The Vikings are coming as the largest festival of its kind returns to York next month. All pictures: Charlotte Graham
VOYAGING
Vikings will make a nine-day stop in York next month for the 36th annual
celebration of all things Norse, the Jorvik Viking Festival.
The
largest event of its kind in Europe, drawing 45,000 people each year, this
winter’s festival will run from February 15 to 23, incorporating two weekends to
give even more visitors a chance to explore the lives of those who settled in
the city.
Festival-goers
also can look at how Vikings were perceived by other cultures around the world
during their travels – sometimes trading, sometimes raiding.
Shield Maidens at the 2019 Jorvik Viking Festival
The
mainstay living history encampment in Parliament Street will provide a constant
presence, with the smell of woodsmoke and fresh timber filling the air from
demonstrations of Viking woodturning and metal work.
Event
manager Gareth Henry, from the festival organisers, the Jorvik Viking
Centre, says: “Weekends are by far the busiest time for the Jorvik Viking Festival, and incorporating two weekends
makes the festival accessible to any families whose half-term holidays don’t
align with those of York and North Yorkshire.
“We’re
hoping that more people than ever before come along to experience a slice of
our proud Norse heritage and enjoy the vast range of events on offer this year.”
Strong Viking women at last year’s Jorvik Viking Festival
Across
the nine days, a host of events, activities, demonstrations and talks are
available, many of them free of charge as part of the educational goals of York
Archaeological Trust, the Jorvik Viking Centre owners.
“Being
surrounded by all things Viking is a superb and fun way of learning about this
remarkable culture,” says marketing manager Beth Dawes.
“Whether
you spend time chatting to the re-enactors who repopulate the Viking city for
us; attending lectures and expert talks; trying out new skills in a hands-on
workshop, or even just watching the magnificent March To Coppergate through the
city streets, everyone takes away something new when they visit.”
Voyaging Vikings ahoy: the 36th Jorvik Viking Festival in York is fast approaching
New
for 2020 will be a Viking costume competition, looking to find the best-dressed
Viking in York on Saturday, February 15 at 3pm on the festival’s St Sampson’s
Square stage.
New
too, a Trichinopoly workshop, teaching the art of Viking wire weaving on February
18, has sold out already.
A new
route will be announced for the parade through the city centre, March to
Coppergate, on Saturday, February 22, giving new opportunities to photograph around
200 costumed re-enactors as they walk through the city streets.
Full
details of all the 2020 festival events are available online at jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk,
where visitors can pre-book tickets for key events. Some events, including
the Viking Banquet on February 15 and the night-time son-et-lumiere Battle
Spectacular in the Land of Darkness, have sold out, so reservations for other
activities and the lecture programme are recommended strongly.
Alan Ayckbourn: 84th full-length play Truth Will Out will be premiered this summer at the SJT. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
THE truth is out. Alan Ayckbourn’s 84th full-length play will
be premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, this summer.
Truth Will Out, Ayckbourn’s up-to-the-minute
satire on family, relationships, politics and the state of the nation, will run
on various dates in the SJT programme between August 20 and October 3.
Written and directed
by the former SJT artistic director, it follows hot on the heels of Ayckbourn’s
80th birthday play, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, in 2019.
“Everyone has secrets,” entices the new play’s
synopsis. “Certainly, former shop steward George, his right-wing MP daughter
Janet, investigative journalist Peggy, and senior civil servant Sefton, do.
“And all it’s going to take is one tech-savvy
teenager with a mind of his own and time on his hands to bring their worlds
tumbling down – and maybe everyone else’s along with them. A storm is brewing…”
Jemma Churchill and Naomi Petersen in Alan Ayckbourn’s 80th birthday play, Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, at the SJT in September 2019. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
As is customary in the SJT summer season, Ayckbourn also will direct an Ayckbourn
revival, this time his 20th play, the very dark Just Between
Ourselves, premiered at the Library Theatre,
Scarborough, on January 28 1976, followed by its London premiere at the Queen’s
Theatre on April 20 1977.
Ayckbourn calls it one of his “winter” plays,
written in the winter months, like Ten Times Table and Joking Apart, wherein he
attributed their darkness to being penned at this time of year.
