The Steelers: Re-creating the songs of Steely Dan at Helmsley Arts Centre
FROM a residents’ free festival to a Steely Dan tribute, the return of The Old Paint Shop cabaret to the Poet Laureate’s foray into music, Charles Hutchinson welcomes signs of 2025 gathering pace.
Tribute show of the week: The Steelers, Helmsley Arts Centre, tonight, 7.30pm
THE Steelers, a nine-piece band of musicians drawn from around Great Britain, perform songs from iconic Steely Dan Steel albums Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, AJA and Goucho, crafted by Walter Becker and Donald Fagan since 1972. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Lyrical musicianship at York Theatre Royal: Poet Laureate and LYR band members Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson. Picture: Katie Silvester
The language of music: An Evening With Simon Armitage and LYR, York Theatre Royal, tonight, 7.30pm
UK Poet Laureate, dramatist, novelist, broadcaster and University of Leeds Professor of Poetry Simon Armitage teams up with his band LYR for an evening of poetry (first half) and music (second half), where LYR’s soaring vocal melodies and ambient instrumentation create an evocative and enchanting soundscape for West Yorkshireman Armitage’s spoken-word passages. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ned Swarbrick: Debut headline gig at The Crescent at the age of 16
Headline debut of the week: Ned Swarbrick, The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm
AT 16, York singer-songwriter Ned Swarbrick heads to The Crescent – with a couple of band mates in tow – for his debut headline show after accruing 40 gigs over the past two years. Penning acoustic songs that reflect his love of literature and pop culture, he sways from melancholy to upbeat, sad to happy, serious to tongue in cheek.
The first to admit that he is still finding his feet, in his live shows Ned switches between Belle & Sebastian-style pop numbers and intimate folk tunes more reminiscent of Nick Drake. Check out his debut EP, Michelangelo, featuring National Youth Folk Ensemble members, and look out for him busking on York’s streets. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Frankie Monroe: Transforming The Old Paint Shop into the Misty Moon working men’s club at York Theatre Royal
Beyond compere: Frankie Monroe And Friends, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm
BBC New Comedy and Edinburgh Fringe Newcomer winner Frankie Monroe hosts an evening of humour, tricks and mucky bitter in The Old Paint Shop. Join the owner of the Misty Moon – “a working men’s club in Rotherham that also serves as a portal to hell” – in his biggest show yet with some of York’s finest cabaret performers. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Clifford’s Tower: Taking part in York Residents’ Festival this weekend
Festival of the week: York Residents’ Festival, Saturday and Sunday
ORGANISED by Make It York, this annual festival combines free offers, events and discounts for valid York Card, student card or identity card holders that proves your York residency. Among the participating visitor attractions will be Bedern Hall, Clifford’s Tower, Yorkshire Air Museum, Merchant Taylors Hall and, outside York, Beningbrough Hall and Castle Howard. For the full list of offers, head to: visityork.org/offers/category/york-residents-festival.
Scott Matthews: Wolverhampton singer-songwriter plays the NCEM, York
Folk gig of the week: The Crescent and Black Swan Folk Club present Scott Matthews, National Centre for Early Music, York, Saturday, doors 7pm
ON a tour that has taken in churches and caves, Wolverhampton singer-songwriter Scott Matthews plays St Margaret’s Church, home to the NCEM in Walmgate, next weekend.
Combining folk, rock, blues and Eastern-inspired song-writing, he has released eight albums since his 2007 debut single, Elusive, won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. His most recent recording, 2023’s Restless Lullabies, found him revisiting songs from 2020’s New Skin with a stark acoustic boldness. Box office: seetickets.com/event/scott-matthews/ncem/3211118. Please note, this is a seated show with all seating unreserved.
The Cactus Blossoms: In harmony at Pocklington Arts Centre
Harmony duo of the week: The Cactus Blossoms, Pocklington Arts Centre, January 31, 8pm
THE Cactus Blossoms’ brothers, Jack Torrey and Page Burkum, are modern practitioners of the magical art of harmony duo singing, as heard on their August 2024 album Every Time I Think About You. Like any great magician, they cannot or will not fully explain the illusion they create. See if you can work it out at Pocklington Arts Centre.
Support act Campbell/Jensen features the late Glen Campbell’s banjo-playing daughter Ashley Campbell, who performed in her father’s band on several world tours, including at York Barbican. The duo combines Campbell’s country and Americana with New York guitarist and songwriter Thor Jensen’s rock and gypsy jazz. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Snow Patrol: Returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer
Gig announcement of the week: Snow Patrol, TK Maxx Presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre, June 27
THE Northern Irish-Scottish indie rock band Snow Patrol are to return to the Scarborough coast for the first time since July 2021, led as ever by Gary Lightbody, accompanied by long-time lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and pianist Johnny McDaid.
Emotionally charged anthems such as Chasing Cars, Run and Open Your Eyes will be complemented by selections from 2024’s The Forest Is The Path, their first chart topper in 18 years. Tickets go on sale today (24/1/2025) at 9am at ticketmaster.co.uk and scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.
FROM a free outdoor gig to the biggest free festival of the year, the return of The Old Paint Shop cabaret to the Poet Laureate’s foray into music, Charles Hutchinson welcomes signs of 2025 gathering pace.
Free gig of the week: Holly Taymar at Homestead Park, Water End, York, today, 11am to 12 noon
YORK “acoustic sophistopop” singer-songwriter and session-writer performer Holly Taymar heads out into the winter chill for a morning performance, supported by Music Anywhere, with the further enticement of a pop-up cafe.
“I’ll be playing songs in this most beautiful setting, surrounded by nature, all for free!” says Holly. “There’s a coffee van and some seating available, so come along and take in the fresh air and fresh sounds from me.”
Man In The Mirror: Celebrating the music of Michael Jackson at York Barbican
Tribute show of the week: Entertainers presents Man In The Mirror, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
MICHAEL Jackson tribute artist CJ celebrates the King of Pop in Man In The Mirror, a new show from Entertainers featuring a talented cast of performers and musicians in a Thriller of an electrifying concert replete with Thriller, Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, Man In The Mirror, dazzling choreography, visual effects, a light show and authentic costumes. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Mr Wilson’s Second Liners: New Orleans meets Hacienda 90s’ club classics at The Crescent
“Revolutionary genre bashers” of the week: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, The Crescent, York, tonight, 7.30pm
IN New Orleans, funerals are celebrated in style with noisy brass bands processing through the streets. The main section of the parade is known as First Line but the real fun starts with the parasol-twirling, handkerchief-waving Second Line.
Welcome to Mr Wilson’s Second Liners, where “New Orleans meets 90s’ club classics in a rave funeral without the body” as a rabble of mischievous northerners pay homage to the diehard days of Manchester’s Hacienda, club culture and its greatest hero, Mr Tony Wilson. Stepping out in uniformed style, they channel the spirit of the 24-hour party people, jettisoning funereal slow hymns in favour of anarchic dance energy. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Ania Magliano: Triple threat at play in Forgive Me, Father at The Crescent
Comedy gig of the week: Burning Duck Comedy presents Ania Magliano, Forgive Me, Father, The Crescent, York, January 23, 7.30pm
IN the first Burning Duck gig since the sudden passing of club promoter Al Greaves, London comedian and writer Ania Magliano performs her Forgive Me, Father show.
