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May 7, 2026May 21, 2026

‘Good old-fashioned laughter. There’s nothing to beat it,” says John Cleese as Fawlty Towers – The Play books into Grand Opera House for five nights from May 19

John Cleese with Danny Bayne, who is playing Basil Fawlty on tour in Fawlty Towers – The Play. Picture: Trevor Leighton

JOHN Cleese was “more confident about it than almost anything I’ve ever done”.

Here he is reflecting on the success of Fawlty Towers – The Play, having enjoyed two sold-out West End seasons and launched a ten-month, 39-venue UK tour in September 2025 that visits the Grand Opera House, York, from May 19 to 23.

“I remember reading the finished script and thinking it was really funny,” reflects Cleese, now 86. “And the English do love farce. Think Ben Travers. Think Brian Rix and Ray Cooney. Look at the success of Noises Off and One Man, Two Guvnors. Farce is universal.”

For all his quiet confidence that Basil Fawlty’s hotel escapades would be received enthusiastically in the theatre, he could not have predicted its rapturous reception.

Cleese does not try to hide his pride in this much-loved classic, co-created with first wife Connie Booth, but he shakes his head in mild wonder at the way it has rooted itself in the public consciousness.

John Cleese behind the Fawlty Towers reception desk with cast members Danny Bayne (Basil Fawlty), left, Mia Austen (Sybil Fawlty,) Joanne Clifton (Polly), Paul Nicholas (The Major) and Hemi Yeroham (Manuel). Picture: Trevor Leighton

“I was told not so long ago of a family who have a game where one of them tries to introduce a quote from Fawlty Towers into the conversation without the other three realising,” he says. “How great a compliment is that? For instance, if anyone says: ‘Don’t mention the war’, everyone knows its origin.”

The play opened at London’s Apollo Theatre in May 2024, directed niftily by Caroline Jay Ranger, who chalked up an earlier West End and touring hit with the musical version of Only Fools and Horses that played the Grand Opera House in October 2024.

As seen at Leeds Grand Theatre in early January, Fawlty Towers’ 18-strong tour cast features changes from the London runs, including Danny Bayne as the deluded, crane-legged Basil – once described by Cleese as “rude but inefficient” – and Mia Austen as his acerbic wife, Sybil.

Joanne Clifton, 2016 winner with Ore Oduba of the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball, takes on the role of Polly, the phlegmatic waitress and chamber maid who pretty much single-handedly prevents Fawlty Towers from collapsing like a pack of cards. Happily, Paul Nicholas remains as the bumbling Major.

The stage show combines three of the most cherished sketches, stitched together by Cleese with a new finale wrapping up proceedings. Miscommunication is the name of the game with a threatened visit by a brace of hotel inspectors, and later by a party of German tourists.

“I remember reading the finished script and thinking it was really funny,” says Fawlty Towers writer John Cleese. Picture: Dave J Hogan

In between comes Basil’s ongoing – futile, as it turns out – attempt to keep secret from Sybil his flutter on the horses with little or no help from Spanish waiter Manuel, played by Hemi Yeroham.

Last October, Headline published Cleese’s book Fawlty Towers: Fawlts And All – My Favourite Moments to celebrate 50 years of the comedy milestone.

He and younger daughter Camilla have been working on developing a reboot of a possible third TV series of Fawlty Towers, set in a Caribbean motel, where she will play opposite him as Basil’s illegitimate daughter.

In addition, Cleese and Camilla have been collaborating on a stage musical version of hit film A Fish Called Wanda, while a new film script, Lookalikes, is in development too, with the script now in the hands of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“Originally, it was going to be about those people who stand on Sunset Boulevard in LA [Los Angeles] pretending to be famous stars,” says Cleese. “That changed when someone came up with the brilliant idea of getting real superstars to play the lookalikes.”

People love laughing, reckons Cleese. Hence he has little time for much of what is shown on TV today. “I’ve never seen Game Of Thrones but I did catch a few minutes of something the other day where a dragon was tied to a chain. It wasn’t for me,” he says.

Paul Nicholas as The Major in Fawlty Towers – The Play

Fawlty Towers, he argues, is both funny and timeless. “And we were lucky with Monty Python. We made two good movies, one of them medieval [Monty Python And The Holy Grail], one of them set in the time of Christ [Monty Python’s Life Of Brian]. Neither is going to date.” Now talk is afoot of bringing Life Of Brian to the London stage.

Cleese turned down a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) in 1996. “I asked the authorities if I could call myself Commander Cleese. Absolutely not, apparently,” he says. “Also, look at other people who have turned down awards and titles: David Bowie and Michael Frayn and Alan Bennett and Albert Finney. I have respect for them.”

Fellow Python luminary Michael Palin accepted a knighthood in 2019. “And good luck to him. I was genuinely pleased,” says Cleese. “I now call him Sir Mickey: that’s how I always address my emails to him. He’s a lovely guy.”

Let’s be clear: if Cleese were to be offered a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours List, he would turn it down? “I would. I don’t need that sort of validation,” he says. “It’s enough for me to know – because people kindly tell me sometimes – that I’ve helped them through difficult times by making them laugh. Which is delightful.

