Effie Warboys’ Ann Walker, left, and Sally Mitcham’s Anne Lister in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
YORK Shakespeare Project audiences are greeted by not one, but two testaments to the groundbreaking impact of Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate.
First, by the entrance, York Civic Trust’s rainbow plaque commemorates the Easter 1834 wedding sacraments of “Anne with an ‘E’ and Anne without”, Ann Walker, recorded as the first lesbian marriage in Great Britain. Another historic landmark in this most storied of cities.
Once inside, by the churchyard path, Anne Lister has temporarily taken on tansy beetle form in a metallic sculpture for the York Trailblazers trail of unsung heroes until September 30.
Theatre spat: Rival actresses Lily (Alexandra Logan), left, and Felicity (Grace Scott) in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
In Jen Dring’s design, the beetle’s back is covered in the diary scribblings of Anne Lister: words that have helped to shape the opening to Josie Campbell’s script to accompany 12 of Shakespeare sonnets in this tenth anniversary YSP production.
YSP’s theatrical conceit is to offer an invitation to a secret wedding – spoiler alert, the nuptials of Anne Lister (Sally Mitcham) and Ann Walker (Effie Warboys) – toasted on arrival with a free celebratory drink.
The audience is welcomed by the Reverend Goode, the “poptastic vicar and host” played by director Tony Froud, who promptly introduces himself as Ebenezer Goode in the first of a plethora of “couldn’t resist” pop culture references by Campbell. Status Quo, Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones all follow, Rev Goode at one point quoting the lyrics of You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
Cleaning up: Marie-Louise Feeley’s Doreen and Helen Wilson’s Maureen, the church-cleaning double act in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
Attired in York Theatre Royal costumes, Mitcham and Warboys play out the Lister-Walker betrothal, each bursting into a sonnet in the manner of characters breaking into song in a musical when there is no other form of expression that will suffice in that moment.
Mitcham’s assertive When I Have Seen By Time’s Fell Hand Defaced will be the first of four Shakespeare sonnets making their YSP debut in this summer’s set.
Warboys follows, one of six new sonneteers in Froud’s 2024 ranks, having made her mark in cheery fashion in YSP productions such as The Tempest. As she discovers in her opening conversation with Mitcham’s Miss Lister, the challenge for all is to acclimatise to performing outdoors, against the absorbant backdrop of the church walls, under the open sky.
Emily Hansen’s Lavinia, the unflappable costume designer, in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
What’s more, the nearby restaurant kitchen fan is whirring loudly and the staff are busy with bustling crockery and food prep on the 6pm shift. Not the easiest of circumstances in which to perform, and Froud’s last words of advice before the first performance were of the need for volume.
In such a space, as soon as heads turn sideways, the loss in clarity can be considerable, but only through experience does a performer learn the skill of projection. Best advice here: follow the example of Maurice Crichton and Helen Wilson, old hands at this sonneteering malarkey.
No doubt, Froud will have given post-show notes to re-emphasise that volume speaks volumes. There is a case too for having the actors move closer to the seated audience, or indeed for the seating to be moved forward, and also to project straight on as much as possible in this declamatory framework.
Maurice Crichton’s intemperate director, Callum, offering advice to Alexandra Logan’s wilful leading lady, Lily, in Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
Crichton, in beret, cravat and exasperated Scottish accent, is playing Callum, “the far from calm director” of what turns out to be a rehearsal for an amateur company at Rev Goode’s church. And so, rather than a play within a play in keeping with Frayn’s Noises Off, Ayckbourn’s A Chorus Of Disapproval or Mischief’s The Play That Goes Wrong, instead we have sonnets within backstage shenanigans.
One by one, or two by two, we shall encounter staff, actresses and helping hands. Here come the church cleaners, debutant sonneteer Marie-Louise Feeley’s Doreen, an aspiring performer, and Wilson’s world-weary, seen-it-all-before Maureen, marigold gloves stuffed in her overalls. Her sonnet, Th’expense Of Spirit In A Waste Of Shame, is one of the high points.
Two rival actresses, steady-away Felicity (Grace Scott) and flighty young leading lady Lily (Alexandra Logan) will spar amusingly, the latter’s nascent prima-donna tendencies in the role of Anne Lister’s earlier paramour Maria Belcombe, testing Crichton’s acerbic Callum to breaking point.
Liam Godfrey’s Graham, the tardy actor, in a tender moment with Grace Scott’s Felicity in Summer Sonnets. Halina Jarosewska’s Maggie, the indispensable stage manager, looks on. Picture: John Saunders
Liam Godfrey, another of the debutants, captures the diffidence of tardy actor Graham (playing Captain Sutherland, from Anne Lister’s story) as he makes his reacquaintance with Felicity, his partner in pantomime cow, as Campbell brings another artform into play.
Emily Hansen’s Lavinia, the unflappable costume designer, and Halina Jarosewska’s Maggie, the indispensable stage manager, pop up regularly, in that quietly essential way that such theatre stalwarts do. Hansen’s delivery of Being Your Slave, What Should I Do But Tend suits Maggie perfectly.
The finale brings everyone together, Lister, Walker, et al, led by Froud’s good shepherd Rev Goode in Let Me Not To The Marriage Of True Minds, rounding out Campbell’s amusing caricature of the theatre world, celebration of love and abiding joy in Shakespeare’s sonnets.
York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, York, until August 17, 6pm and 7.30pm nightly, plus 4.30pm on Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
Tony Froud’s Reverend Goode, the “poptastic vicar and host”in Summer Sonnets, addressing the flock in the Holy Trinity churchyard. Picture: John Saunders
Coming next:
William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, October 22 to 26, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
AFTER “much deliberation, and too many wonderful people auditioning”, director Tempest Wisdom has picked York Shakespeare Project’s cast for The Two Gentlemen Of Verona.
In the company will be: Jodie Fletcher; Stuart Lindsay; Jamie Williams; Nick Patrick Jones; Thomas Jennings; Lily Geering; Anna Gallon; Liz Quinlan; Lara Stafford; Wilf Tomlinson; Effie Warboys; Mark Payton; Stuart Green; Jon Cook; Charlie Spencer; Pearl Mollison; Kay Maneerot; Celeste North Finocchi and Charlie Barras.
The first night, October 22, will be a preview performance (£10). Tickets for the rest of the week cost £15. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Spreading her wings: Elle Wootton in The 13-Storey Treehouse at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: James D Morgan
SHAKESPEARE sonnets, a treehouse with bowling alley and sea monster, The Magpies’ music festival and a thrilling children’s workshop will keep the summer diary busy, advises Charles Hutchinson.
Family show of the week: The 13-Storey Treehouse, Grand Opera House, York, today and tomorrow, 1pm and 5pm
ADAPTED by Richard Tulloch (The Book Of Everything, Bananas In Pyjamas), this one-hour play for children aged six to 12 brings Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s story to stage life with a seriously funny cast and a treehouse replete with a bowling alley, a secret underground laboratory, self-making beds and a marshmallow machine.
Expect magical moments of theatrical wizardry and a truckload of imagination from the cast of Elle Wootton, Edwin Beats and Ryan Dulieu when Andy and Terry forget to write their debut play. Where will they find flying cats, a mermaid, a sea monster, an invasion of monkeys and a giant gorilla? Find out this weekend. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Maurice Crichton’s Callum, the director, and Alexandra Logan’s Lily, the upstart actress, exchange words in the dress rehearsal for York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets in the Holy Trinity churchyard, in Goodramgate, York. Picture: John Saunders
Wedding invitation of the week: York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, today to August 17, except August 12, 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm today and next Saturday
AUDIENCES are invited to a secret wedding at Holy Trinity, where they will meet the church’s most famous couple – Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister and Ann Walker – while enjoying a complimentary drink.
Linked by Josie Campbell’s script, York Shakespeare Project’s tenth anniversary selection of Shakespeare sonnets will be performed in character by Maurice Crichton; Marie-Louise Feeley; Liam Godfrey; Emily Hansen; Halina Jaroszewska; Alexandra Logan; Sally Mitcham; Grace Scott; Effie Warboys; Helen Wilson and director Tony Froud. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
Lincoln Lightfoot: Taking part in the York River Art Market today
York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris: York River Art Market, today and tomorrow; August 17 and 18, 10am to 5pm
ORGANISED by jewellery designer and York College art tutor Charlotte Dawson, York River Art Market sets out its stalls on the Dame Judi Dench Walk riverside for a ninth summer season. Up to 30 artists and makers per day will be exhibiting ceramics, jewellery, paintings, prints, photographs, clothing, candles, T-shirts, shaving products and more. Admission is free.
Castle Howard: “Silence” is golden in the Boar Garden tonight when DJs fill revellers’ headphones with Nineties’ dancefloor nuggets
Hush-hush event of the week: 90s’ Outdoor Silent Disco, Castle Howard, near Malton, today, 7pm to 10pm
CASTLE Howard’s Boar Garden plays host to some of Great Britain’s best 90s’ DJs, spinning pop, R&B and band favourites in a feel-good experience. Revellers can select from three different channels of music while wearing state-of-the-art LED headphones. sets. Valid photographic ID may be requested on entry to this strictly 18-plus event. Box office: eventbrite.co.uk/e/90s-silent-disco-at-castle-howard-tickets-846091200557.
Artist Peter Hicks in his studio, working on his Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal commission
Exhibition of the week: Peter Hicks, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, near Ripon
PETER Hicks’s summer exhibition, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal – A Landscape Painter’s Perspective, is being extended to September 15. On show are works painted in response to the John and William Aislabie-designed landscapes at Fountains during Hicks’s 2023 residency.
Commissioned by the National Trust, the Yorkshire landscape artist’s paintings, studies and sketchbooks are on display in Fountains Mill. Hicks specialises in abstract landscapes with acrylic washes on canvas and board, making his own benches and brush handles and using humble, accessible materials. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden.
The Magpies: Running their fourth music festival at Sutton Park, near York
Festival of the week: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, near York, today
RUN by transatlantic folk band The Magpies, The Magpies Festival is rooted in the trio’s native Yorkshire, where they first met. Now in its fourth year, the 2024 event will be headlined today by Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys at 10pm, preceded by Charm Of Finches, 12 noon, The Often Herd, 2pm, Jesca Hoop, 4pm, The Magpies, 6pm, and Nati (formerly known as Nati Dreddd), 8pm.