Describing herself as a triple threat (bisexual, Gen Z, bad at cooking), she says: “You know when you’re trying to wee on a night out, and you’re interrupted by a random girl who insists on telling you all her secrets, even though you’ve never met? Imagine that, but she has a microphone.” Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Mica Sefia: Future-soul singer fuses alt. soul, jazz and soft rock in The Old Paint Shop
The 2025 Old Paint Shop cabaret season opener: CPWM presents Mica Sefia, York Theatre Royal Studio, January 23, 8pm
BORN in Liverpool, based in London, future-soul singer Mica Sefia “prefers to keep her lyricisms and narrative open to interpretation”, applying a “balanced approach to songwriting, in which her music remains subjective, but retains its emotive sensitivity” in songs that lean into alt. soul, jazz and soft rock to create atmospheric sounds and textured layers. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Lyrical musicianship at York Theatre Royal: Poet Laureate and LYR band members Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson. Picture: Katie Silvester
The language of music: An Evening With Simon Armitage and LYR, York Theatre Royal, January 24, 7.30pm
UK Poet Laureate, dramatist, novelist, broadcaster and University of Leeds Professor of Poetry Simon Armitage teams up with his band LYR for an evening of poetry (first half) and music (second half), where LYR’s soaring vocal melodies and ambient instrumentation create an evocative and enchanting soundscape for West Yorkshireman Armitage’s spoken-word passages. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Ned Swarbrick: Debut headline gig at The Crescent at the age of 16
Headline debut of the week: Ned Swarbrick, The Crescent, York, January 24, 7.30pm
AT 16, York singer-songwriter Ned Swarbrick heads to The Crescent – with a couple of band mates in tow – for his debut headline show after accruing 40 gigs over the past two years. Penning acoustic songs that reflect his love of literature and pop culture, he sways from melancholy to upbeat, sad to happy, serious to tongue in cheek.
The first to admit that he is still finding his feet, in his live shows Ned switches between Belle & Sebastian-style pop numbers and intimate folk tunes more reminiscent of Nick Drake. Check out his debut EP, Michelangelo, featuring National Youth Folk Ensemble members, and look out for him busking on York’s streets. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
Frankie Monroe: Transforming The Old Paint Shop into the Misty Moon working men’s club at York Theatre Royal
Beyond compere: Frankie Monroe And Friends, The Old Paint Shop, York Theatre Royal Studio, January 24, 8pm
BBC New Comedy and Edinburgh Fringe Newcomer winner Frankie Monroe hosts an evening of humour, tricks and mucky bitter in The Old Paint Shop. Join the owner of the Misty Moon – “a working men’s club in Rotherham that also serves as a portal to hell” – in his biggest show yet with some of York’s finest cabaret performers. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Clifford’s Tower: Taking part in York Residents’ Festival next weekend
Festival of the week: York Residents’ Festival, January 25 and 26
ORGANISED by Make It York, this annual festival combines free offers, events and discounts for valid York Card, student card or identity card holders that proves your York residency. Among the participating visitor attractions will be Bedern Hall, Clifford’s Tower, Yorkshire Air Museum, Merchant Taylors Hall and, outside York, Beningbrough Hall and Castle Howard. For the full list of offers, head to: visityork.org/offers/category/york-residents-festival.
Scott Matthews: Wolverhampton singer-songwriter plays the NCEM
Folk gig of the week: The Crescent and Black Swan Folk Club present Scott Matthews, National Centre for Early Music, York, January 25, doors 7pm
ON a tour that has taken in churches and caves, Wolverhampton singer-songwriter Scott Matthews plays St Margaret’s Church, home to the NCEM in Walmgate, next weekend.
Combining folk, rock, blues and Eastern-inspired song-writing, he has released eight albums since his 2007 debut single, Elusive, won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. His most recent recording, 2023’s Restless Lullabies, found him revisiting songs from 2020’s New Skin with a stark acoustic boldness. Box office: seetickets.com/event/scott-matthews/ncem/3211118. Please note, this is a seated show with all seating unreserved.
In Focus: Stewart Lee at the double in York as Theatre Royal comedian for five nights and NCEM narrator for one afternoon
Mark Reynolds’s poster illustration for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf at York Theatre Royal
COMEDIAN Stewart Lee will play five nights in a row at York Theatre Royal from January 28 and squeeze in a Saturday matinee of an entirely different experimental performance, Indeterminacy, at the National Centre for Early Music too.
Lee, 56, who deadpanned his way through three nights of Basic Lee on his last Theatre Royal visit in March 2023, explains the length of run for Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, a show that has been playing London’s Leicester Square Theatre since December 3 before opening its tour on January 19.
“Yeah, well, the theatre must have thought they could sell it!” says Stewart, who loves playing the Theatre Royal. “For me, once you get much above 2,000 seats, my kind of comedy becomes hard to do because you can’t interact with the audience and you can’t hear audience responses, so I’m always happy to do smaller venues.”
He has dates in his diary until November 19 with his website promising “more to be added” for a show that he presages by declaring he is “in danger of being left behind”. As his tour publicity puts it, “He’s approaching 60 with debilitating health conditions [worsening hearing], his TV profile has diminished, and his once BAFTA award-winning style of stand-up seems obsolete in the face of a wave of callous Netflix-endorsed comedy of anger, monetising the denigration of minorities for millions of dollars.
“But can Lee unleash his inner Man-Wulf to position himself alongside comedy legends like Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais and Jordan Peterson at the forefront of side-splitting,stadium-stuffing s**it-posting?,” he asks.
“The problem I’ve got is that the act is about a man who feels undervalued and not given enough credit, but I am really popular! I play to a quarter of a million people on each tour; I’m on TV every two and a half years when a show is finished – and young people are coming to the shows, so the audience is replenishing.
“Suddenly I’ve gone from someone starting out in the dying days of alternative comedy to someone still writing long-form shows when people now tend to make bitty work that’s packaged up.”
In Stewart Lee Vs The Man-Wulf, Lee shares his stage with a “tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity”, where the Man-Wulf “lays down a ferocious comedy challenge to the culturally irrelevant and physically enfeebled Lee”. “Can the beast inside us all be silenced with the silver bullet of Lee’s unprecedentedly critically acclaimed style of stand-up?” he ponders.
Is this “conceptual comedy”, Stewart? “Well, you can call it that. It’s not for me to say, but I think it’s very much that. I know what it is,” he says. “I like to read local reviews and student reviews as they seem to get it more than the national press.
“This is a show about taste and responsibility in comedy, which suddenly has a real resonance that it didn’t have even three weeks ago. What responsibilities do Elon Musk [X] and Mark Zuckerberg [Facebook] have in relation to telling the truth, like Musk lying about someone like Jess Phillips…and what is our place in that if we don’t do something about it.