Booked into the SJT diary for performances on
various dates from June 18 to October 3, Just Between Ourselves dissects man’s
inadvertent inhumanity to woman.
Dennis thinks he is a master at DIY and a perfect husband. In reality,
he is neither of those things. When he decides to sell his car, Neil turns up
as a potential buyer, wanting it for his wife Pam’s birthday.
The two couples become unlikely friends, aided and abetted by Dennis’s meddling live-in mother, Marjorie. A collision course is inevitable in “the one with the car”, set in a garage and a garden over four successive birthdays.
Northern Broadsides head from Halifax to Scarborough with Quality Street in May
SJT artistic director Paul Robinson will direct The Ladykillers, Graham
Linehan’s spin on the 1955 Ealing comedy motion picture screenplay by William
Rose, by special arrangement with StudioCanal and Fiery Angel, London.
This in-house production, playing on various dates between July 9 and
August 15, will re-tell the story of the sweetest of sweet little old ladies, alone at home but for a parrot with
a mystery illness. Both of them are at the mercy of a ruthless gang of criminal
misfits, who will stop at nothing to achieve what they want. Surely there can
only be one possible outcome?
Linehan’s writing credits include Father Ted, Black
Books, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong and Motherland. Now comes The
Ladykillers, to be directed by Robinson with the stylish madcap humour that he
brought to The 39 Steps in 2018.
Meanwhile, the SJT has confirmed South Yorkshireman
Nick Lane will write the winter show for The Round for the fifth year in a row
after his off-the-wall Christmas adaptations of Pinocchio, A Christmas Carol, Alice
In Wonderland and Treasure Island.
Lane’s idiosyncratic take on Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Snow
Queen will be directed by Robinson, with music and lyrics once more by Simon
Slater, for a run from December 3 to 30.
Katie Arnstein in Sexy Lamp: playing the SJT on May 26
The SJT’s own productions will be complemented by a busy season of visiting
shows, such as The Canary And The Crow on May 7 and 8, Middle Child’s
grime and hip hop-inspired gig theatre show about the journey of a working-class
black child accepted into a prestigious grammar school.
In Where There’s Muck There’s Bras, on May 7, North
Yorkshire stand-up poet Kate Fox offers a comical and thought-provoking insight
into “the real Northern Powerhouse: Northern Women – the sung and the unsung”.
On May 9, Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers presents
a thrilling story told through performance, games and
creative play that explores such extraordinary Dahl tales as Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and The
Twits.
Quality Street, new artistic director Laurie Sansom’s directorial debut for Halifax company Northern Broadsides, will be on tour at the SJT from May 12 to 16. This Broadsides production is a rare revival of Peter Pan author JM Barrie’s delicious farce, a play so well known in its day that it gave its name to the ever-popular British chocolates, made in Halifax since 1936.
Key date for Alistair McGowan: piano and comedy on May 21 at SJT
Alistair McGowan: The Piano Show on May 21 combines the satirical Evesham
comedian’s impressionist skills with his new-found prowess on the piano.
In It’s Miss Hope Springs, on May 23, self-confessed “blonde bombsite” Ty Jeffries plays the piano and sings mind-bogglingly catchy numbers from her all-original self-penned repertoire.
Scarborough’s Elvis tribute act, Tony Skingle, presents Elvis – The ’68 Comeback on May 24. Two nights later, Sexy Lamp asks: “Have you ever been treated like an inanimate object?” in Katie Arnstein’s show that combines comedy, original songs and storytelling to “shed a bright light on how ridiculous the industry can be and why Katie is refusing to stay in the dark”.
Sexy Lamp is pitched “somewhere between the comedy of Victoria Wood, the
comfort of going for a drink with your best mate, and the high drama of Hamlet
(although it is nothing like Hamlet”.
Hope springs eternal : It’s Miss Hope Springs plays SJT on May 23
Anglo-Japanese theatre company A Thousand Cranes visit Scarborough with The Great Race! on May 29 and 30. This thrilling story of how the Eastern Zodiac calendar was created is billed as “the perfect show for children in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics”.
Forged Line Dance Company’s Treasure, on June 3, will be a fearless and
physical dance performance that explores “our innate human fascination with our
seas and coastlines”.