The poster for the Three Day Thriller workshop for children at Helmsley Arts Centre
Children’s activity of the week: The Three Day Thriller, Helmsley Arts Centre, August 12 to 14, 10am to 2pm. CANCELLED
BUCKLE up for this improvising and devising workshop for 11 to 16-year-olds, designed to look at different theatre and performance techniques to make a new story in the thriller genre. The focus will be on character, plot and staging to create excitement, mystery and suspense, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. At the end of day three, the work explored will be shared with family and friends. Places on the £75 workshop can be booked on 01439 771700 or at helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Robert Gammon: Playing at Dementia Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church, York
Dementia Friendly Tea Concert: Robert Gammon, piano, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, August 15, 2.30pm
PIANIST Robert Gammon returns to St Chad’s to perform Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F sharp Minor from the Well Tempered Clavier Book 2, Schumann’s Kinderszenen and two Chopin Polonaises. As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall.
“This relaxed event is ideal for people who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert, so we do not mind if the audience wants to talk or move about,” says organiser Alison Gammon. Seating is unreserved; no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
Elkie Brooks: Heading out on her Long Farewell Tour. Leeds and York await. Picture: Neil Kirk
Gig announcement of the week: Elkie Brooks, Long Farewell Tour, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, September 12; York Barbican, April 11 2025
AFTER 64 years of performing live, the “British queen of blues”, Elkie Brooks, is to undertake her Long Farewell Tour, visiting Leeds and York among 24 dates.
The Salford singer, 79, will perform such hits as Pearl’s A Singer, Lilac Wine, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Sunshine After The Rain, No More The Fool and Don’t Cry Out Loud in a career-spanning show of blues, rock and jazz numbers that will showcase material from her forthcoming 21st studio album for the first time. Box office: elkiebrooks.com/elkie-brooks-tour-dates-2024; leedsheritagetheatres.com and yorkbarbican.co.uk.
In Focus: North York Moors Chamber Music Festival, August 11 to 24
North York Moors Chamber Music Festival curator Jamie Walton. Picture: Matthew Johnson
THE ground-breaking North York Moors Chamber Music Festival is returning for its 16th consecutive season after record audience figures last summer.
Running from August 11 to 24 with the title of Echos, the festival uses moorland churches and an acoustically treated venue in the grounds of Welburn Manor, attracting international artists, many of them committing to the entire fortnight by taking up residencies.
This summer, these musicians include violinist Alena Beava, Benjamin Baker and Charlotte Scott; pianists Vadym Kholodenko, Katya Apekisheva, Daniel Lebhardt and Leeds International Piano Competition prize-winner Ariel Lanyi; clarinettist Matthew Hunt and mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley, who originates from Yarm. The programme will feature a Young Artists Focus too.
The festival’s 14 afternoon and evening concerts will present music by Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Mozart, Schumann, Elgar, Debussy and Mendelssohn, together with thrilling 20th century classics.
Each concert will take the audience on a musical journey through the narrative of specific themes, in carefully curated, thought-provoking music that pushes the boundaries.
As well as Welburn Manor, concerts will take place at churches including St Michael’s, Coxwold; St Mary’s, Lastingham; St Hilda’s, Danby, and St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge.
Festival curator and cellist Jamie Walton says: “Expect to be stirred, thrilled and at times moved as we explore the phenomenon of influence, of cycles through the ages, musical shadows, and themes which echo the times. These concerts are intense for both the audiences and artists but often revelatory and transformative.
“There’s a palpable sense of common purpose and feeling between all those who are there participating in the experience, either on stage or as a listener. It’s a profoundly reassuring experience, and one which we all cherish.”
Who will be playing at North York Moors Chamber Music Festival
Violinist Alena Baeva performing at North York Moors Chamber Music Festival in 2023. Picture: Matthew Johnson
Violin: Alena Baeva; Benjamin Baker; Marike Kruup; Emma Parker; Victoria Sayles; Charlotte Scott; Bridget O’Donnell and Simmy Singh
Viola: Meghan Cassidy; Simone van der Giessen; Max Mandel; David Shaw
Cello: Rebecca Gilliver; Tim Posner; Jamie Walton and Deni Teo
Double bass: Misha Mullov-Abbado
Piano: Katya Apekisheva; Vadym Kholodenko; Joseph Havlat; Ariel Lanyi; Daniel Lebhardt
Clarinet: Matthew Hunt
Flute: Thomas Hancox and Silvija Scerbaviciute
Mezzo soprano: Anna Huntley
Plus: The Paddington Trio
North York Moors Chamber Music Festival: the programme
Charlotte Scott: Returning to North York Moors Chamber Music Festival in 2024. Picture: Matthew Johnson
August 11, 2pm, Passing Themes, Marquee, Welburn: Corelli – Violin sonata in D minor op 5 no 12 (‘La Folia’); Rachmaninoff – Variations on a Theme of Corelli op 42*; Dvořák – Piano trio no 4 in E minor op 90 (‘Dumky’)
August 12, 7pm, Tales From The Stage, Marquee, Welburn: Stravinsky – The Soldier’s Tale Suite; Poulenc – Sonata for violin and piano*; Debussy – Bilitis for flute and piano; Poulenc – L’Invitation au Chateau; Stravinsky – Divertimento (The Fairy’s Kiss Suite)
August 13, 2pm, Enlightenment, St Michael’s, Coxwold: Beethoven – String trio op 9 no 1 in G major; Weber – Clarinet quintet in B-flat major op 34
August 14, 7pm, Echoes and Embers, Marquee, Welburn: Dutilleux – Sonatine Myths; Simpson – Eleven Echoes of Autumn*; Szymanowski – Myths op 30; Simpson – An Essay of Love
August 15, 2pm, Landscape and Memory, St Mary’s, Lastingham : Dowland – Lachrymae Antiquae; Purcell – Chacony in G minor (arr. Britten); Adès – O Albion; Adès – Alchymia
August 16, 7pm, Towards The Edge, Marquee, Welburn: Shostakovich, Piano trio no 2 in E minor op 67*; Zarębski – Piano quintet; Liszt – La lugubre gondola II; Shostakovich – Piano trio no 2 in E minor op 67*; Zarębski – Piano quintet in G minor op 34
August 17, 7pm, Vienna!, Marquee, Welburn: Mozart – Sonata for violin and piano no 21 in E minor K304; Webern – Langsamer Satz; Schoenberg – Chamber Symphony no 1 op 9 (arr. Webern)*; Berg – Adagio for violin, clarinet and piano Schubert – Fantasy in C major for violin and piano D934
Pianist Daniel Lebhardt: A regular player at North York Moors Chamber Music Festival. Picture: Matthew Johnson
August 18, 2pm, Heading East, St Hilda’s, Danby: Kodály – Intermezzo for string trio; Dohnányi – Serenade in C for string trio op; Kodály – Duo sonata for violin and cello op 7
August 19, 7pm, Songs For The Earth, Marquee, Welburn: string quartet & double-bass
August 20, 7pm, La Belle Époque, Marquee, Welburn: Debussy – Violin sonata in G minor; Fauré – La Bonne Chanson op 61*; Chausson – Chanson perpétuelle op 37; Chausson – Concert for violin, piano and string quartet op 21
August 21, 7pm, A Wartime Story, Marquee, Welburn: Elgar – Sonata for violin and piano in E minor op 82*; Prokofiev – (War) Sonata for piano no 8 in b-flat major op 84; Ravel – Piano trio in A minor
August 22, 2pm, Jubilation, St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge: Brahms – String quintet no 2 in G major op 111; Mendelssohn – String octet in E flat major op 20
August 23, 7pm, Ghosts Of History, Marquee, Welburn: Beethoven – Piano trio op 70 no 1 in D major (‘Ghost’); Saariaho – Light and Matter; Matteis – Fantasia for violin in A minor*; Elgar – Piano quintet in A minor op 84
August 24, 2pm, A New Dawn, Marquee, Welburn; Schumann – Gesänge der Frühe op 133; Schubert – Adagio e Rondo Concertante D487*; Schumann – Piano quartet in E flat major op 47
* Interval follows
The North York Moors Chamber Music Festival stage at last summer’s event in the Welburn Abbey marquee. Picture: Matthew Johnson
More Things To Do in York and beyond “poo power” from August 17 onwards. Here’s Hutch’s List No 34, from The Press, York
DON’T poo-poo Ada Grey’s exhibition for children at Nunnington Hall, advises Charles Hutchinson, as he picks cultural highlights for the weeks ahead.
Wedding invitation of the week: York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, August 17 at 4.30pm, 6pm and 7.30pm
AUDIENCES are invited to a secret wedding at Holy Trinity, where they will meet the church’s most famous couple – Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister and Ann Walker – while enjoying a complimentary drink.
Linked by Josie Campbell’s script and theatrical characters, York Shakespeare Project’s tenth anniversary selection of Shakespeare sonnets is performed in character by Maurice Crichton; Marie-Louise Feeley; Liam Godfrey; Emily Hansen; Halina Jaroszewska; Alexandra Logan; Sally Mitcham; Grace Scott; Effie Warboys; Helen Wilson and director Tony Froud. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
Mopping up: Marie-Louise Feeley’s Doreen and Helen Wilson’s Maureen, the church-cleaning double act in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris: York River Art Market, August 17 and 18, 10am to 5pm
YORK River Art Market sets out its stalls on the Dame Judi Dench Walk riverside for its third weekend this summer, featuring up to 30 artists and makers per day. Among today’s stallholders will be Bejojo Art, Jillie Lazenby, Woody’s Creations, Emily Littler, Happy Pot Mama, Magdalena Biernacka, Kissed Frog, I’ve Been Creative, Matt Lightfoot Photography, Inky Print Designs and Wood Wyrm.
Popping up tomorrow will be Urban Infill Store, Wild Orange Tree, Jo O’Cuinneagan, Rock and Twig Studio, David Lobley Photography, The Littlest Falcon, Feather Isle, Fei’s Crochet, Painter Merv, Stairwell Books, Ounce Of Style and plenty more. Look out for York singer-songwriter Heather Findlay on busking duty tomorrow. Admission is free.
