Julian Hoult, Gehane Strehler and Cassie Vallance in The Storm Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio. Picture: Northedge Photography
The Storm Whale, York Theatre Royal Studio, doing swimmingly until January 4 2020. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
CHILDREN’S author Benji Davies was in the house on press
night, travelling up from the south to see director Matt Aston’s second
adaptation of one of his stories.
Or, rather, two stories. It takes only two and a half
minutes each to read Davies’s enchanting, award-winning works The Storm Whale
and its sequel The Storm Whale In Winter. Put them together in one show divided
by an interval, and children aged four and upwards will indeed have a whale of
a time, with a little “mild peril” thrown in for the second half.
After moving to York two years ago, Aston’s company Engine
House brought Davies’s story Grandad’s Island to the Studio in February 2018,
and The Storm Whale is better still.
This time, the show is an Engine House co-production with
York Theatre Royal, The Marlowe in Canterbury and Little Angel Theatre, in
London, where it will play next winter.
As you take your seat, you take care to walk around Lydia Denno’s
typically delightful set: the wooden floor evokes a sandy sea front, with the
froth of a wave making you want to dip your toe in.
Cassie Vallance’s Noi in The Storm Whale: her second outstanding performance of the year in York
On her stage are scaled-down versions of a lighthouse that does light up, and the island home where a little boy, Noi (a name pronounced in the way the Northern Irish say “now”), lives with his fisherman Dad.
So do their six cats with such town names as Deal and
Sandwich, the latter represented by a puppet that likes to leap on to Dad’s
shoulder. The other five are in picture frames, or more precisely, bursting out
of the frames to give them life and evoke playfulness.
The house front seen in miniature is then replicated in full scale, with a washing line, fishing netting, steps, a boat and a porch, from which the endearingly awkward, thoughtful, restless Noi (Cassie Vallance) looks out, in need of company when hard-working Dad (Julian Hoult) is at sea.
Our narrator is Flo (Gehane Strehler), who looks back at
this story from the distance of initially erratic adult memories as she recalls
how she used to lick the strawberries and cream lighthouse in hope of a sweet
flavour. Flo’s own story will flow in and out of Noi’s tale, and she too is
often on her own.
“The Storm Whale stories are about loneliness, and we’re not shying away from that,” says Aston. “As Benji Davies says, ‘it’s OK to be on your own but not OK to be lonely’, and that’s absolutely true.”
Julian Hoult’s Dad and Cassie Vallance‘s Noi in a Christmas scene in The Storm Whale
Through a combination of storytelling, puppetry and Julian
Butler’s acoustic songs (one with a hint of The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York,
no less), we encounter the height of a storm and Noi’s subsequent encounter with a little
whale, washed up on the sand and soon to occupy the house bath (later doubling
as Dad’s fishing boat) as they bond in friendship. A
simple story, you might say, but that’s why it goes to your heart.
Post-interval comes the aforementioned “mild peril” as Dad undertakes his last fishing trip but his boat becomes stuck in the frozen waters of deep winter. In his absence, Noi craves seeing the whale once more, and these two storylines overlap with a sense of wonder at the finale, enhanced by the puppetry.
Vallance was last seen in York stealing scenes over the summer in the supposedly minor role of gormless, goofy servant Fabian in Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre’s jazz-age Twelfth Night, and she is a delight once more here. Her Noi is wide eyed, curious for knowledge at ten, often hunting for treasure by the sea , ready for experience and friendship, and full of love to give, coming to terms with the loss of his mother.
Hoult’s Dad is stout-hearted, kindly, jolly, but feeling the weight of responsibility of now being the sole guide for Noi. Strehler’s Flo is an engaging narrator, as she moves in and out of the storyline, in a magical, moving, beautiful show for Christmas, cotton wool snowy rooftops and all.
Meanwhile, the inaugural Aston Kaler pantomime partnership, Sleeping Beauty, runs aground in the main house until January 25, co-directed by Aston and Dame Berwick. In sole command for The Storm Whale, Aston makes a bigger splash here.
The tree in the Garden Hall, part of Castle Howard At Christmas: A Christmas Masquerade. All pictures: Charlotte Graham
THE decorative Christmas displays at Castle Howard, near York,
are the most theatrical yet.
Running until January 5 2020, A Christmas Masquerade has
taken over every public room in the historic Yorkshire house for this themed
event.
Each one is dressed in ornate and elaborate feathers,
sequins, baubles and twinkling lights as visitors join the Howard family in
their preparations for a Venetian-themed Christmas Carnival, complete with
masquerade ball and entertainment from Harlequin, Pierrot, Colombine and
Puchinello, all part of the Commedia
dell’arte troupe.
Producer Charlotte Lloyd Webber and theatrical designer
Bretta Gerecke once again have led the team of set dressers, florists,
baublographers, artists and seamstresses to create the immersive masquerade
experience.