“I was worried it was just a show by someone who was thinking about it, but now it seems prescient – and the worse the world gets, the better the show is. Three weeks ago it was like, ‘well, where is this going’’? Now they know where it’s going, so weirdly they might have been thinking, ‘oh, he’s being a bit pessimistic’, but sometimes it turns out you’re a bit ahead of the curve and then the world catches up.”
One of the joys of a Stewart Lee show is how he plays with the form, boundaries and possibilities of comedy. “In this one, I try doing the same material three times in three ways: first, liberal material told in a liberal way; next, reactionary material, in a reactionary way; then reactionary material, in a liberal way,” he says.
Stewart has found his comedy changing through the years, in part in response to Jerry Springer: The Opera [the musical comedy he wrote with Richard Thomas] “becoming literally a matter of life or death for someone”. “I thought what an amazing privilege it is to be able to write and perform, and you have to think about the implications of that,” he says.
“As I get older I increasingly appreciate how difficult it is to afford tickets and get a babysitter to come to a show. My comedy becomes more high concept and thoughtful, but at the same time it’s also more old-school comedy, being both philosophical and thinking about how Frankie Howerd or Kenneth Williams would sell this idea of becoming more pretentious and vaudevillian simultaneously.
“I do feel we have a sense of responsibility to deliver a night out that makes sure something happens that night that only happens that night. You also have to send people away with a bit of hope, when a lot of people like me feel they have lost the battle for the things they are concerned about, like environmental issues.”
Such environmental matters, and more specifically sewage in the River Derwent in Malton and Norton, triggered Ryedale arts promoter and Malton town councillor Simon Thackray to ask The Shed regular Stewart Lee to take part in the first Shed show since 2015 to “’encourage’ Yorkshire Water to go the extra mile’.
Narrator Lee will team up with pianists Tania Chen and Steve Beresford to perform John Cage’s Indeterminacy at the NCEM on February 1 at 3.30pm. “Make sure people know it’s not a comedy show, though it’s quite funny in its way,” he says.
Stewart Lee vs The Man-Wulf, York Theatre Royal, January 28 to February 1, 7.30pm. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. The Shed presents Indeterminacy, NCEM, York, February 1, 3.30pm. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
The cover artwork for Rob Chapman’s book, Unsung: Unsaid, Syd & Nick In Absentia
ROB Chapman, one of Britain’s premier music writers, will make an exclusive visit to Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen, Oxford Street, Harrogate, for a Vinyl Sessions event co-hosted by Charm on January 22 at 7.30pm.
Author Chapman will participate in an evening of conversation and music focused on two legends, Syd Barrett, who was responsible for Pink Floyd’s first Top Ten hit See Emily Play, and singer-songwriter Nick Drake.
Chapman, who has written regularly for Mojo and Uncut magazines, as well as The Times and the Guardian, will take part in a Q&A about these seminal enigmas of the 1960s’ and 1970s’ rock world with Graham Chalmers, of the Harrogate Advertiser, and his Charm colleague James Littlewood.
Chapman also will discuss his two bestselling books, Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head, published by Faber & Faber in 2010, and his latest groundbreaking work, Unsung: Unsaid – Syd And Nick In Absentia.
The cover to Rob Chapman’s 2010 book Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head
The evening will feature two all-time classic albums in the shape of Pink Floyd’s Piper At The Gates Of Dawn (1967) and Nick Drake’s Pink Moon (1972).
The event will be helmed by Vinyl Sessions founder Colin Paine and will include an accompanying video slide show by Jim Dobbs.
Vinyl Sessions and Charm present An Exclusive Evening with Rob Chapman on Pink Floyd & Nick Drake,Starling Independent Bar Cafe Kitchen, Oxford Street, Harrogate, January 22; doors open at 7pm for the 7.30pm start.
Tickets must be booked in advance at £10 each plus booking fee ateventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-rob-chapman-plus-pink-floyd-nick-drake-on-vinyl-tickets-1127910934969. Every penny goes to Harrogate Hospital Community Charity.
The cover artwork for Elizabeth Sharkey’s Why Britain Rocked, featuring an image of The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan
FEARGAL Sharkey, former frontman of The Undertones, will join his wife, author Elizabeth Sharkey, for Why Britain Rocked at Pocklington Arts Centre on February 13.
This will be the only night on her book tour when the Amazon best-selling Elizabeth will be accompanied by her Northern Irish punk and soul singer, fisherman and environmental campaigner husband, now 66.
Together they will explore the history of British pop music, as charted in her debut book, Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll And Took Over The World, wherein she re-writes the established history by uncovering the untold stories behind Britain’s musical evolution and challenges the American claim to have invented rock’n’roll.
From the influence of the Celts and Quakers to groundbreaking figures such as Ira Aldridge and Paul Robeson, Why Britain Rocked redefines the narrative of British pop history and reveals the diverse roots of the 20th-century musical explosion.
Described by Classic Rock magazine as “a treasure trove of exploration, academic rigour and a welcome, bold attempt at re-framing the history of British pop music,” the book has received high praise from readers and critics alike.
This evening promises a captivating mix of live music, fiery discussion, thought-provoking debate, intrigue and very special guest Feargal, who will step into the role of interviewer for one night only in the finale to the tour.
As the Pocklington Arts Centre website puts it: “As it’s the final date of her national tour, her husband Feargal Sharkey has decided to join Elizabeth on stage and interview her. He’s promised not to talk about s***e.”
To complement the Sharkey duo’s insightful discussion, folk musicians Phil Simpson, Phil Ball and Roy Wild will perform live.
Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll And Took Over The World author Elizabeth Sharkey. Picture: Elizabeth Sharkey website
Music historian, author, columnist and media commentator.
“Growing up, music was everything to me: my home, my thrill, my escape and my understanding of the world,” she says. “If you love certain songs or pieces of music to the very core of your soul – then you might, as I was, be curious to look a little deeper into just why, how, such magic came to be.” Hence her first book, Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll And Took Over The World.
Regular contributor to the culture and current affairs magazine Perspective, providing historical insight and comment on subjects as diverse as the 17th century origins of feminism, Britain’s gothic scene and the lost art of the story song.
A trained actress, Elizabeth’s previous career was working extensively in television and film. She is a voice-over artist too.
Meet the new science of Historical Human Reconstruction or Postmortalism: the world premiere of the “living and speaking” Richard III at York Theatre Royal on Sunday
IMAGINE if you could see and hear King Richard III speaking his own words. Imagine experiencing him breathing, thinking and effectively being “brought back to life”’.
On Sunday, in a six-hour conference-style launch event at York Theatre Royal, state-of-the-art technology will reveal for the first time a moving, “living” face of the long-dead king enunciating in the tongue of his Plantagenet time. More Yorkshire than pucker, apparently.
What began for Yvonne Morley-Chisholm, voice teacher, vocal coach and project originator, more than a decade ago as an after-dinner entertainment to compare Shakespeare’s character with what we know of the real man, developed quickly into a research project.
