some reinvented for the stage, others original pieces created by Kaminari.
Kaminari UK Taiko Drummers rehearse in Shipton-by Beningbrough. Since the group’s inception in 2009, they have performed at festivals, charity events and private functions across Yorkshire and beyond.
Tickets cost £15 from the Galtres Centre website, galtrescentre.org.uk, or in person from the box office in Market Place, Easingwold.
The poster for Kaminari UK Taiko Drummers’ Roku concert on Saturday
Six members of Paul Toy’s cast of 17 rehearsing a scene from Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy. Picture: John Saunders
THOMAS Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy is “the Elizabethan play that outsold Shakespeare”, but then was lost to the professional stage for 300 years and is now performed only rarely.
One such performance will be at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from Wednesday to Saturday when Paul Toy directs York Shakespeare Project for the fourth time (and first since Troilus And Cressida in 2011).
YSP chair Tony Froud said of his appointment in June: “Paul emerged from a very strong field of applicants with an exciting vision for this remarkable play. The Spanish Tragedy was the most popular play of the Elizabethan era, outselling Shakespeare. Kyd’s play set out the blueprint for a whole dramatic genre, ‘Revenge Tragedy’. Without it, there may have been no Hamlet, no The Duchess Of Malfi.”
The chance to present such a landmark drama in tandem with all of Shakespeare’s plays was exactly why York Shakespeare Project launched its second 25-year cycle of productions in April 2023, with a view to performing the likes of Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson…and Thomas Kyd.
“This is one of the plays that I would have been on the lookout to see had I not been directing it,” says Paul, who had directed The Taming Of The Shrew in 2003 and Titus Andronicus in 2004, as well as Troilus And Cressida, “in the first canter through all Shakespeare’s canto”.
“You would need to go a little below the headlines, though not be a connoisseur or scholar, to know his work. Jonson still crops up, so does Marlowe, but not Kyd, who’s unlucky in that this is his only play that has survived, apart from a translation of a French play and may be an “Ur-version” [the original or earliest version] of Hamlet from around 1589 that preceded Shakespeare’s play, but really The Spanish Tragedy is the only one of significance”
Kyd would die at the age of 36 in 1594, only two years after The Spanish Tragedy was premiered, “He shared a writing room with Marlowe in London, but because Marlowe was under the eyes of the authorities, on account of his atheism and his homosexuality, Kyd was tortured, simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but was released without charge.
The Spanish Tragedy director Paul Toy
“Marlowe died in a tavern brawl in Deptford in May 1593, not long before Kyd, who didn’t survive as long as Jonson and Shakespeare but was under a cloud through no fault of his own.”
Nevertheless, The Spanish Tragedy was groundbreaking. “If you say you haven’t ever seen it, if I talked to you afterwards, I bet you would recognise all the tropes that it set down for ‘Revenge Tragedy’, like the ghost coming back to demand revenge; a hero deliberating over whether to seek revenge; madness and a play within a play,” says Paul.
Scholarly speculation has it that Will the Quill may even have penned passages of Kyd’s play. “You will see the precursor to Shakespeare’s Hamlet there, but Kyd doesn’t have the depth that late Shakespeare plays had. What you see is what you get in Kyd, and what you get is laid down pretty clearly,” says Paul.
In a nutshell, a play suffused with treachery, deceit and disguise that now carries the warning: “Contains depictions of self-injury, murder and suicide”. All delivered by Toy with masks, music and dance.
“I would say it’s plot driven, rather than character driven, and poor old Kyd, we all now know the tropes, the tricks of the trade, of revenge plays, but no-one did it before him. But the problem with being the pioneer is that it doesn’t have what others then built on,” says Paul.
His production has “a Spanish look rather than being full-on Spain”. “It’s suggestive of things like the Day of the Dead and other processions, the Counter-Reformation, but it’s also rather obsessive in its tone,” says Paul.
“It involves both the human and the supernatural, and if you’ve seen the York Mystery Plays, you’ll see where aspects of his work will have come from. It’s almost the definition of a play on the San Andreas Fault, pitched between the medieval and the early modern. If you know The Last Judgement from the Mystery Plays, there’s quite a lot that’s familiar.
Harry Summers and Emma Scott in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy
“Our production acknowledges it’s not modern, it’s recognisably ‘period’, but culturally it still goes through to modern times.”
Paul describes Kyd’s text as a “very rhetorically minded play, full of people arguing the case for themselves or maybe for someone else, so it’s like a collection of closing statements that barristers give to the judge”.