Heather Findlay: Busking at August 17’s York River Art Market. Picture: Adam Kennedy
Exhibition of the week: Ada Grey, Splat! Patter! Plop!, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, near York, until September 8
DIVE into a world where the “hilarity of poo” takes centre stage in this “unique children’s illustration exhibition like no other” by Ada Grey, creator of such picture books as Poo In The Zoo, Island Of Dinosaur Poo and Super Pooper Road Race.
Noted for the vibrant colours, lively characters and comical twists of her children’s tales, for the first time Grey is showcasing illustrations of such beloved characters as Bob McGrew and Hector Gloop in iconic moments from her favourite stories. Children have the chance to immerse themselves in Ada’s books, draw inspiration to create their own characters and proudly display their creations in the Poop-a-Doodle gallery. Grey will drop in on August 20 to run workshops for children from 11am to 4pm. Tickets and workshop bookings: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/exhibitions.
Poo power: Illustrator and author Ada Grey’s exhibition at Nunnington Hall
Dance show of the week: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance, York Barbican, August 20 to 25, 7.45pm, plus Saturday matinee at 2.30pm
IN the words of Lord Of The Dance impresario Michael Flatley: “Our 2024 tour promises to be an extraordinary journey that will take audiences to the next level once again.
“In 2024, this extraordinary experience for fans will feature new staging, fresh choreography, new costumes, cutting-edge technology, and special effects lighting. It’s a celebration of a lifetime of standing ovations and we aim to leave the audience spellbound.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Lord Of The Dance: “Aiming to leave the audience spellbound” at York Barbican
York gig of the week: Please Please You & Brudenell presents Lanterns On The Lake, The Crescent, York, August 23, 7.30pm
FORMED on Tyneside in 2007, Lanterns On The Lake combine dreamy, melancholic indie rock with beautiful layers of texture and celestial melodies. Led by singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde, the 2020 Mercury Prize nominees have supplied soundtrack music to Conversations With Friends, Uncanny, Made In Chelsea, Skins and the video game Life Is Strange and recorded an orchestral live album with the Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Their latest album, June 2023’s Versions Of Us, is full of existential meditations, “examining life’s possibilities, facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies”. Box office: thecrescentyork.com/events/lanterns-on-the-lake.
Lanterns On The Lake’s Hazel Wilde, Paul Gregory, Bob Allan and Angela Chan: Playing The Crescent on their return to York
Another slice of MeatLoaf: MeatLoud – Bat Out Of Hades, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 24, 7.30pm
FOUNDED in 2015, this powerhouse tribute to MeatLoaf and songwriter Jim Steinman is fronted by vocalist Andy Plimmer, who is joined Sally Rivers to take on the guise of Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion and Cher. The second half features a complete performance of the classic 1977 album Bat Out Of Hell. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
MeatLoud: Paying tribute to MeatLoaf and Jim Steinman at Joseph Rowntree Theatre
New season opener: Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys, Selby Town Hall, September 4, 7.30pm
SELBY Town Hall kicks off its autumn season with the debut visit of Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys, purveyors of bluegrass and rockabilly from Saskatchewan, Canada.
Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones enthuses: “I absolutely love these guys. It’s probably the show I’m most looking forward to in the second half of the year. At just 21 years old, Jake is terrifyingly talented. He and the band – dressed in authentic 1950s’ suits – make the most fantastically fun, upbeat, toe-tapping music, already gracing the main stages of festivals across North America.” Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys: Making debut appearance at Selby Town Hall next month
Theatre chat: An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, York Theatre Royal, September 10, 7.30pm
WAS Shakespeare an instinctive “conservative” or, rather, gently subversive? How collaborative was he? Did he add a line to Hamlet to accommodate his ageing and increasingly chubby principal actor Richard Burbage? Did he suffer from insomnia and experience sexual jealousy?
In An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, in conversation with a special guest, the Olivier Award-winning actor will share his experiences of “approaching and living with some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters”, from his school-play days as Desdemona in Othello to title roles in Hamlet and Macbeth. Expect anecdotes of Sam Mendes, Nick Hytner, Stephen Sondheim and Lauren Bacall too. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Simon Russell Beale: Shakespeare actor, now starring as Ser Simon Strong in House Of The Dragon, will be in conversation at York Theatre Royal in September
“Think The Great Gatsby meets Sinatra At The Sands meets Back To The Future”:Postmodern Jukebox, Moonlight & Magic World Tour, York Barbican, May 7 2025
RETRO musical collective Postmodern Jukebox have announced the 34-date UK & Australia/New Zealand leg of next year’s Moonlight & Magic World Tour that includes a return to York Barbican.
“If we’ve learned anything from ten years of touring the world, it’s that great music has the ability to transcend time and space in a way that is best described as ‘magic,” says Postmodern Jukebox creator and show director Scott Bradlee, whose parallel musical universe reimagines pop hits in 1920s’ jazz, swing, doo-wop and Motown settings. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Postmodern Jukebox: Retro musical collective head back to past triumphs at York Barbican
Shed Seven performing Throwaways with special guest Peter Doherty at York Museum Gardens on July 19. Picture: Barnaby Fairley
Step One: Night two of the Sheds’ 30th anniversary homecoming concerts, Live At York Museum Gardens, presented by Futuresound, on July 20
Set list: Let’s Go; Speakeasy; Where Have You Been Tonight?; High Hopes (with Duke Witter); Dolphin; Devil In Your Shoes; Tripping With You (with Laura McClure); Bully Boy (with Huntington School Choir); Ocean Pie; Parallel Lines; In Ecstasy (with Rowetta); On Standby; Going For Gold; Suspicious Minds; Talk Of The Town; Getting Better; Let’s Go Dancing.
Encores: Room In My House; Throwaways (with Peter Doherty); Disco Down; Chasing Rainbows (with choir, McClure, Rowetta and support acts Doherty, Brooke Combe and Apollo Junction).
CharlesHutchPress viewpoint: As central as a centre-spot, standing with a cluster of chanting York City fans, former manager Michael Morton (February-August 2023) at their core, and a bunch of Sheds-loving former University of York students, meeting up from all over the country for the first time since 1997.
Different set list? Out went She Left Me On Friday (they left it out on Saturday), People Will Talk and The Heroes. In came: Where Have You Been Tonight? and Parallel Lines.
Other differences?
*Shed Seven arrived on stage at 8.30pm rather than 8.40pm.
*Different members of Huntington School Choir sang Bully Boy.
*The Sheds’ friend Stuart Allan, guitarist and vocalist in York band Johnny And The Dunebugs, guested on guitar throughout the Sheds’ set, introduced by Rick Witter as “the fifth Beatle”.
The same on both nights:
*The show-opening recorded poetry reading of The Boys Are Coming Home – a hymn of praise to York’s “characters, cobbles and quirks” – by Matt Abbott, Wakefield poet, educator, activist and former frontman and lyricist of Skint & Demoralised. Commissioned by guitarist Paul Banks.
*Backing singers Mary Pearce and Beverly Skeete, as featured on the Shed Seven albums Instant Pleasures, A Matter Of Time and the upcoming Liquid Gold.
*Special guests Laura McClure, from Reverend And The Makers, Rowetta, from the Madchester Nineties’ scene, and The Libertines’ Peter Doherty, all reprising their contributions to the Sheds’ number one album, A Matter Of Time.
*Brass section of Tim Hurst, trombone; Andy Cox, saxophone; Jamie Brownfield, trumpet.
*The presence of a film crew, led off on Friday by the camera following Rick Witter from the Museum Street entrance, “walking towards the stage like a boxer entering the ring” (to quote Ste’s comment on CharlesHutchPress’s review of the first night.
Why filming?
“The idea of filming the weekend is trifold,” says Rick. “We wanted to make a video for the most recent Liquid Gold release, Getting Better, which came out on Monday evening (July 22). Worth a watch!
“We’re also releasing a ‘Live At Museum Gardens’ variant to coincide with the release of Liquid Gold on September 27. And then possibly we’ll release a DVD of the Museum Gardens gigs, along with all the promo vids from A Matter Of Time onwards and a small documentary about the Sheds. The year of the Sheds indeed.”
Final CharlesHutchPress thoughts: Loved Room In My House and Talk Of The Town becoming latter-day crowd favourites already. Rick’s “dad dancing” with son and Serotones singer Duke in High Hopes. The set – pre-encores – closing with Let’s Go Dancing’s a cappella coda, “Lonely words seek an empty page/Curtain call, time to leave the stage/ It’s time to stop…”.
Peter Doherty and his dapper chapeau – plonked briefly on Witter’s head – loving every minute, whether in Throwaways or the everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink Chasing Rainbows finale. The departing hordes still singing Chasing Rainbows as they crossed Lendal Bridge, homeward bound and euphoric.
Step two: New single Waiting For The Catch and new album Liquid Gold
Shed Seven with Issy Ferris, of Ferris & Sylvester, guest vocalist on Liquid Gold orchestral reworking of Waiting For The Catch. Picture: Andy Little
“HI MATE. Sorry just shooting a video to a new song. It’s all go.” So messaged Rick Witter, on July 22, explaining his delay in answering a handful of CharlesHutchPress questions.
That song is new single Waiting For The Catch, a duet with Issy Ferris, of UK folk/rock/Americana duo Ferris & Sylvester, who released their second album, Otherness, on March 1 on Arch Top Records.
Premiered on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 on August 8, Waiting For The Catch is a new reworking of an Instant Pleasures bonus track from the York band’s career-spanning orchestral album Liquid Gold. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKKvnD-tII.
“Waiting For The Catch fits perfectly alongside some of our biggest hits,” says Rick. “The song has the classic ‘Can’t live with you, can’t live without you’ sentiment and we felt making it a duet would fit perfectly with the lyrical theme.
“So we invited the amazing Issy Ferris to add her beautiful voice to the track, which gives it a yearning, but also vengeful energy. You want to hear Shed Seven arena-sized? No problem, it’s our pleasure.”
Liquid Gold’s orchestral reinventions were recorded in collaboration with arrangers Fiona Brice and Michael Rendall. Brice had worked previously with Liam Gallagher and Placebo, while Rendall had teamed up with the Sheds for 2017’s Top Ten comeback album Instant Pleasures and A Matter Of Time.