“Castle Howard is a house that was built with a sense of theatre and extravagance inspired by Venetian design – Vanbrugh was both an architect and a playwright – and at a time of year when glittering opulence makes its way into almost every home, we couldn’t think of a better opportunity to explore a tradition enjoyed by generations of the Howard family: the masquerade ball,” says Charlotte.
Lady Georgina’s dressing room, themed around clown Puchinello at Castle Howard
“Many of the themes, colours and styles
that we have used to recreate a Venetian masquerade ball fit perfectly within
the theatrical grandeur of each room.”
The experience opens with the grand
staircase in the main hall, setting the scene for the lavish displays that
follow. Using the Venetian palate, the staircase is lavishly decorated
with sapphire blue, magenta, purple and gold.
At the top of the stairs, visitors gain
a taste of the entertainment for the forthcoming ball: multicoloured Harlequins, one of the
characters in the Commedia dell’arte, the troupe of wandering artists that
delighted 17th and 18th century
audiences with a mix of pathos, romance and slapstick.
On the China Landing, an estate-cut
twig tree has been painted in the Harlequin colours and hung with a plethora of
ornaments following the Venetian theme, while two masks give a further hint of
the ball’s lavish theme.
The following suite of four rooms
highlights the four key characters for the Commedia dell’arte visiting Castle Howard over the Christmas
period. Lady Georgiana’s bedroom is handed over to Colombine, a character
who started life in the troupe as an elegant dancer, before joining the “Zannis”
and becoming partner to both Harlequin and Pierrot.
The Hon Nicholas Howard and Victoria Howard in the Turquoise Room, decorated entirely in scarlet
Pinks, golds and silvers fill the room
to reflect the custom-made Colombine ballgown on display in the room, as if the
mistress of the house were preparing her own costume for the ball. The room also hosts the first of a special
collection of masks, hand-created by Venetian master craftsmen for Christmas at
Castle Howard: the Rosetta Mask.
The adjacent dressing room is a huge
contrast, to reflect the first of the troupe’s clowns, Puchinello, leader of the Zannis and
inspiration for the modern English use of the word “zany”. This wacky room
features an upside-down white Christmas tree, with a circus fairground
feel. The very British Punch and Judy explode out of a present in a nod
to the seaside tradition that has its origins in these Venetian artists.
A popular contemporary vision of clown
Pierrot finds him sitting in a moon, and this provides inspiration for the
Castle Howard dressing room: a dreamlike and tranquil space decorated with a
starry ceiling, gold, silver, black and white, with the character himself in a
familiar pose at the back of the room.
Harlequin’s bedroom is one of the most
lavish in the house: red, gold and green with a beautifully decorated tree,
atop which sits another ornate Venetian mask. This is the space where the
Master of the House will prepare for the ball, his Harlequin costume awaiting on
a mannequin.
The rich, bright colours of the theme
inspired the Antiques Passage, an explosion of colour featuring a jewellery box
of hues and shades presented through exotic birds and butterflies.
The 26ft Christmas tree in the Great Hall of Castle Howard, decorated with 3,500 baubles
The Castle Howard tradition of the
enormous Christmas tree continues in the Great Hall, where a remarkable 26ft
real tree is installed and covered with 3,500 baubles. “As far as we’ve
been able to tell, this is the largest Christmas tree in a stately home in the
country,” says Abbigail. “It’s certainly several feet bigger than the trees in
Buckingham Palace.”
However, the Masquerade theme is still
very evident in the room; the view up to the balcony features acrobats on the
handrail with a monochrome and a colourful Harlequin balancing there.
The influence of the Commedia dell’arte
becomes even more prominent in the three rooms on the first floor that show the
theatrical experience of masquerade and pantomime from both backstage and
audience perspectives. The display includes historic items from Castle
Howard’s collections, featuring dresses, masques and fans that would have been
worn and used by ancestors of the present custodian, the Hon. Nicholas
Howard.
On display too are wigs, make-up and other
accoutrements that would have helped the actors’ preparations for the
stage. The centrepiece of the High South
is a life-size “paper theatre”, inspired by Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop, which
uses the architectural features of Castle Howard in a colourful pantomime
display.
Returning to the ground floor, visitors
will have another behind-the-scenes peek in the room dedicated to the ruler of
Venice. The new library includes the Doge Tree, dedicated to the “Duke”
of Venice – or in Castle Howard’s case, the master of the house – and laden
with opulent Venetian glass ornaments and fabrics, with books on display all
about the Venetian masquerade – essential for planning any authentic ball.
All set for Christmas at Castle Howard
The Garden Hall’s traditional bare twig
tree returns, but this year features candle-lit decorations of brightly
coloured Venetian Glass to create a kaleidoscope effect in the room.
A special model of Castle Howard created
last year by artist Mark Bond returns to the Cabinet Room, now joined by a new
model showing the exterior landscape down the Lime Avenue. Tiny
depictions of actors and their supporting crew from the Commedia dell’arte can
be seen making their way with horses and carts on their way to the house in
this tiny display, while ladies in their ballgowns can be found on the North
Front of the main model, arriving for the ball to entertainment from a
miniature Punch and Judy show.