The focus would be unique: to “explore the possibility of creating a literal voice for a long-dead historical figure”. Fast forward ten years to November 17 2024 when this international launch event will cover how the pieces of a complex puzzle came together using primary evidence.
This is the new science of Historical Human Reconstruction or Postmortalism, one that uses an avatar of the person, based on the reconstruction of their head, to provide an entirely new way to learn of the past. In this instance, we can understand more about the last Plantagenet king of England, who reigned from June 26 1483 to August 22 1485, while also paving the way for other historical avatars.
Sunday’s “reveal” comes against the background of the endless controversy surrounding this besmirched monarch, Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, and the questions raised over his actions and personality: was he a good man or a murderous psychopath, the maligned, malignant Crookback of Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Richard the Third?
Now King Richard III will speak for himself after experts from across the United Kingdom and abroad joined in this pioneering collaboration. Some will share presentations during Sunday’s international launch event, booked into York Theatre Royal from 12 noon to 6pm, climaxing with the final “reveal” at 5.30pm.
Taking the rostrum along with Yvonne Morley-Chisholm will be the key collaborator, cranio-facial identification expert Professor Caroline Wilkinson and her Face Lab team, from Liverpool John Moores University, and Professor David Crystal OBE, linguist and specialist in Original Pronunciation.
Dr Bridget Foreman: York playwright and lecturer in playwriting at the University of York
Joining them will be playwright Dr Bridget Foreman, lecturer in playwriting at the University of York; Matthew Lewis, author, historian and History Hit podcaster; Philippa Langley MBE, author, historian and film producer, who led the search for Richard III’s remains under a Leicester car park, and actor Thomas Dennis, whose vocal performance and facial movements were chosen to animate the avatar made from King Richard III’s facial reconstruction.
As well as exploring the true history of King Richard III, the event will feature discussions on a range of topics including Medieval History, Linguistics, Original (Historical) Pronunciation, Craniofacial Reconstruction, Forensic Psychology, Voice and Dialect, Historical Human Reconstruction, Postmortalism, CGI and Motion-Capture, among other specialisms.
Yvonne Morley-Chisholm said: “It’s been the greatest privilege to work with Professor Caroline Wilkinson. Her team at Face Lab are working towards animating the face of King Richard III from real-time motion capture.
“Professor Wilkinson’s work provides the physical nucleus while mine provides the vocal nucleus in this ‘world first’. This is the new science of Historical Human Reconstruction or Postmortalism, using an avatar of the real king based on the reconstruction of his head.
“I am also deeply honoured to be working with Professor David Crystal, who is the internationally recognised, leading expert in Original Pronunciation. He has created a reconstruction of the king’s pronunciation using personal letters and documents. The result is as close as anyone can get to King Richard III’s speech from the time in which he lived and reigned.
“I am grateful for the many others who have helped to shape each piece of the puzzle in this pioneering and unique collaboration. The project has achieved more than I ever dared to imagine it could.
“We are bringing a long dead king back to a kind of ‘life’. We are learning more about the real man in doing so. With state-of-the-art motion-capture technology, CGI animation and the like, I hope that – for those who find history a little dull – we are making it ‘cool’.”
Professor Caroline Wilkinson said: “Since we produced the facial reconstruction of Richard III in 2012, we have dreamt about bringing him alive, to see him move and speak his own words. With the help of advanced digital avatar technology and Yvonne’s voice team, we have been able to realise this dream.
“The result has exceeded our expectations and represents the most authentic and realistic portrait of this great king, based on all the evidence available.”
Philippa Langley MBE: Author, historian and film producer, who led the search for Richard III’s remains
Professor David Crystal said: “I think people will be surprised to hear a kind of speech that is a fascinating mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar. English pronunciation has changed a lot since the 15th century, but it’s still very intelligible to modern ears.”
Matthew Lewis said: “We live in an age experienced and digested through media. We’re surrounded by the images and voices of all kinds of people. Yet not so long ago, we have no images beyond portraiture, which often comes years after a person’s death. We have no recordings of their voices to hear them, and in an age before diaries were commonplace, little hope of piercing beyond public personas.
“The Voice For Richard Project is a stunning example of how science, technology and history can come together to help bridge the distance of time that separates us from those we have heard of but could never have heard.
“This is as close as we can get to being in the room in the 15th century when a king speaks. I can’t wait for the world to see the culmination of ten years of hard work and innovation.”
Philippa Langley MBE said: “To help bring Richard to life, research into his character focused on contemporary descriptions from his own lifetime. These included private letters and a diary. The results corresponded directly with similar public descriptions offering a probability bordering on certainty of his recognised character from his lifetime.
“The results, to be premiered in York, will be a technological, scientific and historic break-through in aiding our understanding of the past and this important historical figure.
“It’s been the most incredible honour to be part of this cross-platform research over its ten years and I would like to thank Yvonne Morley-Chisholm for inviting me to be a part of her team. The world premiere in York promises to be extraordinary.”
Tickets: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/a-voice-for-king-richard-iii/. Further information: avoiceforrichard.co.uk. Sunday’s event will be live-streamed too at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/a-voice-for-king-richard-iii-livestream/.
The 16th century portrait of Richard III, by an unknown artist, that went on show at the Yorkshire Museum, York, from July to October 2021 as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Coming Home project. Measuring 25 ins by 18ins, the artwork known as “the Red Portrait” was painted years after his death but is believed to be based on an original painted in Richard’s lifetime
Richard III: the (hunch)back story
BORN on October 2 1452, he grew up at Middleham Castle in the Yorkshire Dales. Visited York several times during his short reign as King of England from June 26 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, aged 32.
Last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth was the penultimate battle in the Wars of the Roses and ushered in the Tudor dynasty. The last battle? The Battle of Stoke Field, June 16 1487.
His remains were discovered in 2012 under a car park in Leicester by University of Leicester Archaeological Services and Philippa Langley MBE, of the Richard III Society, through her original Looking For Richard Project.
Philippa’s search for the king’s grave was the subject of the award-winning TV documentary Richard III: The King In The Car Park. The remains were identified using scientific disciplines including DNA analysis and are now interred at Leicester Cathedral.
A Voice for Richard III international launch event schedule, York Theatre Royal, Sunday
12 noon to 1.30pm: First session: From the myths to the man, presented by Dr Bridget Foreman, Matthew Lewis and Philippa Langley. 1.30pm: Lunch break.
2.30pm to 4pm: Second session: The experts speak: Historical Human reconstruction, presented by Prof Caroline Wilkinson, Prof David Crystal and Yvonne Morley-Chisholm. 4pm: Break.
4.30pm to 6pm: Third session: Continuation and culmination: the reveal (5.30pm). Documentary excerpts from History Hit, followed by Yvonne Morley-Chisholm talking with Thomas Dennis, the actor chosen to be the face and voice of the king, leading to film of King Richard III’s face speaking his own words in his own pronunciation.
Gerard Savva: Leading the York Stage cast as Bobby in Company at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
LOOK out for Godber at the double, Sondheim sophistication, a ground-breaking Black pioneer and Hull humour in the week ahead, recommends Charles Hutchinson.