“They come home, turn on an episode of Fawlty Towers and the world doesn’t seem quite so bleak. That’s my reward. I think we need much more laughter in the world. I’m not advocating mean teasing. Just good old-fashioned laughter. There’s nothing to beat it.”

John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers –The Play runs amok at Grand Opera House, York, from May 19 to 23, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

The closing scene from John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers – The Play, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York, from May 19 to 23. Picture: Hugo Glendinning

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026

REVIEW: Steve Crowther’s verdict on The Chimera Ensemble, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, May 1

The Chimera Ensemble in concert at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall

LAST Friday evening’s concert was dominated by a performance of Julius Eastman’s 1974 work, Femenine, which, given that it lasted one hour plus, is hardly surprising.

Like the best of the minimalist music, I found the performance both hypnotic and radiant. The opening could be likened to that of a musical dawn, beginning with a simple rhythmic figure – semiquaver groupings coupled with a syncopated two-note motif – on vibraphone, inviting the other instruments to join in.

It felt like the players were given freedom – when to come in, how long to repeat material – and this created a fluid, floating quality. This distinguished the effect from the stricter processes of Philip Glass or Steve Reich, in both feel and structure.

The resulting sensual quality may, in part, help explain Eastman’s choice of title, Femenine. As a Black and openly gay composer working outside the classical mainstream, questions of identity and expression inevitably inform how the work is heard.

In the opening section, the instruments don’t simply join in; they overlap, blurring any clear dialogue, harmony or any sense of hierarchy. Yet there was drama, albeit one without a fixed direction. About halfway through, the music kind of disintegrates. Here it becomes fragile, dislocated, vulnerable. As I didn’t see it coming, the effect was striking.

Composer Julius Eastman

The return journey, although covering similar ground – the rhythmic heartbeat still anchoring the music – felt altered, transformed. Drama was further enhanced by the alignment of clear tonal (simple triads) interruptions, signalled by the pianists Catherine Laws and Felix Edwards-McStay.

The locking-in of these tonal events gave the work moments of both clarity and radiance. The ending – a winding down leaving only the vibraphone’s rhythmic heartbeat gently laid to rest – was exquisite.

It would be wrong to single out any of the individual performers – it just isn’t that sort of experience – but credit should go to performance director Catherine Laws, and to percussionists John Rousseau (vibraphone) and Peter Evans (marimba) for their stamina and utterly infectious enthusiasm.

Mercifully, the first half was a short affair, showcasing three works by the university music department’s student composers.

Now then, back in the day – OK, my day – showcasing student compositions meant indecipherable programme notes explaining the unexplainable, accompanied by a performance experience of extremely loud, piercingly dissonant sounds designed toshatter the listeners’ teeth.

I enjoyed Sidney Wood’s Interruptions for solo electric guitar. It opened in a melancholic, reflective mood, but one without a melody or songline to follow. The “interruptions” were sudden distorted attacks with feedback that not only undermined the flow but also continually invited disorder and improvisation.

The Chimera Ensemble: Taking a bow at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall

To be sure, “harmonic saturation” enriched the sound world, and the interruptions added drama, but they also set up an expectation of virtuosic release. Just to be clear, I wasn’t expecting the piece to go full Pete Townshend, but certain expectations come with it: electric guitar solo = rock music = (some sort of) rebellion. Still, as I said, I enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed Manlu Du’s Landscape – for a pianist and their friend, although I wasn’t entirely convinced by it. There were lovely moments: the opening exchange of gentle clusters between the two performers (Roy Watkins and Manlu Du), and a simple piano pattern delicately distorted by the second pianist – the “friend” – dampening the strings, for example.

However, the second pianist’s movement around the spacedidn’t add anything meaningful, and the use of two pianos weakened the intended intimacy.

Now I’ve never heard of Brian Kernighan nor, mercifully, read his A Tutorial to the Language B, but I thought Danny Saleeb’s Hello World – based on the (simple) computer programme – was inspired.

Arthur Elliott’s performance on solo viola gave the impression of an unfolding landscape. The opening texture was one of fragility created through a range of extended string techniques: sul ponticello (bowing close to the bridge, creating a glassy, metallic quality); sul tasto (bowing over the fingerboard, harmonics), producing a purer, thinner tone and microtones – shifting, unstable ‘out of tune’ notes etc.

Saleeb uses these to create fascinating, layered textures that feel distinctly otherworldly. I heard traces of folksong and even Bach – arpeggiation, implied counterpoint – peeping through the surface. A short but inventive and musically intelligent work, and technically demanding. Full credit to Arthur Elliott. This was by far the standout work of the first half, and Danny Saleeb is clearly a composer to watch.

Review by Steve Crowther

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026

Manchester indie band Corella to debut songs from second album A Beautiful World To Lose at The Crescent on May 28

Corella: Debuting A Beautiful World To Lose songs at The Crescent. Picture: Charles Agall

MANCHESTER indie rock band Corella will showcase songs from their upcoming second album at The Crescent, York, on May 28 at 7.30pm.

Ahead of September 18 release of A Beautiful World To Lose on FLG, the six-date May tour
will see Joel Smith (vocals/guitar), Ben Henderson (bass/vocals), Jack Taylor (guitar) and James Fawcett (drums) taking it back to where it all began, playing songs from the upcoming album live for the first time, as well as performing fan favourites from 2024 debut album Once Upon A Weekend.