In the music room, one of the paintings
almost comes alive, as characters step out of Marco Ricci’s The Opera Rehearsal
and don costumes ready for the ball.
The Crimson Dining Room is a glittering
Venetian feast, the table set with a centrepiece of lions and exotic
monkeys. As Charlotte Lloyd Webber explains: “We have tried to amplify
and reveal aspects of the house that you may not have noticed with the designs.
A painting of the Grand Canal in the Crimson Dining Room, for example, is
reflected in the gondola-themed decorations in the room.”
Crimson turns to scarlet for the
drawing room – the only colour used in here – with two mannequins wearing
bespoke garments created for the room and a Venetian Fraudis Jolly, a
masquerade mask made of playing cards.
The China Landing at Castle Howard
Resuming the figurative flow of the
water in the dining room picture, the Long Gallery –the epicentre and pinnacle
of each year’s Christmas designs – recreates the glittering waterway as the
setting for the Venetian Carnival that has been teased throughout the
house.
Visitors join the guests at the
waterside Ball, its setting drawn from the imagination of Brette Gerecke, using
artistic skills and set-dressing normally seen from afar on the theatrical
stage. The “canal” itself is made from nearly 250 metres of moulded aluminium foil, on which 4,300
customised iridescent sequins have been painstakingly glued in a task that took
three people four days to complete.
At the heart of the Long Gallery is a
three-metre-wide suspended revolving Harlequin mask, one side multicoloured,
the other covered in sequins of gold, silver and bronze. One of the
windows at the octagonal centre of the gallery has been replaced with a stained-glass
window to shine coloured diamonds all over the space, even on darker winter
days, when an artificial light provides the illumination!
A mask in the Crimson Dining Room at Castle Howard for Christmas
Leaving the Long Gallery, visitors
descend to the chapel, which this year has been dressed by Slingsby School
working with Castle Howard’s charity of the year, Yorkshire Wildlife
Trust. Alongside a traditional Nativity scene, children have created
animal-themed decorations with hand-written eco-wishes. Visitors are invited to swap real coins for
chocolate ones in a donation box, with proceeds going to the charity.
Each weekend during the Christmas opening until January 5,
those visiting will be joined by members of the Commedia dell’arte troupe for
live entertainment around the house, while soundscapes and music arranged by the
Hon. Nicholas Howard provide an additional sensory appeal to the proceedings.
Head of marketing Abbigail Ollive says: “Christmas at Castle
Howard is an experience never to be forgotten, with many people returning year
after year to get their festive ‘fix’, whether to take inspiration back for
their own home designs, or simply just to marvel at how an already beautiful
property can be transformed into this magical place – a veritable festive film
set that you can walk through and admire!
“Each year’s designs are totally different, and the
jewel-like sapphire blues, ruby reds and golden amber bring a whole new colour
palette to this winter’s displays.”
Castle Howard: A Christmas Masquerade runs until Sunday, January 5 2020, closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets are on sale at castlehoward.co.uk.
Julian Hoult as Dad, Gehane Strehler as Flo and Cassie Vallance as Noi in The Storm Whale at York Theatre Royal Studio. Picture: Northedge Photography
NO theatre
director is busier in York this season than Matt Aston.
After moving to
the city two years ago, he is directing his own adaptation of Benji Davies’s children’s
stories, The Storm Whale, at the York Theatre Royal Studio and co-directing the
main-house pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, with retired dame Berwick Kaler.
Matt, whose
production of Davies’s Grandad’s Island played two seasons at the Theatre
Royal, has been able to combine the two roles, directing rehearsals for The
Storm Whale either side of overseeing rehearsals for the trademark panto mayhem
with Dame Berwick.
“The Snow Whale
was already in place for the Studio; I’d been in discussion with Damian and
Juliet [now former artistic director Damian Cruden and associate director
Juliet Forster], and then with Tom Bird [the Theatre Royal’s executive
director],” recalls Matt.
“Then, when I
had a meeting with Tom, just after Damian announced he was leaving and Berwick
had confirmed he’d be writing the script, Tom said they needed a co-director
for the panto and asked me if I would do it.
“I’d got around
to writing The Storm Whale, and I’ve done this thing before of having to juggle
with shows for Christmas, so as a way of organising it this time, I held five
weeks of rehearsals for The Storm Whale, did the tech and got the show up and
running for two performances at Pocklington Arts Centre on October 23, then put
it into storage until the panto press night.
The Storm Whale director Matt Aston. Picture: Alan Fletcher
“Sometimes it
can work better, going back to a show
after time off, so that’s what we’ve done, going into tech on December
12 and 13, dress-rehearsing on December 14, with the press night on December
17…and then I’m going to bed!”
Julian Hoult, Gehane Strehler and Cassie Vallance are performing Davies’s story of Noi, who lives with his Dad and their six cats by the sea. One winter, while his fisherman Dad was busy at work, Noi rescued a little whale that washed up on the beach during a storm.