“With some of the past plays I’ve directed, I’ve enjoyed the visual elements, the modernisation elements or the physical elements, but because the text of this play isn’t familiar, I thought it was important to concentrate on the text, doing it as a ‘language play’.
“But we also have the advantage of it being an old play that we can treat like a new, modern play because it’s not well known, whereas it’s very difficult to do that with Shakespeare because you’re so bombarded by his plays.”
As for The Spanish Tragedy’s violent reputation, come the end, spoiler alert, there are “as many people horizontal as there are in Hamlet”, says Paul. “But partly because of the laundry bill, I’ve gone for only one big ‘bloody’ death. The rest are by other means, hopefully more unexpected, and if it takes you by surprise, all the better!”
York Shakespeare Project in The Spanish Tragedy, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 25, 7.30pm. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
York Shakespeare Project’s cast for The Spanish Tragedy
Ghost of Andrea – David Lee Revenge – Vivian Wilson King of Spain – Tony Froud Cypriana, Duchess of Castile – Emily Hansen Lorenzo – Tom Jennings Bel-imperia – Emma Scott General – Alan Sharp Viceroy of Portugal – Nick Jones Balthazar – P J Gregan Alexandro – Ben Reeves Rowley Villuppo – Tim Holman Ambassador – Cassi Roberts Hieronimo – Harry Summers Isabella – Sally Mitcham Horatio – Yousef Ismail Pedringano – Isabel Azar Serberine – Martina Meyer Christophil – Phil Massey Watchmen 1, 2, 3 – Alan Sharp, Nick Jones, Tim Holman Messenger – Cassi Roberts Deputy – Martina Meyer Hangman – Alan Sharp Maid – Martina Meyer Servant 1 and 2 – Martina Meyer, Ben Reeves Rowley Old Man – Tim Holman Nobles 1 and 2 – Martina Meyer, Ben Reeves Rowley Minos, Aeacus, Rhadamanth – PJ Gregan, Nick Jones, Tim Holman
Alan Sharp, proprietor of White Rose York Tour, comedian and The Chase winner, will be playing a trio of roles in The Spanish Tragedy. Picture: John Saunders
David Essex: Playing York Barbican on September 24 next year
YORK Barbican has announced a couple of stellar concerts for 2026: David Essex OBE on September 24 and Alfie Boe OBE on April 28. Tickets for both go on sale on Friday at 10am.
Plaistow singer, composer and actor Essex, 78, will play York and further Yorkshire shows that week at Victoria Theatre, Halifax, on September 21, Sheffield City Hall, September 23, and Hull Connexin Live, September 25, on his 21-date Thanks For The Memories tour to “celebrate his monumental career”
Shooting to fame when chosen for the role of Jesus in the London production of Godspell, Essex received major awards that then saw him lead the cast at the Roundhouse and in the West End for two years.
David Essex’s itinerary for next September’s Thanks For The Memories tour
Since then he has written and produced albums that have sold millions of copies worldwide, as well as notching 16 Top 30 singles in Britain alone, led off by the Grammy-nominated Rock On, followed by the likes of Lamplight, the chart-topping Gonna Make You A Star and Hold Me Close, Rolling Stone, Oh What A Circus, Silver Dream Machine, A Winter’s Tale and Tahiti. He last released a studio album, Reflections, in October 2013.
His acting credits include Silver Dream Racer, That’ll Be The Day, Stardust, Traveller, The Guvnors and BBC One’s EastEnders, as the head of the Moon family. In the West End, he has starred in Evita, Footloose, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects Of Love, She Stoops To Conquer and Childe Byron, plus his own musicals Mutiny! and All The Fun Of The Fair. His past two UK tours sold more than 65,000 tickets across 39 dates.
Alfie Boe: York Barbican concert on April 28 2026. Picture: Ray Burmiston
TENOR Alfie Boe will play 35 dates on his UK tour, where he will combine his most iconic hits and fan-favourite classics with powerful material from his upcoming album Facing Myself.
Born Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe on September 29 1973 in Blackpool, the Lancashire singer and actor will play further Yorkshire concerts at Hull City Hall on April 24; Royal Hall, Harrogate, April 29, and Sheffield City Hall, May 1, as well as York Barbican on April 28.
“I’m thrilled to be hitting the road again for my tour across the UK next spring,” says Alfie, 52. “I can’t wait to sing the songs you love, share some fantastic new surprises and celebrate with you in venues up and down the country.”
Alfie Boe’s tour itinerary for April and May 2026, when Jessica Sweetman will be his special guest
Boe’s career has spanned stage, recording and television. He has released more than a dozen studio albums, several of them topping the UK charts en route to multi-platinum sales. His collaborations with Michael Ball, including the record-breaking Together, Together Again and Back Together, have been complemented by sold-out arena tours.