Produced by Grammy-winning Jason Perry (The Molotovs, McFly and Don Broco), A Beautiful World To Lose finds Corella performing with a new ferocity and sense of purpose as they take a piercing glare into the state of the world, alongside a deep look into human emotion and being.

“It definitely sounds more fierce than the last one,” says frontman Smith. “We felt like we were testing the waters, whereas now we know we really want to make a difference through our music. We’re also very aware that there are other bands who’ve cruised and put out similar albums throughout their careers…we wanted to challenge ourselves.”

Corella’s tour poster for May itinerary

Corella have developed their skills as musicians, while benefiting from experience both in their careers and in life, reckons Smith. “A lot has happened since we released our first album,” he says. “We’re writing more for ourselves, this time, but we also hope there’s plenty that listeners will be able to relate to. These lyrics have more grit to them, more heart, and we knew we had to be willing to make ourselves more vulnerable.”

Smith says of first single Rewire: “A lot of people are so vulnerable, especially in the UK, it feels as though they’ll believe anything that gets put in front of them. This song came out of our frustration from simply observing that people have maybe been ‘rewired’ to think a certain way, but also encouraging them to flip that on its head, to challenge the status quo.”

Formed at university, Corella have been supported BBC Radio 1, Radio X and BBC Introducing, while clocking up more 70 million streams, performing at Leeds & Reading, Kendal Calling, Truck, Latitude and Neighbourhood festivals, touring across the UK and Europe and supporting Kaiser Chiefs, Pale Waves, Circa Waves and The Wombats.

The tour includes a further Yorkshire gig at The Parish, Huddersfield, on May 23. Box office: York, thecrescentyork.com; Huddersfield, parishpub.co.uk.

“Now we know we really want to make a difference through our music,” says Corella frontman Joel Smith

May 6, 2026May 7, 2026

What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 18, from Gazette & Herald

Eileen Walsh‘s TV psychic Sheila Gold in York Theatre Royal’s premiere of The Psychic. Picture: Manuel Harlan

DYSON and Nyman’s dark thriller world premiere and women sporting Holmes & Watson waxed moustaches tickle Charles Hutchinson’s fancy in his recommendations for the week ahead.

World premiere of the week: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, until May 23

“IS any of it real,” ask Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman in The Psychic, the latest spook-fest from the writer-director duo behind Ghost Stories. In their twisted new thriller, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan, costing her not only her reputation but also a fortune in legal fees.

When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, she senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed, leading her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles. Picture

Mystery thriller of the week: Neon Crypt in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

JOIN York company Neon Crypt for side-splitting stupidity, hot dog disguises and absolute terror in Jamie McKeller’s staging of Peepolykus co-artistic director John Nicholson’s incredibly high-brow adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery The Hound Of The Baskervilles.

Sherlock Holmes (Laura McKeller) and Dr Watson (Laura Castle) must unravel the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, found dead on his estate with a look of terror still etched on his face and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body. Look out for Michael Cornell popping up as Sir Henry and Sir Charles Baskerville and assorted meat-wielding Yokels. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Pop gig of the week: K-Pop All Stars, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7pm

RIDE the global K-pop wave with K-Pop All Stars’ explosive live celebration of the music, artists and Korean culture that is taking over the pop world. Feel the power of stadium-sized anthems, razor-sharp choreography and a cast that delivers every beat with precision and passion, performing hits by Blackpink, NewJeans, Katseye, BTS, Itzy, Stray Kids, Twice, Jung Kook and more. Cue light sticks glowing in the crowd. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Folk gig of the week: Dervish, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, tonight, 7.30pm

LEGENDARY Irish traditional folk music band Dervish, recipients of a BBC lifetime achievement award in 2019, have recorded and performed all over the world, playing at festivals from Rio to Glastonbury. Fronted by singer Cathy Jordan. the line-up of fiery fiddle, flute, bouzouki, mandola, bodhran and accordion delivers vibrant sets of tunes and compelling songs. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.

Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 8pm

THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972.

Once described as “the American Beatles”, Becker and Fagan’s songs are noted for their clever lyrics and sophisticated arrangements. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Exhibition of the week: Ceri Jenkins, Through Darkness We Can Find A Light, Helmsley Arts Centre, until July 5

NORTH Yorkshire portrait and art photographer Ceri Jenkins’ exhibition is the culmination of her personal healing journey; showcasing powerful and evocative images that use light, reflections and mirror images to inform the narratives of mental health, overcoming trauma, abuse and addiction and to convey a profound message of hope.

Through Darkness We Can Find A Light explores how, when she felt surrounded and suffocated by falseness, subtle signs from the universe pointed Ceri in the direction of using her art and creativity to look within and find her own light in the darkness. This exhibition is a testament to her long-term mission to utilise art and creativity to promote and support natural healing in herself and others while inspiring us to seek inner peace. Opening hours: 10am to 2pm, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; Thursday, 11am to 2pm; Sunday, 11am to 3pm, plus during public events. Admission is free.