A friendship began that night that would
change their lives forever. The following winter, Noi’s Dad takes one last trip
in his fishing boat. Noi is alone once more and longs to see his friend again,
but will it take another winter storm to bring them back together again?
“Benji Davies’s The Storm Whale
and The Storm Whale in Winter are two books very close to my heart as they’re firm
favourites with my two children,” says Matt. “It’s beyond fantastic to get the
chance to adapt both Benji’s books into one show for young people and
their families.
“And to do it again at York Theatre
Royal – after having such a brilliant time on last year’s Grandad’s Island –
has made these past few weeks and months even more exciting.”
The Storm Whale is targeted at children
aged four to seven. “But oldies will enjoy it too,” he says. “When we did the
show to a class of four to nine year olds in Pocklington, you could hear a pin
drop at times because they were so caught up in it.”
Cassie Vallance’s Noi with a Christmas decoration in The Storm Whale. Picture: Northedge Photography
The Storm Whale is told with a
combination of storytelling, song and puppetry. Is there a big whale, Matt?
“Big enough!” he says.
Writer Benji Davies paid Matt the
compliment of coming up from London to attend Tuesday evening’s performance.
“I’d met Benji through first doing Grandad’s Island two years ago, when his
publishers really liked that show and wanted me to do another one,” he says.
“After Grandad’s Island, The Storm
Whale became the obvious thing to do, but it’s always a struggle with only one
short book. The Storm Whale takes only two and a half minutes to read, but luckily
Benji had brought out another Storm Whale book, which made it ideal to combine
them as one show.
“I think it’s actually better than
Grandad’s Island in many ways, because it really feels like a proper children’s
play with two halves.”
To transform those stories from page to
stage, “you have to remember it’s a show for everyone and you must not be
frightened to have moments of mild peril in it, but first you have to gain the
children’s trust in the first half, then introduce that ‘mild peril’, and then
everything is OK at the end,” says Matt.
“The Storm Whale stories are about
loneliness, and we’re not shying away from that. As Benji says, ‘it’s OK to be
on your own but not OK to be lonely’, and that’s absolutely true.”
Staged by York Theatre Royal, Little
Angel Theatre and Matt’s company Engine House, The Storm Whale will play the
Little Angel Theatre, London, next Christmas and Matt is hoping to mount a tour
too in between, subject to gaining Arts Council funding.
Meanwhile,
after 14 years as a freelance director, Matt has notched up his first
experience of working on a York Theatre Royal pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, after
directing three rock’n’roll pantos at Leeds City Varieties and one at Theatre
Clwyd, as well as two traditional pantos at Wakefield’s Theatre Royal, Sleeping
Beauty and Aladdin.
He has worked
too with another pantomime legend, Kenneth Alan Taylor, the Berwick Kaler of
Nottingham Playhouse, where Taylor continues to write and direct the show after
retiring from the dame’s role.
“York is my
home town now and directing the pantomime was an opportunity too good to miss,”
says Matt. “I know how important the Theatre Royal pantomime is to city, where
it’s an institution, and it’s an honour to be involved.”
Sleeping Beauty runs at York Theatre Royal until January 25, The Storm Whale takes a bath at York Theatre Royal Studio until January 4. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
Madness: June 19 headliners at the first York Festival
YORK Festival, next summer’s three-day music event headlined by Madness,
Westlife and Lionel Richie, wants to raise thousands of pounds for good causes
by supporting York charities.
The organisers,
concert promoters Cuffe and Taylor, are seeking three charity partners, who
will benefit from the June 19 to 21 concerts at York Sports Club, in Clifton
Park, Shipton Road.
Charities in and
around York are asked to send an email to hello@york-festival.com to “find out how
York Festival can help you” and register their interest in becoming a partner.
Cuffe and Taylor director Peter Taylor said: “We are incredibly excited
about York Festival. This is going to be three amazing days of live music in
this wonderful and historic city, headlined by a host of global stars.
“York Festival is going to be something really special,” says Cuffe and Taylor director Peter Taylor. “What will make it extra special is if we can help good causes in the city.”
“We want to help raise funds and exposure for local good causes. Over the past
decade, we have worked with a number of fantastic charity partners at our
events right across the UK. Through these partnerships we have helped raise
more than £100,000 and we are now looking for charities based in and around
York who we can work with.
“York Festival is going to be something really special. What will make it extra
special is if we can help good causes in the city.”
Cuffe and Taylor promote the summer concert seasons at Scarborough Open Air Theatre,
bringing Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Lionel Richie to the Yorkshire coast.
They also staged Rod Stewart’s sold-out York Racecourse concert this year,
drawing 35,000 people to a specially constructed pop-up amphitheatre in the
centre of the Knavesmire course on June 1.
All night long: Lionel Richie has the York Festival stage to himself on June 21
Cuffe and Taylor previously set up Lytham Festival, a Lancashire event
that has worked with various charities over the past decade.
Trinity Hospice and Brian House Children’s Hospice in Blackpool, for
example, have benefited to the tune of £50,000.