In Chores on June 20, two brothers must hurry to clean their
room before their mum comes back. What could possibly go wrong in a circus-comedy
for the whole family, all the way from Australia?
Great Yorkshire Fringe favourites Morgan & West serve up Unbelievable
Science on September 19, when they combine captivating chemistry,
phenomenal physics and bonkers biology in a fun-for-all-the-family science
extravaganza.
Mischievous magical science double act Morgan & West in Unbelievable Science on September 19
Tickets for all shows are priced from £10 and will go on general sale from Friday, March 13, preceded by priority booking for the theatre’s membership scheme, The Circle, from March 6, on 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.
Back together at Leeds First Direct Arena: Michael Ball and Alfie Boe
CHART-TOPPING duo Michael Ball and Alfie Boe will play Leeds First
Direct Arena on February 25 on their Back Together tour.
The singing double act will be on an arena tour from February 22 to
March 7 for ten dates in the wake of the November 2019 release of their third
album, Back Together, on Decca Records.
The album of duets features The Greatest Show; Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again; Sunrise, Sunset; Circle Of Life; Come Fly With Me; Queen Medley; My Way; Something Inside So Strong; I Will Always Believe; Let It Be Me; Somethings Gotten Hold Of My Heart; Army and Brothers In Arms.
Back Together follows the success of Ball and Boe’s debut, Together, Britain’s best-selling album of 2016, and 2017 number one Together Again, the latest addition peaking at number two in the charts en route to achieving gold sales.
After decorated careers in theatre and opera, Ball and Boe have sold more than one million albums in the UK, received two Classic BRIT awards and presented two ITV specials.
Last August Ball and Boe returned to Boublil and Schoenberg’s musical Les
Miserables for a 16-week run at the Gielgud Theatre, London.
For ticket availability for February 25, go to firstdirectarena.com/events/.
Architect’s visualisation of the redeveloped Opera North estate, showing the Howard Assembly Room, new restaurant, box office and atrium on the left and the Howard Opera Centre on the right.
OPERA North’s redeveloped headquarters in Leeds will bear
the name of philanthropist Dr Keith Howard OBE.
The Howard Opera Centre will take on this title in
recognition of the Yorkshire benefactor’s personal gift of £11.25 million
towards the opera company’s redevelopment project, Music Works.
It is thought to be among the largest private donations ever made to a British arts company outside of London.
Dr Howard, a lifelong opera lover and cricket fan, is the founder of Emerald Group Publishing and president of Opera North.
The Howard Opera Centre will house Opera North’s rehearsal studios, costume and wigs workshop and administrative offices.
The redevelopment work on New Briggate and Harrison Street will
create a world-class facility to make opera; a new education studio and
additional rehearsal spaces, including a new rehearsal room for Opera North’s orchestra
and chorus and a suite of music coaching rooms.
The Howard Opera Centre will join another space named ten years earlier in recognition of Dr Howard’s support for the company, the Howard Assembly Room, a 300-seat performance venue offering a diverse calendar of jazz, world music, folk, classical concerts, children’s opera, talks, film and installations.
Originally opened in 2009 after extensive restoration, the
Howard Assembly Room is closed during the Music Works redevelopment project. It
will reopen in 2021 with a new dedicated and fully accessible entrance and
atrium, an increased number of performances and a new restaurant and bar, replacing
a row of previously vacant shop units on New Briggate.
The redevelopment project began on site last summer and is being delivered by Henry Boot Construction, a Sheffield regional construction contractor with a commitment to reducing environment impacts.
The overall target for the Music Works fundraising campaign is £18 million. Opera North has raised £15.6 million to date, including the £11.25 million gift that combines £9 million with £2.25 million in Gift Aid. Leeds City Council has contributed £750,000, together with the lease of the vacant shops on New Briggate, and funding of £499,999 has been awarded by Arts Council England.
The balance of the funds raised so far has come from private
donors, trusts and supporters, including a £1 million donation from the Liz and
Terry Bramall Foundation, as well as a significant contribution from Mrs
Maureen Pettman and major gifts from private individuals.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, from Leeds City Council, left, Dr Keith Howard, and Opera North’s general director, Richard Mantle, attending the <Leeds company’s 2019/20 season launch at Harewood House. Picture: Justin Slee
In addition, gifts have been pledged by the Wolfson
Foundation, Backstage Trust, the Kirby Laing Foundation, the Foyle Foundation
and the Garfield Weston Foundation.