Solo show of the week: Ali Williams in Careless Talk, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday 7.30pm

IN a true story of high treason, espionage, spam fritters, the only British person to be tried for treason in the Second World War takes to the stage for the first time in Ali Williams’s show. Was Mabel a collaborator? A visionary? Or just an outsider? Was she the victim of a witch hunt? Or the victim of her own uncompromising nature? Join Mabel on Sandown Beach with her secateurs, sequinned tassels and heartfelt, if misguided, self-belief.

This stage adaptation of James Friel’s novel Careless Talk.tale opens a dialogue on the justice system in this country: who does it protect, how and why? And what of those who fall through the net, the unpopular, the uncompromising? Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Children’s show of the week: English National Ballet & English National Ballet School, My First Ballet: Cinderella, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 10.30am and 2pm; Sunday, 1am and 3pm

MEET the nature-loving Cinderella, who lives on the edge of an enchanted forest where she once gardened and sang with her mother. After loss and silence settle over her home, she is left with a sharp-tongued stepmother, two noisy stepsisters and a house full of chores and shadows.

But when a letter arrives, inviting all to a garden ball, Cinderella’s journey to find her true self begins, guided by the spirit of her mother and the magic of the forest. Using a narrator to help the young audience follow the story, and a shortened, recorded version of Prokofiev’s score, this introduction to ballet is choreographed by George Williamson and performed by English National Ballet School Graduate Artists Programme students. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

May 5, 2026May 7, 2026

Alison Jagger exhibits After The Crowds street photography at WET wine bar in Micklegate in aid for SASH charity

Cone, by Alison Jagger

YORK street photographer Alison Jagger is the second artist selected by RARE Collective to exhibit at WET Bar & Plates, in Micklegate, York.

“Yorkshire born and bred, Alison has always had a deep connection with all forms of art,” says exhibition curator and York artist Sharon McDonagh. “However her main passion lies in street photography.”

As a solo traveller and self-confessed free spirit, Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vibrancy she loves to capture with her camera.

High Five, by Alison Jagger

“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Alison, whose eye for detail and distinctive style has been featured in many online exhibitions.

The RARE Collective’s ongoing programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant is run in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.

First up was Leeds abstract surrealist Nicholas Dixon’s RARE v WET show; now After The Crowds will run until June 3.

York street photographer Alison Jagger

Here Alison Jagger discusses street photography, mobile phone cameras, Brutalist architecture and solo travels with CharlesHutchPress.

How did the exhibition at WET come to fruition, Alison?

“I was fortunate enough to be approached by Sharon McDonagh from @rarecollective. She asked me if I wanted to be involved in the exhibition, being a local street photographer. It was an absolute pleasure to work with such a professional and creative curator.”

What camera do you use and why?

“I use my mobile phone for most of my photography. I enjoy the immediacy and discretion it offers, especially for street photography, as it helps me capture authentic moments and atmosphere in a very natural way.”

Full Set, by Alison Jagger

What makes a good photograph?

“A good photograph is a combination of things, colour, tone, atmosphere and composition, but for me it also needs to tell a story or suggest a moment. I like images that make people pause for a second and feel something beyond what’s simply in the frame.”

Why have you called the WET exhibition After The Crowds?

“Because the photographs focus on the seaside in winter, what’s left when the tourists have gone home. I’m drawn to the quieter atmosphere, the empty spaces and the mood that appears once the busy summer season has disappeared and everything has essentially closed for business.”

Why do you enjoy travelling solo: what are the advantages?

“I’m very independent, and travelling solo allows me to explore places at my own pace. For photography especially, I find it easier to stay open to unexpected moments and simply follow my instincts. The whole concept of free spirit is how I love to live.”

Hang Cone, by Alison Jagger

How would you define street photography?

“Street photography is about capturing a moment where everything comes together- the light, mood, atmosphere and human presence. For me, it’s also about finding the extraordinary in ordinary everyday scenes and encouraging people to look at familiar things in a different way.”

Where would you like to photograph that you are yet to do so?

“A recent trip to Bratislava sparked my interest in Brutalist architecture and stark urban environments. I’d now love to photograph some of the well-known Brutalist locations in London.”

Where else will you be exhibiting in 2026?

“Moving forward in 2026, I will be involved in several more exhibitions curated by RARE Collective. Namely City Screen Picturehouse, York, along with artists Sharon McDonagh (spAm) and DJ Sola. Also I’ll be exhibiting at Acomb Fest in July.”

May 5, 2026May 6, 2026

How Lovely for online sketch star Daniel Foxx to play Pocklington Arts Centre, navigating realities of dating in 30s in Oct

Daniel Foxx’s tour poster for How Lovely

ONLINE sensation, comedian and author Daniel Foxx will bring his new stand-up show, How Lovely, to Pocklington Arts Centre on October 31.

Best known for his viral comedy sketches, Foxx has amassed millions of views across social media. His on-screen appearances span BBC One, BBC Three, ITV and Comedy Central and he has appeared live as tour support for Josh Widdicombe, Rosie Jones and Judi Love.

In How Lovely, Foxx reflects on how he was was determined to handle his Big Break-up with the grace of Julia Roberts, but didn’t, as he navigates the realities of dating in your 30s, a rising Le Creuset obsession and the pursuit of the perfect 12-step skincare routine, all while trying hard to emanate love and light.