Trinity Hospice Community fundraising manager Michelle Lonican
said: “We feel very honoured to have worked with Cuffe and Taylor on a
number of their high-profile events.
“Their support for both Trinity Hospice and Brian House has been
phenomenal, and not only have we been able to raise thousands of pounds, but
also every event has always been a fantastic opportunity for us to increase our
profile and attract new supporters.
Westlife: Playing York Festival on Summer Solstice night
“It is great to see Cuffe and Taylor launching a new festival in York
and we would urge charities there to apply to become a partner and get involved
in what will no doubt be a very successful event.”
York Festival’s debut line-up brings together headliners Madness, those Nutty
Boys from Camden Town, Lightning Seeds,funk and soul DJ Craig Charles, Leeds
indie rockers Apollo Junction and York’s Violet Contours on June 19.
Irish boy band Westlife top the Saturday bill – next year’s Summer
Solstice night – as part of their Stadiums In The Summer Tour, joined by All
Saints, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Scouting for Girls and Take That’s Howard
Donald for a DJ set.
The Sunday night focus falls on American soul and funk legend Lionel
Richie for a set of Commodores and solo hits.
For more York Festival information and tickets, go to York-festival.com.
CATS and dogs will be in
harmony on December 29 when City Screen, York, plays host to a dog-friendly screening
of the new musical fantasy film.
“We’re offering dog-lovers the chance to bring their canine friends to the cinema that morning at 11am,” says marketing manager Dave Taylor.
“A dog is not just for Christmas, but it’s Christmas for dogs too, so
this is a special treat for dog-owners and their pets.
“They’ll be issued with a fleece blanket to cover the seat used by the
dog or to use as a rug if the dog sits on the floor. During the screening, we’ll
provide bowls of water around the screen, and we’ll also leave lighting levels
a little higher than usual during the screening and lower the volume of the
soundtrack.
“Please be aware that we reduce capacity for such screenings, so there may be fewer tickets than usual. We also have a limit of one dog per adult so that people can keep control of their dog.”
City Screen has arranged dog-friendly screenings in the past. “They’ve been well received by dog-owners and have gone off without incident, though cinema staff undertake a thorough ‘deep-clean’ of the auditorium before the next film is shown,” says Dave.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, one of the most successful stage musicals of all time, has been adapted for the big screen by director Tom Hooper, who directed The Damned United in 2009, The King’s Speech in 2010, Les Misérables in 2012 and The Danish Girl in 2015.
Now he “reimagines the musical for a new generation with spectacular
production design, state-of-the-art technology and dance ranging from classical
ballet to contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, street dance and tap”.
Released this Friday, its cast of star actors and dancers includes Dame Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy; Idris Elba stars as Macavity, the mystery cat; Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots; Ray Winston, Growltiger; James Corden, Bustopher Jones; Jennifer Hudson, Grizabella; cat lover Taylor Swift, Bombalurina; Jason Derulo, Rum Tum Tigger, and Sir Ian McKellen, Gus the Theatre Cat.
Oscar winner Hooper wrote the script with Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall, based on T.S. Elliot’s whimsical Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats.
Tickets for Cats (U) on December 29 are on sale on 0871 902 5747, at picturehouses.com or in person from the City Screen box office. “You’re also welcome without a dog,” says Dave.
The York Waits: festive songs, carols and celebratory music at the NCEM
THE York Waits celebrate Christmas in tomorrow’s concert at the National Centre for Early Music, York, when they will be joined by singer Deborah Catterall.
The start of Christmas was traditionally announced at the entrances to York on December 21, St Thomas’s Day, with the reading by the Sheriffs of the Yoole-girthol, with the Waits’ shawm band in attendance.
This proclamation declared “an amnesty to all nere-do-wells and unthrifty folk” and invited 12 days of merriment in the city.
The York Waits recreate this atmosphere with festive songs, carols and celebratory music from across mediaeval and Renaissance England and Europe, performed on loud and quiet wind consorts, bowed and plucked strings, the rustic bagpipes and vielle.
The York Waits will be in conversation at the NCEM at 7pm before their 7.30pm concert programme. Tickets cost £23, concessions £21, on 01904 658338 or at tickets.ncem.co.uk.
Going out: Supergrass have a run of gigs next summer
EVERYTHING has aligned for Supergrass on the “improbable comeback”
trail.
The Oxford four-piece of Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, Rob Coombes and Mick Quinn will head to Scarborough Open Air Theatre on June 20 next summer, with tickets going on sale at 9am on Friday.
Coming first will be Supergrass: The Strange Ones 1994-2008, released on
BMG on January 24 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of their chart-topping
debut album I Should Coco.
This box set stacks up their six albums on picture-disc LP and CD; bonus CDs of unreleased live material; B-sides; remixes; rarities; studio out-takes; demos; acoustic versions; oddities, new mixes; a deluxe book, posters and button badges.