The Tony Award winner has conquered the world’s greatest opera stages and arenas and led the cast of Les Misérables in his defining role as Jean Valjean, also starring in the concert tour of Les Misérables in Australia and the Arena Spectacular tour across the UK.
He has appeared at Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Royal Albert Hall too and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019, in recognition of his outstanding services to music and charity.
Shed Seven in concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in June 2025. The Piece Hall, Halifax, awaits next summer. Picture: Andy Little
SHED Seven will be mark the 30th anniversary of landmark 1996 album A Maximum High with a special one-off gig at The Piece Hall, Halifax, on June 6 2026.
In the York band’s only headline show of Summer 2026, they will perform their most hit-laden album in full, followed by a second set packed with the Britpop alumni’s greatest hits. Special guests that night will be Seb Lowe and The Guest List.
Singer Rick Witter says: “We are looking forward to giving A Maximum High the birthday party it deserves. We’re especially excited to be revisiting some of the songs we haven’t played for decades. We hope that fans will come from far and wide to join us at this ‘one- night-only’ huge celebratory event.”
Released on April 1 1996, A Maximum High was a defining moment for the Sheds, reaching number eight, selling more than 250,000 copies and spawning five Top 40 singles, 1995 hit Where Have You Been Tonight?, Getting Better, Going For Gold, Bully Boy and On Standby.
The band achieved chart history when Chasing Rainbows, released later in 1996, made them the only British band to notch five Top 40 singles in the UK charts that year.
The last two years have been nothing short of extraordinary for the Sheds. They achieved two number one albums in 2024 with January’s A Matter Of Time and September’s Liquid Gold – a feat only 19 other acts have managed in the UK charts – and in September 2025 they were crowned Best Live Performer at the AIM Independent Music Awards, an accolade made even more special as it was voted for by the public.
The poster for Shed Seven’s one-night-only A Maximum High 30th anniversary gig
This year too, the Sheds played to 28,000 when supporting Paul Heaton, at Bramall Lane, Sheffield, in May; made their long-overdue debut at Scarborough Open Air Theatre in June, and played Sounds Of The City 2025, at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, and Leeds Millennium Square in July.
In a summer of 14 festival and open-air shows, they returned to Glastonbury on June 27 for the first time in 30 years, revelling in a late-afternoon set on the Woodsies tented stage.“It appears we have become big-time Charlies,” Witter told the crowd, as the Sheds performed with five backing singers, three horn players and Elvis-fronted Nirvana tribute act Elvana’s frontman Paul Kell (aka Kellvis), who joined Rick on vocals for Suspicious Minds.
Next June’s celebration concert will be a welcome return to The Piece Hall for York’s indie stalwarts after a sold-out headline show in the open-air courtyard in 2021.
Shed Seven join Embrace, Ethel Cain, Billy Ocean, The K’s, Opeth and David Gray among the first headliners to be announced forTK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall 2026.
Nicky Chance-Thompson, chief executive officer of The Piece Hall Charitable Trust, says: “These announcements just keep ‘getter better’! It’s going to be quite the party when these Yorkshire heroes head back to our beautiful courtyard.
“Shed Seven played here back in 2021, and marking the 30th anniversary of their iconic 1996 album seemed to perfect time to invite them back. Hearing A Maximum High in full, plus all their greatest hits on top, will make this an unmissable gig for their legions of fans.”
Today’s announcement follows a record-breaking year at The Piece Hall when 36 headline shows drew 185,000 ticket sales: a new box-office record for the historic West Yorkshire venue. Plans are well underway for 30-plus shows next year.
Cate Le Bon: “Her striking looks suggested both Joan of Arc and David Bowie in his Thin White Duke phase”. All pictures: Paul Rhodes
SO MUCH more than just a concert. To spend time in the company of Cate Le Bon is to enter into her world. The whole performance brooks no objection. Small talk is left at the dinner table.
Le Bon inhabits her music fully, supported by the ablest of bands. As a tight six-piece they were able to bring out the depths and ensure nothing was sacrificed to the road.
This Cardiff mothership also contains Stephen Black (aka Sweet Baboo – a wonderful headliner in his own right at this venue in 2023) and H Hawkline, who should now be the Crescent’s most wanted man after his stellar opening set.
Le Bon is the undoubted matriarch. Her iconic, striking looks suggested both Joan of Arc and David Bowie in his Thin White Duke phase.