Foxx’s debut show, Villain, toured internationally, including a sell-out run at New York’s SoHo Playhouse and London’s legendary Clapham Grand. He co-hosts the podcast Welcome To Hell with fellow comic Dane Buckley and is the author of the hit book Bedtime Stories For Privileged Children. His latest tour show will look to build on that momentum.

Foxx’s appearance adds to a packed 2026 comedy programme at Pocklington Arts Centre, where upcoming shows include Andy Parsons’ Please #@!$ To Mars on May 22 (8pm); Rich Hall’s Chin Music, June 10 (8pm), Hal Cruttenden’s Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It, June 12 and 13 (7.30pm); Neil Delamere in Reinventing The Neil, July 30 (7.30pm) and PAC Comedy Club, featuring Rob Deering, Eleanor Tiernan, Oliver Bowler and Tom Wrigglesworth, October 1 (8pm).

Daniel Foxx: “Determined to handle his Big Break-up with the grace of Julia Roberts”

Further dates for the diary are: Ignacio Lopez in Nada, October 3 (8pm); Simon Evans in Staring At The Sun, October 21 (7.30pm); Tez Ilyas’s Tez Things I Hate About You, October 23 (8pm) and Brian Bilston’s How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, November 14, 7.30pm.

Pocklington Arts Centre’s Comedy Festival will take place on May 30, opening with Seeta Wrightson’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview of Middling at 1pm, followed by Out Of The Box at 2pm and Brennan Reece’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview of New Jokes at 2.45pm.

Marcel Lucont will present Les Enfants Terribles – A Game Show For Awful Children at 4pm. Then come Tom Neenan’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview at 4.30pm; Sarah Roberts’ work-in-progress Fringe Preview at 6.15pm and the Mixed Bill finale at 8pm, bringing together Lou Wall, Marcel Lucont, Tal Davies, Pravanya Pillay and Raj Poojara, hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

Tickets for all shows are available from pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

DANIEL Foxx’s How Lovely tour also will visit Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre on May 30 at 7.45pm. Box office: 01723 370541 or www.sjt.uk.com.

May 2, 2026May 5, 2026

More Things To Do in York and beyond. Hutch’s List No. 17, from The York Press

Eileen Walsh in rehearsal for her lead role as Sheila Gold in the world premiere of The Psychic at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan

DYSON and Nyman’s world premiere dark thriller and women sporting Holmes & Watson waxed moustaches tickle Charles Hutchinson’s fancy in his recommendations for the week ahead.

World premiere of the week: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, until May 23

Writer-directors Andy Nyman, left, and Jeremy Dyson in the rehearsal room for The Psychic. Picture: Manuel Harlan

Cutting-edge music and art collaboration of the week: York Late Music presents Late Music Ensemble: Picture This!, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate York, tonight, 7.30pm

INSPIRED by the relationship between visual art and music, Picture This! explores how composers have responded to artworks across time, from Modest Mussorgsky to the present day.

Today’s audience is invited on a promenade through an imagined exhibition, where works by Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Bridget Riley and John Martin, alongside sculpture by Alexander Calder, are reflected in a musical programme featuring a new arrangement of Pictures At An Exhibition, Igor Stravinsky’s miniature tribute to Pablo Picasso, songs by Don van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) and David Byrne, plus new works. Nick Williams gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.

Feeling his collar: Tom Davis in Spudgun, full of freshly cooked observations on life’s hot topics

Comedy gig of the week: Tom Davis in Spudgun, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm

CROYDON comedy turn, actor and podcaster Tom Davis is back on the road, firing out his freshly cooked observations on life’s hot topics. Co-host of the Wolf And Owl podcast with Romesh Ranganathan, star of BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning comedy series Murder In Successville and BBC One comedy King Gary, he also has his own Sky and NOW TV special, Underdog. “Get ready,” he says. “This one is fully loaded.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Hank, Pattie & The Current: Innovative twist on traditional bluegrass at Selby Town Hall

Bluegrass gig of the week: Hank, Pattie & The Current, Selby Town Hall, tonight, 7.30pm

HARD-HITTING bluegrass pickers who moonlight as symphonic classical musicians, Hank, Pattie & The Current approach their string band much as they would a string quartet. The Raleigh, North Carolina four-piece are led by Hank Smith’s banjo and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw’s fiddle in an innovative twist on traditional bluegrass flavoured with classical, Motown, jazz and pop. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.

Steve Cassidy: Leading his band through rock and country numbers at the JoRo

Vintage performance of the week: Steve Cassidy Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm

THE Steve Cassidy Band return to their favourite home-city venue with guests in tow for a night of rock and country music chosen to appeal to all age groups. Steve, a three-time winner on New Faces, recorded with John Barry as a teenager and performed on shows with legends of the music industry. His line-up features John Lewis, guitar, George Hall, keyboards, Mick Hull, bass, guitar and ukulele, and Brian Thomson, percussion. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Katherine Priddy: Showcasing new album These Frightening Machines at Pocklington Arts Centre

Folk gig of the week: Katherine Priddy, Pocklington Arts Centre, Sunday, 8pm

AFTER writing and recording two songs with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and appearing on Later…With Jools Holland, Birmingham folk singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy released her third album, These Frightening Machines, in March on Cooking Vinyl.