Although 87 per cent of the target has been raised, there
remains a funding gap of £2.4 million to close. Opera North is looking to patrons, Friends and audiences to
play their part in the success of the redevelopment at many different levels.
Work also continues to attract funding from further charitable trusts and
foundations and the business community in Leeds.
Richard Mantle, Opera North’s general director, said: ““Opera
North is delighted to be able to recognise the extraordinary generosity of our
longstanding supporter and friend, Dr Keith Howard, whose contribution to this
project means that we are able to create a new artistic home for the company,
as well as improving the infrastructure, access and visitor experience for the
Howard Assembly Room.
“The Howard Opera Centre will be a true centre of excellence, bringing together rehearsal spaces for world-class opera productions with coaching rooms, where singers can develop their vocal expertise, and specialist costume workshop spaces.
“A new hub for our education work will create an inclusive space
for our work with young people from across the city, bringing children and
young people right to the heart of our creative community.”
Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council,
said: “We are pleased to see this significant redevelopment now taking
shape, creating a vastly improved artistic and educational hub for one of
Leeds’s leading cultural assets.
“Opera North makes a huge contribution to the city, both in
terms of the vitality and diversity of work seen on stage, and also through its
work with children, young people and communities throughout our region.
“Through the revitalisation of a neglected section of New Briggate, the improved facilities for the Howard Assembly Room will work in tandem with our wider aspirations for the area as part of the Heritage Action Zones and Connecting Leeds programmes, creating a vibrant destination and supporting our plans for a better-connected city.”
Opera North employs more than 250 people, such as costume makers,
stage managers, electricians, stage technicians, props makers, sound and
lighting technicians, educators, designers and musicians, in addition to
working with around 370 freelance performers, creatives and artists each year.
Opera North’s opera productions are created and premiered in
Leeds, where the company performs at Leeds Grand Theatre each season before
touring its opera productions to theatres across the country.
The Music Works redevelopment is scheduled to be completed in phases, with the Howard Opera Centre opening in late 2020, and the Howard Assembly Room, restaurant and atrium scheduled for completion in 2021.
Watch a short film about Music Works at https://youtu.be/4xQU4q0xFD4
Work to replace the vacant shop units on New Briggate, Leeds, with a new restaurant and bar, December 2019. Picture: Tom Arber
MUSIC WORKS
“More live music, for everyone”.
More performances in the Howard Assembly Room every year;
A dedicated entrance for the Howard Assembly Room;
An open, welcoming building that is fully accessible at
all levels;
New public spaces and an atrium.
Music Works will enable Opera North to host a full
year-round programme of performances, workshops and small-scale productions in
the Howard Assembly Room, increasing the number of performances given at the
venue.
The best global musicians and artists will be brought to
Leeds each year, creating a
diverse calendar of jazz, world music, folk, classical concerts, children’s opera, talks, film and installations.
A new restaurant and bar, open to everyone all day;
A refurbished Opera North box office and reception for
Leeds Grand Theatre
Restoration of a Grade II listed building
A crane moves steel on to the construction site at the top of the new Howard Opera Centre, looking east towards the Quarry House government offices, January 2020. Picture: Tom Arber
Music Works will regenerate a row of vacant shops directly
beneath the Howard Assembly Room to
create a new restaurant and bar alongside a refurbished box office.
A new dedicated “front door” will be established for Opera North and the Howard
Assembly Room; the building will be open to everyone from morning until late at
night for coffee, lunch, dinner and drinks.
Cutting-edge facilities for making opera: The Howard Opera Centre:
A new purpose-built Music Rehearsal Studio;
Three new music practice rooms;
Refurbished Costume Workshop and Dye Room;
A new artist and Company green room.
A home for Opera North Education:
A new, flexible Education Studio;
A new music coaching room for students;
Break-out spaces and “secret garden” for school groups;
A shared entrance for students, artists and staff, placing young people at the heart of the company.