Musical of the week: York Stage in Company, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
ON Bobby’s 35th birthday, his friends all have one question on their mind. Why is he not married? Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s bold, sophisticated and insightful revolutionary musical comedy follows Bobby as he navigates the world of dating and being the third wheel to all of his now happily (and unhappily) married friends, exploring the pros and cons of settling down and leaving his single life behind.
Nik Briggs directs a York Stage cast featuring Gerard Savva as Bobby, Florence Poskitt, Julia Anne Smith, Alexandra Mather, Joanne Theaker, Dan Crawfurd-Porter and Jack Hooper, among others. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The poster for Lightning Seeds’ show at Scarborough Spa Grand Hall tonight
Pure and simply joyful every time: Lightning Seeds, Tomorrow’s Here Today, 35 Years Greatest Hits Tour, Scarborough Spa Grand Hall, tonight; The Welly, Hull, December 4; Leeds Beckett Students’ Union, December 6
TO mark their 35th anniversary, Liverpool singer, songwriter and producer Ian Broudie leads Lightning Seeds on their Tomorrow’s Here Today tour to accompany a new greatest hits album.
Here come Pure, The Life Of Riley, Change, Lucky You, Sense, All I Want, Sugar Coated Iceberg, You Showed Me, Emily Smiles, Three Lions et al and many more. Tonight doors open at 7pm; Casino play at 8pm, Lightning Seeds at 9pm. Box office: Scarborough, scarboroughspa.co.uk; Hull, giveitsomewelly.com; Leeds, leedsbeckettsu.co.uk.
Tom Gallagher, Annie Kirkman and Laura Jennifer Banks in a scene from John Godber’s revival of Perfect Pitch
Touring play of the week: John Godber Company in Perfect Pitch, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, tonight to Saturday, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
WHEN teacher Matt (Frazer Hammill) borrows his parents’ caravan for a week on the Yorkshire coast with partner Rose (Annie Kirkman), they are expecting four days of hill running and total de-stressing. However, with a Tribfest taking place nearby, Grant (Tom Gallagher) and Steph’s (Laura Jennifer Banks) pop-up tent is an unwelcome addition to their perfect pitch.
The class divide and loo cassettes become an issue as writer-director John Godber reignites his unsettling 1998 state-of-the-nation comedy, set on an eroding coastline, as Matt and Rose are inducted into the world of caravanning and karaoke. Box office: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.
The Highwayman cast of Dylan Allcock, left, Emilio Encinoso-Gil, Matheea Ellerby and Jo Patmore in John Godber’s new historical play. Picture: Ian Hodgson
New play of the week: John Godber Company in The Highwayman, York Theatre Royal Studio, tomorrow to Saturday, 7.45pm plus 2pm Friday and Saturday, sold out
AFTER more than 70 plays reflecting on modern life, John Godber goes back in history for the first time in The Highwayman. “It’s 1769 and Yorkshire’s population has exploded, the races at York are packed, the new theatre in Hull is thriving, and the Spa towns are full,” he says.
“Everyone is flocking north. Yorkshire is the place to be; a region drunk on making money, social climbing, gambling and gin, but with wealth in abundance, the temptation is great.” Enter the highwayman, John Swift and his partner, Molly May. Box office for returns only: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Paterson Joseph and Charles Ignatius Sancho: Storyteller and subject in Sancho & Me at York Theatre Royal
Story of the week: Paterson Joseph, Sancho & Me, York Theatre Royal, tomorrow, 7.30pm, with post-show discussion
CHARLES Ignatius Sancho, born on a slave ship on the Atlantic Ocean in 1729, became a writer, composer, shopkeeper and respected man of letters in 18th century London – the first man of African heritage to vote in Britain.
Actor, author and Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University Paterson Joseph tells his story, accompanied by co-creator and musical director Ben Park, built around his book The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. Joseph explores ideas of belonging, language, education, slavery, commerce, violence, politics, music, love and where these themes intersect with his own story of growing up Black and British. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Irish band Adore: Headlining at The Crescent tomorrow. Picture: Fnatic
Indie gig of the week: Road Less Travelled presents Adore, Fuzz Lightyear and Tom Beer, The Crescent, York, tomorrow,7.30pm
RISING stars of the Irish music scene, Adore are a three-piece garage punk band from Galway, Donegal and Dublin, who refract surf, disco and pop through punk sensibilities, grounded in crunchy guitar, drum and bass.
Leeds four-piece Fuzz Lightyear, freshly signed to independent label Nice Swan Records, match the intensity of Idles and Gilla Band while applying wit and a lyrical openness to their songs. Bull frontman Tom Beer kicks off the triple bill with a solo set. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.
New York Brass Band: Bringing New Orleans Mardi Gras jazz from old York to Milton Rooms, Malton
Jazz night of the week: Acorn Events presents New York Brass Band and The Ryedale Stray Notes, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 7pm
NEW York Brass Band, from York, perform with a seven or eight-piece line-up of sax, tuba, trumpets, trombones, guitar and sousaphone in the New Orleans Mardi Gras jazz band tradition. Formed by James Lancaster in 2010, they are inspired by Rebirth Brass Band, Soul Rebels, Hot 8, Youngblood and Brassroots.
They have played at Glastonbury for the past eight festivals and at celebrity parties and weddings for Danny Jones, of McFly, Ellie Goulding, comedian Alex Brooker, Liam Gallagher and Jamie Oliver. Support act The Ryedale Stray Notes feature 25 talented young musicians “ready to raise the roof”. Proceeds go to Acorn Community Care to support vulnerable adults with physical and learning disabilities. Tickets: acornevents.org.uk or phone Ali on 07891 3889085.
Paddy Young: Topping the Rye Humour bill at Helmsley Arts Centre. Picture: Lucas Smith
Variety night of the week: Rye Humour, Comedy vs Climate Change, Helmsley Arts Centre, Saturday, 7.30pm
RYE Humour’s variety bill of up-and-coming comics will be headlined by Chortle Best Newcomer winner Paddy Young, a stand-up with Scarborough roots. The 2023 BBC New Comedy Awards finalist and Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nominee has attracted 100 million views online for his sketches with Ed Night. His comedy special, filmed by American record label 800 Pound Gorilla Records, will be released shortly.
This gig has been developed in collaboration with the Ryevitalise Landscape Partnership scheme, as part of a project that uses humour to explore environmental issues based around North Yorkshire’s rivers. Any questions about the evening, or accessibility, will be answered at events@comedyvsclimatechange.org.uk. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Lucy Beaumont: Off-beat stories, unusual anecdotes and bizarre journeys through modern-day womanhood at Grand Opera House, York
Comedy gig of the week: Lucy Beaumont Live, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday, 8pm
HULL humorist, BAFTA nominee and Taskmaster star Lucy Beaumont is determined to let loose and let slip on her rollercoaster world with off-beat stories, unusual anecdotes and bizarre journeys through modern-day womanhood.