“This year we celebrate 30 years as recording artists and, after reminiscing about our career, we thought we’d celebrate the milestone by revisiting some key songs from our past,” says Rick.
“The idea being that if we cherry picked a hatful of songs and recorded them now, it would be a coherent stroll down memory lane but also sit sonically beside A Matter Of Time. A logical next step.”
Rick continues: “We see this record as a gateway into the world of Shed Seven. We also felt that adding an orchestra to each track would lend the whole project a unique slant. The songs have become widescreen, full of colour.
“The original recordings will always hold a special place in our hearts but re-recording the chosen songs was an exciting prospect for us. It’s a gift from the band to our loyal supporters and will hopefully introduce some golden moments throughout our career to a whole new audience. Enjoy, and here’s to the next 30 years!”
A signed copy of Liquid Gold: One of multiple formats of the new album
Set for release on Cooking Vinyl on September 27, Liquid Gold can be pre-ordered at shedsevenn.lnk.to/LiquidGoldPR, with formats ranging from signed copies and vinyl to CD and cassette versions.
The Sheds have just launched a new bootleg edition, each with artwork individually hand-stamped by the band, that adds three songs from their BBC Piano Room session, a live recording of Casino Girl, and remix of In Ecstasy.
That Piano Room session in May saw the Sheds perform Chasing Rainbows, Talk Of The Town and a cover of Duran Duran’s Planet Earth with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Maida Vale studios.
The album track listing will be: Getting Better; Speakeasy; Devil In Your Shoes; On Standby; Going For Gold; Waiting For The Catch (featuring Issy Ferris); Better Days; Parallel Lines; Disco Down; Ocean Pie; new composition All Roads Lead To You and Chasing Rainbows.
A special Live @Museum Gardens 2CD edition can be pre-ordered at store.shedseven.com/product/148214?password=LG-YORK-EM. Featuring a bonus disc of live tracks recorded at the two shows, it comes with alternative artwork to commemorate the occasion.
In the immediate aftermath of the Museum Gardens shindigs, the Sheds released a video of the Liquid Gold version of Getting Better, filmed on and off stage over the two days, capturing the band, special guests Peter Doherty, Rowetta and Laura McClure and Friday support acts The Lottery Winners and Serotones, Huntington School choir and audience members…and Witter riding through York on a bike.
Or, as Black Arts PR’s press release puts it: “The video is a joyous celebration of one of the biggest highlights of Shed Seven’scareer. It captures every moment of the day: fans getting the party underway as they arrive; Rick Witter strolling through the audience and posing for photos and pinching a sip of beer; clips of friends including Peter Doherty, Lottery Winners, Rowetta, Laura McClure and Serotones (featuring Rick’s son Duke) all relishing the occasion; and the band embracing before they step on stage. The most emotional moment is saved until the end – the band taking their final bows in front of a sea of adoration.”
Post-gigs, The Shedsposted on social media: “Watch to the end, you won’t be disappointed… you might even feature. Enjoy and thanks once again for making this weekend so special.” Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnJnjir47QE.
Already, the Sheds had previewed the album by releasing two tasters, Speakeasy and Devil In Your Shoes. Pre-orders for Liquid Gold have exceeded the numbers reached with January’s A Matter Of Time. Could Shed Seven notch up two number one albums in a year? Roll on September 27.
Step Three: T-T-T-Talk Of The Town in multiple towns and cities, 50 shows in all
Shed Seven doing a record store promotion for A Matter Of Time at HMV York in January
AFTER in-store performances and personal appearances, including HMV York, to launch A Matter Of Time in January and the 30th anniversary homecoming celebrations at York Museum Gardens in July, the Shed Seven boys are back in town after town over the rest of 2024.
First up comes a guest spot on Blossoms’ bill at Live From Wythenshawe Park Presents: Blossoms, Inhaler & More @ Wythenshawe Park, Manchester on August 25, followed by BBC Radio 2 In The Park at Moor Park, Preston, on September 8.
Next will be in-store appearances promoting Liquid Gold from September 8 to October 16 and a sextet of gigs in October combining playing 1994 debut album Change Giver in full with a greatest hits set too.
In the traditional biennial Shedcember slot will be a 23-date 30th Anniversary Tour, the Sheds’ biggest-ever winter itinerary, joined by special guests The Sherlocks. Back home in time for Christmas, Rick Witter and Paul Banks will bring down the curtain on the Sheds’ annus mirabilis with a brace of special acoustic duo performances at Huntington Working Men’s Club. Sheds’ bassist Tom Gladwin will do a DJ set each night
AUGUST
25th: Manchester, Wythenshawe Park (guests to Blossoms)
SEPTEMBER
8th: Preston, BBC Radio 2 In The Park
27th: Manchester, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)
27th: Bury, Wax & Beans (6pm – SOLD OUT)
28th: Birmingham, HMV (1pm – SOLD OUT)
28th: Leamington Spa, Head Records (5pm – SOLD OUT)
29th: London, Rough Trade East (5pm – SOLD OUT)
29th: London, Rough Trade East (7pm – SOLD OUT)
30th – Southampton, Vinilo (1pm – SOLD OUT)
30th: Brighton, Resident (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)
OCTOBER
1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (12 noon – LOW TICKETS)
1st: Bristol, Rough Trade (5pm – SOLD OUT)
2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (midday – SOLD OUT)
2nd: Nottingham, Rough Trade (6pm – SOLD OUT)
3rd: Sheffield, Bear Tree Records (midday – SOLD OUT)
3rd: Liverpool, Jacaranda (7pm – SOLD OUT)
4th: Newcastle, Beyond Vinyl (6.30pm – SOLD OUT)
10th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records)
11th: Kingston-upon-Thames, Pryzm (Change Giver show, hosted by Banquet Records – SOLD OUT)
12th: Coventry, HMV Empire (Change Giver show)
16th: Edinburgh, Assai Records (midday – SOLD OUT)
16th: Glasgow, HMV (5pm – SOLD OUT)
17th: Glasgow, SWG3 (Change Giver show, hosted by Assai Records)
18th: Manchester, Academy 2 (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)
19th: Leeds, Beckett Student Union (Change Giver show, hosted by Crash Records – SOLD OUT)
Party time: Shed Seven’s Rob ‘Maxi’ Maxfield, left, Paul Banks, Rick Witter, Tom Gladwin and Tim Wills celebrate 30th anniversary on November and December tour
NOVEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR
14th: Sheffield Octagon (SOLD OUT)
15th: Cardiff University, Great Hall
16th: Liverpool University, Mountford Hall (LOW TICKETS)
18th: Halifax, Victoria Theatre (LOW TICKETS)
19th: Hull City Hall
21st: Aberdeen Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
22nd: Glasgow, O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
23rd: Edinburgh, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
25th: Leicester, O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
26th: Margate Dreamland
28th: Bristol O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
29th: Newcastle O2 City Hall (LOW TICKETS)
30th: Leeds O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
DECEMBER – 30th ANNIVERSARY HEADLINE TOUR
2nd: Oxford O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
3rd: Lincoln Engine Shed (LOW TICKETS)
5th: Stockton Globe
6th: Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse (SOLD OUT)
7th: Birmingham O2 Academy (SOLD OUT)
9th: Norwich, The Nick Rayns LCR, University of East Anglia (SOLD OUT)
10th: Cambridge Corn Exchange (LOW TICKETS)
12th: Bournemouth O2 Academy (LOW TICKETS)
13th: Nottingham Rock City (SOLD OUT)
14th: London O2 Academy Brixton (SOLD OUT)
DECEMBER – RICK WITTER & PAUL BANKS INTIMATE ACOUSTIC SHOWS
21st: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)
22nd: York, Huntington Working Men’s Club (SOLD OUT)
Any remaining tickets are on sale via shedseven.com at https://gigst.rs/SS24.
Paul Banks and Rick Witter: Concluding Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary celebrations on home turf at Huntington Working Men’s Club on December 21 and 22. Picture: David Harrison
Barney Taylor’s Andy, front left, and Hannah Woodward’s Gloria lead the cheers in Brassed Off. Picture: Pamela Raith
YORK filmmaker Mark Herman’s 1996 colliery band drama Brassed Off was first turned into a stage play with music by Paul Allen at Sheffield Crucible in 1998.
Bridlington-born Herman and Alan Ayckbourn biographer and “failed trombonist” Allen were both in the audience for Tuesday’s Scarborough press night for Liz Stevenson’s co-production for Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, the Stepehen Joseph Theatre and the Bolton Octagon Theatre.
Like the Crucible, all three are theatres in the round, an intimate 360-degree seating configuration that engenders and enhances the intense sense of community that Herman and in turn Allen extol.
“Since the first performances in 1998 it has become more and more of a memory play,” writes Allen in his programme notes before adding: “It always was (the pits had nearly all closed or been scheduled for closure by then) but I don’t think I thought of it that way at the time.”
Stevenson’s 2024 production – 40 years after the cataclysmic Miners’ Strike and 30 after the 1994 setting of Herman’s film – is very much a memory play, still narrated by Phil’s son, Shane, but now the 38-year-old, enervated adult Shane (Andrew Turner), who goes on to play his idealistic eight-year-old self.
In trim white shirt and dark trousers, he matches the look of the Narrator in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, but whereas Russell’s character is all-knowing and menacing, Shane is wistful and still seeking answers: answers that tellingly are not forthcoming as hope withers on the vine.
Allen’s notes predict “no obvious collective future in the age of the internet”, but he does say ‘we are a community, in the theatre or the concert hall, just as a band or company of actors have that sense of community’. That sentiment is all the more pertinent in an age when the arts have been subject to funding cuts and a curriculum cull at schools at universities, just as the mining industry was crushed under the Tory boot in the 1980s and ’90s.
Director Stevenson was adamant Brassed Off in 2024 should not be a “nostalgia festival”, and it most definitely isn’t, even if brass band music always evokes the past, like the first whiff of Bisto. A memory play, yes, but one fuelled by bad memories, as much as by a beleaguered community pulling together, their northern humour and jesting, jousting banter defiant to the last in a play suffused with raw wounds, pathos and pride.