Supergrass made their comeback in September in a bold manner, taking to the stage unannounced at Glastonbury Pilton Party to rip through a greatest hits set, embracing Richard III, Moving, Alright, Lenny, Going Out, Caught By The Fuzz, Sun Hits The Sky, Pumping On Your Stereo and Grace.
Supergrass are back after a decade away? I should coco
“Everything aligned for us to make this happen for 2020,” says drummer
Goffey, recalling September’s re-launch. “It was the first time that we
collectively felt the buzz to get back in a room together and play the songs.
We’re extremely excited to get out there and bring a bit of Supergrass joy
to all our fans… and their extended families.”
Formed in 1993, the Oxford band released the Mercury Prize-nominated I
Should Coco in 1995; In It For The Money in 1997; Supergrass, 1999; Life On
Other Planets, 2002; Road To Rouen, 2005, and Diamond Hoo Ha, 2008, plus the 2004
compilation Supergrass Is 10.
After the BRIT, NME, Ivor Novello and Q award-winning band split in
2010, Gaz Coombes released his solo albums Here Come The Bombs in
2012, Matador in 2015 and World’s Strongest Man last year.
Quinn has been playing with his own group, DB Band, and has been a
member of Swervedriver since 2015; Goffey’s album Schtick came out in 2018.
From Friday (December 20), tickets can be booked on 01723 818111 or 01723 383636; at scarboroughopenairtheatre.com or in person from Scarborough OAT, in Burniston Road, or the Discover Yorkshire Coast Tourism Bureau, Scarborough Town Hall, St Nicholas Street.
Did you know?
Supergrass’s I Should Coco in 1995 was the Parlophone label’s biggest-selling debut since The Beatles’ Please Please Me in March 1963.
Shining light: Heather Findlay in angelic pose for her Christmas show
HEATHER Findlay will play York concerts on successive nights
this week, the first with Friends in her Christmas Show at the National Centre
for Early Music on Friday.
The next night, the York singer joins fellow composer Simon
Snaize for a “pre-Christmas
solstice spectacular” in the last of four concerts in the inaugural Live In
Libraries York season in York Explore’s wood-panelled Marriot Room.
“I love making my Christmas show really magical, nostalgic and
unique,” says Heather. “So, there’s a slightly different line-up, with Sarah
Dean joining us on harp and special guest Annie Donaghy on vocals, and a couple
of unannounced guests too.”
On Saturday, Findlay accompanies Snaize as he showcases his new
album, A Song Of Bones, and his 2012 recording The Structure Of Recollection, in
an intimate performance to a capacity audience of 50. CDs of the new record
will be on sale on the night before the official release in January.
Wrapping up for winter: Heather Findlay heads to the NCEM for her Christmas show
Heather Findlay and Friends’ Christmas Show, plus
Annie Donaghy, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, Friday, 8pm; Heather
Findlay and Simon Snaize, Live In Libraries York, York Explore, Saturday, doors
7pm. Box office: NCEM, 01904 658338 or at
ncem.co.uk; Live in Libraries, exploreyork.eventbrite.co.uk
WHISPER it abroad, the inaugural Live In Libraries York season of intimate concerts in York Explore Library and Archive’s Marriott Room, in Library Square, concludes this weekend.
East Yorkshire folk-Americana
singer-songwriter Edwina Hayes was first up in September, followed by hotly
tipped York band Bonneville And The Bailers on October 25; Bradford songwriter
Bella Gaffney on November 21, and Heather Findlay and Simon Snaize in a rare
duo gig on Saturday.
The season has been curated by York
busker David Ward Maclean in tandem with Dave Fleming, Explore York’s inclusive
arts and media co-ordinator.
Simon Snaize and Heather Findlay: performing in a rare duo format at York Explore
Here Charles Hutchinson puts questions to David and Dave.
What
prompted you to set up this series of concerts and how long has it taken to arrange
the season, David?
“It started
from a chat with York Explore manager Barbara Swinn and Explore York’s Dave
Fleming about the feasibility of the Marriott Room as a regular venue. Although
we settled on a short series of just four concerts, it’s still taken a while to
work out the logistics of both the requirements for staging the events and York
Explore’s very busy timetable as a working library.”
How
did Live In Libraries York come to fruition, Dave?
“Barbara and I thought it was a great idea to approach David to help
curate, advise and develop the concept and the season of concerts.
“I’ve known Dave for
years, both on the music scene and working together many years ago when I
worked for City of York Council’s Arts & Culture service as community arts
officer and working as part of the Illuminating York team.
“I coordinated a series of live short cultural performances in
some of the city-centre churches called Inspire York and Dave created a
soundscape in one of the churches. Barbara came across Dave performing in York
and was captivated by him, so I suggested a chat and for Dave to check out the
space and see what he thought.It’s fair to say he was blown away by its potential for live intimate
performances.”
Bonnie Milnes of Bonneville And The Bailers, who played Live In Libraries York in October
What
attracted you the Marriott Room, David?