An environmentally sustainable cultural flagship for Leeds:
An environmentally sustainable and efficient estate;
Photovoltaic panels to generate energy;
A significant contribution to the New Briggate public
realm;
A major capital investment in the run up to 2023 Leeds
cultural celebrations;
Investment in digital infrastructure to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
The Sandy Denny Project: rare treat at Selby Town Hall. Picture: Paul Michael Hughes
SELBY Town Hall’s spring season opens on February 1 with an 8pm performance
by folk-rock supergroup The Sandy Denny Project, paying homage to the late
Fairport Convention folk-rock singer.
“Featuring, among others, Sally Barker, a former finalist on BBC One’s The
Voice, they don’t play a great many gigs together,” says Selby Town Council
arts officer Chris Jones. “This is one of only a couple of shows announced for
2020 – a rare treat.”
In a tragically short career – she died at the age of 31 – Sandy Denny
sealed her place among the most influential and best-loved singer-songwriters of
the past 50 years.
Britain’s pre-eminent folk-rock singer, she began her performing career
with The Strawbs, then joined Fairport Convention, formed Fotheringay and released
four solo albums.
Her song Who Knows Where The Time Goes? has been recorded by Judy
Collins, Eva Cassidy, Nina Simone and Cat Power, while her wider work has been
the subject of numerous reissues, documentaries and high-profile tribute
concerts.
Sally Barker, from The Poozies, and fellow former Fotheringay MkII member
PJ Wright, from The Dylan Project, are joined in The Sandy Denny Project by frequent
Fairport Convention guest Anna Ryder, fast-rising singer, fiddler and guitarist
Marion Fleetwood and a rhythm section of bassist Mat Davies and drummer Mark
Stevens, from the now-defunct folk-rock group Little Johnny England.
Sandy Denny’s writing is approached not in the manner of a tribute band slavishly
copying the records, but as an interpretation of her work by six musicians who
share a folk-rock pedigree.
“Although Sandy died in 1978, her songs remain as fresh, poignant and as
beautiful today as the time that they were penned, and with every year her
reputation as a songwriter and interpreter of traditional material continues to
grow,” says Chris.
“The repertoire of The Sandy Denny Project reflects the amazing legacy
left behind by Sandy, through her work with the early incarnations of Fairport
Convention, the sublime Fotheringay and her incredible solo songs.
“February 1 is a rare chance to see these six fantastic musicians
perform their pitch-perfect tribute. The band really are of the highest
folk-rock calibre and this is an opportunity no folk fan will want to miss.”
Tickets cost £19 on 01757 708449 or at selbytownhall.co.uk or £21 on the door from 7.30pm.
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Giovanni Pernice will lead his cast of professional dancers in This Is Me at York Barbican on June 11.
For his fourth year of touring, the 29-year-old
Sicilian will be joined by leading lady Giulia Dotta, a professional dancer
on Dancing With The Stars Ireland, who performed with Pernice on his first
two solo tours and has appeared around the country in shows such as Rip It
Up and Here Come the Boys.
The poster for This Is Me, Giovanni Pernice’s new touring show
In the company too will be Oksana and
Jonathan Platero. Oksana is a former Strictly professional, reaching the
quarter-final with Judge Rinder in 2016. Her husband, Jonathan, is a world
salsa champion and they both dance on the Latin version of So You Think
You Can Dance? on American television.
The line-up of dancers from around the world also will include Larisa
Untila, Valerio La Pietra and Domenico Palmisano.
This Is Me is directed and choreographed by dance power-couple Trent
Whiddon and Gordon Grandosek Whiddon. This duo has performed in such
shows as Burn The Floor and on screen in Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing
With The Stars, as well as creating the musical Le Hotel.
Giovanni Pernice on stage, leading his company of dancers
Pernice’s new show will pay homage to the music and dances that
have inspired a career that has taken him from competition dancer to Strictly
regular on BBC One.
Last
summer, Strictly trio Pernice, Aljaž Škorjanec and Gorka Marquez played Harrogate Convention Centre
on June 25 and Hull Venue on July 17 on their 38-date Here Come The Boys tour.
Tickets for This Is Me’s 7.30pm performance are on sale on 0203 356 5441, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.
Jess Thomas: artist, play worker and comedian , hosting Heroes Of The Imagination
THE world’s first Tourette’s superhero lands in Scarborough Art Gallery this February half-term with a free “interactive, inclusive and incredible” superhero-themed experience.