From the co-host of the chart-topping podcast Perfect Brains with Sam Campbell and creator of Meet The Richardsons comes a look at life through the Lucy lens. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The Whitby Rebels cast on a boat trip in Scarborough’s South Bay: from left, Keith Bartlett, Duncan MacInnes, Jacky Naylor, Jacqueline King, Louise Mai Newberry and Kieran Foster. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
FROM a motley crew all at sea to Eighties’ pop and rock stars, a beehive buzz of a campaigning American teen to a boy with a stammer, Charles Hutchinson’s week promises both adventure and misadventure.
World premiere of the week: The Whitby Rebels, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, until November 2, 7.30pm plus 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees
IN Whitby Harbour, in the summer of 1991, something extraordinary happened. A humble pleasure boat set sail for the Arctic crewed by misfits, pensioners and the vicar for Egton and Grosmont, North Yorkshire.
This motley crew was assembled by Captain Jack Lammiman to complete a daring mission: to erect a plaque honouring Whitby whaling Captain William Scoresby senior on a volcanic island hundreds of miles north of Iceland. Bea Roberts’s new play tells their true story, boat on stage et al. Box office: 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com.
Ayana Beatrice Poblete and Reggie Challenger in Black Sheep Theatre Productions’ Songs For A New World
Song cycle of the week: Black Sheep Theatre Productions presents: Songs For A New World, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, today, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
ON the heels of last week’s The Last Five Years, Black Sheep Theatre perform another Jason Robert Brown work, 1995’s Songs For A New World.
Defying conventional musical theatre formats, Brown and original director Daisy Prince say the non-linear show is “neither musical play nor revue”, but exists as a “very theatrical song cycle” that explores such universal themes as hope, faith, love and loss in its emotionally charged songs. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/blacksheeptheatreproductions/.
While & Matthews: Playing Hunmanby on closing night of 30th anniversary tour
Folk gig of the week: While & Matthews, Hunmanby Village Hall, near Filey, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE 30th anniversary tour of the longest-lasting female folk duo, singer-songwriters Chris While and Julie Matthews, concludes this weekend at Hunmanby Village Hall, where they sold out two years ago. Together they have played more than 2,500 gigs, appeared on 100 albums, written hundreds of original songs and reached millions of people around the world.
Chris (vocals, guitar, banjo, dulcimer and percussion) and Julie (vocals, piano, guitar, mandolin and bouzouki) released their 13th studio album, Days Like These, on Fat Cat Records last month. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk.
Arthur Smith: Grumpy old man of comedy at Helmsley Arts Centre
Comedy turn of the week: An Audience With Arthur Smith, Helmsley Arts Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm
COMPERE, playwright, panellist, performer and Edinburgh Fringe stalwart Arthur Smith worked previously as a road sweeper, dustman, market researcher and teacher. He even advertised chicken burgers in supermarkets dressed as a fox.
A career in stand-up comedy was the only one that could follow a build-up like that, he decided, since when he has appeared on quiz shows and Loose Ends, been a regular Grumpy Old Man and Countdown wordsmith and presented BBC Radio 4’s Excess Baggage and Radio 2’s The Smith Lectures. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Chrissie Hynde: Fronting The Pretenders at a sold-out York Barbican on Thursday
What an Eighties’ week at York Barbican: The Cult, Tuesday, sold out; Adam Ant, AntMusic 2024, Wednesday, limited ticket availability; The Pretenders, Thursday, sold out
THE Cult’s 8424: 40th Anniversary Tour brings Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy’s band to York with their pioneering fusion of post-punk, hard rock, and experimentalism. Pop icon Adam Ant performs his chart-topping hits and personal favourites in his AntMusic 2024 show on his return to the Barbican.
Chrissie Hynde leads The Pretenders in York, one of three additions to their extended 2024 tour, combining new tracks with classics such as Brass In Pocket and Back On The Chain Gang. Last year they released their 12th studio album, Relentless. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Katie Brice’s Tracy Turnblad and Neil Hurst’s Edna Turnblad in Hairspray The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: Hairspray, Grand Opera House, York, October 28 to November 2, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees
BASED on cult filmmaker John Waters’ 1988 American movie, Hairspray The Musical follows the progress of heroine Tracy Turnblad, with her big hair, big heart and big dreams to dance her way on to national television and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin.
When Tracy (Katie Brice/Scarborough actress Alexandra Emerson-Kirby in her professional debut) becomes a local star, she uses her newfound fame to fight for liberation, tolerance, and interracial unity in Baltimore. Look out for Yorkshireman Neil Hurst as Tracy’s mum, Edna, and Strictly Come Dancing’s Joanne Clifton as villainous Velma Von Tussle. Box office: atgtickets.com/York.
Ciaran O’Breen as Captain Chatter and Hilson Agbangbe as Sonny in Wonder Boy, on tour at York Theatre Royal
Children’s story of the week: Wonder Boy, York Theatre Royal, October 29 to November 2; evenings, 7.30pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday; matinees, 2pm, Wednesday, Thursday; 2.30pm, next Saturday
OLIVIER Award winner Sally Cookson directs Bristol Old Vic’s touring production of Wonder Boy, Ross Willis’s exploration of the power of communication, told through the experiences of 12-year-old Sonny and his imaginary friend Captain Chatter.
Playful humour, dazzling visuals and thrilling original music combine in this innovative show that uses live creative captioning on stage throughout as Sonny, who lives with a stammer, must find a way to be heard in a world where language is power. When cast in a school production of Hamlet by the head teacher, he discovers the real heroes are closer than he thinks. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Victoria Delaney and Tony Froud in J M Barrie’s Mary Rose, next week’s production by York Actors Collective. Picture: Clive Millard
Theatre Royal debut of the week: York Actors Collective in Mary Rose, York Theatre Royal Studio, October 30 to November 2, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Thursday and 2pm Saturday matinees
YORK Actors Collective make their York Theatre Royal debut with a revival of Peter Pan and Quality Street playwright J M Barrie’s Mary Rose, adapted and directed by Angie Millard.
“Barrie uses dimensions of time to great effect,” she says. “His treatment of love, loss and unwavering hope draws in an audience and gives it universality. I’ve adapted the script to appeal to modern thinking but his themes are intact. The strange and ghostly atmosphere fits beautifully into our autumn slot, which includes Halloween and is a time for considering other worldliness.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
DEL Boy in a musical, a Dungeon murderess, a Greek teen tragedy and gruesome Tower tales promise entertainment and enlightenment, advises Charles Hutchinson.
New attraction of the week: The Black Widow, York Dungeon, Clifford Street, York, daily from 10am
HERE comes this Hallowe’en season’s new show at York Dungeon. Be prepared to encounter the grim tale of Britain’s first female serial killer: Mary Ann Cotton.
A north easterner with a propensity for lacing tea with a drop of arsenic, the Black Widow was convicted of only one murder but is believed to have killed many others, including 11 of her 13 children, and three of her four husbands. Box office: thedungeons.com/york/tickets-passes/. Pre-booking is essential.