And the band played on: A rousing moment in miners’ lamps in Brassed Off. Picture: Pamela Raith
Simon Kenny’s set design could not be starker: a coal-black floor and a spoil heap on a curve, with a pile of coal at each end, to contrast with the canary-yellow crate seating, brought on and off stage by Stevenson’s cast, and the glint of the brass instruments.
The plot, should you need a refresher course, finds the mining community of Grimley, Yorkshire, fighting to keep the colliery open ten years after the Miners’ Strike. Widowed band leader Danny (Russell Richardson) is fighting too, both against ill health and to keep his dispirited band of brass-playing miners together, when his dream of qualifying for the national championships is countered by the spectre of a vote to decide the miners and the mine’s future.
We meet couples under stultifying pressure: Danny’s son, trombone player and hapless clown Phil (Joey Hickman) and wife Sandra (Daneka Etchells), struggling with debts and a new-born fourth child; veteran miners and band members Jim (Greg Patmore) and Harry (Matt Ian Kelly) and their exasperated wives Vera (Joanna Holden) and Rita (Maxine Finch).
Then comes the re-kindling of a school-day crush as Gloria (Hannah Woodward) returns to Grimley, to work on a research project and add her flugelhorn to the band, while stirring old feelings in local lothario Shane (Andrew Turner). A Montague-Capulet division plays out in their latter-day Romeo & Juliet wooing, but with Yorkshire frankness.
To quote Allen again: “Sharing a room, however briefly, and sharing an emotional roller-coaster, we are something more than our individual selves for a few hours but also utterly ourselves. Which is rather glorious.”
How right he is, and that sense of community striving to survive beyond the dying of the mining age is all the stronger for the band playing on. Here that band combines five actor-musicians from the cast (Hickman, Patmore, Kelly, Taylor and Woodward) with a pool of community musicians (including Kate Lock, from York) that changes from show to show.
Matthew Malone’s arrangements are a joy, bringing cheers and tears alike. So do Stevenson’s cast, especially Richardson’s stoical Danny, Hickman’s desperate Phil, Etchells’ despairing Sandra and the sparky sparring of Taylor’s Andy and Woodward’s Gloria.
Brassed Off: still angry, still moving, still as resilient and resonant as ever. Top brass, top class, you might say, as the standing ovation testifies.
Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, and Octagon Theatre, Bolton present Brassed Off, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until August 31, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
Elkie Brooks: Heading out on her Long Farewell Tour. Picture: Neil Kirk
AFTER 64 years of performing live, the “British queen of blues”, Elkie Brooks, is to undertake her Long Farewell Tour, visiting York Barbican on April 11 2025.
In celebration of her six decades on the concert platform, the Salford singer will perform such hits as Pearl’s A Singer, Lilac Wine, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Sunshine After The Rain, No More The Fool and Don’t Cry Out Loud in a career-spanning show of blues, rock and jazz numbers that will showcase material from her forthcoming 21st studio album for the first time.
“I love performing live,” says Elkie, 79. “The audiences are always so appreciative, so full of energy, and after 40-plus long years of performing a well-worn repertoire, both myself and my band really feed off the vibrancy of the crowd. And believe me – the British people know how to have a good time! When an audience brings their A-game, I’ll certainly bring mine.”
Promoted by Bookbinder & Joyce, the Long Farewell Tour will span September 7 2024 to May 2 2025, its 24 dates taking in a second Yorkshire gig at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on September 12.
ELKIE began singing professionally in 1960. Born Elaine Bookbinder to a Jewish baker in Manchester, at 15 she won a talent contest at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, judged by Don Arden, manager of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and The Small Faces and father of Sharon Osbourne.
The next few years were an education. Elkie sang in cabaret clubs up and down the country and found herself supporting The Beatles at their 1964 Christmas shows at Hammersmith Odeon.
Her first hit, in 1964, was a version of Etta James’s Something’s Got A Hold On Me, featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page on guitar. She toured with The Small Faces and The Animals, and by the end of the 1960s, she was singing jazz with Humphrey Lyttelton’s band. A few short years later, she was co-fronting Vinegar Joe with Robert Palmer.
After Vinegar Joe’s dissolution, she found herself joining southern American boogie band Wet Willie: only a temporary diversion before was back on home turf, now a newly minted, grown-up solo singer.
Her solo debut album, 1975’s Rich Man’s Woman, was banned in some quarters, on account of its raunchy sleeve, but 1977’s Two Days Away album soon ignited the blue touch, thanks to its signature song, Pearl’s A Singer, co-written and produced by Elvis stalwarts Leiber & Stoller.
The hits flowed: Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Lilac Wine, Sunshine After The Rain, Warm And Tender Love, Don’t Cry Out Loud and her highest-charting single, No More The Fool. Her million-selling 1981 album, Pearl, stayed on the charts for 79 continuous weeks.
Over the course of the next 25 years, she has released 20 albums. By 2012, she had more chart albums under her belt than any other British female artist. On the concert stage, she has played the London Palladium, Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Arena and Ronnie Scott’s, shared the bill with The Beach Boys and Santana at Knebworth in 1980 and toured regularly.
Josie Campbell: Writer of the script to accompany Shakespeare’s sonnets in York Shakespeare Project’s outdoor show at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York
YORK Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets return to the churchyard of Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York, from tomorrow to August 17.
“After attracting a record audience of more than 600 people to the show last year in the Bar Convent gardens, we are delighted again to be offering a taste of Shakespeare that is both entertaining and accessible,” says YSP chair Tony Froud, who is directing for a second year. “It’s a lovely event for both the Shakespeare enthusiast and those new to Shakespeare.”
Holy Trinity last hosted YSP’s Sit-Down Sonnets in September 2020, under social distancing restrictions during the Covid pandemic.
“This year we plan to take full advantage of such a beautiful setting with all its historic associations,” says Tony. “The church has been incredibly welcoming, in keeping with being used for various theatrical and cultural events and for location filming too.
York Shakespeare Project’s poster for Summer Sonnets at Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate
“Many people will know the church as the site of the blessing of the relationship of Anne ‘Gentleman Jack’ Lister and Ann Walker [at Easter 1834], and we are building this year’s show around that famous event” [now marked by a York Civic Trust rainbow plaque with the wording “took sacrament here to seal her union”).
The Summer Sonnets show has been scripted by Josie Campbell, who performed the role of one of Macbeth’s witches for YSP on the Rose Theatre’s Shakespeare Wagon in 2019 at the Eye of York.
Sharing her time between Ampleforth and Dubai, Josie is a professional actor/director and co-founder of Little Britches Theatre Company. In 2021 she toured Yorkshire with a pop-up production of Shakespeare’s Will, a one-woman show about Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife.
“Josie had never been to Holy Trinity but did her research and was immediately captivated by the idea of using Anne Lister and Ann Walker’s story as the starting point,” says Tony. “A lot of the language she uses, she found in Anne Lister’s diary, which adds authenticity.”
York Shakespeare Project sonneteer Helen Wilson in rehearsal for Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
For Summer Sonnets, Josie has come up with an entertaining plot, taking full advantage of the church’s setting and rich history. “I have thoroughly enjoyed writing a Sonnets show, featuring Anne Lister, one of Yorkshire’s most uncompromising and resilient women”, she says.
For the Summer Sonnets, audiences are “invited to a secret wedding in Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, in the heart of York”, where they will “meet the church’s most famous couple while enjoying a complimentary drink, but as they witness the happy event, they may start to wonder: is everything quite what it seems?”
“As ever, the show will feature a wide variety of colourful characters, each speaking in everyday English until they shift into their 14 lines of verse from one of Shakespeare’s sonnets to reveal the heart of their story,” says Tony, who is keeping the exact nature of those characters under wraps until the opening evening.
“It’s a lovely experience. You can sip your complimentary drink on a summer’s evening in a delightful setting. Very often, the characters slip into a sonnet and the audience hardly notices that the language has become Shakespearean. And you should look forward to a surprise or two!”
Summer Sonnets director Tony Froud. Picture: John Saunders
2024 marks the tenth anniversary of YSP’s first show built around Shakespeare’s sonnets in the form of 2014’s Sonnet Walks, wherein groups of audience members met assorted characters as they walked through the streets of York.
“Sadly, I never saw the Walks, but there’s an advantage in having a single setting where characters can meet, start a story and then reappear to complete it,” says Josie.
Tony adds: “Part of the joy of the piece is that Josie has come to the Shakespeare sonnet format, having never seen our sonnets shows before, whereas all our previous writers have had the theatrical equivalent of muscle memory.
Summer Sonnets debutant sonneteer Liam Godrey: Reuniting with writer Josie Campbell after he played Macbeth in York Shakespeare Project’s wagon play at Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in York in 2019, when Josie “threw herself wholeheartedly” into her role as one of the witches. Picture: John Saunders
“She came to it with fresh eyes, and the full credit I would give her is that she has been extraordinarily generous and open with her script and has allowed me as director and the cast to develop their character to suit the sonnet format.
“All the cast have to find a way to allow their character to discover their Shakespeare sonnet as a natural part of their progression.”
Tony’s cast is a blend of actors new to the YSP Sonnets, Marie-Louise Feeley, Liam Godfrey, Halina Jaroszewska, Alexandra Logan, Grace Scott and Effie Warboys, and seasoned sonneteers Maurice Crichton, Emily Hansen, Sally Mitcham, Helen Wilson and Tony Froud himself.
Alexandra Logan: Newcomer in the Summer Sonnets ranks in rehearsal in the Holy Trinity churchyard. Picture: John Saunders
“Our YSP casts for The Taming Of The Shrew and Edward II have demonstrated a greater variety of casting, and that has continued with Summer Sonnets,” says Tony, who has held rehearsals over the past six weeks. “We seem to be casting our net more widely, attracting a wider set of actors.
“That said, YSP has always tried to do that because we’ve aways had a policy of selecting a different director for each production and we operate an open casting policy.”
Writer Josie Campbell suggested the sonnets to be performed by each character. “The vast majority were chosen by her, though as part of the development of the script, two of the cast asked to use another for their character,” says Tony.
Grace Scott: Taking part in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets for the first time. Picture: John Saunders
“My experience is that there’s always a collective sense of appreciation among the audience when they recognise a familiar sonnet, but we also try each year to include some new sonnets from Shakespeare’s collection.”