Sweet Baboo (Stephen Black) performing in Cate Le Bon’s band at The Crescent
The set was a well-judged mix of old and leaning more on the new. Le Bon is the critics’ darling for her undaunted creativity.
Her new album was written in the aftermath of a significant break-up. Just because an album is about heartbreak shouldn’t automatically make it a classic however. Like its creator, Michelangelo Dying remains elusive. Diaphanous and beautiful for sure, as an album it’s rather unknowable.
The middle part of the 90-minute set dragged with French Boys particularly disappointing. The elegant, Roxy-like Heaven Is No Feeling brought it back and set us on track to the excellent finale. Le Bon doesn’t really have bangers in the traditional sense, but Mothers Of Riches and Harbour were slinky slices of better-than-pop.
H Hawkline: “As good an opening set as you are likely to hear”
H Hawkline was accompanied, as is his wont, by a reel-to-reel tape recorder. His was as good an opening set as you are likely to hear.
After the loss of his mother, he poured himself into Milk For Flowers (the best album of 2023). His guitar playing, certainly helped by those long fingers was so sure, and his singing so able, that he swept us all up.
The riff on Suppression Street was compelling. Empty Room, the Cold Cold Heart of the record, reduced the crowd to awed silence and more than a few to tears.
Cate Le Bon’s drummer Stella Mozgawa
Hawkline appears to be at a different point on the arc to Le Bon. His two new songs suggest he’s in a happier place. Song 3 bodes well for his new record, showing his mastery for creating a sound that draws on the best of the past filtered through his very leftfield view. It even featured Ringo Starr, beamed in via AI.
While it’s a shame we got no glimpses behind the veil from either Hawkline or Le Bon, what we missed in terms of extra connection to them as performers, we gained in intensity and the vitality they brought to their performances.
Review by Paul Rhodes
Cate Le Bon’s band members: Euan Hinshelwood, saxophone and guitar; Stella Mozgawa, drums; Stephen Black (Sweet Baboo), keyboards, guitars, percussion and saxophone; Paul Jones, keyboards and occasional saxophone, and Toko Yasuda, bass.
Euan Hinshelwood on saxophone in Cate le Bon’s set at The Crescent
Martha Tilston: Playing The Basement tonight at City Screen Picturehouse
CRIMINAL investigations and a brace of plays with murder at the core, Charles Hutchinson detects a theme to his latest recommendations.
Singer-songwriter of the week: Martha Tilston, The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York, tonight, 7.30pm
BORN in Bristol and now living in Cornwall, singer, songwriter and filmmaker Martha Tilston writes songs from the heart as a balm for the modern age.
Tilston, who has worked Zero 7, Damien Rice, Nick Harper, Kae Tempest and Aztec Camera’s Roddy Frame, combines raw vocals and sparkling melodies with thought-provoking lyrics and filmic movements, inviting her audience to “connect with longed-for parts of ourselves”. Box office: marthatilston.co.uk.
Jennifer Rees: Exploring stories of serial killers in forensic detail at the Grand Opera House, York
Criminal investigations of the week: Strange But True Crimes with Jennifer Rees, Grand Opera House, York, October 21, 7.30pm
FORMER forensics lecturer and Psychology Of Serial Killers presenter Jennifer Rees explores stories such as the serial killer who gained work in law enforcement while on the run – and ended up hunting himself.
Watch out too for the female, balloon-carrying killer clown, serial killers on game shows – how their appearances led to their identification – and many more stories. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Jason Durr’s Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, right, accosting the nervous burglar in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight. Picture: Pamela Raith
Deliciously twisted crime caper of the week: Original Theatre in Murder At Midnight, York Theatre Royal, October 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
ON New Year’s Eve, in a quiet corner of Kent, a killer is in the house in Torben Betts’s comedy thriller Murder At Midnight, part two of a crime trilogy for Original Theatre that began last year with Murder In The Dark, this time starring Jason Durr, Susie Blake, Max Howden and Katie McGlynn.
Meet Jonny ‘The Cyclops’, his glamorous wife, his trigger-happy sidekick, his mum – who sees things – and her very jittery carer, plus a vicar, apparently hiding something, and a nervous burglar dressed as a clown. Throw in a suitcase full of cash, a stash of deadly weapons and one infamous unsolved murder…what could possibly go wrong? Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon: Showcasing new album Rainy Sunday Afternoon at York Barbican. Picture: Kevin Westerberg
Recommended but sold out already: The Divine Comedy, York Barbican, October 21, doors 7pm
IN the wake of composing all the original songs for the 2023 global blockbuster Wonka, North Irishman Neil Hannon has returned to his Divine Comedy guise for September 19’s Rainy Sunday Afternoon: album number 13 and his first studio set since 2019’s Office Politics.