Sam Lupton’s Del Boy on a date with Georgina Hagen’s Raquel in Only Fools And Horses The Musical at the Grand Opera House, York
“Plonker” musical of the week: Only Fools And Horses The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm matinees today and Saturday
BASED on John Sullivan’s long-running BBC One series, his son Jim Sullivan and comedy treasure Paul Whitehouse’s West End hit, Only Fools And Horses The Musical, combines 20 songs with an ingenious script.
“Join us as we take a trip back in time to 1989, where it’s all kicking off in Peckham,” reads the 2024-25 tour invitation. “While the yuppie invasion of London is in full swing, love is in the air as Del Boy sets out on the rocky road to find his soul mate, Rodney and Cassandra prepare to say ‘I do’, and even Trigger is gearing up for a date (with a person!).” Box office for the last few tickets: atgtickets.com/york.
Chris Mooney and Helen “Bells” Spencer in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years, the debut collaboration between Black Sheep Theatre Productions and Wharfemede Productions
Debut of the week: Wharfemede Productions & Black Sheep Theatre Productions in The Last Five Years, National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York, tonight to Saturday, 7.45pm
HELEN Spencer and Nick Sephton launch their new York company, Wharfemede Productions, in tandem with Black Sheep Theatre Productions, by staging The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown’s emotive musical story of two New Yorkers, rising novelist Jamie Wellerstein and struggling actress Cathy Hiatt, who fall in and out of love over the course of five years.
Combining only two cast members, York theatre scene luminaries Chris Mooney and Spencer, with a seven-piece band, expect an intimate and emotive evening of frank storytelling and gorgeous music. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/wharfemede-productions-ltd.
Alexander Flanagan-Wright in Helios, his modern take on the Fall of Phaeton, performed under the Great Hall dome at Castle Howard
Theatrical event of the week: Wright & Grainger in Helios, The Great Hall, Castle Howard, near York, today, 5pm and 7.30pm
A LAD lives halfway up an historic hill. A teenager is on a road trip to the city in a stolen car. A boy is driving a chariot, pulling the sun across the sky. In a play about the son of the god of the sun, Helios transplants the Ancient Greek tale into a modern-day myth wound round the winding roads of rural England and into the everyday living of a towering city.
“It’s a story about life, the invisible monuments we build to it, and the little things that leave big marks,” says writer-performer Alexander Flanagan-Wright, who presents his delicate tale with a tape-player beneath the Great Hall dome’s mural, painted by 18th century Venetian painter Antonio Pelligrini, whose depiction of the Fall of Phaeton was the thematic inspiration behind Helios. Box office: castlehoward.co.uk.
Alison Weir: Gruesome tales of executions, beheadings and Royal intrigue from 900 years at the Tower Of London
Literary event of the week: Kemps Bookshop Presents Alison Weir – Ghosts & Gruesome Tales Of The Tower, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight, 7.30pm
IF any place could lay claim to a host of tortured souls and ghosts, it would be the Tower of London. Historian Alison Weir regales her Malton audience with chilling ghostly tales of grim events, bloody deeds, intrigues and violent deaths the Tower has witnessed over 900 years and the ghosts that reputedly haunt it. After her talk, she will take questions and sign copies of her books. Box office: 01653 696240 themiltonrooms.com.
Mary Bourne, left, and Jessa Liversidge: Uplifting journey of song in Songbirds at Helmsley Arts Centre
Songbirds: A Celebration of Female Musical Icons, with Jessa Liversidge and Mary Bourne, Helmsley Arts Centre, October 25, 7.30pm
DEVISED and performed by vocalists Jessa Liversidge, from Easingwold, and Mary Bourne, from Kingston upon Thames, Songbirds is an uplifting journey of song, celebrating “some of the most iconic female singers and songwriters ever known”, from Carole King and Annie Lennox to Kate Bush and Adele. Special guests include HAC Singers and Easingwold Community Singers. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Nadia Reid: Making her Band Room debut on the North York Moors
Moorland gig of the season: Nadia Reid, The Band Room, Low Mill, Farndale, North York Moors, October 26, 7.30pm
THE Band Room promoter Nigel Burnham first tried to book New Zealand singer-songwriter sensation Nadia Reid on her first British tour in 2017. “Persistence has paid off,” he says, welcoming her to “the greatest small venue on Earth” as part of a series of intimate, magical solo shows.
Noted for her evocative lyrics and introspective, folk-infused soundscapes, Reid has been described as “an understated, wise guide through uncertain territory”, drawing comparison with Joni Mitchell, Laura Marling, Gillian Welch and Sandy Denny. Latest album Out of My Province took her to Matthew E White’s Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia, where producer Trey Pollard surrounded her songs in luminous washes of southern country soul. Box office: 01751 432900 or thebandroom.co.uk.
Elbow: Headlining first day of second season of Live At York Museum Gardens concerts
Show announcement of the week: Futuresound Group presents Live At York Museum Gardens, Elbow, July 3 2025
GUY Garvey’s Mercury Prize-winning Bury band Elbow are confirmed as the first headliner for Futuresound’s second Live At York Museum Gardens concert weekend, after the sold-out success of Shed Seven’s 30th anniversary shows and Jack Savoretti this summer.
Elbow will be supported by Ripon-born, London-based singer-songwriter Billie Marten and Robin Hood’s Bay folk luminary Eliza Carthy & The Restitution. The York exclusive postcode presale (for YO1, YO24, YO30, YO31 and YO32) goes on sale today at 10am at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333?pre=postcode. General sales open at 10am on Friday at https://futuresound.seetickets.com/event/elbow/york-museum-gardens/3195333.
In Focus: Nunnington Hall Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20
Nunnington Hall: Autumn garden tours next weekend
VISITORS to the National Trust property of Nunnington Hall, near Helmsley, can enjoy the manor house being decorated for autumn next weekend.
The garden team will be running garden tours and apple-juicing demonstrations, and there will be an opportunity to do autumn-themed crafts.
Programming and partnerships officer Elena Leyshon says: “We’re delighted that our annual Autumn Festival will be returning to Nunnington Hall this year. Visitors can explore the hall decorated for autumn and join our garden team on orchard and wildlife tours, and live apple-juicing demonstrations.
“We’ll have a range of local makers and creators demonstrating and selling their work, from willow weaving to felting.
“There will also be some delicious autumnal treats in the tearoom to enjoy, so come along and enjoy a sweet treat in our tearoom and celebrate the best of the autumnal season with us.”
Robert Dutton and Andrew Moodie’s exhibition, A Yorkshire Year, continues at Nunnington Hall and will be be open to visitors over the festival weekend.
Nunnington Hall Autumn Festival, October 19 and 20, 10.30am to 5pm each day, with last entry at 4.15pm. Visiting stalls will be on site until 4pm. No booking is required. Normal property admission applies, with free admission for National Trust members and under fives.
Gray O’Brien as “retired” inspector John Rebus in Rebus: A Game Called Malice
SCOTTISH crime author Sir Ian Rankin has been writing about “this guy Rebus” since 1985.