Heroes Of The Imagination, from 10am to 1pm on Saturday, February 22, invites
disabled and non-disabled children to discover their own powers, create a
superhero identity and use their imagination to change the world.
Touretteshero herself will be there with her team to help children make
masks, create capes, perfect their moves and launch their new superheroes in a
magical photo studio.
Touretteshero was founded by Matthew Pountney and Jess Thom, an artist, play worker and comedian who has Tourette’s syndrome and finds her tics are a source of imaginative creativity. She has never been seen in the same room as Touretteshero, by the way!
Children taking part in a previous Touretteshero event
“Touretteshero needs you!” says Jess. “Bring your ideas, excitement and
energy to celebrate difference and save the world from dullness.”
Scarborough Museums Trust chief executive Andrew Clay says: “We’re excited to host internationally acclaimed company Touretteshero to inspire and energise us in our journey towards becoming more accessible and inclusive.
“We have some way to go but
we’re committed to radically improving access over the next few years,
particularly at Scarborough Art Gallery, including installing a lift.”
Taking place on the ground floor of the gallery, in The Crescent, this celebration of creativity,
imagination and neurodiversity will allow children to choose and move between
activities.
Another Touretteshero event in Scarborough
There will be a chill-out area, quiet and busy spaces and plenty of
staff and helpers on hand, plus a Mobiloo outside the gallery on The Crescent: a
Changing Places accessible loo with an adult-size changing bed and ceiling
hoist.
The fully accessible, multi-sensory drop-in activities for disabled and
non-disabled children and their grown-up sidekicks are free, but places are
limited and booking is essential. The event is recommended
particularly for children aged five to 13.
Further free half-term events being run by Scarborough Museums Trust include:
Fabulous
Fossils, Rotunda Museum, Tuesday, February 18, 10.30am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to
3pm;
Superheroes
of Science, Rotunda Museum, Thursday, February 20, 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to
3pm;
Explorer
Backpacks and Trails, Rotunda Museum, Scarborough Art Gallery and Woodend,
available every day.
To book for Heroes Of The Imagination, and for more information on all the half-term events, call 01723 374753 (Scarborough Art Gallery) or 01723 353665 (Rotunda) or visit scarboroughmuseumstrust.com/whats-on/.
“It just felt like it was time,” says Damien Jurado of recording a solo acoustic album last year
SEATTLE singer-songwriter Damien Jurado will showcase his acoustic album In The Shape Of A Storm in a solo show at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on February 25.
The 47-year-old American will be playing ten dates on his
European February and March tour after releasing his 14th studio
album on April 12 last year.
Jurado always likes to work fast, but In the Shape Of A Storm
came together with unprecedented speed, even by his standards, being recorded
over the course of two hours one California afternoon.
On his sparsest album to date, gone are the thundering drums and
psychedelic arrangements that defined the trilogy of concept albums he made
with his long-time collaborator and close friend Richard Swift.
Gone too is the atmospheric air that hovered above his early
albums for Sub Pop. Here, instead, there is only Jurado’s voice, acoustic
guitar, and occasional accompaniment from Josh Gordon, playing a high-strung
guitar tuned Nashville style, rendering its sound spooky and celestial.
Although his fans have long requested a solo acoustic album, the
prospect never made sense to Jurado, until one day it simply did. “It just felt
like it was time,” Jurado says.
“There is nothing left to hide,” Jurado sings on the opening Lincoln,
where everything is clear and laid bare, two tone, like the drawing he crafted
for the record’s cover.
Originally written for 2000’s The Ghost Of David, Lincoln was
shelved and forgotten until Jurado rediscovered it on an old cassette tape,
inspiring him to gather up compositions that had never found proper homes. As a
result, In The Shape Of A Storm became an archive of previously abandoned
songs.
Jurado’s discography is filled with songs written as miniature
movies, cinematic vignettes that capture people, the places they are from, and
where they are going. By contrast, In The Shape Of A Storm is his first black
and white picture, both a snapshot of two hours in a California recording
studio and a document spanning 19 years and a life of music.
“I believe songs have their own time and place,” Jurado says.
For these ten, that time has finally come on album number 14.