Reflecting on the tenth anniversary of YSP’s Sonnets seasons, Tony says: “I understand it was a very different animal when it began, starting as Sonnets Walks around the city, where each actor would develop their character and then choose their sonnet.
“But now we’ve hit on a format with a single venue and we have the opportunity for a writer and director to develop the characters, the dramatisation and the narrative arc and that prescribes the choice of sonnets rather more.”
York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, York, August 9 to 17, 6pm and 7.30pm nightly, except August 12, plus 4.30pm on August 10 and 17. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
The York Civic Trust rainbow plaque at the entrance to Holy Trinity Church, Gooramgate, to mark the sacrament of the union of Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister and Ann Walker that inspired the theme for York Skakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets
Did you know?
YORK Shakespeare Project will perform all three parts of Shakespeare’s Henry VI history plays, condensed into one play, at next April’s York International Shakespeare Festival, under the direction of Irwin Appel, American professor of drama and theatre studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Elle Wootton in The 13-Storey Treehouse at Grand Opera House, York. Picture: James D Morgan
SHAKESPEARE sonnets, a treehouse with bowling alley and sea monster, The Magpies’ music festival and a thrilling children’s workshop will keep the summer diary busy, advises Charles Hutchinson.
Family show of the week: The 13-Storey Treehouse, Grand Opera House, York, today(8/8/2024) to Sunday, 1pm and 5pm
ADAPTED by Richard Tulloch (The Book Of Everything, Bananas In Pyjamas), this one-hour play for children aged six to 12 brings Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s story to stage life with a seriously funny cast and a treehouse replete with a bowling alley, a secret underground laboratory, self-making beds and a marshmallow machine.
Expect magical moments of theatrical wizardry and a truckload of imagination from the cast of Elle Wootton, Edwin Beats and Ryan Dulieu when Andy and Terry forget to write their debut play. Where will they find flying cats, a mermaid, a sea monster, an invasion of monkeys and a giant gorilla? Find out this week. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Josie Campbell: Writer of the script to accompany Shakespeare’s sonnets in York Shakespeare Project’s outdoor show at Holy Trinity, Goodramgate, York
Wedding invitation of the week: York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, Friday to August 17, except August 12, 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm on both Saturdays
AUDIENCES are invited to a secret wedding at Holy Trinity, where they will meet the church’s most famous couple – Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister and Ann Walker – while enjoying a complimentary drink.
Linked by Josie Campbell’s script, York Shakespeare Project’s tenth anniversary selection of Shakespeare sonnets are performed in character by Maurice Crichton; Marie-Louise Feeley; Liam Godfrey; Emily Hansen; Halina Jaroszewska; Alexandra Logan; Sally Mitcham; Grace Scott; Effie Warboys; Helen Wilson and director Tony Froud. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
The poster for Safe Suburban Home Records’ August ’24 Roadshow at The Crescent, York
York gig of the week: Safe Suburban Home Records presents August ’24 Roadshow, Cowgirl, Teenage Tom Petties and Oort Clod, The Crescent, York, Friday, 7.30pm
SAFE Suburban Home Records will be in party mood at The Crescent, celebrating Friday’s release of York garage rock quartet Cowgirl’s new album, Cut Offs. Built around chief songwriters Danny Trew Barton and Sam Coates, they wrap melodies in walls of wailing guitar fuzz.
Teenage Tom Petties deliver transatlantic slacker rock with just the right amount of slop, fuzz and melody; Manchester’s mask-wearing Oort Clod promise post-punk, garage rock and jangly indie. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Fountains By Water, by Peter Hicks, on show at Fountains Abbey. Picture: Joe Cornish
Exhibition of the week: Peter Hicks, Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden, near Ripon
THIS summer’s run of Peter Hicks’s exhibition, Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal – A Landscape Painter’s Perspective, is being extended to September 15. On show are works painted in response to the John and William Aislabie-designed landscapes at Fountains during Hicks’s residency in 2023.
Commissioned by the National Trust, the Yorkshire landscape artist’s paintings, studies and sketchbooks are on display in Fountains Mill. Hicks specialises in abstract landscapes with acrylic washes on canvas and board, making his own benches and brush handles and using humble and accessible materials, such as old margarine pots for mixing his paints. Tickets: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden.
Actress, vocalist and accordion player Natalia Tena fronts Molotov Jukebox at The Magpies Festival, backed by Balkan fiddle, Latin trumpet and a pounding rhythm section, on Friday
Festival of the week: The Magpies Festival, Sutton Park, near York, Friday and Saturday
RUN by transatlantic folk band The Magpies, The Magpies Festival is rooted in the trio’s native Yorkshire, where they first met. Now in its fourth year, the 2024 event will be headlined on Friday on the main stage by bi-lingual six-piece Molotov Jukebox at 10pm, preceded by Chris While & Julie Matthews, 6pm, and Jim Moray, 8pm.
Friday’s Brass Castle Stage bill features Em Risley, 5pm; Taff Rapids Stringband, 7pm; The Turbans, 9pm, and Easingwold musician Gary Stewart’s Graceland, 11pm.
Saturday’s main stage bill will be topped by Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys at 10pm, preceded by Charm Of Finches, 12 noon, The Often Herd, 2pm, Jesca Hoop, 4pm, The Magpies, 6pm, and Nati (formerly known as Nati Dreddd), 8pm. Saturday’s Brass Castle Stage line-up comprises Painted Sky, 1pm; Suntou Susso, 3pm; Northern Resonance, 5pm; Awkward Family Portraits, 7pm, and Marvara, 9pm. Box office: themagpiesfestival.co.uk/tickets.
The poster for the Three Day Thriller workshop for children at Helmsley Arts Centre
Children’s activity of the week: The Three Day Thriller, Helmsley Arts Centre, August 12 to 14, 10am to 2pm. CANCELLED
BUCKLE up for this improvising and devising workshop for 11 to 16-year-olds, designed to look at different theatre and performance techniques to make a new story in the thriller genre. The focus will be on character, plot and staging to create excitement, mystery and suspense, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. At the end of day three, the work explored will be shared with family and friends. Places on the £75 workshop can be booked on 01439 771700 or at helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Robert Gammon: Playing at Dementia Friendly Tea Concert at St Chad’s Church, York
Dementia Friendly Tea Concert: Robert Gammon, piano, St Chad’s Church, Campleshon Road, York, August 15, 2.30pm
PIANIST Robert Gammon returns to St Chad’s to perform Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F sharp Minor from the Well Tempered Clavier Book 2, Schumann’s Kinderszenen and two Chopin Polonaises. As usual, 45 minutes of music will be followed by tea and homemade cakes in the church hall.
“This relaxed event is ideal for people who may not feel comfortable at a formal classical concert, so we do not mind if the audience wants to talk or move about,” says organiser Alison Gammon. Seating is unreserved; no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
The gang is back: Martin Stephenson performs with his fellow Daintees stalwarts at Milton Rooms, Malton, this autumn
Gig announcement of the week: Martin Stephenson & The Daintees, Milton Rooms, Malton, October 13, 8pm
MARTIN Stephenson’s focus will be on You Belong To Blue, the February 2023 album that saw original Daintees’ members Gary Dunn, Anthony Dunn and Charlie Smith, plus a selection of special guests, joining up with the Durham-born singer-songwriter once again.
His Malton set will feature Daintees and Stephenson solo favourites stretching back to his 1986 debut Boat To Bolivia as he dips into country, folk, jazz, blues, skiffle and reggae. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond, from August 14 onwards. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 29, from Gazette & Herald
Tony Froud’s Reverend Ebenezer Goode in York Shakespeare Project’s Summer Sonnets. Picture: John Saunders
DON’T poo-poo Ada Grey’s exhibition for children at Nunnington Hall, advises Charles Hutchinson, as he picks cultural highlights for the weeks ahead.
Wedding invitation of the week: York Shakespeare Project, Summer Sonnets, Holy Trinity churchyard, Goodramgate, York, until August 17, 6pm and 7.30pm plus 4.30pm Saturday
AUDIENCES are invited to a secret wedding at Holy Trinity, where they will meet the church’s most famous couple – Anne “Gentleman Jack” Lister and Ann Walker – while enjoying a complimentary drink.
Linked by Josie Campbell’s script, York Shakespeare Project’s tenth anniversary selection of Shakespeare sonnets is performed in character by Maurice Crichton; Marie-Louise Feeley; Liam Godfrey; Emily Hansen; Halina Jaroszewska; Alexandra Logan; Sally Mitcham; Grace Scott; Effie Warboys; Helen Wilson and director Tony Froud. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/summer-sonnets/.
Heather Findlay: Busking at Sunday’s York River Art Market. Picture: Adam Kennedy
York’s answer to the Left Bank in Paris: York River Art Market, August 17 and 18, 10am to 5pm
YORK River Art Market sets out its stalls on the Dame Judi Dench Walk riverside for its third weekend this summer, featuring up to 30 artists and makers per day. Among Saturday’s stallholders will be Bejojo Art, Jillie Lazenby, Woody’s Creations, Emily Littler, Happy Pot Mama, Magdalena Biernacka, Kissed Frog, I’ve Been Creative, Matt Lightfoot Photography, Inky Print Designs and Wood Wyrm.
Popping up on Sunday will be Urban Infill Store, Wild Orange Tree, Jo O’Cuinneagan, Rock and Twig Studio, David Lobley Photography, The Littlest Falcon, Feather Isle, Fei’s Crochet, Painter Merv, Stairwell Books, Ounce Of Style and plenty more. Look out for York singer-songwriter Heather Findlay on busking duty on Sunday. Admission is free.
Bedern Hall: Playing host to SconeFest from August 14 to 16
Festival of the week: SconeFest, Bedern Hall, Bartle Garth, St Andrewgate,York, August 14 to 16, 11am to 3pm
BEDERN Hall, York’s 14th-century dining hall, hosts the city’s second annual SconeFest, promising a new mystery flavour every day, with the chance to win an afternoon tea for two at the hall if your guess is correct. In addition, the menu will include beloved flavours such as cheese, fruit and lavender.
Director Roger Lee says: “We’re honoured to have Bernadette – famed for her Christmas Pudding scones – baking for us, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience her incredible scones.” No need to book; visitors are welcome at any time throughout the day. Takeaway scones and hot drinks will be available.