“The first
thing that struck me was the sound: astonishingly clear acoustics, requiring no
more than the minimum amplification, if any. That’s probably down to the wood
panelling and the wooden floor, combined with a fairly high ceiling.
“Also, due
to its location at the rear of the library, it’s a very quiet location,
making it the perfect small listening venue. We’ve limited seating to about 50,
so that there’s plenty of room, and that also makes for a great intimate
atmosphere. It looks gorgeous too.
“There are
very good Green Room facilities behind the Marriott Room, and the performer accesses
the venue from a different door, which I always think enhances an event.
Everything I’ve ever looked for in a small venue. I’m hoping to book in myself
next year sometime.”
What are
the Marriott Room’s attributes as a concert setting, Dave?
“There’s nowhere else like it in York! Everyone who has popped down to
check out the space wants to perform in the space. The interest has taken us by
surprise.
“We did a test concert
a few months back with two internationally renowned harpists. It was sold out and
both the performers and audience were captivated by the experience and were so
impressed with the space.
“We dress the space
beautifully and it will make you re-imagine what libraries can
offer.”
What does
a library setting bring to live music, David? After
all, libraries are associated with hush, contemplation, study and
solo concentration!
“I
definitely think that when you walk in, the beautiful main entrance to
the library instils a certain focus, ideal for listening events. I
think we’re going for communication and attentiveness, rather than heads bowed
in reverence.”
When curating the acts for these performances, how and why did you choose
each one and what have they each brought to Live In Libraries York,
David?
“When I was
first asked for acts, Edwina Hayes was an instant choice.
She’s incredible, a world-class act and a big favourite in York, and I’m
so pleased she started the series.
“I also
wanted to get two local organisations involved – Dan Webster of Green Chili
Promotions and Dave Greenbrown from Young Thugs Records – and they put forward
two fantastic up-and-coming York artists, Bella Gaffney and Bonneville And The
Wailers.
David Ward Maclean: Curator of the Live In Libraries York season
“I’d
always wanted to hear Heather Findlay and Simon Snaize as a duo again after
they bowled me over with a set some years back. It’s an extraordinary sound,
they truly complement each other and I’m so happy to finish the season on a
high with them, on Winter Solstice no less!”
As a
musician yourself, David, what makes for your perfect gig setting?
“This one.”
What sort
of contrasting places have you played in your long career?
“Pretty
much everything, from Sheffield City Hall to playing for a couple in their home
while they had dinner. Probably the strangest was back in 1984, hitchhiking to
Bremen, playing for some German policemen in a motorway service station to
prove I was on my way to play some concerts. I passed the audition.”
Would you
like to see a further season of such shows taking place in the Marrott Room,
David? Or is this a special one-off?
“I would
love to see more concerts here in the future.”
What would be your ideal song for a library setting, David?
“(What A)
Wonderful World by Sam Cooke.”
How about
yours, Dave?
“My word, this is a tricky one to answer! Struggling to think of one because there are so many. So, I’m going to say one of David Ward Maclean’s original songs as he is such a brilliant songwriter and local legend. Oh, and he sounds incredible in the Marriott Room!”
The Seven Dwarfs and Muddles (Martin Daniels, right) attend to the poison apple-drugged Snow White (Louise Henry) in the Grand Opera House pantomime. Picture: David Harrison.
Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Grand Opera House, York, until January 4 2020. Box office: 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york.
THIS
is Three Bears Productions’ fourth Grand Opera House pantomime, written, directed
and co-produced by Chris Moreno, a canny veteran of commercial theatre.
He
has made two significant additions this year, bringing a York flavour to his
familiar panto template of a serviceable script and set design. First, “York’s
very own” Louise Henry, 22, from Knaresborough, was picked from more than 30
hopefuls for the title role, in a year when she has impressed as Liesl in York
Stage Musicals’ The Sound Of Music at the same theatre and in Rigmarole Theatre Company’s apocalyptic
When The Rain Stops Falling last month.
Playing
Snow White marks her professional debut, a step up she handles with aplomb and
poise, in song, dance and bonding with fellow York panto debutant Jonny Muir’s upstanding
Prince Rudolph and the Seven Dwarfs (played by two alternating teams of
children, the Magic Mirrors and Magic Apples). Louise Henry will be back, for
sure.
The
second smart move was to invite one of York’s most familiar voices, Minster FM
breakfast show co-host Ben Fry, to reprise his official role as York’s Town Crier,
ringing his bell and making proclamations, as he has since May, but this time
on stage. “Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah,” he says. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” comes
the audience’s reply without hesitation or invitation.
Fry,
spoiler alert, also pops up as the ageing King and has plenty of fun with North
Eastern entertainer and magician Martin Daniels’ Muddles in the time-honoured Busy
Bee water slapstick scene: one of those moments that can be played off the cuff
by two performers tuned into quick thinking.
There
is room for more such impromptu outbreaks, in particular for Steve Wickenden’s southern
dame, Nurse Brexit, a divisive name but never a divisive character in his fourth
Grand Opera House panto. The Brexit joke gets done once and then disappears even
more quickly than Boris Johnson hopes to conclude his oven-ready deal.