Priddy’s new compositions explore what it means to keep going when things fall apart, to hold on to connections in a world that sometimes divides and to figure out where we fit into the machines and systems we find ourselves confronting. Northallerton singer-songwriter George Boomsma supports. Box office: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Farewell tour for opera impresario and director Ellen Kent

Exit stage left: Ellen Kent, The Farewell Tour, Madama Butterfly, May 3, 7.30pm, and Carmen, May 4, 7.30pm, both at Grand Opera House, York

OPERA impresario and director Ellen Kent is on the road with her farewell tour, presented by Senbla, featuring Opera International Kyiv, from Ukraine, in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen.

Sung in Italian with English surtitles, Madama Butterfly’s heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant will be led by sopranos Elena Dee and Viktoria Melnyk, mezzo-soprano Yelyzaveta Bielous and tenors Oleksii Srebnytskyi and Hovhannes Andreasyan. Sung in French with English surtitles, Carmen promises passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias, performed by Dee, Melynk and Mariia Davydova. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson, left, and Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskerville

Mystery thriller of the week: Neon Crypt in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 5 to 9, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee

The poster artwork for K-Pop All Stars, bound for Grand Opera House, York

Tribute gig of the week: K-Pop All Stars, Grand Opera House, York, May 6, 7pm

Dervish: Traditional Irish folk music at National Centre for Early Music. Picture: Tim Jarvis

Recommended but sold out already: Dervish, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, May 6, 7.30pm

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

Teddy Thompson to play All Saints Church in Pocklington on Never Be The Same Tour. Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, awaits too

Teddy Thompson: Releasing 11th album, Never Be The Same, on May 15

TEDDY Thompson will bring his Never Be The Same UK Tour to All Saints Church, Pocklington, in a June 6 show promoted by Hurricane Promotions.

The London-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter will play a second Yorkshire gig on his 13-date British and Irish itinerary at Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, on June 11.

Thompson, 50, will be showcasing Never Be The Same, his 11^th album, featuring his first collection of original material since Heartbreaker Please in 2020, to be released on May 15 on RPF Records/Royal Potato Family on CD, digital, and vinyl formats.

Across ten tracks, Thompson refines his craft via an exploration of music’s enduring preoccupations: love, longing and the uneasy passage of time.

The album was not built on a grand narrative. There was no self-imposed exile, no forced reinvention. Instead, it is centred around an exhortation threaded through the songs like a refrain, namely “Never Be The Same”, whose title only revealed itself to Thompson after he had completed the recording.

“It’s a phrase that, unconsciously, I used twice,” he says. “And when I saw it on the page, I realised, this is the message of this album. Don’t ever be the same. Change. Grow! Even when the sentiment is, ‘woe is me’, I’ll never recover after that love or loss. The message is still, change. Don’t get too comfortable. Everything is temporary, so evolve or perish!”

This pull and tension between comfort and change runs quietly throughout the album, produced by Grammy Award–winning musician/producer David Mansfield.

At the core is Thompson’s longstanding commitment to songwriting as a form, inspired by early influences such as Chuck Berry, Hank Williams and Crowded House, as well as the towering figures of the craft, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles and, certainly, his parents, British folk icons Richard and Linda Thompson.

The poster artwork for Teddy Thompson’s gig at All Saints Church, Pocklington

For Thompson, the search for this truth starts with authenticity and personal experience. “Songwriting is magical,” he says. “You can hear 100 people sing ‘I love you,’ and you know which one is telling the truth. If the root of the sentiment is authentic, it will resonate.”

The album’s first single, So This Is Heartache, is a bruised waltz for the broken- hearted. Reminiscent of the golden age of Stax Records, it weds Thompson’s keening tenor and soaring falsetto with a classic soul feel and a warm horn section.

“If you sit down to write the most raw emotion you can summon, most of the time it’s going to touch on some kind of loss,” he says. “People will say, ‘Oh, you poor thing,’ but it’s not that I’ve had more heartbreak than anybody else; I just wrote it down.”

A crucial presence throughout the album is Mansfield, who also helmed My Love Of Country, Thompson’s 2023 country covers project. Mansfield once again presents Thompson with a deft touch, framing his vocals in elegant and understated arrangements.

“He’s a big part of the aesthetic. We work very well together; we are simpatico,” says Thompson. “It’s a great feeling to put someone else in charge after having the songs rolling around in your head for ages. Once you’ve done the writing, you’re able to just be the singer. The sound of the record is down to him; he did an amazing job.”

On Come Back, Thompson begs for redemption with a departed lover whom he did not do enough to retain, alternately grappling with the need for self-improvement and pleading for a return. Baby It’s You is the album’s most tender moment, a yearning ballad juxtaposed by a chorus that could fill a stadium and punctuated by John Grant’s wicked, percolating synthesisers.

I Remember is the stuff of nostalgia, wherein Thompson recalls the angst of childhood and the soothing “pale, rock pool eyes” of the one who set him on his path. There is even an appropriately dry kiss-off to unnamed vices with Worst Two Weeks Of My Life.

Ultimately, Never Be The Same is an album of steady evolution, a suite of deeply considered, carefully constructed songs rooted in lived experience. If one message prevails, it is that change is not only inevitable but essential, even when you would rather stay exactly where you are.