Tickets for Jurado’s 8pm Leeds gig, when he will be supported by
Dana Gavanski, are on sale on 0113 243 0808 or at cityvarieties.co.uk.
The poster image for Eye Project, the short film for the Castle Gateway project, being shown on Clifford’s Tower, York, on Saturday
EYE Project, a new short film made by four York artists, will be
shown in a free outdoor screening on Clifford’s Tower, Tower Street, York, on
Saturday evening.
Created as part of the Castle Gateway consultation project, the film
recalls the history of the Castle Gateway, where the River Ouse and River Foss
meet, while also celebrating its future possibilities.
Emanating from the site of the former York Castle,
the area covers the length of Piccadilly, the Coppergate shopping centre,
Clifford’s Tower and the Eye of Yorkshire and runs through to St George’s Field
and the Foss Basin.
Artists Rich Corrigan, Jade Blood, Julia Davis Nosko and Mat
Lazenby worked with hundreds of young York people and InkBlot Films to “explore
the ways we can shape and influence the future of Castle Gateway through a
major development of the site”.
Overseen by Kaizen Arts Agency and English Heritage, Eye Projectwill be shown from the Castle car park between 5.30pm and 8.30pm on
Saturday as part of this weekend’s York Residents Festival.
The public will have an opportunity to have a say about the area’s
future during the screening by using #eyeprojectyork.
Andrea Selley, historic properties director at English Heritage,
says: “Any consultation process is interesting but this one has been
particularly so: listening to the views that young people have about that the
Castle Gateway space and seeing the passion and creativity of their ideas has
been fascinating and insightful.
“Clifford’s Tower, centred so prominently in the city centre, is
an apt place to project such a creative community-led project and we’re pleased
that the tower has been part of this.”
The poster for Conflux, one of three Castle Gateway project commissions
Rebecca Carr, Kaizen Arts Agency’s artistic director, says: “We
aim to bring York residents into this conversation who wouldn’t usually engage
in a traditional consultation. This project is presenting different ways to
share ideas; it creates another way to explore the place, while at the same
time activating the site, and beginning to shape it into the place we might
want it to be.
“People sometimes feel as if their voice isn’t heard, or their
opinion is not valued, so we’re really excited to be part of a team that aims
to change that.”
Eye Project is the third in a trio of art commissions to be presented as part of City of York Council’s consultation on Castle Gateway, using art to reference the past while looking to the future of the iconic city-centre site.
Another of the commissions, Conflux, an hour-long audio walk collaboration
between Hannah Davies’s Common Ground Theatre and Hannah Bruce & Company, can
be downloaded
and experienced until December 2020, with more details at cgtheatre.co.uk/portfolio/conflux/.
Councillor Darryl Smalley, City of York Council’s executive member
for culture, leisure and communities,says: “Throughout the My Castle
Gateway project, we’ve looked to innovate and bring fresh ideas to capture
the views of residents, businesses and visitors about how the area can be
regenerated for the next generation.
“It’s fitting that the car park will be closed for the day [Saturday,
January 25] to showcase these ideas from York’s young people, along with local
artists, because one of the key features of the masterplan is to relocate
Castle car park to St George’s Field with a new purpose-built multi-storey car
park.
“I would urge people to come along and see the short film to
discover the heritage behind the Castle Gateway site and the ambitious
opportunities that lie ahead for the area.”
The project is funded through Leeds City Region Business Rates
Pool, a scheme that allows local authorities to retain growth in business rates
for local investment. Public funding comes from the National Lottery
through Arts Council England, with further support from City of
York Council, York Mediale and the University of York music department.
Please note: Castle car park will
be closed on January 25 for the Eye Project event.
Jam packed: Hyde Family Jam cram in the hits in their Burns Night Bonanza
YORK busking kings Hyde Family Jam present a Burns Night Bonanza at the John Cooper Studio, Theatre @41 Monkgate, York, on Saturday at 7.30pm.
“Huzzah!” says frontman and guitarist John Holt-Roberts. “We’re back, playing a gig in York to celebrate Burns Night and help you shake off the January blues. Come and stomp, dance and sing along with us.”
Hyde Family Jam, winners of the Outstanding Busker prize in the 2018 York Culture Awards, are likely to sell out. “So, get your tickets early to avoid disappointment,” urges John. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk.