Poo power: Illustrator and author Ada Grey’s exhibition at Nunnington Hall
Exhibition of the week: Ada Grey, Splat! Patter! Plop!, Nunnington Hall, Nunnington, until September 8
DIVE into a world where the “hilarity of poo” takes centre stage in this “unique children’s illustration exhibition like no other” by Ada Grey, creator of such picture books as Poo In The Zoo, Great Poo Mystery, Island Of Dinosaur Poo and Super Pooper Road Race.
Noted for the vibrant colours, lively characters and comical twists of her children’s tales, for the first time Grey is showcasing illustrations of such beloved characters as Bob McGrew and Hector Gloop in iconic moments from her favourite stories. Children have the chance to immerse themselves in Ada’s books, draw inspiration to create their own characters and proudly display their creations in the Poop-a-Doodle gallery. Grey will drop in on August 20 to run workshops for children from 11am to 4pm. Tickets and workshop bookings: nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/nunnington-hall/exhibitions.
MeatLoud: Paying tribute to MeatLoaf and Jim Steinman at Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Another slice of MeatLoaf: MeatLoud – Bat Out Of Hades, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, August 24, 7.30pm
FOUNDED in 2015, this powerhouse tribute to MeatLoaf and songwriter Jim Steinman is fronted by vocalist Andy Plimmer, who is joined Sally Rivers to take on the guise of Bonnie Tyler, Celine Dion and Cher. The second half features a complete performance of the classic 1977 album Bat Out Of Hell. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys: Making debut appearance at Selby Town Hall next month
New season opener: Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys, Selby Town Hall, September 4, 7.30pm
SELBY Town Hall kicks off its autumn season with the debut visit of Jake Vaadeland & The Sturgeon River Boys, purveyors of bluegrass and rockabilly from Saskatchewan, Canada.
Selby Town Council arts officer Chris Jones enthuses: “I absolutely love these guys. It’s probably the show I’m most looking forward to in the second half of the year. At just 21 years old, Jake is terrifyingly talented. He and the band – dressed in authentic 1950s’ suits – make the most fantastically fun, upbeat, toe-tapping music, already gracing the main stages of festivals across North America.” Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Simon Russell Beale: Shakespeare actor, now starring as Ser Simon Strong in House Of The Dragon, will be in conversation at York Theatre Royal in September
Theatre chat: An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, York Theatre Royal, September 10, 7.30pm
WAS Shakespeare an instinctive “conservative” or, rather, gently subversive? How collaborative was he? Did he add a line to Hamlet to accommodate his ageing and increasingly chubby principal actor Richard Burbage? Did he suffer from insomnia and experience sexual jealousy?
In An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, in conversation with a special guest, the Olivier Award-winning actor will share his experiences of “approaching and living with some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters”, from his school-play days as Desdemona in Othello to title roles in Hamlet and Macbeth. Expect anecdotes of Sam Mendes, Nick Hytner, Stephen Sondheim and Lauren Bacall too. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Elkie Brooks: Heading out on her Long Farewell Tour. Leeds and York await. Picture: Neil Kirk
Gig announcement of the week: Elkie Brooks, Long Farewell Tour, Leeds City Varieties Music Hall, September 12; York Barbican, April 11 2025
AFTER 64 years of performing live, the “British queen of blues”, Elkie Brooks, is to undertake her Long Farewell Tour, visiting Leeds and York among 24 dates.
The Salford singer, 79, will perform such hits as Pearl’s A Singer, Lilac Wine, Fool (If You Think It’s Over), Sunshine After The Rain, No More The Fool and Don’t Cry Out Loud in a career-spanning show of blues, rock and jazz numbers that will showcase material from her forthcoming 21st studio album for the first time. Box office: elkiebrooks.com/elkie-brooks-tour-dates-2024; leedsheritagetheatres.com and yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Banana drama: Edwin Beats’s Terry, left, and Ryan Dulieu’s Andy in The 13-Storey Treehouse. Picture: James D Morgan
THE 13-Storey Treehouse finds a new home in York from tomorrow to Sunday when Richard Tulloch’s stage adaptation of Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton’s story plays the Grand Opera House.
Tulloch, whose award-winning stage-writing credits include The Book Of Everything and Bananas In Pyjamas, has created a one-hour play for children aged six to 12 featuring a treehouse replete with bowling alley, secret underground laboratory, self-making beds and marshmallow machine.
Expect magical moments of theatrical wizardry and a truckload of imagination from the seriously funny cast of Ryan Dulieu, Edwin Beats and Elle Wootton, called into action when Andy and Terry forget to write their debut play. Where will they find flying cats, a mermaid, a sea monster, an invasion of monkeys and a giant gorilla? Find out from tomorrow.
Here cast members Ryan Dulieu (who plays Andy), Edwin Beats (Terry) and Elle Wootton (Val) discuss the play and its British tour.
For those who might not know the story, how would you sum it up?
Ryan: “The 13-Storey Treehouse is about a couple of goofballs, Andy and Terry, who turn up at the theatre thinking it’s their first rehearsal, only to find it’s opening night – and they haven’t even started writing the play yet (an actor’s worst nightmare come to life). Luckily Val, the stage manager, reluctantly joins in to help them make it all up as they go along, with the boys causing mayhem along the way.”
Elle: “As you can imagine, a lot of chaos and hilarity ensues.”
Edwin: “It’s an energetic and ridiculously fun show, loosely about imagination and togetherness. There’s music and laughs, and it’s worth coming just to see Val’s characterisation of Bill the Postman.”
How would you describe your characters?
Edwin: “I play Terry, who draws all the pictures in the books. Terry is somewhat goofy and entirely loveable. He is the doer, where Andy is the sayer. He’s not especially good at staying on task, so will often have to pull things together at the last moment.”
Ryan: “I play Andy, Terry’s best (and only) friend, the brains of the two, the one who writes the words (Terry does the scribbles). Andy is the main protagonist of the show, easily likable, very handsome, and incredibly funny.
Elle: “I play Val, a no-nonsense, super-organised, and very professional stage manager. She loves the theatre and wants the audience to have the best experience possible. But there’s more to Val than meets the eye. I really enjoy playing her because she is a character that surprises herself and others.”
Ryan: “I have to say I also absolutely love playing Andy. He has what can only be described as a certain ‘rizz’. He’s energetic and driven, always has big ideas, and works pretty hard to solve some Terry-induced problems. Playing Andy allows me be loud, confident, funny, and unleash my inner bossy-pants. Do I relate to Andy at all? You know, I think I really do!
Edwin: “I like Terry’s childlike wonder, and his abundant enthusiasm. He feels his feelings in a genuine and undiluted way. I relate closely to his distractibility, and the way he struggles with time management.”
Do you have a favourite part of the show?
Ryan: “Normally I say – spoiler alert – the giant gorilla, but at the moment my favourite part is probably the very beginning, where Andy and Terry have absolutely no idea what’s going on, and it almost seems as though there might be no show at all. It’s a thrilling bit of the show to perform, all that excitement and fear of making it up on the spot.
Edwin: “Barky the Barking Dog. There’s a part where Terry gets to watch his favourite TV show, then later on he discovers that he’s won 1st prize in the Barky the Barking Dog drawing competition!”
Elle: “The drawing competition always tickles me too! And I really enjoy Mermaidia.”
In the story, Andy and Terry live in the world’s best treehouse, fitted with a giant catapult, a secret underground laboratory, a tank of man-eating sharks and a marshmallow machine. What would be in your 13-Storey Treehouse?
Ryan: In my treehouse you would use trampolines instead of ladders to get around, there would be a spa-bath-cinema, a reptile-park on the roof (I love lizards and big, friendly snakes) and an automatic sandwich-making robot that would follow me around whenever I was hungry. Also, a ‘Luge’, which is like a go-kart, except there’s no motor and it’s all downhill!”
Edwin: “I’d have a football field and 21 chimpanzees in football boots. A branch that grows wonderful new fruits from your imagination. An enormous ski jump (that’s how you get down from the treehouse). And one level that’s just a very good authentic Mexican restaurant.”
Elle Wootton spreads her wings in The 13-Storey Treehouse. Picture: James D Morgan
Elle: “Oh my goodness! So many things! So hard to choose! I think I would love a bubble level: a giant room with a constant stream of bubbles, beautifully coloured lights and some great music. I also would love a jungle floor, where the whole space is full of tropical plants and there’s a lagoon to swim in.”
The story must have been tricky to bring to the stage. How does it all work?
Elle: “The magic of theatre! Which is a lot of trial and error in rehearsals, some amazing crew working behind the scenes, and a great team of performers working together with the audience’s imagination too!”
Edwin: “The book explores this idea that Andy and Terry have been goofing around so much that they’ve neglected to make a book for their publisher. In the theatre show, we’re similarly ill-prepared. We use our imaginations and the magic of theatre and make it up as we go along. We rely heavily on Val, the highly proficient and highly professional stage manager to create something out of nothing.”
Ryan: “Without ruining any surprises, it really engages the audience’s imagination! You’ll definitely see all the best bits of the book, and a whole team of clever people help us make it work, using things like puppetry, trick-props, some brilliant technical lighting and sound effects, and some really, very, very good acting of course!”
Ahead of making your UK debut with this show, you have toured Australia and the United States. What was the audience reaction to seeing the book brought to life on stage?
Edwin: “In Australia we’re rock stars. Aussie kids go ballistic when they see Andy and Terry! I remember sneaking onto the stage in near-darkness (before the show begins) and hearing excited whispers of ‘That’s Terry!’ from the audience. The US was great fun too: we had one especially massive audience in Alabama, where the concert hall seats close to 2,000 people!”
Ryan: “Audiences everywhere have been so enthusiastic and appreciative. I think the best thing about different Treehouse audiences around the world is how they all find new and different things they find funny in the show. It’s always surprising doing a show somewhere new and hearing audiences reacting differently to how you think they will.”
Elle: “It’s exciting and interesting to perform to people in different countries because sometimes the sense of humour in each country is different. So, in Australia people will laugh at things that in the US they might not and vice versa.
“But no matter where we go, audiences love the show! I’m looking forward to seeing what people in the UK connect with most in the play.”
Is it important to create theatre specifically for younger audiences?