Last
year, after Ken Morley was taken ill in the very first performance of
Cinderella, Wickenden turned himself into both Ugly Sisters, a solo double act
that was twice the pleasure. This time, by comparison, he is a little
underused, although his version of Avenue Q’s I’m Not Wearing Underwear Today
is an inspired, unexpected choice, delivered with panache, and his wardrobe is
as peachy as ever.
Getting Nurse Brexit done: Steve Wickenden’s dame in: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. Picture: David Harrison.
Rather
than topical satirical comment, big names are occasionally dropped in, Laurence
Llewelyn Bowen, Donald Trump and Gordon Ramsay, for example. Much of the comedy
is rooted in traditional pantomime routines, putdowns and daft one-liners,
although Daniels’ Muddles, the show’s very reliable glue in his jester’s hat,
has room to roam into adlibs while being the children’s favourite. His magic
ingredient is his cheeky nous, but he has magic tricks up his sleeve too.
Daniels
and Wickenden have become important to the Grand Opera House panto, continuity
being the third factor in establishing the Three Bears brand.
Star
names always play their part too. Say ’Allo, ’Allo! to Vicki Michelle as the
vampy, vain Wicked Queen Titania (“You can call me Titty,” she says) and comedian
and presenter Mark Little, once of Neighbours, now her Australian sidekick in
the land of Much Piddling.
Little
had been expecting to play the Evil Sorcerer when the cast first gathered for
the press launch but he is now billed as Lord Chamberlain of Trumpville, one of
those evil, but actually not evil roles that inevitably loses some of his bite.
Little and not so larger than life, in other words. That said, his duet of
Elvis Presley’s Trouble with Michelle is one of the musical high spots.
Musical director Aaron Nice has chosen the ballads and cheesy pop hits well, from the opening ensemble number Nicest Kids In Town; through the Dwarfs’ signature song, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), and the Snow White-led Whistle Whistle; to the crowd pleasers, Live While We’re Young and especially Shutup And Dance.
Emily
Taylor’s choreography is bright and bubbly, driven by dynamic bursts of movement,
amusingly so when the Dwarfs join in. Played in the past by dwarves from the
actors’ union, the roles now tend to go to puppets or, as is the case here,
children with adult voiceovers and movement to give them character.
Strictly
speaking, look out too for a familiar fairy face in the mirror, Debbie McGee, seeking
out the fairest in the land, and you can’t say fairer than that.
Ebor Singers, Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, National Centre for Early Music, York, December 15
THIS was the Ebors’ now traditional performance of Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, spiced with a selection of contemporary American carols and seasonal songs.
The Britten, given in the original all-female version, was accompanied by the harp of Rachel Dent, even to the extent of some optional improvising during the processional plainsongs. Her Interlude was a touch halting, but elsewhere she sustained a pleasing pulse.
The singing had its moments, though few were provided in the solo work where intonation was wayward. As a choir, the ladies made plentiful amends. There was a lovely legato in There Is No Rose and a direct, confident approach to This Little Babe. In contrast, the reverential ending to In Freezing Winter Night reflected the manger’s “humble pomp”.
The pair of soloists in Spring Carol chirped merrily. Deo Gracias was a little too rushed for its cross-currents to have maximum impact. Though it was good to have this music made available again, its overall effect was not as strong as it was last year.
In The Moon Of Wintertime, the evening’s subtitle, taken from the Canadian Huron carol, was also used by American composer Stephen Paulus. In the event, his modal tune was less attractive than the original (Jesous Ahatonhia), and he used a bowdlerized paraphrase of Edgar Middleton’s translation, which is much less down-to-earth than the native Indian version. Its last verse, however, was a model of choral control here.
The same composer’s Three Nativity Carols, surprisingly enjoying their UK premiere – Paulus died in 2104 – brought an engaging post-Britten style to some ancient texts. They were accompanied by oboe (Jane Wright) and harp (Dent). Syncopation jollied up The Holly & The Ivy, florid oboe counterpointed the slow rocking of This Endris Night, and Wonder Tidings used a proper refrain to add colour to the mediaeval text, with the instruments dancing attendance.
Much of the rest was slow-moving and diction went to the wall. American audiences may love it, but Craig Hella Johnson’s pairing of Lo, How A Rose with Amanda McBroom’s The Rose (written for Bette Midler and covered by Westlife) did the lovely Praetorius tune no favours at all.
Hackneyed favourites by Lauridsen and Whitacre came and went and a Jake Runestad lullaby just picked itself in time to avoid a similar fate. It was left to Nico Muhly’s setting of Longfellow’s Snowflakes, with piano backing, to offer some true atmosphere, albeit out of a corner of the minimalist playbook. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas makes for a tacky ending – it should be dropped.
I know this was a Christmas concert, with all the festive sentimentality that implies, but overall I left feeling that this choir is coasting: it is capable of tackling something a lot less anodyne and a lot more challenging.