The first book was published in 1987; the latest, Midnight And Blue, arrived last Thursday. “I’ve spent more than half my life with him. I still don’t quite know what makes him tick. I keep writing about him to get to the core of his identity,” he says.
Rankin has harboured thoughts of bumping off his gnarly Edinburgh inspector, but he reckons Rebus will tell him when it’s time to hand in his badge. Not this year, it would seem, what with the BBC television series, then the play and the book.
It turns out Rebus has done the quitting bit already after 30 years in A Game Called Malice. He has retired from Police Scotland, he tells his fellow guests at a swanky dinner party in Heriot Row, one of those plush, high-ceiling Edinburgh town houses full of “art, books and fancy pictures”. Terry Parsons’ stylish design more than does it justice, filled with paintings.
Brought to the party by lawyer Stephanie Jeffries (Abigail Thaw, a familiar face from Endeavour), Gray O’Brien’s John Rebus looks a little incongruous at such a gathering.
Standing at the back, observing, listening, suited and booted but tie undone, he is reading the room, not the room reading him, he later tells us, in one of those waspish, whiplash monologues that would be a voiceover on screen but has the added impact of breaking theatre’s fourth wall here.
In the kitchen, never seen, is a fancy-dan chef, hired for the night to let party hostess Harriet Godwin (Teresa Banham) focus on hosting the murder mystery game she has invented. It turns out, of course it does, that in playing the game, the guests expose secrets, fallible character traits, of their own.
Rebus is the only one who never leaves the room at any point, for a fag, a phonecall or whatever, so when casino boss Paul Godwin (Neil McKinven) discovers a bloodied body in an en-suite bathroom, while having a nosey upstairs, all fall under Rebus’s suspicion, as he laconically returns to detective duty with that familiarly unnerving manner.
Who’s dead? That would be telling, and besides, Rankin and co-writer Simon Reade do their stage business so briskly, so smartly, we are all heading home by 9.15pm, case solved, Rebus’s droll epilogue sending us on our way.
The murderer? Was it Harriet, always on edge, or Stephanie, whose past is not without unfortunate blemish? Or Godwin, one of those business types who gives to charity, likes to wear bespoke suits that speak far too loudly, and skates very close to the edge of the law.
Or maybe Godwin’s savvy young belle (Jade Kennedy), an influencer on social media, forever tapping away, who may run too close to the wind. Or Harriet’s partner, Jack Fleming (Billy Hartman), no replacement for late husband Callum, and doesn’t he know it.
Loveday Ingram’s direction, playful, dry witted and suspenseful, matches the pace, humour and intrigue of Rankin and Read’s dialogue, her cast delivering good performances all round.
O’Brien, who caught the eye as Juror 7 in Twelve Angry Men at the Grand Opera House earlier this year, has exactly the right hangdog air for Rebus, always stirring, playing his own game by his own rules in pursuit of the truth. Welcome back; that retirement was never going to last
Rebus: A Game Called Malice, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
UPDATE, 18/10/2024:Author Ian Rankin will take part in Friday’s post-show discussion with company members. Earlier in the day, sometime between 3pm and 6pm, he will be popping into Criminally Good Books, in Colliergate, to promote his October 10 novel, Midnight And Blue.
Henry Raby, left and Stu Freestone: Co-founders of Say Owt Slam
SAY Owt, York’s loveable gang of garrulous/grandiloquent/just plain good poets, is celebrating a decade of performance poetry, spoken word, rap and music at The Crescent Community Venue, York, on October 18.
Established in 2014, Say Owt hosts high-energy nights of words and verse, led by York-born artistic director, “nerd punk poet laureate”, playwright, Vandal Factory co-artistic director and arts & activism podcaster Henry Raby and co-founder, associate artist, actor, Nottingham Forest devotee and The Cheese Trader cheesemonger Stu Freestone.
“As our first ever event was ten years ago, the team has decided to host a party to celebrate,” says Henry. “Whether you’re a regular, or never been to a Say Owt gig before, everyone is welcome to this party of performance poetry.
Say Owt squad member Hannah Davies: Taking part in 10th anniversary Say Owt Slam, Henry Raby vs Hannah Davies vs Stu Freestone vs Bram Jarman
“It’s been a privilege to put on poetry gigs for the people of York. We’ve hosted such legends as Hollie McNish, Harry Baker and [Barmby Moor-raised] Rob Auton and made so many friends and met so many amazing poets along the way.”
Looking forward to next Friday’s 8pm party, Henry says: “We want this gig to be a poetry party. Get ready for cheering, thumping your feet on the floor and kindling a love for words!
“Our first ever event was a poetry slam, where poets battle to win the adoration of the audience, so we’ve decided the four members of the Say Owt Squad will take part in a mini-slam to find out once and for all who is the best poet out of the four: Henry Raby vs Hannah Davies vs Stu Freestone vs Bram Jarman!”
Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell: York poet and teacher, winner of Northern Debut Award for Poetry: Out-Spoken Press Programme at the 2022 Northern Writers’ Awards
What else, Henry? “We wanted to highlight the amazing spoken-word scene in York by inviting our local poet pals to take to the stage. Performers will include Crow Rudd (surveyor of Sad Poets Doorstep Club), Chloe Hanks (co-host of Howlers) and Elizabeth Chadwick Pywell (rouser at Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb).
“We’ve also invited back two Say Owt Slam Champions, previous winners at our poetry slams. Ruth Awolola is a Nigerian Jamaican poet, performer, theatre maker and creative facilitator, based in Manchester.
“Sophie Shepherd has been a poetry slam enthusiast ever since competing in the Say Owt slams whilst at York Uni [University of York]. She’s continued her love of slam since moving back down south by creating the Rhyme Against The Tide slam in Weston-super-Mare.”
West Yorkshire rapper, beatboxer and playwright Testament. Picture: Anthony Robling
On the bill too will be York alt-rock band Everything After Midnight, performing a special acoustic set. “They’ve recently decided to call it a day (or call it a night?), so they’ll be playing their second-to-last-ever gig at our birthday party! And you can’t spell ‘penultimate’ without ‘ultimate’!” says Henry.
“Finally, we have a very special guest in the form of West Yorkshire-based rapper and playwright Testament, whose critically acclaimed work ties together strands of poetry, rap and lyrics. He’s a Guinness World Record-breaking beatboxer with numerous TV appearances on BBC, ITV and Sky Arts to his name.
“He performed Orpheus In The Record Shop at Leeds Playhouse in 2020 and 2022; he’s appeared on the BBC Radio 4 poetry show The Verb, BBC1xtra and BBC Radio 6 Music many times, and his work has received praise from voices diverse as Alan Moore, Lauren Laverne, Mark Thomas and the progenitor of Hip-Hop himself, DJ Kool Herc.”
Say Owt 10th Birthday Bash,The Crescent Community Venue, The Crescent, York, October 18. Doors open at 7.30pm for 8pm start. Tickets £8 on £13 in advance, pay whichever tier you want, at https://thecrescentyork.com/events/the-big-say-owt-10th-birthday-bash/. Or, pay £15 on the door.