Tickets for Pocklington and Leeds are on sale at https://www.alttickets.com/teddy-thompson-tickets.

May 1, 2026May 6, 2026

Neon Crypt bring added comic bite to The Hound Of The Baskervilles at Theatre@41

Michael Cornell’s Sir Henry Baskerville, Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes, centre, and Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles

YORK Gothic humorists Neon Crypt will serve up The Hound Of The Baskervilles with side-splitting stupidity, hot dog disguises and absolute terror at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from May 5 to 9.

Expect a relentlessly silly, very funny and very fast-paced show suitable for all ages, albeit with some mild peril, as Laura McKeller, Laura Castle and Michael Cornell tackle a typically high-brow, 120-minute adaptation by Peepolykus co-founder John Nicholson, in the wake of staging Nicholson and Le Navet Bete’s Dracula: The Bloody Truth last May.

Directed by Jamie McKeller, alias York ghost walk supremo Dr Dorian Deathly of Deathly Dark Tours, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated Sherlock Holmes story is given a madcap makeover as Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to investigate the ancient curse of the Hound of the Baskervilles.

To do so, they must unravel the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, who is found dead on his estate, with a look of terror still etched on his face and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body.

The Hound Of The Baskervilles director Jamie McKeller in Dr Dorian Deathly ghost walk guide mode

“Our memories of The Hound Of The Baskervilles in York go way back to York Theatre Royal doing it with panto villain David Leonard as Holmes [in 2016],” says Jamie. “Within Neon Crypt, there are four of us, and we get together to throw it around the room, saying ‘you read this part’, ‘you read that part’, and it ended up landing the way it has with the two Lauras as Holmes and Watson and Michael playing Sir Henry Baskerville, Sir Charles Baskerville, Dr Mortimer, a cabbie and multiple meat-wielding Yokels.

“We knew one of us would direct the show, and the general feeling was that it would go a certain way, but it didn’t go the way we thought it would! I thought I’d end up as Holmes because he’s so stoic, but then Laura [McKeller] read the part and nailed the arrogance and Basil Rathbone air of ‘Britishness’.

“Laura [Castle] has such an everyman quality to her acting, and she started to read Dr John Watson in an Received Pronunciation English accent, but I said, ‘no, give me Bradford, give me the moors, give me West Yorkshire’, and that’s how she’s now playing him.”

Laura C will focus on Watson and a Yokel, while Laura M will be even busier in her multi-role-playing duties than Cornell. “She’s doing at least ten roles because Holmes is not always present. She’ll be Mr and Mrs Barrymore; the train guard; Cecile Stapleton; Jack Stapleton and Slasher Selden, ‘the Notting Hill murderer’, among others,” says Jamie.

Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes in hot dog disguise in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of he Baskervilles

“She has to go off, change character and be back on in a heartbeat – and our stage manager, Rebecca Payne, will be multi-rolling too with all the scenes changes, costume changes and props, so she’s as much a character in the show as the other three. Though she doesn’t say anything, she has to do a lot on stage, with the running joke of the cast tipping her every time she comes on but becoming more and more begrudging about doing that.”

Analysing The Hound Of The Baskervilles’ abiding popularity, Jamie says “It’s a good sleuth story where the audience feels ‘Let’s go sleuthing’. If anything, in this version, the story is on the backburner, so there are moments when the sleuthing is going on, where we have to find the chance to hit the brakes to say to the audience, ‘Are you keeping up?’.

“We’re staging it on a thrust set design, so the audience are invited into the action straightaway. Within 30 seconds, the house lights are up and the audience are involved.

“The show is right up our street in terms of silliness, and though we place it in the late-1800s, with Watson in a Victorian two-piece and Holmes in a deer stalker and cape, the cast can break out of the period setting, like the moment when they pull out a mobile phone.”

No smoke without (gun) fire: Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles

The two Lauras wore Holmes and Watson’s waxed moustaches in rehearsal for the first time last night (30/4/2026). “But Laura M is no stranger to having moustaches and mono-brows on stage,” says Jamie. “Laura C likes to do her nails with themed symbols on: bats for her Dracula last time; now moustaches on blue nails for Doctor John Watson!”

From Star Wars music in one scene to the bubbling bromance of Holmes and Watson, anything could happen in Neon Crypt’s show. “I think there’s permission that if anyone ‘cracks’ on stage in a preposterous comedy, it’s not the end of the world,” posits Jamie. “It makes it feel more grounded, and you’re at such close quarters with the audience at Theatre@41 that it’s a really transformative venue, where you can have it anyway you want.”

Jamie has plenty on his thespian plate, by the way. “I’ll be playing Frank in Jim Paterson’s production of Educating Rita for Black Treacle Theatre in June, and with the volume of lines in each show, I couldn’t have done both Sherlock and Frank,” he says.

Neon Crypt in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 5 to 9, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Florence Poskitt: Playing hairdresser and Open University Eng Lit student Rita in Black Treacle Theatre’s June production of Educating Rita

YORK company Black Treacle Theatre will present Educating Rita, Willy Russell’s warm, witty and moving two-hander about the power of education to change lives, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from June 9 to 13.