Recorded at Abbey Road, London, the album was written, arranged and produced by Hannon, who covers his usual range of emotions: sad, funny, angry and everything in between. Hear Hannon songs new and old next Tuesday, when Studio Electrophonique will be the special guest. Box office, for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Katie Melia’s Show White in Steve Coates Music Productions’ Disenchanted, turning fairy tales on their head at the JoRo
Cheeky twist on fairy tales of the week: Steve Coates Music Productions in Disenchanted, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
KATIE Melia directs and leads the cast as Snow White in Steve Coates Music Productions’ production of Disenchanted, the musical with the feminist twist that turns fairy tales upside down, from the Little Mermaid hitting the bottle to Belle ending up in a straitjacket for chatting with the cutlery.
Forget the damsels in distress, Snow White, Cinderella and their royal crew want to set the record straight. Equipped with sass, wit, and powerhouse vocals, these not-so-princessy princesses flip the script, spill the tea and reclaim their stories as they challenge outdated happily-ever-afters. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Making an impression: Dead Ringers on 25th anniversary tour
Comedy nights of the week: Dead Ringers, October 22, 3pm and 7.30pm, and Nick Mohammed Is Mr Swallow: Show Pony, October 26, 8pm, both at Grand Opera, House, York
TO mark its 25th anniversary, BBC Radio 4’s topical satire show Dead Ringers takes to the road with a full UK tour for the first time as long-standing cast members Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod and Duncan Wisbey take a trip through classic sketches and unrivalled impressions, peppered with topical humour.
Celebrity Traitors competitor, Taskmaster contestant and Ted Lasso actor Nick Mohammed returns to York as his alter-ego Mr Swallow. Expect magic, music and new mistakes. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Harry Summers, left, and Emma Scott in rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s The Spanish Tragedy. Picture: John Saunders
Revenge drama of the week: York Shakespeare Project in The Spanish Tragedy, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 25, 7.30pm
PAUL Toy directs York Shakespeare Project for the fourth time – and the first since Troilus And Cressida in 2011– in “the most popular play of the Elizabethan era, outselling Shakespeare”: Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, the circa 1592 blueprint for the Revenge Tragedy genre.
No Kyd, maybe no Hamlet or The Duchess Of Malfi, as treachery, deceit and disguise are wrapped inside a torrid tale of vengeance-seeking ghosts, madness, a play-within-a-play and a Machiavellian villain, delivered by Toy with masks, music and dance. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum in York Opera’s The Beggar’s Opera. Picture: John Saunders
Opera of the week: York Opera in The Beggar’s Opera, The Citadel, York City Church, Gillygate, York, October 23 to 25, 7.30pm
YORK Opera stage John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch’s 1728 satirical ballad opera The Beggar’s Opera in an immersive production under the musical direction of John Atkin and stage direction of Chris Charlton-Matthews, with choreography by Jane Woolgar.
Watch out! You may find yourself next to a cast member, whether Mark Simmonds’ Macheath, Adrian Cook’s Peachum, Anthony Gardner’s Lockit, Alexandra Mather’s Polly Peachum, Sophie Horrocks’ Lucy Lockit, Cathy Atkin’s Mrs Peachum, Ian Thomson-Smith’s Beggar or Jake Mansfield’s Player. Box office: tickets.yorkopera.co.uk/events/yorkopera/1793200.
Heidi Talbot: Introducing November 21 album Grace Untold at NCEM on October 23
Folk gig of the week: Heidi Talbot, Grace Untold UK Tour, National Centre for Early Music, York, October 23, 7.30pm
IRISH folk singer Heidi Talbot returns to the NCEM stage to preview her November 21 album Grace Untold, a collection of songs based around Irish goddesses and inspirational women.
This is an album rooted in personal experience and collective lore as Heidi pays tribute to female strength, focusing on legendary figures and the unsung heroines within her own family. Box office: 01904 658338 or necem.co.uk.
Riverdance: The New Generation performs the Irish dancers’ 30th anniversary show at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Riverdance, 30th Anniversary Tour, York Barbican, October 24 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday and Sunday matinees
VISITING 30 UK venues – one for each year of its history – from August to December 2025, the Irish dance extravaganza Riverdance rejuvenates the much-loved original show with new innovative choreography and costumes, plus state-of-the-art lighting, projection and motion graphics, in this 30th anniversary celebration.
For the first time, John McColgan directs “the New Generation” of Riverdance performers, none of them born when the show began. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