Ryan: “Creating theatre for young people is one of the most important parts of the performing and theatre world. It opens the way for all of us to fall in love with theatre and live storytelling from a young age and creates pathways for young people to see they can have a career in the arts too.”
Elle: “Young people are the future, we have a lot to learn from them, but we also want to teach them the importance of creativity and connection.
“Theatre gives us a glimpse into another world, a different perspective, a view of someone else’s life, their feelings, and experiences. I think theatre, when done well, can help young people to develop empathy and learn important values, like friendship and respect.
Edwin: “Young people make the best audiences. Grown-ups are sometimes too polite to enjoy themselves, or too distracted by other things in life. Attending a show for young people can be joyous for the kids, and a valuable reminder for adults to exist in the moment.
Ryan: “Some of the best memories I have are being taken to pantomimes as a kid. I think my first show I saw was the Nutcracker ballet.”
Elle: “I loved the theatre when I was younger and was always affected by each performance I saw; I felt transported to another world. Although I did see a very scary rendition of Hansel And Gretel when I was quite young and it really stuck with me. I guess that taught me the strong impact that theatre can have on a young mind.”
Why come to the show?
Elle: “It is a joyful, rambunctious and entertaining ride that will absolutely fly by. You’ll laugh, you’ll get grossed out, you might even have a wee cry! Andy and Terry are a dynamic duo and so much fun to watch.”
Edwin: “I honestly believe it’s the most fun that can be packed into 55 minutes.”
Ryan: “It brings the book to life in such a creative and wonderful way. Whether you’re a die-hard Treehouse fan, or you’ve wandered in off the street and have no idea what a play even is, this show has something for everyone.”
The 13-Storey Treehouse, Grand Opera House, York, tomorrow (8/8/2024) to Sunday, 1pm and 5pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york
Artist Dan Baldin with works from his new collection The Pursuit Of Happiness
“I FEEL like I’m having a rebirth…and we are into a really bright, fresh, optimistic period,” says artist Dan Baldwin, as he launches The Pursuit Of Happiness at RedHouse Originals Gallery, Harrogate, his debut Yorkshire solo exhibition and first in the north of England since 2007.
“This new collection is a joyous remix of Baldwin’s renowned motifs of animals, flowers, and illustrations,” says RedHouse director Richard McTague, introducing the new Artist Spotlight series of kaleidoscopic original paintings, works on paper, ceramics, steel sculpture and rare editions that can be viewed alongside Baldwin’s iconic swallow series Love And Light. “The exhibition is a true serotonin boost, filled with an abundance of colour.”
The Pursuit Of Happiness, acrylic on canvas, 2023, by Dan Baldwin
Describing The Pursuit Of Happiness as “a celebration of painting, colour and nature”, Baldwin says his new collection focuses on “how painting and colour – along with nature – have been a healing factor over the last four years”, with a return to nature functioning as a form of self-therapy.
Blending abstract and figurative elements, reflecting both reality and the world of imagination, Baldwin says: “I feel like I’m having a rebirth; it’s over 30 years since I began art college in 1990, and a lot of my art over the last few years was quite dark…I feel that has gone, and we are into a really bright fresh optimistic period.
Hold On Tight, acrylic on handmade paper, 2023-2024, by Dan Baldwin
“I’ve come to realise that colour is the driving force behind my compositions. It is the starting point and creates the feel of the composition, dictating the next stages.”
“The work is more abstract, but totally conscious, every mark and element is selected very carefully to get this perfect balance…And that’s what every work is about: harmony, balance, layers, and how everything works together.”
Clarity, acrylic on canvas, 2023, by Dan Baldwin
The last word (of approval) goes to Pop Art doyen and RedHouse Originals alumnus Sir Peter Blake. “Looking at Dan’s work is like meeting old friends for me,” he says. “It looks as though at some point in our careers we used the same casting agency. I am flattered that Dan writes that he was influenced by my work.”
Dan Baldwin: The Pursuit Of Happiness, at RedHouse Originals Gallery, Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, until August 31. Opening hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and on Sundays by appointment on 01423 884400 or by email to info@redhouseoriginals.com. Website: www.redhouseoriginals.com.
Dan Baldwin: the back story, from RedHouse Originals Gallery
Artist Dan Baldwin at work. Picture: RedHouse Originals Gallery
BORN in Manchester in 1972, Dan Baldwin studied at Eastbourne College of Art and Design and later at Kent Institute of Art and Design.
A painter, printmaker and ceramicist, Baldwin demonstrates an immediately recognisable style, blending abstract and figurative elements, reflecting both reality and the world of imagination.
His dynamic images shift thematically, from ruminations on love and memory to philosophy and politics.
The poster for Dan Baldwin’s debut solo exhibition in Yorkshire, The Pursuit Of Happiness
Baldwin’s dynamic canvases incorporate multiple planes and perspectives, utilising a broad range of media. As well as traditional painting and mark-making, his images often incorporate 3D elements, gilding, glazes, diamond dust and collage.
Symbolism is key to Baldwin’s oeuvre: swallows, skeletons and religious iconography appear alongside children’s story-book illustrations, flowers and cartoon figures. Recurring motifs are prevalent, including Baldwin’s preoccupation with human existence and perseverance to reflect on life and love.
Baldwin exhibits internationally and collectors of his work include Damien Hirst, Sir Peter Blake and Gilbert and George.
York Theatre Royal chief executive officer Paul Crewes. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
ONCE the York Theatre Royal packed away the big top as the circus-themed Around The World In 80 Days-ish concluded its globe-trotting travels last Saturday, attention could turn to the autumn and winter season.
At its core will be two in-house productions: Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster’s staging of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age story Little Women, from September 21 to October 12, and the year-ending pantomime Aladdin, co-produced by the Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions, from December 3 to January 5.
Presented in association with “silent partner” Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Little Women is adapted by Anna Marie Casey in a new look at the story of headstrong Jo and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy growing up in New England during the American Civil War.
Aladdin reunites regular dame Robin Simpson and baddie Paul Hawkyard, who returns after a year’s absence to restore a partnership last seen as Mrs Smee and Captain Hook in All New Adventures Of Peter Pan. Joining them will be CBeebies star Evie Pickerill as Spirit Of The Ring and BBC Let It Shine winner Sario Solomon in the title role.
“What we’re trying to do here is look to increase the work we produce ourselves, which has become smaller for reasons such as Covid,” says chief executive officer Paul Crewes. “We have to re-establish ourselves as a producing theatre that presents great touring work as well.”
Add Around The World In 80 Days-ish to the home-grown list, and Paul’s vision for the future is taking shape. “I want our in-house productions to run for more than ten days. That’s risky but unless you start doing it, you don’t build an audience,” he says.
“Then you think, ‘what work do I want to put around those shows?’, ‘how do we balance and support that work?’, and one of the things I want to do is build a programme of really high-quality dance shows. That’s why we have London City Ballet coming back for the first time in nearly 30 years as part of their re-launch.”
On September 6 and 7, London City Ballet will perform a revival of Kenneth Macmillan’s 1972 one-act ballet Ballade, not seen in Europe for more than 50 years, Arielle Smith’s premiere of Five Dances and artistic director Christopher Marney’s 2022 work Eve.
“We’re also delighted to have Company Wayne McGregor performing Autobiography (V102 and V103) on October 25 and 26,” says Paul. “Wayne McGregor is one of the top choreographers in the world; he’s just been knighted and he’s running the dance programme for the Venice Biennale 2024. That’s some statement about the quality we’re trying to establish here.”
Genetic codes, AI and choreography merge in this McGregor work that re-imagines and remakes itself anew for every performance as “artificial intelligence and instinct converge in creative authorship”..
Pride And Prejudice* (*Sort Of): Not sort of, but definitely, on stage at York Theatre Royal from November 4 to 9. Picture: Mihaela Bodlovicast
Looking further ahead, the Theatre Royal will welcome Jasmin Vardimon: Now, a new creation by choreographer Jasmin Vardimon MBE, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her dance theatre company, on February 8 next year. “This will be the company’s first time in York,” says Paul.
In addition to Little Women, the autumn’s classic literary focus will continue with Newcastle Theatre Royal’s Olivier Award-winning Pride And Prejudice* (*Sort Of), by Isobel McArthur after Jane Austen, from November 4 to 9. Billed as a unique and audacious retelling of Austen’s iconic love story”, in a nutshell, “it’s the 1800s, it’s party time. Let the ruthless matchmaking begin”.
“I’ve known the producer, David Pugh, for a long time, and it’s good to take shows from the West End and bring them here,” says Paul.
On a literary bent too, crime writer Ian Rankin’s detective Rebus treads the boards in a new play, Rebus: A Game Called Malice, from October 15 to 19, with Glasgow-born Gray O’Brien, last seen in York as the boorish, bigoted Juror 10 in Twelve Angry Men at the Grand Opera House in May, taking the role of John Rebus.
Rankin, who will attend a post-show discussion on October 18, has co-written the play with Simon Reade, set at a stately home dinner party where guests are required by the hostess to play a murder mystery game she has thought up. “It’s well timed after the new TV series, and having Ian Rankin at the discussion is a bit of a coup too,” says Paul.
Olivier Award winner Sally Cookson directs the Bristol Old Vic’s innovative production of Wonder Boy, Ross Willis’s “heartwarming and inspiring story about the power of communication packed with playful humour, dazzling visuals and thrilling original music”. Look out for live creative captioning on stage throughout from October 29 to November2. “Sally has a fantastic track record at Bristol and the National Theatre, and this piece just looks really, really exciting,” says Paul.
Among the one-nighter highlights are two Simons: An Evening With Simon Russell Beale, on September 10, wherein the Olivier Award-winning actor delves into his life and career to celebrate his memoir, A Piece Of Work, and An Evening With Simon Armitage & LYR, on January 24, featuring poetry and live performance by the Poet Laureate and his band.
“We just grabbed at the chance to put on Simon Russell Beale’s show when it was offered,” says Paul. “I’m not a great fan of actors standing on stage talking about themselves, but if it’s Simon Russell Beale – or Ian McKellen – then why not!”
Full details of the new season can be found at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk, including the Theatre Royal Studio taking on a new guise from October as a cabaret club after a makeover and name change to The Old Paint Shop for nights of music, improv and burlesque by York artists. Box office: 01904 623568.