Company founder and director Jim Paterson will direct Jamie McKeller and Florence Poskitt in Russell’s tale of Rita, a working-class hairdresser hungry for something more, signing up for an Open University literature course.

There she meets Frank, a disillusioned academic whose passion for teaching has long faded. Their weekly tutorials become a battle of ideas, humour and honesty as Rita’s confidence blossoms and heavy-drinking Frank wrestles with his demons and the possibility of a second chance.

As Rita discovers the worlds of art, culture and self-expression, she begins to question the life others expect her to live. Change, however, comes with difficult choices, whereupon both teacher and student must reconsider who they are and who they want to be. Tickets for the 7.30pm performances are on sale at tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Coming next from Neon Crypt

NEON Crypt will stage The Battersea Poltergeist and Uncanny podcaster, broadcaster and journalist Danny Robbins’s smart, modern-day London supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, in Halloween week.

“Nick Hern Books contacted us to say the rights were becoming available from midday that day and would we be interested?” says Neon Crypt artistic director Jamie McKeller, who will feature in the cast alongside Laura McKeller, Laura Castle and Michael Cornell, directed by Alex King.

More details will follow.

Dr Dorian Deathly: Making the Grand Opera House his latest haunt for ghost stories

Deathly Dark Tours to go behind scenes at Grand Opera House on May 25

DR Dorian Deathly, alias Jamie McKeller, is teaming up with the Grand Opera House, York, for a “unique experience on stage and behind the scenes after dark” as visitors investigate the Cumberland Street theatre’s 120-year history with the York ghost walk host on May 25.

Deathly Dark Tours supremo Dorian will lead ghost-walkers on a backstage tour replete with stories of people connected with the theatre’s past. Tours will start at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

Martha Godber premieres survival tale Jesse North Is Broken at York Theatre Royal

Nursing a hangover: Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her new play Jesse North Is Broken

MARTHA Godber will perform the world premiere of Jesse North Is Broken, her solo theatre piece on the theme of working-class survival in Britain, at York Theatre Royal Studio from May 11 to 14.

Actress-writer Martha, Hull-born daughter of playwright John Godber and fellow writer-director Jane Thornton, will be directed by Millie Gaston in the John Godber Company production.

Jesse, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, Jesse North Is Broken follows her from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.

“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling, and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha.

LIPA-trained Martha last appeared on the York Theatre Royal stage in June 2025 in the John Godber Company’s tour of John Godber’s hymn to the abiding power of Northern Soul, Do I Love You?.

Martha Godber: Hull-born actress and writer

“I’m thrilled to be bringing Jesse North Is Broken to York Theatre Royal; it feels like the perfect venue to premiere the show,” she says. “As someone from Hull, I’ve always been drawn to telling northern stories, and this piece does exactly that.

“I’m passionate about creating female characters who are unapologetic, bold and command the stage, celebrating the northern female voice in all its complexity.

“At its heart, the show explores connection, pain, love and loss, set against the realities of government policy, the care system and the social pressures of a working-class town. It’s a fearless piece of new writing and I hope it resonates deeply with contemporary audiences.”

Jesse North Is Broken emerged from Martha “always thinking about different ideas for writing about”. “I was also a bit fed up of the type of roles I was going for as a female and especially as a northern female,” she says. “I wanted to do something that was visceral, female, brash, on stage.

Martha Godber, right, and Chloe McDonald in John Godber’s hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You?

“I originally wrote it on the train from London to Hull, when I was feeling, ‘I need to get something written down’, as I was interested in doing a spoken-word piece – and it just fell out of me, the first draft.”

She was drawn to the subject of care work from her family experiences at the time. “My grandparents were having carers coming in, and I thought maybe I could draw these two things together as originally it was about a young Hull woman’s night out,” says Martha.

“Then I interwove the care worker and the subject of people at work into the story: that thing of working in a pressured environment, where there’s a lot of end-of-life care. That experience of going out at night as a young vibrant woman and yet dealing with people in need of that care.

“I was also interested in the theme of connection: how she goes from having a one-night stand to going back to the woman she’s caring for, who’s 93.”

Martha has written four drafts of her play. “Especially when it’s a new show, you are always adding new elements, particularly once we started rehearsals, but also to reflect how things have changed since meeting up with one of the care workers I spoke with,” she says.

John Godber Company’s poster artwork for Jesse North Is Broken, premiering at York Theatre Royal Studio

“I really want the play to be relevant and current, putting that on stage to make sure the subject resonates with the people watching it.”

Martha draws on her own experiences, not least in Jesse’s “ADHD-fuelled” thoughts and anxiety. “The way it comes out of my head, it makes sense to lace it into her character as it leads to spontaneous decisions within the complexity of a female character, making these decisions through the night that maybe she should not have made,” she says. “I wrote from my own experiences, as I can’t not do that, because it creates relatability.

“That’s also why I wanted to create a solo space to perform in because often there isn’t that space for women to take up, one that’s visceral and overt.”

As for the impact of her father, John Godber, on her work, Martha says: “He’s my biggest inspiration.”

John Godber Company presents Martha Godber’s Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age guidance: 15 plus. Content guidance: Strong language and sexual references. Post-show discussion: May 13. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.